Chapter 571: They Are All Dogs

Around 4:30 p. m., the red carpet livestream had already begun.

The red carpet livestream lasted only one hour, and those who appeared within it were generally megastars or celebrities with some standing in the film industry.

At this moment, a light drizzle fell from the sky; the Dolby Theatre square was packed with people, surrounded by reporters from around the globe and noisy, cheering fans.

One after another, luxury sedans pulled to a stop before the red carpet.

One after another, recognizable Hollywood stars stepped out onto the scene—some accompanied by bodyguards or assistants holding umbrellas, others walking in formal attire and hats straight into the Dolby Theatre lobby.

The lobby was the main stage of the red carpet; it was noisy, with Hollywood male and female stars, famous or unknown, walking along the red carpet.

Facing reporters and audiences, they flaunted themselves, bared their chests and backs, acted like seductive sluts.

For East Asians, aside from a few Hollywood stars who looked decent, most were simply unappealing—their white or black skin, heavy makeup, rough texture, and deep V-necks sagging nearly to the ground.

This aesthetic was blinding to Chinese viewers!

Beautiful ones were few; most European and American actresses looked like this—not every European or American actress was refined; most were overweight with coarse, visible pores.

Yet this did not prevent the dazzling stars, radiant brilliance, and overwhelming attention.

This year's Oscar red carpet format differed from others; it felt more like a party, with no fixed order for who walked first, and the entire ground covered in red carpet.

The red carpet was crowded with people, many celebrities and stars moving back and forth.

Some conversed, some posed for photo shoots, some gave interviews—every kind of activity was happening.

Of course, there were designated interview zones, photo shoot areas, and separated audience sections.

Amid the noise, a black extended luxury sedan pulled to a stop at the edge of the red carpet; Fang Hong stepped out, dressed in a sharp suit, his hair slicked back.

He walked to the side door, opened it, and took Liu Tianxian's hand to help her out.

Liu Tianxian had rosy lips and white teeth, her long brown hair flowing freely, wearing a white embroidered strapless gown that made her appear fresh and elegant.

At this moment, Liu Tianxian was still at the peak of her beauty; time had left few marks on her face or body, and she looked full of spirit.

She looked around—the crowd flowed constantly; though voices roared, few shouts or claps were directed at them.

Beneath their feet stretched a soft red carpet, extending all the way into the Dolby Theatre lobby.

Of course, their arrival still drew fierce photo-taking from domestic and international reporters, lights flashing nonstop.

Even those who didn't recognize her knew Liu Tianxian was the female lead of Gravity, and there were some domestic reporters here.

Outlets like CCTV, Xinhua News Agency, and People's Daily typically sent reporters to the Oscar venue.

Additionally, Nandu Entertainment, Harper's Bazaar, Sina, Tencent, NetEase, and others also sent reporters here, so their appearance did not lack spotlight.

But this was not yet the main gathering point for reporters; only scattered minor journalists were here, and no interviews were allowed—fully armed special police patrolled both sides of the red carpet.

Shi Zhi Mao went directly into the Dolby Theatre lobby; she had an invitation herself, as the creator of Big Hero 6.

As for Yu Xian, he was already a regular here; his presence would be meaningless and easily divert media and audience attention.

If he came along, overseas media would report Yu Xian's arrival and shift focus away from the two of them; Yu Xian's fame and weight here far exceeded theirs.

Moreover, their mission included promoting Gravity; too much attention diversion was inappropriate.

Hand in hand, they walked straight into the Dolby Theatre without stopping; someone had explained the process to them beforehand, and Donna had arranged their Oscar invitations.

An invitation was required to enter this place; otherwise, domestic internet celebrities would flood the red carpet.

Cannes and Venice rarely saw such phenomena.

Before entering the Dolby Theatre lobby, they had to pass through a long corridor packed with reporters—media from all over the world, including China's mainstream outlets.

The corridor was short, about thirty meters; the two stood before a backdrop wall, allowing global reporters to photograph them.

Liu Tianxian smiled, her posture slightly awkward, not as confident or composed as one might expect; she stood there neatly and properly.

It was normal—this was her first time at such an event, facing global media, like meeting heads of state; nervousness was inevitable.

Fang Hong noticed and wrapped his arm around her soft waist, whispering: "Relax. What's there to fear? Think of them as dogs. What's there to fear about dogs?"

Liu Tianxian smiled, bit her lip to suppress it, then confidently placed one hand on her hip, tilting her head slightly upward, radiating self-assurance.

Flashbulbs kept popping; not every international reporter recognized her, and some simply snapped casually.

Some, impressed by her appearance and demeanor, took extra photos.

Others, hearing she was the female lead of Gravity, frantically snapped away—this film had gained considerable fame.

Domestic reporters naturally snapped away furiously; it was rare for a Chinese star to appear at the Oscars.

As Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong appeared on the Oscar red carpet, her images were instantly sent back to China, where it was around 9 a. m.

At this exact moment, it immediately trended:

#Liu Tianxian and Principal Appear at the Oscars! #

Clicking open revealed no article—just a note stating the two had appeared on the 87th Oscars red carpet, followed by a stream of photos.

"Awesome! My wife's at the Oscars!"

"Xixi is the best!"

"Dead Principal, let go of that dog paw—let me have it."

"."

Liu Tianxian's fans, upon seeing her on the Oscar red carpet, went wild, spreading her beauty photos everywhere—in groups, forums, Weibo.

They dominated the screen with unprecedented heat; Da Mimi, Da Baobei, Xia Jie, and other actresses envied her bitterly. Xia Jie even wore a dress similar to Liu Tianxian's to ride the trend—what good did it do? They could only blame their own husbands for lacking ability.

Liu Tianxian had long since left them on a different track; her appearance at the Oscars proved she was charging toward the international stage.

This was the accumulation of Fang Hong's years of effort and Liu Tianxian's own dedication.

One heart, one focus—you hone your acting as an actress, I build my film industry.

Both advanced toward their goals, side by side.

After the photos, they entered the Dolby Theatre lobby, where voices roared—fans on both sides shouted, for every step revealed another megastar.

Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer, Nicole Kidman, Chris Pratt—too many to count, all household names.

And many producers and celebrities as well.

Seeing these legendary superstars, Fang Hong remained fairly composed — after all, at his level, no celebrity could pique his interest.

Liu Tianxian was also fine; these people held little mystery for her, she was only a bit reserved in such a setting.

"This is my first Oscar." Liu Tianxian said, gripping his arm.

The latest novel is first published on ⊥⊥⊥!

"Come a few more times and you'll get used to it." Fang Hong said softly.

The two wove through the crowd — there were simply too many people here, and they weren't familiar with anyone, so everyone seemed a stranger.

"Hey, Fang, over here!" someone called out.

The two turned and saw Lao Zha with his hand raised high, drawing sidelong glances from some of the surrounding Hollywood stars.

Everyone knew Lao Zha — the Warner General Manager, a moneybags figure — but for Lao Zha to greet these two Asians was quite surprising. Who were they?

"I've been looking all over for you." Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian walked over.

Lao Zha was standing at the edge, surrounded by a crowd of people, including Gal Gadot, who played Wonder Woman;

Ben Affleck, who played Batman; Henry Cavill, who played Superman, and so on — basically the main cast of the DC Universe, all gathered here. Were they conferring on grand strategy to counter Marvel?

"Oh my god, so many years and you still look the same, Fang." Lao Zha was still the same — radiating nobility, very poised.

Five years had passed without much change; the rich really know how to take care of themselves.

Liu Tianxian helped translate — Lao Zha, unlike Donna, didn't speak Chinese.

"You too — I still don't see any wrinkles of age on your face. I'm curious, how do you maintain yourself? Teach me." Fang Hong was just talking nonsense; the man's face was full of creases, he just looked very spirited.

"Making money, box office hits — the bigger the hit, the happier I am. When I'm happy, I feel good, and when I feel good, I naturally stay young." Lao Zha expounded his grand philosophy of health.

"Hahaha!" Fang Hong laughed.

Though the two rarely met in person, they'd spoken on the phone many times and were still quite familiar.

Nearby, superstars like Gal Gadot watched the two chatting happily and exchanged puzzled glances — who exactly was this person?

They didn't know Fang Hong was the hidden boss behind the Zhong family.

In the distance, some Hollywood stars gathered together, gossiping about the two.

"That man is called Principal, very famous in the Hua Guo film circle. Gravity, Lucy, Now You See Me — he directed those."

"The woman is called Liu Tianxian, she starred in The Forbidden Kingdom — that's the one with Jackie Chan — and she's also the female lead in Gravity. She's been pretty hot lately."

Someone revealed the two's identities.

Actually, Fang Hong's identity wasn't much of a secret — it would spread quickly — they just didn't know he was the boss of the Zhong family.

"Then what's their relationship with the Warner General Manager?" someone wondered.

"No idea." someone shook their head.

Warner had little connection with Jade Rabbit — they hadn't co-produced a single film, nor distributed a single Jade Rabbit film.

So to outsiders, the two had no dealings; instead, they were very close with Universal, who had distributed multiple Jade Rabbit films.

All this was behind-the-scenes collaboration — people who hadn't experienced it firsthand would find it hard to obtain such information; it was never public to begin with.

Fang Hong draped an arm around Lao Zha's shoulder and pulled him aside, asking privately: "How's the matter I asked you to handle going?"

"On this one, I've brought over 200 million so far, planning to bring another 100 million — 300 million should be enough, right?" Lao Zha held up his fingers.

He figured 300 million in cash would already be a fatal blow to a company; for a Hua Guo film and television enterprise, 300 million was indeed a very large sum.

Fang Hong had laid out his plans for a long time — only then could Jade Rabbit claim an annual profit of 300 million, all thanks to the Zhong family.

Liu Tianxian translated beside them; she also knew what it was about — the scheme to take down Hua Yi, to drag Hua Yi to its death.

Watching her man actually go through with it, with outsiders present she couldn't say anything.

"I don't know how much capital they have either, so just take as much as you can over, then hit them with a financial blow." Fang Hong was ruthless — either don't do it, or do it to the end, crippling Hua Yi beyond recovery.

Leave them half-dead, with a pile of troubles.

He saw Big Wang playing with art pieces — casually tossing around tens of millions or even hundreds of millions in turnover — so the man definitely had money.

He also did real estate and gaming — how could he not have money?

"Sure, sure, give me some time." Lao Zha agreed — it wasn't that hard; those people were all clamoring to cooperate with him, wanting a slice of the International Market.

He looked at Fang Hong and added: "Fang, I see you've been getting pretty close with Universal lately — why can't we go deeper together?"

"Of course we can — the award ceremony is starting, let's go in!" Fang Hong deflected.

(End of chapter)