Chapter 595: Never Retreat

This year's Beijing Film Festival was held at the Yanxi Lake International Convention Center, its main structure a deep red, resembling the Temple of Heaven without a roof, like the inverted reflection of the Prayer for Good Harvests Hall.

The building's unique shape exudes grandeur and majesty, brimming with Chinese style.

Such architectural style exists only in Beijing.

A long red carpet stretched all the way to the "Temple of Heaven" gate, and under the gaze of countless onlookers and blinding lights, Liu Tianxian lifted her skirt and walked gracefully up the steps into the "Temple of Heaven!"

The organizers deliberately created this atmosphere for her—after all, she holds the highest status and greatest international recognition.

At the top of the steps, Zuoshandiao, one of the committee members, waited for her and invited her to enter the venue together—a mark of great honor.

Liu Tianxian nodded slightly with a smile, expressing her thanks.

Fang Hong did not attend this year's Beijing Film Festival; he was locked in a fierce struggle with Bona and had no time for such an event.

Liu Tianxian had only taken one day off; she had already been filming Superbody 2 for over a month.

This year's Beijing Film Festival gathered major stars from across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong—figures like Ren Xianqi, Chen Yixun, and Zhang Xueyou, who rarely appeared at such events, were all present.

The award ceremony venue was spacious; viewed from above, its layout resembled a fan sliced into three sections.

In the front sat the SARFT leaders and Beijing government officials, along with committee members—all dressed in formal suits, appearing dignified.

In the back rows sat the celebrities and stars; when Liu Tianxian and Zuoshandiao appeared together, many turned to glance.

Who among them had ever been greeted like this? Only Liu Tianxian received such treatment.

No other reason—she simply has enough status: an international superstar, and behind her stands the Principal, who is now incredibly powerful.

During the Bona acquisition, he clashed fiercely with major capital groups.

Huayi, Enlight, Wanda, Alibaba, and Tencent all backed Bona, yet none of them could step onto the field.

This is the manifestation of status: if you are strong enough, you are treated as an honored guest wherever you go; if you are weak, you are ignored everywhere.

Liu Tianxian lifted her skirt and walked down the aisle under the gaze of rows of people, reaching the front row, greeting the officials, and nodding to Lao Mouzi and Lapeikang with proper etiquette.

Lao Mouzi was the committee chairman, Lapeikang the vice-chairman; even General Manager Wang was a vice-chairman, and Yu Pangzi was also a vice-chairman—though he did not come.

How could he have time? He was about to lose everything.

After all greetings were exchanged, Liu Tianxian was seated beside General Manager Wang—whether intentionally arranged or not, it was unclear.

But it was perfectly normal; if the Principal had come, he would have sat in roughly the same seat—both were titans of the film industry.

Liu Tianxian could now represent the Principal herself.

"Miss Liu, you've truly been in the spotlight lately!" General Manager Wang turned to look at the woman who had once been quietly blacklisted by him but now sat beside him.

"General Manager Wang, you're joking—I'm just a minor actress, benefiting from my husband's fame." Liu Tianxian responded politely.

She wasn't afraid to speak of their relationship in public—everyone could guess anyway.

Unlike Fang Hong, who, once reaching a certain level, no longer even pretends to be polite—if he dislikes someone, he simply ignores them—she hides everything inside.

Even if she dislikes someone, she still behaves with courtesy and kindness.

"Then Miss Liu should go persuade your husband not to do things that oppose the world—it's not good." General Manager Wang spoke gently.

Unlike Young Master Wang, who is brash—this man gave off an impression of warmth.

"Whose world? Can you, General Manager Wang, represent the world?" Liu Tianxian asked in surprise.

"Many film companies—including Alibaba, Tencent, Wanda, Enlight—are opposing your acquisition of Bona. Many in the entertainment industry are deeply dissatisfied. Don't you fear it? Don't you think you're wrong?" General Manager Wang countered, reasoning with her.

He meant: look within yourselves—where did you go wrong? Why does everyone oppose you?

"Then what are you afraid of?"

Before he could answer, Liu Tianxian continued: "If my husband and I feared being opposed by the entire world, we would have quit long ago—I wouldn't be sitting here today. The fact that I am sitting here proves our path is right."

"If I listened to you and asked my husband to give up, then I wouldn't deserve to be sitting here."

This statement was convoluted: if they yielded to others' demands and conceded everything, they would inevitably grow weak, even become invisible.

Because every step forward infringes on others' interests—retreating means giving up gains.

Until there is nowhere left to retreat, nothing left to give—then you become the weak one, ignored by all, because you've already been eliminated.

No one remembers your good deeds—only that you're foolish.

Liu Tianxian did not oppose Fang Hong's struggle—she only opposed him harming others; thus, she firmly supported him.

If even she didn't support him, no one would.

"We fought our way here, step by step, not through anyone's charity—so no one has the right to make us retreat. No one." Liu Tianxian spoke with heavy emphasis.

At this point, if two words could make them retreat, their will would be too weak.

"Aren't you afraid that everyone will turn against you—Alibaba, Tencent, Wanda, Enlight, and all the other big and small companies? You'll become the target of everyone's hostility." General Manager Wang continued to scare her.

"Hah!" Liu Tianxian couldn't help but sneer.

Even with the most grace, she couldn't help laughing—he kept threatening her, exaggerating the severity of the situation.

This drew glances from Chen Kexin, Zhou Xun, Zuoshandiao, Fang Long, and others nearby.

Chen Kexin and Young Master Zhou were members of the judging panel.

Fang Long was an important guest wherever he went, but his gaze at Liu Tianxian was complex—she had climbed higher, now able to replace part of his role.

They likely knew what the two were discussing: the Bona Acquisition Event!

If anyone in this world could stop the Principal, it might only be Liu Tianxian—no one else could halt his advance to seize Bona.

Everyone was curious about Liu Tianxian's stance, so they watched the stage while straining to listen.

"I think it's you who should be afraid—not us. I asked: what exactly are you afraid of? General Manager Wang didn't answer me."

Liu Tianxian continued: "You cannot represent the world—you can only represent yourself. We are not afraid of competition, nor of anyone targeting us—because every day, I—"

She placed one hand on her chest, "and my husband, live through this."

Threatening her as if she'd never faced a world turned against her, as if she were still a fragile little girl.

Only the weak are targeted—the strong only bully others; she understood this truth deeply.

General Manager Wang fell silent, turning to look deeply at Liu Tianxian—she did not fear meeting his gaze.

He never expected that the little girl who once looked so gentle on the outside and let him push her around without any ability to resist actually had such a steely heart inside. If it were any other girl, she would have been scared off by his words long ago.

Liu Tianxian had always been steel-willed on the inside; she simply never showed it.

Both of them fell silent. The people nearby had probably overheard their exchange. Liu Tianxian's resolve was firm; she hadn't wavered in the slightest. She was determined to support the Principal in taking over Bona.

They could only observe three seconds of silence for Yu Pangzi!

The only question was what Bona would eventually become.

Perfectly normal. The couple had long since done their mental preparation; how could they possibly give up just because of a few words from someone else?

The news quickly reached Yu Pangzi's phone. He was quite helpless about it too — the one person most likely to stop the Principal hadn't wavered at all.

All they could do was pray that the higher-ups would reject the Principal's acquisition.

At the Beijing Film Festival awards ceremony, on a dazzling stage lit by brilliant lights, Luhan won the Annual Film Newcomer Award.

The fans in the audience were frenzied, shrieking one after another.

No one knew what works Luhan had now, or how he'd won such an award — but it hardly mattered. The Beijing Film Festival was even more watered-down than the Shanghai Film Festival.

It was just that the location was special, so people in the entertainment circle had to give it some face.

The guest seats were dimly lit. The cameras kept panning to Liu Tianxian from time to time — she sat with proper posture, her face fair and smooth, chin slightly raised, watching the awards ceremony on stage.

The hosts for the closing ceremony were Wu Dawei and Matrix Partners!

This edition of the Beijing Film Festival was broadcast on the CCTV Movie Channel, and there were plenty of online streaming platforms — iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video, Sohu, LeEco, Chang'e Video, and so on, all carried it.

Basically every mainstream video platform was livestreaming the awards event. The cost wasn't much — a few tens of millions settled it.

It was originally split among several platforms, so each one still made a good tens of millions — pure profit.

The Beijing Film Festival had local government support, so it didn't cost much — roughly tens of millions in soft sister currency. The Shanghai Film Festival cost about the same.

Because of the online livestream, netizens online were busy fawning over every star. Take Luhan's fans, for instance — they were absolutely wild. Liu Tianxian, although the most popular, had fans who were relatively rational, nowhere near as frenzied as those of the fresh-faced idols.

After all, people who watch movies and can afford to go to the cinema to support them generally have a certain level of spending power, and this group tends to be more rational. It's determined by the type of audience.

Someone who focuses purely on film acting won't have too many radical fans; it gives off a sense of maturity.

If you sing, dance, go on Variety shows, and appear on TV, it gives off a flashy, exaggerated vibe — that's just the feeling.

The film festival quickly moved on to presenting the Best Actress award.

The presenters were Zhang Hanyu and Young Master Zhou. The two exchanged mutual compliments for a while, looking quite proper about it.

The audience in the venue responded lukewarmly.

"The Fifth Beijing Film Festival, Best Actress, Temple of Heaven Award."

Young Master Zhou opened the envelope, looked at the card, and read: "Gravity, China film — Liu Tianxian!"

"Congratulations to the winner. Please watch the winner's clip!" the host announced.

Lukewarm applause broke out in the venue. At the same time, clips of Liu Tianxian in Gravity appeared on the big screen — the footage kept cutting between scenes: at times despair, at times loneliness, at times helplessness.

The cuts were all the most moving scenes.

Liu Tianxian wore a smile on her face, appearing not overly excited, though inside she was actually quite thrilled.

It was just that this was a formal occasion, so it wouldn't do to show too much.

After the clip finished playing, the host announced: "Please invite the winner to the stage to receive the award."

"Clap clap clap!" Only then did warm, enthusiastic applause break out in the venue, much louder than before.

Liu Tianxian wore a smile, stood up, and walked toward the stage. The cameras in the venue stayed on her the whole time.

"Gravity is a space sci-fi film that tells the story of an astronaut who encounters a disaster during a space mission and must survive alone," the host narrated, describing the story the film conveyed.

After the narration was nearly done, Liu Tianxian had already stepped up the stairs and onto the brightly lit stage. She took the Temple of Heaven Trophy from Zhang Hanyu's hands and shook hands with the two presenters.

"Thank you to the Beijing International Film Festival, and thank you to everyone who worked on Gravity. This role was a brand-new challenge for me, and I'm very happy to have been able to connect with the audience through this character.

Thank you to my family and fans for their continued support. I will keep working hard and not let down everyone's expectations."

Liu Tianxian held the Trophy in one hand, standing before the standing microphone, the lights behind her shining down on her — she looked exceedingly beautiful and captivating.

Then she grew emotional: "Here I also want to thank one person — someone very important in my life. Every year, at every film festival, he has always been by my side. But today he wasn't able to come and share this joy with me.

Still, I don't feel regret, and I don't blame him. On the contrary, I support him, because he has more important things to do.

What I want to say is, no matter what you do, even if the whole world turns its back on you, I will still stand by your side, face it together with you, and meet the challenge!"

After Liu Tianxian finished speaking, she raised the Temple of Heaven Trophy high with both hands. The frame froze, and warm, enthusiastic applause erupted in the venue.

Of course, many people didn't clap. They knew this was an unwavering resolve to acquire Bona — the two of them had already made up their minds!

(End of this chapter)