Chapter 478: Only One Word

Amidst the applause, it was clear the Frenchman was incredibly excited. He first covered his forehead and laughed in disbelief, then leaped up from his seat, hugged and kissed his companion forcefully, and even gave the director of *The Artist* a fierce cheek-to-cheek greeting.

Afterward, he walked toward the podium, laughing as he walked, completely unable to suppress the smile on his lips.

At this moment, Chen Nuo felt out of the corner of his eye that Liu Yifei was looking at him.

However, the cameraman was capturing a close-up of his face, so he had no time to turn his face to talk to the woman.

He had to keep smiling and clapping to show grace.

At this moment, there couldn't be any extra emotions.

Not just him, George Clooney and Gary Oldman were the same; as the camera switched from the big screen one by one, their expressions and actions were like they were carved from the same mold as his.

Except for Leonardo.

Leonardo felt the most uncomfortable.

The smile on his face was so faint it was almost invisible, and his clapping could be said to be perfunctory. His blue eyes were focused on the stage, as if he were concentrating on studying something.

Studying what? Of course, studying why he failed.

Seeing this scene, Chen Nuo couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. It was he who instigated Leonardo to compete with *The Artist*; the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. If he hadn't been so invested, he definitely wouldn't be so sad right now.

Jean Dujardin walked onto the stage, kissed Natalie Portman on the cheek, took the trophy, and then walked to the microphone to start delivering his acceptance speech in English with a slight French accent.

At this time, Chen Nuo and Liu Yifei could talk.

The girl was holding his hand tightly; her fingers were slightly cool but very soft, and they felt very comfortable to touch.

However, before Liu Yifei could speak, Woody Allen, who was beside her, suddenly leaned forward a bit and said to him: "Chen, if I could vote, my vote would definitely be for you."

Chen Nuo was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Haha, thank you for your comfort, Woody, thank you."

Woody Allen shook his head: "I've been following you since *My Blueberry Nights*, Chen. You indeed have the strength to win the Oscar for Best Actor, and your performance in *Inception* is definitely underrated. But this year is not yours. One reason is that your box office is too successful, and the second is because of your fame. If a superstar wants to get an Oscar, I have to say, the difficulty is ten times that of Adrien Brody or Daniel Day-Lewis. You have to be prepared for that."

During Jean Dujardin's speech, the white-haired old director spoke slowly and methodically. To show respect, Chen Nuo also turned his body sideways; from the front, he was almost pressed against Liu Yifei, and the woman's faint fragrance drilled straight into his nose.

After Woody Allen finished speaking, Jean Dujardin also finished his speech and went off stage with Natalie Portman. At this time, the TV broadcast entered the commercial break, which was also the break time on site.

Chen Nuo looked at the old man's gray eyes and said seriously: "Thank you, Woody, I understand."

Woody Allen smiled, sat his body upright, and turned his head to talk to his wife beside him.

Chen Nuo also sat back.

Then his shoulder was patted: "Little Chen, it's okay, next time, next time you'll definitely make it. When that time comes, whatever you want to film, just say the word, no matter how much it costs."

He added volume and repeated it: "No matter how much it costs. I'll state my position here; our Hengdian Group will definitely invest. No matter how much this art film or award-chasing film loses in the market, it doesn't matter. We'll definitely help you bring this Oscar Best Actor back."

Chen Nuo turned his head to look at the somewhat excited Xu Dong and said with a smile: "Okay, thank you, Xu Dong, I'll find you when the time comes."

"Definitely." Xu Dong pressed firmly on his shoulder and sat back.

At this time, Liu Yifei leaned toward him and whispered: "I think so too."

"Think what?"

"Think that Xu Dong and Director Allen are both right."

"Is that so."

"Of course, Director Allen has been in Hollywood for decades; he definitely wouldn't talk nonsense. Who told you to be so famous now? You can only suffer a few more setbacks. Look at Leonardo, isn't he the same? I think he's about to cry. But you acted better than him; if it doesn't work this time, then come back in a few years..."

Chen Nuo leaned back in his chair, listening to Liu Yifei talk, but his gaze fell on her fair, slightly translucent earlobe.

At this time, Liu Yifei's body was leaning toward him, quite close, and her ear was only a few centimeters away from his mouth. He suddenly felt playful and blew a breath into it lightly.

Liu Yifei's words were immediately cut off; her body seemed to have been electrocuted, her neck shrank, and she turned her head quickly, looking at him with wide eyes. In just this short moment, her face turned red, as if covered by a thin layer of rosy clouds.

Chen Nuo said: "What's wrong?"

Liu Yifei looked left and right and whispered: "What are you doing?"

Seeing the woman's shy appearance, Chen Nuo suddenly felt a throb in his lower abdomen, couldn't help but chuckle, hooked his finger at Liu Yifei, and said: "Come here, I have something to tell you."

Liu Yifei frowned, looked at him for a while, and finally, with an unwilling expression on her face, leaned her head over.

Chen Nuo leaned his mouth to her ear and said: "Do you want to..."

After two sentences, Liu Yifei looked as if she had heard some prehistoric myth; her body suddenly pulled away from him, and her eyes were full of disbelief as she looked at him, stuttering: "What did you say? How... how can you be like this! We're still in the middle of the awards."

Liu Yifei said so, but Chen Nuo was who he was, and the two had been dating for a few years; as soon as he saw this expression on Xixi, he knew there was a chance.

But indeed, now was not the time. Although he didn't win Best Actor as expected, and no miracle happened, the remaining two awards, Best Director and Best Picture, hadn't been revealed yet, so they still had hope.

Actually, according to his experience, the best and easiest time to avoid being seen should be...

Thinking of this, Chen Nuo lowered his volume a bit and said: "I said, if... when the time comes..."

As Liu Yifei listened, her eyes couldn't help but widen.

The presenter for the second to last award, Best Director, was Michael Douglas.

This person was the son of Kirk Douglas, the Hollywood legend who came to present an award at over 90 years old the last time Chen Nuo hosted the Oscars.

Michael Douglas, like his father, had an extremely successful career and was currently a two-time Oscar Best Actor winner. Nearly 70 years old, with a head of white hair, he was still handsome and graceful.

Holding the envelope, he walked out from behind the curtain, stood by the microphone, and began to say: "Oscar-winning director Leo McCarey once went to a bank to borrow some money to film a movie. The bank person looked him up and down and then said, 'I know the photographer is responsible for filming, the actor is responsible for acting, and the screenwriter writes the script, so may I ask what the director does?'"

Pausing, Michael Douglas smiled and continued: "Leo was silent for a moment, and then went to another bank."

Although Chen Nuo was a bit nervous at this time, he was still amused by this little joke and laughed out loud.

He prepared to write it down and tell it to Wong Kar-wai when he returned to Hong Kong.

Amidst the laughter, Michael Douglas became serious and said: "In fact, directors are a group of people willing to give everything for a vision. The following five are the dreamers nominated for their exemplary works. The following are the nominations for Best Director—"

Michel Hazanavicius, *The Artist*.

Alexander Payne, *The Descendants*.

Martin Scorsese, *Hugo*.

Woody Allen, *Midnight in Paris*.

Christopher Nolan, *Inception*.

On the screen, the scenes of the male or female lead of each film introducing the director of the film appeared in turn.

This time, perhaps considering that Chen Nuo had already appeared in the previous two short films, the person Oscar arranged to introduce Nolan wasn't him, but Nolan's fellow Brit—Keira Knightley.

After Keira finished her introduction, Michael Douglas slowly opened the envelope in his hand and announced: "Woody Allen, *Midnight in Paris*."

"Damn it!"

Chen Nuo blurted out subconsciously; fortunately, he said it in Chinese, and no one could understand.

He turned his head and saw Woody Allen staring with wide eyes just like him, as if he hadn't reacted at all, standing there in a daze for two seconds before suddenly standing up, hugging his wife beside him tightly, full of excitement.

Amidst the applause of the audience, Chen Nuo and Liu Yifei also stood up, clapping while clearing the aisle.

Although it wasn't Nolan who won, at least it wasn't *The Artist*, which could be considered a good result.

"Congratulations, Director," Liu Yifei said with a smile.

"Thank you."

Woody Allen hugged her quickly and walked to Chen Nuo's side, smiling and hugging him too.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you, thank you."

The scene looked as if the two of them were members of the *Midnight in Paris* production team.

After sitting down, Liu Yifei was still excited with her small face flushed, whispering: "Wow, it's actually Director Allen who won! Do you know? The last time he won the Oscar for Best Director was 1978; it's been 34 years, it's too rare."

Just as she said, Woody Allen was truly unprepared this time, unlike Jean Dujardin, who had prepared several small notes, looking like he was determined to win.

After Woody Allen went on stage, took the trophy from Michael Douglas, and looked around the audience, his first sentence was neither thanking the Oscars nor thanking the company and producers, but saying:

"I think it was God's will to arrange my seat next to Chen tonight, allowing me to borrow his luck in winning the award. Using his empty-handedness tonight to fulfill me."

"Hahahahahaha..."

The entire audience burst into laughter.

The camera didn't go far, and the lens was aimed perfectly at Chen Nuo.

And what could he do?

He could only laugh.

After laughing, Woody Allen began to calm down and entered the formal thank-you segment.

Chen Nuo couldn't help but look into the distance, and just then Nolan also looked over. Their gazes crossed the venue, passing through a gap between hundreds of people, and met in mid-air. ===== CHAPTER 479 =====