Chapter 99: Golden Lion, I Like a Girl

"Volpi Cup for Best Actor, the winner: Ma Te Damon, *Hunt*."

The voice of the jury member echoed in the venue.

Not to mention how Ma Te felt, Lin Nan's heart was about to jump out.

"Lin."

With a *whoosh*, Ma Te Damon stood up.

Lin Nan could tell that Ma Te was excited to the extreme at this moment.

"Congratulations, Ma Te."

Lin Nan took the initiative to give him a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, Lin. You made my wish come true, you helped me get Best Actor, the Venice Best Actor..."

Ma Te Damon was trembling with excitement, saying words of gratitude.

The scene erupted in warm applause.

"Lin Dao, you groomed a Best Actor?!" Yan Ni muttered to herself.

"Enviable, Venice Best Actor." Huang Bo felt very sour inside at this moment.

"Ma Te, go up and accept the award." Lin Nan reminded him.

The person presenting the award for the jury was all smiles, having already waited for two minutes.

Ma Te Damon only then reacted and strode toward the podium.

Liu Yifei tightened her grip on Lin Nan's hand, and the latter comforted her: "Don't worry..."

"Thank you, thank you to my friend, Lin.

He is an amazing director. I won't forget *Hunt*; it was this film that gave me this trophy, thank you..."

Ma Te Damon spoke very well at the beginning, very sincerely, but at the very end, he thanked Leonardo, thanking him for introducing him to Lin Nan, which was a bit intentional.

Holding the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and the certificate, Ma Te Damon returned to his seat, a smile still unable to leave his face.

At this time, the awards continued above, the three most important awards.

"Silver Lion for Best Director, the winner: Shirin Neshat, *Women Without Men*."

Not him!

Lin Nan was also a bit nervous.

With the last three awards, he could accept any one of them, but if he got none...

Liu Yifei seemed even more nervous than Lin Nan, grabbing Lin Nan's left hand with both hands.

"Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, the winner: Fatih Akin, *Soul Kitchen*."

……

Huang Bo and the others all looked toward Lin Nan's side. "The situation doesn't look optimistic..."

"Do you think Lin Nan has a chance?" Yan Ni muttered.

"Hard to say, we'll know in a moment."

At this time, Ang Lee walked onto the podium.

The highest award is always presented by the jury president.

"I am very happy to be the jury president of this year's film festival. Next, I will present the Golden Lion Award..."

"Golden Lion for Best Film, the winner: *Hunt*, Lin Nan."

Ang Lee read it out in Chinese, smiling as he looked at Lin Nan.

"Holy crap, he actually won!" Huang Bo blurted out subconsciously.

The people who came from China all looked over.

Lin Nan's brain was buzzing.

Liu Yifei looked pleasantly surprised. "It's you, I knew it was you, *sob*..."

"Lin, congratulations, Golden Lion!" Ma Te was also very excited.

Shaking his head, Lin Nan stood up and walked toward the podium.

"Thank you, Director Lee."

Lin Nan took the palm-sized Golden Lion trophy with both hands; it was like a large seal.

"You can begin your acceptance speech." Ang Lee said, then retreated to the side.

Standing in front of the microphone, Lin Nan forgot the draft he had prepared earlier. He looked at Liu Yifei; the latter's eyes were slightly red, and she was smiling.

……

"I like a girl. It was like that from the beginning. A long time ago, she was hurt by rumors and gossip.

Like the prey in *Hunt*...

She always endured it silently alone, endured it alone, but this didn't defeat her; she is still very strong, very sunny..."

Huang Bo looked at Liu Yifei thoughtfully and sighed.

Lin Nan was speaking up there, and Liu Yifei was sobbing with red eyes down below.

"In July, she joked that she wanted a birthday gift, like a Golden Lion trophy.

Now I can say it: the gift you wanted, I got it..."

"Thank you."

……

Thunderous applause rang out; this was a very different acceptance speech.

Lin Nan returned to his seat and looked at Liu Yifei.

"Your makeup is ruined."

"None of your business." As she spoke, the girl reached out her hand.

"What's wrong?"

"My gift, what you just said." Liu Yifei, whose eyes were still slightly red, said with puffed-out cheeks.

"Alright, here you go."

A golden lion trophy was placed into Liu Yifei's hands; many people saw it...

At the hotel, Liu Mu was watching the live stream of the awards ceremony alone.

After a long time, there was only a sigh.

"Xixi..."

When the awards ceremony ended, it was already late at night in Venice.

In China, it was just morning.

A massive amount of news transmitted back from the film festival occupied the top sections of every media outlet!

"Lin Dao Nan wins the Golden Lion with *Hunt*, becoming the youngest Golden Lion director in the country."

"The country's sixth Golden Lion director is born!"

……

Besides *Hunt* winning the Golden Lion, the biggest news was the matter between Lin Nan and Liu Yifei.

This could be said to be a major event that shocked the entire film and television industry.

The youngest great director announced his relationship; the object was the most popular actress, Liu Yifei; they came out of school together.

The internet and the industry were basically blown up.

"Confessing at the awards ceremony, this acceptance speech, I'm moved to tears..."

"I want to object, but I can't find a reason to object; they are indeed a perfect match..."

"Does this count as a romance that came out of campus?"

"Dating now is unwise; who knows how far they can go."

"Other people dating might affect their acting career, but Liu Yifei..."

"She'll be dumped sooner or later..."

"Great directors are all very promiscuous; look at those ready-made examples..."

……

……

Different from the messy comments on the internet.

People in the industry, at least on the surface, were all offering blessings.

Ning Hao, Shu Chang, Zhu Yawen, Hu Ge, and others were very happy; it was finally public.

For so long, they had been afraid of accidentally letting it slip.

In the 2002 class Penguin group, it was full of joy.

"They really got together? I could tell back in school that Lin Nan had the heart of a thief..."

"The one above, you're dead; Lin Dao hasn't left the group, haha."

"Is there another banner hanging on the school gate?"

"Guessed right, it was hung up first thing in the morning: 'Warmly celebrate our school's directing department Lin Dao Nan for winning the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Award'!"

"Zhu Yawen, come out quickly, did you know about this long ago?"

……

There were quite a few lurkers.

Jiang Yiyan felt that the most correct thing she had done was to get on good terms with Liu Yifei.

"This kid, saying he was going to Venice early to prepare, eight out of ten times he ran to the *Transcendence* set."

Han Sanping said firmly; youth is really good.

Every film and television company paid attention to this news.

From now on, the best resources on Lin Nan's side would probably all have to pass through Liu Yifei's hands...

Wang Zhonglei also admired Lin Nan a bit; he really made it this far, he's an alternative! Just don't know if he can go far in the future.

"Mimi, you've been watching all morning.

This is a Golden Lion director; you actresses in this batch will probably never catch up to Liu Yifei."

The agent didn't want to discourage Yang Mi, but this was a fact.

"The road is still long; saying this now is too early." The latter muttered.

……

Lu Zheng looked at Jing Tian, feeling a bit helpless.

He could see the girl's little thoughts.

Looking at the dejected appearance before him, it was painful for anyone to see.

"Do you like him?"

Jing Tian's expression was dazed, and she remained silent.

Lu Zheng shook his head.

"Everyone is still young, their temperament is not fixed. The first one you meet isn't necessarily the one you'll end up with..."

These ambiguous words made Jing Tian raise her head slightly. She looked at Lu Zheng, not quite understanding.

……

Many people were slow to realize, as if they had figured something out.

Liu Yifei's *Journey to the Center of the Earth*, *Inception*, and even... even *Transcendence* which just wrapped up. Thinking about it is terrifying!

Not mentioning the romance between Lin Nan and Liu Yifei, just talking about the Golden Lion the former won this time.

This is a major event for the entire film industry, but many people have a headache.

Lin Nan, who was already not submissive to "discipline," won the Golden Lion this time; in the future, he will only become less "obedient."

Lu Chuan could be said to be itching with hatred. Regarding the *Nanjing* matter, Lin Nan and Jiang Wen almost ruined his reputation, but fortunately, he had enough connections.

"This little bastard won the Golden Lion; heaven really doesn't have eyes..."

Guo Fan, Lu Yang, and others were quite happy; in the future, they could be considered people who hang out with a Golden Lion great director.

…………

The Venice Film Festival closed.

Ma Te Damon flew back to Hollywood the next morning after saying goodbye.

But Lin Nan's work wasn't finished yet; the copyright for *Hunt* had to be discussed properly.

This film was most suitable for Europe and America.

The price for the Golden Lion Best Film was indeed higher than *Buried*, which only won the Silver Bear for Best Director.

This time, there were only six distributors, all of them major copyright holders.

"How much?"

After Lin Nan, Tang Mu, and the others returned to the hotel, Liu Yifei asked.

"Crystal, a full 32.4 million USD." Tang Mu answered first.

Liu Yifei looked at Lin Nan, and the latter nodded. "That's the number."

Lin Nan joked, "What? You want to know my financial situation now?"

"No way, talking nonsense."

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes and glared at Lin Nan.

"When are we going back?" The girl was looking forward to it.

"Then let's book the tickets."

…………

The Golden Rooster was a bit awkward.

In this year's film festival, *The Martian* fully met the registration requirements, but Lin Nan still ignored it before.

Now, he won the Golden Lion Award, which is simply a headache.

China Film Group had already issued an announcement.

"*Hunt* will be introduced to the country in the form of a batch film."

Careful media saw the latest list of approved scripts released by the Film Bureau.

Among them were *Love is Not Blind* and *Lost on Journey*.

The filing person and the production party were both Lin Nan Film Industry.

It's just that the director column listed Xue Xiaolu and Xu Zheng respectively!

Although not directed by Lin Nan himself, these were also films produced by a Golden Lion director's company, weren't they?

A large number of talent agencies and actors were eagerly waiting for Lin Nan to return to the country.

They didn't dare to think about the big cake of foreign films, but everyone still wanted to try their luck with films produced by Lin Nan Film Industry.