Chapter 522: Sealing the Emperor

Beijing, inside a Siheyuan valued in the hundreds of millions.

Luo Ba, Luo Ma, and Luo Mo's master, Tong Qinglin, are sitting together watching the Live Broadcast of the Shanghai Television Festival.

Liu Shixiong, Liu Gongming, is holding his phone, snapping photos of the television set at random.

"Liu Shixiong, what are you taking pictures of?" Luo Ba asked.

As mentioned before, he is a registered disciple of Tong Qinglin, so because Liu Gongming is two years his junior, he also has to call him Shixiong.

Looking purely at the sect seniority, Luo Mo is also his own father's Shixiong.

Having gained some middle-aged weight and wearing a floral shirt, the flashy Liu Shixiong said, "I'm taking screenshots of the moment our little junior brother received his Nomination to post on Weibo."

Liu Shixiong, a man who exists like a worker on an inflatable doll assembly line; he can't pretend to be anything else, he only knows how to show off.

After the decline of Opera, he couldn't really be considered a "star" anymore, but he had previously managed to become a minor internet celebrity.

Now, because of his connection to Luo Mo, he has gained all sorts of traffic and has become a major internet celebrity with extremely high popularity on Weibo.

He quickly edited a Weibo post and attached the image of Luo Mo receiving his Nomination for Best Actor.

"If our little junior brother can win Best Actor this year, I will perform... 【Noble Consort Dances with Sword】 for all you family members!"

Once this Weibo post went live, there were immediately a large number of comments underneath it, and its popularity was evident.

"Haha, all our own people!"

"Ten years ago, we might have been able to watch your Noble Consort Dances with Sword."

"Liu Shixiong, there's nothing wrong with praying for our little junior brother to win the award, but challenging our eyeballs like this is just not fun!"

"At a glance, you're a 'connected person' among us 【Mo Sheng Ren】, silly enough."

"Haha."

Many of Luo Mo's fans know that Luo Mo's sword skills were taught by Liu Shixiong.

The reason he was able to wield a sword so coolly in the *Sword Fairy* series is largely thanks to Liu Shixiong.

It's just that Liu Shixiong leans toward the delicate, while Luo Mo is more sharp and fierce.

Many years ago, Liu Gongming's 【Noble Consort Dances with Sword】 was something that could draw thunderous applause under the opera stage and was widely sought after by celebrities from all walks of life.

As for now... we aren't saying you can't dance, but could you not be a Noble Consort?

Liu Gongming glanced at the netizens' replies a few times and didn't take them to heart; he was just joking with everyone in the first place.

Netizens thought he stopped paying attention to his physique because Opera had declined. In reality, that wasn't the case; he had gained weight because he had been ill.

This used to be the greatest pain in his heart, but now he has come to terms with it, and he often makes fun of himself, just like a Comedy performer.

With his big, fat belly sticking out, he put down his phone and stared intently at the television, waiting for the answer.

"Little junior brother, come on!"

"You are only 27 years old; if you win the award, you will be the youngest White Rose 【Best Actor】 in history!" Liu Gongming thought to himself.

If that happens...

I can show off again!

Beijing, inside a modern, large flat.

A middle-aged man and woman are also watching the Live Broadcast of the Shanghai Television Festival.

The man wears a pair of Glasses and has an air of scholarly refinement about him, yet he also possesses a sense of natural authority, looking quite serious.

The woman is very well-maintained, still charming, with delicate skin and an excellent temperament.

For women as they age, temperament is sometimes even more important than facial features.

One can tell that when the woman was young, she was definitely a stunning beauty who could make countless people fall at her feet.

"Old Xu, next time let Xiao Jing bring him home for a meal," the woman said to her husband.

The man wearing Glasses looked at Luo Mo and Xu Chujing sitting side-by-side on the television screen and did not answer.

"Old Xu," the woman called out again, her brow furrowing.

"Fine, fine, fine, you have the final say." Seeing his wife frown, he immediately gave in.

I, Xu Chong'an, started from scratch, struggled through entrepreneurship, and have now built such a massive foundation, with star-rated hotels opened all over the country; outside, everyone respects me, fears me, and honors me. In this home, of course... my wife has the final say!

"I think this Luo Mo, judging by his appearance, is not a bad person," the woman said.

Although Xu Chong'an is afraid of his wife, a father-in-law looking at a son-in-law is always a bit displeased at first, so he said: "Having a decent look has nothing to do with character."

"What? Do you think our Xiao Jing is the kind of silly girl who would be deceived by appearances?" The woman rolled her eyes at him.

"That's not what I meant either."

"Then what do you mean?"

"It's just... I'm not against her dating freely," Xu Chong'an said.

"Then what is it? Is it because he is younger than Xiao Jing?" the woman asked.

"That is only one aspect, a very small reason; the main point, as you know, is that I don't really approve of her finding a man in the entertainment industry," Xu Chong'an said.

"Alright, alright, if there really is something, we'll wait until we see the person to talk about it. We'll vet him ourselves, okay?" the woman said.

"Okay," Xu Chong'an nodded.

The two continued to look at the television, and Xu Chong'an said: "Our Xiao Jing is the youngest Best Actress of the White Rose."

"Didn't this Luo Mo also receive a Nomination at a young age?" the woman said.

"A Nomination is a Nomination; winning the award is a different matter entirely," Xu Chong'an waved his hand and said: "Just like how we run hotels, receiving..."

"Enough, enough! Don't nag!" the woman said: "I actually think Luo Mo has a chance to win the award."

"Why?" Xu Chong'an said.

"Because he's good-looking!"

"Hmm?"

"I'm saying that the *Nirvana in Fire* he filmed is good; I've even watched it twice in my spare time," the woman said.

While saying this with her mouth, she still added a line in her heart: "He was born looking good, too."

………

………

Inside the grand auditorium, close-ups of all the nominees appeared on the big screen.

Everyone's expression was different; except for Zhou Tao, everyone was a little nervous.

And the reason nominee Zhou Tao wasn't nervous wasn't because he was confident and felt he had the win in the bag.

It was because, although this year couldn't be described as exaggeratedly as "gods fighting," the competition was still very fierce.

*Heart Chamber* and *Warship*, these two dramas, although their popularity wasn't explosive, it wasn't low either. Most importantly, their word-of-mouth was also quite good.

Zhou Tao knew that being able to be shortlisted and receive a Nomination was already a huge stroke of luck; "Best Actor" had nothing to do with him.

"My probability of winning is even lower than Luo Mo's!" Zhou Tao said in his heart.

Yes, he didn't think highly of Luo Mo either.

Because his Seniority was too shallow.

The three major television festivals in the country also somewhat rely on seniority.

Sometimes, if an Actor receives a Nomination in the previous year but doesn't end up winning the award, their probability of winning increases if they are shortlisted again the following year!

Luo Mo was too new, and... *Nirvana in Fire* had won a few too many awards.

Many people in the industry had also discussed the several major awards for this year's White Rose.

Everyone felt that for the final award announced, Best Chinese TV Series, the probability of *Nirvana in Fire* winning was extremely high.

Let me add here that the reason it has the word "Chinese" is because the Shanghai Television Festival also presents awards for some overseas television series.

There is nothing strange about this; many high-value television festivals are like this, and foreign ones are the same.

Therefore, everyone believed that it was inevitable for Luo Mo to receive a Best Actor Nomination, but it was very likely he wouldn't be able to win the award, and then *Nirvana in Fire* would take home Best Television Series.

Winning both was unrealistic and impossible.

When the judges were weighing their options, their hearts were likely inclined toward giving *Nirvana in Fire* Best Television Series.

Because this honor belongs to the entire production crew.

And in this production crew, they are all Ox people.

Looking at these Actors, they have the seniority, they have the word-of-mouth, they have the strength, and they have the National Theatre of Huaxia backing them up.

Who could not be convinced?

But Luo Mo was different; this year was his first time competing for the Actor category awards at the White Rose.

Let me add here that the White Rose does not have a so-called Best Newcomer; this award does not exist.

Among the three major television awards, only the Golden Dragon Award has established a Best Newcomer.

Therefore, the *Sword Immortal* series that Luo Mo previously starred in had no connection to individual or Actor category awards.

He was the male lead and could only compete for Best Actor; he hadn't played a supporting male role.

Wang Rong stood on stage as a presenter, and he sincerely hoped that Luo Mo could take home Best Actor.

After all, he still had to collaborate with Luo Mo on a new movie; the more honor this person has and the more he stands in the spotlight, the stronger the Box Office Appeal of the movie will be when the time comes.

But Wang Rong also felt from the bottom of his heart: "The chance of winning this year isn't high; being able to get a Nomination is actually already very good."

"It's just a pity for *Nirvana in Fire*."

"To be able to serve as the lead in such a good drama and have an outstanding performance, it really is a bit of a pity."

"Luo Mo is indeed skilled at producing hits, but some hits... have nothing to do with winning awards."

In his view, if *Nirvana in Fire* were a work from this year, then after tempering his seniority for another year, Luo Mo would absolutely be able to sweep the field at next year's Shanghai Television Festival!

The White Rose has never had a Best Actor under 30; the youngest in history was 33.

How old was he?

He was only twenty-seven!

Many male Actors at this age have only just begun to stand out.

After building up enough suspense, the female presenter beside Wang Rong began to open the list of winners.

After opening it, her entire face revealed infinite surprise, and she handed the list to Wang Rong to see at the first opportunity.

After Wang Rong took a look, his mouth also opened slightly.

Presenters are supposed to play up the drama.

But even more so, the two of them were truly shocked!

After another full five seconds passed, the two of them spoke in unison into the microphone:

"The Shanghai Television Festival, the winner of the White Rose Best Actor is..."

"Luo Mo!" Wang Rong said loudly.

The scene did not erupt into thunderous applause instantly like before.

Instead, the applause was a bit sparse.

Some people applauded vigorously at the first moment, while others fell into a brief state of shock and forgot about applauding altogether.

After a while, the applause gradually grew louder and louder.

Luo Mo stood up, buttoned his suit jacket, gave Xu Chujing a vigorous Embrace, and walked onto the stage with long strides.

Shen Yinuo and Ding Xiaoyu, sitting in the front row, turned their heads in unison and applauded vigorously, clapping their palms until they were red, their faces wearing bright smiles.

Those who were close to Luo Mo, even if they were sitting further away, all stood up one after another, applauding and cheering loudly.

The other nominees, however, all had different expressions.

Everyone looked at his heroic Back Shadow, their hearts filled with myriad emotions.

"Twenty-seven years old, only twenty-seven years old."

"The youngest Best Actor in the history of the White Rose Award!"

"And he pushed the record forward by a full 6 years in one go!"

The spotlights inside the grand auditorium followed his figure the entire time.

Young and Promising, with boundless glory.

Crowned Emperor in a single stroke!

(PS: First update, seeking monthly votes to keep the top ten on the overall rankings!)

(End of this chapter)