Chapter 23: Nomination
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
The moment Yun Xiangxiang appeared, she was sure to get a large number of votes. The attention paid to her would be phenomenal. She didn’t mind being a foil; at least the cameras would be on her. She wasn’t going to let the pair of shameless men snatch this great opportunity just like that.
“I see the soil even before I see the foil [1],” Fang Nanyuan sneered.
“Better soil than a pile of bull turd like you!” Wei Shanshan did not back off.
“Stop fighting, both of you! The three of you will walk in front later. Xiangxiang and I will walk behind you,” Zhou Wei came in at this moment. He was equally dashing, but his eyes were clear.
Nobody dared to speak after Zhou Wei’s orders. The procession of walking upon the red carpet was settled.
The audience paid a lot of attention to the ceremony. It was also a live broadcast. Zhou Wei repeatedly lectured them on the details since they were all first-timers in this. He brought Yun Xiangxiang not because he wanted to get all the eyes on him. He just didn’t want the three of them to fight over the procession. He was also worried about Yun Xiangxiang being nervous.
At the end of the day, Yun Xiangxiang was only sixteen. She had never experienced this kind of big event before. The other three were more or less experienced in front of the camera. They should be able to adapt even in the face of any mishaps. Also, it was obvious that the focus of their movie, “Caring Love” was Yun Xiangxiang. Zhou Wei could allow no mistakes to happen.
The venue of the live broadcast of the film festival was nicknamed “The Venue of Car Crash”. This was due to the fact that the stars who passed by would have their ugly side exposed. Flawed physique; oily face; rough skin. It was usually either one of those three.
Lots of female actors actually loathed the cameras of the film festival. The audience particularly loved to judge the actors’ appearance at this event though.
Their film’s performance was not bad. However, it paled in comparison to other films. It was impossible for them to walk in the opening procession. They couldn’t be the highlight either. They could only appear somewhere slightly after the middle spot. This point in time was very disadvantageous for them.
There would be a long period of plateau in the time after the climax of the opening. Coincidentally, their slot was the time when the audience was at their most exhausted. In other words, it was the moment when attention levels were at their lowest.
The audience didn’t even have the strength to roast them just around halfway through the procession. Most of the onscreen comments went like:
[This is so slow! Who the hell are those people? I’m at a loss the whole way through! I don’t even know half of them!]
[I wish I could fast forward! My idol hasn’t appeared yet! Hasn’t appeared yet! ]
[That woman is ugly. I saw some foundation on her white skirt. Who knows how much she applied on her face.]
[Heavens! Is that Lin Biao and the Lin Biao I know the same person?]
[Faster! I am already dozing off!]
Dusk was approaching now. It was finally their turn. Wei Shanshan held Yi Yan in one arm and Fang Nanyuan in the other and walked in front when the host mentioned the team for “Caring Love”. Yun Xiangxiang didn’t go arm in arm with Zhou Wei. Instead, she stood by him while holding an exquisite clutch bag.
Yun Xiangxiang’s appearance was like a light in a dark night. She immediately drew everyone’s eyeballs to her.
[Ah…! Beauty! She can actually be so beautiful under the magic mirror[2]! ]
[ Pretty! Pretty! *Licking the screen*.]
[The prettiest school belle Yun Xiangxiang. She’s a hundred times prettier than she was in the film!]
[That surprised my sleeping bug away.]
[Please go slower, pretty girl. Don’t wave, whoever you are. You’re blocking my view.]
The live venue was filled with waves of screams alongside those in front of their screens. Yun Xiangxiang was confident about her appearance. She kept her polite smile on all the time.
At this moment, Yun Xiangxiang, who was looking ahead, saw something falling from the wrist of the man walking in front of them after he finished waving to the crowd.
He seemed to be unaware of it. Currently, everyone’s attention was on her. Due to the lighting, the thing that fell on to the red carpet was not noticeable.
According to official mentions just now, he was supposed to be a friend from France. Yun Xiangxiang hesitated slightly before reminding the man.
It would seem sudden if she bent down and picked it up when she walked by later. The owner might have also left the venue by then. If she pretended not to see it, the item might be lost forever if the cleaning staff didn’t take notice of it.
“Monsieur!” Yun Xiangxiang raised her voice slightly. She called out to him in French.
The guy in front might not have a reaction if she were to use English. Her shout was drowned out by the cheers in the live venue. However, they quieted down when they noticed that Yun Xiangxiang opened her mouth.
Yun Xiangxiang seized this opportunity to call out to him again. The guy who walked to the end and was ready to dish out his signature turned his head around.
Yun Xiangxiang raised her wrist and showed it to him. She gestured to the place where the item lay quietly.
The guy noticed that his watch was missing now. He strode back to retrieve his missing watch. It seemed that this watch was very important to him. He didn’t care about the situation and backtracked. He wanted to give Yun Xiangxiang a passionate hug.
“Thank you so much, mademoiselle. This is a memento my father left me. It is very precious to me,” His hug was gentlemanly. Even his hands didn’t touch Yun Xiangxiang’s back. “I am Milles Ika. May I have the honor of knowing your name, mademoiselle?”
“Of course,” Yun Xiangxiang replied with a smile, “nuage.”
Yun Xiangxiang used the French pronunciation. It meant “cloud.”
“Cloud. I got that,” Milles waved at Yun Xiangxiang and strode to a signature board with a smile on his face.
The red carpet returned to normal quickly. However, the screams went an octave higher.
[Ahh…! French! French! My muse actually knows French! And she spoke so pleasantly! ]
[Top student! Top student Yang Qi! I love you!]
[I am her fan now. From now on, I will be a Cloud [3].]
[She could have made bank just by her face! Now she’s also talented? I wonder if I can restart my life if I went to the rooftop right now.]
No one expected Yun Xiangxiang to set off such a climax. The commotion she caused wasn’t small, compared to the bigshots in the opening and highlight slot.
Yun Xiangxiang went into the award venue and found her spot before asking Zhou Wei, “Who is Milles?”
“Seems to be a new director.”
Obviously Milles wasn’t really famous. Or else he wouldn’t have walked the red carpet at the same time as they did. Zhou Wei only knew him as a director. Yun Xiangxiang didn’t hear of him in her previous life.
In fact, Yun Xiangxiang thought that he was an actor. This was because Milles was very handsome. He looked like he was around thirty years old at a glance.
The award ceremony was starting soon. The hosts were well-known commentators and their exchange was full of wit. Yun Xiangxiang sat down there with a smile on her face at all times. She was like an obedient student looking at the stage with earnest. It wasn’t long before the guest was going to award the title for best female lead.
“Let us see the nominees for best female lead,” The guest turned his body slightly in the direction of the big screen behind him. He looked at the card on his hand, ” Sun Qiluo- “Chang’an,” Drinlla- “The Beauty Inside”, Fanny- “A Soul that Loves You”, and Yun Xiangxiang- ”Caring Love”! Congratulations to the four nominees!
Yun Xiangxiang was dumbfounded when she heard her name. One of the nominees was the best actress in China, and the other two were internationally famous actresses. She was just a nobody who just started!
[Hahahaha! She must be quite adorkable currently. She probably didn’t expect herself to be nominated! ]
[Gotta screenshot this. It’s so cute!]
[I want to pinch her face. My hands itch for it.]
[…]