Chapter 81

"I am very honored to announce that the winner of the Best Actress Award at the 31st Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Awards is—Shen Li!"

As soon as her name was announced, the stage lights quickly focused on her seat, the music turned rousing, and people on and off the stage applauded, casting countless envious and admiring glances over.

"Congratulations to Shen Li for her mature and nuanced performance in 'Detective Xie Huaixi,' where she solves one bizarre case after another, navigating the complexities of national duty and the balancing act between family and friendship. She shows us the ever-clear light within the seemingly treacherous heart of Xie Huaixi, perfectly showcasing his wisdom and resilience..."

The actors around her congratulated her. Shen Li lifted her skirt and stood up, thanking and hugging everyone. Then she walked steadily onto the stage, stood still, and a beam of light shone on her as she grasped the trophy.

"Thank you to the organizers of the Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Awards, the judges for giving me this honor, as well as to Xie Huaixi, and every member of the crew and behind-the-scenes staff."

Special thanks to Director Liu, Editor Wang, and the original author, Mr. Lu Gejue. Without them, there would be no such wonderful and chivalrous story.

I am grateful to my agent, Cheng Qingqing, who has been involved in the project from planning to filming, helped the crew with casting, and handled all my problems outside of filming. I am very grateful to her for everything along the way.

Finally, I want to say to my viewers who have followed and loved me, thank you. As an actor, I will not let myself down, nor will I let you down.

After finishing her acceptance speech, Shen Li raised the trophy, smiled confidently at the camera panning towards her.

#ShenLiMagnoliaBestActress#

#ChenLiLivesUpToExpectations#

#ShenLiFilmAndTelevisionGrandSlam#

#From now on, when mentioning Shen Li in major domestic awards, everyone should say "Second Prize"#

Tonight, her name dominated the trending topics list.

After the backstage interview ended, Shen Li picked up her phone and, as she and her team walked out, posted photos taken by the official team on Weibo. Then, she opened WeChat and made sure to share the good news with Luo Mingxiu.

The moment the message was sent, a video call invitation popped up on the other end.

Following the route planned by the organizers to the parking lot, there would be many reporters waiting. Shen Li gave Xiao Yu a look, telling her to take her team ahead to distract the media, while she herself would go through the side door of the inner venue via a small passage.

Once in the car, she immediately called back the video call.

The connection was established, and both sides spoke simultaneously: "You..."

"I..." they said in unison again, then stopped, looked at each other, and smiled.

Shen Li: "You say it."

“I just finished lunch and saw it trending on social media,” Luo Mingxiu said with a bright smile. “Congratulations, Best Actress.”

“Hmm,” Shen Li said with a smile, took the trophy and held it up to the camera. “Quick, touch it through the screen and get some of the good luck. I hope you can win Best Actor in the near future.”

"Wish me luck in my audition first," Luo Mingxiu obediently raised his other hand and touched the trophy on the screen. "To win Best Actor, I also need the winner's... lucky kiss."

Shen Li readily blew him a kiss.

“One isn’t enough,” Luo Mingxiu teased her.

After receiving her video call, he squatted down somewhere nearby. It was bright and sunny there, and people were walking around behind him. Shen Li rolled her eyes at him and put down the trophy: "Find a place where no one is around."

“Okay.” Luo Mingxiu stood up, walked quickly towards the RV, and looked at her expectantly after getting in.

Shen Li touched her lips with both hands a few times, making a continuous kissing motion. Luo Mingxiu covered his chest, pretending to be stunned by the flying kiss.

After a few rounds, Shen Li stopped this childish behavior: "Okay, be serious. It was your first day of audition. Did you communicate smoothly with the people over there?"

Luo Mingxiu: "Fortunately, the crew mostly speaks English, and there are few people who speak other languages. There are also translators on set."

"How's the director?"

"Mr. Weber was very serious during filming, but quite easygoing off-screen. We had lunch together just now and shared some of our off-screen experiences."

“Okay, communication is no problem abroad, everything can be resolved.” Footsteps came from outside the car. Shen Li glanced over and saw a group of people walk to the car. Xiao Yu and Cheng Qingqing were leading the way.

She opened the car door for them and said to the person on the other end of the screen, "I'm hanging up now. My team is here, and I have something to say to them. You can go do your thing too."

Seeing that she was about to hang up, Luo Mingxiu quickly moved his face closer and pouted as if he wanted a kiss.

Just then, Cheng Qingqing got into the car and sat next to her. She almost saw him like this, but luckily Shen Li quickly ended the call, and he went offline in embarrassment. She couldn't help but laugh.

Back home, Shen Li opened the chat interface again, pressed the voice button, and loudly sent a "Mua" as compensation.

In the days that followed, the two never had time to video chat again.

Tianye fulfilled its previous promise and gave Qingli the script for the second season of the Spring Festival movie, planning for the two companies to co-produce it. They also cast Sun Qi in the role.

Judging from the box office of the first season, the project is very profitable. Cheng Qingqing attaches great importance to it and plans to personally supervise the entire process as the producer. Shen Li is one of the producers and needs to participate in the casting before filming begins.

While she was extremely busy, another film approached her. It was directed by Xu Zhi, whom she had collaborated with before and who won the Best Director award at Cannes.

Shen Li felt a little regretful that "Breaking the Cocoon" didn't win a second Cannes Film Festival award, so when Director Xu contacted her, she agreed without hesitation.

So she started handling business and casting work while preparing for the new film. She and Luo Mingxiu were exchanging messages quite frequently, but the topics were all unrelated to the audition.

Xiaowen's work records are sent to her phone every day, which she can see, so there's no need to bring up work-related matters during her rest and relaxation time.

Actually, as long as she saw him persevering and working hard, she was satisfied regardless of whether he ultimately landed the role. Because no matter the outcome, the experience he gained from auditioning abroad was unique and irreplaceable.

Busy as I was, I didn't even notice that July had slipped by.

Seeing that the venue for her birthday event had been set up downstairs at the company building, Shen Li realized that tomorrow was the 17th.

She stopped to take a picture of her flower wall poster, admired it beautifully, and was about to send it to Luo Mingxiu when her finger stopped and switched to Xiaowen's chat box.

Looking through his work records, Luo Mingxiu's second round of auditions won't end until the 20th.

She miscalculated; she had thought he would be back in China before her birthday.

It seems Mr. Weber is indeed different from other directors; his working style is evident even in the auditions.

That's so slow.

What's strange is that Luo Mingxiu hasn't made any moves these past few days. If he can't come back, he should at least tell her, right? Is he just keeping quiet because she can see his work records? Or is he just too busy to tell her?

"Let's see if you make a sound at midnight tonight," Shen Li poked the puppy avatar and warned in a muffled voice, "If you don't send a message, you're finished."

At midnight, the notification sound kept ringing, and blessings poured in. Only when things quieted down did Chen Li peek out from under the covers, pick up her phone, and look at the pinned message first.

No red dot?!

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief; there really was no new information.

Okay, Luo Mingxiu.

Her anger surged, and Shen Li's finger hovered over the video call. She gritted her teeth and didn't call.

She put down her phone and went back to sleep.

Heartless.

Before he left the country, he said he didn't want to leave her and that he would miss her. How long has it been since he left? He even forgot her birthday.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He turned over and punched the pillow with his fist.

She didn't care about his blessing; she would still happily celebrate her birthday even without his words.

Early in the morning, the nanny van was parked in front of the villa.

Xiaoyu and her makeup artist brought over a branded dress, a gold beaded lace gown that shimmered subtly when worn, exuding both glamour and elegance.

This year's birthday celebration was much grander than in previous years. It wasn't just a simple team gathering, ordering a cake, and taking photos in the office. Instead, Cheng Qingqing personally organized the event, setting up the venue like a banquet.

All company staff are welcome to attend, as are representatives from other film and television companies and other prominent figures they have known for many years.

Having just won an award and achieved a new milestone in her life, Cheng Qingqing said she absolutely had to have a big celebration to mark the occasion.

As we entered Qingli's gate, the security guard stood tall and greeted us through the car window in a booming voice: "Happy birthday, Mr. Chen!"

Shen Li smiled and said thank you.

It's better at the company; everyone remembers her birthday, unlike someone else.

After unlocking her phone, Chen Li checked WeChat again, but there were still no messages.

She angrily turned off the screen and looked out the car window. The birthday party was starting at ten o'clock, and cars from outside the park were starting to drive in.

The greeters at the building entrance were all dressed and ready to go. Among them was a particularly tall and conspicuous gray dog ​​at the registration area, distributing gifts to the guests.

"Why is there someone dressed as a mascot among the greeters?" Shen Li asked Xiao Yu, turning her head. "The style is so unique, it's like an amusement park."

“Oh, that one—” Xiaoyu’s eyes darted around, “It was arranged by the delivery service company, and many of the customers brought children.”

"This company is quite humane." Shen Li nodded and didn't say anything more.

Upon arrival, the car door slowly opened, and a large dog stood outside. His mask had a grinning expression on it, making him look silly and憨厚 (honest and simple).

He bent down with his heavy body to greet Shen Li in a gentlemanly manner, and raised his hand to indicate that he wanted to help her down.

This must be another part of the company's plan to welcome the birthday person. Shen Li took the big dog's fluffy hand, and when she bent down to get out of the car, one side of her curly hair also touched his arm. The big dog moved a little closer.

Shen Li didn't notice. After she regained her balance, she let go of him and walked forward. A large hand grabbed her and led her to the registration area, guiding her to sign and collect small gifts.

"Huh?" Shen Li refused. "I have one too?"

The big dog nodded.

"I am the host, not a guest," Shen Li explained, wondering what was wrong with the greeter. Didn't she recognize her?

The big dog seemed not to understand, but still pulled her hand and stuffed the gift into her hand.

Helpless, Shen Li could only sign her name and take it away, giving it to Xiao Yu beside her.

"Aren't you going to open it and take a look?" Xiaoyu took the gift bag.

"Why did you take it apart?" Shen Li asked curiously. "I've already checked all the small gifts for the guests. That person probably made a mistake. I'll leave it with you first to see if any guests haven't received it yet."

Xiaoyu: "This should be extra..."

"If there's more, it's yours," Shen Li replied, her gaze already drifting forward. Before Xiao Yu could say anything, she greeted her, "President Song—"

"President Shen," Song Ting turned around and gave Shen Li a quick cheek hug, "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you for taking the time to come."

They hadn't been in much contact since their last meeting at the Song family's house. When Shen Li was scrolling through her WeChat contacts, she saw Song Ting and invited her on a whim. To her surprise, Song Ting actually came.

"Please come in," Shen Li said to Song Ting as they entered the banquet hall. She spotted Cheng Qingqing talking to someone ahead of her. "That's Cheng Qingqing, my agent and also the main person in charge of the company. President Song, let me introduce you to her."

“Okay.” Song Ting nodded and followed her.

The guests in their seats all looked in their direction. Everyone present knew that the heiress of the Song Group was also the current head of the company. However, they had never seen her interact with Shen Li before, so they assumed that the two had no cooperation. They were curious about the relationship between the two.

Cheng Qingqing, who was talking, heard some discussion and looked towards the door. She saw that the important person on the list had arrived, so she quickly went up to greet him: "Hello, President Song. Thank you so much. You are so busy, but you still came to attend Lili's birthday party. Come, sit here."

After seating Song Ting and her assistant, Cheng Qingqing specially called a staff member over to serve them. Then she pulled Shen Li aside and quietly asked, "You really invited President Song? When did you two become so close?"

“I didn’t expect it either. It was just that I went to her house with my mom for her birthday party last time, we exchanged a few words and added each other on WeChat,” Shen Li glanced over there, and Song Ting smiled back at her. She lowered her head and continued, “Her mom and my mom often see each other, so President Song must have come here to give us face for that reason.”

“Oh,” Cheng Qingqing nodded. “President Song seems quite easy to get along with. I’ll go and talk to her more. You can coordinate with the host and start the process. After that, chat with the representatives and directors for a while. It’ll be almost lunchtime.”

"Okay, you take good care of President Song for me." Shen Li walked to the center of the venue and was called on by the host to speak on stage.

After the interview, the lights dimmed, and ribbons and flower petals floated down from above. Everyone stood up and applauded, wishing her a happy birthday.

Just then, a food cart carrying cakes was pushed out from the crowd, and behind it appeared the big gray dog ​​with a cute, goofy face.

Why is it him again?

In the sweltering summer heat, how can anyone be expected to work in a mascot costume all morning? Doesn't it get hot?

As the car approached, the onlookers sang "Happy Birthday." Shen Li closed her eyes to make a wish, and when she opened them, the candlelight was shining directly on that massive gray figure.

She looked up and saw the big dog's canine teeth sticking out and its silly, happy expression through the flickering candlelight. In that instant, she thought of Luo Mingxiu.

Soon, the waiter came forward to cut the cake and distribute it to everyone, and the big dog silently turned away.

"Wait." Shen Li opened her mouth, but her voice was drowned out by the dispersing crowd. She immediately chased after them.

Is that Luo Mingxiu? Did he sneak back?

It was strange that the dog insisted on giving her a gift this morning; looking at her, her figure really resembles that guy.

"Wait a minute!" Shen Li shouted as she reached the door, and the big dog turned around instantly.

Seeing him standing there, still holding a gift that hadn't been handed out yet, Shen Li wasn't quite sure about her guess. What if he really was a waiter she didn't know? That would be too embarrassing.

But he remained silent and motionless, as if waiting for her to speak.

Never mind, Shen Li silently uttered his name: "Luo Mingxiu".

One, two, three, silently count to three before raising your eyes, and the person in front of you takes off their hood.

“Finally found it, Shen Li,” Luo Mingxiu smiled, his handsome face appearing somewhat gentle in the sunlight. The only flaw was that his neck was red, his hair was slightly damp, and sweat was beading on his forehead and nose.

"If it's any later, I'll get heatstroke."