Chapter 345 85 Flower's Love

The East China TV Festival Magnolia Award, as one of the three most influential awards in China's TV drama industry, has always been a benchmark in the industry since its establishment in 1986.

This trophy, which symbolizes the highest achievement in TV drama art, attracts countless film and television stars every year.

On June 10th, a night with bright lights, the backstage of the Magnolia Awards Ceremony was filled with stars.

In the crowd, Ma Sichun, who had just entered the entertainment industry, followed her aunt Jiang Wenli, who was the chairperson of this year's Magnolia Awards jury, and her eyes were unconsciously attracted by the beautiful figure not far away.

Today, Liu Shishi looks like a fairy walking out of a poetic painting, wearing a lavender haute couture dress, which is soft and dreamy.

"Aunt, her dress is so beautiful." Ma Sichun's eyes were sparkling and her voice was full of yearning. No woman can resist the charm of top luxury goods.

Jiang Wenli followed her niece's gaze and looked at Liu Shishi's clothes.

The dress was outlined with delicate lace, and the shoulders and chest were decorated with light floral patterns, just like violets blooming in spring.

Each bead shines like stars under the light, making the skin look even more jade-like and as clear and beautiful as an ink painting.

"This should be the new Gucci outfit she's endorsing, a new summer model for 2011 that hasn't been released yet." As a veteran in the entertainment industry, Jiang Wenli is a connoisseur of good goods.

"Gucci!" Ma Sichun exclaimed softly, "When will I be able to endorse a foreign luxury brand?"

"You should be more pragmatic and work hard to become a second-tier brand first, then become a close friend of the brand.

Before Liu Shishi endorsed Gucci, in the entire mainland entertainment industry, only the four actresses Shuang Bing were qualified to endorse foreign luxury brands.

This is one of the reasons why they are the pinnacle of all female stars. You have just debuted, so don’t aim too high.”

Jiang Wenli glanced at Ma Sichun. With her resources and connections, it would be no problem for her to help her niece get into the second-tier line. As for the first-tier line, she could only do her best and leave the rest to fate.

Ma Sichun nodded and saw a man of extraordinary bearing having a cordial conversation with Liu Shishi. No one around dared to disturb them and kept a proper distance.

"Aunt, who is that person who has been talking to Liu Shishi?"

"That's Mr. Li, the director of Donghai TV Station and president of Oriental Media Group." Jiang Wenli had an inexplicable look on her face, with a hint of regret in her heart.

Previously, the organizers of the Magnolia Awards had implicitly expressed that they hoped the jury would give the Best Actress award to Liu Shishi, but she went against the majority opinion and insisted on not choosing Liu Shishi.

Now thinking about it, it was indeed inappropriate. There is no wall that is impenetrable. If the news gets out and Liu Shishi gets to know about it, it will be very bad.

Nowadays, capital and resources are intertwined in the entertainment industry. Tengda Group has built a complete industrial chain from production, distribution to screening. Its influence is unmatched. It is simply a monster with a near monopoly in the entertainment industry.

Looking at the two people chatting and laughing not far away, Jiang Wenli sighed secretly. If she insisted for a moment, not only would she disagree with the organizer, but she might also offend the wife of the richest man. It was really unwise and she had to find a way to remedy the situation.

In another corner of the backstage, several popular female stars were also whispering about the focus of the night.

"Mimi, why didn't I see you say hello to Shishi just now?" Tang Yan covered her mouth and chuckled.

She attended the ceremony tonight on behalf of the crew of "The Three Daughters of the Xia Family". She looked sweet and lovely in a pink dress, but could not hide the shrewdness in her eyes.

Yang Mi glared at her best sister and complained inwardly: Even you, Tang Yan, a "silly and naive" girl, knows to avoid the spotlight of Sister One, so how could someone as smart as me get close to Liu Shishi and serve as a foil?

She subconsciously stroked her bright red off-shoulder dress. Although the carefully selected style was eye-catching enough under normal circumstances, it was obviously pale in comparison to Liu Shishi's Gucci haute couture dress that was as elegant as an orchid in a valley, and even looked a bit vulgar.

In the past, information dissemination was not well developed, and some ceremonies and red carpet shows in the entertainment industry were all based on media text reports, with at most one or two photos attached.

In today's Internet age, live broadcasts have become popular for major events, and the stars' every move is infinitely magnified by the camera. Netizens can see at a glance the imperfections in the female stars' manners and styling mistakes.

Tonight, Liu Shishi was like a banished immortal, the most dazzling presence in the whole audience. Any female star who got close to her would inevitably become a supporting role.

"Is Liu Shishi easy to get along with in private? Is her personality really as non-competitive as people say on the Internet?" Qi Wei, another leading actor of "The Three Daughters of the Xia Family", asked curiously. It was her first time to see Liu Shishi up close.

Yang Mi curled her lips, her tone a little bitter: "If you have a childhood sweetheart who is worth hundreds of billions, you can also be as detached as her."

Qi Wei nodded suddenly, and was extremely envious: "That's true, she really married well!"

Tang Yan felt sweet in her heart: "Why bother to compare with Liu Shishi? Everyone has their own destiny. We just need to live our own lives well."

Noticing her friend's strange expression, Yang Mi asked tentatively, "Are you really together with that Qiu Ze?"

"Yeah!" Tang Yan's cheeks flushed, "We have confirmed our relationship."

"I just don't understand, what do you like about Qiu Ze?" Yang Mi frowned.

How could that Taiwan actor with a bad reputation be worthy of Tang Yan! Could it be that the relationship between the good sisters in the play has continued outside the play?

"What's wrong with Ah Ze? People should be more realistic. Love like Shishi's is unique in the entertainment industry in decades!"

Tang Yan pouted, somewhat displeased that Yang Mi looked down on her boyfriend, then smiled mischievously, "Besides, aren't you also dating that Liu Kaiwei from Hong Kong..."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Yang Mi interrupted hurriedly, "He pursued me unilaterally, and I never agreed. How dare a nobody hit on me? I should at least find a first-tier star!"

Yang Mi raised her chin proudly, and couldn't help but think of the fairy-tale love between Liu Shishi and Song Ci.

Although she does not expect to marry into a wealthy family, she also feels that her future partner should at least be as successful as herself in career.

After all, in the entertainment industry, marriages where the woman is strong and the man is weak are never long-lasting.

"You're just being stubborn!" Tang Yan shook her head helplessly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes.

In this circle, first-tier male stars of the right age are rare, let alone someone as arrogant as Yang Mi.

Unlike female stars whose career fades after they reach 30, male stars’ careers may flourish only in their thirties.

Yang Mi is now in the golden period of love and marriage, but the single male stars who meet the requirements are either already married and have a career, or are nearly 40 years old.

Everyone has their own views on marriage and love. Yang Mi didn't want to dwell on this topic with Tang Yan. It wouldn't be too late to comfort this silly girl when she broke up with Qiu Ze one day.

So he changed the subject: "I heard that you accepted a role in Tangren's new drama "Xuanyuan Sword", playing a supporting role for Shishi?"

"What's the big deal about being a supporting role? With Shishi starring in the lead role, and Xuan-Yuan Sword being Lao Hu's last Xianxia drama, the ratings won't be bad just based on this gimmick."

Tang Yan shrugged indifferently. Now that Chentian Entertainment was going from bad to worse, she had to make plans for herself. As long as the script was suitable and the role was outstanding, what was wrong with being a supporting role for Yijie?

Besides, didn’t you, Yang Mi, also play a supporting role to Liu Shishi in the movie “Charlotte’s Troubles”? You are all the same. The second sister doesn’t laugh at the third sister.

Yang Mi casually played with her hair: "Tangren is best at this type of subject matter, maybe it will be another "Chinese Paladin III"!"

Tang Yan's originally careless gaze suddenly froze. Her best friend had just brushed her hair away from her forehead, which made her stunned for a while: "Mi Mi, have you taken on a lot of roles recently?"

"Yeah. What's wrong?" Yang Mi felt uncomfortable with the direct gazes from Tang Yan and Qi Wei.

"Mimi, you'd better not put too much pressure on yourself!" Tang Yan hesitated and chose her words carefully.

Qi Wei, on the other hand, said quickly: "Mi Mi, have you been losing a lot of hair recently? Pay more attention to your hairline. You are only in your twenties. You can't keep going like this."

When Yang Mi heard this, her heart trembled violently. She subconsciously touched her forehead and was suddenly shocked to find that her hairline had retreated a few inches without her noticing.

Seeing her friend looking flustered, Tang Yan quickly comforted her: "Mi Mi, don't work so hard later, take more rest!

I know a very good old Chinese doctor. Let her prescribe some medicine to help you recover. Your hair loss problem will be cured soon."

Qi Wei also expressed his concern: "I also know a few ancient recipes that are guaranteed to stabilize your receding hairline."

The two of them tried to calm Yang Mi's anxiety, until the staff came to remind her that it was the turn of the "Palace" crew to walk the red carpet. Only then did Yang Mi calm down, tidy up her appearance and enter the venue with the crew.

On the red carpet, crews from "Iron Pear Flower", "The Three Daughters of the Xia Family", "Three Kingdoms" and other dramas took turns to appear.

Soon it was time for the crew of "Du Lala's Promotion" to enter the venue. Liu Shishi breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to get rid of the endless social engagements and walk onto the red carpet side by side with her partner Tong Dawei.

"Walking towards us are Tong Dawei and Liu Shishi, the leading actors of 'Go Lala Go'. Welcome to the Magnolia Awards Ceremony."

As the voice announcement was made, Sister Yi lifted her skirt slightly, stepped up like a lotus, came to the signature wall, and stood quietly between light and shadow.

In an instant, the sounds of shutter clicks became one and the flash lights illuminated the entire night sky.

"Teacher Liu, congratulations on being nominated for the Best Actress at this year's Magnolia Awards." The female host congratulated enthusiastically, "Can you share your feelings at this moment?"

"Thank you for the jury's recognition of me. I will continue to work hard to present more excellent works to the audience." Liu Shishi smiled slightly. It was her first time to participate in such an authoritative award as the Magnolia Awards, and she was quite excited.

After the host said a few official words in the interview, the reporters in the audience were already eager to try and couldn't help asking questions.

This is the first time that Liu Shishi has appeared in public in China since she announced her marriage on Weibo in March. The media is full of curiosity about her married life with Song Ci.

"Senior Sister, where is Mr. Song?"

"Teacher Liu, I'm very curious, why did you and Mr. Song wait more than a year to officially announce your marriage?"

"It's said on the Internet that you and Mr. Song were childhood sweethearts. Is that true?"

"My husband is in Beijing. He should be home from get off work now. As for why we waited a year to announce the marriage, it was because I suddenly wanted to share this good news with everyone that day..."

Liu Shishi smiled brightly at the camera and the microphone in front of her, and calmly answered various questions from reporters.

"Teacher Tong, you have worked with Teacher Shishi before. What do you think of her?"

Tong Dawei, who had been treated as a transparent person, pursed his lips and showed a helpless expression.

The good news is that a reporter finally noticed him and asked him questions; the bad news is that the reporter's questions were still about Liu Shishi, so it would be better not to ask!

Tong Dawei thought for a moment and said, "In fact, Shishi has a generous personality in private and is very friendly to people around her. She looks soft and light, but in fact she is powerful. She has a tough heart under her gentle appearance."

After asking a few more questions, the reporters reluctantly let Liu Shishi enter the award ceremony venue.

The ceremony venue was packed, and Liu Shishi, as a nominee for Best Actress, was seated in the third row.

Before she had time to take a seat, Director Li, who was sitting in the fourth row and entered the venue first, enthusiastically introduced a group of leaders to her.

"This is the Optoelectronics Bureau... This is the Donghai City Government..."

After exchanging pleasantries with the leaders, Liu Shishi was finally able to take her seat. At this time, the rows of seats in the venue were already full, and the 17th Magnolia Award Ceremony was about to begin.

As the ceremony progressed, the Best Animation, Best Screenplay for a TV Movie, and the TV Movie Gold Award... award presenters were invited to the stage one by one, and the awards were announced one by one.

Soon it was time for the awards ceremony for the best popular actor and actress.

After the opening remarks by award presenters Hou Honglan and Ding Junhui, the female guest opened the list of winners in the red envelope amid much anticipation.

Hou Honglan glanced down at the list: "... The audience voted for the most popular actor, Wu Xiubo, with 24.15 million votes."

Male guest Ding Junhui followed closely and announced loudly: "The 17th... Magnolia audience voted for the most popular actress, Liu Shishi! She received 45.82 million votes! Congratulations to Liu Shishi!"

In an era where traffic is king, audience voting is simply a competition of popularity and attention.

It’s hard to say about male actors, but among the female actresses in the entertainment industry today, several 85 flowers are the well-deserved popular kings.

Liu Shishi, Yang Mi, Wang Luodan... Several leading figures of the 85 flowers, each of whom has more than 10 million fans on Weibo, are the first to enjoy the dividends of the traffic era ushered in by Internet giants.

Therefore, it was no surprise that the audience voted for the most popular actress.

Amidst warm applause, Liu Shishi and Wu Xiubo went on stage together to receive the award and delivered their acceptance speeches.

The award ceremony was in full swing, with the two hosts delivering witty remarks that livened up the atmosphere.

"The next announcement will be for the TV series with the highest click rate and the most attractive TV series. The names of the two award presenters are a strong guarantee of the click rate and attractiveness. Please welcome Zhang Jiayi, and please welcome Liu Shishi again."

Liu Shishi held the red envelope in her hand and took the stage for the second time. She looked elegant and said, "Good evening, everyone. I am very happy to present the awards with Teacher Zhang Jiayi."

Zhang Jiayi leaned slightly towards the microphone and glanced at Liu Shishi meaningfully: "When it comes to popularity, I don't have much say. Teacher Liu Shishi has 26 million fans on Weibo, which is amazing! And I don't have a Weibo account."

Liu Shishi was slightly stunned when she heard this. In this era dominated by social media, Weibo is the traffic base of the entertainment industry. It is indeed rare to find a celebrity who has not registered on Weibo.

(End of this chapter)