Before the cast of "The Mute Woman" walked the red carpet was the cast of "Burning Flame," led by renowned South Korean director Park Se-jin; following the "Mute Woman" cast was the cast of the local Hong Kong film "Night Stop." One film had a built-in fan base, while the other was a true local powerhouse.

"The Mute Woman" was caught in the middle, neither here nor there, in an awkward position. Although Ji Juntao hired a lot of online trolls to cheer for Shang Yechu and bribed several media outlets, it paled in comparison to the success of the "Blazing Green" crew and the subsequent "Night Stop Boat" crew.

Although Gu Wenhua was a novice, she also felt this huge sense of disparity. Subconsciously, she looked at Shang Yechu with some helplessness: "Yechu..."

"Smile at the media," Shang Yechu said calmly. "Don't make a fool of yourself."

Despite the lukewarm reception, Qi Ming remained in high spirits, waving and nodding to the media present, which stirred a pang of reluctance in Shang Yechu's heart.

Qi Ming and Gu Wenhua had never walked the red carpet and were unaware of this unspoken rule, but Shang Yechu knew it all too well.

Celebrities enjoy "film priority." Film, or roll of film, was a popular term in the film era. A star's beauty or charisma would prompt photographers to frantically press the shutter, consuming vast amounts of film – a practice known as "film murder." Although we've entered the digital age, this saying has persisted.

The opposite of murdering film is "silent murder".

Due to variations in clothing materials, lighting, and angles, different film crews cannot use the same shooting angles or methods. Therefore, film festival organizers often insert a lesser-known film crew onto the red carpet between two popular film crews, giving photographers time to adjust their shots in preparation for shooting the next popular film crew that will soon be walking the red carpet.

The crew of "The Mute Woman" was the one who was silently murdered.

The moment Shang Yechu saw the order of the list, he realized this.

To avoid upsetting others, Shang Yechu didn't reveal the matter. Ji Juntao had already done his best; Qingping Entertainment couldn't interfere with the Yingshi Film Festival, and Shang Yechu's status couldn't dictate the order of the red carpet.

Sure enough, after the "The Mute Woman" crew left, waves of cheers and filming sounds rang out again. Shang Yechu turned her head to look at Qi Ming's expression; the old lady was still in high spirits, seemingly unaffected at all.

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The awards ceremony has begun.

As an Asian award, the Film Awards lack the witty banter and jokes typical of Western film festivals. However, the Hong Kong entertainment industry is known for its sharp tongue and outspokenness, making it far from dull and uninteresting.

The host introduced this year's jury and reviewed Asian films from the past year. A dazzling array of montage short films appeared on the big screen.

The more important the award, the later it's presented. The first awards are naturally those with lower profiles, like Best Visual Effects and Best Music. These awards were practically monopolized by "Night Stop" and "The Plump Skinny Man."

Shang Yechu wasn't interested in these awards, but Gu Wenhua was very excited. A nomination for Best Editing wasn't a huge deal, but it would at least ensure the trip wasn't a complete failure.

After the Best Special Effects award was announced, the moment that Gu Wenhua had been eagerly anticipating finally arrived.

The winner of this year's Best Editing award is—

The host wouldn't keep you in suspense for such a small award. Even so, Gu Wenhua still felt that those few seconds were as long as an eternity.

"Gu Wenhua, 'The Mute Woman'!"