Chapter 16: Showing off one's skills in front of Guan Yu (a legendary Chinese martial arts master) – trying to break up a couple and dump them…

Since the entertainment awards ceremony aired, Zhu Qingzhi's reputation has gradually improved, and her previously shelved drama, "Little Chongshan," was quickly released online and performed well. As a result, she has been busy promoting the show every day and is quite exhausted.

As December drew to a close, invitations to various galas became increasingly frequent, and Zhu Qingzhi's schedule was packed.

Wen Qi's official duties are incredibly busy, often involving multiple trips in a row, so they only meet once every two or three days. However, their communication on WeChat has become much more frequent and familiar than before.

He always replied to her messages instantly, and he was always the first to like her updates on social media.

Anything she mentions in her posts, whether it's expensive clothing and jewelry, exquisite and cute trinkets, or even a chocolate cake she casually mentions, will always appear at her home within 24 hours.

On the other hand, the dating reality show that Chaoxing had previously finalized has been delayed. Dani asked about it several times, but Yang Qing always said that it was still in preparation. Over time, the matter faded from the schedule.

On Christmas Day, Zhu Qingzhi finished her promotional work and flew directly to Haicheng to attend the "Hai Chao Award" ceremony hosted by the Haicheng government.

The Hai Chao Awards, established in 2000, is a biennial awards ceremony and is considered quite prestigious. In recent years, to encourage the film and television industry to develop in a positive direction, some additional encouragement awards have also been established.

However, all awards for "Best" require the production team to submit applications in strict accordance with the standards, and they are selected by highly renowned artists in the industry. Their prestige is second only to the three major awards in the industry.

The nominees were announced five days in advance, and the crews of "Fengya" and "Xiaochongshan" were both nominated. This is also the first time Zhu Qingzhi has attended the Haichao Awards ceremony since her debut.

As expected, she first walked the red carpet with Shen Yaozhi under the name of the "Fengya" drama crew, and then walked it again with Song Linyuan under the name of "Xiaochongshan".

Having not worked at such a high intensity for a long time, Zhu Qingzhi was completely exhausted after walking the red carpet.

Today she was wearing a light blue fitted tulle dress, her skin was translucent and fair, and when the light shone on her, she looked like a tender pink pearl surrounded by flowing water.

It has to be said that even during the period when she was embroiled in scandals, Zhu Qingzhi's looks were still stunning, except for her haters, of course.

While waiting in the inner area, Shen Yaozhi and she sat together chatting to pass the time. The two were actually just gossiping, but to outsiders, they looked like a handsome man and a beautiful woman, creating a harmonious aesthetic.

"You're quite the secreter, aren't you? You got [Yunshuiyao] and kept it from me." Shen Yaozhi pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at her with a sneer.

"Don't you have any conscience?" Zhu Qingzhi didn't care to pay him any attention. "Didn't I tell you back then that I was about to turn my life around? Not at the entertainment awards ceremony, but a long time ago, I said it in the WeChat group."

Zhu Qingzhi, Shen Yaozhi, and several other friends in the industry have a WeChat group. They are all friends who met when they were just starting out, and they all have a good relationship.

Shen Yaozhi shrugged, looked over her shoulder at Song Linyuan not far away: "You two don't get along? I noticed you two were a bit awkward walking the red carpet together."

"It's not that it's bad, it's just that we're not very familiar with each other."

“I watched the previous promotional events, and he was quite proactive. Today he did seem a bit unusual. But your new drama has just started airing, so you should still be mindful of the impact,” Shen Yaozhi kindly reminded her, adding that they still needed to work hard during the promotional period.

"I know, I know."

"But Song Linyuan and Xiao Tang are from the same company, so remember to be careful, or you'll fall again."

Zhu Qingzhi sometimes felt that Shen Yaozhi should become a manager; with his dedication and attentiveness, he would definitely be a top-notch manager.

The two of them chatted casually, unaware of Xiao Tang standing not far away.

Xiao Tang was already unhappy since the entertainment awards ceremony aired, and when filming of "The Beauty" officially wrapped up ten days ago, its popularity didn't even reach the level of Zhu Qingzhi's new drama's premiere. She felt even worse.

She didn't understand, nor did she comprehend why she, who was clearly no less capable, was less popular than Zhu Qingzhi.

Zhu Qingzhi was caught in a media storm and almost couldn't recover, so how could she be so lucky to be chosen by Director Zheng and land the role in "The Knot"?

The jealousy in her eyes was about to ignite her completely, but she only dared to hide in a dim corner, because once she appeared under the spotlight, she had to maintain a pure and flawless aura.

"Xiao Tang".

A crisp female voice interrupted her twitching, and she immediately changed her expression and turned around: "Zhao Zhao."

It's Lu Yizhao. She's always been lukewarm in popularity, and not many companies are willing to sign her. At first, Chaoxing was somewhat willing to cooperate, but she was too picky and never agreed.

But ever since Zhu Qingzhi joined Chaoxing, Chaoxing has stopped paying attention to her. In the end, she had to pull several strings to get her contract transferred to Chaoxing yesterday, but because she is so obscure, not many people know about it.

What are you doing standing here?

Lu Yizhao and Xiao Tang have known each other for a long time and have a good relationship; they could perhaps be considered close friends in the industry.

But Xiao Tang knew in her heart that Lu Yizhao was praising her because she was the most famous actress around Lu Yizhao. Occasionally, they would have a meal together and label it as a close sisterhood, which would give Lu Yizhao's name a chance to appear on the trending searches.

"With people coming and going, I'm just getting some fresh air here." Xiao Tang always habitually revealed her fame to Lu Yizhao.

Lu Yizhao didn't pay attention and her gaze fell on Zhu Qingzhi. She noticed that besides Shen Yao, there was a group of people surrounding her, including Song Linyuan. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is Song Linyuan from your company close to her?"

"It's normal for them to get close since their new drama just started airing."

"Of course I know. But Song Linyuan works for your company. Don't you feel uncomfortable seeing them getting close?"

Aren't you and Zhu Qingzhi in the same company? Aren't you close to me too?

Xiao Tang was indeed angry, but what could she do? It was their promotional material; they couldn't just leave each other looking gloomy, could they?

"I get along quite well with her, there's no awkwardness or discomfort between us." Xiao Tang clenched her hands, forcing a harmless smile.

Lu Yizhao noticed that something was wrong with her, and with a slight smile, he stopped there.

Zhu Qingzhi didn't expect so many colleagues to appear around her. She and Shen Yaozhi had been playing on their phones, but as more and more people came over, she had no choice but to put her phone away and join the conversation.

Song Linyuan arrived at this time.

"What are you talking about?" He patted Shen Yaozhi's back familiarly.

Shen Yaozhi never had a good impression of such overly familiar people, but considering that this was a public occasion, he simply raised his shoulder and said, "We didn't talk about anything."

Song Linyuan seemed oblivious to his resistance, hooking his arm around his shoulder and leaning closer, saying in a very soft voice, "Qingzhi and I are in the promotional period, could you please give us a seat?"

As soon as he said this, Shen Yaozhi's face instantly frosted over. The few people who had been surrounding them dispersed in twos and threes when they saw that things were not going well.

Zhu Qingzhi wasn't comfortable with what she heard either. She stood up, turned around and left. After taking a couple of steps, she turned back and called to Shen Yaozhi.

Her gaze toward Song Linyuan was filled with undisguised contempt.

Song Linyuan stood there, touching his nose, his eyes smiling, showing no sign of being embarrassed. His smile even had a hint of provocation, as if to say, "If you're so capable, then don't come on stage with me later."

Shen Yaozhi's guess was indeed correct; something was definitely amiss when things were out of the ordinary, and Song Linyuan was indeed no good.

"Be careful when you go on stage with him later. He probably wants to break up the couple and might even try to pin the blame on you." Shen Yaozhi didn't mince words and bluntly pointed out Song Linyuan's thoughts.

He brushed the shoulder that Song Linyuan had touched. If there were time and space available, Zhu Qingzhi thought he would definitely go back and take three showers and change his clothes.

*

As the gala began, the organizers learned from the experience of the entertainment awards ceremony. Zhu Qingzhi and Xiao Tang were seated six people apart, but Shen Yaozhi and Song Linyuan sat to Zhu Qingzhi's left and right respectively.

Shen Yaozhi has a somewhat devilishly handsome appearance, but because he doesn't like to reveal his personal emotions, his ascetic and aloof temperament is particularly prominent. Song Linyuan, on the other hand, has a more upright appearance, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, making him a quintessential Chinese handsome man.

The organizer's arrangement makes it as convenient as possible for drama fans to ship the couples, and it's also pleasing to the eyes of casual viewers.

The broadcast of "Fengya" was affected by the public opinion surrounding Zhu Qingzhi, and the subsequent viewership was not very high. Recently, the word-of-mouth has improved, and the online viewership has increased. There are many more fans of the drama than when it was presented at the entertainment awards ceremony.

However, it's not nearly as popular as the number of views for "Xiao Chongshan," so there are more people commenting "Xiao Chongshan" in the real-time bullet comments.

Zhu Qingzhi has always maintained a very proper attitude towards business, adhering to the principle of treating everyone equally and fairly.

Originally, she intended to be a little cold towards Song Linyuan because of his impure intentions, but Shen Yaozhi's words reminded her that since Song Linyuan wanted to push the blame for purification onto her, why should she let him have his way?

So whenever she looked at Song Linyuan, even if she was cursing him in her heart, she would still be smiling on her face, because as long as she had the mentality of "I'll disgust you to death!", she could still endure it.

This kind of facial expression control continued until the cast of "Little Chongshan" came on stage.

Before going on stage, Shen Yaozhi leaned back slightly. Through their years of tacit understanding, he was silently telling her: a tough battle was about to begin.

When the two went on stage, Song Linyuan deliberately stayed behind her, bending down to lift her dress, being very gentlemanly. This continued until he gave his acceptance speech, when his true nature was revealed.

"Qingzhi is an excellent actress, and I enjoyed working with her. But I have a question for you today, and I wonder if you would be willing to answer it?" He glanced at Zhu Qingzhi, a glint of light in his eyes.

...Brother, please don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, okay? And please promise me you won't use such old tricks again, okay?

She smiled, leaned forward, and spoke into the standing microphone, her voice lively and playful: "I don't want to."

I'm not going to take this lying down. Let's see what you do then.

Zhu Qingzhi spoke with an ambiguous expression. Whether people thought she was joking or genuinely not cooperating, the decision was ultimately up to Song Linyuan.

The host thought she was being sarcastic, so he added, "It seems that the two of you are having a really good time working together."

This matched Song Linyuan's comment, which was a bit funny. The audience burst into laughter, and some even whistled.

Shen Yaozhi couldn't hold back either, unable to suppress his uniquely charming and wicked aura. That fleeting smile was immediately turned into a GIF and uploaded to the internet. Subsequently, the topic of "[The CP between Zhiji and Bi is real]" became the first to gain popularity among the countless topics at the event.

Song Linyuan on stage laughed along, holding the trophy to his face with a helpless expression: "What I want to say is that we picked up the wrong trophies."

It turned out to be a misunderstanding, and the audience erupted in even louder laughter than before.

Zhu Qingzhi knew perfectly well how this blunder had happened. The trophy had already been placed on the stage; Song Linyuan had just snatched it from her first, so this whole misunderstanding was staged.

Zhu Qingzhi didn't miss this opportunity either. She looked at Song Linyuan and said, "So that's the question. Of course, I'm willing to answer it. Why don't you ask it again now?"

Taking the initiative, she directly threw the question back at Song Linyuan.

The people in the audience were all smiles, their previous fatigue from waiting completely gone, and they were all looking forward to what would happen next.

Song Linyuan had taken the wrong trophy as a backup plan. Since Zhu Qingzhi hadn't responded, he used this question to replace the one he originally intended to ask.

But now that he has given up on purification, he didn't expect Zhu Qingzhi to be so persistent.

The host, oblivious to the undercurrents between them, genuinely believed they had a good relationship, and thus added fuel to the fire: "I'm actually quite curious, what question does Lin Yuan want to ask?"

A note from the author:

----------------------

Kiyoshi [Sunglasses]: Watch this!

Yaozhi [eating melon]: Gold Medal Support.

Wen Qi [Lemon]: Hmm? (Where am I?)

Author: I'm here to help!

Creative way to do it! [Pity][Flattery]