Chapter One: The Awards Ceremony
At the Taiyuan Theater, the highest-level theater in the capital, the annual Golden Phoenix Awards ceremony, a top-notch film event that attracts attention throughout China, is being held as scheduled.
"Please welcome our award presenters, Xu Hui and Ren Yuchen, to present us with the Golden Phoenix Award for Best Actor!"
Accompanied by the male host's loud voice, Xu Hui took Ren Yuchen's arm and they slowly walked to the front of the stage together.
Xu Hui is a legendary figure in Chinese cinema, with countless classic films to her name. Although she is now in her sixties, she is still well-maintained and has an outstanding temperament.
Ren Yuchen, with his exquisite features, thin lips and a faint smile, wore a custom-made ivory tuxedo with a dark bow tie and black trousers, looking impeccably dressed and exuding elegance in every gesture.
He debuted as a member of a boy band in his early years. After the group disbanded, he pursued an acting career and won the Best Actor award twice in just a few years. Recently, there have been rumors that he will be developing his career in the film industry.
The audience erupted in applause, especially in the second-floor seats, where Ren Yuchen's appearance sparked a small climax.
Meng Fanxi was sitting in the third row tonight with the cast of "Simple Little Things". He has been in the industry for more than ten years. Although this is not his first time attending such an awards ceremony, he has always used his company's quota to sit in the last few rows to watch.
This is the first time I've officially sat in the front row as a nominee.
Meng Fanxi got the role in the movie "Simple Little Things" after six rounds of auditions. Director Han Jinze originally auditioned at various film academies, hoping to find an unknown newcomer to play the role, but the results were not good.
They then expanded the audition scope, and all the male actors in the industry who had acting skills but low popularity received audition invitations, including Meng Fanxi.
For the first time, Meng Fanxi was grateful for his status as an "18th-tier" actor. He immediately seized the opportunity, overcame numerous obstacles, and finally sat in this hall of fame.
Since the front row was easily captured by the camera, he maintained a polite smile at all times. Watching the two people on stage giving their award speeches, he casually glanced at the outstanding figure in the second row.
The man was tall with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His well-proportioned figure was perfectly showcased in a sharp dark striped suit with a satin shirt underneath. Not to mention his sculpted, handsome face. As soon as he entered the venue with the crew of "South City", he caused a series of screams.
Gu Huailang, even his name sounds exceptionally pleasant.
He was nominated for Best Actor tonight along with Meng Fanxi. This wasn't his first nomination. He sat calmly in his seat, and from Meng Fanxi's perspective, all he could see was his handsome profile with his head slightly raised and focused expression.
For a fleeting moment, Meng Fanxi selfishly hoped to see the other person's displeasure at the award presenter.
Because of Gu Huailang's other label—Ren Yuchen's former teammate.
Many years ago, Ren Yuchen and Gu Huailang's group suddenly appeared, named after the company VIER. With the planning and background of VIER, they attracted countless eyes as soon as they debuted.
Unfortunately, the popularity of the five-member group was concentrated on only three members. With subsequent personnel changes, the already meager group fans disappeared without a trace, and tensions arose between the fans of the popular members.
The well-known infighting between solo fans and anti-fans, as well as internal discord among the members that Meng Fanxi himself heard about within the industry, ultimately led to the group's disbandment after only three years since its debut.
From then on, even though they still belonged to the Will Company, they were never seen together again.
In recent years, the popular members of the original group have risen to the top of the industry, and the fan base has also been updated. The desire to see them reunite has become the mainstream topic.
Meng Fanxi was well aware of the industry's internal rules. Even the most authoritative Golden Phoenix Awards were happy to create a few popular topics to increase the award ceremony's buzz.
Therefore, Meng Fanxi's first reaction upon seeing Ren Yuchen was that something was wrong.
Judging from external factors such as the popularity and public recognition of the nominated films, he is already at a disadvantage among the candidates.
When Ren Yuchen was the award presenter, especially when one of the candidates had close ties with him, the level of discussion between the two was self-evident.
If the Golden Phoenix Awards are determined to create exciting highlights in the last few major awards, they can only do so by either surprising the winners, having Ren Yuchen present the award to Gu Huailang, or by making an unexpected and conventional selection.
However, in terms of acting skills alone, Gu Huailang also has a great chance of winning.
Meng Fanxi wasn't the only one who noticed this; some excited audience members had already started chanting Ren Yuchen and Gu Huailang's names. The noise gradually subsided after the staff stopped them.
On stage, the conversation between the award presenters had ended at some point, and a video clip of the nominees for Best Actor was played.
The first scene is Qin Sa's "The Last Moment," in which he plays an old detective who, before retiring, is determined to solve a murder case that occurred many years ago. The candidate scene is his monologue as he sits alone by the river at night.
The second act is Li Jiangran's "Hello, Sunshine," in which he plays a student who, due to a stutter, has faced discrimination since childhood. At the very spot where he intends to end his life, he unexpectedly saves someone, thus achieving salvation and self-redemption. The candidate scene is a moment where he bravely fights back against discrimination when he faces it again.
The third act is Wang Nuofeng's "Leaving the Barren Planet," in which he plays a prisoner exiled to a barren planet by the interstellar court, who plots for years on the planet and ultimately regains his innocence. The candidate scene is his silent performance as he finally leaves the barren planet in his spaceship.
The fourth act is Gu Huailang's "South City," in which Gu Huailang plays a vengeful outsider who, under an assumed name, becomes a gardener in the home of a powerful figure in South City. He gradually draws his enemies into a survival game he has created, forcing them to reveal their true natures and kill each other before he himself sinks into an unknown lake in South City. A potential scene is him looking down at the last surviving enemy.
Finally, there's Meng Fanxi's "Simple Little Things," which tells the story of an unemployed young man, played by Meng Fanxi, who suddenly gains the superpower to turn things into gold, triggering a series of chain events. The recommended scene is his breakdown, desperately begging God to let him return to being a normal person.
There were cheers and applause for each scene, but it was clear that the cheers were the loudest when Gu Huailang appeared.
Then, the screen switched to shots of the candidates. Even though Meng Fanxi had a bad feeling, she still had to show her best acting skills and control her facial expressions.
On stage, Ren Yuchen graciously indicated that Xu Hui would announce the list of winners.
Xu Hui took the envelope containing the list, solemnly opened it, took out the card inside, and began to read: "The 66th China Film Golden Phoenix Award is awarded to..."
She paused deliberately, pushing the tension in the room to its peak.
For some reason, Meng Fanxi's gaze lingered on Gu Huailang in the candidate list on the screen.
Gu Huailang appeared calm and composed. His strong features accentuated his powerful aura and sense of distance, and there was not a single flaw in his expression.
Later, when Meng Fanxi recalled the scene again, he only remembered that those few seconds were too long, so long that his mind was filled with all sorts of speculations.
Will there be any upsets in the awards?
Could Ren Yuchen and Gu Huailang have been the main characters in that fight back then?
So it's impossible for them to share the stage?
Is there even the slightest possibility that I might win the award?
So long that Meng Fanxi had forgotten how to manage her facial expressions.
Xu Hui's clear voice immediately brought Meng Fanxi back to reality.
"Gu Huailang of 'South City'! Congratulations!"
Cheers erupted throughout the venue, especially when Gu Huailang stood up and walked step by step toward the stage, and Ren Yuchen watched with a smile and applause. At that moment, the audience burst into the most excited screams since the start of the ceremony.
The background music also changed to VIER's debut song to fit the occasion.
Meng Fanxi even heard the sound of people around him crying uncontrollably.
Gu Huailang walked onto the stage to receive the award. Xu Hui presented the certificate to Gu Huailang and then stepped aside with a smile. The two, who were the focus of attention on the stage, looked at each other for a moment and both showed genuine smiles.
Ren Yuchen presented the trophy to Gu Huailang and opened his arms first. Gu Huailang immediately responded, and the two hugged tightly.
This scene was later hailed as one of the most classic moments of this year's Golden Phoenix Awards.
The cheers at the scene reached their peak at this moment.
Looking at the two people on the stage, Meng Fanxi felt a mix of emotions. He mechanically stood up and applauded like everyone else around him.
He knew, of course, that being nominated was a great honor. Even laymen could tell who had a higher chance of winning, let alone someone like him who had been working in the industry for many years.
However, in this magnificent hall, where the most outstanding talents in China's entertainment industry gather and the burning gaze of the whole country and even the world, no one can help but feel ambition and greed.
Gu Huailang's acceptance speech wasn't too long. After thanking a string of names, he mentioned his former band, which was a rare occurrence for him.
"...Thank you again to my fans, thank you for your support."
"I also want to thank my group VIER, and thank every member of it."
We have different personalities, but we share the same passion. We've failed and been frustrated, but we've never compromised.
"Although we are now scattered in different fields, everyone has never stopped working hard. Thank you for giving me those three unique years."
With her superb delivery of lines, her magnetic voice resonated throughout the theater for a long time.
If being a runner-up in an award meant Meng Fanxi tasted the bitterness of shattered hopes, then...
His final words were like countless silver needles, piercing his heart with pain and despair.
Meng Fanxi knew, of course, what those three years at VIER were like, and he couldn't help but think of himself during that time.
He was jealous, jealous of Gu Huailang's award, and jealous that Gu Huailang would have another three years.
After the awards ceremony, the organizers held a celebration banquet to mark the successful conclusion of the event, and all industry professionals present were invited.
Meng Fanxi was in a bad mood. After staying at the celebration banquet for a while, she made an excuse that she had a schedule the next day and left with her agent Xu Jun.
He scrolled through his phone in the car. Major news websites were reporting on the final winners of this year's Golden Phoenix Awards. The focus of the reports was undoubtedly on Gu Huailang winning the Best Actor award and appearing in the same frame as Ren Yuchen, their "epic hug," and other such scenes.
These scenes were also reported on foreign websites and trended in many countries around the world.
The topic of trending searches on social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin was also flooded with posts, with topics such as "Ren and Gu meet at the peak", "Gu Huailang and Ren Yuchen reunite after many years" and "VIER's youth is back" remaining highly popular.
Being the same age, Gu Huailang and Ren Yuchen enjoyed the attention of millions of people, and were even more surrounded by admirers at the celebration banquet.
Meng Fanxi could only sigh silently as he looked out the window from the car.
He has always had bad luck. In the past, even those who were shortlisted but did not win would still get some attention.
Now, with Ren and Gu appearing together, everyone's attention is focused on them, and a few days later, no one will care about him, the nominee who didn't win the award.
The streetlights flashing past the window reminded Meng Fanxi of his trainee days.
Every time I practiced until late at night, the only companion on my way back to the dormitory was the streetlight.
On those confusing nights, he would naively imagine the faint light from the streetlights as his own insignificant dreams.
Wanting to form a group, wanting to debut, wanting to be popular, wanting to win awards... it's as if every time you walk past a street lamp, you get one step closer to your dream.
Now it seems that each "streetlight" is too far apart.
Unable to form a group, he switched to acting.
But the threshold for becoming an actor is just as high as it is for a trainee with no reputation.
He went from playing minor supporting roles to major supporting roles. Even with the backing of Baihe Company, he was able to star in some low-budget films. However, these films were mostly based on exaggerated and melodramatic themes, and some of them were never even released. Most of them ended up gathering dust in the video website's library, with pitifully low viewership.
I finally got the audition opportunity for "Simple Little Things," thinking that if I could seize this opportunity, I could turn my career around, but the result was still the same...
How many more years will he have to live?
A note from the author:
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