Chapter 73: Unexpected
After Li Sishi became the dark horse who won the Golden Melody Awards as a newcomer, a prize usually dominated by established stars, the announcement of the next Golden Melody Award winner immediately returned to Huo Gucheng, another superstar.
The following awards seemed to be pretty predictable, with familiar names coming and going. In the end, the major awards based on overall scores were divided up by the top stars: Shang Hanyou won the Gold Song Award, Ling Chen and Ye Shanyun won the Most Popular Male and Female Singers Award, and Hou Beihua and Tang Jingwen won the Most Popular Male and Female Singers in China Award...
Even though Li Sishi already knew perfectly well that this era was one where the brilliance of the four Heavenly Kings and several Heavenly Queens overshadowed everything, the feeling of actually sitting in the audience watching the applause on stage was indeed somewhat different from reading the records in black and white across time.
How to put it? It's like the lyrics of a song from later generations, "At eighteen, I stood like a lackey," which expresses both admiration and respect for the older generation, as well as the ambition and unwillingness of a newcomer.
But undeniably, this is an inevitable path for newcomers. From their mindset to their career path, they will be judged by both their abilities and their seniority.
However, this commercially hyped prosperity finally erupted into a long-suppressed backlash at the Chinese Golden Melody Awards ceremony not long afterward.
As the undisputed strongest newcomer and advertising goddess, Li Sishi once again won the Gold Award for Most Promising New Female Artist and the Silver Award for Best Chinese Advertising Song at the Chinese Golden Melody Awards. However, the other major awards became the battleground for fans.
Of course, perhaps those superstars, while prioritizing friendship, also harbored some competitive thoughts, especially Hou Beihua, who was quite concerned about winning or losing at that time. Rumor has it that he even tried to use his connections to garner votes, and somehow the news got out...
So, early morning fans, who were also part of the fiercest competition among idols with Hou Beihua, threw a glow stick onto the stage during his award-winning performance.
This glow stick, compared to the outrageous behavior of Lun Yongnan and Rong Juezhang's fans during their rivalry—scratching tires, throwing ghost money, and even resorting to real-life fights at the slightest provocation—was certainly "milder." Even though Hou Beihua wasn't actually hurt, this unexpected attempt to injure someone on the spot still stirred up a storm. Leaving aside the awkward situation between Hou Beihua and Ling Chen, whose seats were right next to each other, the two fan groups in the audience had already begun throwing glow sticks at each other…
In the end, it was Shang Hanyou, as the eldest brother, who stepped forward, based on his personal experience witnessing the actions of the Lun Yongnan and Rong Juezhang families.
The old story of fans fighting each other due to competition for media hype, combined with today's meaningless struggle, has prompted a serious and earnest admonition to everyone to pursue celebrities rationally.
After silencing the audience, Shang Hanyou pulled Hou Beihua and Ling Chen, who had been unwittingly dragged into the incident, along with Huo Gucheng, the fourth person who obediently stayed to the side and dared not move, to sing Lun Yongnan's classic hit "Friendship" together, bringing a warm and touching end to this pointless and meaningless turmoil.
Perhaps at this time they still had a vague competitive mentality, but it has to be said that the two years from the year these four were jointly crowned as Heavenly Kings to the end of this year was another peak for Hong Kong music and also the time when their friendship was at its best.
It will be extremely difficult to see them perform together again in the future.
Li Sishi clapped her hands vigorously from below the stage, her eyes filled with emotion and nostalgia—she didn't know what she was nostalgic for, but she knew just how complicated her feelings were at that moment.
Sitting next to her, Wu Shanluan, who won the Silver Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer, was also moved by the four-person duet on stage. However, he was unaware of the ins and outs of the Hong Kong music scene, and unlike Li Sishi, he didn't view the grand occasion with a forward-looking perspective. Therefore, his expression shifted between being moved and confused...
"We'll never see a scene like this again." Li Sishi said meaningfully, looking quite enigmatic, when she saw his bewildered expression.
Wu Shanluan nodded as if he understood, as if he could see the same look in Li Sishi from the anniversary celebration a while ago.
It's a contradictory feeling of seeing the bustling prosperity while vaguely recalling the collapse of a great building, inevitably leading to regret and sadness amidst sighs, and carrying an extremely alluring mystery that makes people stop and gaze.
Thinking of this, Wu Shanluan said in a low voice, "You gave me some inspiration during the anniversary celebration, so I have an idea for you to write a song for me... Is it okay to use it for the assignment my teacher gave me?"
He's almost finished composing that piece, though it's clear no one knows the source of his inspiration.
But if anyone asks him about it later, he'll have to explain why.
Ideally, this would be best done by getting the approval of the person who inspired you.
Looking at his serious expression, Li Sishi tried to recall his songs but couldn't find any memories.
However, considering that Luan Wushan's teacher was a famous composer...
Moreover, this was the homework he was going to hand in for the teacher's guidance. Even if a great teacher couldn't produce outstanding students, at least the students wouldn't be utterly terrible. Therefore, Li Sishi nodded slightly to express her understanding and gratitude: "No problem, thank you for your kind words."
"I should be thanking you." Relieved by the compliment, Wu Shanluan casually asked, "Is anyone coming to pick you up later?"
He just bought a really cool and stylish motorcycle. If he were to carry someone on the back for the first time, he should carry a beautiful and gentle woman like Li Sishi!
Li Sishi shook her head: "Thank you, but I'm sorry, I have an assistant to pick me up."
This child probably doesn't know that she's a darling of a wealthy family, with an assistant and a private nanny car arranged for her from a very young age.
After all, he's a homebody and comes from Taiwan, so he's not very familiar with the social circles in Hong Kong.
After the awards ceremony, she, being a newbie, wasn't as busy as the senior figures. She stood in a corner of the venue and had some photos taken by two junior reporters who couldn't squeeze into the interview circle of the superstars. Then she put on a warm coat and took small steps to walk outside to wait for the nanny car to pick her up.
As Li Sishi walked, she made a phone call to Zuo Lili, asking her to come pick her up from the nearby parking lot: "Hey Lili, yes, it's me. The awards ceremony is over. Can you come to the east gate of the hotel and pick me up?"
I'm sorry, Ah May.
"Sometime along the way, our car got a shard of glass stuck in it. I had planned to come back soon, but when I got on the car, I realized the tire was flat..." Zuo Lili's voice sounded a little anxious on the other end of the phone. "I called a tow truck to take the car to the garage for repairs, and it will probably take about half an hour to fix it..."
"That's alright, I'll wait for you here." Li Sishi smiled and comforted Zuo Lili before finding a spot next to a beautifully carved pillar to wait.
At the end of January, the port city finally brought the chill of winter. At night, the night wind made people feel the biting cold and desolate atmosphere of winter.
Although she is still young, she has experienced a lot of life's ups and downs, so she wanted to be both stylish and warm. She wore a long trench coat over her dress, which was enough to keep out the cold night wind.
I checked my watch; it'll be almost time.
Li Sishi held the phone while waiting, waving goodbye to many people along the way and politely declining some kind invitations: "My assistant will be here soon. You'd be taking a detour to give me a ride. Thank you for your kindness!"
Ye Shanyun, who had offered her a ride, gave her an understanding smile and waved to her: "I'll be going now. There are still a lot of people coming out. If you can't get a ride, find someone you know to hitch a ride with. Don't get into a car driven by a stranger."
This really worried her: although Li Sishi was an outstanding newcomer, she would not come of age until after the New Year this year, and the night was the easiest place for bad people to have bad intentions. If Li Sishi, this young girl, were to be targeted by those bad people without knowing what was going on, it would be an unbearable regret.
In particular, those rich men and playboys who have a particular fondness for targeting Miss Hong Kong contestants and up-and-coming actresses are the ones who love to offer so-called help when these young women are helpless. They then use an overwhelming financial offensive to win the hearts of naive girls and use it as bragging rights within their social circles.
These words, spoken as if to a child, moved Li Sishi to tears and made her laugh at the same time: "I understand..."
After waving goodbye to Ye Shanyun, Li Sishi received a call from Zuo Lili, who said that a problem had been discovered in one of the engines during the repair process, and it might take a long time to fix.
"It's okay, I'll wait and see if I can hail a taxi, or I can go to the bus stop not far ahead and wait for a bus." Li Sishi really wanted to take a bus or subway, before she was surrounded by people as soon as she went out.
"I'll try to find someone who can come pick you up over there..." Zuo Lili vaguely said this on the other end of the phone before hanging up.
Just as Li Sishi was standing next to the pillar, pondering whether she should take a taxi or hitch a ride back, a very cool motorcycle suddenly stopped beside her.
Then, the rider of the very cool and stylish motorcycle took off his helmet, revealing Wu Shanluan's deep-set face: "Didn't you say you had someone to pick you up?"
“It’s gone now, my car has a little problem…” Li Sishi smiled helplessly.
Wu Shanluan nodded, turned to the side and took out a similar helmet from behind, handing it to Li Sishi: "Get in the car."
The riders and motorcycles were both very stylish and cool, but on a cold winter night, it seemed that style and coolness were insignificant compared to the temperature...
Li Sishi pulled her trench coat tighter, still hesitating about whether to get on the motorcycle in the windy winter night, when another sports car drove up from the other side.
"Ah May, your assistant said they couldn't pick you up, so they called me and asked me to help out..." The driver rolled down the car window and gave a gentle smile.
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