Chapter 21
The accident involving top-tier actress Liu Qing quickly became a hot topic online, and after the police officially issued a notice, the popularity of the topic rose again.
The stalker had been following Liu Qing for a long time, and even rented a house next to the community where Liu Qing lived and set up a telescope to spy on her. He also sent her a large number of love letters with extreme words. Now he wants to hurt her so that she will no longer appear in public.
The problem of celebrity fans is a long-standing issue, and this time such a terrible incident occurred, sparking a heated discussion across the Internet.
Many fans have compiled many incidents of their idols encountering sasaeng fans, some celebrities have come out to talk about the impact of sasaeng fans on their lives, and some media have specially produced special topics related to sasaeng fans, which attracted widespread social attention for a while.
The internet was abuzz with the news for over a week before the heat gradually subsided.
At this time, apart from movie lovers who pay attention to major international film festivals every year, only Tongze fans still remember that a Chinese film participated in this year's Lake City Film Festival.
Two days before the closing ceremony, the crew of "The Painter" received an invitation letter from the organizing committee.
Yu Zheng was very excited.
"Receiving an invitation means we will definitely get a prize!"
The organizing committee will only send invitations to the winning crew to ensure that someone from the crew can come to receive the award. Of course, if people from other crews don't mind being runners-up, they can also attend, but they must apply in advance.
He Tong joked, "Can you attack Jinsong?"
Yu Zheng laughed out loud at his amusements. "I wouldn't dare to think about that. I know how much weight I hold. Although we're a dark horse, our competitors are also strong."
They have all seen highly competitive films, so naturally they have a basic idea of what they are like.
Yu Zheng continued, "There are several films with scores above 3 in the program book, and the highest score is 3.6. Conservatively, we can only get a Jury Nomination Award, and at best a Special Award. Even the Jury Grand Prix is unlikely. But you two have a good chance of winning the Newcomer Award."
Ye Yuze said nonchalantly, "I can't. The movie 'Anti Fragrance' I starred in before was shown all over the world."
Yu Zheng patted his forehead: "Yes, yes. Look at my memory."
He Tong shrugged: "Director Yu, you are too narrow-minded. People should have dreams. If you ask me, Brother Ye's performance is enough to impact Yinsong."
Yu Zheng smiled but said nothing. Acting wise, Ye Yuze had no problem vying for Best Actor, but winning the award sometimes required a bit of luck. International film festival juries come from many countries. While art knows no borders, people do have nationalities.
At this moment, He Tong's phone vibrated. He looked down, then looked up at Ye Yuze and said, "Reese asked if we were free. He and Hank are at a nearby restaurant and want to treat us to lunch."
Ye Yuze nodded.
Reese and Hank were in the tourist restaurant on the top floor of the nearby commercial building. He Tong and Ye Yuze walked directly there with their bodyguards.
When the two sides met, Reese's eyes were still a little red, obviously because he had been crying.
He Tong was startled: "What happened to Uncle Reis?"
By the way, the title of "uncle" was strongly requested by Reis, a fan of China. He claimed that he and Qin Zhi were like siblings, and insisted that He Tong, Ye Yuze and Fang Chen call him uncle.
Hank smiled helplessly: "I just finished watching your movie and I even cried while sitting here."
Reese smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I was busy and only came to see the movie now. You guys acted so well! After the official release, I'm going to book out the theater for all the designers in my studio to see it."
"Then we would like to thank you for your contribution to the box office."
He Tong answered while pulling out a chair for Ye Yuze, and then sat down himself.
The four of them were chatting and laughing and had just ordered their food when Hank's phone rang.
He apologized, stood up, and went to the side to answer the phone. Shortly afterwards, he returned and said apologetically, "Xiao He, Xiao Ye, I have an old friend who's a director. He heard I was having dinner with you and really wanted to come over and meet you. His name is Bei Jiaxiang, and he's Chinese from Country G. Or should I say, Chinese descent?"
He Tong was shocked and quickly agreed.
Bei Jiaxiang is an internationally renowned director. Although he has no intention of developing in the foreign film industry, it would be good to have the opportunity to meet him and establish a good relationship with him.
Hank didn't let them wait and ordered for Bei Jiaxiang, telling the waiter to serve the food first. It was obvious that he and the other party had a very close relationship.
Reese smiled and said, "Jiaxiang and we have been friends for over 20 years. His wife was Hank's college classmate. You don't have to be polite to him when he comes over later. He's just a nagging old man."
Bei Jiaxiang was probably nearby and came over quickly.
Unlike Reisfufu, who has a well-maintained figure, he has a beer belly like most middle-aged men, his hair is a little sparse, and he wears a loose sweatshirt and sweatpants.
After Hank introduced the two parties, Bei Jiaxiang opened up with a familiarity. As Reese had said, he was very talkative.
The conversation didn't involve movies, but rather a wide range of topics, eventually landing on traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting. Bei Jiaxiang had recently become very interested in the subject and was trying to learn it, while Reese was a fan of Chinese art, and Hank, influenced by Reese, also had a preference for it. For a while, the conversation struck a chord.
"There's an old Chinese saying that goes 'Those who are destined to meet will meet no matter how far apart they are.' It seems that I have a deep connection with you two young friends." Bei Jiaxiang laughed.
Reiss continued, "Yuze is indeed Master Qiao's grandson. I heard he grew up with Master Qiao. He must have been influenced by him since he was young."
Bei Jiaxiang was surprised: "Master Qiao? Which Master Qiao?"
Reis rolled his eyes at him. "You mentioned it yourself just now. It's Master Qiao Yulan, the master of both calligraphy and painting."
Ye Yuze said politely, "No, I only learned the basics from my grandmother."
Bei Jiaxiang looked him over and nodded in praise, "No wonder, no wonder, he has the aura of a young master who is unparalleled in the world."
"You're so kind."
Bei Jiaxiang happily took out his phone and said, "Come on, add me on WeChat. If I have any questions, I'll shamelessly bother you."
After adding Ye Yuze, he turned to He Tong and said, "Little He, come join us too. We can go archery together if we have the chance. There aren't many young people who like archery these days. They all go for guns. That brat of mine always laughs at me for not keeping up with the times."
He Tong smiled and replied, "Whenever you go to Yancheng, I promise to treat you to a good time at the Archery Hall."
"Okay, I'll remember what you said and I'll definitely come find you when the time comes."
The lunch lasted almost three hours before the few people who had a pleasant chat got up and left with a sense of reluctance.
It was not until they parted that Bei Jiaxiang patted He Tong and Ye Yuze on the shoulders and said casually, "I've been invited to present the awards at the closing ceremony the day after tomorrow. I hope to see you on stage."
He Tong smiled and said, "Thanks for your good wishes."
◇◆◇
The Lake City Film Festival closing ceremony is on Saturday, with the red carpet walk starting at 2 p.m.
Zhilei Video Network, which obtained the exclusive live broadcast rights early on, has been running advertisements on its homepage since early morning. Although it is late in China and it will probably take until the early morning to watch the award ceremony, there are still many netizens who are waiting for the live broadcast because the next day is a holiday.
I wonder if the "Painter" crew will get anything, or if they'll just be runners-up. [Didn't the media hear that the organizing committee sent them an invitation? So they'll definitely get a prize.] [Hopefully, this isn't fake news.]
[Why haven't they arrived yet? I want to see Zezi and Tongzi.]
【Guess if they will wear couple outfits again today? 】
[Can fans please shut up before we even get here? You're blocking my view of this beautiful woman!]
[You can turn off the barrage, thank you. Passersby can talk but fans can't?] [Don't make any noise. Everyone should respect each other and watch the show on their own. If you find the barrage annoying, just turn it off.] [We organized a support group! Although there aren't many people, only about ten, it's a thoughtful gesture.] [Oh, did you report this to the studio? The studio said not to support casually.] [We reported this, the studio even sent an assistant lady to coordinate. How thoughtful!] The "Painter" crew was ranked relatively far back this time and had to wait for a long time before it was finally their turn.
He Tong and Ye Yuze hugged Yu Zheng and walked onto the red carpet. This time, there were a lot more media taking pictures of them than at the opening ceremony. People on both sides of the red carpet kept asking them to stop and turn around.
When walking through the fan area, I heard a neat shout of "With you, I am with you" from the outside on one side.
The three of them turned around and saw the banner held up by the fans. The Chinese characters were very conspicuous among the many letters and words, and there were two cute Q-version figures with their heads leaning against each other next to the words.
When they saw them looking over, the fans stopped shouting and just excitedly waved the cheering signs in their hands.
He Tong waved at them and raised his hands to make a heart shape. The three of them then turned around and continued walking forward.
[My buddy even gave us a heart! So heartwarming! I'm so happy I almost fainted!] [Haha, Master Ze is as cool as ever.]
[Am I the only one who noticed they were wearing deluxe couple outfits?] [Isn't it the same outfit from the opening scene?]
[Of course they're different! They shimmer when they move, obviously because the fabric has reflective threads woven into it.] [Understated, yet beautiful, and full of dog food.]
Less than an hour after the cast of "The Painter" arrived and took their seats, the host took the stage. After a humorous opening speech, the award ceremony officially began.
The first half was about awards for other units, and after a short intermission, we finally arrived at the main competition unit.
The first award is Best New Actor.
When Yu Zheng heard the award presenter read out a foreign name, he looked at He Tong with some regret.
He Tong smiled and said softly: "It's nothing, I'm still young."
Yu Zheng laughed and shook his head. Really, he's only 19 this year, no need to rush.
The jury nominated another film. After receiving this award, Yu Zheng began to get nervous.
The result was exactly as he expected. When the jury's special award came up, the presenter called out "Painter." A clip from "Painter" began playing on the big screen, followed by the theme song.
Even though he had expected this, Yu Zheng was still very excited. He stood up, hugged He Tong on his right, then hugged He Tong and Ye Yuze through He Tong, and then hugged the producer and Fang Chen on his left before walking onto the stage.
At this time, the volume of barrage reached a peak.
【Special Jury Award! 】
[Sure, Painter!]
【Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! Hurry up and watch it! 】
[So excited! The kids' debut film actually won an international award!] [I'm such a fan of these amazing kids, it's worth it!]
After Yu Zheng finished his acceptance speech, he returned to his seat holding the trophy, holding it cherishedly in his arms, muttering, "I have to give it to Xingchen when I get back, I have to hold it for a while longer now", which made the people around him laugh.
Afterwards, everyone, whether they were the people at the scene or the fans watching the live broadcast, relaxed.
For a new director and a new lead actor, it is a very good achievement for such a new team to win a special award trophy.
At this time, no one thought that the following awards would have anything to do with "Painter" anymore, and everyone just wanted to join in the fun.
Except He Tong.
Best Screenplay Award, Best Actress Silver Pine Award...
Bei Jiaxiang walked onto the stage.
He Tong was slightly stunned, and then he paid more attention.
Bei Jiaxiang exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile before opening the envelope in his hand and taking a closer look.
He leaned closer to the microphone again and said, "At the 76th Lake City Film Festival, the winner of the Silver Pine Award for Best Actor is..."
He paused, raised his head and glanced down, his eyes stopping at one place.
"The star of 'The Painter', Ye Yuze. Congratulations!"
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