The Best Newcomer Award at the Ying Shi Awards is just a small, insignificant award, yet its path to being presented has been exceptionally fraught with difficulties. The definition of "newcomer" remains unresolved to this day.
Is he a newcomer to the film industry? Or a newcomer to the entertainment industry? Does "newcomer" include age and experience? These are all debatable points.
Because the film industry has relatively high barriers to entry, it's difficult for newcomers to break through. The Best Newcomer Award at the Film Awards has long suffered from a shortage of qualified candidates, frequently resulting in no nominations or even nominations at all.
The Best Newcomer Award was not on this year's nomination list, and everyone, including Shang Yechu, subconsciously forgot about this minor award.
Shang Yechu herself had no idea what she said in her acceptance speech.
Strangely enough, when Shang Yechu watched the media replay afterward, she had no recollection of a single word spoken by the people in the footage. It was as if those words had been spoken by someone else in another world.
Shang Yechu's only memory was of the moment when Yang Zhi handed her the trophy and their hands gently intertwined.
At that moment, Shang Yechu felt Yang Zhi's body temperature and skin.
The other person's hand was warm, with smooth, elastic skin, like the skin that had just formed on a bowl of milk. Shang Yechu suddenly thought of Qi Ming's hands. Qi Ming's hands were rough, his fingertips calloused and wrinkled. When filming "The Mute Woman," there was even black dirt under his fingernails.
Qi Ming once jokingly remarked: "These are the hands of a maid."
If Qi Ming wins Best Actress, then the person presenting the award to her right now will be Teacher Qi Ming herself.
This thought gave Shang Yechu a foothold in this unreal world. She subconsciously looked down at the audience and saw Qi Ming clapping for her with the hands of a maid.
The world is still the same world.
Shang Yechu stepped off the stage, feeling dizzy and parched. The trophy she was carrying felt incredibly heavy, and her arms seemed to be aching.
She held this small honor in her arms, the first honor she had received in two lifetimes.
Shang Yechu didn't know how she got back to her seat, and even the host's encouraging words about creating new glories went in one ear and out the other. It wasn't until Qi Ming whispered a reminder in her ear that Shang Yechu realized the awards ceremony was over and the after-party was about to begin.
Ji Juntao was not qualified to attend the banquet, and Qi Ming also claimed to be unwell and left early.
Shang Yechu still remembered that she needed to get Shi Shan's autograph, so she stayed. As for Gu Wenhua, he was even more eager to exchange experiences with filmmakers from various countries, swimming into this sea of stars like a fish, almost forgetting all about home.
Park Se-jin's "Burning Flame" was a huge success, and he was surrounded by a group of directors and celebrities. They were chattering away in Korean, English, and some other language. Shang Yechu felt a little discouraged after just one glance.
Shang Yechu's English level is not good. Although he has memorized a lot of words, he has not practiced speaking much and is still at the level of being unable to speak English.
I've heard that anti-Chinese sentiment is even more severe in the South Korean entertainment industry, and Park Se-jin has the typical stern face of an old-school Chungmuro director. I wonder if he'll be secretly laughed at by people if he tries to strike up a conversation with them, speaking broken Chinglish?
Shang Yechu never minded showcasing her acting skills in front of others, because her acting was enough to shut up everyone who mocked her. But showing her weaknesses…
Shang Yechu was somewhat irritated. She hated herself for being so hopeless, and she also hated that Ji Juntao wasn't here. Ji Juntao never cared about other people's opinions; if she were here, she would definitely stride up to Park Se-jin and chat with these old guys.
Gu Wenhua got the contact information of several Hong Kong tour guides and was so excited that he was completely out of his mind. When he returned to Shang Yechu, he didn't even bother to talk to her and just kept fiddling with the business cards.
As Shang Yechu observed Gu Wenhua's excited expression, an idea suddenly popped into her mind.
"Xiao Gu," Shang Yechu tugged at Gu Wenhua's sleeve, "how's your spoken English?"
"Hmm?" Gu Wenhua looked up. "It's alright. What do you want to do?"
Shang Yechu pointed in Park Se-jin's direction and whispered, "Have you seen Director Park Se-jin?"
“Park Se-jin?” Gu Wenhua wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like his directing style; it’s too pretentious. To be honest, I think *Blazing Green* is…”
"Shh! Shh! Shh!" Shang Yechu caught a glimpse of a Hong Kong tour guide passing behind Gu Wenhua out of the corner of her eye, and tugged at Gu Wenhua with exasperation. They weren't the only two people in this area who could speak Chinese.
Gu Wenhua had no choice but to shut up: "You like his directing style?"
Shang Yechu shook her head: "I don't understand 'Blazing Green' at all."
Gu Wenhua suddenly became interested: "I know a little about this; it's actually a metaphor for ancient Korean history..."
"We'll talk about this when we get back." Shang Yechu patted herself down, only to realize with dismay that the dress had no pockets. "Do you have paper and a pen?"
"Oh, yes." Gu Wenhua rummaged around and only pulled out a few business cards.
Reluctant to use the business cards from the directors he had just received, Gu Wenhua pulled out one of his own and handed it to Shang Yechu: "Is this okay?"
Gu Wenhua is relatively low-key; his business card simply displays his name and contact information on the front, followed by a line of tiny, almost invisible text listing his representative work, "The Mute Woman." The back is completely blank.
There was no other choice now. Shang Yechu had originally put the autographed card in Qi Ming's pocket, but the old lady had already left, and they couldn't very well summon her back just for an autograph.
"This one will do." Shang Yechu pushed the business card back to Gu Wenhua. "Could you get Park Se-jin's autograph for me? Just sign it on the back of this business card. My English isn't very good."
“Of course,” Gu Wenhua agreed readily. “But don’t you dislike Park Se-jin?”
There was no point in hiding this from the other party, Shang Yechu said frankly, "It wasn't me, it was Shi Shan. He wanted one, so I got one for him."
Gu Wenhua stopped in his tracks: "...Would it be inappropriate to use my business card for Shi Shan's autograph?"
Shang Yechu shrugged: "Teacher Qi Ming took the autographed card. If you mind, I'll borrow one from someone else."
There were actually paper and pens in the banquet hall, but the material wasn't really suitable for use as a signature collection.
Gu Wenhua pursed her lips and took a step back: "Alright then. You wait for me here. But I'm not sure if Park Se-jin will agree, so don't get your hopes up too high."
Gu Wenhua left, looking back every few steps, with an air of resignation to his fate. Shang Yechu felt a little sorry for him: "Why don't you just forget about it? I'll go by myself!"
"No need," Gu Wenhua said in a muffled voice.
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