Chapter 573 Shocking (5000-word long chapter ~ Happy National Day!) The long and tedious social banquet ended, and the awards ceremony finally began.
Sitting in the prime spot inside, the sense of unreality grew even stronger. Shang Yechu felt as if she were floating on clouds; the lights, the costumes, the audience, the familiar yet unfamiliar faces around her, and the occasional scrutinizing glances all made her feel like she was in a dream.
As a child, I longed for the cakes in the shop window, but my parents wouldn't buy them for me. Later, when I earned my own money and bought some, they weren't nearly as sweet as I'd imagined.
The host was witty and engaging on stage, but Shang Yechu kept drifting off into thought. She was thinking about *The Heavenly Emperor*, *The Legend of Happiness Street*, Jian Xiaojun, Yu Bei…
The awards were presented first in the variety show, documentary, and animation categories. Xue Haodong, sitting behind Shang Yechu, yawned.
Li Kui whispered to Shang Yechu, "When will this end? I'm hungry."
“I’m hungry too,” Shang Yechu said. “I don’t know either.”
The Best Supporting Actor award went to "The Half of Heaven" as expected.
The cameras all focused on Xue Haodong, who was past the age of beaming with surprise. He calmly waved and thanked the media, then walked confidently onto the stage to accept his award. Li Kui exclaimed in astonishment, "Didn't he just yawn three times?"
"An actor's self-cultivation," Shang Yechu said, covering her mouth. What she didn't tell Li Kui was that she had already rehearsed her expression when accepting the award. Three parts surprise, three parts joy, and one part honor should be enough.
Next came the Best Screenplay and Best Director awards, which, unsurprisingly, went to Zheng Bohan and Xu Hanwen. Shang Yechu carefully observed the expressions of everyone present; judging from their expressions, no one was surprised by the result.
The award was presented to Zheng Bohan by a veteran in the industry. As Zheng accepted the award, he chuckled and said, "Oh dear, is this the third or fourth time that Lao Zheng has received an award from me?"
When the director and screenwriter accepted their awards, the cast and crew of "Half a Sky" gave them a warm round of applause, all looking proud. At first glance, it seemed like the most harmonious crew imaginable. Considering the rumors of Ye Chu's good relationship with Xu and Zheng, Shang Ye Chu even put on a little effort, managing to create faint red circles under her eyes.
Just as the camera focused on Xu and Zheng on the stage, Shang Yechu suddenly heard a rustling sound. Turning her head, she saw Qin Tianye, who was crouching down as he walked over.
The casts of "Half a Sky" and "The Tale of Clouds" were seated together. However, there were two seats between Qin Tianye and Shang Yechu, one each held by Zheng Bohan and Xu Hanwen. Now that the two had gone up on stage to receive their awards, the seats were empty.
Qin Tianye was very cautious. He did not sit directly next to Shang Yechu, but sat down in a seat with an empty seat between them to avoid being photographed and used as a story by reporters.
This behavior made Shang Yechu's heart skip a beat. Why would Qin Tianye be willing to take such a big risk to come here? There was no need to even think about it.
Sure enough, Qin Tianye said in a low voice, "Ye Chu, I didn't mean to trouble you, it's just..."
"Teacher Qin, just ask whatever you want," Shang Yechu said, covering her mouth. "But I may not know more than you do."
Sure enough, Qin Tianye asked, "Do you know how Su Ge is doing?"
Another shot cut to her face, and Shang Yechu quickly maintained her expression, saying in a low voice, "You asked me the question I knew the least right away."
Qin Tianye was even more surprised than her: "You didn't know either?"
Seeing that Shang Yechu's expression was off, Qin Tianye quickly tried to cover it up, saying, "Sorry, I saw that she listened to you a lot on set, so I thought you were her...that..."
Shang Yechu guessed that he probably wanted to say something like "dog-headed strategist" or "love strategist," but he held it back out of politeness.
Uncle Qin was embarrassed, but Shang Yechu was even more embarrassed. On the set of "Yun Qing Ji," Su Ge seemed very obedient to Shang Yechu because Shang Yechu had considered her thoughts and personality, and her requests and suggestions were based on this understanding. However, outsiders, of course, couldn't see through these subtleties and assumed Su Ge was completely subservient to Shang Yechu.
"I'm sorry," Qin Tianye said in a low voice, "I really have no other choice. You're the only friend I know among Su Ge's friends—"
Just then, Zheng Bohan and Xu Hanwen stepped off the stage. Seeing that his seat had been taken by Qin Tianye, Xu Hanwen raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and sat down in Qin Tianye's original seat.
Zheng Bohan wanted to sit back down, but seeing that Qin Tianye seemed to be in a hurry, he handed him the trophy and said, "Old Qin, put it on my seat for me. I'm going to the restroom."
Qin Tianye glanced at him gratefully, took the trophy, and placed it on his seat: "Thanks, Lao Zheng."
The host on stage was still chattering away, keeping the Best Actor winner a secret. Shang Yechu glanced at the stage and asked curiously, "Teacher Qin, do you already know who the Best Actor is?"
"It wasn't me." Qin Tianye shook his head knowingly. "Wait, you—I almost forgot. Should I tell you after the awards ceremony?"
Although he himself had no chance, Ye Chu clearly had a very good chance. Qin Tianye was so concerned that he completely forgot about this.
"It's alright, go ahead and say it." Shang Yechu glanced at the remaining time and said, "Let Teacher Zheng go to the bathroom a few minutes less."
Qin Tianye nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll make it short. Su Ge has been out of contact for a whole month since that incident broke. I haven't been able to reach her."
Shang Yechu sensed something was wrong: "Didn't you get a reply to the WeChat message you sent to Su Ge?"
Qin Tianye looked embarrassed: "I contacted her on Weibo... I... I deleted her WeChat."
"..." Shang Yechu suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, then suddenly remembered something and tentatively said, "Celebrities' official Weibo accounts receive tens of thousands of messages every day. If you send a private message to Su Ge on Weibo, she won't even see it."
The presenter on stage announced dramatically: "The winner of this year's Xinghan Award for Best Actor is—Guo Daqing, for 'Old River'!"
Shang Yechu and Qin Tianye expertly turned their heads and clapped in unison.
“Of course I know that. It’s not Su Ge’s main Weibo account,” Qin Tianye’s expression became even more reluctant to speak, “It’s, anyway, another account. She, she has a secondary account. She posts things on that secondary account every day.”
Shang Yechu felt an urge to laugh, but she managed to hold it in with sheer willpower. She actually thought Qin Tianye looked much better than at the awards ceremony.
“After that incident, I haven’t contacted Su Ge,” Qin Tianye said haltingly. “I only check on her through this Weibo side account. Every day she updates this side account, and I know she’s still living a safe and sound life, so I’m at ease.”
Shang Yechu's teeth were practically aching from the pain. She finally understood why CEO Ji always gave her that look whenever she shared her sweet love stories with him. Listening to your best friend's love story is the most painful thing in the world, and if that story comes from the person they're dating, the effect is even more like a mix of vinegar and lemon.
"I see," Shang Yechu said with a dry laugh. "Since you're satisfied with just looking at Su Ge's account updates, why are you asking me?"
“That’s how it was originally,” Qin Tianye said, looking somewhat agitated. “But since the day before yesterday, Su Ge’s alternate account hasn’t been updated at all. It’s been three whole days now. I’ve sent her private messages on Weibo, but she hasn’t replied. I’ve added her on WeChat, but she hasn’t accepted. I’ve called her and sent her messages, but there’s been no response at all.”
Wait, starting from the day before yesterday.
Wasn't that the night Su Ge sent the message to Shang Ye Chu?
Shang Yechu frowned and quickly recounted the events.
Su Ge said she was being watched by her manager and her phone was confiscated, but her alternate account, AmanoSong, which she used to follow her idol Qin Tianye, was still being updated daily.
It was strange that she could use Weibo but not WeChat. Shang Yechu initially thought that Su Ge was deliberately making up the lie that her phone had been confiscated to save face because it seemed unfair of her not to reply to her WeChat messages when she had time to follow celebrities.
But now that I think about it, given Su Ge's intelligence and emotional intelligence, she simply wouldn't have the awareness to "maintain face." If she said it was confiscated, then it really was confiscated.
Wait, what if we interpret it this way?
Su Ge was kept under surveillance by her manager and was not allowed to contact the outside world. Bored every day, she could only relieve her boredom by posting on Weibo and following celebrities. Her manager knew that suppressing Su Ge too much couldn't be done, so she turned a blind eye.
Su Ge has been cultivating the AmanoSong account for a long time, and it's highly unlikely that she would intentionally reveal herself as Su Ge on that platform. Therefore, her manager doesn't need to worry about Su Ge seeking help on Weibo.
Until the day before yesterday, Su Ge learned that Ye Chu had come to Haicheng, and begged her agent to allow her to talk to Ye Chu...
This speculation may sound a bit presumptuous, but it is currently the most reasonable explanation.
Shang Yechu and Su Ge had a good relationship, and Su Ge didn't take advantage of the situation during the illegitimate child scandal. The agent probably thought it was harmless for a young girl to contact her best friend, so she allowed Su Ge to exchange a few words with Shang Yechu on WeChat.
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