How is that possible?!
She was clearly the one standing there.
When she tried to sense it again, she suddenly realized that the overwhelming aura suffocating her earlier had disappeared completely, as if it were all just an illusion.
Feng Yan pressed her lips together and instinctively raised her chin slightly.
"It’s been a while. I still rember how Miss Tang and I hit it off so well back when we were on the set."
She gently lifted the hem of her gown and slowly sat down next to Tang Shu, her eyes fixed on the stage in front of them.
"Congratulations to Miss Tang on being nominated for Best Supporting Actress."
"And congratulations to Miss Feng Yan as well."
The two exchanged polite but detached pleasantries, chatting idly for quite a while. Yet, Feng Yan still failed to extract the answer she wanted from her opponent’s lips.
She clenched her teeth and muttered inwardly that Tang Shu was as annoying as ever.
At 8 p.m., the awards ceremony quickly began. Given Feng Yan’s teoric rise over the past year, the livestream caras dedicated significant airti to her. Sitting right beside her, Tang Shu inevitably found herself in the fra as well.
She: "..."
Thank you so much. Really.
The host was lively and humorously engaged with the crowd, teasing almost every celebrity present before inviting the guests on stage to present the awards one by one.
Tang Shu, being a seasoned participant, was intimately familiar with the flow of events. As the mont arrived to announce the awards for Best Actor and Actress, she sensed the person beside her unconsciously sitting up straighter.
She’s actually nervous?
To the others, Feng Yan’s every move remained composed and unchanged. But for Tang Shu, who was closest to her, she could clearly perceive the stiffness in her upright posture and the increasingly unnatural expression on her face.
An international superstar like her can still get nervous?
Tang Shu found it unnecessary and glanced at her thoughtfully before averting her gaze.
"...And now, who will be tonight’s Best Actress? Let’s welco the actor portraying Jiang Yue — Feng Yan!"
Best Actress was awarded to Feng Yan for her role in "Legendary Jiayue." This outco had been anticipated by Tang Shu and many others, but evidently, it hadn’t been entirely expected by Feng Yan herself.
Her expression stiffened slightly, and although her eyes in the livestream held a smile, there was a trace of frustration behind them.
Feng Yan gracefully rose to claim her award on stage as Tang Shu joined the audience in applause.
Frustration?
Could it be that she had higher hopes for "Cloud Gate Wind and Cloud"? Why? She should’ve known that possibility was slim.
Or was it...
Just as Tang Shu was formulating so thoughts, the host on stage announced her na.
It was now ti to present the award for Best Supporting Actress, and the big screen displayed a slideshow of the five nominated roles, among which Lu Xiangxuan’s character stood out remarkably.
"Let’s congratulate Tang Shu once again for winning the Best Supporting Actress award!"
The cara cut to Tang Shu. Amid the audience’s attention, her expression remained composed as she slowly rose to her feet. When passing Feng Yan, she caught the clear look of resentnt in her eyes.
Oh—so this is why.
***
The mont the awards ceremony concluded, online and dia outlets wasted no ti churning out coverage.
Tang Shu, a firm believer in experience breeding mastery, handled everything adeptly. After accepting interviews from several dia teams with her trophy in hand, she took the elevator down to the underground parking lot, where Yang Tiantian escorted her back to the Palm Pavilion.
"Boss, you’re incredible! Ahhh!"
"When I won last ti, you didn’t even react this strongly. What’s gotten into you today?"
"It’s different this ti! You beat Feng Yan!"
"..."
So even her assistant thought of that? Then wouldn’t the dia outside be in an absolute frenzy?
Tang Shu initially believed it was rely a rivalry between the two of them. But now it seed like the whole internet was focused on this matter... Looks like Sister Luo will be busy tomorrow.
Luo Lin indeed had a busy day ahead, though she seed quite pleased this ti.
"Post an official announcent to celebrate, and let everyone share it. Today is a big day~~~"
"Got it, Sister Luo."
Shen Yan agreed dutifully, simultaneously uploading pictures and updating Weibo as instructed. Though delighted, he was also perplexed by Sister Luo’s unusually enthusiastic mood.
Only after completing his tasks and browsing online did he realize that many subtle write-ups and award-show video summaries were peppered with interesting takes.
"Hey, hey? What is this ’Feng Yan’s acting couldn’t match Tang Shu’s’ nonsense?"
"Feng Yan walks away with the Best Actress trophy but loses to Best Supporting Actress Tang Shu. Wow, these influencers really know how to connect dots!"
Xiao Li snorted, "It’s obvious. That Feng Yan’s performance really wasn’t as good as the boss’s. Her Best Actress role was just diocre. If it weren’t for Legendary Jiayue carrying her, who knows how she would’ve salvaged herself."
"Legendary Jiayue was decent, too, though. Cloud Gate was an up-and-coming dark horse."
"That’s because the Best Actress nominee list didn’t include our boss."
"...You’re so confident, huh?"
"Of course. Defending her is non-negotiable."
Shen Yan twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth. So, is your point purely unwavering trust in the boss or sheer loyalty?
"Wait, do we need to respond to these rumors?"
"No, let them play it out."
It wasn’t Xiao Li who answered but Luo Lin instead. At that mont, the ace manager wore a thoroughly satisfied expression, as if she had finally avenged a year’s worth of frustration.
"I’d love to see how she handles the public’s criticisms now—it’s payback for all the trouble she’s caused us this past year."
"Got it, Sister Luo."
Shen Yan obediently withdrew his hands from the keyboard, though his gleeful expression hinted at his own sense of satisfaction.
No interference? Great—watching the chaos unfold was even better. He loved seeing people rave about the boss from every corner of the internet.
Oh, the joy of idly watching everyone praise her to the high heavens!
***
Back at the awards ceremony venue.
After extricating herself from the swarm of reporters, Feng Yan casually tossed the trophy to her assistant. With no outsiders around, her stunning face imdiately sank.
"Yan, Yan-jie, should we head back now?"
"What else is there to do? Stick around and let the reporters ask how it feels to lose to Tang Shu?"
"But this wasn’t a loss! You’re this year’s Best Actress."
"But the Best Actress role wasn’t for ’Cloud Gate.’"
Feng Yan gritted her teeth. She could already foresee tomorrow’s headlines. The world was never short of people who loved kicking others while they were down!
"Find soone to investigate Tang Shu’s day-to-day movents lately."
"Alright, but why would you want to do that?"
"Don’t question . Just do as I say. Wait... Isn’t there a manager in the company who doesn’t get along with Luo Lin?"
"Yes, Wang Zheng. His previous artist’s career ended after offending Tang Shu."
"Talk to him."
While ordinarily unimpressed by such minor figures, Feng Yan couldn’t rule out collaboration entirely.
With clenched teeth, she lit a cigarette, quietly smoking in the backseat of her nanny van, her expression unmoved by all her recent actions.
Her assistant and manager, long accustod to her temperant, wisely stayed silent, retreating into the background as much as possible.
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