IJLHTW - 71

After Huo Ci’s work won an international photography award, she never participated in any other competitions again, even declining invitations to domestic awards ceremonies.

As a result, when Bai Yu called the organizers, they were ecstatic.

Bai Yu chuckled and said, “It’s like this: could we not announce it prematurely? My idea is for Huo Ci to appear as a mysterious guest.”

The other party hesitated, then asked, “Does Teacher Huo have any concerns? Please assure Teacher Huo that we have been earnestly inviting her to attend the awards ceremony ever since she was nominated for this year’s Best Photographer.”

This was the reality of some domestic awards ceremonies: awards were only given to those who attended.

However, Huo Ci had previously won a Media Award, and that time Bai Yu accepted the award on her behalf. This time, she was nominated again, and the organizers had been lobbying Bai Yu, hoping he could persuade Huo Ci to attend.

But they had not received a definitive answer until today, when she proactively called them.

Although not explicitly stated, the implication of the call was that as long as Huo Ci showed up, the award would be hers.

“Help me book a stylist. See you on the battlefield this weekend.”

It was indeed a battlefield, a battlefield without the smoke of war.

At this moment, Nan Wan had no idea that Huo Ci was also attending the Media Awards. She scrolled through Weibo on her phone and found that regarding the advertisement, her fans and Huo Ci’s fans were clashing again. However, after the previous scandal, she had lost a significant number of fans. She couldn’t even win arguments against Huo Ci’s fans before, and now she was completely crushed.

Nan Wan angrily threw her phone and called Xu Wei several times before she came in from outside.

“The internet is in such an uproar, and you don’t even manage it,” Nan Wan pointed at the phone on the sofa, looking at her angrily.

Xu Wei chuckled, “It’s such a small matter, not worth getting so angry about. Alright, alright, I’ll find a group of internet trolls later, get them to spam comments and push down all the negative ones.”

Upon hearing the words “internet trolls,” Nan Wan’s delicate face instantly twisted severely. She stared at Xu Wei, arms crossed over her chest, and said coldly, “What do you mean by that? Do you think my popularity is so fake that I can only rely on internet trolls now?”

Seeing her displeasure, Xu Wei quickly appeased her, “Nan Wan, actually, you’re a photographer. Having or not having fans doesn’t affect you much.”

Nan Wan knew it, of course. She just couldn’t accept it. Why could Huo Ci have so many loyal fans? Why could she find such a boyfriend? Why could she always step on her head?

She had seen the video of Huo Ci’s proposal. She also had rich second-generation friends, but which of them wasn’t just after her fame, wanting to play around casually?

Marriage proposals, she couldn’t even dream of one.

“What are those fan club managers even doing? A bunch of good-for-nothings, they never win an argument against others,” Nan Wan looked down at her newly manicured nails. She actually really liked manicures, but having to hold the camera always ruined her nails, which was so annoying.

Xu Wei was speechless by her remarks. Did Nan Wan truly not understand the struggles of ordinary people?

Ever since the scandal broke that she only got the T&A advertisement through shady deals, a large number of fans had left. If Xu Wei hadn’t promptly appeased the few big fans in the fan club with benefits, they would have likely led a mass exodus.

Xu Wei advised her, “Nan Wan, your top priority right now isn’t to care about online squabbles, but to produce good work. Look at Huo Ci, how successful her recent photography exhibition was. The themes were close to reality, deep enough, and truly moving. Even those who used to criticize her for being too commercial were full of praise for her exhibition this time.”

She was already a leader in her field, yet she could still humble herself and produce such thought-provoking works.

Xu Wei looked at Nan Wan again. She used to also produce award-winning works through competitions. But ever since she started leaning towards the fashion industry, Xu Wei noticed that Nan Wan’s focus on photography was too little. The covers she had shot in the past six months had received a lot of criticism, and true masterpieces were few and far between.

“Why haven’t I produced any work? Don’t you know how much work I’ve done in the past six months?” Nan Wan glared at her, annoyed.

Xu Wei didn’t dare to tell her, With your state of partying at bars until three in the morning the day before and then going to the shoot drunk, what good work could you possibly produce?

But she had tried to persuade her, and Nan Wan just wouldn’t listen, always doing as she pleased.

She also knew that Nan Wan wasn’t really an ambitious woman; she was just focused on finding a rich second-generation man to marry her. But these rich second-generation guys weren’t fools; if you’ve played enough and want to settle down, you also have to see if anyone is willing to be the “taker.”

Seeing Xu Wei not speak, Nan Wan grew even more irritated and asked, “Have you settled the Media Awards matter yet?”

“Don’t worry, Huo Ci never attends these awards ceremonies. This year’s Best Photographer is definitely yours,” Xu Wei had just been on the phone with the organizers, precisely to ensure that Nan Wan would win this award.

After all, among those nominated, Huo Ci wouldn’t be attending, which greatly increased her chances.

Once Nan Wan won the award, another wave of publicity would surely erase the negative consequences of the previous scandal.

However, Nan Wan seemed to think it wasn’t enough. She said, “How about this: you buy more marketing accounts to create buzz, and then have fans spam topics.”

“Buying in advance, wouldn’t that be a bad idea?” Xu Wei was worried that there might be changes to the awards ceremony, and if they marketed too much in advance, it might backfire.

Nan Wan sneered, “If there’s a change, it means you didn’t do your job well. Didn’t you say this award was a sure thing for me?”

Xu Wei choked. When did she say it was a sure thing? But Nan Wan didn’t want to discuss it further. She stood up and said, “And the gown, make sure it’s an off-season one.”

It was April, so by rights, the current season’s gowns should have been Spring/Summer. However, the Autumn/Winter Fashion Week had already passed. Some people could directly borrow Autumn/Winter gowns, indicating particularly good fashion resources.

Regarding this request, Xu Wei also had unspoken difficulties.

After all, she was just a photographer. She really thought of herself as those A-list young actresses.

...

The Media Awards weekend was also an annual grand event, especially for the media industry. It was a highly anticipated opportunity. Because of the dominance of self-media now, such awards ceremonies were definitely livestreamed.

The April weather wasn’t cold, so the red carpet became a place for guests to compete for attention.

Huo Ci’s appearance was scheduled quite late, just before a film emperor who was the grand finale. This was considered special treatment from the organizers, who originally wanted to arrange for her to walk the red carpet with the film emperor to create buzz.

However, Huo Ci declined. Although Yi Zechen couldn’t attend, she didn’t want him to see his girlfriend walking arm-in-arm with another man. She wasn’t an actress, and this wasn’t a necessary part of her work, so if she could refuse, she would definitely refuse.

Bai Yu told her that Nan Wan would appear just before her, and she would be walking with a popular young celebrity.

“How about we still walk with the film emperor? After all, there are two of them, and I estimate that young celebrity has a lot of fans on site. The live stream will definitely be full of their cheers,” Bai Yu was worried that Huo Ci walking alone would be a disadvantage, fearing that her momentum would be overshadowed by the two people before her.

Huo Ci sneered. Today, she wore a fairy dress designed by a Lebanese designer, a vibrant red gown made of unique patterned chiffon, with an intricate yet ethereal design, and exclusive silver tassels and delicate embroidery. Even sitting in the dimly lit car, it exuded a magnificent and elegant splendor.

The dress was a strapless long gown, with a silver belt tied at the waist, cinching her already slender waist to an almost imperceptible degree. Beneath the skirt, a pair of long, snow-white, straight, and slender legs subtly appeared through the red chiffon.

This brand was a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris, making it one of the few brands in the world truly qualified to produce haute couture gowns. Very few domestic actresses could borrow their current season gowns. This time, Huo Ci personally requested it, and since it was her first time attending an awards ceremony, the brand finally agreed.

The dress was air-shipped urgently from Paris, altered to her size, and finally completed by the weekend.

While she was waiting in the car, Yi Zechen texted her. He had gone to Shanghai yesterday.

“Are you there yet?” his message asked.

Huo Ci replied, “Already here, waiting backstage. Should be about half an hour more.”

That’s how the red carpet process goes. Walking the red carpet not only involves taking photos but also being interviewed by the host. Sometimes, at an awards ceremony, the red carpet alone can take one or two hours.

“Tired?” his message came back promptly.

Huo Ci looked at the two short words, as if she could see him smiling faintly, looking down as he texted her.

She replied, “Not tired, but I’m especially beautiful today, too bad you can’t see it.”

Inside the car, Yi Zechen couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Yang Ming, in the passenger seat, didn’t even need to turn his head to know who the boss was chatting with. Just hearing that laughter, it was dripping with sweetness.

This time, Yi Zechen didn’t reply again. Huo Ci thought he had gotten busy again and didn’t pay it any mind.

Another half an hour passed, but it still wasn’t her turn.

Bai Yu looked even more anxious than she did, constantly pressing his phone, texting someone. Huo Ci glanced at her phone and asked him, “Shouldn’t it be my turn to go on stage?”

“Yes, yes,” Bai Yu’s forehead was dripping with sweat.

Huo Ci even asked, “Why don’t we open a window? You look hot.”

In fact, Nan Wan and the young celebrity were already being interviewed on the red carpet. At this moment, cheers from fans could be heard in the live stream. Nan Wan, with a gentle expression, held the young celebrity’s arm and accepted the host’s interview with him.

At this time, Huo Ci’s car should have driven forward, but the car just didn’t move.

After Nan Wan and the young celebrity entered the venue, there was a temporary gap on the red carpet. Fans in the live stream kept asking, “Is it our film emperor next?”

After all, the film emperor’s fans had been waiting all night.

But after a few minutes, no car came from the end of the red carpet.

The host couldn’t help but say to warm up the audience, “It seems Beijing’s traffic hasn’t improved. Please wait patiently, our mysterious guest will be here soon.”

Before long, a black sedan slowly drove towards the red carpet cameras. All the media cameras were aimed, waiting for this mysterious guest to appear.

But after the car stopped, Huo Ci was about to push the door open and get out, when she was pulled back by Bai Yu.

She turned to look at him: “Do you want all the media headlines tomorrow to report that I’m putting on airs?”

After all, the car had already stopped, but she was still delaying getting out. Even the live stream was on, and people in the live stream were already flooding the comments, asking who this person was, why they weren’t getting out even after arriving, and if they were putting on airs.

It wasn’t until a black figure emerged from another car. He slowly made his way through the crowd to the car near the end of the red carpet. The sharp-eyed host smiled and said, “Is that gentleman in the black suit our mysterious guest?”

Because he had his back to the camera, the host couldn’t see his face.

He walked to the car, lightly tapped the car window twice. Huo Ci inside was stunned, then the car door was opened.

Yi Zechen, dressed in a black evening suit, stood outside the car, smiling faintly at her.

At this moment, as he turned, the media cameras captured his face, and the host was the first to cheer, “It turns out to be our mysterious awards presenter, Mr. Yi Zechen! But why is he on the red carpet? And who is in the car?”

The live stream was filled with excited screams, and the screen was almost unreadable from the flood of comments.

“I swear by my fangirl life, that’s definitely Huo Ci in there!”

“I came to cheer for my idol, why am I being fed dog food again?”

“So handsome! I have to honestly say, Yi Zechen is really as handsome as my idol. He looks incredibly handsome in that black suit, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. I envy Huo Ci!”

Yi Zechen slowly extended his hand, offering it to her, and softly said, “I see it now. You are indeed very beautiful today.”

Huo Ci was greatly surprised, but also so happy: “How did you suddenly come?”

“To support you.”