IJLHTW - 72

Huo Ci looked up at him, a faint smile on her lips, and placed her hand in his. She slowly stepped out of the car. Already tall, and wearing a pair of Jimmy Choo stilettos today, she emerged from the car and stood beside Yi Zechen. Their shared smile drew countless camera flashes.

“Now walking onto our red carpet are today’s award presenter, Mr. Yi Zechen, and Huo Ci, who is nominated for this year’s Best Photographer. Welcome, both of you!” the female host, microphone in hand, announced enthusiastically to the camera.

This was Huo Ci’s first time holding hands with Yi Zechen in front of the camera. His broad hand firmly held hers, and they slowly walked forward. The train of her gown gently swayed behind her in the evening breeze.

The bow tie on Yi Zechen’s black formal suit was dark red, complementing Huo Ci’s vibrant red gown.

Flashbulbs relentlessly fired, aimed at them. Huo Ci reminded him, “Mr. Yi, don’t blink! Be careful, they might pick an unflattering photo of you to publish!”

“It’s fine,” Yi Zechen’s voice was clear and low.

As Huo Ci smiled for the camera, she heard him say, “Mingsheng has a dedicated public relations department. This kind of situation won’t happen.”

Huo Ci: “...” Mr. Yi, you’re being overly confident.

When the two reached the backdrop, a nearby etiquette lady handed them two pens. Huo Ci and Yi Zechen clearly signed their names on the board.

“Please come this way, both of you, for our interview,” the female host was clearly a bit excited and immediately invited them over.

Because Huo Ci’s dress train was quite long, Yi Zechen stood still and pulled her dress for her, then extended his arm for her to link. It wasn’t an intentional display of affection, but their every move exuded a sense of unspoken understanding and harmony.

Huo Ci linked his arm with one hand and slightly lifted her dress with the other, walking to the host’s side.

“Welcome both of you to this year’s Media Awards. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time either of you has attended, right?” the female host asked.

Huo Ci glanced at Yi Zechen, who smiled faintly. She picked up the microphone first and said, “Yes, this is my first time attending the Media Awards. The atmosphere is great, and I really like it.”

“Mainly because someone is accompanying you today, right?” The female host looked towards Yi Zechen.

Huo Ci paused, nodded, a clear smile already on her face: “This counts as a pleasant surprise.”

Originally, due to the host’s questions, Huo Ci’s fans were somewhat unhappy, flooding the live stream to express that their Xiao Ci was nominated for today’s Photographer of the Year, and why wasn’t the host focusing on the main point.

Fortunately, Huo Ci’s responses were very appropriate.

As the female host returned from Huo Ci with nothing substantial, she turned her gaze to Yi Zechen, who interested her more. She smiled and asked, “As far as I know, Mr. Yi rarely accepts media interviews. Why did you decide to come to the Media Awards as an award presenter today?”

The mockery in the live stream intensified. Almost everyone watching the broadcast was asking if the female host even knew how to conduct an interview.

Fortunately, Yi Zechen smiled slightly, looking at her calmly: “The organizers invited me. I accepted the invitation. It’s that simple.”

After he spoke, the female host’s charming smile stiffened slightly. At this moment, the live stream was filled with “66666” comments, and many people applauded.

“I love Mr. Yi’s directness, this brainless host.”

But after the host recovered, she still wouldn’t give up, saying, “I just saw both of you walking over. Mr. Yi, you were very attentive to Huo Ci.”

He calmly glanced at the female host, then suddenly smiled: “She’s my fiancée. Shouldn’t I be attentive?”

The live stream immediately exploded with comments.

“My fiancée, my dear heart, I’m going to swoon over Mr. Yi.”

“My library oppa, so unbelievably cool!”

After answering the last question, the male host immediately thanked them for accepting the interview and invited them inside. The ceremony hadn’t started yet, but as they walked, a staff member immediately stepped forward to escort them to their seats.

Unexpectedly, Nan Wan was seated just two people away from her. At this moment, she was looking down at her phone, her expression not very pleasant.

When she looked up, she saw Huo Ci slowly walking towards her, arm in arm with a man.

Golden boy and jade girl, peerless grace—that was the only thought in Nan Wan’s mind the moment she looked up. Actually, she wasn’t a particularly eloquent person, nor was she the great talent that online rumors claimed. Sure enough, upon seeing such a perfectly matched couple walking toward her, she could only think of those four words: golden boy and jade girl.

Because Huo Ci’s seat was more central, she had to pass in front of Nan Wan.

For some unknown reason, Nan Wan, as if possessed, stood up and greeted her, “Teacher Huo, you’re here too.”

Nan Wan was wearing a short black cocktail dress today. Her figure was petite and exquisite, and the short dress accentuated her small frame even more. However, facing Huo Ci, who was already 172cm tall bare-footed and wearing seven or eight-centimeter heels today, her petite and exquisite figure suddenly seemed rather small and common in comparison.

Huo Ci, with Yi Zechen’s arm linked, looked at her, then suddenly stepped forward slightly, while Yi Zechen naturally blocked the nearby staff and cameras.

Huo Ci softly said to Nan Wan, “You’ll be making a wasted trip today.”

She took a slight step back, and Nan Wan’s somewhat contorted and twisted face was instantly exposed to everyone, even being perfectly captured by the camera in front.

By the time Nan Wan realized something was wrong and tried to compose herself, the camera had already captured every expression on her face.

When Huo Ci sat down and scrolled through Weibo, Nan Wan’s expression had already been turned into a GIF and uploaded to Weibo. And the marketing accounts, never missing a chance to stir up trouble, even posted a Weibo asking: “The highly anticipated Media Awards tonight, who would have thought the palace drama would begin before the ceremony? Domestic top photographer Huo Ci and rising star Nan Wan are both nominated for this year’s Photographer of the Year award. Who do you think will take home the grand prize this time?”

The accompanying image was this GIF of Nan Wan’s twisted face, clearly showing the jealousy and deep resentment in her eyes when she looked at Huo Ci.

The comments below were all sympathetic to Huo Ci.

“Huo Ci is top-tier domestically. Nan Wan is probably just riding on her coattails. Before, she always criticized Huo Ci for being too commercial, but look at their works now. Huo Ci’s documentary photography exhibition versus Nan Wan, who’s stuck in the commercial world and can’t get out.”

“They’re not on the same level, please stop trying to tie them together.”

“Didn’t they say Nan Wan was talented? I think she’s more like a scheming woman. Look at that expression, she should go act in palace dramas.”

Huo Ci watched, laughing. Yi Zechen turned to look at her, and she raised an eyebrow: “I said that on purpose just now.”

Yi Zechen was standing right beside her, so he couldn’t have missed it. After she spoke, Yi Zechen looked at her, and a slow smile spread in his eyes: “I also deliberately blocked that staff member.”

So the two of them teamed up to prank Nan Wan.

Because there were many people here, Huo Ci reached out and squeezed his palm, whispering, “I’ll give you a reward when we get home.”

“Can I choose the prize?” Yi Zechen looked at her, his gaze lingering on her collarbone for a moment.

Her long dress was a strapless style, revealing her slender, fair neck and delicate collarbone. Her long hair was pinned up, making her look particularly elegant and alluring.

Huo Ci gave him a faint glance, then slowly said, “Wouldn’t that be too much of a loss for me?”

“What if there’s something else?” Yi Zechen smiled faintly.

Huo Ci held back a laugh and whispered, “That depends on what it is.”

________________________________________

Soon, the awards ceremony began. The ceremony itself was quite dull; the only thing to look forward to was the awarding of various major prizes. This was an industry award, and the usually dazzling celebrities became supporting roles. Photographers, editors, and other behind-the-scenes personnel rarely became the main focus.

“Oh, by the way, what award did the organizers ask you to present?” Huo Ci finally remembered to ask this now.

Yi Zechen calmly glanced at her, chuckled softly, and said, “What do you think?”

Huo Ci paused, then after a moment, said, “It won’t be Photographer of the Year, will it?”

“Teacher Huo, you guessed right,” Yi Zechen suddenly smiled, his cool, handsome face instantly softening. This was perfectly captured by the camera that happened to pan over, causing a small stir in the venue.

Huo Ci listened to the screams of the girls beside her. Most of these girls were actually there for the young celebrity participating in the show today, but since Yi Zechen, such a low-key person, was rarely participating in a show today, a group of young girls, while cheering for their idol, didn’t forget to swoon over him.

“It seems I can’t let you come to such events anymore,” Huo Ci rested her elbow on the armrest of the chair, her chin lightly resting, slightly tilted up, her eyes bright like they held starlight.

Yi Zechen smiled faintly, “Whatever you say.”

Nan Wan felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles. Although Xu Wei had assured her that the Photographer of the Year award would definitely be hers, that was on the condition that Huo Ci didn’t show up. Now that Huo Ci was here, her initial ten-out-of-ten confidence had turned into uncertainty.

Moreover, she had just scrolled through Weibo on her phone.

All the major media outlets had posted red carpet photos from the Media Awards on their official Weibo accounts. Nan Wan had specifically instructed Xu Wei to control the photos and make sure no unflattering media photos got out.

But when she saw her own red carpet photos and Huo Ci’s red carpet pictures, she nearly trembled with anger.

It sounded good to say she was petite and exquisite, but compared to Huo Ci’s tall figure and haute couture gown, her short cocktail dress seemed out of place, with some netizens even saying her dress looked like a Taobao bestseller.

It was all that damned stylist’s fault for insisting that she was short and choosing a short dress to make her look taller. But how much taller could she look compared to someone who was actually 172cm tall?

Xu Wei was sitting a few rows behind her. Nan Wan couldn’t resist sending a text message.

“There won’t be any problems with today’s Photographer of the Year award, right?”

But after she sent it, Xu Wei didn’t reply for a long time. She turned to look back, and after Xu Wei glanced at her, she immediately looked down again.

The awards ceremony continued, and the Photographer of the Year award was a major one, only presented at the very end.

Fortunately, the audience’s attention became more focused as the ceremony progressed, given that the major awards were being presented. Until a staff member approached and asked Yi Zechen to go backstage to prepare.

Yi Zechen turned to her, smiling, “I’m going backstage now.”

Huo Ci knew which award he was presenting and nodded slightly, but he didn’t immediately get up. Instead, he reached out and squeezed her hand, softly saying, “Waiting for you to come up.”

Even the staff member inviting him backstage was momentarily stunned. She then smiled and said, “Mr. Yi, you’ll make people think this award is fixed.”

“Of course not. I just trust the organizers’ judgment,” Yi Zechen said calmly.

He then stood up, adjusted his suit slightly, and headed backstage with the staff.

________________________________________

Ten minutes later, the host finally announced the presentation of the most important award of the evening. When he announced the award presenter, the loud cheers from the fans in the venue made it seem as if a popular young celebrity was about to appear.

When Yi Zechen and Chen Jia, editor-in-chief of V magazine, walked out hand in hand, the cheers were deafening.

Huo Ci sat below the stage, watching him in his black suit, tall and upright, his handsome face gleaming under the spotlight. When the big screen behind projected him, even Huo Ci couldn’t help but smile.

Her Mr. Yi, no matter where he was, was always the center of attention.

Just like the first time she noticed him in the bar.

Yi Zechen reached out to adjust the microphone height for the editor-in-chief, Chen Jia, beside him, prompting another wave of cheers. The editor-in-chief smiled faintly at the audience below and said, “I imagine these cheers aren’t for me, are they?”

Laughter erupted. The editor-in-chief glanced sideways at Yi Zechen, “It was my first time meeting Mr. Yi backstage just now. I never expected the Media Awards organizers to have such clout to invite Mr. Yi to present this award with me.”

After speaking, she turned to look at a certain spot in the audience, then, after a slight pause, teased, “But seeing who’s sitting in the audience, I don’t think it’s the organizers who have the clout; it should be someone who does.”

It must be said, the videographer hired by the Media Awards today was truly sharp. The moment the editor-in-chief finished speaking, the camera immediately panned to Huo Ci in the audience.

Evidently, everyone knew who she was: that “someone” with clout, as referred to by the editor-in-chief.

Huo Ci didn’t shy away from the suddenly cut-to camera, openly greeting the stage. After she won her international award and entered the fashion industry, V editor-in-chief Chen Jia was among the first to appreciate her. Chen Jia even entrusted her with shooting V’s anniversary issue.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Chen Jia was her mentor.

So, she knew Chen Jia’s teasing was good-natured.

“Mr. Yi, have you ever considered, if someone doesn’t win today, how you’d comfort her?” The editor-in-chief turned and threw the question to the man beside her.

The man who had been standing still frowned slightly upon hearing this question, as if he had never considered it. But the audience below was already stirred up by the editor-in-chief, everyone wide-eyed, eagerly staring at him.

It wasn’t until Yi Zechen’s cool face slowly looked down at the audience and he softly said, “Isn’t there still me?”

This time, even the editor-in-chief, who was used to grand occasions, almost had her ears hurt by the cheers from the audience.

Even if you don’t get the big award, isn’t there still me? Although he only said the latter half of the sentence, everyone automatically filled in the first half. That cool and elegant man stood quietly on stage, his eyes filled with a smile, looking only at one person, softly saying, “And there’s me.”

This scene was more moving than any romantic scene in a movie.

Even Huo Ci bowed her head at this moment, her eyes slightly moist.

“Alright, in that case, let’s open the award now,” the editor-in-chief chuckled softly. The murmuring in the venue slowly quieted down, and everyone’s eyes were fixed on the envelope in her hand. Even if they weren’t Huo Ci’s fans, at this moment, they all hoped the editor-in-chief would call out her name.

It wasn’t until the editor-in-chief looked down twice, her expression somewhat serious, and then announced loudly into the microphone, “The winner of the 21st Media Awards’ Photographer of the Year is...” At this point, the screen showed the five nominated photographers. Besides Huo Ci and Nan Wan, the other three were male photographers.

Then, a name was loudly called out from her lips: “Huo Ci.”

“Congratulations, Huo Ci! It seems she won’t be crying with you tonight!” the editor-in-chief laughed at Yi Zechen.

Thunderous applause and deafening screams filled the venue. Huo Ci slowly rose, accepting embraces from those around her, then she slowly walked towards the stage center, bathed in spotlights, where the firm and tall man was looking at her with a gentle smile.

After Huo Ci went on stage, she embraced Chen Jia and then took the trophy from her hand. It wasn’t until she turned around that she saw Yi Zechen holding the flowers handed by the etiquette staff. She pursed her lips into a smile.

He slowly walked over. Huo Ci was about to reach out for the bouquet in his hand, but she was already enveloped in his embrace.

On stage, the tall, handsome man held the person in his arms tightly.

At this moment, whether it was the audience in the venue or the fans watching the live stream, cheers erupted. Such a beautiful scene made one wish it could be frozen in time forever.

“Congratulations, Huo Ci,” his voice softly whispered in her ear.

This was the most wonderful blessing Huo Ci heard that night.

After he stepped down, Huo Ci reached up to wipe her cheeks, then turned to face the camera. She bowed slightly to the audience, her voice clear and gentle, “Thank you, everyone.”

“Actually, I had no initial thoughts for this photography exhibition. One person changed me. He made me understand that there isn’t much you can do in this world, but at least you should do something. As a Doctors Without Borders member, he saved countless lives. Even after stepping down from the frontline of Doctors Without Borders, unable to save lives as a doctor, he still continues to help those people.”

Although she didn’t mention his name, everyone knew who she was referring to at that moment.

Yi Zechen was in the backstage lounge, quietly watching her on television. Her expression was calm, but her dark eyes were filled with determination and persistence.

“And my father, Mr. Huo Mingzhou, who is a member of the medical aid team to Africa. Just half a month ago, he was critically wounded due to the civil war in South Sudan and is still in a coma,” Huo Ci’s voice choked here. How she wished that at this moment, Huo Mingzhou could be watching her on television, letting her know he was there.

“So, I want to dedicate this photography exhibition to these great medical workers. Whether you are a Doctors Without Borders member or a medical aid worker in Africa, you are helping those in poverty and despair.”

“To all of you, the greatest.”

Her words moved many to tears.

After Huo Ci left the stage, she walked to the lounge, where Yi Zechen was waiting for her.

“Do you want to celebrate now or go home?” He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Huo Ci hugged him, looking up and saying somewhat proudly, “I want both to celebrate and to go home.”

“Then let’s go home to celebrate,” Mr. Yi perfectly understood her thoughts.

As they left, Nan Wan happened to pass by the lounge door. When her venomous eyes looked over, Huo Ci’s gaze was somewhat cold, while Yi Zechen remained expressionless.

Nan Wan ignored the gazes of others and just glared at her bitterly.

Huo Ci hadn’t done anything to her, yet by doing nothing, she had trampled Nan Wan underfoot. She was like a clumsy supporting character, merely serving to highlight Huo Ci.

That kind of resentment, of constantly being outdone by others, finally swept over and drowned Nan Wan once more, many years later.

Nan Wan was about to walk over, but Xu Wei grabbed her arm, whispering angrily, “Let’s go quickly.”

She turned and stared at Xu Wei, saying fiercely, “What, do I, the loser, not even have the right to congratulate others?”

“Are you crazy? Don’t you see who’s standing next to her? Do you want to go against them? You should look at his background,” Xu Wei wasn’t as reckless as Nan Wan. Nan Wan was her cash cow now, but she at least had a brain.

Speaking of this, Nan Wan’s hatred intensified. All night, Yi Zechen’s eyes had never lingered on another woman.

His eyes were only on Huo Ci.

“Let’s go,” Huo Ci had completely humiliated Nan Wan. She wanted to suppress her, to take away what she desired.

As for her advertisement, she wouldn’t just let it go easily.

But what she didn’t expect was that half an hour later, she had just arrived home. Bai Yu sent her a message on WeChat, which was a Weibo post from Yongshi Jewelry’s official Weibo account.

“An advertisement recently released by our company has been confirmed to be plagiarized by photographer Nan Wan from another’s creation. As our company failed to detect this act of plagiarism in the first instance, causing extremely negative impact, we hereby apologize to the original author @Huo Ci. Specific compensation matters will be discussed with the photographer in person. We apologize once again to the photographer and the public.”