“Hey, who’s your senior now, huh? Why are you helping him?” Xue Yu kept up his smile.
Yun Xiangxiang covered her mouth with her hand.
“Teacher Lu, a drop-dead gorgeous lady is sitting right beside you today. Do you have anything to say about that?” the host continued.
Following her question, the camera shot toward Yun Xiangxiang. She was stunned. She was just laughing at Xue Yu just now. How did I suddenly become the center of attention?
“Junior, you have to be kind. See, karma is fair,” it was Xue Yu’s turn to laugh.
“I have to thank the program crew for that. Thanks for the love. If I may, I would like to ask all the program crew to give me the same honor whenever you invite me to your events,” Lu Jin answered humorously.
“Hahahaha. It seems Teacher Lu is protective toward beauties,” the host smiled before continuing, “Now it’s time to reveal the most popular actress. Teacher Lu, the gorgeous lady beside you is also a contestant today. Do you think she will be nominated?”
“To me, she will,” Lu Jin answered without hesitation.
The host only let Lu Jin off the hook after a round of applause. She then invited the award presented onto the stage.
The award presenter only bothered with some degree of formality before going into the main topic. “The nominees for the most popular actress are… Yun Xiangxiang, “University Dream,” Qiao Qiqi, “Soliloquy,” Zhu Kexin, “Darkness,” and Wang She, “The Final Tune.”
All four films were the more iconic ones from last year. All were suitable for graduates to watch.
Yun Xiangxiang had watched “Soliloquy” before. It was a story of a deaf and mute girl chasing after her dream to dance. It was motivating.
The actress’s acting was superb too, but their box office lost out to “University Dream” by a long shot.
She only knew about the other two, but she didn’t watch them. She was short on time.
“The award for the most popular actress among graduates is…” The presenter paused for a moment before announcing, “Congratulations to Yun Xiangxiang, “University Dream!””
As the spotlight shone on Yun Xiangxiang, she stood up elegantly. Lu Jin made way for her, and she went to the stage slowly. She shook hands with the presenter before accepting the trophy.
The host extended her hand, signaling Yun Xiangxiang to come forward. The mic was right before her. She slowly went up, “Getting this award is expected.”
The crowd became silent following Yun Xiangxiang’s first statement. Nobody ever said that after getting an award. That would be scoffing at her rivals publicly.
But Yun Xiangxiang took a turn in her speech, “It’s on my turf after all. I do receive that bias, more or less.”
This is what they meant when they talked about the highest form of humility!
“As a member of Qingdao University, I never thought I could receive such honor on the land of my alma mater. This shall bestow more meaning upon the honor I received.
I am very grateful to all my fans, as well as the ones who acknowledge me and gave me this award. More importantly, I am most grateful for my friends. They put a lot of effort into making sure I would get this award. It is my great fortune for entering Qingdao University and meeting all of you. Thank you.”
Tao Manni and the others teared up at Yun Xiangxiang’s speech. They worked harder than during their part-time job when they promoted her work and tried to gain votes for her. They were exhausted back then.
They never asked whether it was worth it. But when Yun Xiangxiang thanked them on the stage, they inexplicably thought it was all worth it.
Yun Xiangxiang had the talent to sentimentalize her speech. Most of the crew and the spectators were people from Qingdao University. Naturally, the applause was thunderous. Thanks to that, the host didn’t manage to stop her before she retreated from the stage.
This host was sneaky, but not the annoying type. It would be best if she escaped sooner.
When Yun Xiangxiang sat down, she and Lu Jin had one trophy each. One was the trophy for the most popular actor, the other was for the most popular actress. Lu Jin put both together on purpose.
No matter how he looked, Xue Yu found it to be a pain in the eye.
But Xue Yu was soon asked to get ready for presenting the awards. Yun Xiangxiang breathed a sigh of relief when she knew she didn’t have to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.
She couldn’t get angry at them in front of the camera, and she was worried if they would argue. Handling them was a hassle.
The awards kept on going out. Soon, it came to the biggest climax: The award for best actor and actress.
The award for best actor would be given first. Only three were nominated. Yun Xiangxiang was puzzled, “Why are there only three of them?”
“If Xingzhou was here, this award might be his,” Lu Jin felt sorry.
So that’s how it is. He Xingzhou’s work was nominated. But he’s embroiled in a scandal and is being detained now. Of course this award won’t go to him.
They would notify the company of the nominated work beforehand. Huan Yu also knew Yun Xiangxiang was nominated. But He Wei wasn’t one to play any tricks. It made no difference knowing it earlier or later, so he didn’t tell Yun Xiangxiang.
Yun Xiangxiang wasn’t someone who would go around collecting news either. Some actors would be tagged by the official account if their work was nominated, but not all awards worked like that. Yun Xiangxiang didn’t know she was nominated as best actress from the start.
In the end, the award for best actor was given to an experienced, elderly actor. Watching the film’s clip, Yun Xiangxiang thought it was a deep film. It also had other awards too.
“Now let’s welcome our presenter to reveal the best actor for the graduates’ film festival tonight,” as soon as the host said that, Yun Xiangxiang saw Xue Yu coming up to the stage.
It turned out Xue Yu was invited to present the award for best actress. He was not alone. There was another actor. They dialogued together into the main show at hand. “The nominees for best actress are: “Qiao Qiqi, “Soliloquy,” Chen Licheng “To Live,” Fu Jiajia, “My Father,” and Yun Xiangxiang, “University Dream.”
Yun Xiangxiang was surprised she was nominated again. She was taken aback, as nobody seemed to be awarded as the best actress and the most popular actress at the same time before. If she was awarded, she would be a double best actress.
Yun Xiangxiang didn’t know if anyone was nominated for both at the same time. She seldom took part in any film award ceremony in her past life.
Yun Xiangxiang wasn’t someone without desires, nor was she as calm as clear water. Even she also started feeling nervous.
“The award for this film festival’s best actress goes to…,” Xue Yu looked at Yun Xiangxiang smilingly. “My junior, Yun Xiangxiang! Congratulations!”
Yun Xiangxiang immediately covered her mouth. She was in a daze until Lu Jin patted her shoulder, “Go.”
When Yun Xiangxiang snapped out of it, she went up to the stage feeling surprised and took the trophy from a smiling Xue Yu.
This was her first award for best actress in a leading role in her life!