Part 4 of Chapter 83
Please Always Love Her – Main Story Finale (Second Part)
On Shang Lu’s left were the crew of <Evil>, and on her right were the crew of <Salvation Plan>. It had to be said that the organizers were quite thoughtful.
Yue Qi didn’t care much. The films he directed were usually commercial, lacking deep intentions, so he didn’t expect much in terms of awards at major film festivals. He could even mock Song Zeqian, saying, “Other films this year aren’t that great. If you can’t take all the awards, I’ll laugh at you for years.”
The response from Song Zeqian was a disdainful glance while saying, “Whether it’s box office or awards, winning against you is enough.”
Shang Lu who was seated in the middle : “…”
Quarrelling is up to you, but can’t you consider the presence of a third person in the middle?
Fortunately, Yue Qi seemed to be in a good mood. Today, he didn’t want to argue with Song Zeqian and happily chatted with Shang Lu.
Seeing Yue Qi’s face practically begging for someone to ask him why he was in such a good mood, Shang Lu could only play along and ask, “Director Yue, is there something happy happening for you today?”
Yue Qi, almost bursting, finally got the chance he was waiting for. Grinning broadly, he replied, “When I left home this morning, my wife personally made me fried eggs! You young people don’t understand, this is proof that my wife loves me…”
For the next ten minutes, Shang Lu listened to Yue Qi give numerous examples of their affection.
Her expression numb, she exchanged a glance with Shen Xian, who sat on the other side of Yue Qi.
Both had a forced smile on their faces and sighed simultaneously.
Oh well, they were used to it.
Until the announcement of the Best Supporting Actress.
The nominees were Shang Lu for <Salvation Plan>, Jiang Jing for <Evil>, and several other very well-known seniors.
Finally, the camera focused on Jiang Jing.
Applause erupted in the audience.
Shang Lu also cheered, waving her hands enthusiastically for Jiang Jing, not caring about her own image.
Jiang Jing smiled helplessly. Passing by Shang Lu and hugging her, she said, “You’re great too.”
“I know, of course,” Shang Lu smiled and let go of her hand, saying, “Go up on stage quickly.”
Jiang Jing stood on the stage and delivered her acceptance speech.
Yue Qi, however, looked a bit regretful as he turned to Shang Lu and said, “I thought you might win this award, Xiao Lu. Let me remind you, this time you might go home empty-handed. In this industry, even with great works and performances, the distribution of awards depends on the situation. You’re a newcomer in the film industry, nominations are easy, but winning Best Actress… you’re still too young, those old folks won’t approve.”
Shang Lu hadn’t even had a chance to speak when Song Zeqian’s calm voice rang out, saying, “Director Yue probably doesn’t know yet. There have been significant changes in the panel of judges this time, mostly consisting of internationally renowned directors who have received the top three international awards or actors and actresses who have achieved grand slams. It’s not like the previous ones.”
Upon hearing Song Zeqian’s words, Yue Qi’s eyes immediately lit up, and he asked, “Is Director An also among them? He’s our teacher; it’s been a long time since we last saw him.”
Song Zeqian replied, “Yes, he scolded you for being unpromising back then.”
Yue Qi slapped his thigh and laughed, “Haha, that’s a thing of the past. I say, Song Zeqian, how long would you remember if someone scolded me once?”
Shang Lu : “…”
So, why did she have to sit between these two!
Their quarrel continued until the nominations for the Best Actress were announced.
Shang Lu couldn’t help but sit up straight, becoming more and more nervous.
On the big screen, performances were played one after another, and among the nominees were actresses who had already won awards in the country, including Cen Yan.
The host held up the final list, teasing for a while before finally saying, “It’s indeed an unexpected answer, but it’s the result unanimously recognized by all our judges. As a newcomer in the film industry, her performance this year has been outstanding. Let’s congratulate the Best Actress of this session—
“Shang Lu!”
Applause echoed around her, and Song Zeqian added, “Get up, aren’t you happy?”
As Shang Lu stood up, Lin Yanyan rushed over and hugged her tightly. Lin Yanyan’s tears fell directly onto her shoulder, “Wuwuwu, Lulu, I knew you could do it. You’re amazing!”
Cen Yan, sitting in the front row, turned around to look at Shang Lu and encouraged her, “Impressive. It seems I have another competitor besides Jiang Jing.”
When Shang Lu went to receive the award, she brought Lin Yanyan back to her seat and let Jiang Jing wipe Lin Yanyan’s tears.
Until she walked onto the stage to receive the award, holding the weighty trophy in her hands, Shang Lu still felt everything was unbelievable.
Especially considering Yue Qi had given her a preemptive warning; she had thought there was really no hope. Yet, in the end, this trophy belonged to her.
Her dream, the acting career she loved and persisted in choosing, finally received recognition from everyone at this moment.
She bent down towards the stage, bowed, then adjusted the microphone to the appropriate height, saying, “Hello, everyone. I am Shang Lu. I want to thank Director Song, Director Yue, and Director Han, who is not present, for giving me so many opportunities in the past year. Thanks to them, I have been able to walk on the path of life that I love until now. Thank you all for choosing and liking me. I have realized my dream, and I am very happy.”
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience below.
Next, Song Zeqian also won the Best Director award.
The host asked him, “Director Song, there was a lot of controversy online during the casting of this film. How did you manage to go against the opinions and insist on such a correct choice?”
Song Zeqian stared at the trophy in his hand for a moment, then looked towards the direction of <Evil>’s crew in the audience.
Since Song Zeqian was not present, Shang Lu and Lin Yanyan could finally communicate directly.
Lin Yanyan touched her own arm and said awkwardly, “He won’t scold us at a time like this, right?”
Shang Lu imitated Song Zeqian’s tone, saying, “The contracts are signed. There’s no way. Let’s make do with it. The breach of contract penalty is too expensive.”
Lin Yanyan was amused.
Yue Qi also didn’t miss the opportunity to mock Song Zeqian, saying, “Those are words only he can say.”
After all, they all knew that praise from Song Zeqian was not easy to come by.
At this moment, Song Zeqian said, “It is my honor that Shang Lu is willing to play the female lead in my movie.”
A gasp swept through the audience.
It’s worth noting that no one had ever heard Song Zeqian give such high praise to an actor.
Even Shang Lu covered her mouth and looked at Lin Yanyan, asking with her eyes: Is he really praising me?
Shang Lu even began to wonder if she had offended Song Zeqian recently, leading him to speak sarcastically here.
The host couldn’t help but ask for the reason.
Song Zeqian continued, “Her kindness to choose to take the girl home after seeing the suffering with her own eyes during the recording of the variety show, is also one of the important reasons why I decided to shoot this movie.
“Everyone knows that I am a director who films realistic themes. My father was actually a documentary director, and the world he portrayed is more real and more difficult than what I show. But no matter what the situation, kindness always appears; it’s just a matter of proportion. Although the movie is named <Evil>, it speaks of kindness everywhere. I hope everyone can adhere to the kindness in their hearts.”