How could Gu Tingshen be here?
Jing Li took a moment to collect himself, then belatedly remembered that the other man was the top executive of Sentu Entertainment, so it seemed reasonable for him to be invited here.
But shouldn’t someone of their status be seated in the front row?
Why did Gu Tingshen end up sitting in the second row?
Just then, the camera inside the venue panned toward them, and the audience watching the live broadcast also discovered Gu Tingshen.
However, their focus was obviously not on this person.
“What the f*ck? Is that Gu Tingshen???”
“A once-in-a-century sighting, Boss Gu actually showing up at an award ceremony??!!”
“I seriously suspect that Mr. Gu’s presence there is just temporary, and as for the reason, well, everyone understands!!”
“The Guli CP is so high!!!”
“Oh, Gu Tingshen has been dragged out again to attract attention.”
“Some people really don’t miss any opportunity to show off their wealth publicly~”
“Always bringing up Boss Gu, even if they want to ride the hype, can’t they change it up a bit!”
“Ahhhhh, Mr. Gu and Jing Shao are even wearing couple outfits!!!”
“Fuck! Couple outfits! I can do it!”
……
Seeing several comments cued by the couple outfits, the netizens who were originally focused on different things instantly and unanimously looked at the two people on the screen, and indeed they couldn’t refute it.
Although Gu Tingshen was wearing a black suit, the material and style were somewhat similar to the one Jing Li was wearing. More amazingly, under the lighting at the venue, it was clearly visible that Gu Tingshen’s suit was also shimmering with tiny stars.
Especially since their seats were right next to each other, when looked at this way, the starlight on both of them seemed to connect, forming a dazzling expanse of stars.
“Holy shit!! If the sisters in front hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have noticed, but when you look closely, their clothes really do look like couple outfits!”
“Ahhhhh, I got my Guli sugar just by watching an award ceremony, I feel like my life is complete now!!!”
“Mom’s asking me why I’m crying while watching TV!!!”
“Since you two are like this, just get together already!!!”
“Hehe, looks like some people really did come up with a new gimmick!”
“So they’ve gotten tired of the close friends act, and are now switching to the couple gimmick to stir up rumors?”
“I guess they know they’re not winning any awards, so they’re just trying to stay relevant!”
“Whose dogs are these in the front, barking so fiercely? Are you afraid others won’t know your master can’t win any awards?!”
“Hehe, the award ceremony hasn’t even started, and you already know the results? Does the organizer belong to your family? I’m afraid your ancestors didn’t accumulate enough virtue for that blessing!”
“Koi sisters, let’s keep our emotions in check. Don’t let others set the pace and attract negative attention to Jing Shao.”
……
Perhaps seeing that there wasn’t much time left, the trolls became particularly aggressive, attacking anyone and spamming already debunked rumors about Jing Li.
However, with the Koi fans ignoring them, this frequent spamming did nothing except tarnish the impressions of a few uninformed passersby regarding Jing Li. Most people only felt extreme disgust.
In the end, many passersby or fans of other celebrities couldn’t stand it and started accusing these shameless paid trolls. The trolls, eager for any engagement, immediately started arguing with the netizens.
As the quarrel escalated, the related topic’s heat also skyrocketed, with topics like #JingLiGuTingshenCoupleOutfits#, #JingLiRidesHypeWithScandals#, #JingLiHasNoChanceAtFeitianAwards# and so on quickly shooting up the hot search rankings, further boosted by those with malicious intentions, their positions on the hot search list continued to climb.
“Shen-ge.” Jing Li called out to the man, then also noticed the somewhat similar clothes on Gu Tingshen, surprise flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly overshadowed by sweet coincidence.
He quirked his lips, eyes brimming with undisguised happiness.
Fortunately, he remembered this was the award ceremony, surrounded by countless high-definition cameras, so after the initial excitement, he quickly reined in his emotions, only revealing a perfectly appropriate smile.
Gu Tingshen had been watching Jing Li since he came in and sat down, so he naturally saw his emotional changes. Seeing him pretend to maintain a serious demeanor, he was instantly charmed, his face unconsciously showing an easy smile.
“Have you prepared your acceptance speech?” Gu Tingshen leaned a bit closer to him, lowering his voice with a smile. “I remember Xiao Jing has two nominations. Don’t forget your lines when you go up later.”
“You’re exaggerating.” Jing Li couldn’t help but laugh at his words. “Besides, it’s just a nomination, not a guaranteed win. There are many powerful actors nominated this time.”
“You should believe in your own strength as well.” Gu Tingshen arched his brow, and seeing him about to object again, he immediately said, “How about we make a bet? If Xiao Jing wins the nominated awards, you’ll grant me one wish?”
Jing Li paused upon hearing this, thinking it wouldn’t be difficult, and was about to nod in agreement. Suddenly, his mind turned, and he asked, “What if I don’t win?”
“Then I’ll fulfill one of Xiao Jing’s wishes instead?”
That sounded like a fair deal.
Jing Li immediately quirked his lips. “You said it!”
“I did,” Gu Tingshen’s lips also curved upwards unconsciously, “and it will always count.”
The two of them were happily chatting when the lights in the venue suddenly dimmed, followed by light music on the stage.
The award ceremony officially began.
As per usual, the host first gave an opening speech on stage, followed by a song and dance performance. Then came the much-anticipated award presentation segment.
According to the order from smallest to biggest awards, they first presented awards like Best Screenplay, Best Score, Best Art Direction, and a series of other categories, before moving on to Best Director and Actor awards.
Finally, after nearly an hour of waiting, the most exciting moment of the award ceremony arrived.
As an internationally renowned director, even though it was his first time directing a TV series, the professional skills he demonstrated were undoubtedly excellent, so Director Wen Zheng of ‘The Last Remnant’ unsurprisingly won Best Director.
Next was Best Supporting Actor and Actress.
There were quite a few nominees for Best Supporting Actor and Actress this time, and many were very strong candidates.
Whenever the host read out a name from the list of nominated actors, the corresponding actor would unconsciously straighten their back, and some even had the smiles wiped off their faces, clearly nervous.
The host even deliberately dragged it out at this point, building up the tense atmosphere.
Although Jing Li remained calm about whether he could win or not, he was still affected by the tense atmosphere, his expression slightly tightening as he looked intently at the host on stage, waiting for the final winner to be announced.
“Don’t be nervous.” Gu Tingshen suddenly leaned towards him, keeping an eye on the stage while whispering, “I believe in your strength.”
Jing Li was taken aback, instinctively turning his head to glance at him, and then met his eyes full of concern.
His heart skipped a beat, as if a warm current suddenly enveloped him, sweet and warm, even his exhaled breaths carrying a comforting warmth.
“Okay.” He smiled at the man, his expression relaxed and gentle.
Coincidentally, a camera angled towards this direction captured his radiant smile and broadcast it on the live platform, immediately sparking another round of heated discussions.
“Ahhhh!!! That smile from Jing Shao just killed me!”
“As expected of Jing Shao, he can still smile so sweetly even in such a tense moment!”
“Look at that confident smile, as if the award is already yours!”
“Grinning smugly in such a formal setting, the quality of a top rich second generation is really an eye-opener!”
“Keep smiling, keep smiling, the brighter you smile now, the harder you’ll cry when you lose!”
……
Jing Li didn’t notice he was caught on camera. Feeling his phone vibrate a few times in his pocket, he paused, glancing up to see the host was still introducing the nominees’ clips. He took out his phone to check. The smile instantly faded from his face as he quickly typed a few words in reply before putting his phone away.
Gu Tingshen, who had been watching his emotional changes, was about to lean over and ask what happened, but before he could speak, the host suddenly raised her voice, “The winners for Best Supporting Actor and Actress are—Jing Li and Du Jiaojiao! Please come up!”
Hearing Jing Li’s name, Gu Tingshen froze for a moment before standing up with a smile and opening his arms towards him, “Congratulations, Xiao Jing, for winning Best Supporting Actor.”
When Jing Li heard the host’s words, he thought he had misheard at first. It wasn’t until he saw Gu Tingshen’s gesture and heard his congratulations that he finally stood up from his seat as if waking from a dream, then smiled and embraced him.
Guests around them, familiar and unfamiliar, also stood up to embrace and congratulate him, and Jing Li thanked each of them with a smile.
But when it came to the guest sitting in front of him, his outstretched arms suddenly dropped, the smile fading from his face. He nodded in acknowledgment to the surrounding guests before turning and walking towards the stage.
The surrounding guests were caught off guard by the sudden situation. By the time they recovered, Jing Li had already walked up the steps onto the stage, leaving that guest awkwardly standing there with his arms outstretched.
Someone recognized the guest as Wang Jiayin, who was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Since he had gained fame earlier, the online support for him was very high this time. They patted his shoulder with a smile, reassuring him that Jing Li was just in a hurry to receive the award and didn’t want to keep everyone waiting.
The others also reacted and nodded in agreement, offering him a flimsy excuse.
Wang Jiayin went along with the excuse, but anyone could see how forced his smile was.
The camera clearly recorded this scene, leaving the viewers watching the live broadcast dumbfounded by Jing Li’s action, while Wang Jiayin’s fans immediately erupted in curses.
“What the f*ck was that?!”
“Damn! What’s Jing Li trying to imply? Hugging everyone but snubbing our Jiayin?”
“Just because you won an award you think you’re above everyone?”
“You think you’re hot shit now? With that ugly mug, this is as far as you’ll ever go in your life!”
“Jing Li, f*ck you! Get the f*ck out of the entertainment industry!”
“So you can’t stand having anyone nominated alongside you? Why don’t you just get the organization1The raw says gd = 勾搭 (gōu da) – to gang up / to fool around with / to make up to, this could also mean to imply any form of collusion or underhanded dealings. So they’re saying to bribe the org to disqualify others. to disqualify every work except yours while you’re at it?!”
……
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