Chapter 47: Red and Black

October 26, 2021kaychandra

Chapter 47: Red and Black[1]

According to the order of entrance, Gongxi Qiao and Dai Ni were seated next to each other. Sitting next to him was Liang Yumeng, who hardly made any news in the last six months.

On camera, Gongxi Qiao gave a friendly smile to Liang Yumeng.

Liang Yumeng returned a slightly stiff smile. The first few months he had been recovering from his injury, his film contracts and endorsements which seemed to have been agreed upon had been canceled once after another. Now it was rumored that he couldn’t shoot works with too much action because of his injury, which was tantamount to cutting off his career path.

Originally, he wanted to spend more effort to deal with Gongxi Qiao, but now he was already overwhelmed with his own problems. How could he have the energy to take care of Gongxi Qiao? Now when the two of them met suddenly, he saw that the originally obscure artist had turned into a popular artist. He had some mixed feelings. He couldn’t tell whether he was feeling regretful or jealous.

When the award ceremony started, the two of them nodded and smiled, and then focused their attention on the stage.

‘National Industry’ received seven nominations for Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Newcomer, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Artwork. If it wasn’t for the fact that there were three main directors of the film, it might have gotten a nomination for best director.

As a dark horse, ‘Lord Brother-in-Law’ received three nominations for Best New Director, Best Post-Production, and Best Screenplay.

The best newcomer award presenters were two first-tier powerhouse artists. After the two of them bantered with each other for a few minutes to liven up the atmosphere, they let everyone turn their attention to the big screen.

“The nominees for Best Newcomer are Xie Yingying from ‘The Moaning Wind’, Gongxi Qiao from ‘National Industry’ ……,” the guest of honor read out the six nominated artists. Then with a mysterious wink, he said, “I wonder which one is the final winner of this award?”

The camera was pointed at the six people. Because it was a large close-up, every little expression they made could be clearly seen by the audience. Some people smiled stiffly, some were optimistic, but no matter what, they all tried their best to show their beautiful side on camera.

“Oh,” the two guests opened the winning envelope, revealing the same expression. They looked towards the stage and said in unison, “The winner of the best newcomer award is …… Handsome and talented, intelligent and sensitive at the same time, Gongxi Qiao. Let’s congratulate him!”

Gongxi Qiao’s eyes widened and he tried to look surprised, then he smiled with joy, hugged Dai Ni beside him, and bowed to the directors and artists around him before walking towards the stage.

As he walked past Director Li and Director Wang, the two directors smiled gently and got up to pat him on the back, showing their admiration for Gongxi Qiao.

The camera also recorded this scene honestly, so that the audience in front of the TV could see it clearly.

Director Li and Director Wang were such big names in the directing circle that, to use an analogy, as long as a production carried their names, it was a guarantee of quality. Any big gathering of international-level performers was often arranged for them to direct. Such heavyweight directors would actually take the initiative to get up and pat Gongxi Qiao on the back when he passed by, assuming an intimate attitude. Was this the sort of treatment someone could normally get?

When Qiao fans saw this scene, they were already jumping up and down with joy, as if it were themselves who were patted on the back by Director Wang and Director Li.

Receiving the trophy with both hands, Gongxi Qiao also caressed the trophy that was fashioned into a golden flower shape with great care. He shook hands and bowed to the presenting guests before walking to the microphone to look at the crowd below the stage.

“Thank you to the organizing committee for presenting this award to me. I never thought I would have a chance to win this award because the other five nominees were too strong.” He said after a bow, “Thank you to all my colleagues in the ‘National Industry’ crew. Without you, I wouldn’t have had the chance to win this award. I’m also grateful to my agency for all your support. Also, Mom and Dad, I love you!” He raised the trophy in his hand and bowed in all directions to the stage, making a modest gesture and allowing the host to interview him for a few minutes before walking off stage.

Inside the hotel, Xi Qing looked at Gongxi Qiao, who was standing on the stage in a graceful manner, and felt the tips of his ears burning slightly. In order to relieve these kinds of agitated feelings, he had to take out his phone and search for topics about Gongxi Qiao on Weibo.

Seeing that Weibo was full of words praising Gongxi Qiao, he silently clicked several likes under these posts.

After Gongxi Qiao sat down, Dai Ni said with some envy, “I never had a chance to get this award in my life.” For people in the circle, the Best Newcomer Award wasn’t very prestigious, but it was a good start for an artist who just debuted to get it.

“Even without getting the Newcomer Award, you’re still a film queen,” Gongxi Qiao said with a small laugh. “If I could get a Thousand Flowers Award for film emperor ……” he winked and didn’t finish the sentence. Although everyone knew in their hearts that the newcomer award wasn’t worth mentioning at all compared to the best male lead, they couldn’t say it openly.

Dai Ni smiled at the words, and the little regret in her heart disappeared without a trace.

When it came to the Best Actress award, Dai Ni, who had already won two Thousand Flower Awards, looked very poised. For her, winning the award was icing on the cake. Not getting it wouldn’t be too disappointing.

The film she was nominated for was a well-received but not so popular literary film. Although it was an award-ready film, she had already won the award twice. The organizing committee would definitely consider this aspect when judging the award, so her chances of winning the award this time weren’t great.

But with her performance in ‘National Industry’, she might be able to get a Best Supporting Actress.

In the end, she was right. The Best Actress was awarded to an actress in a hard-hitting drama. The actress had been in the industry for many years and was well into her forties, so she cried tears of joy when she got Best Actress.

Gongxi Qiao applauded. Looking at the female artist who was choked up with sobs several times on stage, he turned his head to see Dai Ni who didn’t feel bothered at all. The smile on his face was more sincere by a few points.

What he didn’t expect was that the award for Best Supporting Actor was ultimately awarded to him. He was really a bit surprised. The six nominees for Best Supporting Actor were all famous and skilled artists. There was even Liang Yumeng among them. So, he didn’t expect to get two trophies back from his first participation in the Thousand Flowers Awards.

In the Thousand Flowers Award, the best male and female supporting actors were considered a relatively high-caliber award. The fact that he got this award meant that his status was going to rise by a large margin.

Listening to the tidal wave of applause from the stage, Gongxi Qiao clutched the trophy, uttered a series of thanks, and walked off the stage to even louder applause.

“Congratulations,” Dai Ni said with a big smile, “your first time at the Thousand Flowers Awards and you’ve won two trophies. I wish you all the best.”

Looking at the golden trophies glittering in the light, Gongxi Qiao’s cheeks reddened slightly.

Dai Ni tilted her head and met Liang Yumeng’s gaze. Sensing the complex emotions in his eyes, she raised her eyebrows slightly, then smiled haughtily.

Last year, when ‘National Industry’ was wrapped up, the media said that Gongxi Qiao was holding Liang Yumeng’s thigh. Who knew that now Gongxi Qiao would snatch Liang Yumeng’s Best Supporting Actor award. So, in this industry, the worst thing to do was jump to conclusions too early. Don’t rely on your own popularity to bully others either.

Who knew if the person you bullied would surpass you one day?

Noticing Dai Ni’s line of sight, Liang Yumeng withdrew his gaze and looked at the two trophies in Gongxi Qiao’s hand with dismay, suddenly regretting his initial decision.

In the end, Dai Ni got the Best Supporting Actress award as she wished, which wasn’t a bad deal.

After the award ceremony, Gongxi Qiao was surrounded by the media as soon as he went out, with questions thrown at him one after another, so many that he couldn’t even hear clearly what these reporters asked.

“Thank you all, thank you.” Gongxi Qiao clutched the trophy in his arms and thanked the media while being escorted to the car by He Peng, Chen Ke, and the security guards on site.

The reporters were a little disappointed to see Gongxi Qiao being escorted out by the security guards, but when they saw Liang Yumeng coming out, they gathered around him again.

Both Liang Yumeng and Gongxi Qiao were nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but it was Gongxi Qiao who won the award as a junior, so the media wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Brother Liang, do you have any thoughts on your loss of Best Supporting Actor tonight?”

“Qiao Shao got two trophies tonight, are you optimistic about his future development?”

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Although annoyed, he still had to maintain a smile on his face. When Liang Yumeng heard these two questions, he stopped. He turned to look at the reporter who asked the question and saw that it was just a tabloid reporter, so he frowned and turned his head away without saying anything more.

The agent who followed him saw this and his heart thumped. His intuition told him that this matter might be a little bad. In the past, this wouldn’t have been a big deal. However, now that Liang Yumeng’s popularity was declining and he was robbed of the Best Supporting Actor by his junior, how could the media, who were concerned about not having a good story, let go of such a good opportunity to stir up news?

With just that glance he gave, how many articles could be written up?

If Sun Jingxue was protecting him at this moment, Liang Yumeng could just casually glance away, but now Sun Jingxue already had a new favorite and the two had fallen out. That she hadn’t crushed him was good. Why would she protect him? So even if Liang Yumeng’s glance didn’t mean anything, under the journalist’s pen, it would become all kinds of unpleasant.

Thinking of this, the agent sighed deeply. If Liang Yumeng couldn’t find another chance to turn things around, the agent would have to find a way out, so that he wouldn’t be unlucky along with Liang Yumeng.

The next morning, Gongxi Qiao saw the entertainment news section. In addition to congratulations on who won the Thousand Flowers Awards, there were also articles like ‘Former film emperor dissatisfied with his successor winning the award, facing the media with a black expression.’

In these articles, not only did they write about Liang Yumeng’s dark look last night, they also detailed a lot of other black materials, each of which was deeply emotional and straight to the heart. Those who didn’t know better would think that these reporters followed Liang Yumeng every day, so they knew everything about Liang Yumeng.

To his eyes, some of the black material was really crazy. Even if some of Liang Yumeng’s behavior couldn’t be whitewashed, it was definitely not as black as in the exposé. And Liang Yumeng wasn’t without intelligence. Even if he was dissatisfied with Gongxi Qiao again, he wouldn’t really be seen with a dark expression towards the media. This was definitely an opportunity for someone to step on Liang Yumeng.

When Gongxi Qiao opened his Weibo account, the comments were full of comforting messages to him. They were so earnest that they seemed to be convinced that he had been bullied by Liang Yumeng.

This time, the person behind the attack on Liang Yumeng also had tactics that seemed to step on Liang Yumeng to support Gongxi Qiao. However, who knew whether after a while, it would look like he hired a water army to deliberately slander Liang Yumeng. He knew that after the exposure of the black material, he was clearly the biggest beneficiary.

Liang Yumeng’s agent was in a frenzy at the moment. He had expected that Liang Yumeng might be harassed, but he definitely didn’t expect that he would be harassed so badly. The editors-in-chief and entertainers who used to nod and bow to him now refused to even answer the phone, simply trampling Liang Yumeng to death.

“Who the hell hit so hard!” The agent dropped his phone and looked at Liang Yumeng who was sitting in the corner smoking. “Yumeng, this isn’t easy to deal with. If it really doesn’t work, let’s contact Chen Ke and give in to them ……”

“They didn’t do it,” Liang Yumeng threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray. His whole face looked a little blurry in the smoke, “Gongxi Qiao is a smart man and would never use such a lowly means to create momentum for himself.” Gongxi Qiao didn’t lack exposure now. He was enjoying success in his life, so why would he come out with this kind of news that could easily be turned against him?

The agent froze and instantly realized that with Gongxi Qiao’s current development momentum, there was no need to get himself involved in such troublesome scandals.

Just then, the phone he dropped on the sofa rang, so he busily bent down to pick it up and pressed the answer button.

Liang Yumeng looked at the agent. When he hung up the phone, he said with no expression, “Was it the company that called?” He was now without Sun Jingxue as his backstage support, and he was being slandered like this. Without any reaction from his company, he anticipated what the consequences would be.

The agent shook his head with a complicated expression, “It’s not the company, it’s Gongxi Qiao’s agent Chen Ke.”

“Him?” Liang Yumeng snorted, “Could it be possible that they would still be kind enough to speak up for me?”

What Liang Yumeng didn’t expect was that Gongxi Qiao really spoke up for him. Nowadays, Gongxi Qiao was popular and many entertainers wanted to interview him, so when the entertainer asked about Liang Yumeng’s dark expression, he had a surprised look on his face. “Isn’t there some misunderstanding? When I was in the cast, Brother Liang always took care of me. After I won the award, he even congratulated me happily. Not to mention that he’s a film emperor who has received the Thousand Flowers Award before. How could he be unhappy because he didn’t get the Best Supporting Actor? However, he mentioned to me last night that he hadn’t had a good rest for a few days in order to catch up with calls in recent days. Maybe it was because Brother Liang wasn’t in good spirits and his face was too tired, so the reporters misunderstood.”

The reporters heard Gongxi Qiao’s explanation and were a bit confused. If Liang Yumeng really didn’t get along with Gongxi Qiao, Gongxi Qiao wouldn’t have said good things for him in public, and he even said it to this extent.

But people who wanted to slander Liang Yumeng wouldn’t stop exploding black material because of Gongxi Qiao’s clarification. At most, they would give up the main material of last night’s dark scowl and start exploding other news, even including the fact that Liang Yumeng was once suspected of being supported by a rich woman.

For a while, Liang Yumeng’s popularity plummeted. Many artists, when asked about him by the media, looked away, apparently not wanting to get involved in this fishy business.

In the eyes of the public, his evil deeds were simply too numerous to mention, comparable to murder and arson.

In the end, the only person who really helped him to speak up was Gongxi Qiao.

“That’s how it is in the circle–when you’re hot, everyone wants to lean on you, and when you’re unlucky, people who aren’t related to you will step on you,” Chen Ke held all the newly acquired scripts in front of Gongxi Qiao. “Your initial guess was right. After ‘National Industry’ was released, Liang Yumeng was stepped on like this.”

Carelessly picking through the pile of scripts, Gongxi Qiao held his chin in one hand, “There should be more than one company that stepped on him this time, right?”

“The three big players – Ringstar, Galaxy, and Double Deer – all took action, and several other entertainment companies also followed suit,” Chen Ke shrugged, “and beat Liang Yumeng’s agency without any ability to fight back.”

Gongxi Qiao clarified last night’s incident for him not because they were repaying their grievances with virtue, but to avoid the possibility of having someone sling mud[2] at their heads later. In the entertainment industry, it was better to take precautions before it was too late.

Liang Yumeng had already won the title of film emperor, and now if he took advantage of the popularity of ‘National Industry’ and continued to develop, he would steal the resources of several entertainment companies’ top stars. So several giants, after learning that he had offended Sun Jingxue, were naturally unwilling to let someone from another company stand in the way of their own artists. Several entertainment companies struck a blow in combination, and Liang Yumeng didn’t even have a chance to turn around.

“That’s really tough.” Gongxi Qiao said this sentence indifferently and didn’t continue to comment.

Unless Liang Yumeng could hold another thigh, he wouldn’t be able to get back up.

This time, Chen Ke sent all the works of some directors who were well known in the circle, but the scripts were few and far between. He went through them for half a day and didn’t find any that interested him.

Sometimes an artist’s eye for selecting a script mattered a lot. If he or she always took on dog blood dramas and bad movies, the audience would be worn out even if they were good.

Seeing that Gongxi Qiao seemed dissatisfied with these scripts, Chen Ke said, “Now that ‘National Industry’ has been released recently, and ‘The Greatest Warrior’ has been finished, if you aren’t satisfied with these scripts, why don’t you take a break and participate in a reality show?”

Nowadays, for the sake of ratings, all kinds of reality shows were on TV, but there were only a few that really hit the mark. Others sank before they even made a splash.

Gongxi Qiao’s interest in reality shows was mediocre, so after Chen Ke proposed this idea, he didn’t agree, but said, “First finish the public service announcements that the National Station wants to shoot. Nowadays, there are too many reality shows, and after many artists participate, there are many fans who turn into anti-fans, so let’s wait and see first.”

“That’s also okay,” Chen Ke nodded. Then as if he thought of something else, he said with some hesitation, “‘Cultivation’ starts in more than a month, you can’t really rest for more than a month, right?”

As a legitimately popular artist, who wouldn’t take advantage of this opportunity to get to the next level?

Gongxi Qiao wanted to nod his head and say yes, but seeing that Chen Ke’s expression was too crushed, he had to explain, “After filming the PSA, I’m going to an international cultural exchange conference, so you don’t have to arrange work for me at that time.”

“International cultural exchange conference? What is that?” Chen Ke was full of bewilderment. As an agent, how come he didn’t know what conference Gongxi Qiao was going to attend? With the word international in front of it, it sounded so grand and powerful.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Gongxi Qiao smiled. “I was invited by the National Association of Traditional Painting and Calligraphy. I thought I had nothing to do recently, so I agreed to their invitation. If you’re interested, I can send you an admission ticket.” Speaking of this, he also deliberately added, “This admission ticket is very difficult to get.”

What was the National Association of Traditional Painting and Calligraphy? He didn’t quite understand, but it seemed so high and mighty.

Wrong! The point was that …… Why should Gongxi Qiao be invited to such an important thing as representing the country in the exchange?!

T/N:

Red and black: Red is lucky/popular/positive. Black is negative/bad press/etc. Usually when “red” and “black” appear in this context I translate them to different terms that make more sense in English, but I kept it in this title because it sounds better.Sling mud: The literal translation was “pour dirty water”, an idiom that means the same thing as sling mud – slandering someone.

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