Chapter 86
Ji Yun happily snatched the red envelopes in the group chat and was thrilled to have grabbed a total of 200 yuan.
The group chat filled with "Thank you, boss." Li Chu echoed along, thoroughly enjoying herself when her phone rang with a video call.
"I just saw the news. Seems like perfect timing."
Ning Manqing seemed to have just finished a meeting; the background was still her office. She wore formal attire, her long hair tied back, looking exceptionally sharp.
"Yeah, perfect timing. But... have you lost weight?"
Li Chu had initially wanted to exchange some sweet nothings happily, but looking at the face on the screen, she noticed Ning Manqing seemed a bit thinner.
The contours of her face were more defined, and her lipstick shade added a touch of sharp intensity, diluting the brightness of her features and giving her a somewhat cool aura.
"No, it might just be the makeup," Ning Manqing felt she might have lost some weight, but she didn't admit it, cleverly changing the subject. "Congratulations on the nomination, baby."
The important matter combined with the affectionate term successfully diverted some of Li Chu's attention. She didn't press the issue further, only reminding her, "You promised me you'd take care of yourself."
"Mhm, I will. I just looked at the records. Actually, you don't need to be too nervous. I think your performance was excellent. As long as the drama's reception meets your expectations, that's enough. The award is just icing on the cake."
Ning Manqing couldn't say that Li Chu had the award in the bag, because Ning Manqing believed there was indeed a strong competitor. She wanted to encourage Li Chu but also didn't want to give her excessively high hopes, to avoid potential disappointment.
That strong competitor was Teacher Tao Xin, the lead actress in a drama about the rise and fall of a modern family. She was a formidable Beta actress who had already achieved a grand slam of television honors once before, and her performance this time was still remarkable and outstanding.
"Yeah, I know. I'm already very happy just to be nominated. It doesn't matter if I don't get it this time. My acting career is still long, anyway."
"Mhm, that's right. Our Xiao Chu is amazing."
Ning Manqing looked at Li Chu's face on the screen, really wanting to reach out and stroke it, but unfortunately, all she could touch was the cold screen.
"Will you come to the gala?"
Ning Manqing nodded and said, "I will."
This day was quite important for Li Chu, and she wouldn't miss it, regardless of whether Li Chu won Best Actress in the end.
………
The award ceremony was scheduled for December 26th. Li Chu had originally thought filming for her current drama would extend past the New Year, but she unexpectedly wrapped up filming two days before the award ceremony.
This was actually both surreal and normal; Li Chu just hadn't expected it to happen to her.
Filming had been proceeding normally according to the episodic script, but as they filmed, the investors felt it wasn't interesting enough, lacked market appeal, and demanded the screenwriter add more plot twists and some melodramatic appeal.
Thus, without fully realizing it, Li Chu got a few more scenes opposite the male lead. After filming a few episodes like this, Li Chu realized that the character she was playing seemed to be gradually falling apart.
She was supposed to be a naive, rich, cute, loyal, supportive second-generation wealthy character, but she was gradually turning into a manipulative "green tea" type. In just these few episodes, she had become close confidantes with the male lead. When Li Chu received the script for the next episode, she couldn't help but protest.
She couldn't bring herself to act out this part, even frowning through it. In this episode, the two female leads had an argument. Her character, the second female lead, had to comfort her own best friend (Female Lead 1), and then go comfort her best friend's girlfriend (Female Lead 2).
And while comforting the best friend's girlfriend, the lines she had to say were things like "I understand you," and "She really shouldn't be like that."
The other female lead (Female Lead 2) was very moved, thinking she was incredibly understanding, and even delivered a cringeworthy line: "If only she could understand me like you do."
Li Chu's expression after reading this was: ???
As she continued reading, her expression became increasingly contorted.
The second female lead (Li Chu's character) tells the other female lead (FL2) to buy a gift for Female Lead 1 (FL1) as an apology, accompanies her to pick it out—choosing necklaces and rings. The second female lead tries them on, and the salesperson, unaware of the situation, smilingly said they looked good together.
The script described the second female lead blushing furiously and awkwardly denying it. Then, this scene was witnessed by another friend of Female Lead 1, who took a photo and sent it to Female Lead 1, thus beginning the sweet cycle of misunderstanding and reconciliation.
Li Chu looked utterly disgusted. She didn't actually have an issue with this kind of plot, her objection was the destruction of her character's established personality.
If the character had been manipulative from the start, or if there were sufficient motives and reasons, it would be fine. But this kind of mid-stream twist was truly stomach-churning.
The screenwriter helplessly said, "Sister Li, I can't help it either. The investors demanded it. I definitely have to comply. Please understand."
Li Chu couldn't understand. If this was filmed, her character would definitely attract criticism. But it wasn't just about the criticism; out of responsibility to the character and her own reputation, Li Chu felt it was unacceptable.
So she suggested, "Why don't you just write this character off? Isn't that also quite dramatic? It could be heart-wrenching, draw some tears, and push the relationship between the two female leads forward."
"Besides, if this character dies, wouldn't the female lead (FL1) then have no reason to keep living at her place? Couldn't she then move in with the other female lead (FL2)? Wouldn't that make things fall into place naturally?"
Li Chu offered the screenwriter a new direction, and the screenwriter nodded thoughtfully.
In reality, most actors don't have much power to change the script. However, it depends on the current circumstances. Li Chu had the highest status and best resources in this crew, so she had a certain amount of say.
If Li Chu were in one of Ji Yun's productions, she definitely couldn't negotiate with San Qiu like this, unless she brought investment into the production. But with a director like Ji Yun, bringing investment wouldn't work either; you had to act whatever role you were given. However, Ji Yun wouldn't ruin a character's integrity anyway.
After the screenwriter revised the script, Li Chu's character was indeed written off.
The investors thought this plot development wasn't bad either. Although they did want Li Chu to have more screen time, considering her salary was almost as high as the main leads', and thinking they could introduce new characters later, they happily agreed.
When Li Chu told Tang Congnan about this, she expressed relief that she got out quickly; otherwise, given the investors' tendencies, who knew what other strange maneuvers might have followed.
At least she had narrowly managed to preserve her character's integrity. The screenwriter managed to smooth things over: the second female lead befriending the other female lead wasn't about being manipulative, but rather out of concern for her best friend's happiness, guiding the other female lead, and then her death would drive the plot forward.
Upon learning about Li Chu's ordeal, Tang Congnan laughed mercilessly, saying it served her right for choosing to play the second female lead instead of the main one.
Li Chu felt her 'male mom' agent had lost his warmth, but thankfully, she still had her girlfriend.
The Yulan Awards ceremony wasn't held in Yunzhou, but in another city. Although the outdoor temperature in that city wasn't as low as Yunzhou's, it was still around freezing.
Li Chu, dressed in haute couture, felt like her face was frozen stiff, but she still forced a smile for the cameras, walked the red carpet, signed her name, and posed for photos.
Her mind was blank, filled only with cold, cold, cold, cold, cold.
Looking around at the others in the venue, they weren't faring much better than her.
This highlighted the difference between actors and directors. Ji Yun was cheerful in his thick padded jacket, and Zhao Zhichun also looked composed.
"Brother Zhao, aren't you cold?"
Li Chu glanced at Zhao Zhichun's suit, which didn't look very thick. Why did he look so comfortable?
"I stuck heat packs inside my suit. Too bad you can't do that."
Zhao Zhichun looked at her sympathetically. After all, nobody sticks heat packs inside a haute couture gown.
Li Chu said resentfully, "Oh. Then you don't get any of the crispy chicken cartilage later."
Zhao Zhichun feigned shock, "How about I peel one off right now to warm your hands?"
"Go, go, get away from me. Be careful or those rumors will start up again."
Li Chu chuckled at his silly expression and actions, waving him away.
"Hasn't Teacher Ning arrived yet?" Zhao Zhichun asked.
"She was supposed to arrive around this time, but there might be delays due to the weather," Li Chu replied.
"She definitely won't be absent. Don't be too nervous."
Zhao Zhichun comforted Li Chu. His hand instinctively moved to pat her shoulder, but then he thought better of it, giving a symbolic pat in the air near her shoulder instead.
After they entered the venue, Li Chu felt much better and stopped shivering. Although it wasn't very warm, with many people gathered together, the effect was decent enough.
Since they were from the same production crew, their seats were arranged together. Ji Yun unhurriedly pulled a large plastic bag from his padded jacket; inside were several nicely packaged bags of snacks.
"This packaging is so thoughtful! I wish I had a sister like this too. Wow, this tastes amazing! Director Ji, when is your sister opening a shop?" Zhao Zhichun exclaimed.
"She doesn't need the money, it's purely a hobby," Ji Yun said cheerfully. "You're not blessed enough to have a sister like that. You might as well hurry up and..."
Ji Yun trailed off, but everyone understood what he meant.
Zhao Zhichun retorted mercilessly, "As if you have one."
"Doesn't everyone lack one? Besides, I'm dedicated to art."
Ji Yun wasn't exactly inexperienced in love, being in his mid-thirties, but he had never settled down.
"Give me a break. Who says everyone lacks one? Didn't Li Zi..." Zhao Zhichun almost let it slip, but under Li Chu's glare, he changed tack, "...didn't she have rumors with me? Let me tell you, the media used to say we were passionately in love."
"The media is really ridiculous," Ji Yun laughed, finding both suggestions equally absurd. "Rumors with you? They might as well say it's with Lao Ning."
San Qiu, beside him, pushed up his glasses and looked at his slow-witted old friend with pity.
Just before the event began, Ning Manqing arrived. She sat down beside Li Chu, bringing a hint of the wind and snow from outside, and gave Li Chu a reassuring smile.
Li Chu's nervous heart settled somewhat, but as the event progressed, her heart gradually started pounding again. By the time they announced the Best Actress award amidst lighthearted banter, she almost couldn't think or breathe.
As the presenter playfully dragged out the announcement for Best Actress, the camera cut to each nominee. Li Chu maintained a smile, but her palms were sweaty.
The audience watching the live broadcast also held their breath; for a moment, there were hardly any scrolling comments.
"Alright, alright, no more joking. Let's say it together, this year's Yulan Award for Best Actress goes to..." The presenters leaned into the microphones and announced in unison, "Tao Xin!"
The audience erupted in cheers, and Li Chu joined in the applause.
But she clearly felt the strength that had kept her sitting upright suddenly drain away. She heard the sound of her own heart sinking, finally hitting the ground.
At that moment, a warm hand reached over. Li Chu didn't look at Ning Manqing, but her hand gripped hers tightly.
As if by doing so, she could draw more strength.
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