Chapter 53

By the time Lin Zhinan arrived, all three of them were passed out on the living room floor. The whole place reeked of alcohol. She opened the windows first to air it out, then went around waking them up one by one.

They’d only slept a short while, and the alcohol had mostly worn off, but all three were still in that dazed, hungover fog. Xia Yuan had no idea why his throat felt like he’d screamed it raw.

Shen Junyi looked at the broken half of his glow stick, tossed it in the trash, and called his assistant. Both of them called for rides. At the door, Xia Yuan turned back apologetically: “Sis, should we help you clean up the living room before we go?”

Zhao Yu sat on the sofa cradling a cup of hot water, rubbing her head and waving them off: “Just go, both of you.”

Shen Junyi waved cheerfully: “Big brother will come drink with you again next time.”

His reward was a pillow thrown at his face.

The alcohol was gone, but their heads were still spinning. Lin Zhinan watched them both put on their hats and masks and step into the elevator before heading back inside. Their assistants were already waiting in the garage. Xia Yuan pressed the button for B1, glanced back at Shen Junyi fussing with his bangs in the elevator’s mirrored wall, and pursed his lips. “Junyi, did you really know my sister when you were kids?”

He vaguely remembered the two of them arguing about childhood stuff when they were drunk.

Shen Junyi flicked his bangs: “Yeah.”

Xia Yuan: “Then how come I’ve never heard her mention it? You making it up?”

Shen Junyi tapped him on the brim of his cap: “You know how many years she called me ‘brother’? Show some respect, you little brat! And stop running over to your sister’s place so much. Don’t you know boys and girls should keep some distance?”

Xia Yuan was indignant: “Just because she called you ‘brother’ a few times doesn’t actually make her your sister! You’re so controlling!”

Shen Junyi folded his arms, completely unashamed: “Yeah, she is my sister. If I don’t keep an eye out, am I supposed to just let you pigs come in and root around?”

Xia Yuan was furious: “You called Wei Chi a pig before, and now you’re calling me and Teacher Ji pigs! I’m going to expose you online!”

Shen Junyi spread his hands with a grin: “I didn’t say it—you did.”

The elevator doors dinged open. Shen Junyi waved behind him and strode off, leaving Xia Yuan fuming in his wake.

After all those days of “indoor partying,” Lin Zhinan finally stopped worrying that Zhao Yu would turn psycho. She’d been on break ever since The Cage wrapped, and now that the vacation was over, her schedule was filling up again.

It was once again the season for music festivals and commercial performances. Zhao Yu had barely done any music festivals last year because she’d had to fill in for Jiang Yu’s variety show, and the Yu Beauties had been howling about it for a whole year. This year, she could finally make it up to them and give them their stage fix.

Fans had assumed that after finishing Nine Heavens and The Cage, Zhao Yu’s focus would shift to acting. They’d already braced themselves for a dry spell of live performances. But then her studio dropped the schedule for the next few months, and it was packed with commercial gigs. The fans were over the moon.

Just as Zhao Yu had said before, she loved the stage more than acting. As long as she could still dance, she would never give it up.

The summer passed on singing and dancing stages. Come autumn, Nine Heavens, which had dominated the ratings on two major networks, was nominated for the Golden TV Awards. Online discussions were buzzing about who would take home this year’s Best Actor and Best Actress.

Nine Heavens was a nationwide phenomenon, and its heat still lingered. It wasn’t just the actors—the script, the cinematography, the score, the director, and the writers were all exceptional. Some netizens predicted that Nine Heavens would sweep the Golden TV Awards and take a grand slam.

But at award ceremonies like this, Best Actor and Best Actress were almost never given to the same production. Ji Shucheng, a veteran Best Actor himself, was the male lead in this male-centric drama, so his chances were high. As for Zhao Yu, the female lead—her odds were probably slim.

Even though netizens had speculated about this long before, when the actual ceremony arrived, the Yu Beauties still clenched their hearts.

At the Golden TV Awards, the male and female leads typically walked the red carpet together. But because the online CP buzz between Zhao Yu and Ji Shucheng was so intense, Zhao Yu asked the organizers to arrange for her to walk solo to avoid fueling the rumors.

She was scheduled right before Shen Junyi.

He was also nominated this year for a modern drama that had aired, though he was mostly there to fill out the roster—it wasn’t easy for a traffic star to win Best Actor.

The two cars pulled up side by side. Zhao Yu was scrolling through her phone when she heard the window beside her roll down and a cheerful whisper: “Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu—”

Shen Junyi’s co-star from the same drama was sitting next to him. Zhao Yu looked up, greeted the actress warmly, then turned to him: “What?”

He was wearing a white tuxedo with his hair slicked back, looking every bit the elegant young gentleman—until he opened his mouth: “Aren’t you cold in that?”

Zhao Yu gave him a look that said “you know the answer to that.”

He rested his arm on the window and leaned half his head out to look around: “You’re walking the red carpet alone?”

Zhao Yu smiled: “Is that not allowed?”

Shen Junyi said, “It’s allowed, just looks a little lonely.” He paused, then grinned: “Wanna walk with us?”

Zhao Yu saw the actress beside him turn green.

This man had a gift for tilting anyone’s equilibrium at any time.

Zhao Yu rolled her window halfway up: “No thanks. I prefer to shine solo.”

When it was almost her turn to enter, her assistant opened the car door. As Zhao Yu lifted her skirt to step out, she heard someone call from behind: “Zhao Yu—”

She turned back, exasperated: “What now?”

Shen Junyi grinned wide: “Go get that award, yeah.”

Zhao Yu: “Take that up with the committee.”

Sure, she wanted to win—but the committee had to give it to her first.

Lin Zhinan had been asking around for a while, and all the feedback said Best Actor was basically locked for Ji Shucheng. With Nine Heavens this huge, and Ji Shucheng delivering an extraordinary performance as the male lead, there was no reason he wouldn’t win.

Zhao Yu’s role was also brilliant and still ranked number one in audience favorites, but her screen time was limited. Plus, giving her the award over Ji Shucheng just didn’t make sense.

So she’d come mentally prepared—just going through the motions.

The autumn wind was biting. Fans and media lined both sides of the red carpet. Zhao Yu held up her skirt, waving and smiling all the way. Only once she was inside did the temperature finally warm up.

Even though they hadn’t walked the red carpet together, her seat was still next to Ji Shucheng’s. He was already there, and when she sat down, he turned and smiled: “Good evening.”

Zhao Yu rubbed her arms and teased: “Teacher Ji, congratulations in advance on your win.”

Ji Shucheng gave her a helpless look. “It’s still uncertain.”

Zhao Yu: “Trust your own ability!”

Ji Shucheng seemed used to her ever-energetic encouragement. He shook his head with a small smile. “Alright.”

The celebrities filed in one by one. At 7 PM, the award ceremony officially began.

Besides the live audience, plenty of netizens were watching the stream. As one of the four major domestic awards, the Golden TV Awards carried significant prestige and drew a lot of attention.

The first award announced was Best Chinese TV Drama. When the words “Nine Heavens” rang out, neither the audience nor netizens were surprised at all—in fact, they felt it was only right! If Best Drama didn’t go to Nine Heavens, it would’ve been a scandal.

After the announcement, the camera cut to the leads, the director, and the producers of Nine Heavens. Zhao Yu and Ji Shucheng were both clapping and smiling as the director went up to accept the award on behalf of the production.

After a few standard thank-yous to the audience and crew, the director was ready to step down, but the host called him back: “Not going to say a few more words?”

The director: “No rush. I’ll be back up later.”

The host: “…”

The audience burst into laughter, and netizens watching the stream were in stitches too.

He wasn’t wrong!

No one thought the director was boasting. Nine Heavens’ results spoke for themselves, and among the other nominees, there was hardly any competition that could go toe-to-toe with it.

Sure enough, in the awards that followed, Nine Heavens took home Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Music. As netizens had predicted, Nine Heavens swept almost every category.

The final major awards were Best Actor and Best Actress.

Even though Zhao Yu had mentally prepared herself and came with a “just going through the motions” attitude, when the moment actually arrived, she still felt a flutter of nervousness and hope.

She’d been thriving in the music world, but in film and television, she still lacked a solid award to her name—and that stung a little.

Ji Shucheng seemed to sense her tension. He leaned over and said softly, “Stay calm.”

Zhao Yu let out a quiet breath and smiled, nodding.

Best Actor was announced first. The five nominees appeared on the big screen—Shen Junyi was among them. He looked completely relaxed, while the others sat upright with practiced smiles. He was grinning and waving at the camera.

The tension in Zhao Yu’s chest eased the moment she saw his face.

And then she cursed him in her head: what a bastard.

After the host dragged out the suspense with plenty of theatrical hesitation, the venue finally rang with Ji Shucheng’s name. With this win, he was now a triple-crown Best Actor.

Zhao Yu applauded and congratulated him from the bottom of her heart, and the knot in her chest fully loosened.

Since the male lead had won, there was no way she, the female lead, would take the other award.

Then again, Nine Heavens had racked up so many awards this time, and she’d contributed too—at least she hadn’t dragged down a major production like the haters claimed.

After Best Actress was announced, the ceremony wound down.

Online, people were discussing the new Best Actor and Best Actress. Many also noted that while Nine Heavens had swept the Golden TV Awards and just about the entire cast had won something, the female lead was the only one left empty-handed.

That was kind of pitiful, honestly.

When she left the venue and headed to the media area for interviews, the more provocative reporters brought up the topic.

Zhao Yu held up her skirt, smiled at the cameras, and gave a four-word reply: “Honored to share the glory.”

The interview didn’t last long. Others might not know, but Lin Zhinan knew her too well. Zhao Yu looked fine on the surface, but she was disappointed. As her friend and agent, Lin Zhinan understood how competitive she was deep down.

As soon as Zhao Yu finished answering questions, Lin Zhinan stepped in and blocked the reporters: “That’s all for today’s interview. Thank you, everyone.”

Sure enough, the moment they left the interview area and headed back to the green room, Zhao Yu let out a wistful sigh.

Lin Zhinan tried to comfort her: “It’s okay! We weren’t counting on winning this one anyway. The Cage is coming out soon—that’s your real heavy hitter. From now on, no more supporting roles for male leads. We’re going full female-led! Then we’ll take that grand slam!”

Zhao Yu paused for a moment. “Don’t take any new scripts for now.”

Lin Zhinan was horrified: “The disappointment hit you that hard?!”

Zhao Yu: “No. I want to start planning next year’s concert early.” She pumped her fist: “The confidence I lost here, I’m going to find it back on stage!”

The stage was like her charging station—it always gave her endless energy.

Lin Zhinan ran the numbers in her head. “That works. I’ll set it up tomorrow. It’s been a while since your last tour—next year would be a good time.”

Zhao Yu: “Deal!”

After the ceremony came the banquet. Zhao Yu didn’t really want to go, but to avoid the media spinning stories about her being upset, she mustered her spirits and headed over anyway.

As she walked down the hallway, she spotted Shen Junyi in his white tuxedo standing at the corner with two glasses of red wine. When he saw her, he raised one with a grin.

Zhao Yu walked over: “What are you doing here?”

Shen Junyi handed her one of the glasses: “Waiting for you. Let’s go in together.”

Zhao Yu gave him a skeptical look: “Why would I go in with you? Loser solidarity?”

Shen Junyi pressed the glass into her hand: “What ‘loser’? I never cared about that award in the first place!”

Zhao Yu couldn’t help laughing at his smug, chin-up posture.

Shen Junyi tugged her arm: “Come on, let’s pop in, make a round, and get out. I’ve got Wei Chi and Xia Yuan waiting for us at a BBQ place. You coming?”

Zhao Yu walked with him but answered honestly: “Not really. I’m tired. I just want to go home and sleep.”

Shen Junyi studied her for a moment. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

Zhao Yu scoffed: “Like you know me that well.”

Shen Junyi said matter-of-factly: “Of course I know you. I know you way better than those old fogeys on the committee! If they knew you like I do, they’d have picked you for Best Actress no question. Tsk. Old men. No taste.”

Zhao Yu thought for a moment, then finally realized what he was doing. “You came to comfort me?”

Shen Junyi: “Is it not obvious?”

Zhao Yu: “…I’d say it’s very obvious.”

Shen Junyi pushed open the glass door, and the distinctive atmosphere of the banquet washed over them. Zhao Yu frowned instinctively.

Through the glass, he caught her expression, paused, and turned: “You don’t want to go in?”

Zhao Yu said, “Not really, but if I don’t, the reporters will definitely make something up. I can already see the headline: Zhao Yu Loses Best Actress, Skips Banquet, Gets Drunk Alone at a Late-Night BBQ Stall in Sorrow.”

Shen Junyi gave her a long, unreadable look, then took the wine glass from her hand, set it on a nearby table, pulled the glass door shut, and pushed her: “Come on, let’s go!”

Zhao Yu was shoved a few feet away: “What are you doing?”

Shen Junyi: “Going to get drunk.”

By the time they got to the BBQ place, Wei Chi and Xia Yuan were already there. To avoid another drunken incident like the one at Zhao Yu’s place, they each got only one bottle of beer and the rest was soda.

Zhao Yu munched on skewers and watched the three of them raising a ruckus, and the last trace of disappointment in her heart faded.

What did it matter? Her career path was still long. If she couldn’t win now, she’d win later. As long as she didn’t give up, time would give her everything she wanted.

As they left the BBQ joint, the night wind cut cold and sharp, sneaking down everyone’s collars.

Zhao Yu wrapped her coat tighter and watched Shen Junyi for a while as he animatedly shared stage tips with Xia Yuan. Then she called out, “Shen Junyi.”

He turned around: “Huh?”

Zhao Yu said, “Want to be a guest at my concert next year?”

He seemed surprised by the sudden invitation, raising an eyebrow. Then a grin spread across his face. “Sure.” He asked, “How much are you paying me?”