1922: Who is your partner for the red carpet?

Who is your partner for the red carpet?

Lu Jinyu nodded in agreement. "That's true! Another nominee—a seasoned thespian with great acting—was nominated for the Best Actress award for eight consecutive years but always failed to clinch it each time. Rumors have it that, this time, the award is hers for the taking."2

Jiang Shen frowned. "Are you referring to Chen Han?"

"Yep. That's her."

He shook his head with a sigh. "That's too bad for our sis-in-law. If she's already internally selected for that award, our sis-in-law could at most receive an award for Best Rookie Actress. It's not bad, though, considering that it's still a big award."

The other man silently rolled his eyes. "Are you stupid? With the chief's help, our sis-in-law can easily bag any award. That's not what I'm worried about."

"What are you worried about, then?"

"My concern is if the chief will attend the film festival."

He laughed. "Why do you care about that? What does his attendance have to do with you?"

"As that event's sponsor, I've been invited to attend it, too! If the chief isn't planning to attend, then I'll get our sis-in-law to walk the red carpet with me. It just so happens that I'm lacking a partner."

Jiang Shen scoffed at his friend right away. "Don't harbor any thoughts on our sis-in-law. She may not agree with it, either!"

"She's an understanding and gentle person, so she surely won't refuse my request."

"Dream on!" spat Mu Yazhe.

Lu Jinyu went on explaining himself with a grin. "From what I've heard, our sis-in-law doesn't have a partner yet. Surely, we can't let her walk the red carpet alone; she'll become a laughingstock if that's so."

"Do you think I have no clue of what you're up to?" his chief retorted. "If I attend the film festival, you, as its sponsor, can use my attendance to boost its popularity and raise your advertising fees. Ultimately, won't you be the one reaping all the benefits?"

Despite having his plans exposed, the guy felt no shame at all and just laughed everything off. "Exactly. That's why please attend the film festival, chief! Your attendance will guarantee at least a hundred or so additional seats for our media friends since you rarely appear before the public. You can also walk the red carpet with our sis-in-law! It's not a bad idea."

"I can consider attending…"

"Looks like his attendance comes with conditions!" Jiang Shen laughed.

"Go on, chief."

"Wouldn't it be very embarrassing for your sister-in-law if she were to fail to get any award despite attending the festival and walking the red carpet with me?"

The man briefly touched on the topic of the award, letting his subordinate ponder on his point.

At this, Jiang Shen nodded in support. "Yup. She should get the rookie and best actress awards."

"No problem! Leave it all to me, chief! I'll go make arrangements with the organizers."

"No need for that!"

Yun Shishi's calm voice reverberated from behind.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, not knowing when the woman had returned from the washroom. It so happened that she heard them secretly discussing the award affair when she came back from the lavatory. Her expression blanched a little.

Sitting down beside her man, she slowly said, "Que sera sera. Just take it easy and let things be. There's no need for you guys to manipulate the results. I won't be happy winning the awards this way. I wish to rely on myself and win them with my acting skills under fair conditions."

Jiang Shen was torn between tears and laughter following her comment. "There are plenty of dark dealings behind the scenes, sis-in-law! Just because you have superb acting skills doesn't mean that the award is yours. A lot of people will manipulate the results to oust you out from the rankings, so there's no such thing as fairness in such competitions."

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