Four years ago, Xia Siyu had been in the industry for seven years and attended the Gold Oscar Awards for the sixth time.

At that time, she and Bo Yan were still in opposing camps and had not yet started filming "Storm." She went to the Gold Oscar Awards merely as a spectator. Back then, winning an award seemed far out of reach; attending film festivals might have been more about wearing beautiful dresses and gracefully walking the red carpet, capturing a few pretty photos.

In just four years, she also experienced nearly half a year of decline due to taking the blame. But perhaps, it was this period of decline that brought her life’s ups and downs and added depth to her acting.

The former Xia Siyu had an untouched innocence, with expressions that were candidly adorable. Though the Xia Family had wronged her and her mother, her parents did indeed protect her well since childhood. Moreover, luck was on her side; her first movie upon entering the entertainment industry was a big hit, and she reached the peak almost effortlessly without much hardship.

Even with many haters emerging in between, she didn’t care much about them or public opinion, so it wasn’t considered much of an adversity. The seven years of accumulation in the entertainment industry, along with Bo Yan laying the theoretical foundation, and her own diligence in addition to life’s upheavals.

In just four years, she has already secured two major awards and is now aiming for the third.

Even if she doesn’t win this year, next year she still has "Overthrows the Country and the City," another chance to strive for an award. As for box office, the superhero blockbuster she’s filming has already released a teaser. Unless there are unforeseen circumstances, it will be released globally earliest at the end of this year.

Judging from the trailer, the quality is extraordinarily good. Xia Siyu wears elaborate and somewhat classical costumes; importantly, her movements are graceful and sharp. Though she isn’t as robust as some white actresses, she is slender yet powerful, with eyes that may seem lazy and flirtatious but reveal strong capability, not only not dragging the male lead down but often secretly assisting him.

As soon as the trailer was released, superhero fans around the world exclaimed that she was almost a spot-on rendition of the original work, even more stunning than the female characters as drawn by European and American artists.

Although Hollywood has always valued the Asian market, they harbor a consistent bias, selecting Asian actors who are often unimpressive. In this film, Xia Siyu’s beauty speaks for itself, and the makeup artist was thoughtful, not deliberately making her eyes narrow to fit Western aesthetics. The costumes were fitting for her character as a seductive agent, with good taste in attire.

To many white audiences, it was like opening a new world, realizing there is such beauty among Asians. At least, just by looking at the poster and the current trailer version, expectations are sky-high.

It’s evident that the film’s male lead John Scott also likes this movie quite a bit. Recently, at the Oscar ceremony, he specifically mentioned Xia Siyu, saying that working with her was wonderful and that they’re already "buddies."

Xia Siyu heeded Bo Yan’s advice, no longer just coasting through her career, merely treating acting as a profession. She didn’t overdraw herself, keeping her schedule flexible. Having previously benefited from her experience in opera, she now practices every day. Opera not only improves her posture and acting skills but doubles as a way to lose weight, achieving multiple goals. For each film she accepts, she also gets familiar with the role in advance, preparing for at least half a month. During downtime, she only accepts commercial engagements and is cautious about variety shows.

Unlike idols and pop stars who wish to participate in programs as much as possible to increase exposure—where exposure means popularity and fame—film actors like her should indeed maintain a distance from the audience. Previously, a well-known actor, after participating in a popular reality show, audiences unconsciously associated his playful antics from the show with the roles he played, forcing him to quit variety shows to avoid creating stereotypes.

The saying goes, a balance between work and rest—you can’t always work tirelessly without a break, even a production team’s donkey needs a rest sometimes. But after resting, Xia Siyu, who returns to acting, certainly puts in 100% effort.

When the Gold Oscar nominees were announced, she happened to be filming. The lively discussions outside seemed unrelated to her. The world was abuzz, debating who would win the best actor and actress awards.

Having experienced the Golden Phoenix award’s downfall, Bo Yan got wise and applied for Best New Director with "Sunrise." Given the quality of "Sunrise," this award seemed tailor-made for him. Additionally, "Sunrise" was also nominated for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Picture, Best Cinematography, among seven or eight awards.

However, her rival Shang Feifei also got nominated with "Moon Over the Sea." Since one had previously won the Golden Phoenix for "Sunrise" and the other was pushing for a second, both prospects were difficult, hence expectations were high about who would take home the award.

Before winning her first award, Xia Siyu craved it, but after receiving the first one, she maintained her composure, and her unexpected joy at winning the second was apparent. But by this point, she had come to terms with things.

With the film finished, worrying was moot. Even if she didn’t win this time, she’d have countless opportunities in the future. With two awards in hand, she had not disgraced her mother’s name and could bear less of a burden, gradually enjoying life and work.

Shang Feifei too, previously ambitious to complete the Grand Slam early, yet after collaborating with Xia Siyu on the investigative film "Alibi," she didn’t express it openly but internally admired Xia Siyu’s acting skills at this stage. It wasn’t just her skills; the two of them continually working early and late days in the crew for training—as initiated by Xia Siyu—also earned Feifei’s respect towards Xia’s serious work attitude.

However, while the individuals themselves weren’t in a rush, the outside was fiercely competitive. Fans of both gathered support in forums, fighting constantly, which became the norm. Unlike the extent of arguments that other fan groups might reach—with the minimum being verbal spats and maximum being referencing ancestors up to eighteen generations—fans of these two were still reasonable, logically analyzing who might win. Xia Siyu’s fan group had been instructed strictly not to let major fans instigate trouble. Shang Feifei’s side was similar, with followers emulating their leader, keeping things Zen-like.

Aside from fans, critics also analyzed who might win between the two. If Xia Siyu succeeded, she would become the first Grand Slam winner in nearly a decade, combined with her past Cannes supporting actress and Golden Lion victories, an undisputed top figure for China destined to be included in textbooks. If Shang Feifei succeeded, though not a Grand Slam winner, she’s also holding three trophies, equal to reaching the peak.