"Little Qi is my son," Old Qi said succinctly. His son could get nominated. He was the father, and he’d been making movies his whole life. How could he be any worse than Little Qi? Old Qi still had confidence in himself.

Old Wang pursed his lips but didn’t argue with him. The two of them followed the crew inside and sat down in their seats. Of course, the news that the two great directors had appeared at the international film festival and walked the red carpet with Tan You and her team was transmitted back to their home country in real time.

Upon hearing this news, the feelings of several executives back home were rather complicated. They were certainly happy to have gotten scripts from Tan You, but at the same time, they felt a little stifled, as if they were implicitly bowing their heads to her.

They had all planned out how they would argue with Tan You about investment shares later, but who knew she wouldn’t even engage? It felt like they had thrown a punch that hit nothing but air.

Meanwhile, people in the industry became active again. Those who navigated the entertainment circle were naturally sharp. If they hadn’t been optimistic about Tan You’s crew winning an award before, now that the two great directors, Old Qi and Old Wang, had walked the red carpet with them, they probably thought highly of the film too.

As a result, even more people now had their eyes on Old Qi’s and Old Wang’s scripts. Old Wang had already cast his male lead, but that didn’t matter. Old Qi hadn’t committed to anyone yet. At the very least, there would be auditions.

Putting aside the cutthroat turmoil back home, Tan You sat perfectly composed in the auditorium. Thanks to her cheat, the Beauty System, she already knew the final outcome.

But the others didn’t know, so they were understandably anxious. However, seeing how calm Tan You was, their own tense and flustered hearts couldn’t help but settle down.

Tan You nodded slightly. "Even if we don’t win an award, we can come back next year. If we don’t succeed the first time, we’ll try a second. We’re still young; we have plenty of time."

Hu Yi and the others were placated. "Yes, Sister Wen, you’re right. I really shouldn’t be so concerned about winning or losing. Like you said, just being nominated is a victory in itself." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The host of the film festival was a very famous stand-up comedian who had emceed many award ceremonies. As he joked and bantered on stage, waves of laughter rippled through the auditorium.

Even someone like Tan You, who wasn’t prone to smiling, couldn’t help but let the corners of her lips curve up at certain jokes. The cameraman seemed to have a soft spot for her; her face would appear on the large screen from time to time, especially when she smiled.

Everyone has an eye for beauty; people can tell whether someone is beautiful or not. As the audience murmured about Tan You, the awards ceremony officially began. The first few to be announced were minor awards, which of course had nothing to do with their crew.

Everyone maintained a casual attitude, clapping when they were supposed to clap and smiling when they were supposed to smile. Their main goal was simply to keep morale high.

It wasn’t until the slightly more prestigious awards were announced that everyone unconsciously sat up straight.

Tan You, on the other hand, remained as composed as ever.

Director Qi, sitting to Tan You’s right, asked, "So calm?"

Tan You leaned slightly closer to him. "Of course. I have faith in our work."

She had never said this in public before, but at this point, Tan You saw no reason to be coy.

Sure enough, they won the award for Best Costume Design. When Zhang Yiyi went up to accept it, she suppressed her excitement. Cradling the trophy, her very first words were to single out Sister Wen. "I want to thank Sister Wen here. She is a brilliant judge of talent who discovered me among countless others."

"Back then, I was just a minor costume designer, but Sister Wen recognized my abilities from our very first meeting and chose me without hesitation. During the production, Sister Wen never interfered with any of my designs and always gave me the best feedback."

"Talent is common, but a great judge of talent is rare. It was truly my good fortune to have met Sister Wen. Thank you. Thank you for choosing me with such conviction."

As the camera focused on her, Tan You nodded slightly. Her face still held a smile, with no trace of smugness or pride. ’Inwardly, however, Tan You was a little surprised. I didn’t expect Zhang Yiyi to thank me first.’

This scene continued to play out. After they won the awards for Best Original Score and Best Film Editing, the first words of each recipient’s acceptance speech were to thank Sister Wen.

Tan You looked at Director Qi beside her. "Did they plan this?"

Director Qi let out a low chuckle. "Of course not. I believe it comes from the heart."

Hu Yi added, "Everyone is truly grateful to you, Sister Wen. They’re all speaking from the heart."

With the minor awards handed out, only a few major, heavyweight prizes remained: Best Actor and Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture.

The first to be announced was Best Supporting Actor. Wan Yi, who had been certain he wouldn’t win, had been calm ever since he entered the auditorium. It wasn’t until last year’s Best Supporting Actor announced his name from the stage that Wan Yi belatedly realized... ’Did that pie in the sky really just land on my head?’

Perhaps because his dumbfounded expression was so amusing, a ripple of soft laughter spread through the audience. Wei Wei, unable to watch any longer, tugged at the hem of Wan Yi’s clothes. Wan Yi jolted back to his senses.

He walked onto the stage in a few quick strides and accepted the trophy from the previous year’s winner. Wan Yi tried to smile, but his eyes reddened first. The auditorium instantly fell silent, and everyone watched him quietly.

Director Qi commented, "Don’t be fooled by Wan Yi’s flighty and unsettled nature. When his acting talent erupts, it’s terrifying. He’s incredibly moving and has a real knack for making the audience empathize."

Tan You nodded. "I know. His devil-may-care attitude is just a facade. He has a very rich and colorful inner world."

Seemingly aware that he was losing his composure, Wan Yi blinked and glanced in Tan You’s direction. As expected, he began with that now-familiar line: "I want to thank Sister Wen. Without her, I wouldn’t be here today..."

The audience immediately broke into laughter. How many times had that line been said today? They were becoming more and more curious about this "Sister Wen." It seemed she had the Midas touch; anyone she scouted turned out to be exceptionally talented.

Tan You felt a bit helpless as she applauded along with the audience. Honestly, she felt she had only given them an opportunity. It wasn’t the life-changing favor they made it out to be.

Director Qi said, "Do you know how rare an opportunity is? What’s even rarer is to give someone that chance and then stand by them unwaveringly, refusing to be swayed by outside opinions. That’s incredibly precious."

Tan You shook her head. "That’s because they are talented themselves. We helped each other succeed; it wasn’t a case of one person making the other. Everyone involved is very capable."

After a couple of sentimental lines, Wan Yi’s devil-may-care nature resurfaced. "I originally thought I wouldn’t win, so I’ve just been participating as a spectator the whole time..."

"Thinking about it now, it’s actually great not to be too hung up on winning, because when I actually won, I found that my joy was multiplied."

"I want to thank everyone in the crew. And of course, I also want to thank myself for working so hard on the film for the past six months. Hard work really does pay off."