The last time she attended the Golden Cong Awards was two years ago. She and Lu Yinbing were nominated for the Best Actress award for the same movie, which was also the only movie they had shot together. She saw the moment Lu Yinbing received the trophy with her own eyes, and she cried like a spineless person.
Not only did Lu Yinbing not comfort her, but he laughed even harder on the stage. It made her angry just thinking about it.
She doesn’t know if she can successfully win the award this time. She knew the shortlist before, and she has also watched the performances of the other four shortlisted actresses recently. They are all extraordinary. Her biggest competitor is still Laiying. However, according to past experience, her subject matter is more favored by the organizers and judges, so her chance of winning the award is a little higher. No matter how higher it is, it is only an increase from one in five to three in ten.
No matter what the outcome, she hoped Lu Yinbing could be present.
She wants to share every important moment in her life with the other person.
Fang Hui had been looking at Xia Yitong for a long time. She replied to two messages and then stopped to think for a while. I thought she was talking about some thorny issue. Her expression was uncertain, sometimes happy and sometimes sad. Finally, she sighed softly and put down the phone.
Fang Wei withdrew her gaze.
As Xia Yitong's assistant and "confidant", she also knew a thing or two about Lu Yinbing, and with the news from Xiaoxi, she knew the whole story. Since Lu Yinbing left, Xia Yitong would show this expression from time to time.
"Give me a candy." Xia Yitong said. Her voice had just recovered two days ago. She still sounded hoarser than ordinary people, but it did not affect normal communication. She told others that she had a cold.
Fang Wei took out a lollipop from her bag and gave her one. Xia Yitong avoided the makeup on her lips and held it carefully in her mouth.
"How long until you go on stage? I'm going to go out for a while."
Fang Hui checked the organizer's schedule and said, "There's about half an hour left. Do you want to go out?" She reminded, "Don't go too far. There are too many people outside. I'm afraid you won't be able to get back."
Xia Yitong sighed and said, "It's okay, I just went out to get some fresh air. I'm not a directionally challenged person, so how could I not be able to come back?"
Fang Huixin said, I was afraid that you would start thinking about other things while walking, and become distracted and lose your way without even realizing it.
"I'll go with you. Mr. Xue told me to do that."
Xia Yitong took Fang Hui to walk around the backstage area, where they met several seniors and juniors in the circle. Some of the seniors she had met before, some she had not. She chatted with the ones she had met before, and chatted with the ones she had not met after introducing herself. There were also juniors, and each of them was very respectful. No matter what they thought in their hearts, they put in a lot of effort on the surface. They called her senior, and Xia Yitong did not hesitate. She responded one by one and passed by.
She walked two steps away, suddenly turned her head, called one of them, smiled and said, "Are you an artist from Chaochu Entertainment?"
The young girl was a little nervous. She was a newcomer who had just been in the industry for a year. This year she was lucky enough to play the second female lead in a hit drama. In addition, she had some connections with the event organizer, which was how she got in. She didn't know much about the experience of this senior who became famous, nor did she know that her employer was the other party's former employer.
The little girl nodded.
Xia Yitong said in a friendly tone: "Is your chairman here?"
The little girl said, “I don’t know about that.”
Xia Yitong said: "Okay, thank you."
Xia Yitong nodded at her and left. The little girl's legs felt weak, so she held on to the arms of the girls around her. They waited until Xia Yitong was far away before they chattered.
"This Senior Xia used to work in the same company as you. Look how nervous you are."
"You knew I was talking about me. If you're not nervous, you didn't even blink just now."
"I, I, I was stunned by her beauty."
"If it's so easy to be stunned, you don't need to film in the circle every day, just stay there."
"This is the first time I've seen Senior Xia in person. She looks better than she does in front of the camera. I feel like she has an aura of majesty without even getting angry, right?"
"I said I was so scared just now. Yes, yes, I felt so too."
"Oh, I forgot to ask for an autograph! I missed such a good opportunity!"
…
Xia Yitong tilted her head and asked Fang Hui beside her: "Was it my illusion just now? Why did those newcomers look so scared when they saw me?"
Fang Hui looked strange: "... No."
Xia Yitong: "... Do I look bad?"
Fang Hui said, "Very good. But how can I put it? Even if you are smiling now, you still give people the feeling that you might get angry in the next second."
Xia Yitong: “…”
She swore she didn't.
Fang Hui said, "Maybe I've been with Teacher Lu for too long and picked up her bad temper."
Xia Yitong raised her eyebrows in pleasure, and nipped the idea of recreating a gentle and amiable image in the bud, just letting it explode.
When Xia Yitong saw the little girl, she remembered that she had not seen Qin Mu since she terminated her contract two years ago. The first year was because she was busy filming, and the second year was even more eventful. She hardly met anyone in private. The only few friends she had were those that Lu Yinbing forced her to meet last time, and she came out of the closet at the same time. Memories are always there. Whenever Xia Yitong thinks of something, it will bring up a lot of memories about Lu Yinbing.
After Qin Mu worked hard, he moved the company's headquarters from S City to Beijing last year, leaving only a branch in S City, and now it is probably stationed in Beijing. As for how Xia Yitong learned about this, it was really a coincidence that Xue Yao told her. She didn't ask where Xue Yao knew it from, but she only told her about what happened last year, so she probably just learned about it recently.
Xia Yitong called Qin Mu. The person on the other end picked up the phone and said "Hello". Xia Yitong immediately picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID. It was Qin Mu's number. Did she change her number
Xia Yitong put her ear close to the receiver, and the voice on the other end was already familiar to her: "You little heartless boy, you knew to call your sister? It's been a whole year, and you haven't contacted me. I thought you forgot about me!"
"How dare you?" Xia Yitong said with a smile, "I'm at the xx Charity Night event here, just wondering if you're there, can we meet up?"
"How can I, President Qin, be absent from such an occasion? Should I go to find you or you come to find me?" Qin Mu asked.
"I'll go find you... guys?" Xia Yitong said.
Qin Mu noticed the long tone of "we" and was immediately amused: "Goodbye, big star, don't move around. Send me your location and we will find you."
She also said "they", which made Xia Yitong vaguely guess.
They were not far apart. Xia Yitong waited there for less than ten minutes. Two women walking side by side came slowly in front of her. They were of similar age, one beautiful and the other gentle. They were a perfect match and quite eye-catching at first glance.
What made Xia Yitong laugh and cry was that Qin Mu was wearing a long skirt, leaning against her like a little bird. The other person was wearing a white corseted formal dress, with delicate makeup, looking at Xia Yitong with a friendly look, exuding a gentle aura.
Qin Mu straightened his head, took two steps forward, and introduced her to the woman next to him: "This is Xia Yitong, she used to be in my company. She is my very close sister. We don't have any improper thoughts. It's a very pure sisterly relationship."
"..." Xia Yitong's mouth twitched. It would be weird if these two had no connection with each other based on this introduction line.
The woman smiled and held out her hand. “There are big pictures of you on billboards everywhere. You’re very famous.”
Qin Mu introduced her to the other party again: "Her surname is Ji, Ji Weibai." After that, he straightened his back and said proudly, "Your sister-in-law."
Xia Yitong held her hand back. The woman's palm was soft and warm, just as comfortable as it felt to her. She couldn't help laughing and said, "Hello, sister-in-law."
But the "sister-in-law" surnamed Ji said, "Don't listen to her nonsense, call me brother-in-law."
Xia Yitong glanced at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu insisted: "Call me sister-in-law."
Miss Ji said, "Call me brother-in-law."
Xia Yitong let go of her hand and didn't call anyone by name. She chose another name to please him: "Mrs. Qin." She turned her head and smiled at Qin Mu, "Mrs. Ji."
Only then were both satisfied.
Qin Mu took Xia Yitong to a place with few people to reminisce about the past. Miss Ji spoke very little and most of the time she looked at Qin Mu with a smile on her face. However, judging from the fact that she and Qin Mu did not get along well, they probably talked a lot in private.
"I haven't congratulated you yet." Qin Mu said with a smile, "Congratulations on being shortlisted."
Xia Yitong waved her hand. Seeing her old friend helped her to get out of her original mood. She smiled and said, "Why congratulate me for being nominated? Remember to watch the live broadcast. If I win the prize, I will treat you and your family to a meal."
Qin Mu: "What are you talking about? I must be throwing you a celebration party. Let's set up a party and call all your good friends over."
"It's a deal."
Qin Mu glanced at her, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Her acting was really poor, and Xia Yitong suspected that she would suffocate to death if she kept holding it in, so she simply spoke up herself: "I didn't break up with her, there was no problem, she was not feeling well and went abroad for treatment."
Qin Mu finally let go of the heavy stone, with an expression as if he had been pardoned, and muttered: "The last time I saw her Weibo post about quitting the circle, my heart was in turmoil. I was afraid that you were sad, so I didn't dare to ask you. I was worried for a week, afraid that you two would break up. You and Youxuan are the only couple like you around me, and I wish you could be together forever. You know I was a playboy for many years and had no sense of security. If you are doing well, I think I can be well too. If you are not, then I-"
Miss Ji was standing by and in a flash she twisted Qin Mu's waist, causing Qin Mu to let out a yell.
Xia Yitong hissed in her heart, feeling so distressed for her.
Qin Mu rubbed his waist, chuckled at her twice, and said nothing. He turned back to Xia Yitong and said, "I'm still waiting to drink at your wedding, so you must be well."
She pressed Xia Yitong's shoulder hard: "It's fine."