The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 2014 The Justice of Appearance

Seeing Leonardo's astonished expression, Anson spread his hands, his face full of sincerity, "I'm just worried about stealing your spotlight."

As he spoke, Anson looked at Giselle, gave her a friendly smile, and nodded slightly.

Giselle understood immediately, her cheeks flushing slightly. Despite her shyness, she raised her chin to meet Anson's gaze. "Don't worry, we already have too many accolades. I don't mind helping you out if you like it that much."

Anson obediently raised his hands in surrender.

Leonardo was taken aback, but in the end he couldn't help it, and a wide smile spread across his face. "You're a cunning fellow. Now I finally know what that means."

Leonardo had envisioned different scenarios and possibilities, even considering running away at the last minute—

That's Anson Wood; he doesn't need to meddle or help out. Besides, top stars like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt may not need to profit from him, but they've formed their own circles of interests, and he's never wanted to get involved. Anson is the same.

Even at the very end, Leonardo remained hesitant; he hadn't made any new friends in a very, very long time.

But Leonardo clearly realized that his predictions were all wrong. His generous and open demeanor, with a touch of humor and sharpness, showed neither obsequiousness because the other person was Leonardo, nor excessive caution or restraint. He was an equal, neither humble nor arrogant, and his demeanor was like a gentle breeze.

Just like... a friend.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio himself couldn't believe that he was able to make friends at an event like the Oscars.

After 1998, Leonardo DiCaprio stopped believing he could make new friends—true friends—in the world of fame and fortune.

But tonight, looking at Anson in front of him, Leonardo wondered if he had been too hasty.

Turning to look at Gisele, Leonardo could see a relaxed smile and bright eyes, and even the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

When Leonardo looked at Anson again, he made an inviting gesture, "Welcome to the Academy Awards Ceremony. Please allow me to introduce you."

"The first thing is that outsiders like to call it the Oscars, and we sometimes use that term in media interviews, but those really inside call it the Academy Awards."

"Nobody cares about nicknames."

Nicknames represent intimacy, but they also imply informality, which is clearly something the college dislikes.

Anson gently raised his chin, a knowing look on his face. "Oh, so, it's like John shouldn't be called Johnny, and Kate shouldn't be called Katie?"

Johnny Depp: Achoo!
"So, I guess you don't like being called Leo either?"

Leonardo met Anson's gaze. His eyes were bright and clear, seemingly hiding a hint of a smile. He shook his head slightly, looking somewhat helpless. "Hey, buddy, don't provoke me."

Anson immediately took a step back to create distance, and this step was somewhat exaggerated.

Gisele quickly lowered her head, struggling to suppress her laughter.

The next second, a figure rushed over, lifting her skirt, shouting, "Hey, Leo! Anson!"

The air seemed to freeze instantly.

Giselle turned her head and saw Kate Winslet standing in front of her with a bright smile. She couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

Kate was confused. "My ears are a little itchy, so, tell me honestly, who's been talking about me behind my back? Leo?"

Leonardo DiCaprio: ...I have no will to live.

Anson looked over earnestly. "Me, Katie, me."

Giselle burst into laughter, "Hahaha!" She doubled over. "I'm sorry, please forgive my rudeness, I didn't mean to." But the laughter wouldn't stop.

Kate looked at Anson, "I'm 100% sure it's you now."

Anson's eyes widened. "Why?" Kate replied, "Because Leo isn't funny at all. He only gets women laughs because of his face."

Leonardo, "Kate..."

Anson: "Wait a minute, why does this sound so weird, Kate? Are you implying I'm ugly? So I can only win women's hearts with humor?"

Leonardo burst out laughing, only to find... Anson standing right in front of him.

Anson looked at the space that had been opened up in front of him with lingering fear, and patted his chest to express his relief.

Kate: "No, you're good-looking and funny. So, we're friends, but Leo and I aren't friends. I only talk to him because of his face."

Leonardo, "Hey!"

Anson nodded seriously. "That makes sense. Good friend!" Anson stepped forward and gave Kate a big hug.

Seeing Leonardo standing there dumbfounded, Anson and Kate gave each other a high five in perfect unison, celebrating in front of Leonardo.

Leonardo looked up at the sky speechlessly, "Wait, did you two plan this?"

Kate shook her head. "Teamwork, Leo, that's called teamwork. Sorry, I forgot, you and Toby don't have that kind of teamwork either. You probably don't know that."

Haha, hahaha.

Anson and Kate high-fived again, and both of them burst out laughing, creating a lively atmosphere.

The Kodak Theatre was bustling with people, but all eyes were drawn to this spot, secretly observing the four superstars chatting and laughing. It was indeed unexpected, but upon reflection, it wasn't so surprising. Even on a night filled with stars, these individuals were the focus of attention.

Then, Kate quickly noticed something was wrong—

One, two, three, four, or five guests came over specifically to greet Anson. Actors, directors, editors, costume designers, visual effects teams, set designers, editors, sound engineers, and so on—the list goes on. It seemed as if Anson was the panda of the night, and everyone wanted to see him in person.

Kate joked, "Let's get to our seats as soon as possible before we cause the ultimate traffic jam of the night and avoid further chaos."

Finally, Anson and his group started walking and found their seats.

Each seat has a card with the guest's name on it, ensuring that guests can sit in their assigned seats.

Undoubtedly, there is a reason for the seating arrangement at the Oscars. Generally speaking, nominees for major awards tend to sit in the front row, but this is not an ironclad rule. The truly unshakable rule is that controversial figures and ratings generators are placed in the middle seats of the first row to ensure that the camera can capture them at any time.

The Kodak Theatre's seating is fan-shaped, with two straight aisles dividing the seats into three sections: left, center, and right.

The first three rows in the middle area are the absolute focus, and the left and right front rows on both sides of the aisle are also the focus of attention. How to arrange the seats is also an important task for the college.

“Anson, over here!” Kate waved her right hand in greeting.

Anson, who was looking for a seat in the fourth or fifth row, straightened up. Before Anson could say anything, someone next to him teased, "You should move forward. Move forward."

Anson chuckled, "Like a naughty, disobedient student?"

Amidst the laughter, Anson took a step forward.

He had assumed that since he wasn't nominated for acting, he should naturally be seated further back, just like when he first attended the Emmy Awards.

But now it seems that the judgment was clearly wrong.

Kate patted Anson on the shoulder, "The Academy went through so much trouble to finally invite you to the awards ceremony, how could they let it go so easily? Be prepared, the cameras will probably be pointing at you every now and then tonight."

Anson sighed, "Ah, then I can't doze off."

(End of this chapter)