Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 454 Double Ten Golden Eagles [Part 2]

As evening approached, after seeing off the last group of visitors.

Zhang Yan went to Chen Hong's office across the street and saw Chen Hong checking her makeup in front of the mirror. He walked over and put his arm around her neck from behind, laughing, "There's no need to be so nervous. What's meant to be yours can't be taken away by anyone."

Chen Hong smiled but didn't say anything. She grabbed Zhang Yan's big hand and said softly, "Darling, if it weren't for you, I probably would never have won a significant award in my life."

That's true. Although she was nominated for Best Actress twice in history, she ultimately went home empty-handed both times.

After lingering for a while, the two were reminded by Assistant Lin that Zhang Xingguo and Sun Xiaohong had arrived, so they hurriedly went downstairs to meet the elderly couple.

Also gathered downstairs were the middle and upper management of the company that had fulfilled its dreams, as well as a group of film, television, and music stars, totaling about twenty people.

The group, surrounded by admirers, escorted Zhang Yan and Chen Hong through the employee passage. The reporters, who had been acting independently, immediately rushed forward with their cameras and microphones, handing them microphones and taking photos.

The TV crew took center stage, moving backward alongside Zhang Yan and Chen Hong while constantly switching between close-ups and wide shots of their faces.

Zhang Yan and Chen Hong walked hand in hand, smiling and waving at the camera from time to time. They would occasionally answer one or two questions, which the reporters found invaluable.

Feng Xiaogang and Xu Fan were also holding hands behind them, only a few meters away from Zhang Yan and his wife, but the treatment they received was worlds apart.

Even reporters who couldn't squeeze past Zhang Yan would choose to interview Zhang Guoli and his wife or Han Lei and others behind them, while the two of them were sandwiched in between like invisible people.

Xu Fan whispered to Feng Xiaogang with a touch of sadness, "If you had entered with 'A Native of Beijing in New York,' you certainly wouldn't have been treated so coldly."

Feng Xiaogang pointed to Zhang Yan and Chen Hong in front of him: "Then it will be difficult for us to be as successful as them in the future."

Xu Fan knew that Feng Xiaogang could not possibly associate with people from Beijing and Taiwan now, but she just couldn't stand the huge difference—when she first met Zhang Yan, she and Chen Hong were on roughly the same starting line.

After a moment of silence, she asked again, "How long do you think it will take?"

"Three years!"

Feng Xiaogang gave a resolute answer: "Give me three years, and I'll make sure you're as successful as Chen Hong!"

"I believe you."

Xu Fan pecked him on the cheek, then looked back at Zhang Yan and Chen Hong in front of him, and sighed silently in his heart.

Perhaps she could be as successful as Chen Hong is now in three years, but given the speed of Yuanmeng's development, she couldn't even imagine what Chen Hong would be like in three years.

When the group arrived at the studio entrance, members of the organizing committee were already waiting on the red carpet, including several provincial TV station representatives such as Ouyang Changlin.

Then there are all sorts of celebrities.

Among them is Jiang Wen, whose popularity is no less than Zhang Yan's. He was nominated for Best Actor for his role in "A Native of Beijing in New York"—and the woman beside him is Wang Ji, Chen Hong's biggest competitor at this year's Golden Eagle Awards.

Of course, even Wang Ji herself had no intention of competing for this award, since everyone could see that Chen Hong was determined to win the Golden Eagle Award this time.

Jiang Wen immediately grabbed Zhang Yan's hand tightly, gritting her teeth as she said, "I didn't get a share of the money, but you can't steal this award from me, can you?"

Lately, every time he accompanied Zhang Yan, Dong Ping, and others to the Special Fund Office to negotiate box office revenue sharing, he felt his heart bleeding.

That's over 3000 million!

He didn't even receive his payment—he had burned through all his money, and to give Dong Ping an explanation, he not only signed a "contract of servitude" but also voluntarily gave up his own pay.

Looking back now, Jiang Wen feels a pang of sadness and tears, wondering for whom she had worked so hard and for whom she had been busy.

At the same time, Deng Jie, who saw this, quietly gripped Zhang Guoli's wrist, while Zhang Guoli shook his head at her.

He has no advantage over Jiang Wen, and Jiang Wen has a good relationship with Zhang Yan. She has just made Yuan Meng famous in the film industry, so Zhang Yan has no reason to take her side.

Fortunately, Zhang Guoli's ambitions lay elsewhere; he was more concerned with whether he could win the newly established Outstanding Director Award.

Faced with Jiang Wen's vicious appearance, Zhang Yan forcefully broke free from his two iron-like, ruthless hands, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and waved it at him: "Hey, come and eat!"

"What is that?" Jiang Wen glanced at it sideways, but refused to reach out and take it.

"To compensate you for your film salary."

Zhang Yan said, "I just discussed it with Lao Dong and the others the other day. They will pay 30%, and I will pay the remaining 70% out of my own pocket."

These days, there's rarely any compensation afterward, but what Yuanmeng values ​​now is its reputation.

Jiang Wen's eyes lit up when she heard this. She snatched the list and quickly scanned it. She found that she, several other main cast members, as well as the lead actors Xia Yu and Ning Jing, would all receive a bonus of 2 to 5 yuan.

Jiang Wen received the most, a whopping 300,000, which was even higher than the agreed-upon salary at the beginning.

His gaze lingered on the label 'Tao Hong 5,' he curled his lip, tossed the list back, and said with feigned magnanimity, 'I don't need my share. I'm a man of my word, and what I say is what I mean!'

As one of the most popular directors and actors in mainland China, giving up 300,000 yuan was a bit painful for him, but it wouldn't be a major blow. So, saving face was more important to him.

"People who have dated rich women are really tough."

Zhang Yan casually put the list back into his pocket, exchanged a few more pleasantries with the others, and then entered the venue accompanied by even more 'stars'.

Once inside, even more people approached him to chat, especially those from Hong Kong Island who had previously wanted to pay him a visit but hadn't been able to, and they all pushed their way forward desperately.

They were all ordered to negotiate, but they ended up like a pig's head stuck in the dark, and now they're all extremely anxious.

"Don't rush."

Faced with their questions, whether direct or indirect, Zhang Yan calmly replied, "The leaders are here to attend the awards ceremony, so they will definitely have time to listen to the voices from the people after the ceremony."

In fact, Leader Lin planned to arrive in Tianjin two days in advance to meet with the people from Hong Kong, but Zhang Yan persuaded him to stay.

As the saying goes, you can't force a sale. The more the higher-ups pay attention to courtesy, the more these people will take advantage of you—after all, it's not the tycoons themselves who are coming, so if it doesn't work out, we can just start over.

Seeing that even the representatives of those renowned film and television companies in Hong Kong were flocking to Zhang Yan, Xu Fan felt increasingly conflicted.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm.

She thought it was Feng Xiaogang, who had gone out to socialize, who had returned, but when she turned around, she realized it was her old classmate Jiang Shan.

Jiang Shan's "Addiction" also received multiple nominations, but with Chen Hong and Wang Ji in the running, she was destined to be a runner-up this time.

"Ask you something."

Jiang Shan said casually, "Old Wang has been trying to pursue me lately. You dated him before. What do you think of him? Is he good in that area?"

The so-called "Old Wang" refers to Wang Zhiwen, the tutor of the two at the Central Academy of Drama, who is also Xu Fan's ex-boyfriend and the male lead of the TV series "Addiction".

Which aspect are you referring to?

Xu Fan wasn't sure if he was right, after all, who asks this right off the bat?
"Why are you pretending to be innocent with me? It's just about that." Jiang Shan met her eyes and said frankly, "You know I'm having an affair with Zhang Yan. Old Wang is older than him and has no money. If he's not good in that area either, I'd be losing out big time if I went with him."

Xu Fan was speechless; how could Jiang Shan have the nerve to say such a thing?

Besides, compared to Zhang Yan now—not targeting anyone in particular, but everyone here—I doubt any of them has that kind of strength.

Seeing that she remained silent, Jiang Shan urged, "So what's the matter? Just give me an answer."

"Just an average person, I guess."

Xu Fan eventually gave her assessment, mainly because she was worried that if she got entangled with Jiang Shan for too long, Feng Xiaogang would overhear it—although Director Feng was also an open-minded person, it was always better to avoid trouble.

"That's it."

Jiang Shan looked disgusted, and after a while, staring at Zhang Yan in the front row, she sighed and said, "Forget it, I'll wait a few years until I've softened his heart, and then find a good man to reform myself."

(End of this chapter)