Chinese Entertainment: Top-Tier Boyfriends of Young Actresses

Chapter 111 Starlight Awards

The controversy surrounding Su Yu and Wang Churan did not cause much of a stir online.

The studio's PR move was swift and precise. As soon as the CP-themed video and behind-the-scenes footage of the two were released, the attention of the onlookers who were originally digging for "confirmed evidence of their encounter" in the public square was immediately diverted.

In addition, the entertainment industry produces a massive amount of similar news every day, and most people forget about it as soon as they've had their fun.

Time flies when you're on set, and before you know it, it's December.

The end of the year is a season of award ceremonies, and celebrities from all walks of life are busy attending them, and Su Yu is no exception.

A while ago, he was invited to both the "Scream Night" hosted by iQiyi and the "Star Awards" hosted by Tencent Video.

Su Yu's "A Love So Beautiful" has become a huge hit on Tencent Video, bringing considerable revenue to the platform.

The show attracted over eight million new members, and all the exclusive merchandise for the series sold out on the day it was released. As a result, the Tencent Video app topped the entertainment category download charts in the app store during the broadcast period.

The platform internally upgraded "A Love So Beautiful" from its initial A rating to S rating, making it one of the dramas with the highest return on investment on Tencent Video that year.

The number of sponsors for GG (Gross Gaming) increased from three before the broadcast to more than a dozen, and the price of GG during the broadcast nearly quadrupled.

Su Yu's current project, "Someday or One Day," is also a key investment project of Tencent Video and has been internally classified as an S-level drama, making it a benchmark series that the platform will promote next year.

Tencent Video has practically staked everything on Su Yu, and the partnership between the two has become so close that it's almost a strategic one. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Su Yu the "prospective crown prince of Tencent Video."

Therefore, it is reasonable for them to extend an invitation to Su Yu for the Starlight Awards.

As for Kiwifruit, Su Yu has no cooperation with them for the time being.

They probably saw Su Yu's status as the top celebrity in the Chinese entertainment industry and wanted to use his popularity to boost their own activities.

However, after weighing the options, Su Yu's studio declined the offer. After all, the Tencent Video All Star Awards is Tencent Video's home turf, and Su Yu's cooperative relationship with Tencent is well-established, making it impossible for him to attend in multiple places at once.

Moreover, given Su Yu's current status, there's no need for him to rush to every event; he can just pick the most important one.

On December 3, Su Yu immediately left the set of "Someday or One Day" and returned to his studio to prepare for the evening's Star Awards.

In the dressing room, Huo Xiaolan's complete outfit, which she had prepared in advance, was already hanging on the clothes rack.

The black suit is from Gucci's latest season, paired with black Oxford shoes from the same Gucci collection, and the watch on his wrist is the latest model from Cartier's Tank series.

These three items alone are worth more than seven figures.

In addition, the stylist specially matched him with ties, cufflinks, pocket squares, and so on, making every item from head to toe quite expensive.

Of course, he didn't buy all of these things with his own money.

Gucci and Cartier are both in contact with Su Yu's studio. Although his title is still at the level of brand ambassador, the brands are very willing to provide him with styling support for events.

Given Su Yu's current exposure and popularity, whichever brand's clothes he wears on the red carpet is essentially doing that brand a free favor. So, Su Yu doesn't even need to ask; the brands will simply send him their latest designs.

As for those product categories that the brand does not currently cover, the studio will purchase them itself.

According to Huo Xiaolan, in public occasions of this caliber, every inch of a celebrity's clothing reflects their commercial value.

What brands you wear, what watches you wear, and what jewelry you pair with them will be analyzed frame by frame by fashion media and fans.

If you dress well, brands will see your fashion sense, and future collaborations will naturally follow.

Dressing carelessly will not only get you screenshotted and ridiculed by rival fans, but it will also make brands think that you don't pay attention to the occasion and lack fashion sense.

Therefore, this is not extravagance, but a necessary business investment.

Su Yu expressed his understanding.

Back when he was still relatively unknown, no one cared if he just wore a white shirt to events.

But now his status is different, and every detail of his public appearances will be magnified and scrutinized.

The stylist took two steps back, looked at her work in the mirror, and nodded in satisfaction: "Ms. Su, you have such a good foundation. I didn't have to put in much effort this time. This outfit really suits you."

His features were already well-defined, with his high nose bridge and slightly upturned almond-shaped eyes being the two most striking features on his face. The makeup artist only applied a very thin layer of foundation and shaped his eyebrows, without even drawing eyeliner.

All I can say is that Su Yu's face doesn't need any extra embellishment; the cleaner it is, the better he looks.

The stylist simply combed back the stray hairs on his forehead, revealing a full forehead and a sharp jawline. Instantly, his entire demeanor transformed from that of a casual and unruly young actor on set into that of a true top star who could command the entire scene.

Xiao Zhou, standing nearby, exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Wow, Brother Yu, your outfit is absolutely stunning! I guarantee you'll be the most stylish guy in the whole place tonight!"

Huo Xiaolan couldn't help but nod: "It's indeed very good."

She initially chose Su Yu because of his good looks. After two years of trials in the entertainment industry, Su Yu is now more charming in both temperament and appearance compared to the newbie he was back then.

Hu Lianxin, who was standing to the side, was completely stunned.

Her bright, sparkling eyes were fixed on Su Yu's profile, her lips slightly parted, two suspicious blushes appearing on her cheeks, and she murmured to herself, "Brother is so handsome—"

Her tone and expression were exactly like a lovesick girl, completely different from her capable and mature performance as Huang Yuxuan on set.

It's worth mentioning that Hu Lianxin was also invited this time.

As the female lead in "Someday or One Day," she certainly wouldn't win any awards, since the drama hasn't even finished filming yet.

But for her, being able to attend such a grand event and broaden her horizons was a rare experience.

Huo Xiaolan had also arranged for a dress to be prepared for her in advance, since she was a newcomer signed by Su Yu's studio and her appearance on such occasions should be appropriate and elegant.

At 5 p.m., Su Yu and his group drove to the Olympic Sports Center. The Star Awards are usually held here every year, but this year's event was larger than in previous years.

Even before the car reached the stadium entrance, you could see from afar that the Olympic Sports Center was already packed with people.

Fans of various celebrities waited outside, holding up support banners and light sticks, eagerly anticipating their arrival in the cold wind.

The temperature in Beijing has dropped to minus four degrees Celsius today, but the fans' enthusiasm has not diminished at all.

Tian Xiwei's team arrived at this time.

She hadn't texted Su Yu much these past few days. Ever since she heard Su Yu say "just like you" on the phone last time, she had felt an inexplicable awkwardness that hadn't subsided.

She did reply to the messages Su Yu sent her these past few days, but each one was very brief, basically just "Hmm," "I know," or "I'm filming," which was so cold that it gave Su Yu a headache.

He knew Xiaotian was being difficult, and he knew he was indeed in the wrong, but he couldn't go to her in this situation.

After all, the area outside the Olympic Sports Center was packed with media and fans, with cameras and microphones set up densely.

If he dared to approach Tian Xiwei in this kind of setting, he wouldn't even have to wait until the next day; the hashtag "Su Yu and Tian Xiwei's Secret Meeting at the Star Awards" would be trending at number one within ten minutes.

So he could only endure it and wait until the event was over before saying anything.

According to the rules of the entertainment industry, the lower the status and popularity of an artist, the earlier they enter the market.

Hu Lianxin was among them. As the female lead of "Someday or One Day", she was invited, but at such a grand event, she was essentially a complete newcomer who hadn't even had her work broadcast yet.

So she parted ways with Su Yu early on and entered the venue discreetly.

Although Tian Xiwei also gained popularity with "A Love So Beautiful", she couldn't compare to Su Yu in terms of popularity and discussion.

Her current situation is delicate. Before "A Love So Beautiful" aired, she was just an ordinary student.

After the series aired, her Weibo followers surged to nearly four million, and the number of people checking in on her super topic stabilized at around 50,000. This is quite impressive among actresses born in the 1990s.

According to fantasy novels, she is currently at the peak of a second-tier celebrity, with one foot already in the door of a first-tier celebrity.

So, given her status, her arrival time would be roughly in the middle to late part of the event, a bit later than newcomers who need to arrive early to warm up the crowd, but not like top stars who would make a grand entrance as the finale.

For artists of Su Yu's caliber, they usually appear later in the show; this is what is known as the "grand finale."

Su Yu may not have many works, but he's very popular!

Su Yu's Weibo interaction check-ins are consistently over 300,000, and a single Weibo post easily gets over 100,000 comments. His super topic ranking has consistently been in the top three for years. With this level of data in front of the organizers, who would dare to put him at the top?

Therefore, Tencent Video placed him in a rather late position in the appearance order, directly surpassing Yang Yang in terms of appearance time.

Zhang Yixing and other top stars are second only to internationally acclaimed actresses like Fan Binbin.

There's no way around it; Su Yu's sign-in count alone is several times that of some top celebrities. Those of them, who don't even have 150,000, are simply no match for Su's 300,000+.

When it was Su Yu's turn to appear, the fans watching immediately screamed.

Various banners and light sticks supporting Su Yu were raised simultaneously, and it was clear that almost half of the fans present had come for him.

The blue light signs stretched out in the night, like a small piece of starry sky moved to the entrance of the Olympic Sports Center.

"Su Su is so handsome!"

"Go SuSu!"

"Su Yu, I love you!"

The scene was filled with the sounds of little raindrops. Their screams rose and fell, some people stood on tiptoe to hold up their light boards even higher, some jumped up and down excitedly, and others shouted along while recording with their phones, their voices hoarse from shouting.

Su Yu waved to the crowd, walked to the signature wall, picked up a pen, and signed his name.

Just as he finished writing the last stroke and handed the pen to the staff member next to him, a fan by the railing shouted at the top of her lungs, "Su Su, I love you!" The sound was so shrill that everyone around instinctively covered their ears.

Su Yu had just handed over the pen when he heard this. He paused, then turned his head, smiled in the direction of the voice, and replied, "I love you all too!"

Then he made a heart gesture to his fans. When Su Yu's fans saw this, they went into a frenzy and their screams almost lifted the roof off the Olympic Sports Center.

Not far behind Su Yu, Fan Binbin was standing at the entrance of the red carpet waiting for her turn to appear. Seeing the overwhelming crowd in front of her, she couldn't help but whisper to her assistant, "This young man is really popular."

After entering the venue, the staff led Su Yu to his seat.

It can only be said that the seating arrangement was very particular; someone as insignificant as Hu Lianxin should have been sitting on the outermost edge.

However, because she is the female lead in "Someday or One Day", her status is slightly special. Her position was adjusted to the middle section near the edge. Although it is still a distance from the front row core area, it is considered to be a good treatment compared to other complete newcomers.

Tian Xiwei was placed in the middle of the fourth row, which is a very good position for a second-tier artist.

As for Su Yu, his seat was arranged in the middle of the second row.

The first row should be reserved for award-winning actresses like Fan Binbin, who have won international awards and possess both experience and talent, as well as senior leaders from Tencent Video and representatives from annual partner brands.

Su Yu, a young man who has been in the industry for less than two years, is able to sit in the middle of the second row. Looking at the new generation of Chinese entertainment, you can hardly find another one like him.

It can only be said that the entertainment industry is strictly hierarchical. Where a chair is placed is all about the balance of capital and the competition of popularity.

It's no wonder that Li Binbin had a conflict with Peng Yuyan over seating arrangements.

After all, in this kind of setting, each seat is a representation of status.

Where the organizers place you is essentially telling the entire industry where you stand in the pyramid.

When Su Yu arrived at his seat, he found that someone was already sitting next to him.

On the right is Yang Zi, an actress arranged by the organizer. She has performed well in several modern dramas this year, taking the sweet and girl-next-door route. She and Su Yu, who played Jiang Chen in "A Love So Beautiful", are in the same category but different branches.

When Yang Zi saw Su Yu sit down, she nodded politely to him, and Su Yu returned the gesture with a smile.

The arrangement on the left is somewhat subtle.

This person is Yang Yang.

Su Yu personally criticized Yang Yang's agent, Jia Shikai, on Weibo. The two sides' fans had previously engaged in a fierce online battle on the trending topics page. These incidents caused quite a stir online, and anyone who pays even a little attention to the entertainment industry knows that Su Yu and Yang Yang's team are at odds.

The fact that the organizers arranged for the two of them to be together makes it hard not to suspect that this was a deliberate attempt to cause trouble.

After all, the fact that two top celebrities are in the same frame is a hot topic in itself. If they can create some subtle interaction in front of the camera, they'll have plenty of material for trending topics tonight.

Upon seeing Su Yu, Yang Yang's expression visibly changed, but he quickly recovered and gave Su Yu an awkward smile.

Su Yu smiled and nodded at him naturally, then pulled out a chair and sat down gracefully.

Neither of them spoke first, but neither avoided the other's gaze.

The cameras on set were quick to capture this moment together, lingering on the two of them for an extra second before moving away.

Su Yu leaned back in his chair, thinking that the organizers' move was indeed quite something, but it didn't matter. He wasn't embarrassed; it was others who would be.

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