Chapter 359 - 292: When It Comes to Trading Barbs, I’ve Never Feared Anyone

Anyone who’s survived in the entertainment industry for long can’t possibly be some simple, sweet ingenue.

If you weren’t ruthless, you couldn’t survive. In Wu Mengfa’s eyes, he hadn’t provoked Lin Zhiyuan, yet she had insisted on dragging him down with her. A little payback seemed perfectly reasonable and justified.

’Didn’t you say you didn’t know her name?’

’Now you know, don’t you?’

’It wasn’t that she wasn’t famous enough—it was that you’re just uncultured and can’t even read her name!’

She has tens of millions of fans on Weibo and is an almost A-list celebrity who’s won the Huabiao Film Queen award. Who would believe you don’t know who she is?

’To show up as an awards presenter without doing even this basic prep work is just completely unprofessional!’

Faced with the blame Wu Mengfa had just pinned on her, Lin Zhiyuan was so furious she nearly started arguing with him right then and there!

’She was a director, not an actress. If she got a reputation for being uncultured, how would she survive in this business?’

But in the end, she glanced at the audience below and chose to endure it.

’The entertainment industry is full of "hopeless illiterates." One more or less wouldn’t make a difference.’

’So what if it’s embarrassing?’

’If she exposed the dirty secrets behind the award right now, she could forget about ever working in this industry again!’

Compared to that terrifying consequence, admitting she couldn’t read those two characters didn’t seem so bad.

Besides, "Ni" and "Yan" weren’t exactly common characters. She could just say later that she was getting old, her vision was blurry, and she couldn’t see them clearly.

Once the story blew up, she could get a pair of non-prescription glasses and start wearing them. She might even be able to ride the wave of publicity for a while.

In this business, as long as you could get famous, it didn’t matter if it was through scandal or some other means.

Seeing that she had fallen silent, Wu Mengfa relaxed. He chuckled, offered a few pleasantries, and invited Ni Bingyan to the stage.

When Lin Zhiyuan had deliberately avoided saying her name earlier, Ni Bingyan, not being an idiot, had felt the malice loud and clear.

’She and Lin Zhiyuan were complete strangers. She truly couldn’t fathom why the director was so hostile toward her.’

’It must be because of this award.’

There was only one trophy; if she got it, someone else wouldn’t.

Taiwan Province was roughly the same size as Qiong Island, with a similarly mountainous landscape. The artists there were a tight-knit community, so Lin Zhiyuan was probably sticking up for someone else she felt was more deserving.

’She aspired to one day be a "Triple Crown" Film Queen. Winning a Golden Horse at such a young age was a huge step, and she couldn’t care less what anyone else thought!’

Besides, *Demon Suppression Tower* was a critical and commercial success, and her performance had been widely acclaimed by audiences. On top of that, she had been nominated for Best Actress through the proper channels, without pulling any strings.

’She was making her way with her own skills. If they dared to give her the award, she dared to walk up there with her head held high and accept it!’

’Who cared how salty other people got?’

The sky had been overcast since morning, and now, a light drizzle finally began to fall.

RUMBLE!

The moment she stepped onto the stage, a loud clap of thunder crashed down, sounding as if it had exploded right overhead. Many people shivered involuntarily and reflexively looked up.

Thunder rumbling in winter... Such abnormal weather was not a good omen.

As Ni Bingyan reached the center of the stage, she got a closer look at the two presenters. One was beaming, while the other wore a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Although she didn’t know exactly what had happened, Ni Bingyan guessed she was most likely a last-minute substitute.

This usually meant the original winner had caused some kind of trouble, and the committee didn’t dare give her the Golden Horse, so it had fallen to her by default.

’Things had already come to this; she couldn’t just refuse the award. She would just have to roll with the punches.’

"Miss Ni, congratulations!"

Wu Mengfa chuckled and extended his hand, shaking hers lightly.

It wasn’t exactly warm, but he had at least made a show of politeness.

Lin Zhiyuan, however, stood to one side, smiling at the audience below as if Ni Bingyan didn’t even exist.

"Thank you, Mr. Wu!"

You don’t hit a person who’s smiling at you. Ni Bingyan smiled, shook Wu Mengfa’s hand, and then stood obediently in place, waiting for her award.

’As for Lin Zhiyuan?’

’Wasn’t she just a prop for presenting the award?’

’Since she wasn’t saying anything, Ni Bingyan had no intention of looking for a snub.’

The whole thing was being broadcast live. Anyone with eyes could see who was in the wrong.

’Even if it came to a public spat, she wasn’t afraid.’

’Lin Zhiyuan was a director; she didn’t have as many fans.’

’With her fans to back her up, she had nothing to fear!’

Of all the Jinma Award ceremonies ever held, the awkwardness of this presentation probably ranked in the top ten.

Ni Bingyan, however, remained perfectly composed, showing not the slightest hint of embarrassment.

’She wasn’t the one causing trouble. As long as she didn’t feel awkward, the awkwardness would fall on someone else.’

A hostess brought the trophy onstage, and Wu Mengfa gestured for Lin Zhiyuan to present the award.

"Director Lin, you can’t slack off! Come on, it’s your turn to do the work! Haha!"

Earlier, Lin Zhiyuan had called him Brother Wu, but he was calling her Director Lin.

Some of the more observant people in the audience were already smiling knowingly.

’If you made a living in this industry and paid close enough attention, you could feast on gossip until you burst!’

’Just look at this! How juicy!’

’They were co-presenting, yet she was making the other person do all the work. That Lin Zhiyuan really was shameless.’

There were too many people in the audience for those on stage to care what any of them were thinking.

Lin Zhiyuan shot Wu Mengfa a sideways glance. Whatever was going through her mind, she actually smiled and accepted the trophy.

Seeing that she had stopped making a scene, Wu Mengfa finally breathed a sigh of relief. He took a couple of small steps back to give the two women some space.

’As long as things looked decent on the surface, any minor slip-ups could be explained away.’

In Wu Mengfa’s mind, the incident was over. But instead of handing the award to Ni Bingyan, Lin Zhiyuan held onto it, put on the airs of a senior, and began to lecture her.

"A person’s youth is precious. Sometimes the road ahead is difficult, and when we get anxious, we can’t help but take shortcuts. It’s not terrible to make mistakes when you’re young; what’s terrible is being unwilling to admit them. Miss Ni, I hope that after receiving this award, you’ll focus on acting earnestly and choosing good roles!"

Ni Bingyan: "???"

’What the hell did I ever do to you?’

’Again and again!’

’I ignored you the first time out of respect for your age, but why are you being so passive-aggressive now?’

’What shortcut did I take?’

’What mistake have I made and refused to admit?’

’When have I ever not taken my acting seriously? And when have I ever taken a bad role?!’

Ni Bingyan was so furious her stomach ached, but a natural smile spread across her face.

"Of course, I’ll take that to heart. This is all Senior Lin’s invaluable advice born from experience. I will certainly take it as a cautionary tale!"

’When it comes to being passive-aggressive, I’m not afraid of anyone!’

A director from Taiwan Province who was already hostile to her... they would probably never have the chance to work together in this lifetime. Ni Bingyan had no reason to tolerate her!

’If she wanted to take a shortcut, she could have just had her father invest in a production. Wouldn’t it be easier to be a "resource celebrity"? Why struggle so hard on her own?’

’Never mind anything else, just take that charity foundation—500 million RMB. If she were to make low-budget arthouse films, that would probably be enough to fund her career until retirement!’

A lot of people don’t have a concept of 500 million RMB. To put it in perspective, a worker earning 6,000 a month, saving every penny, would have to work for over six thousand years to earn that much.

’And besides, her family’s assets were worth more than just 500 million, weren’t they?’

’And as for not admitting her mistakes? She had always been forthright. She never hid her wrongdoings. When had she ever refused to admit to a mistake?’

’As for not taking acting seriously and doing bad movies... for an overachiever like her, that accusation was simply intolerable!’

’If *she* wasn’t considered earnest, then how many people in the entertainment industry were?’

’If *her* films were considered bad, then what did that make the actors who would take any role as long as the price was right?’

’On what grounds could someone she’d never met—someone who didn’t even know her name—point fingers at her?’

Guidance from a senior was one thing and could be selectively accepted. But if it was just criticism and finger-pointing, then she wasn’t having it.

Lin Zhiyuan was so angry her hands started to tremble.

Just as she was about to retort, Wu Mengfa, sensing things were going south, had already walked over with a smile. He snatched the Golden Horse from her hand and turned to present it to Ni Bingyan.

"Ai, you’re a director. No matter how much you might like this award, you can’t win it!"

Turns out, he was an old hand at being passive-aggressive too.

On the surface, he was saying that as a director, she couldn’t win the Best Actress award, no matter how much she liked it. But he was actually mocking her for having directed for so many years without ever winning the Jinma Award for Best Director.

Ni Bingyan felt as if she’d just drunk a warm bowl of lamb soup; a feeling of pure comfort spread through her.