Zhou Yining stood before Ji Dongyang and smiled, then looked at Lu Xiao. “Hello, President Lu.”

Lu Xiao waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t call me that. I’m so close with Dongyang, so just call me by my name. Or you can call me ‘ge’ if you want.”

Zhou Yining: “Alright, Lu Xiao.”

Lu Xiao chuckled. “You were just calling him Dong-ge in front of everyone. I’m the same age as him, so why won’t you call me ‘ge’?”

That was a habit formed on the film set. Everyone younger than him called him Dong-ge, so she naturally had to do the same. Otherwise, wouldn’t she be the odd one out? Zhou Yining said, “I don’t call him that in private.”

Lu Xiao grew interested. “Then what do you call him? ‘Uncle’?”

Zhou Yining laughed out loud. Ji Dongyang’s face darkened. “You talk too much.”

Although Ji Dongyang didn’t say it, Zhou Yining knew he was still a bit sensitive about the age gap. She pointed to the young women in the banquet hall. “President Lu, with so many beauties here, haven’t any caught your eye?”

Lu Xiao shook his head with a smile, glanced at her, and then pointed at Lu Ling, who was standing in front of Shen Yanjun. He said helplessly, “The ones I like are already taken.”

Zhou Yining looked over, feeling somewhat speechless. Lu Xiao’s personality was so different from Ji Dongyang’s; she really didn’t know how the two became such good friends. “Then look at someone else.”

Recently, the pressure to get married had been intense, and Lu Xiao had lost interest. He pointed randomly. “How about your agent? She’s quite capable, a real career woman. Don’t tell me she’s taken too?”

Zhou Yining and Ji Dongyang exchanged a glance. Ji Dongyang said indifferently, “Brother Yang has been wanting to get back together with her recently. If you’re interested, you can go and compete.”

Lu Xiao froze. “Get back together?”

Ji Dongyang: “Mm. Brother Yang’s ex-wife.”

Lu Xiao: “…”

Zhou Yining felt that Lu Xiao was destined to stay single for a few more years.

On the morning of the film festival, Zhou Yining, Ji Dongyang, and the rest of the team flew to S City to attend the event.

The two of them wore matching sunglasses, and their simultaneous appearance at the airport caused quite a stir. Assistants and security guards protected them as they went through the VIP passage for security checks and entered the VIP lounge. Photos were taken by the media and fans, hitting the headlines before their plane even landed.

It truly was a small world.

In the VIP lounge, they ran into Li Zheng from Xinchen International. He was the Best Actor winner who had beaten Ji Dongyang for the trophy last year. Behind him were his agent and his team.

Xinchen International was the mastermind behind the exposé on Ji Dongyang’s parents. Shiguang Media and Xinchen International had always been at odds. Shiguang had originally poached Ji Dongyang from them with a nine-figure deal. Over the following years, several A-list stars refused to renew their contracts, choosing instead to sign with Shiguang or start their own studios. With so many old and new grudges accumulated, all the resentment had been funneled toward Ji Dongyang. In March of this year, Li Zheng’s new film, Overlord, had performed poorly at the box office, closing with 450 million in earnings. However, the production cost for the entire film was 350 million. It was rated as one of the year’s worst films, a far cry from his award-winning film last year. Fans were inevitably disappointed.

Before the release of The Heart Knot, major entertainment bloggers and netizens had predicted that this year’s Best Actor would be chosen from Ji Dongyang, Liao Yi, or Hu Yang. Li Zheng wouldn’t even get a nomination.

For Xinchen International, it didn’t matter who won Best Actor, as long as it wasn’t Ji Dongyang.

Despite the bad blood, they still had to maintain appearances in public. Yang Xun greeted the other party’s agent, Meng Qi. “What a coincidence.”

Meng Qi smiled. “It is a coincidence. Are you all taking this flight to the film festival as well?”

Yang Xun smiled back. “Yes.”

Meng Qi looked at Zhou Yining. “Miss Zhou has great potential. I’m sure she will win an award this time.”

Yang Xun kept his smile, though Meng Qi’s words were loaded. She only mentioned that Zhou Yining would win, intentionally ignoring the male lead, Ji Dongyang.

Wan Wei glanced at her. “We’ll take that as a blessing.”

After boarding the plane, the other party sat on the other side of the aisle. Once the flight leveled out, a flight attendant walked over and looked at Zhou Yining and Ji Dongyang. She asked politely, “Dong-ge, Yining, can we take a photo together?”

Zhou Yining glanced at Ji Dongyang and smiled at the flight attendant. “Sure.”

Since they were now a public couple and the leads of the movie, the flight attendants happily took turns coming over for photos. Compared to the liveliness on this side, Li Zheng on the other side seemed a bit awkward.

The last flight attendant was a die-hard fan of Ji Dongyang. After taking a photo with the couple, she looked at Zhou Yining. “Can I take a solo photo with Dong-ge?”

Zhou Yining laughed. “You’ll have to ask him about that.”

Ji Dongyang smiled. “You can.”

Zhou Yining gave up her seat to the flight attendant. The attendant, having successfully secured a solo photo, happily clutched her phone. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Ji Dongyang. “Dong-ge, I believe you can win another award. Those news stories online… I believe other fans are just like me, still supporting you and believing in you.”

Ji Dongyang was startled, then smiled. “Thank you all.”

After the flight attendant left, Zhou Yining sat back down beside him. She turned to look at him. “Provocative.”

Everywhere they went, there were women calling him Dong-ge. He had too many fans in his “harem.”

Ji Dongyang laughed helplessly. “They are just fans.”

Zhou Yining: “I know.”

She was just teasing.

A large crowd of fans was waiting at the airport. No matter whose fans they were, such a large number of people would cause chaos. This was the first time Zhou Yining had seen such a massive fan group. Ji Dongyang held her tightly, and they were only able to leave under the protection of assistants and security.

After checking into the hotel, a trending topic appeared on Weibo: “Actors with Bad Track Records.” It listed actors from mid-last year to this year who had scandals, including cheating, drug use, and soliciting. Some of these actors had great skills, but it was noted that they shouldn’t win awards. As public figures, actors should set a good example.

Ji Dongyang’s name was prominently on the list.

The Dong-ge fans were not having it. How is my Dong-ge on the bad track record list? Did he use drugs? Did he cheat? Or did he solicit?

Some netizens said: He didn’t use them, but he let his parents use them. And who says he didn’t solicit? Didn’t he solicit Zhou Yining a while back?

The fans immediately counter-attacked: Dong-ge didn’t know about his parents’ drug use beforehand. Once he found out, he sent them to mandatory rehab. This wasn’t his fault. Soliciting? Is soliciting your own girlfriend wrong? What man solicits just one person for a lifetime!

Zhou Yining’s fan club was also indignant: Please stop calling our Yining a prostitute, alright? Yining is Dong-sao.

The “Bad Track Record Actor” topic was boiling over online. The news of Ji Dongyang’s parents using drugs was dug up again, and even the non-existent solicitation scandal was brought up. Although Ji Dongyang himself wasn’t the one using drugs, there was definitely an impact. Zhou Yining was also very worried. She asked Yang Xun, “Brother Yang, will this really affect Ji Dongyang’s chances of winning?”

Yang Xun was wearing black-rimmed glasses today. He pushed the frames up with his finger. “I don’t know how the committee will judge. Fairly speaking, it shouldn’t. But the committee takes public opinion into account. In past film festivals, even if an actor with a bad record has god-tier skills, they still won’t get an award.”

Zhou Yining’s expression was somber. Yang Xun added, “However, Dongyang isn’t the one using drugs, and more and more fans are showing understanding. But his parents are still a delicate matter. It’s really hard to say.”

Now, they could only wait for the results tonight.

Zhou Yining looked at Ji Dongyang. His face was calm, as if he didn’t care whether he won or not.

Zhou Yining and Ji Dongyang were staying in the same suite. After Yang Xun left, Zhou Yining asked him, “Don’t you care?”

Ji Dongyang was silent for a few seconds before saying, “I care.”

How could he not care? This was an actor’s honor.

“But caring is useless, and worrying is useless. We can’t decide the outcome. We’ll know tonight. It would be great to win, but if I don’t, there’s no need for regret. I’ve done my best. An actor’s worth isn’t necessarily measured by trophies.”

His tone was calm. Zhou Yining watched him for a while.

Ji Dongyang curled his lips and pulled her to his side. “Let’s talk about you.”

Zhou Yining was a bit confused. “Talk about me?”

Ji Dongyang: “There’s a Best Newcomer award at the film festival.”

“You mean I could win?”

“Mm.”

Winning Best Actress would be difficult, as everyone online was saying she was just playing herself. This factor would affect the judgment of an actor’s professional range. But among this year’s newcomers, she was the most outstanding.

Zhou Yining sat directly on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Then fine. One of us has to win an award.”

Ji Dongyang smiled but didn’t speak.

Zhou Yining: “I’ll go back to the UK after the film festival.”

Ji Dongyang: “Mm, I’ll go with you.”

Just as Zhou Yining was about to speak, her phone rang. It was Zhou Lihui.

Zhou Lihui was likely busy with Zhou JiaHui’s appeal recently. That matter had been handled by Qin Yuan, and after she returned to the UK, it was left to the lawyers. Zhou Yining hadn’t asked about the outcome of the appeal and hadn’t contacted Zhou Lihui again. It seemed the father-daughter relationship had been completely severed after meeting in court.

Except for the blood tie that couldn’t be chosen, the relationship between Zhou Yining and Zhou Lihui would be hard to repair in this lifetime.

Zhou Yining answered the call and still said, “Father.”

Zhou Lihui was silent for a few seconds before saying, “Ningning, how long are you staying here this time?”

“Two or three days.” Zhou Yining asked, “Is something wrong?”

Zhou Lihui: “I know I’m not a good father. I’ve owed you for so many years. Now that things have turned out like this, I can’t help it if you don’t want to recognize me as your father. But you are my daughter after all. Since you’re with Ji Dongyang now, I thought… when you have time, we could have a meal together. Let me meet your boyfriend.”

Zhou Yining didn’t speak. Zhou Lihui sighed. “I didn’t go through with JiaHui’s appeal after all. It was my… failure to teach her well. It’s better to let her learn a lesson.”

Zhou Yining said, “That is your family’s business.”

Zhou Lihui: “Come have a meal with me. Bring Ji Dongyang along.”

After a moment of silence, Zhou Yining said, “I’ll consider it.”

After hanging up, Zhou Yining looked at Ji Dongyang. “My father wants to have a meal with us. He wants to meet you.”

Ji Dongyang knew her relationship with her parents was poor, especially with Zhou Lihui. “Do you want to go?”

Zhou Yining leaned against his shoulder and said in a small voice, “He is my father. If it weren’t for Zhou JiaHui, he might have been alright to me. He never held back on giving me money since I was small. He just didn’t love me enough, and he didn’t care enough. I used to care a lot when I was little, but now I don’t. In the future, we might not even see each other more than a few times a year.”

Ji Dongyang rubbed her hair. “If you want to go, we’ll go.”

Zhou Yining looked up at him. “Alright.”

A Ming came to knock on the door. “Dong-ge, time to change.”

Zhang Ran: “Yining, the makeup artist and stylist are here.”

NOTES

Dong-sao (东嫂): Literally “Sister-in-law Dong,” a term fans use for the wife of their idol (Dong-ge).

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