Superstars of Tomorrow - Chapter 363

Chapter 363: Red Carpet Partner

It had to be said that there was simply too much star power at an awards ceremony like this. One global superstar followed another. Fang Zhao didn’t stand out at all. Even the brash Zaro failed to cause a ripple here.

Zaro had been able to crash a red carpet or two during the film festival, but he wasn’t good enough for the red carpet at the “Golden TV Series Gala.”

He didn’t have any quality productions under his belt. He lacked seniority. And gathered here were fans from all around the world and the top figures in the film and TV industry. Zaro wasn’t much of a factor. This wasn’t Leizhou. Every step had to be earned the hard way.

The entertainment journalists might throw him a crumb or two when there wasn’t any big news, but at a star-studded moment like this, they ignored Zaro outright.

It wasn’t just Zaro. Woo Tianhao, Barbara, and so on got the same treatment. They felt slighted. But either they bolted or they sucked it up.

At a star-studded moment like this, everyone seemed to have forgotten about Fang Zhao. But he was someone who had been nominated for best newcomer and best supporting actor in a drama, after all. When the awards came up, folks still mentioned the name “Fang Zhao.”

But apart from having his arrival at the airport two days ago filmed, there had only been a dribble of news about Fang Zhao since the beginning of the film festival.

Initially, quite a few folks had been clamoring online for news about Fang Zhao, but as items had surfaced about other stars, no one had had time to track Fang Zhao. But now that they had Fang Zhao in their sights, a few journalists who worked for media outlets close to the organizers approached for an interview.

After giving two brief interviews, Fang Zhao made an excuse to bolt, avoiding the remaining few journalists.

Journalists who had access to the side room all belonged to publications that had worked closely with the organizers for years. They weren’t prone to stalking certain celebrities. After Fang Zhao left, they turned their attention to other actors. There were plenty of stars in attendance this night, plenty of people to interview.

When Fang Zhao served himself some tea from a dispenser, he overheard a few directors whispering.

“Hey, Old Li, I heard a while ago that you signed on for a project backed by the Renault family of Leizhou and that kid from the Woo family from Tongzhou. Those two kids are both very generous. Is the project going well? I have a script I’m thinking of pitching to them.”

“Don’t get me started. I’m suffering from internal bleeding here. Yes, the two kids are generous, but they both keep nagging me about starring in the film. The way they do things…”

“What’s wrong? I thought they did a good job in ‘Founding Era’.”

“But that’s ‘Founding Era.’ What kind of production is that? Even the extras were professional actors, or at least highly experienced. It was a different atmosphere. Even if you were an average actor, your level was raised by everyone around you. But now that they’ve left the ‘Founding Era’ set, they’re showing their true mettle. These two spoiled brats—one just wings it, the other just tries to steal the show.”

The pressure had been immense on the “Founding Era” set. Even Zaro had held back his usual antics. But now that he was working on a production he was investing in, he felt he could take liberties—plus, he was a slacker to begin with. Naturally his performance paled in comparison to his delivery on “Founding Era.”

Other than that, Zaro realized his beloved garlic didn’t do its trick anymore.

He either overacted or couldn’t deliver the right emotions. Now Zaro felt great about himself when he did his scenes, but everyone else found his delivery super awkward and stinging to the eyes.

As for Woo Tianhao, he tried too hard to steal the spotlight, and he was over-the-top and pretentious. He even improvised from time to time.

The director and screenwriter were too chickenshit to offend the two investors. All they could do was suck it up and keep shooting. In the end, a serious drama became a comedy.

The two directors were deep in conversation when they caught a glimpse of Zaro heading their way. They shut up immediately.

The director who had just spoken turned away from Zaro, lest he get busted.

But Zaro seemed to be fuming about something else. He looked like someone had robbed him of billions—he was completely oblivious to his surroundings.

Zaro had just realized that all he had gotten was an invitation.

The invitation gave him access to the awards ceremony only. As for the red carpet festivities, he could forget about them. He didn’t qualify.

He had nothing to show for himself apart from that cameo in “Founding Era.” All his other films were major turnoffs, far from meeting the exacting standards of the Corale Film Festival.

After repeated pleas from his agent, Zaro had agreed to suck it up and stay. No wonder he looked so pale. Everyone who saw him coming their way ducked immediately. If I can’t afford to piss him off. Can’t I hide? they thought.

Cup of tea in hand, Fang Zhao steered clear of Zaro as well. He ran into Si Lu, a fellow actor from the Yanzhou chapter of “Founding Era.”

Even though Si Lu was signed to Neon Culture—a Silver Wing rival—and the two companies were at loggerheads, Si Lu thought well of Fang Zhao. When he had played the lone swordsman Qi Guan on “Founding Era,” Fang Zhao had given him a few pointers. They exchanged a few pleasantries.

Apart from Si Lu, Fang Zhao also ran into Qiao Tingzheng, an actor who specialized in playing villains.

A senior actor, Qiao Tingzheng had passed on a few insights to Fang Zhao, but the “wife braggart” lived up to his name. A few sentences in and he was talking about his wife Windsor again.

Qiao Tingzheng hadn’t been nominated, but Windsor had been nominated for best original song and was therefore eligible for the red carpet.

Qiao Tingzheng was a bit upset because he hadn’t qualified for the red carpet and thus couldn’t walk with his wife. He was sad and a little jealous.

“Speaking of the red carpet, do you know who your partner is?” Qiao Tingzheng asked.

Fang Zhao shook his head. “I haven’t heard yet.”

“It’s still early. You’ll find out when the red carpet event begins. Don’t be nervous. Remember not to drink too much water. It will affect your performance,” Qiao Tingzheng instructed before he parted ways with Fang Zhao. He was worried that Fang Zhao would overhydrate because of nerves and fail to bring his A game to the red carpet as a result.

After Qiao Tingzheng left, a man carrying a wine glass sauntered toward Fang Zhao.

Fang Zhao had never spoken to the man before. All he remembered was catching a glimpse of the person from a distance at the performance hall on Planet Wai. He vaguely remembered the face, but he didn’t know the man’s name.

“You look like you’re in good spirits. Are you ready for the red carpet?” the man asked as he cocked his chin.

“I’m all set,” Fang Zhao responded.

“You’ve already done well to have earned two nominations, but…” The man gave Fang Zhao a knowing glance, crept closer, and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Did you know that you were originally nominated in three categories, but the jury voted you down in one category because of your young age?”

The man took a sip of his wine, chuckled, and left.

Fang Zhao didn’t follow up, nor did his gaze linger on the mystery man. As soon as he turned around, he saw He Lisi walking toward him.

He Lisi was an A-lister in Yanzhou and one of Silver Wing’s top artists. He had been nominated for best actor at the Golden Coral Awards on several occasions. He had won best actor in a drama for his performance in an extremely popular TV series five years ago.

This time around, He Lisi wasn’t among the best actor nominees. There were so many chapters to “Founding Era.” Only five actors were nominated. He Lisi had known his odds would be slim when he had been cast in the role of Wu Yan because the character was played by three actors at three different ages. Naturally, he was at a disadvantage compared to his rivals. Even though he was a bit sad he hadn’t been nominated, he had accepted the outcome.

He and Fang Zhao weren’t rivals anymore. Fang Zhao’s focus was his music, so he didn’t pose a threat. Plus, both artists were signed to Silver Wing. The Silver Wing board made a point of cultivating Fang Zhao. Duan Qianji had even personally asked He Lisi to keep an eye on Fang Zhao at the film festival and pass on some pointers.

“What did that man say to you? I’m guessing nothing flattering.” He Lisi had approached Fang Zhao quickly in the first place because he had noticed the man’s sly smile.

“Nothing major,” Fang Zhao responded.

“Good. This is your first time attending an important event like this. Many folks are jealous that your first acting performance earned two nominations. There are plenty of people who want to see you make a fool of yourself, including the man who just approached you. No matter what they say, don’t let it get to your head. Stay calm and composed. The time spent agonizing over their comments is better used practicing your acceptance speech. You’re likely to win in one of the two categories.”

“Got it.”

“Great. If you have a question or run into a situation, feel free to get in touch. I see an old friend; I’m going to go say hi.”

He Lisi had his own group of friends. He moved on quickly after the brief conversation with Fang Zhao.

The crowd in the side hall grew in size. The soothing soundtrack piped by the sound system wasn’t relaxing at all. Instead, the mood in the room grew increasingly tense with every passing second and minute.

Fang Zhao also ran into Ji Polun and company.

Ji Polun looked more sophisticated than he used to in his carefully tailored outfit made of a slightly reflective material. His posture and hand gestures were also smooth and elegant thanks to recent in-house training. His good looks added to his advantage.

But there was definitely no shortage of pretty faces in the room.

Advancements in plastic surgery meant there were countless “perfect” faces for the media to obsess over every year at the film festival. But how many of them qualified for the red carpet at an awards ceremony of this stature?

Not to mention, Ji Polun’s face was still far from perfect.

Regardless of how confident they were in Yanzhou, Ji Polun and friends paled in present company. Self-aware as they were, they stuck to a corner and avoided roaming the room.

The several young actors that were part of Ji Polun’s group were all priorities for Silver Wing. Otherwise, the label wouldn’t have bothered to secure invitations to the “Golden TV Series Gala” for them.

When the group noticed Fang Zhao, they approached to say hi.

“Big Bro Zhao!”

“Big Bro Zhao is cutting quite the dashing figure today!”

This wasn’t mere flattery.

What appeared to be a simple black-and-white combination didn’t come off as staid because of a sophisticated design that was mature and youthful the same time. The slick cutting highlighted Fang Zhao’s slim figure. Fang Zhao was impeccably groomed from head to toe. Nanfeng had gone all out crafting his boss’s look.

Even though he boasted fewer accessories, Fang Zhao wasn’t one to be neglected, even if he just stood there.

Maybe this was what they call a star’s aura, Ji Polun and company thought.

“You’ve decided to stick together?” Fang Zhao asked as he scanned the group.

These were all young actors. Silver Wing’s senior stars were too busy to babysit them. Even if they wanted to make conversation with some of the bigwigs, they would be given the cold shoulder. All they could do was linger in a corner.

One could be as obnoxious as one wanted on their home continent, but sharing the room with the biggest stars and most prominent entertainment executives in the world, it was smart to keep a low profile.

“There are big shots everywhere. Even the top stars from our continent have to play nice,” one of the young actors said with a forced chuckle. He wanted to chuckle more naturally, but his entire body had started freezing up from the moment he’d entered the side hall. He could barely walk.

He relaxed somewhat in Fang Zhao’s company. They belonged to the same label, after all, and Fang Zhao was friendlier in comparison. It was like running into a fellow countryman abroad. Even if they didn’t know each other and had never exchanged a single word before, they would still feel more at ease.

“We haven’t seen you in a few days, Big Bro Zhao. We’ve been taking in the sights, and we watched two movies,” another young actor said.

At times like this, generating a few headlines for the Yanzhou news outlets would be considered mission accomplished. Generating stories for foreign publications was a different challenge altogether.

“Big Bro Zhao has been holed up writing papers,” Ji Polun answered on Fang Zhao’s behalf. He knew about Fang Zhao’s plans after the movie viewings.

The others were clued in by Ji Polun’s response. “Oh, that’s right. He’s still in school. He has other assignments.”

“I haven’t completed my assignment for the film festival yet,” the young actor standing closest to the corner said with a distressed look.

Ji Polun explained with a chuckle when he saw Fang Zhao look over. “His agent asked him to hook up with someone during the film festival. Any gender or race would do. His agent is the devil!”

“Amen to that. All agents are devils!” another actor seconded.

“What about you, Big Bro Zhao?” someone asked.

“I don’t have an agent,” Fang Zhao responded.

“Jealous!”

“So, so jealous!”

What they envied wasn’t the fact that Fang Zhao didn’t have an agent looking over his shoulder but the fact that Fang Zhao could become so popular without relying on an agent. He didn’t need an agent to fight for plum jobs. He could take care of everything himself. Take his role in “Founding Era,” for example. Silver Wing might not have been able to secure the part. It was Fang Zhao who had done the lobbying.

Not to mention that Fang Zhao had a broad repertoire. Acting wasn’t even his main focus. This was also the source of much envy.

“Oh, I forgot to ask. Big Bro Zhao, who’s your partner on the red carpet? The red carpet event is about to start.” Ji Polun was curious.

“I have no idea…” But before Fang Zhao could complete his sentence, he got word on his bracelet.

“It’s Anna. I just received word. My red carpet partner will be Anna,” Fang Zhao said.

Ji Polun and company took a collective deep breath.

“You mean the Anna who won the Golden Coral Award for best actress last year? She’s been nominated for best supporting actress this year as well.”

“She’s a super-A-list star in Huangzhou!”

“Isn’t her husband that really famous Huangzhou pop star Lan Jing?”

“Indeed! Lan Jing, the genius singer-songwriter who’s a regular among the top three on Huangzhou’s pop charts. I’m a fan too! I went to see him when he went on his world tour two years ago.”

The name also rang a bell with Fang Zhao because Lan Jing was Mo Lang’s final disciple.

As Nanfeng had said, actors were typically paired with other actors of similar stature on the red carpet, even when it came to supporting actor nominees. But Anna was far superior to Fang Zhao in terms of stature within