Global Film Emperor

Chapter 246 It's been five years already.
For the next two months, filming became the main part of his life. He would occasionally give lessons to Dai Xilu and Ding Zhiyi. The three of them got along very well and could be considered both teacher and friend.

During this period, with Lu Ze's help, the two actors' acting skills improved significantly, if not dramatically. Compared to when they first came to the crew, their progress was very obvious.

Ding Zhiyi, in particular, is a very talented actor and is willing to work hard. He can keep up with Lu Ze's pace. He basically does whatever Lu Ze says and enjoys it.

To be honest, Dai Xilu is just so-so. She never had much interest in acting to begin with, and after being a traffic star for a long time, she acted in a few dramas but was heavily criticized. She simply treated acting as a job and lost her passion. It is very difficult to truly understand any profession.

"Brother Lu, dinner's ready."

Lu Ze put down the script in his hand, glanced at the fragrant eight dishes and one soup that Ding Zhiyi had brought to the table, said nothing, and picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks.

In the following days, the two children invited Lu Ze to have dinner with them, but Lu Ze always politely declined. After eating boxed lunches with them for a few days, they couldn't stand it anymore, so they decided to order takeout from a big hotel every day and have it delivered to the film set, claiming it was to pay tuition. The three of them, along with Wang Zixuan and Xiao Fengying, made eight dishes for five people, which wasn't particularly extravagant.

"Brother Lu, another boxed lunch, please. The nomination list for the Golden Rooster Awards will be announced tonight. I'll toast you with mineral water instead of alcohol, wishing you a resounding success."

Dai Xilu is the kind of person who is very good at talking, and she also has the kind of personality that likes to remember things. Even though the Golden Rooster Award has nothing to do with her, she still kept it in mind because of Lu Ze. So, before the list has even been announced, she has already started to celebrate Lu Ze.

"What congratulations? We haven't even met yet. You're congratulating us too early. But I'll take this glass of mineral water. Cheers!"

He clinked his thermos with Dai Xilu. Now that they were more familiar with each other, they weren't so formal with each other anymore. Lu Ze also brought his habits and hobbies from his life to the film set, cultivating his mind and interests in his spare time.

Lu Ze ate quickly; before others had even finished half of their meals, Lu Ze had already eaten two boxes of rice. He then went to the corner, fetched a bucket of tap water that had been left to sit in the sun for two days, and gently poured it onto the small flowers that had just been grafted.

"Hey Lu Ze, you must have been nominated for a few Golden Rooster Awards films, right?"

"Two films, I guess. Both 'The Boxer' and 'To Live' are nominated, but it's a bit unrealistic for two films to be nominated at the same time."

Upon hearing Xiao Fengying's question, Lu Ze thought for a moment and then answered.

Although "To Live" was only released a few months ago, fortunately, it managed to catch the last train to the Golden Rooster Awards. As a film with excellent word-of-mouth this year, a nomination should not be difficult.

Speaking of this, Ding Zhiyi's expression was somewhat envious. He had been acting for so long and had only won one Golden Eagle Award for Best Newcomer in a TV Series. Apart from that, he had nothing. So he was envious. Which actor who loves acting doesn't want to prove their strength and win the honor they dream of?

Even Xiao Fengying was taken aback. It's rare for an actor to be nominated for two films at the same time, but there are always a few. However, if you consider Lu Ze's age and the number of his works, this is a terrifying efficiency.

Lu Ze has starred in four films that have been released so far, and has already won two Best Actor awards and one Best Newcomer award. He has two more awards on the way, and judging from their quality, he has a very high chance of winning. So, he has four films and three Best Actor awards, and he probably has one more Golden Horse Award at the end of the year. What the hell is going on?

Suddenly, Xiao Fengying didn't want to talk to Lu Ze anymore. Chatting with someone like that would only make her unhappy. Was she jealous? Yes.

After putting down her chopsticks and taking a sip of water, Xiao Fengying went back to her transformable folding bed to take a nap. However, she couldn't fall asleep no matter how much she tossed and turned. She glanced at the time and saw that there were still fifteen minutes left before the end of the lunch break. She was unhappy, so she told everyone else not to take a break either and to get up and work! Thus, amidst everyone's groans, the filming continued.

After finishing another day's work, around 6 p.m., Lu Ze returned to the hotel, took a shower, turned the air conditioning on a little, and lay on the bed looking at his phone.

"dong dong dong"

Hearing a knock at the door, I got up and opened it to find Ding Zhiyi and Dai Xilu standing there with a dozen beers in their hands, grinning from ear to ear.

"What are you doing here again?"

"This is a celebration. I've already prepared a bottle of champagne. It'll be chilled and then a waiter will bring it over. Brother Lu, can you let us in?"

Rubbing his face with a headache, Lu Ze unlocked the security chain, ignored the two of them, and went back to bed to rest. The two kids skipped into the room, put their beer on the table, immediately turned on the TV, connected to their Switch, and started playing Mario Odyssey, occasionally shouting "Hey!" or "Ha!"

"You two can play, but please keep quiet and let me take a nap, okay?"

"No way! The list will be announced in a little over half an hour. Lu, wake up! Here's the game, play it. Wake up, the champagne is coming soon."

Dai Xilu opened the door and pushed the food cart in, then told the waiter to leave. Lu Ze naturally lost interest in playing games, but he was a little tempted by the beer. He opened a bottle and gulped down half of it before quietly starting to read.

At 7:30 p.m., Lu Ze, immersed in a sea of ​​words, was drawn by a scream. Turning his head, he saw the two kids leap from the sofa and jump onto the bed, their faces beaming with excitement. "Brother Lu! The list is out! My God! Look! Xi Lu, go get some champagne! Give me your phone, I'll record it."

Lu Ze picked up Ding Zhiyi's phone and saw the following: "Best Cinematography: Du Changhai for 'The Boxer', Liang Yu for 'To Live'".

"Best Editing: Zheng Zhenyu for 'The Boxer' and Diao Pengfei for 'To Live'."

"Best Supporting Actor: Mao Shengjun for 'To Live', Best Supporting Actress: Tang Juan for 'The Boxer', Best Film: 'To Live', 'The Boxer'"

"Best Screenplay: Zhuang Yu (To Live), Best Art Direction: Zhuang Yu (To Live), Best Director: Zhuang Yu (To Live) and Liu Ying (The Boxer), Best Actress: Wang Zhen (To Live), Best Actor: Lu Ze (To Live and The Boxer)!"

To be honest, Lu Ze didn't expect these two films to receive so many nominations. It was as if the Golden Rooster Awards were held specifically for these two films. "The Boxer" was doing a little better, but "To Live" was nominated for almost every award it was even remotely related to.

"Brother Lu, look at me! I'd like to interview you. What are your thoughts? Hasn't the Xilu Champagne been opened yet?"

"Huh? What the hell are you doing?"

Just as Lu Ze finished looking at the list, he heard Ding Zhiyi's shout. He looked up and instantly a glass of ice-cold champagne was poured over his head. Lu Ze then sat on the champagne-soaked bed with a look of utter despair, helplessly watching the two of them. Ding Zhiyi captured this embarrassing moment on camera.

"Let's celebrate! With so many award nominations, how can we not celebrate? No way, I have to upload this video to Weibo and take a picture. Xilu, come here, let's take a picture of the three of us together!"

The three of them drank some champagne, and then opened some beer, but they didn't drink too much, mainly because they were afraid their faces would be swollen the next day, since they still had to film. They made a ruckus until after 9 p.m., when Lu Ze finally sent the two of them back and then went to the hotel front desk to change to another room.

Lying on my new bed, I glanced at the comments. The internet is in an uproar. After all, Lu Ze's two films have received so many nominations. Just looking at the list makes me dizzy! There are so many nominations for "The Boxer" and "To Live." I bet the other nominees are heartbroken.

With more and more awards being won, nominations were no longer enough to truly excite Lu Ze. He tossed his phone aside to charge and prepared to rest.

"Ding dong."

The flash went off twice. Lu Ze was almost in the system space when he was interrupted by this message notification. He picked up his phone somewhat impatiently and found that it was a text message from someone he hadn't contacted in a long time on his second SIM card.

Like any other celebrity, Lu Ze has two SIM cards: one for work and one for contacting friends and relatives. The contacts on both cards were mostly from before his debut.

Upon seeing this number, Lu Ze's expression became somewhat complicated. He paused for a moment on the text message icon before opening the message.

"Lu Ze, it's been a long time since we last contacted each other. You haven't forgotten your old friend, have you? With such great achievements in your career, I won't ask how you've been these past few years. I'm sure you're doing very well."

"I saw the Golden Rooster Award nominations tonight and wanted to congratulate you. I knew you would make it big, and I'm really happy for you. As for me, I'm still the same as always, working nine to five every day, and I'm quite happy."

"It's just that I'm getting married the day after tomorrow. It's not that I absolutely have to ask you to come, since you're so busy with work. I'm not trying to ask you for a wedding gift either. I was originally going to send a mass message, but after seeing your number, I felt it wouldn't be right to send it to you. I don't even know if you've changed your number."

"After saying all this, I don't really mean anything else. After all, you're a nationally renowned star now. I don't know what I was thinking, but I suddenly wanted to tell you. If you feel awkward, you don't need to reply. I wish you the highest success in your career and a happy and fulfilling life."

Upon reading the news, Lu Ze suddenly lost his sleepiness. He sat up, leaned against the headboard, and lit a cigarette. She was getting married, which didn't surprise Lu Ze. Come to think of it, she was thirty-one this year, which was the age for marriage.

For some reason, Lu Ze's memory began to regress, returning to the bungalow that held so many of his difficult years.
Unconsciously, he opened Weibo and searched for that ID that left a deep impression on him. She hadn't changed her name and was still uploading Weibo posts, sharing her life. Her number of followers remained at over 500, which wasn't much different from what Lu Ze remembered.

Her recent Weibo post consists of nine wedding photos. She hasn't changed much; her smile is warm. The man beside her isn't particularly handsome or ugly, and he's not very tall either; he looks quite ordinary.

Scrolling down further, you'll find short videos she made following trends, or angry roars from being too busy at work. Some of these are funny clips that Lu Ze hasn't seen before, and he actually laughed while watching them.

As the cigarette burned down to its last bit, Lu Ze stuck the butt in the ashtray to extinguish it, exhaled a puff of smoke, and sighed with emotion.

"It's been five years already."

"."

(End of this chapter)