Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 444 Girls’ feelings are always poetry

"…Movies are both a record of the times and an art of dreaming. In the past, we have always been looking down at the road, but now it is finally time to look up at the stars. As many audience friends have said, "The Wandering Earth" is just the beginning of domestic science fiction movies. In the future, we will surely have more works that audiences around the world will watch seriously. I hope Chinese films will get better and better. Thank you!"

On the large stage, Meng Bai held high the Golden Rooster Award trophy in his hand, facing the thousands of guests and audience members below the stage, as well as the bright camera lights, with confidence and composure on his face.

After greeting Cheng Long and others who were in charge of presenting the awards, Meng Bai walked off the stage with the trophy. Amid the applause and congratulations from the star directors along the way, he returned to his seat in the crew.

"Not bad, nothing serious happened, no accidents." Guo Fan took the trophy and weighed it, "It's quite light."

"It's hollow, so it won't be heavy." Meng Bai breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Once we win this prize, our year will not be in vain."

Guo Fan followed with a laugh: "By the way, when it's over, do you want to have a meal together?"

Meng Bai glanced at the time and said, "Forget it. It's already past ten o'clock. We'll have to wait even longer for interviews and other things. We've all been tired all night, so let's go back and rest early. When we get back to Jingbei, we'll call everyone over to celebrate together."

"That's fine, everyone go back early. Oh, I can sleep well tonight."

Guo Fan talked to the crew on the scene, and no one had any objections. They had been busy preparing since the afternoon, and they were indeed tired, so it would be good to rest early.

Zhao Jinmai, on the other hand, was still full of energy. When she heard Meng Bai say that everyone would go back to their own homes, she said with some disappointment, "You're going back so early!"

Meng Bai glanced at her and said, "There's nothing we can do. Your uncle the director is old now. He definitely can't be as energetic as us young people."

Guo Fan: Black Question Mark.jpg
"That's right." Zhao Jinmai smacked his lips. "Then Brother Meng Bai, how about we go out for a walk later? I heard that the night market here in Xiamen is very lively, and I've always wanted to go and take a look."

After saying that, he put his hands together and made a "please, please" gesture.

Meng Bai groaned. He had a "date" when he returned, and wanted to refuse. But when he saw the pitiful expression of the little girl, he was too embarrassed to say it.

"That's fine." Meng Bai said, "But not too late, otherwise your mother will be worried."

Since her daughter was not yet an adult, Zhao's mother naturally came with her to Xiamen. However, she was not a member of the crew and could not walk the red carpet with them, so she simply stayed in the hotel.

Anyway, there is an "acquaintance" like Meng Bai taking care of her at the scene, so there is no need to worry about her daughter's safety.

Hearing Meng Bai's agreement, Zhao Jinmai suddenly became happy: "No problem, let's go for a walk and then come back. It's just right, I can also bring some Xiamen specialties for my mother to try."

After saying that, she took out her small cell phone and sent a message to Zhao's mother, saying that she would be back later.

The Straits Theatre is located near the International Building in Siming District, Xiamen, not too far from the city. After the ceremony interview, the crew went their separate ways. Guo Fan and his friends returned to their hotels, while Meng Bai took Zhao Jinmai to the famous Zhongshan Road Night Market.

"Oh, there are so many people here!"

Looking at the pedestrian street that was still crowded with people late at night, Zhao Jinmai, a northern kid who had never experienced much nightlife since childhood, let out a small exclamation.

Meng Bai was also a little surprised. He didn't expect there were so many people here at this time. In the north, especially at the end of November, even in Sanlitun in northern Beijing, there wouldn't be so many people on the street.

"Peanut soup, coconut cake, fish balls, ginger duck..."

It can be seen that Zhao Jinmai did his homework before coming here. He either looked for representative local snacks or popular online celebrity stores, many of which required long queues.

Compared to those first-line big-name stars, Zhao Jinmai is not very well-known. She was walking around in the middle of the night wearing a baseball cap without even a mask, so few people recognized her.

But this was also a lot easier, Meng Bai followed her leisurely, replying to various congratulatory messages on WeChat, occasionally looking up to prevent the little girl from running away.

"Brother Meng Bai, try it!"

Meng Baizheng and Li Qin sent WeChat messages to each other, saying that they would pass by Shanghu on their way back and planned to visit the set, when suddenly they felt something appear in front of them.

He leaned his head back and saw clearly that it was Zhao Jinmai who was holding a string of hot fish balls and handing it to him.

"I've seen this restaurant's grilled fish balls online. They're very famous and everyone says they're delicious." Zhao Jinmai grinned with a bright smile on his face: "Give it a try."

Although he was not very hungry, the little girl was so kind that Meng Bai would not refuse. He opened his mouth and bit one off the wooden skewer.

Don't say it, although it is an Internet celebrity shop, the fish balls are really good. Fresh and fragrant, with a chewy texture and a strong chewiness.

"Well, it's pretty good."

When Zhao Jinmai saw Meng Bai nodding in praise, he was immediately delighted and felt that his time waiting in line was not in vain.

Moreover, Meng Bai just bit the snack in her hand naturally. This scene was very similar to the scenes of couples in the idol dramas and novels she had seen, which made her even happier.

Perhaps in the eyes of passers-by, Brother Meng Bai and I are just like a couple shopping!

When he thought of this, Zhao Jinmai felt his cheeks getting slightly hot and he felt indescribable joy in his heart.

Meng Bai didn't pay much attention to the changes in Zhao Jinmai's expression, otherwise he would have said that the little girl thought too much. With the height difference between us, anyone who saw it would just think that the brother was taking his sister out to eat.

"Ding Leng~"

A notification sounded, and Meng Bai looked at his phone. It was a WeChat message from Nini with a hotel location and room number.

"Ahem." Meng Bai coughed lightly and said to Zhao Jinmai, who was still in high spirits, "Maimai, it's past eleven o'clock. We should go back."

"Huh? So fast."

Zhao Jinmai checked the time and found that they had been shopping for almost an hour.

"Okay, let's go back then." She said with lingering feelings.

"If you like, you can stay and play for another day tomorrow. It's the weekend anyway."

"Oh, no, I still have homework to do when I go back." The little girl sighed.

"That's right. I'll take the college entrance exam next year, so I still have to work hard." Meng Bai said as he walked, "Let me make it clear first. I'll give you the heroine I promised you. If you don't pass the exam in the end, hehe..."

"Don't worry, Brother Meng Bai. As long as I can pass the art exam, there will be no problem with the academic subjects." Zhao Jinmai said confidently, patting his chest.

"That's fine. Don't worry, as long as you can pass the academic subjects, you don't have to worry too much about the art exam." Meng Bai said.

Not to mention Zhao Jinmai's own strength as she has been filming for so many years, Arc Light and the Central Academy of Drama have had a lot of collaborations, so it should be easy to get her a spot.

Minors are allowed to work in arts, sports and some special industries. Zhao Jinmai's contract was signed with Arclight a long time ago.

However, she is not the youngest actor in the Arc Light series. Wang Shengdi, with whom she has worked before, is only nine years old this year and is also signed to the Water Drop Agency where Guo Fan is.

It was already past eleven thirty when they returned to the hotel. Meng Bai parked the car and looked at Zhao Jinmai in the passenger seat: "Okay, we're here. Let your mother come down to pick you up or I'll take you up."

"Brother Meng Bai, don't you live here too?" Zhao Jinmai asked puzzledly.

Meng Bai's expression remained unchanged, and he said naturally: "Oh, I have something to do and I have to go out... I'll take you upstairs."

"No, no, we're already at the door, I can go up by myself."

"No, I won't feel at ease unless I hand you over to your mother safely and completely... It won't matter if I don't wait a little longer."

"Okay then." Zhao Jinmai took out his cell phone, "I'll call my mom."

Mother Zhao seemed to have been waiting by the phone, and the call was connected as soon as she called. When she heard her daughter was downstairs, she was relieved and hurriedly said she would come down soon.

"Oh, I really want to go to college." Zhao Jinmai hung up the phone and sighed, "Otherwise, my mother will nag me every day."

"It's the same when I go to college." Meng Bai stretched lazily. "Don't mention you. I'm almost 30 years old. When I call my mother, she keeps complaining about it."

At this point, he laughed and said, "But sometimes I think it's nice to have someone to talk to."

"Really?" Zhao Jinmai pursed his lips and didn't take it seriously.

She is still at the age of a young girl. Although she has been filming since she was young, she has never left her parents, so she doesn't feel much about it.

Meng Bai smiled when he saw this, but he didn't preach. This kind of mentality is basically the same for all human beings. She will understand it naturally when she grows up. There is no need to experience it now.

While chatting and waiting, Zhao Jinmai estimated that Zhao's mother would be coming down soon, and suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Brother Meng Bai." She took out a small box from her pocket, "This is for you." "What is it?"

Meng Bai took it in confusion.

Zhao Jinmai said a little embarrassedly: "I said I would give you a gift before, but I forgot it when I was excited. I saw it at the night market just now, so I bought it... Although it was a last-minute purchase, don't worry, I chose it very carefully."

"Well, it's okay. Just have this intention." Meng Bai didn't care. "So, what is this?"

"You'll know if you open it. There's also..."

Zhao Jinmai looked out of the car window halfway through her words and saw a figure walking out of the hotel lobby in the distance. It looked like Zhao's mother.

Time was running out, Zhao Jinmai looked around to see if there was anyone around the car. She turned around and saw Meng Bai was about to open the gift box without noticing her. She took a deep breath, clenched her fists tightly, then mustered up her courage and rushed forward to Meng Bai's face.

"BO!"

There was a slight sound, and Meng Bai only felt as if his cheek was touched, and then he saw Zhao Jinmai hurriedly opened the car door and rushed out.

"Brother Meng Bai, my mother is coming down, so I'll go back first. Please drive slowly on the road, don't drive too fast, and pay attention to safety..."

She spoke loudly and ran away without looking back.

"..."

Meng Bai looked at the little girl's back as she left, frowning - what just happened?

He looked at his face in the rearview mirror, raised his hand to rub it, and there seemed to be some faint marks.

Tsk, the girls nowadays are really something. Not only do they launch sneak attacks, but they also take advantage of others and run away. They have no sense of responsibility at all.

Meng Bai opened the small gift box in his hand and took out the contents, only to find that it was a box of exquisitely shaped chocolates.

Ha, what is this, a confession to chocolate?

Meng Bai looked at the chocolate in his hand and chuckled. After thinking for a while, he unwrapped it, took out a piece, took a photo and sent it to Zhao Jinmai: "It's a good gift, the chocolate is very sweet, you can change it to dark chocolate next time. Good night, and have a good dream."

He clicked send, threw the piece in his hand into his mouth, carefully put the rest away, and then drove away.

On the other side, Zhao Jinmai, who had just finished doing something important, followed her mother back to the room and was still trying to calm herself down. Suddenly, she heard her cell phone ring, picked it up, and immediately felt relieved.

Hehe, Brother Meng Bai was not angry, and he even accepted my gift. Tonight’s plan was a great success!

"What are you looking at and smiling so happily?" Mother Zhao walked in and asked.

"Nothing." Zhao Jinmai put away his phone and made up an excuse: "Many viewers left messages online to congratulate us on winning the award for our film."

After saying that, she opened her phone again and took a look before exiting WeChat and happily going to wash up.

The heart of a girl is beating in her jade-like youth, and her feelings are always poetic.

……

[The Wandering Earth Golden Rooster Award for Best Feature Film]

[Golden Horse Awards ratings plummet]

[Golden Rooster Awards will be held annually starting next year]

[Wang Jingchun won Best Actor and Best Actress again]

[Ministry of Culture: Literary and artistic works should look down at the road, but also look up at the stars]

【…】

The next morning, Meng Bai leaned against the head of the bed, looking at the news on Weibo.

The Golden Rooster Awards ended last night, and various related terms became hot searches, with the top positions basically occupied by award news.

The most popular movie is naturally "The Wandering Earth", which won the grand prize. As the starting point of domestic science fiction themes, it still attracts the attention of many viewers even though it has been more than half a year since its release.

Regarding this movie winning the award, netizens commented on it in four words: well-deserved.

Although some viewers lamented that "Dying to Survive" did not win the award, it was just a pity and no one thought there was anything wrong with the result.

I can only say that the works nominated this year are all very strong, and everyone will regret it if they choose one or not.

In addition, another piece of news that attracted attention was that the Golden Horse Awards, which started simultaneously last night, saw its ratings plummet from 3.8 last year to 2.2 this year due to the lack of participation from mainland and Hong Kong filmmakers.

According to the headcount statistics, there were nearly 300 million fewer viewers.

Not only that, all major sponsors in previous years withdrew their investments this year. As the chairman of the executive committee, Li An had a hard time attracting two new sponsors, FamilyMart and McDonald's.

I can only say that Li An is quite miserable. He finally came back and wanted to seriously expand the Golden Horse Awards, but he encountered such a thing right at the beginning.

Netizens also fully demonstrated their love of watching the fun, and rushed to Wanwan's news website to make all kinds of jokes, and did not forget to repost Li An's classic wry smile from last year over and over again.

In any case, after this incident, the nearly 60-year-old Golden Horse Awards has come to an end. Coupled with the declining performance of the Hong Kong Film Awards in recent years, the three major Chinese-language film markets have completely parted ways.

It’s a pity that we will probably never see the scene of filmmakers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong competing for the three awards in the future.

"Hmm~"

A charming humming sounded beside her, and Ni Ni woke up from her sleep, opened her eyes, and then sat up in a daze. The quilt on her body slipped off, revealing her delicate shoulders and back covered with dark red "strawberry marks".

"Don't you want to sleep a little longer?" Meng Bai said.

"I can't sleep anymore. I have to catch a flight this afternoon. I have to get up and pack."

Nini shook her head and tucked her messy hair behind her ears. Her slightly curly long hair was scattered down, matching her appearance of just waking up, which was quite charming.

"The flight is in the afternoon, why are you in such a hurry in the morning?" Meng Bai said, pulling her in front of him and placing his hand on the peak.

"Humph."

Ni Ni snorted softly and glanced at the man coquettishly: "Isn't it enough that you took so long last night?"

"I can't help it. I'm young, in good health, and I recover quickly."

"Are you saying I'm old?"

"My friend, you are two years older than me."

"Let go! I want to get up... ugh!"

Ni Ni struggled angrily, but unfortunately she was no match for Meng Bai. In the end, she was helplessly pulled into his arms and flirted with, and could only slap him weakly twice, thinking that it was revenge in her heart.

"You...are you really going to visit our crew?" Nini panted and said intermittently.

"Yeah, the filming took so long, can't I, the investor, go check it out?"

"Aren't you afraid, um, that Qinqin will know...know about us?"

"If you don't tell me and I don't tell you, how would she know?"

"Humph, don't underestimate a woman's observation and sixth sense."

"Don't worry, I have a strong magnetic field around me, so things like sixth sense are useless."

As they were talking, Ni Ni's phone suddenly rang. She glanced at the caller's name and her expression suddenly changed.

It was Li Qin calling.

(End of this chapter)