Huayu: Starting from the top talent show

Chapter 509: Is this the prologue to GenZ's legendary return?
The Huaguo Film Night, held during the Shanghai International Film Festival, was not a particularly impressive event or gala.

The star power of the guest lineup is not even comparable to the Tencent Video All Star Awards or the iQiyi Scream Night, and it can't even beat the National Drama Awards next door.

But it also has its own unique features.

That is the value of an endorsement from a conqueror.

The organizer is the Light Spot Bureau.

The live broadcast was hosted by CCTV News.

At other galas, it's usually the platform's top executives who speak on stage, but at the China Film Night, at the very least, it's...
It can only be said that the status and position of the bigwigs attending directly determined the authority and formality of this event.

With Shen Juan, who reigns supreme in the entire Chinese entertainment industry, it would be difficult for this new gala, the first of its kind this year, not to be held!
Of course, Shen Juan also took this opportunity to further deepen his "friendship" with the big shots he had met several times before.

Regardless of how close the relationship is, at least if you can make this call when you need help from the relevant departments, that's good enough.

After all, the fact that "The Matchmaker," which contains elements of feudal superstition, was able to pass censorship so smoothly is surely due to these connections, isn't it?
Whether in North America or East Asia, these are societies based on personal relationships, and there are some things that are simply unavoidable.

After spending a whole night sinking the Titanic, Shen Juan returned to the film crew and continued to work diligently on filming.

As scene after scene was filmed to achieve the effects the director wanted, the day when filming wrapped was drawing ever closer.

As July drew to a close and August was just around the corner, another major news story related to Shen Juan broke out in North America!
The complete nominations for the 2020 VMAs have been announced! Shen Juan leads the pack with 19 nominations, followed closely by Ariana Grande with 9.

[According to foreign media reports, the 2020 VMAs nominations have been announced! Shen Juan received 19 nominations, breaking the previous VMAs nomination record held by Lady Gaga. Ariana Grande received 9 nominations, Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber each received 6 nominations, Taylor Swift received 5 nominations, and Dua Lipa, Drake, and Lady Gaga each received 4 nominations. The awards ceremony will be held on August 31st, Beijing time.]

Here is the complete list of nominees for all awards.

Such shocking and explosive news naturally attracted a large number of fans and netizens from all over the world to discuss it.

Although Shen Juan has won the Grammy Award for Best Album of the Year, which is the most important award for pop singers, the VMAs are at best on par with the AMAs and BMAs, forming the three giants of pop music awards below the Grammys. It's not enough to excite Alovers, who has seen all kinds of storms.

But this year is different.

This year, amidst unprecedented online harassment, he broke the record held by Lady Gaga for ten years with an unparalleled and invincible attitude, receiving an astonishing 19 nominations and almost sweeping all the mainstream awards!
This has led to a significant increase in online discussion compared to when Shen Juan used Leviathan to dominate the North American music scene last year.

[Who knows the feeling of redemption that comes from scrolling down and seeing Alex Shen's name appear in almost every award?]

[And I saw that Alex Shen won more than one award for many of them, haha, it feels like Alex is going to have double the number of trophies this year.]

Drake, that crybaby, is going to be jealous again.

[WTF? 19 nominations? I can't believe my eyes! Alex is utterly crushing the VMAs! Last month, when he was being relentlessly attacked online, how many people were telling him to get out of North America? And now? He has the same number of nominations as the second and third place finishers combined. That's a resounding slap in the face!]

[Stop hyping him up, okay? An Asian guy doing R&B and hip-hop, isn't he just exploiting Black culture for profit? I think Drake was right when he criticized him last month. Who are they trying to impress with all these nominations? Is the VMAs so desperate for money that they have to resort to these controversial figures to grab attention and generate traffic?]

[Ha! This is supposed to be cultural appropriation? So you guys patented it? Can you stop being so ridiculous?]

To be fair, 19 nominations is indeed outrageous, but objectively speaking, Sisyphus is truly a high-quality album! It has both commercial appeal and critical acclaim, and in my opinion, it's on par with last year's AS2 Leviathan. However, getting involved with the Black Minggui is troublesome; Twitter is already in an uproar.

[A passerby commented that the online comments were much more entertaining than the awards ceremony itself. Last month, he was relentlessly attacked by angry netizens, and this month he's released a new song in collaboration with Taylor Swift and received a record-breaking VMAs nomination. The plot is just too dramatic, haha! The only pity is that Alex is unlikely to be present next month, so we won't get to see him sweep the stage, holding his trophy and confronting his haters, or being booed by the audience. This display of loyalty has definitely taken away a lot of our fun.]

[As a GenZ user, I have to say Alex really went all out this time! I'm a GenZ person too, so why didn't I feel offended by him?]

Honestly, isn't the VMAs afraid of a public boycott for giving Shen Juan so many nominations this year? The protests in the US are still ongoing! If Shen Juan really sweeps the awards and wins over ten, the internet will probably explode. But then again, if Shen Juan can withstand the pressure and turn the tide, and if his next AS4 album continues the unparalleled momentum of AS2 and AS3, then at least in the pop music field, he might truly become the youngest legend, and a very, very secure one at that.

Fans hope Shen Juan wins more awards, to prove those haters wrong with his achievements! Let them know who the pop music scene belongs to!
If being underestimated represents an uprising, and Leviathan represents a coronation, then this Sisyphus represents the expansion of a golden age of dynasties.

The haters hope that the VMAs will pull a fast one, making Shen Juan win nothing and leaving his fans disappointed.

That way they can thoroughly humiliate Shen Juan!

Let him know that not everyone is qualified to steal fame and fortune by appropriating their Hey people culture!
That's right, singing R&B and playing hip-hop are seen as appropriating the culture of the Black people in their eyes. That's how domineering Wakanda is!
Bystanders, on the other hand, were eager to see the matter blown out of proportion; they loved watching public figures fight for their reputations!
The cycle of creating and destroying gods continues relentlessly.

They can both follow the trend and offer encouragement and praise, contributing to Shen Juan's rise to superstardom last year with "Leviathan," and also follow the trend and kick him while he's down, joining the public in pinning unfounded accusations on Shen Juan, ruining his reputation, and gleefully watching him fall into the abyss.

But isn't there a saying that goes like this?

Public sentiment can change very quickly.

There is never love without a reason, nor hatred without cause. Those seemingly inexplicable support and affection may one day in the future turn into slander and abuse without warning; conversely, past dislike may quietly turn into understanding and acceptance over time.

Ultimately, these people who are like weather vanes are just ordinary members of the masses.

They are only responsible for expressing emotions when things are going smoothly.

As for things like idol worship, they have nothing to do with them.

So if Shen Juan can weather this storm, they certainly wouldn't mind standing on the sidelines and giving him applause and cheers.

Just like Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, returning home after ten years in Homer's epic, witness the epic return of the GenZ legend.

(Faced with the recent overwhelming criticism of her friend breaking the VMAs nomination record, Ms. Taylors chose to share photos on Instagram of herself playing chess with Shen Juan during her free time while producing TS7 last year. Without saying a word, she quietly expressed her stance and offered her support.)
Shanghai Grand Theatre.

Construction began in 1995 and was completed in 1998.
Considering that both the male and female leads of the film have a habit of watching niche art films, this location was also chosen by the production team as one of the filming locations.

Primarily used to showcase scenes from the Shanghai International Film Festival, it's a blatant way of promoting Shanghai's urban culture to the countries and regions where the film can be exported.

Talk about it.
With a significant influx of mainstream resources from the Shanghai municipal government, Shen Juan, the spokesperson for Shanghai, is becoming increasingly dedicated to his duties.

Since last year, he has not only frequently participated in city events and promotional video shoots, but also likes to visit various landmark buildings in Shanghai to take photos. He even took a set of photos specifically for this purpose as a archive, and when the right season and time come, he will post a couple of photos on Instagram and Twitter as a form of daily business.
This directly led to a leap forward in Shanghai's popularity and international influence on the internet, especially in Southeast Asia.

Google search index for #SHANGHAI# skyrocketed!
The "Shanghai dream" among Alovers around the world and people in Southeast Asia is also intensifying under the impetus of TikTok.

This has even spawned a large number of fan-made videos, making Shanghai the second city in the world to become sacred because of celebrity worship.

The first one is Seoul, a holy place in the hearts of K-pop fans.

The second city is the holy city of the Demon City in Alovers' heart.

then
Perhaps due to the collaboration with Li Ziqi, or simply due to her personal fame, "A Journey Along the Mountain Road" has been widely used as background music for videos showcasing Chinese landscapes. It has even attracted many well-known singers from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and other countries to cover the song on local entertainment programs.

Another hit single from the Chinese album "Visya" is "Extraterrestrial Being," which has become the city song of Shanghai in the hearts of people in Southeast Asia. A quick scroll through short videos about the Shanghai skyline and skyscrapers will reveal the powerful chorus lyric "You are like an extraterrestrial being, something we can't have."

In other words, due to personal reasons, he couldn't come to China.

Otherwise, they probably would have trampled Shanghai to pieces long ago.

It might even give rise to an urban legend of a group of Southeast Asian tourists singing "Extraterrestrial Objects" under a high-rise building.

Cristiano Ronaldo introduced Portugal to the world.

Shen Juan introduces the world to Shanghai.

The worse Shen Juan's public image is in North America, the more dazzling his star power and influence are in East Asia.

Many people interviewed said that the first and only time they had the idea of ​​working abroad was because of Shen Juan. In many people's hearts, he is like the green lighthouse in Gatsby, distant and blurry to the point of being untouchable, yet always shining, an eternal dream that will never be extinguished.

The luxury brands endorsed by Shen Juan are also being heavily advertised in Shanghai, so that residents of the city can see Shen Juan whenever they look up.

Shen Juan's parents, who retired early and now live off their child at home, feel incredibly proud every time they see these plazas while out shopping!

When Netflix named Shen Juan's documentary "Mr. China", they did think that it would cause controversy and generate a lot of discussion for the people involved. However, they did not expect that the public would accept the view so quickly. The few questions raised were actually raised within China itself.

But no matter what
He is romantic, powerful, gentle, calm, composed, competitive, progressive, confident, and sharp-witted!
He seems to be the symbol of China's future glory.

Therefore, without a doubt, through these three years of hard work, he has become one of the important cultural symbols of the new era in China.

Regardless of domestic recognition, in the eyes of foreigners, he has surpassed Cheng Long to become the new representative figure.

It can only be said that he has taken popular art to its extreme!
No celebrity has ever done this much.

It's no wonder that the authorities always seem to favor Shen Juan in the midst of controversy, because he certainly has the qualifications and ability to make the authorities take sides.

They finished work on time for lunch, and a group of people stayed in Shen Juan's multi-million dollar RV, enjoying the air conditioning while eating lunch.

"Ugh~~~ Why are there chicken drumsticks again today? I don't want to gain weight!" Xiao Hu looked at his lunchbox with a distressed expression.

Actually, if she really didn't want to eat it, she could just throw it away. But she noticed that Shen Juan generally didn't waste food. Even though the food he ate was expensive, he wouldn't show off his wealth like many nouveau riche who would take a bite and then throw it in the trash. So she didn't want to show Shen Juan a side of herself that might not be so likable.

"What are you complaining about? Didn't you order this yourself?" Shen Juan didn't even bother to lift his head, and hurriedly ate his rice.

He'd been working intensely every night lately, expending a lot of energy. Luckily, Xiao Xiao had been researching health and wellness at home and had sent him a lot of strange supplements, saying they were good for that aspect of his health. Shen Juan immediately said that was great, he had to make up for the lost nutrients through diet! "I forgot because I was filming! I told her that if I didn't contact her on WeChat, I'd send her yesterday's leftovers, but I realized I've forgotten to tell her for two days in a row." Xiao Hu suddenly leaned close to Shen Juan, looking at him with teary eyes, pouting like a pitiful little animal.

"Whose fault is that?"

"It's my fault for having a bad memory!"

"so what?"

"So I think I should find someone to help me remember things!"

"Don't bother me, I'm busy too." Shen Juan had a premonition that she would bother him, so he quickly distanced himself from the situation.

"Hey! Is it really that serious?" Xiao Hu pouted, feeling wronged. "You're my boyfriend, who else should I talk to if not you?"

"Find Xiao Shen!" Shen Juan directly passed this arduous task to Shen Yujie, who was sitting quietly eating next to Xiao Hu.

"Huh?" Xiao Shen was a little confused.

what's the situation?
Why did my senior suddenly call my name?
Then, Shen Juan passed the buck to Reba, who was sitting next to him in a daze, "How about you ask your sister Reba for help?"

"Uh," Reba suddenly heard her name called by Shen Juan, and immediately pricked up her ears and sat up slightly.

"Would you be willing to be Xiao Hu's memory stick?"

Looking at Shen Juan's calm and handsome face, Dilraba felt a little excited. "I actually think I can do it!"

She brought Xiao Shen to Shanghai to visit the set of "The Long Ballad" yesterday. So she was actually thinking about how to stay openly and legitimately, and take advantage of Tian Xiwei's absence to spend more time with Shen Juan and develop feelings for him. However, she hadn't found a suitable reason yet.

But there's a saying that goes, "..."
Mountain darkly, vista!
Isn't that the reason they're coming to us?
Hahaha, this is truly fate!
Knew it!
Sure enough, as long as that woman surnamed Tian isn't around...
As long as she's not around, I can take off!
It's like the game of Animal Chess that we played as kids.

I just happened to be restrained by her.

This doesn't necessarily mean I'm weak.

Unfortunately, Xiao Hu was clearly not as naive and innocent as she thought.

"Thank you, Sister Baba, but I think it's better to pass. I feel it's better to do things myself and not bother others."

Dilraba was a little confused: "Uh, I really can!"

"Thank you, but I suddenly realized my mistake just now, so I'm still sorry to bother you, Sister Dilraba."

"Really no need?"

"real."

Xiao Hu smiled broadly, but secretly he was cursing.

what the hell!

You were defended so badly by Sister Tian, ​​do you think you can do whatever you want if you become the defender?
Are you kidding me?
You're seriously underestimating me!

Not long ago, I also successfully intimidated Sister Tian by pretending to be powerful! My fighting ability is not much lower than hers!
And there's more.
Despite looking like a highly skilled, combat-oriented older sister type, her actual combat ability is surprisingly pathetic.
No wonder I haven't been able to eat with my senior for so long, how embarrassing!

If it weren't for my good friend Xiao Shen, if it weren't for the immense pressure from Sister Tian, ​​if it weren't for our team needing to unite all available forces to strengthen ourselves, if it weren't for the fact that you have some influence in the fandom, if it weren't for knowing that Ye Zi was secretly recruiting Zhang Tian Ai in the "Snow Sword" drama crew, if it weren't for... I would have excluded you long ago, preventing you from even meeting your senior!

So Hu Lianxin already had a plan in mind on how to allocate the newly generated fatigue energy of today.

If Xiao Shen can accept it, then let's play Dou Dizhu (a card game).

If Xiao Shen is shy, then we'll split it into two halves.

Then, considering that Xiao Shen hasn't seen her senior for a long time, we can assign her two more times, but no more than that!
As for Dilraba Dilmurat?

Ha ha
Anyway, she's not getting any tonight!
Shen Juan quickly finished his meal and took a sip of the homemade secret juice that Dilraba had brought: "By the way, Dilraba, are you not working for the next few days? How come you still have time to make a cameo appearance in Glory?"

Dilraba coughed lightly, "I happen to not have any other work, and since I'm free anyway, why don't I come and visit your film set?"

Shen Juan clearly didn't believe it: "Although we're currently focused on duty and can't run around, there are plenty of things to do during our rest time."

Dilraba raised an eyebrow like Shen Juan, "What? Can't I even come to our movie star's film crew to broaden my horizons?"

"I've never seen much of the world."

"They're lying again."

"Why would I need to lie about something like this?"

Dilraba smiled sweetly, "But is it possible that what you see as ordinary might be a mirage in someone else's eyes?"

"So cultured?"

"I've also been reading the title pages of quite a few books lately!"

"So you really love reading." Shen Juan couldn't help but chuckle. He found Dilraba increasingly interesting.

Dilraba tried to remain calm: "Who says it isn't?"

Xiao Shen frowned slightly, looking at Dilraba with some worry in her eyes. Sister Dilraba, you didn't tell me this before!
She was so full of enthusiasm when talking about her senior, but why did she immediately wilted when she met him in person?

You can't do that!

Remember, if you're slow in one step, you'll be slow in every step!
Can't you be brave just this once?

Even your fellow villagers have run to the very front!

We can't exactly emulate that guy LeBron James who the senior mentioned, who became the longest river in the league, going from 101 to 303, can we?
I really don't know what to say to you then.
Xiao Hu chuckled inwardly.

tsk tsk~
Another tsundere who says one thing but does another!
How old are you? Why are you still like this?
That's it?

I wish all my opponents were like that!

Wouldn't that make me, who loves to throw straight balls, invincible?

And there's more.
After being taken advantage of by my senior so many times, I understand him so well! If you act like this, you'll definitely get completely taken advantage of! Because what my senior likes to do most is to seriously tease a sensitive, self-conscious, and overly self-absorbed weirdo like you from Dihua!
Wait, so your surname really is Di? Hahahaha!
Holy crap, I'm a genius!
It seems my judgment was indeed correct.

So, for this contestant who's obviously going to be manipulated by the cunning senior, Xiao Hu, brimming with confidence and feeling like they're different, only has two words to offer:

Apprentice!

--------------

Weibo Mini-Drama

Garuda who loves working the night shift: [Family, there's another bombshell in the entertainment industry! The TV series just wrapped filming in Hengdian, and a certain four-character actress rushed to Shanghai with her co-stars. What were they doing there? Visiting a certain two-character international superstar on set! This schedule is incredible—she barely escaped the world of her character before immediately embarking on a set visit. This four-character actress's efficiency is simply phenomenal!]

Let's take a look. During the months of filming the TV series, the actress with the four-character name was completely immersed in her work, riding horses and doing fight scenes, which exhausted her. But as soon as filming wrapped, while everyone else was thinking about going home to rest and relax, this actress with the four-character name, instead, immediately took her newly acquainted good friend to the set of the two-character superstar. It seems our two-character international superstar has quite the charm!

The netizens in the comments section were overjoyed.

[Take my advice, there's no need to bury your head in the sand. Just type out these names directly. Besides Shen Juan, who else in the entire Chinese entertainment industry is qualified to be called an international superstar? It's not like you, at your age, are still indulging in youthful exuberance, is it? That would truly be considered quite the case of someone who's old but still vigorous.]

[Holy crap, another long-distance delivery?! Brother Juan is awesome!]

[Damn it! At times like this, my cousin, the water queen, and that crazy girl Hu, absolutely have to play Khalil Fong's "Four People's Trip" as a sign of respect!]

Of course, empty bottles from Alice are also indispensable.

[Let's take Dilraba away and enjoy her beauty all to herself! She just finished filming and took her girlfriends out for some fun. Don't overinterpret it, she's just popular! Don't try to smear her! She was simply visiting a friend on set and showing her new girlfriends around. Can't you focus on her work? Stop making up all this nonsense.]

[Dilraba was exhausted after filming, so it's normal for her to spend her rest time with friends. Some people shouldn't overthink things. She's just that warm and welcoming to her friends, and she's often helped out newcomers before. Besides, visiting the set is a private social activity; don't escalate it. Focus on your work and stay away from your private life!]

[Stop pairing her up! Stop creating a false connection! Stop spreading rumors! Dilraba is focused on her career right now. Visiting the set is just a normal interaction between friends. I suggest some people focus on their own idols, okay? Not everyone will become love-struck and jump into your idol's "fish pond." At least my Dilraba won't. My sister is very clear-headed!]

In a corner where no one was paying attention, or rather, only her fans were paying attention, Yang Chaoyue also posted a message on her 22nd birthday.

In the new year, I hope to meet more new friends and quickly reconnect with old friends I haven't seen in a long time!

However, if Shen Juan saw this Weibo post, he would probably spot the doll in the center of the nine-grid photo.
It was a birthday gift he gave her.

(End of this chapter)