Abstract Art Award Winner

Li Qin has a very clear understanding of her career.

She initially studied Kunqu Opera, but later went into the film and television industry because she felt that Kunqu Opera could not meet her needs for career development.

But after actually entering this industry, she discovered that it was quite brutal.

Therefore, people who believe they have acting skills cannot get opportunities based on that confidence.

You can only be cast if the producer and director think you're capable.

"Did I film so many melodramatic dramas before because I liked them?"

"The problem is, who would enjoy performing these kinds of roles, especially someone like me who comes from a traditional background?"

"But there was nothing I could do. I asked the company and my agent, and they said that this was the only role I could play now, because no one wanted me to play other roles. It was true that because I played Xue Baochai in 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' I later got a role in 'The Founding of a Republic,' but that was an exception. In commercial films, I was still unknown. People still called me that traitor of Kunqu Opera. Even though I later played roles in 'Love O2O,' 'White Deer Plain,' 'Princess Agents,' and 'Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace,' some of which were really good, I could only be a supporting actor."

“Zhou Le, you are the first person who is willing to truly help me. I’m not saying this to imply that the others who have helped me are bad, but without you, it would have been much more difficult for me to get the script for ‘Joy of Life.’ I would have had to give a lot, because in the eyes of many people, such a role should not belong to me. So I have to offer more to make those people willing to give me a chance to try.”

While everyone else went to greet their acquaintances, Li Qin and Zhou Le kept talking about their innermost thoughts.

Zhou Le listened attentively, but after the other person finished speaking, he suddenly reached out and touched the other person's forehead.

"You don't have a fever, so why are you suddenly talking about these things? We weren't having lunch together, did you drink fake alcohol?"

Li Qin: "???"

No, they're opening up to you and sharing their innermost thoughts! What do you mean by drinking fake alcohol? Does that mean I can't tell you about my past hardships if I don't drink?
Seeing Li Qin's expression gradually turn resentful, Zhou Le quickly pulled out two palm-sized jelly candies from a bag on the side, as if by magic.

"There were too many people earlier, so it was difficult to take them out. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to distribute them. Now it's just the two of us, so we'll each have one."

Li Qin: "."

"Are you crazy? We're about to go on stage and sing. Aren't you afraid of choking on jelly?"

Zhou Le countered, "When you go on stage, do you sing live or lip-sync?"

Li Qin: "Of course we lip-synced. In our performance, there were Zhu Yilong, Zhou Dongyu, Li Xian and Ma Sichun. Everyone was an actor, and there wasn't a single professional singer. They did want to apply to sing live, but the director didn't agree."

"That's more like it, isn't it? Anyway, you don't need to sing live, so it doesn't matter how well you sing, right? Besides, if we just keep working like this until the wee hours without eating anything, what if you faint on stage? If you faint on stage, it will become an unprecedented Spring Festival Gala stage accident. If an accident happens, can you still work in this industry? If you can't work in this industry, it's like you've worked for nothing for the past ten years. Are you really willing to have your performing career end like this?"

Li Qin was both amused and exasperated: "Does this mean that this event is related to my acting career for the next few decades?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, I'll eat it."

Then she tore off the plastic wrapping on top of the jelly and started eating it in small bites along the edge.

After taking a few bites, he glanced at Zhou Le and asked, "Why aren't you eating?"

"Oh, I'm singing live tonight, I'm afraid I'll choke if I eat too much."

Li Qin: "."

"Then why did you take out two? And you said one for each of you?"

"You have a kind nature, so if I take one out, you definitely won't want it."

Li Qin felt that sometimes she really couldn't understand Zhou Le's thought process.

but
This jelly is really delicious, but come to think of it, how long has it been since I've had jelly in order to maintain my figure? Actually, it's fine to eat it once in a while. I can just exercise for an extra hour afterward to burn off the calories.

Time passed by, minute by minute, and those who frequently appeared on the Spring Festival Gala had long been accustomed to this wait.

Those who were performing on the Spring Festival Gala for the first time were mostly excited and looking forward to it.

Whether one can win prestigious awards at mainstream film festivals and whether one has appeared on the Spring Festival Gala are significant differences compared to other artists of the same age.

Especially in recent years, the Spring Festival Gala has only cared about generating traffic.

If you can perform on the Spring Festival Gala, your fans can stand taller when they're out there competing.

Although some celebrities have never participated in these events, their fans often argue in public, saying things like, "Who watches the Spring Festival Gala anymore?"

But if you really had that opportunity, only a fool would refuse it.

Although Zhao Benshan said that he stopped appearing on the Spring Festival Gala due to health reasons and excessive pressure, he could still act in movies and other films.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the fact that the skit prepared by the other side was eliminated in 2012.

However, if they are willing to make modifications, it is not impossible for them to go live.

The extent of public affection for Zhao Benshan can be seen from the online buzz every year.

Therefore, the people Zhou Le admires the most are actually these people.

Knowing when to step down and when to refuse is a way to demonstrate one's pursuit of art and culture while also leaving a good reputation.

With the countdown over, the 2020 Spring Festival Gala officially began.

Zhou Le was going to perform in the first program, but he wasn't nervous at all because there were only the filming staff in front of him, and the seats were mostly empty.

CCTV should also set an example by avoiding gatherings.

There were even more people at the rehearsal venue back then than there are now.

Everyone felt this heaviness.

But it is precisely for this reason that others dare not make mistakes, even if it is just a lip-sync error, if it is caught on camera, they will be criticized by the audience in front of the TV.

In this four-minute program, at least a third of the time is pure song and dance performance, but the visuals are designed to be quite festive and perfect.

At least in his opinion, it was the best opening dance in recent years.

Zhou Le felt the only drawback was that his lyrics were only a solo line, "There are many brothers and sisters, and the scenery is beautiful," while the rest were all choral. Moreover, to maintain uniformity, the original audio was played for that line, and although Zhou Le sang his heart out, it was obvious that the audio played was the pre-recorded version.

This made it difficult for him to feel a sense of participation.

Fortunately, after singing for a while, they had to go down from the stage to shake hands with the audience in the front row.

Because this year is different from previous years, most of the people present are from the arts and folk art circles.

At a glance, there weren't many people Zhou Le recognized. He quickly shook hands with everyone and, following the script he had rehearsed, kept wishing them a Happy New Year. Soon, the first performance was over.

"How did it feel to be on the Spring Festival Gala for the first time?" Liu Tao asked with a smile as she left the stage.

"It feels great. I love this festive stage. If I could, I would like to perform as the opening act every year."

"How could you take food and drinks at the same time? And you say you're willing to do it? Now that you mention it, I'm not willing at all."

"Sister Tao, we can't do this, you have to agree."

"No, how did it become that I agreed to it? It's like I'm the director of the Spring Festival Gala, and I can put whoever I want on stage."

"Then why are you unwilling, Sister Tao?"

"Because I can't perform every year. If you come and sing the opening song every year, wouldn't I be so jealous?"

"Sister, you are Mazu, you can't be so petty."

"Haha, if that's what you mean, then ask me some questions."

"Sis, do you think I can win Best Actor this year?"

"Absolutely! I agree."

At this moment, Zhang Guoli, who was walking in front, turned around. He was about to make a few jokes when Zhou Le immediately asked again.

"Your Majesty, do you think I can win Best Actress this year?"

Zhang Guoli replied without hesitation, "Yes, I grant your request!"

Song Dandan, who was further ahead, kept laughing: "You guys are really something. Do you think you can win the Best Actress award? And you two are Mazu and the Emperor, so what am I?" Although she mentioned Liu Tao and Zhang Guoli, her eyes were always on Zhou Le.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Le said, "You are Meimei."

Song Dandan: "."

She had considered that Zhou Le might mention her role as Bai Yun in a skit, and even that he might mention playing a brothel madam in "House of Flying Daggers," or something she had played in "Home with Kids." But she never expected him to mention Mei Mei.

"Oh my, it has to be this young man, he's so good at talking."

Zhou Le didn't care; it was just a title, and as long as he was happy to say it, everyone else would be happy too.

After everyone else finished their performances, they went to rest. They only needed to go on stage together to take a bow after all the performances were over. But Zhou Le had to go downstairs to change clothes and redo his makeup after his performance.

Because he and Li Ronghao have another show to do later.

However, while we were waiting, online discussions about the Spring Festival Gala had already begun.

First, there's a lot of discussion about it.

"I can't go anywhere this year. Although I used to spend the Spring Festival at home playing on my phone, this year feels particularly deserted. Even I, who haven't watched the Spring Festival Gala for seven or eight years, am sitting on the sofa ready to watch the whole thing."

"Who can argue with that? But the first show this year was pretty good. It looked very lively, and Zhou Le is really handsome."

"Oh right, now that you mention it, I think I remember now. When we were giving Zhou Le a close-up, it was like we were using a filter. You could see some flaws on other people's faces, but Zhou Le didn't have any at all."

"It's outrageous. I was really looking forward to seeing Zhou Le on screen, so I practically watched it right there on TV. Makeup aside, Zhou Le's skin looks amazing."

No one talks about how well it's sung here, since it's just a family-friendly song, and anyone who pays attention can hear that there is indeed original audio at the beginning.

However, Zhou Le's appearance in front of the camera also attracted a lot of attention.

Some marketing accounts with a keen sense of smell immediately went to find footage of Zhou Le being interviewed on the Spring Festival Gala a few days ago.

After all, color correction is done to some extent for the sake of visual effects during the Spring Festival Gala, but CCTV interviews don't do that.

The camera is right up to your face, capturing exactly how you look, even more realistically than a mirror image, and more clearly than what the eyes can see.

They soon discovered that Zhou Le didn't seem to be on the same level as the others during the interview.

Soon after, a trending topic about a certain actor appeared on Weibo: "[A certain actor appeared on the Spring Festival Gala with a built-in filter]". Many people who did not watch the Spring Festival Gala or did not pay close attention did not think of Zhou Le. After all, on Weibo, especially in the trending topics, the three words "certain actor" were almost completely associated with Zhou Le. But no one would have thought that this "certain actor" was actually Zhou Le.

When people praise someone's good skin condition, the youngest celebrities are usually actresses, or actors like Lin Chih-ying who are known as ageless male gods. Younger celebrities are rarely singled out for special mention.

Once this trended on social media, the comment section exploded, especially among accounts registered as female.

"Wow, that's amazing. Although Zhou Le is very young, he spends almost the entire year either filming or attending events, and he often stays up late to do live streams. I'm the same age as him and I take care of myself every day, but I don't have such a good condition as him."

"As expected of Brother Le, even I have to temporarily avoid his sharp edge."

"Who says men only know how to curse when they see a handsome guy? Even I, a guy, think Brother Le is handsome."

"Money can support people. When you have money, you can do the same."

"It's just technology. He's only in his early twenties and he's already into technology. Just wait and see if his face collapses in a few years."

But Zhou Le doesn't have time to play on his phone.

It takes a long time to style a look for a show like this, and by the time Zhou Le had finished styling his look, it was almost time for him to go on stage.

"Teacher Zhou, Teacher Li, hurry up and get ready to wait in the waiting area, it'll be your turn soon." (End of Chapter)