I'm not a drama freak, I can really see through the script

Chapter 420, Wang Shuo: Is Our Era Coming to an End?
The Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films.

At this moment, Li Xuan was at the dazzling awards ceremony.

There's a feeling...
Jiang Wen smiled at this moment.

How do you feel?

"It's even more dazzling than I imagined."

"That's because this year's award is different. It's held every three years, and its prestige has been condensed to its peak." Jiang Wen, who was standing next to him, smiled faintly: "It can be said to be the most prestigious year I have ever experienced in my life."

"The value of winning this year's award, fame, and honor is far more than just three times that of previous years."

Li Xuan neither confirmed nor denied this.

This is true.

The awards that can be obtained today.

It might be the sum of all the gold content from previous years.

The difficulty is extremely high.

Its gold content is also so high.

This can also be considered a reflection on my film career over the past few years.

Let's summarize.

Looking back on these years.

What kind of glory can one gain from what one acquires?

The things that these things can obtain.

Along with the system's rewards.

"Yes, I'm really looking forward to it. Let's see who can gain that real recognition and that real honor at the peak of its value."

"I'm really looking forward to it, my opponent."

At this moment, Jiang Wen was looking at Li Xuan in front of him.

It's all for appreciation.

As the host's impassioned voice faded, the giant circular screen in the venue began to display the nominees for the first major award, with light and shadow shifting.

"First, we will announce the winner of the 33rd Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Actress!"

Before he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the entire room was instantly ignited.

This is an award with such high prestige that it's breathtaking.

Three years of accumulation have enabled all the nominated actresses to deliver performances that can be described as milestones in their careers.

On the big screen, images flashed one by one.

The first one to appear was Fan Shuibing.

In a scene from the movie "Apple," in a dimly lit bathroom filled with steam, she is shirtless. As her back is being scrubbed, her shoulder blades, which contract suddenly and tremble violently due to humiliation and pain, resemble the broken wings of a butterfly.

There wasn't a single line of dialogue, not a single tear, but the tremor that originated from the deepest part of our being pierced the hearts of every viewer through the lens.

A suppressed gasp of amazement rippled through the audience. This was an artistic expression worthy of being recorded in history.

"Ever since Huan Zhu, everyone's called her a 'carpet star,' but in reality, her strength shouldn't be underestimated. She's definitely a...powerful actress, and she might even be on par with Zhang Ziyi." Jiang Wen squinted at Fan Bingbing before him, admiring her looks and acting skills.
Li Xuan agreed. "Yes, if she doesn't break the law, maybe she really can 'get to the other side'."
Next up was Shuqi.

In the movie "If You Are the One", she smiles and cries as she faces Qin Fen, played by Ge You, in a church in Hokkaido, turning years of pent-up grievances and resentment into incoherent confessions.

For the first time, that universally acknowledged sexy face revealed such a fragile and moving divinity.

Laughter tinged with tears; within those tears lay liberation, a new beginning.

Then, it was Zhao Yanzi's turn.

At the end of "Painted Skin," before drinking the poisoned wine and losing her thousand years of cultivation, she, as a demon, simply and meticulously adjusted the hairpin in her hair.

That simple movement, without screams or struggles, condensed all the resolve, sorrow, and love into the fingertips.

A single glance speaks volumes.

Then came Li Bing.

In "The Message," when Li Ningyu, the character she played, was having her body measured inch by inch by a Japanese officer with cold instruments, she did not struggle much; all her emotions were contained in the smallest detail.

The sudden, violent contraction of his pupils was as if he had experienced a silent earthquake. The fear of being violated, the composure of a cryptographer, and the will to protect the secret to the death all erupted in his eyes in a fraction of a second.

Each clip released caused a stir at the scene.

too strong.

Each and every one of them is too strong.

Each of them delivered a textbook-worthy performance.

"This year's Best Actress competition is simply a battle of the gods." Jiang Wen stroked his chin, a rare look of seriousness on his face. "These women, in previous years, would have been considered top contenders for Best Actress."

Li Xuan nodded.

Fan Shuibing's entire film features her without makeup and her uninhibited dedication to her craft.

To better understand the character, Li Bing was in a daze after filming that scene and had nightmares for half a month.

These are all proof that actors burn themselves out and sacrifice themselves for their roles.

But these same people are now competing for the same 'Best Actress' award this year.

This year marks the most prestigious year for the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress in Chinese-language cinema.
Meanwhile, Gao Yuanyuan and Liu Yifei, standing nearby, were both staring intently at the light and shadow on it—

Indeed, it is a place where stars shine brightly.

Their performance.
"I just realized that there's actually a big gap between me and my seniors," Gao Yuanyuan said softly.

"Indeed." Liu Yifei probably felt the same way.

"There's no need to belittle yourself. You two are considered part of the 'new generation,' while they are top-tier actresses of the middle generation, a generation ahead of you. There's no need for you to compare yourselves to them," Jiang Wen said with a slight smile. "Among the new generation, your acting skills are undoubtedly top-notch among the young actresses."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"I'm not trying to praise the gap between generations; you still have to face it squarely," Jiang Wen said calmly.

Finally, the last nominee appeared.

It's Zhou Xun.

On the big screen, the most classic scene from "The Equation of Love and Death" appeared.

On an overpass in Kunming, Li Mi, a taxi driver played by Zhou Xun, frantically chases after the man she has been searching for for four years.

As she drove, she recited the contents of her boyfriend's letter at the top of her lungs. Those words, which she knew by heart, now felt like the sharpest knives, cutting her until she bled profusely.

It was a long take that lasted several minutes.

There was no switching or borrowing.

Zhou Xun was in that cramped driver's seat, experiencing a range of emotions from confusion to shock, to ecstasy, and finally to despair.

She screamed and cried, her entire facial muscles twitching uncontrollably. It wasn't a performance; it was a woman's most primal, unadorned lament as her beliefs crumbled.

For this role, she lost weight to less than 80 pounds, appeared on screen without makeup throughout the film, and lived her life as Li Mi, who was obsessive, neurotic, yet loved purely.

When this clip finished playing, the entire audience fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone was stunned by the overwhelming, fierce, and desperate vitality that rushed towards them.

Even Wang Shuo, whose eyes were usually calm and unwavering, showed a subtle, almost imperceptible, change in expression.

Zhou Xun's performance was not just "excellent," it was "great."

The award presenter was a fourth-generation veteran actor, a highly respected senior artist.

He opened the envelope, glanced at it, and a "I knew it" smile appeared on his face.

"The winner of the Best Actress award at the 33rd Hundred Flowers Awards is..."

He deliberately dragged out his words, and the camera in the audience switched back and forth between the faces of the five nominees.

Fan Shuibing was smiling, Shu Qi was praying, and Li Bing was holding her breath.

Only Zhou Xun sat there quietly, her expression indifferent, as if everything outside was irrelevant to her.

"Zhou Xun! 'The Equation of Love and Death'!"

boom--!
The applause was thunderous.

This is an indisputable result.

It is what everyone expects.

Amid thunderous applause, Zhou Xun slowly rose to her feet.

She didn't burst into tears, nor did she excitedly embrace those around her. She simply gracefully adjusted her skirt and nodded to each of the people who were congratulating her.

Then, lifting the hem of her skirt, she walked confidently onto the stage.

The spotlight shone on her, as if draping her in a queen's robe woven from light.

She was so thin, so thin that she looked like a gust of wind could blow her over. But as she stood there, she exuded an unparalleled and powerful aura.

She accepted the heavy trophy from the veteran artist and walked to the microphone.

The whole place fell silent instantly.

Everyone was eager to see what the newly crowned Best Actress would say.

Zhou Xun surveyed the entire room, her gaze clear and resolute.

She simply raised the trophy and bowed deeply to the audience.

"Thank you."

She spoke, her voice carrying a distinctive hoarseness, yet exceptionally clear.

"Thank you 'The Equation of Love and Death', thank you for the film."

After speaking, she bowed again, then turned around and, under everyone's gaze, calmly walked off the stage, holding her honor.

There was no lengthy list of thanks, no inspiring speeches.

It consists of only two simple and pure words.

Thank you, movie.

At that moment, genuine admiration shone in Li Xuan's eyes.

This is what a true actor is.

Even though she has won the Best Actress award so many times.

Zhou Xun still feels excited.

After all, the 'principle' contained in this award is something that previous awards did not have.

This level of purity, this level of gold content.

You can tell from your opponents.

It's really difficult.

"This award is probably the most prestigious award I've ever received in my life." At this moment, Zhou Xun suddenly looked into the distance.

Looking at Li Xuan's position.

Li Xuan responded with a smile.
The two stood facing each other from afar.

This feeling was noticed by Chen Kun, who teased, "Are you having an affair with Li Xuan?"

"Dog mouth," Zhou Xun said calmly, "It's more like a kind of...reminiscence. As an actor, one thing is certain: this is a feast for the middle-aged generation."

"Yes, it's a feast for the middle generation." "I wonder if I'll be able to secure a place for myself in this feast."

After Zhou Xun stepped off the stage, the applause from the audience lasted for a long time.

She expressed her deepest love for film in the simplest way, and this purity earned her everyone's respect.

Jiang Wen, standing nearby, exclaimed, "This woman lives life with such clarity, and she acts with such clarity. She's a true actress."

Li Xuan nodded, his gaze sweeping over Chen Kun not far away. His expression was somewhat complicated, a mixture of congratulations for his friend Zhou Xun and a hint of barely concealed nervousness.

Next, it will be the men's battlefield.

The host returned to the stage, his voice even louder than before: "Thank you Zhou Xun for the wonderful performance, and congratulations to her once again! Now, let's turn our attention to the big screen, where we are about to announce the nominees for Best Actor at this year's Hundred Flowers Awards!"

The lights converged once again on the giant screen in the center of the stage, instantly bringing the atmosphere to a new fever pitch.

If the competition for Best Actress is a battle of gods, then the contest for Best Actor is an extremely fierce "battle for godhood".

Everyone sat upright, respecting the position of the 'Emperor'.
I feel nervous.

The first nominated clip is from "Assembly".

On the big screen, Gu Zidi, played by Zhang Hanyu, finally found his old unit's number in the martyrs' cemetery.

He didn't wail; he just stood in front of the tombstone, his cloudy eyes filled with tears, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a sound.

The immense sorrow of finally achieving one's goal after a lifetime of searching, along with the grievances and pride flowing in his blood, were all suppressed in that silent close-up shot, his eyes brimming with tears.

"A veteran actor is a veteran actor," Jiang Wen commented. "With just one look, he brought out the hardships of a veteran's entire life."

Next up was Huang Bo.

In a scene from the movie "Cow," in a rough black and white image, Huang Bo, dressed in rags, talks incessantly to a cow.

It wasn't just talking to himself; sometimes it sounded like he was coaxing a child, sometimes like he was cursing an enemy, and sometimes like he was confiding in his only relative.

A one-man show lasting several minutes, without an opponent or intense conflict, vividly portrays the resilience and loneliness of a lowly person in dire straits.

The third excerpt is from "The Warlords".

Li Lianjie plays Pang Qingyun, who drinks alone in his command tent the night before he orders the killing of his second brother, Zhao Erhu.

In the video, he raises his glass, his face twisted with the glee of impending power, yet a single tear slips unexpectedly from the corner of his eye.

The process of power-hungry individuals devouring their conscience was condensed into a single, tearful micro-expression, shattering everyone's stereotype of him as the "Kung Fu Emperor."

In the seats of the Beijing circle, Zheng Long straightened his back a bit more.

Zhang Hanyu is a key figure in their circle, and behind "The Warlords" there was also their operation and investment, so it can be considered a work of the "Beijing circle" to some extent.

These two nominations give them a significant advantage in the race for Best Actor.

Wang Suo's expression remained calm, but the light tapping of his fingers on the table betrayed his inner turmoil.

A fourth nominee has emerged.

It's Chen Kun.

On the big screen, the final moments of Lü Shouyi from the movie "Dying to Survive" were shown.

The scene shifts to that oppressive hospital room. Two years later, they meet again. Chen Kun's character, Lü Shouyi, is emaciated, his face bearing the ashen and withered look of someone on the verge of death. He smiles weakly and says to Cheng Yong, "Have an orange."

That humble kindness, and the extreme weakness caused by illness, created a stark contrast that pierced the hearts of everyone.

Immediately following was the heart-wrenching scream from the patient in the next ward during wound cleaning, a sound that was neither human nor audible.

From the monitor's perspective, Cheng Yong, played by Li Xuan, painfully covers his ears, and the audience in front of the screen seems to feel as if the sound has pierced their eardrums, experiencing the agonizing torment firsthand.

At his seat, Chen Kun unconsciously clenched his fists, his palms already sweating profusely.

He looked at himself on the screen, then couldn't help but glance at Li Xuan not far away.

He knew very well that the role of Lü Shouyi was a peak in his career. But it was Li Xuan who personally pushed him to that peak.

It was Li Xuan who pushed him to his limit with his almost harsh demands, which brought out such a self-sacrificing Lu "Benefit".

Chen Kun silently thought to himself that, based on his performance in "Painted Skin," he could at least get a nomination in previous years' selections.

But this year, the rules have changed, and the competition is too strong; I can't even get close to the nomination threshold.

On the contrary, this film, "Dying to Survive," gave him the opportunity to stand on the highest stage.

Forget it.

It was just a nomination.

This honor was also bestowed upon him by Li Xuan.

"congratulations."

Zhou Xun smiled slightly beside her.

Chen Kun at this moment.

They've already 'won' in this round.
The fifth nominee is Ge You.

But to everyone's surprise, what appeared on the big screen was not "If You Are the One 2," which was promoted by the Beijing entertainment circle, but a clip from "Let the Bullets Fly."

Ge You plays Master Tang, who one second is crying and lamenting that his wife and children were killed, and the next second, after realizing he has been deceived, he immediately changes his expression and flatters the master with a smirk.

That performance, seamlessly switching between flattery, cunning, and a sliver of remaining conscience, is truly a masterpiece.
He portrayed the character of a speculator in a chaotic world so vividly that he was both lovable and hateful.

Jiang Wen's lips curled into a wide smile.

Meanwhile, Zheng Long's expression instantly turned rather unpleasant in the Beijing entertainment circle.

The fact that the judging panel chose the advisor from "Let the Bullets Fly" instead of Qin Fen from "If You Are the One" is itself a signal.

That means all I have left are "Assembly" and "The Warlords".
Just when everyone thought the nominations were over, the big screen lit up again.

The last nominee—Li Xuan, Source Code.

The scene that appeared was not a grand special effect, but simply the interior of a high-speed train carriage.

Ke Yang, played by Li Xuan, suddenly wakes up, his eyes filled with pure, utter confusion and terror.

Then came a series of eight-minute cycles. Each time he woke up, he was filled with different emotions, from confusion to anxiety, from collapse to despair.

Then, the ultimate truth was revealed.

When Guo Rong, played by Liu Yifei, said in a cold yet compassionate tone, "Captain Ke Yang, you sacrificed yourself in a mission two months ago," the camera gave Li Xuan a huge close-up of his face.

On that face, astonishment, absurdity, disbelief, and then the immense sorrow of being abandoned by the whole world progressed layer by layer, finally solidifying into a deathly numbness.

The theater was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden reversal and Li Xuan's monstrous micro-expression control.

But the climax is not over yet.

After learning the truth that he was already dead, Ke Yang experienced a brief breakdown before hearing the cries of a child in the train carriage.

His eyes changed.

As the numbness faded and the pain was suppressed, a sense of responsibility ingrained in his bones reignited his soul.

He straightened his back, his face displaying an unprecedented calm and resolve, and calmly delivered his line to the control room and to all the audience.

"I understand."

"Saving lives is my mission."

At that moment, the soldier on the screen, reduced to nothing but a line of code, seemed to overlap with the countless heroic figures in reality who sacrificed themselves for the people.

Even if their physical bodies perish, their military spirit of protecting the people will never fade.

At the scene, many elderly judges and veteran artists sat up straight involuntarily, their eyes shining with emotion.

Wang Su's heart sank.

Zheng Long, who was standing next to him, had a face that was ashen.

They originally thought that the biggest variable tonight was Jiang Wen's "Let the Bullets Fly," and the biggest target was "Dying to Survive."

The result is "Source Code".

The patriotism in "Assembly" is very moving, but it seems to pale in comparison to the ultimate sacrifice in "Source Code," where the character "continues to fulfill his mission even after death."

How the hell are we supposed to play this?
The award presenter walked onto the stage and opened the envelope.

The camera slowly panned across the faces of the six nominees.

Ge You remained cheerful, as if nothing had happened to him. Chen Kun took a deep breath, seemingly accepting the outcome. Li Xuan sat there calmly, even smiling slightly at the camera.

"The winner of the Best Actor award at the 33rd Hundred Flowers Awards is..."

The guest drew out his words, and the entire audience seemed to hold their breath.

"Ge You! 'Let the Bullets Fly'!"

boom!
Jiang Wen's team erupted in thunderous cheers and applause.

Ge You himself was also stunned for a moment, then stood up with a smile and hugged Jiang Wen and Zhou Runfa one by one.

The seats in the Beijing circle were completely silent.

Zheng Long's face looked worse than if he were crying.

Although Ge You is considered an actor in the Beijing entertainment circle.

They were naturally happy to see Ge You win the award.

The problem is, he relied on "Let the Bullets Fly" instead of "If You Are the One 2".

This can be considered Jiang Wen's personal honor.

Wang Su closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with an unfathomable gloom.

He looked at Ge You, who was walking onto the stage amidst the attention of everyone, and then at Li Xuan, who was applauding Ge You with a sincere smile not far away.

For the first time, he felt that things were spiraling out of his control.

On stage, Ge You accepted the trophy, scratched his bald head, and began with his unique Beijing-style humor: "Hey, I didn't expect this, I really didn't expect this. I thought I was just here to be a runner-up, after all, these people all performed so well, especially director Li Xuan. After watching 'Source Code,' I thought to myself, 'That's it, I have no chance of winning this award.' Even when he's 'dead,' he's still acting. How can I, who's alive, compete with him?"

The audience erupted in good-natured laughter.

"Thank you to the jury, and thank you to director Jiang Wen. He kept tormenting me, forcing me to act out such a despicable character." Ge You raised the trophy. "This award deserves half of it."

Another burst of laughter followed.

Chen Kun shook his head with a helpless smile from the audience. The disappointment of not being selected seemed to be somewhat mitigated by Ge You's humor.

He glanced at Zhou Xun beside him, then at Li Xuan in the distance, his eyes filled with a complex sense of relief.

My honor was given to me by him.

Although they failed, being able to compete against these monsters on the same stage is impressive enough in itself.

Wang Shuo listened quietly to the acceptance speech on stage, his gaze returning to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan
As an actor.

Even if he didn't win the Best Actor award.

His performance was second only to Ge You's.

The third one, Lü Shouyi in "Dying to Survive," is also a work by Li Xuan.

The feeling of unease grew stronger.

"Our era..."

Wang Su muttered to himself, his voice so low that only he could hear it.

"...Is it really going to end?"

(End of this chapter)