Have you ever been a celebrity? Why are you writing about entertainment?

Chapter 229 Isn’t this bullying an honest person?
"Thank you everyone, thank you."

After Yu Wei finished her acceptance speech, she calmly stepped off the stage. The Best Song Award trophy was different from the other smaller awards; it looked more exquisite and was also much heavier.

He stared blankly at the trophies beside him. Today had been too smooth. He had won all the awards he was supposed to win, and even received two that he shouldn't have.

Of course, things going smoothly is a good thing.

Ordinary life is the norm. The reason he is doing well today is because every step he took before counted.

Now, he has become someone no one in the music industry dares to mess with—not because they can't afford to, but because there's no need to.

Even those who truly dislike him will consider his fame and public image, and greet him with smiles and applause, having to put up with it even if they can't stand it.

That's more like it. Where do all these blind villains come from?

Yu Wei doesn't have paranoia; he should just accept the award honestly today.

The music awards ceremony was not clearly divided into sections, but the arrangements for the major awards were scattered. The awards after the Golden Melody Awards started to become less prestigious. The only one with any real value was a group award, which had nothing to do with Yu Wei.

When it came to the interlude segment of the performance, he unusually perked up a bit, because the girl group led by Tong Yulu was going to perform on stage.

Yu Wei was ready to nitpick, but the other guys' dancing was surprisingly good. After all, they'd been dancing together for years, so their skills couldn't be too bad.

Not everyone is like him...

"What are you looking at, kid?"

With a cough, Ye Shengyu reached out and patted him, his expression unusually serious.

What's wrong with me?
Yu Wei belatedly realized that Old Deng was probably just protecting his own; he was just watching a girl group dance, not eyeing something else entirely.

Besides, their Qi Luoan hasn't even had a taste yet. That old rascal is so wicked; he won't even let them see it.

Domestic girl group dances are pretty proper, so there's nothing wrong with just watching them...

What shocked Yu Wei even more was what happened next. After Ye Shengyu patted him, he didn't take his hand back, but casually put it on the back of the middle seat.

After pausing for a moment, he simply stopped acting and slid down to put his arm around Teacher Zhong Qing's shoulder.

???

Yu Wei seemed to have stumbled upon some old gossip, or rather, even veteran artists do this kind of thing, right?

Ye Laodeng actually had the nerve to criticize him; he's obviously a lecherous old man.

These two clearly have a history. Well, who hasn't been young? The veteran artist was a passionate and charismatic figure in his youth. What's wrong with having a little flirting when you're older?
"Cough cough."

Zhong Qing didn't tolerate him at all, giving him a disdainful look and dodging away. Only after Ye Shengyu withdrew his hand did she look around awkwardly.

Not many people paid attention to them, and even if they saw them, they would pretend not to. Only Yu Wei saw the whole thing up close.

"Ignore him, that's just how he is."

Zhong Qing blushed visibly and tried to ease the awkwardness by making a few jokes with Yu Wei.

The other old guys all knew about this, but they never expected him to dare do it today with a young man sitting next to him. It's disrespectful to his elders; he may not care about his own reputation, but he does...

Ye Shengyu didn't take it to heart, acting as if nothing had happened.

Yu Wei didn't dare to say anything out of line, and could only laugh awkwardly twice before looking back at the stage. What a disgrace, Lao Ye! He tried to take advantage of the old lady but failed. He looks like a handsome old man, but he looks like a loser.

The girl group's performance on stage had just come to an end, and the host returned to the stage to begin a new round of awards presentations.

Yu Wei immediately realized it had nothing to do with her, since it was a female singers section, and the first thing she saw was the most popular female singer of the year.

The Most Popular Award is actually quite prestigious. It has nothing to do with talent; popularity itself is a form of value for a celebrity.

Yu Wei, one of the nominated female singers, knew Shen Yutong, but was not familiar with the other three.

"Congratulations, Lu Li."

Yu Wei joined in the applause, but also secretly thought it was a pity that Shen Yutong had a good public image but didn't do much marketing.

Marketing is still essential in the entertainment industry. Award organizers also consider commercial value. Whether a celebrity posts on Weibo or trends on social media after receiving an award, as long as it sparks discussion, it promotes the event.

The organizers are unlikely to be very willing to award Shen Yutong, who keeps a low profile. It's a classic case that those who report well are better at getting things done than those who get things done.

Yu Wei had never met Lu Li, but he had heard of her. When he was writing about a real-life song in his novel, he originally planned to write about Lu Li.

However, after hearing that "Lychee" was very powerful, he gave up on the idea.

She's a very talented musician, a popular singer since her debut through a talent show, and she's always actively promoting herself. She's a singer with both popularity and talent, and she was sitting in the second row.

Lu Li was clearly a seasoned veteran; before giving her acceptance speech, she covered her chest and pretended to be excited, but in reality, she couldn't stop smiling.

His acceptance speech was sincere, thanking his fans three times in a row for their support, though his fan loyalty isn't very strong.

Pandering to fans is actually a required course for celebrities nowadays. There's nothing wrong with pleasing fans; it's better than being aloof and superior to them.

Yu Wei glanced back at Shen Yutong in the third row and found that she was acting normally again, reverting to her indifferent and energy-saving state.

These things may not be important to her. She has never competed or fought for anything when it comes to music; she is incredibly pure.

The next Best Female Singer award is pretty much the same as the last one, with the same four nominees, but Shen Yutong should have a better chance of winning.

Of these four singers, Shen Yutong has three new songs this year, and they are all of good quality. From the perspective of ability, giving her the award is not a problem.

However, things didn't go as planned, and Lu Li won the award again. But Shen Yutong still didn't react much. As for winning an award, she thought, "If I win, I'm lucky; if I lose, I'm just accepting my fate."

She remained calm, but Qi Luoan, who was watching the live stream in the lounge, was getting restless. She was hoping that Yu Tong would win a couple of awards today, but why wasn't she given any chance?
She may lack popularity, but her skills are universally acknowledged to be strong, and they won't even give her that...

"How many people do you think will feel indignant on Lu Liming's behalf if this award is given to Shen Yutong?" Liu Ning sighed from the side.

"I guess it's just Lu Li's fans. Yu Tong deserves this award." "Then... what about the other way around?"

Qi Luoan was taken aback when she heard this. If Lu Li had won the award, there would naturally have been fans who would have spoken up for Shen Yutong, but she didn't have as many fans as Lu Li, so she probably wouldn't have been able to win the argument.

Although Yu Tong has a good public image, it's useless at times like this. People will only look at the award results and don't care who wins.

Those who have a good impression of her will at most say it's a pity, and that's it.

"Sometimes, the organizers present awards not to satisfy the majority of people, but to minimize the number of dissatisfied people."

This isn't exactly a shady deal; it's just a selection process. The organizers aren't stupid; they'd give it to anyone anyway, so they'd definitely choose the one who would get the least criticism.

With so many awards every year, there will always be a few that are controversial. The best solution is to minimize negative public opinion.

Simply put, Shen Yutong's fans are few in number and have little voice, so if they don't give it to her, they don't have to. Lu Li's fans are few in number but have a lot of voice, so if they don't give it to her, they'll really make a scene.

Moreover, Lu Li has higher commercial value, and the organizers will earn more, gaining both fame and fortune. Isn't it obvious who to choose?

"Isn't this bullying honest people?"

"That's just how the entertainment industry is." Liu Ning patted Qi Luo'an on the back to calm her down. "If Yu Wei didn't have her current influence, she would still be bullied."

To be honest, before winning Chen Ping, it was still not easy for Yu Wei to win an award. Although he had many good works and high popularity at that time, he did not have much commercial value.

Surely no one expects readers, netizens, or passersby to protect him. Public favor can only be icing on the cake; it can't provide help in times of need, and it certainly won't make him money.

Even if a company is ethical, what happens then? A good reputation can still lead to bankruptcy. Brands need marketing to attract and retain fans if they want to make money, and the same goes for celebrities.

Anyone who has played games knows that reputation points are unrelated to combat power.

Yu Wei killed the boss with a single strike and leveled up to the maximum level immediately; otherwise, his situation would have been similar to Shen Yutong's.

It's useless for people in the industry to know you have the ability; what's real is knowing you're not someone to mess with.

Qi Luoan thought that this made sense. Besides, Yu Tong herself wasn't angry, and the Emperor wasn't worried, so why was she in a hurry?

She would launch an attack as soon as Shen Yutong gave the order, but unfortunately, he was indifferent to fame and fortune.

Viewers in the live stream noticed this as well. The close-ups of the other three people during the nominations were clearly feigned relaxation, but they were actually very concerned.

But Shen Yutong's expression was like that of someone who had just come from a trip; only she genuinely didn't take it seriously.

Those with a good mindset can't be her fans; they'd get anxious and frustrated...

Yu Wei knew he didn't have as good a mindset as Shen Yutong. He was the kind of person who could give up something but couldn't refuse to give it, while Shen Yutong was genuinely indifferent.

The only thing that could probably stir her emotions was music.

Lu Lizhi walked onto the stage with a smug look on her face. This award was an affirmation of her abilities, and her fans could boast about it, which naturally pleased her even more.

The biggest award for female singers is this one. The smaller awards that follow are also not very prestigious. Shen Yutong did not go home empty-handed, though, as she won a "Most Improved Singer" award.

Even Tong Yulu inexplicably received an award, "Singer of the Year," which sounds like a minor award. In a sense, she's quite a stir in the realm of abstract art.

"Next, we will present the Best Female Vocal Song of the Year."

It's also a Song of the Year award, but this one has a special prefix, which greatly reduces its prestige. Among the four selected songs is Shen Yutong's "Facing the Sun".

She wrote this song at the beginning of the year and used it to participate in her own fake competition. It was of a very high standard, and Yu Wei liked it quite a bit.

This kind of small prize should be...

"Congratulations to Lu Li on 'Tracing the Origins'."

That's alright then. The grand prizes have already been awarded, and the smaller prizes will naturally follow suit. At this point in the music awards ceremony, Lu Li's collection of awards is almost equal to her own.

They've got quite a background, huh? Internal strife, huh?
Yu Wei subconsciously turned around and glanced back. He thought Shen Yutong would still be calm and collected, but he didn't expect that her expression would change so much this time. Her brows were furrowed as if she had lost her soul.

Her ethereal气质 paired with that mournful expression is strangely beautiful, but now is clearly not the time to look at this. Is there something wrong with this song?

She doesn't care about winning the big prize, so she naturally wouldn't care about winning a small prize. There must be some other reason.

Zhong Qing seemed to notice Yu Wei's confusion and explained, "Because this is a chorus."

The chorus certainly included female voices, which was acceptable, but whether it was the "best" was hard to say.

The organizers also wanted to maintain a respectable image, mainly because Lu Li only has this one new song this year, and they couldn't change it to something else.

However, such a small prize can be given to anyone and generally won't offend anyone. Even if we take a step back, there will be "Lychee" to defend me.

But Shen Yutong just couldn't stand this.

She doesn't care about being the most popular or best singer, as those are personal honors. But the best song award may seem small, as it's a recognition of the song.

The award brought her both fame and fortune, but it showed no respect for music.

You can insult people, but you can't insult songs!
Her song, and the songs of the other two senior artists, are not as good as this half-song.
The more nonchalant a person is, the more they care about the things they value. This really hit Shen Yutong where it hurts.

When Yu Wei turned around again, Shen Yutong's seat was already empty. She wasn't trying to cause trouble; she was just going backstage to wait for her turn.

She has a performance scheduled later, where she is supposed to sing "Willow Catkins." Although she has rehearsed it briefly twice, she has suddenly changed her mind and wants to change the song.

The moment Shen Yutong stepped out of the venue, she took out her phone and sent a message to Qi Luoan: "I'm counting on you later."

They sang in a choir, right? They did too!

Qi Luoan: ?

(End of this chapter)