Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

The awards ceremony continued, but Su Yu's mind was no longer on the stage.

He held the Golden Bear trophy in his hand, the metal burning hot from the sweat on his palm.

He sat in the corner, his bottom resting on the hard, stone-like chairs of the Berlin Film Palace, which he found more comfortable than a bed in a five-star hotel.

The award presenters on stage read out a long list of names he didn't quite understand. German flowed past his ears like water, but not a single word entered his brain.

Finally, Dutch director Hanni Abu-Assad's "Paradise Now" won the Blue Angels Award for Best European Film.

French composer Alexandre Desplat won the Silver Bear for Best Original Score for "The Rhythm of My Heart".

Su Yu thought to himself that he would hear this name often in the future, after all, it was a Hollywood composer.

Then there's "The Way Back Home" by Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang, which won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution.

Su Yu recognized the name; he had heard of Tsai Ming-liang in his previous life. He was known for making movies as slowly as a sloth, but each one was full of character.

The Silver Bear for Best Actress went to Julia Jernchi, also for "Hope and Rebellion".

While clapping, Su Yu whispered to Luo Jing, "What kind of film is 'Hope and Resistance'?"

Luo Jing leaned closer and lowered his voice: "I don't know, but I think that actress is quite pretty."

Su Yu rolled his eyes: "All you care about is looks."

Aren't you going to watch?

"...I'll watch it too."

The Silver Bear for Best Actor went to Lou Taylor Pucci, who starred in "Thumb Sucker," a title that sounds pretty funny.

Awards followed one after another, with the Silver Bear for Best Director going to German Mark Rothmann for his film "Hope and Rebellion".

Su Yu's ears perked up at the mention of the Silver Bear, the Grand Jury Prize.

"China, Gu Changwei, Peacock."

The applause rang out; it wasn't thunderous, but it was enthusiastic enough.

Su Yu stood up from his seat and clapped his hands vigorously, even more so than when he clapped for himself. Luo Jing also stood up, the two of them resembling two telephone poles standing in a corner.

Gu Changwei got up from his seat and walked slowly onto the stage.

His steps were steady, without excitement or panic, as if he were going to the market to buy a cabbage.

When he accepted the Silver Bear trophy, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he said a lot of words of thanks. When he thanked Jiang Wenli, Su Yu felt that Zhang Jinchu was cursing in his heart.

Next up is "Carmen of Kayalisa," directed by South African director Mark Tanford-May, who won the Golden Bear for Best Film.

He had seen the name when he was watching short videos in his previous life, but he had no recollection of what it was about.

........

The awards ceremony ended amidst applause.

Su Yu stood up, his legs were a little numb, and the Golden Bear trophy almost slipped from his hands.

Luo Jing caught it quickly, saying, "If you break the trophy, how are you going to explain it to the school?"

Su Yu chuckled and blurted out, "I just said the trophy the Germans gave us wasn't good quality."

Luo Jing shook his head and shoved the trophy back into his hand.

The two walked out with the flow of people. Su Yu walked in the aisle, surrounded by people chatting and laughing in twos and threes.

The big names in the front row were surrounded by reporters, and flashbulbs were going off everywhere.

No one noticed Su Yu as he passed by them.

He was like a random passerby carrying a trophy, lost in the crowd.

As Su Yu stepped out of the cinema, the Berlin night wind swept over him, making him shiver.

He tucked the trophy under his arm, put his hands in his cotton-padded coat pockets, and walked forward with his neck hunched.

Luo Jing followed beside him, asking, "What do we do now?"

"Go back to sleep, I have to catch a flight tomorrow."

"Aren't you going to celebrate?"

He gave Luo Jing a high five. "Alright, the celebration's over. Let's go."

Luo Jing looked speechless: "Is this how you celebrate?"

"What else? Open a bottle of champagne? A bottle of champagne in Berlin can cover my living expenses for half a month."

Luo Jing opened his mouth as if to say something, but finally sighed: "You're stingy to the core."

Su Yu ignored him, wrapped his cotton-padded coat tighter, and strode towards the hotel.

........

The next morning, Su Yu was cornered in the hotel lobby by CCTV reporters.

It wasn't that he deliberately waited for reporters; he and Luo Jing were just about to check out and head to the airport when they saw a young woman holding a microphone, with a cameraman carrying equipment next to her. The two of them were standing at the front desk gesturing to the staff about something.

The waiter shook his head blankly, clearly not very good at English.

Su Yu originally intended to walk around her, but the female reporter turned around and they came face to face.

"Hello, are you Su Yu? The one who won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film last night?"

Su Yu paused for a moment, then nodded subconsciously.

The female reporter's eyes lit up, her expression like she had spotted an ice-cold Coke in the desert.

She walked over quickly, smiling, and extended her hand: "Hello, I'm Lin Xi, a reporter from CCTV's movie channel. May I interview you for a few minutes?"

Su Yu glanced at the microphone in her hand, which had the CCTV-6 logo on it.

His mind raced. CCTV, the movie channel—these are national-level media outlets.

"Of course," Su Yu said, trying to keep his voice from sounding too excited. "But I need to confirm first, will this interview be broadcast on television?"

Lin Xi maintained her professional smile: "I can only say it's possible."

Su Yu looked down at himself, dressed in a cotton-padded jacket, jeans, and sneakers, his hair still a little sticky from just waking up.

He hesitated for a moment: "Could you wait while I change my clothes?"

Lin Xi looked him up and down and said with a smile, "No need to change, it's quite realistic this way. A nineteen-year-old director, wearing a cotton-padded coat and winning the Golden Bear Award, what a great news story."

Su Yu thought to himself, "Your words are even sweeter than mine."

The cameraman set up the equipment and pointed the lens at Su Yu.

Lin Xi raised the microphone, a standard on-camera smile on her face.

"In your acceptance speech, you mentioned that you are a student at the Beijing Film Academy. Is that true?"

Facing the camera, Su Yu said in a serious tone, "Yes, I'm a freshman this year. My teacher is Zhang Ying, my counselor is Li Wei, and my department head is Professor Mu Deyuan."

Lin Xi's eyebrows twitched slightly; she clearly hadn't expected Su Yu to give his teacher a "GG" during the interview.

She cleared her throat and continued, "What are your thoughts on winning the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival?"

"I was quite surprised that my first short film was shortlisted for one of the world's best film festivals. For the past six months, I had been studying and hadn't made many films except for assignments. I was actually quite stunned when I received the shortlist notification because it was submitted by my school. At the time, I thought that being shortlisted was a victory in itself. Later, when I found out that I was going to Berlin, I told my mom, 'Mom, I'm going to Germany.' My mom asked, 'What's good to eat in Germany?' I said, 'There's pork knuckle.' She said, 'Then you should eat more of it.'"

Lin Xi's lips twitched, and she tried hard to suppress her laughter.

Su Yu continued, "After arriving in Berlin, I came with the attitude of broadening my horizons and hoping to exchange ideas and learn from many outstanding filmmakers around the world. Winning this award feels amazing to me, after all, filmmakers crave awards. Although I can't be considered a real filmmaker yet, at least I have a Golden Bear to step on, so I can say that I've 'won an award' in the future."

Lin Xi pressed on, somewhat helplessly, "Do you think this Golden Bear award will make your future directing career start smoother? Or will it bring other changes?"

Su Yu raised the trophy in his hand. "I can't say for sure what will happen in the future. But I know that this Golden Bear Award will be a great start to my career. Just like my mother said, you have to eat pork knuckle while it's hot, and you have to get the trophy while it's hot, otherwise it's not as good to eat when it's cold."

Lin Xi finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The cameraman's hand trembled slightly, and the camera shook.

After the interview, Lin Xi turned off the microphone, leaned over and whispered, "Director Su, if this interview airs, won't your mom scold you?"

"My mom would just say, 'You're being silly again.'"

Lin Xi smiled and handed him a business card: "Remember to contact me if there's any news in the future."

Su Yu took the business card and said thank you.

After Lin Xi and the cameraman left, Luo Jing emerged from the elevator, carrying two suitcases: "You've given an interview?"

"Yes, it's from CCTV."

"What did you say?"

"He told the truth."

Luo Jing shook his head and pushed his suitcase to Su Yu's feet: "Let's go, or we'll miss our flight."