Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

After walking for a while, an even louder cheer erupted from the crowd.

Fang Yuan glanced to the side—Jackie Chan, dressed in a black Zhongshan suit, was striding over, waving to both sides with a broad smile.

He walked with confidence, waved his arms wide, and was frantically followed by flashes of light from cameras.

As he passed by Fang Yuan, he glanced at the unfamiliar Eastern face and nodded slightly.

Fang Yuan nodded as well, without stopping.

In the interview area, a female host in a gold dress is interviewing a celebrity in front of her.

When it was Fang Yuan's turn, the host asked two questions:

How was your first time attending the Oscars?

"fine."

Are you confident of winning the award?

"It's already an honor to be nominated."

The host smiled and turned to the next person.

Chen Xia and Ai Li waited for him outside the interview area.

Chen Xia was holding a seating chart, while Ellie was looking at messages on her phone.

The theater interior was smaller than I had imagined.

The seating is horseshoe-shaped, with the stage directly in front, and the seats rise in tiers.

Fang Yuan found his seat, in the third row on the right.

On the right is Michel Gondry, the director of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," and on the left is producer Steve Goring.

A few seats to the right, sat Kate Winslet, the lead actress in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

She was wearing a deep red dress, her golden hair was pulled back, and she was talking to the person next to her.

She received a Best Actress nomination tonight and is one of the favorites for the award.

After Fang Yuan sat down, Kate turned around, smiled at him from a few seats away, and mouthed "Good luck".

Fang Yuan nodded and returned a smile.

Gondry turned to the side and whispered, "How many do you think we can get tonight?"

Fang Yuan said, "It would be good if we could get one. We won't get any more."

The awards ceremony began on time.

Host Billy Crystal opened the show with a medley of songs, incorporating lyrics from several of the nominated films.

Laughter erupted from the audience, and Fang Yuan clapped along.

Jackie Chan went on stage to present the award in the middle of the ceremony.

He was wearing a black Zhongshan suit and stood next to basketball superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The height difference between the two was obvious; Jackie Chan had to tilt his head back to speak to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which drew laughter from the audience.

He presented the Best Sound Editing award, a small one, but his presence on stage was no less impressive than any big star.

Fang Yuan watched from below the stage, thinking that this was probably the highest concentration of Chinese elements tonight.

After Jackie Chan finished presenting the award, he stepped off the stage and returned to his seat, which was near the front, not far from Fang Yuan.

The awards ceremony proceeded slowly. Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay—one after another, were presented.

When the presenter for the Best Actress award walked onto the stage, Fang Yuan noticed that Kate Winslet sat up straight.

The five nominees are: Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Annette Bening (American Beauty), Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry), Meryl Streep (Music of the Soul), and Janet McTeer (Tumbleweed).

The guest opened the envelope and read out the name—"Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry."

The audience erupted in applause. Kate Winslet clapped with a smile, her face showing no sign of disappointment, or at least not at all.

The Best Original Screenplay award is the fifth to last.

The award presenters were a pair of screenwriters who had won awards the previous year.

Before opening the envelope, they said a few words of introduction, the gist of which was that this year's original scripts were very strong, including a coming-of-age story about a rock fan, a story about justice in the law, a story about warriors in ancient Rome, a story about drug networks, and a love story about memory erasure.

When Fang Yuan heard the words "memory erasure," his heart skipped a beat.

The guest opened the envelope.

"The Oscar goes to——"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", written by Fang Yuan."

Fang Yuan didn't react. Gondri stood up first, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "You got it."

Producer Steve also stood up and shook hands with him.

Fang Yuan stood up and fastened the buttons on his suit jacket.

He glanced sideways at Kate Winslet, who was clapping at him with a genuine smile.

He glanced at the rows behind him, trying to find Chen Xia and Ellie's seats.

There were too many people; he couldn't see clearly.

He walked onto the stage, took the small golden statuette; its golden surface was cool, and its base was very heavy.

He stood in front of the microphone, the faces of thousands of people below the stage appearing as a blurred ocean.

"Thank you, Academy."

Thank you, director Michel Gondry, for bringing those strange fragments of memory to life on screen.

Thank you Focus Features for believing in this story.

Thank you to my agent, Ellie; without you, I wouldn't have this trophy.

Thank you Kate, thank you Kim, thank you to all the actors and crew.

While writing this script, I often thought that memory is the only thing we truly possess.

If one day we could erase memories, I think most people wouldn't choose to erase the painful ones, because those memories are also a part of us. Thank you.

The entire audience applauded.

He took the trophy, walked off the stage, and returned to his seat. Gondri said softly, "Fantastic."

Fang Yuan placed the golden statuette on the floor under his seat, against the chair leg. Then he continued watching the ceremony.

The Best Director award was given to Sam Mendes for "American Beauty".

The Best Picture award went to "American Beauty".

Everything is going as predicted.

After the ceremony, he walked through the crowd and saw Chen Xia and Ai Li waiting for him on the right side of the exit.

Chen Xia saw him first and walked towards him.

"Congratulations," Chen Xia said.

Fang Yuan handed her the trophy. Chen Xia took it and glanced at the inscription on the base.

Ellie came up from behind: "Congratulations. The car's over there, we'll talk about it when we get back."

It was already 1 a.m. when I got back to the hotel.

Fang Yuan placed the trophy on the coffee table, took off his suit jacket, loosened his bow tie, and sat down on the sofa.

Chen Xia followed her into the room, but stood at the door without coming in.

"Hmm? Why aren't you coming in?"

Chen Xia didn't move. She leaned against the door frame, her hands in her suit trouser pockets.

"Fang Yuan".

"Um."

"Those words you said on stage, especially the last part about memories—were they something you planned in advance?"

"No. It was something I came up with on the spur of the moment."

"Good."

Fang Yuan looked at her without speaking. Chen Xia lowered her head, staring at the pattern on the carpet. A moment of silence followed.

"I'll be your assistant, just tonight. I don't want to be your assistant anymore."

Fang Yuan asked, "Why?"

Chen Xia looked up at him, her lips twitched slightly, but she didn't smile.

"Because I'm not suited to stand behind you. And you don't need me to stand behind you."

Fang Yuan remained silent.

"You look so cool on stage! I feel like I can't keep up with you."

Chen Xia straightened up and stepped off the door frame.

"Goodnight," she said.

"Wait." Fang Yuan grabbed her hand and closed the door behind him.

"Explain yourself clearly, why don't you want to be an assistant anymore?"