464 Devotion

Everyone burst into laughter at his words. The audience had originally been absorbed in his looks, but when they thought about it carefully, he was quite right. Considering his perfect appearance, he had so much work that he could do. Some shrewd men fell into deep thought.

Qin Guan lifted up his smiling face and continued his speech calmly.

"I would like to express my gratitude to the judges and all my supporters. They granted me a great honor, even though I am a nobody. This award is not my final destination though, but a milestone in my career as an actor. I’ll try to make a great contribution to the hall of international indie films."

"In the future, indie films will be my priority. I hope I will be able to improve in my following work. I also want to thank my sponsors..."

Upon hearing that indie films would be his priority, the directors and scriptwriters under the stage got excited.

Sister Xue, who was still holding her handkerchief against her face, stopped sobbing. What? Indie films? The salary for an indie film varies from nothing to hundreds of thousands dollars! With that international award, people will kneel down before you with piles of bills when you come back to China!

She cast a subconscious look at Gus. Maybe he hadn’t expected that Qin Guan would win the award for Best Actor. It’s my fault. I should have prepared a speech for him in advance to avoid his nonsense.

Suddenly, the people sitting around her began to greet and congratulate her for Qin Guan’s speech.

"Hello, I work for a French film company. He’s a really good actor..."

"Madam, please accept my greetings..."

Lou Ye, who was sitting behind her, hugged her like a close friend. "Don’t forget me when you become rich and famous, sister."

Who is your sister?

Qin Guan took a deep bow and got off the stage. Along the hallway, people welcomed him with open arms. They were all kindred spirits who loved indie films. When he returned to his seat, Qin Guan embraced Gus and patted his shoulder in excitement.

"Qin Guan!" Zhang Ziyi shouted from behind him, opening her arms. She was trying to promote her career abroad.

"Camera No. 3, 15 degrees. Zoom in!" The director recorded the scene in time. The two Chinese actors were hugging on the large screen.

"Congratulations, Qin Guan!"

"Thank you. Cheers!" After expressing their mutual appreciation, they returned to their separate seats. Lou Ye, who was waiting for Qin Guan with open arms, was ignored.

"F*ck! He is too tall to see me!"

Qin Guan decided to give the clown a lesson. He stood up and embraced Lou warmly. Suddenly, everyone noticed their difference in height.

Lou returned to his seat, fully contented.

"Director Lou, why were you so eager to hug him?" Zhang asked him in a low voice.

Looking around him, Lou replied in a mysterious voice, "He is one of the winners. I’ve heard older guys say that winners are blessed. You can steal some luck from them. In ancient times, if a famous scholar touched a kid's head, that kid would become smart."

Zhang was left speechless by his explanation. He is like a superstitious peasant. What if the scholar had tried touching a mentally handicapped kid?

The award winners were announced one after the other.

"The Best Director of the 56th Cannes Festival Awards is... Gus Van Sante!"

Director Gus stopped crying. He still had tears on his face as he got on the stage with a bounce.

Despite his ambitious nature, his hands were shaking. People couldn’t even see the award in his hands clearly. His legs were shaking too. Fortunately, they were hidden behind the podium. His speech was exciting, fluent and well-prepared.

He played the scene back in his mind countless times. His most beautiful dream had been realized.

He, Gus Van Sante, had finally fulfilled his childhood dream. He had become a renowned director.

He got off the stage, crying silently. Nothing could stop his tears of happiness. Only one thing could divert his attention. The blue ribbon of the festival, the Palme d’Or.