CH 508

“But he is far behind you when we are comparing the ability to go trending,” Director Zhang’s assistant said fairly.

“But I try to keep a low profile.” Han Fei looked through the information and he asked, “Young actors like me can only go for the best new actor award? But wasn’t I nominated for 2 awards? Between the best supporting actor and the best new actor, which one is better?”

“Of course, the best supporting actor! There is only one winner per year and it is a competition across age groups and this award is the closest to the best actor.” The assistant explained patiently, “All the nominees this year are very incredible. Even for Bai Xian, it’ll be hard for him to get the best lead male actor and for Director Zhang to get the best director award. Therefore, our crew hopes that you can win the best new actor so that our movie can have at least 1 award.”

“But didn’t Director Zhang shoot Thriller Novelist to aim for the best director award again?” based on the assistant’s tone, it sounded like Director Zhang was facing trouble too.

“It’ll be hard. Many top directors have released movies this year. In the past 3 years, Director Zhang only produced 1 Thriller Novelist. If it doesn’t have good viewing, it’s hard for him to win over the competition.” The assistant appeared to know some secrets, he was not as excited as he was a few days ago. “Don’t tell Director Zhang I’ve told you these. I have to go to work. The event this afternoon is at 2 pm.” The assistant then hung up. Han Fei took his phone and entered the ward. He sat beside the bed and started to search for info on Bai Cha and Xu Junchi.

Compared to Xu Junchi, Bai Cha was clearly more popular. Many people praised him on the internet, they called him the new generation’s best actor. Bai Cha was very handsome. Compared to Han Fei, who had a unique presence, Bai Cha’s handsomeness was arresting. When they were promoting 2/3 Comedy, Bai Cha went on many variety shows. He was very humorous and interacted well with the other guests. This man had both an interesting soul and handsome skin, no wonder Deep Space Entertainment pushed him so badly. If one had to find the man’s weakness, it was his acting skill.

The veterans who worked with Bai Cha praised him a lot, but they only praised him for his politeness, hard work, and potential. In a way, they were saying his acting needed work. No one was born perfect at something. Even the most talented actor had to go through the test of time to perfect his acting. Han Fei was a special case because he was tested through life or death challenges every night. To act because of a dream, and to act because of the need to survive, were two different things.

“Yan Mo…” A weak voice came from the bed. Auntie Lee opened her eyes and she saw Han Fei.

“Stay there and don’t move, I’ll get the doctor.” Han Fei stood up when he felt a pull on the corner of his shirt. He turned around and saw Auntie Lee raise her arm weakly to grab his shirt. Her aged face looked at Han Fei. Her white lips moved to say, “Thank you.”

Han Fei couldn’t tell if the auntie had recognized him or it was for something else. He slowly placed the auntie’s hand on the bed. “You need to rest.” Han Fei found the doctor and he had Auntie Lee call her son. After explaining everything, Han Fei walked out of the ward. For him, doing good deeds could increase his afterlife karma and afterlife karma was used to upgrade the altar. So if there was a chance, he would do everything to help others. Auntie Lee’s son was working outside the city so he couldn’t come back. When it was noon, Han Fei ran to the hospital canteen to buy some lunch for Auntie Lee. When he was there, he was recognized by another patient. The encounter was quite interesting. Because Han Fei was too casually-dressed, the patient had to confirm Han Fei’s identity several times. As an actor, Han Fei didn’t have any air. He carried two plates and greeted the patients kindly.

“I hear actors have better food but he comes to the canteen like the rest of us.”

“He has donated all of his money to the victims’ family, I heard he is still living at a rental.” The patients started to chat. An uncle with bandaged arm walked out of his ward and he overheard the conversation. “Han Fei’s family is sick?”

“This morning, he rescued a fainted auntie. The auntie’s son is working outside the city so he can’t come back. Han Fei has been looking after the auntie since this morning.”

“Such a kind child.” The uncle with the bandaged arm joined the other patients as they chatted about Han Fei. Han Fei had no idea the other patients were talking about him. He returned to the ward to leave the lunch with Auntie Lee and he left.

At 1.30 pm, Han Fei arrived at the event venue given by Director Zhang’s assistant. There was a special zone at intelligent city which was made for special events. The event Han Fei was going to attend that afternoon was at a small conference hall, next to the big hall meant for the Movie Festival. The Movie Festival was going to happen in 2 days and things were heating up. The location was filled with the press. Director Zhang had planned carefully to make this location the last promo stop for Thriller Novelist. Not only him, there many other teams which had their movies releasing tomorrow, were there to promote their movies also. When Han Fei arrived, he saw many fans by the roadside. Many reporters aimed their phones and cameras at the celebrities. Coincidentally enough, each end of the hall was respectively booked by Thriller Novelist and 2/3 Comedy. Thriller Novelist had 9 actors and 2 of them were from the B-list. The rest were veterans; But it was even more exaggerated for 2/3 Novelist, they had A-list actor, Xu Zheng as the male lead, the female lead was Deep Space Entertainment’s pearl, the 5 supporting actors were C-list actors, in fact, the popular Bai Cha had the least influence among the cast. The cheers echoed on both ends of the hall. Each celebrity had their own fans but if there was a comparison, there were more people on 2/3 Comedy’s side. After all, the public could accept comedies more than horror movies.

When he exited the taxi, Han Fei looked just like another pedestrian. “Excuse me, excuse me.” The event would start a 2 pm so many fans arrived 1 hour earlier.

After calling Director Zhang’s assistant, a worker came to lead Han Fei to the employee’s entrance. When the fans saw this, they were shocked. Who was this man? Did he have a VIP ticket?

But it didn’t take long for Han Fei to get recognized. After the first person called Han Fei’s name, the rest followed. Han Fei hadn’t encountered this in the afterlife before. He greeted everyone shyly and then was brought backstage. “I don’t think I have that many people calling my name before.”

“Han Fei! Why are you dressed so casually?” When Director Zhang’s assistant saw Han Fei, he ran over. “Everyone is backstage. Hurry! You better get your make-up done.” After he was pulled backstage, Han Fei saw the other cast members from Thriller Novelist. When they saw Han Fei, they all came to congratulate him, it confused Han Fei.

“Why are you all acting so strangely? What is there worth congratulating?” Han Fei was confused as he turned to Bai Xian.

“You really don’t know?” Bai Xian took out his phone. “You’ve surpassed Xu Junchi and took the second place on the online voting for the best new actor. And for the most anticipated movie character, your character of Spider is at the top! I have no idea you have that much influence!”

“That’s the reason?” Han Fei shook his head.

“That is such an annoying thing to say.” Bai Xian rolled his eyes. “It is the movie festival the day after tomorrow. So many companies and people are keeping watch on online voting. Also, we noticed something. Come and look at the movie box office’s presale ranking.”

Bai Xian showed Han Fei the nation’s largest online ticket purchasing website.

“2/3 Comedy’s presale is 10 million greater than ours but when you compare the individual actor box office influence rating, you are ranked first among the supporting actors.” Bai Xian was shocked. “It means that you draw in even more moviegoers than I am and I am supposed to be the lead!”

“What is this individual actor box office influence rating?” Han Fei didn’t know these things. This was his first time being in such a big movie. In the past, he wouldn’t even be given the role of an extra.

“When the consumers book a ticket for an unreleased movie, they have an option to fill in the actor that they wish to see the most in the movie. And you are ranked at the top.” Bai Xian explained patiently, “Even though most people knew you from your help with the police, it is undeniable that you are now a box office guarantee.” Han Fei’s fans on the internet were all real. Those who called him bounty hunter and police informant showed up to support him.

“I can only imagine how mad Bai Cha is by this. He is far ahead of you and Xu Junchi in the online voting for the best new actor, but on this ranking, he is so far behind you.” Bai Xian smiled, he was very happy for Han Fei.

“But Brother Bai, what about you? I saw on the ranking that Xu Zheng is far ahead of you. Isn’t he fighting for the best male actor too this year?” Han Fei noticed and Bai Xian’s face dropped immediately.

“It’s not my chance this year.” Bai Xian smiled sadly. “Honestly, I feel like my acting has improved this time, working beside you. Your glow is too bright, it almost outshines me. But no matter, I’ve been propping up others for years already. I don’t mind it.”

“People, get ready. When you’re on stage, remember to interact with the fans.” The worker signaled for the celebrities to take the stage. Han Fei was given some simple make-up and he only wore his normal jacket.

The host warmed the stage at the outdoor venue. Director Zhang took the stage first to inform everyone of his inspiration behind the movie. The fans on the internet demanded to see the cast. Clearly, compared to Director Zhang, the casts were more interesting. The curtain pulled back and the 9 actors slowly walked out. When their images appeared on the big screen, everyone cheered. Compared to the other actors, Han Fei was like a worker who accidentally wandered on stage. He was very out of place but that was what his fans loved about him. He was very natural.

At the same time, a cheer came from the other end of the hall. 2/3 comedy had started their final promo tour too. The giant monitor at the venue recorded the situation at both ends. To drive the popularity, the livestream platform purposely placed the two livestreams next to each other.

Bai Xian and Xu Zheng were both nominated for the best male actor; they wanted to fight for the award with their hard work. When the hosts interviewed them, their faces were placed on the big monitor, it made it look like a direct competition. Director Zhang was not satisfied with this because a horror film was definitely more niched than a comedy. However, the platform and the event organizer couldn’t care less about Director Zhang’s feelings, they only cared about views and popularity.

Even during the Q&A session, most of the questions were meant to pit the two movies against each other. For example, the host asked Xu Zheng if he was confident that he’d win the best male actor award; and then the other host went to ask Bai Xian if he thought he win the award after 5 years of being nominated. The two events were in the same hall. Many pedestrians stopped to listen in to the questions, much less the people online.

Thankfully, Bai Xian and Xu Zheng were both experts Tai Chi masters, their answers were very politically correct. Bai Xian resolved it by self-mockery while Xu Zheng praised Bai Xian. It didn’t matter what happened in the background, but on the surface, everyone had to be one big happy family.

The interview continued. When the other host reached Bai Cha at 2/3 Comedy, the host also approached Han Fei. “Han Fei, you are nominated for best new actor and best supporting actor this year. This is your first movie running the circuit and you have gotten 2 nominations, this is a brand new record.” The two hosts were stoking the flames. One praised Han Fei while the other said that Bai Cha would definitely win the award. However, Han Fei and Bai Cha responded differently.

Han Fei wasn’t even paying attention to the host. He saw that the host had a mic and before she spoke, there would be a pause. Clearly someone was feeding her the questions. With a professional smile on his face, Han Fei very openly voiced his own weakness, like his young age, lack of projects and so on.

Bai Cha was arrogant. He seemed to know some insider news and he was sure that he would win the award for the best new actor. As the host praised him, he started to accept them. He chuckled and said insincerely that he still had space for improvement. Perhaps the organizer thought this was not enough so they chose the hardest questions and harshest criticisms from the chat room to throw at the two young actors. Han Fei didn’t mind this, after all, he had been criticized all his career. He had no agency to back him and no one was funding his career, he had to depend on himself.

Bai Cha’s situation was the complete opposite, he was Deep Space Entertainment’s latest star. He had no negative press on the internet, everyone praised him. The company blocked every bad news for him, he only needed to earn money for his agency. This meant that he was not so stable mentally. Among the comments, there were many that questioned his acting skill. Some drew a direct comparison between him and Han Fei, they said Han Fei’s acting in Twin Flower was so much better than Bai Cha. Bai Cha didn’t dare to get angry in public. He said that everyone had their own suitable character and deflected the question.

He wouldn’t admit that he was worse than Han Fei. With Deep Space Entertainment backing him, Bai Cha actually looked down on actors his age.

The livestream went on for a long time. The busybodies started a bet on who would win the best new actor between Bai Cha and Han Fei.

Bai Cha’s fans liked him for his face but Han Fei’s fans were more varied. At first, both fanbases were quite reasonable but it soon got into a fight. When the livestream ended, the argument was already exploding online. In the end, they decided to settle the score via the box office of 2/3 Comedy and Thriller Novelist as well as Han Fei and Bai Cha’s acting in their respective movies. Since neither movie had been released, no one could really say anything. The acting would prove everything.

After the event was over, Director Zhang summoned all the actors. He had booked a big venue to wait for the premiere together. This movie was very important to them, it could change many people’s lives. Bai Xian wanted to fight for the best male actor; Director Zhang wanted to prove himself again; the investors wanted their money back; the other actors fought for popularity.

Only Han Fei appeared least nervous. He was ready to go home after dinner. He didn’t even have the urge to look at the argument between his fans and Bai Cha’s on the internet. For Han Fei, nothing was more important than gaming.