CH 14

CHAPTER 14—Courage to Take Responsibility

Xie Yu walked back to his seat despite the countless gazes on him, and when the atmosphere of the awards show reached its peak, he calmed down completely.

When he had arrived in this world, all the strange things invisibly gave him a sense of alienation.

He tried to fit in, but something just didn’t feel right.

It wasn’t until the moment he got on the podium and said his speech that he became more aware of his surroundings, recognizing this body, and even the experiences that didn’t belong to himself.

With this recognition came an irrepressible excitement.

And this kind of excitement, or anticipation, was something that Xie Yu had not experienced for many years.

Amidst the commotion around him, he vaguely heard a voice from the depths of his memory.

It was the voice of his mentor of several years—a maverick, artist, and master of performance highly praised by the industry.

When instructing him on how to overcome mental bottleneck, he gave a deafening reminder.

——Actors are always the most anxious, worried that they will not be able to fully engage with situations or roles they’re in.

——Nine out of ten people in this line of work are lunatics, and the trick to being fully engaged is nothing more than getting yourself excited!

——So, whenever you encounter something that makes your heart beat faster. Don’t hesitate, grab it!

Xie Yu sat in his seat and took a deep breath, not showing the slightest bit of abnormality in front of the camera.

But the bottom of his heart was going through ups and downs, and soon returned to silence.

If he really couldn’t go back, maybe staying in this completely strange world and taking over everything belonging to this body would be his best choice.

These were his undeniable inner thoughts, and in fact, he had a strong sense of freshness and curiosity facing all these strange things.

*****

Afterwards, he didn’t even know how he left the venue.

When he met Zhou Cheng who was looking for him in the passageway of the movie palace, he was still clutching the trophy in his hand tightly.

“How do you feel?” Zhou Cheng ignored the colleagues around him who wanted to talk to him, and walked quickly over when he saw Xie Yu.

“I’m fine.” Xie Yu had completely calmed down and nodded as he answered.

He glanced at the group of his peers in the distance, then said, “Let’s go.”

“Not going to the reception?” Zhou Cheng was taken aback and asked subconsciously.

The film festival was considered a top event of the industry, and a large number of well-known directors and producers would be present.

Compared with the inconvenient awards ceremony, the evening reception would feel more comfortable in comparison.

Many actors took this opportunity to make film appointments, and even if they were absent from the awards ceremony, they would not miss the reception.

Xie Yu shook his head slightly, and raised the Golden Toilet trophy in his hand.

“Hey, it’s okay. So what if you got the Golden Toilet, everyone knows what’s going on. They don’t care.” Zhou Cheng thought that Xie Yu was worried that the people attending the reception would look down on him because of this, so he quickly explained.

Xie Yu knew that Zhou Cheng had misunderstood as soon as he heard him speak, so he raised his hand quickly to deny it.

“No, I just want to go back and sort out my thoughts and take a rest.” Then he asked in inquiring tone, “Brother Cheng, we don’t have any schedule until next year, right?”

“Huh? Yes, it’s all scheduled for next year.” Zhou Cheng reacted quickly and answered.

He glanced at his artist’s face, recalled the experiences of the past few days, and patted Xie Yu’s arm compassionately, “I was negligent. We’ll go straight back to the hotel tonight, get some rest, and talk about work arrangements tomorrow.”

“Thank you Brother Cheng.” Xie Yu curled his lips into a smile.

“Go, go, if you don’t go, you’ll be dragged back.” Zhou Cheng glanced around, and then took Xie Yu to walk towards the special exit of the movie palace, “Thank you for what… oh, speaking of, you…”

Xie Yu, who walked to the front, found that Zhou Cheng hesitated to speak to speak about something, so he turned around to cast a questioning look.

“On the awards stage just now, you specifically mentioned me about the things you do and take on…” Zhou Cheng, a strong man, hesitated for the first time at this time, “It’s my job to check the film appointment coming to you.”

He looked at his artist who he had been taking care of for ten years, and felt that he was still the same as when he had just entered the industry.

It’s just that he was a lot more cheerful now, and the entire person looked more tough and reliable.

Xie Yu was taken aback for a moment, then he pursed his lips, trying to restrain his expression.

But the dimples on the sides of his face brought out by his smile were still caught by Zhou Cheng.

“I was just talking.” Xie Yu didn’t want to say more about this topic, so he just waved it off and chuckled.

As the first manager to be sincerely apologized and thanked by his own artist publicly in front of the entire interstellar community, Zhou Cheng felt a bit of discomfort for a short time, but was extremely moved after.

So, although his mouth was stiff, his face was filled with joy.

“Apologize for what, just work hard afterward.” Zhou Cheng murmured, then he remembered the topic of work, “I’ll deal with <The Legend of Aquarius>, so don’t get involved. As for the the roadshow on various planets after its release, Li Dayiao, can figure it out himself.”

Xie Yu was just entering an aircraft when he heard Zhou Cheng say this.

After waiting for someone to come up to close the door of their aircraft, he replied thoughtfully, “I remember that when I signed the contract with Director Li, there was no agreement that I would attend the roadshows.”

“He makes shrewd calculations. He’s been contacting me recently, asking me to vacate your work schedule for the next two months.” Zhou Cheng sneered, “Not to mention that this is already beyond the contract, just releasing the news about the Golden Toilet, plus his grotesque temptations, clearly he’s just afraid you’ll make him lose face.”

Xie Yu rubbed the trophy in his hand, while his gaze stayed on the bright moonlight outside the transparent window.

After hearing this from Zhou Cheng, he withdrew his gaze and said in a meaningful tone, “Then I’ve already made him lose face.”

Zhou Cheng, who was browsing various media reports with his light brain, shook his head directly, “What does it have to do with you. His face was lost by his own words and actions as early as the opening of the Golden Toilet.”

Xie Yu smiled without saying a word. Obviously he didn’t care a bit about the director who spoke candidly and without care in front of the public.

“Tonight’s speech was wonderful.” Zhou Cheng patted his thigh and said with emotion.

He showed his light brain screen to Xie Yu, “You did the right thing by choosing to attend.”

Xie Yu took the light screen, leaned back on his chair, dragged the progress bar calmly, and carefully read various news and comments on the homepage of Weibo.

[Sister who broke the news: This sister will take you to review the Golden Toilet Awards, and dig into the whole story of the filming of <The Legend of Aquarius>. In this era of bad movies, where should we head to?]

[Red Dream Fashion: Xie Yu and Shen Qi lead new fashion at this Film Festival, new ideas for retro style suits! (picture)]

[The front line of film and television: Xie Yu bowed at the Golden Toilet Award, and received applause from the audience for his sincere speech. (Video link)]

[Freelance film critic Huang Heng: Publishing the headline article “The First Golden Toilet Recipient: Courage and Responsibility.”]

Xie Yu paused slightly when he saw the title of the article, and then prepared to skip it to continue reading the following contents.

Zhou Cheng, who was sitting on the sidelines, was also looking at the public opinion.

And at that moment, he said, “Hey, don’t rush to skip it, let’s see what he says about us. This Huang Heng has no connection with us, so he will definitely write the article objectively.”

Xie Yu scrolled back obediently, and clicked on the headline article that had already become popular.

The light screen quickly loaded, and what came into view was a single full-body photo of Xie Yu standing under the light while holding the Golden Toilet trophy.

Scrolling down, there was a paragraph of small words before the main text.

This introduction was only a few lines long, but it was particularly eye-catching.

“Before the awards night, I’ve been thinking about how to write this article. I thought about how to introduce Director Shen who has been honing his sword for seven years and broke records at the Golden Laurels. And the Golden Toilet ushered in its first award recipient, so I had to think of how to maintain an objective attitude in order to evaluate Xie Yu. I wanted to take it easy and start writing tomorrow, but after watching tonight’s live broadcast, I have to admit that I couldn’t sit still. I will write about the Golden Laurel again when I get the chance. So first, let’s talk about the worst actor——he can be described with two words, well-intentioned.” (TL: ‘honing his sword’ here means to continuously put in effort and refine one’s work. And ‘well-intentioned’ was the best word-choice/translation I could make even though it sounds awkward >.<)

Zhou Cheng clicked his tongue, appreciating the last few bold words of the film critic.

Xie Yu only raised his eyebrows, with a faint smile on his face.

His joy was not exposed, only his sitting posture was relaxed.

This review article published his entire speech on the stage of the Golden Toilet Awards.

Xie Yu flicked his finger, directly skipping the contents that came from his own mouth, and stopped the screen on the commentary in the second half of the article.

——

“Over the years, I’ve been wondering whether fame and fortune in the entertainment circle has spoiled creators, otherwise the Golden Toilet Awards would not have been unclaimed for decades. These creators did not attend for or admit to such an award, and a collective boycott became an unspoken rule that was well known inside and outside the industry. Now there is a young man who has gone up to receive the Golden Toilet, which is not a good label to have at all. How should we look at it?

He apologized when he came on stage, and there was no sense of shirking responsibility in any word he said, nor did I think it was a fluke for him being the first recipient. He was very sincere, neither flattering nor begging for mercy. After expressing his guilt, he could calmly analyzed the crux of his problems, and finally make up his mind to give us a promise. It’s a matter of course, but it was convincing.

It’s been said that you can see your own character best when you listen to criticism. Only in that moment did I feel that Xie Yu was amazing. He’s a person who does not shy away from criticism and has an upright attitude. And he can actively think about how to improve himself, which is enough to show his respect for his profession. The most brilliant thing was that he gave gratitude in the name of an apology while also reflecting on himself, and was overall, able to establish a friendly and grateful image.

He trampled on his own face tonight, but with just one speech, he also recovered his ruined reputation from acting in bad movies. Of course, he still has a long way to go, and the public’s denial of his acting skills will not be wiped out by a few minutes of rhetoric. He must show his strengths and improvements as soon as possible, otherwise the pressure he faces may be even greater than just what he receives from non-kind seniors. Nonetheless, his demeanor tonight was enough to be admired.

Xie Yu’s attitude was neither low-level nor shameful. The low-leveled ones are actors who dare not accept criticism. The shameful are those directors who utter wild words and treat their works as commodities.”

——

Xie Yu quietly read the film critic’s commentary, pursed the corners of his mouth, and then turned his head to look at Zhou Cheng.

Finding that his manager’s eyes were very focused, he joked, “Do you want to give him a thumbs up?”

Zhou Cheng was still pondering over the words in the article, but when he heard Xie Yu’s words, he quickly waved his hands, “No hurry, I’ll open an agent account tomorrow to give him some likes.”

Xie Yu nodded and supported Zhou Cheng’s approach.

After tonight, he had no intention of being involved in public opinion again.

After confirming that most people on the internet were supportive of him, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and take it easy.

After arriving at the hotel, Zhou Cheng left to return the suit they borrowed.

And Xie Yu’s tense nerves which he dealt with all day felt like they all collapsed at that point, so he sat on the edge of his bed in a daze.

Seeing this, Anna hurriedly asked him to wash up and rest, and once he was done, she turned off the lights and left the room.

Completely relaxed, Xie Yu fell onto his bed in a dazed state.

He simply closed his eyes and didn’t sleep for a long time, but before he knew it he fell into a nightmare.

The scenes in his fragmented dream were turbulent, and filled with immature and hoarse crying.