CHAPTER 334: CHAPTER 289: RISING PHASE: 125

Yao Yuanfeng’s face was brimming with uncontrollable excitement.

He clenched his fist and waved it vigorously, saying, "An hour ago, during an interview with a reporter, a judge from the Horizons Unit let slip that all the judges were moved by Zhou Yun’s performance, and everyone unanimously considers Zhou Yun a strong contender for the best actress award."

Zhou Yun was stunned.

Joy immediately burst forth from Zhou Lan’s eyes.

Yao Yuanfeng said, "This means that Zhou Yun is very likely to take home the best actress award!"

Now Zhou Lan understood why, no wonder Yao Yuanfeng was still coming over to see them so late.

It was good news.

Even though the final list would not come out until tomorrow, this interview already reflected the judges’ attitude.

Zhou Lan snapped back to reality and said, "I’ll contact my colleagues back home right away."

If Zhou Yun really won the award tomorrow, the news would certainly be promoted by the domestic media the moment it broke.

"That’s amazing! Unbelievable!" Yao Yuanfeng exclaimed, "To win the Movie Queen award on her first film, truly awesome!"

He gave Zhou Yun a hearty hug.

"President Yao, don’t say that, it hasn’t happened yet," Zhou Yun hurriedly shook her head.

Yao Yuanfeng glared, "What do you mean it hasn’t happened yet? It’s as good as done!"

After delivering this good news, Yao Yuanfeng left contently with his wife.

Zhou Yun, Zhou Lan, and Zheng Xiaojue looked at each other in disbelief.

Zhou Lan raised her hand, pointed at Zhou Yun, and said, "You go wash up and go to bed this instant. I want you to appear in your best form on the red carpet of the closing ceremony tomorrow."

Her commanding tone could not hold till the end, betraying a bit of her excitement.

Zheng Xiaojue pushed Zhou Yun into the washroom.

Zhou Lan took out her phone and excitedly started issuing a series of directives in the work group.

On the day of the award ceremony.

Zheng Xiaowen personally brought a box of clothes to the hotel. By the time Zhou Yun got up, three brand new, never-before-seen gowns were already hanging up.

Zhou Lan had made it clear, if there wasn’t a suitable dress, Zhou Yun would choose another brand’s dress to walk the red carpet.

Not just to walk the red carpet, today Zhou Yun was very likely to ascend the winner’s podium.

It was an opportunity VX could not afford to miss.

Zhou Yun was the spokesperson for VX in China, and if she did not wear a VX gown on stage, wouldn’t that be a slap in the face for VX?

Furthermore, VX’s sales had seen a noticeable increase recently. Especially in China, this change was due to Zhou Yun’s exposure, where she had almost always worn VX clothes, demonstrating an amazing ability to influence sales.

Initially, there hadn’t been plans to attend the award ceremony, and the makeup artists were only re-invited a few days ago.

For today’s look, Zhou Lan had only one requirement – it had to be classic.

Thus, Zhou Yun donned a pure white body-hugging gown, her long hair piled up to reveal a slender neck and a full forehead, the makeup simple and clean, the whole person exuding a goddess-like quality.

Zhou Lan was very satisfied.

Right before they were about to leave, He Yong finally rushed back in a hurry.

He had been in the United Kingdom and France in the past few days. Upon hearing that Zhou Yun was highly likely to receive an award, he felt he couldn’t miss it and hurriedly bought a ticket to return.

No one dared to expect that Zhou Yun would compete for the best actress award before arriving in Venice.

Who could have thought that Zhou Yun would gain such recognition and praise on her very first film?

It took everyone by surprise, completely unexpected.

He Yong arrived hurriedly, breathing heavily.

Yet, the excitement and joy on his face were unmistakable.

As someone known for his "good eye," he had discovered numerous well-known names, but he had never encountered someone like Zhou Yun, who shot to fame with her first film and might win Best Actress, putting her instantly on the world stage.

During his most difficult six months, if it wasn’t for having Zhou Yun as such a trump card to turn his luck around, he would have likely been ousted.

If Zhou Yun truly takes home the Best Actress award in the Horizons Unit today, without a doubt, with her current popularity, she will charge straight into the front line and distance herself from her peers.

As long as she clinches this Best Actress trophy!

He Yong embraced Zhou Yun enthusiastically, saying, "Beautiful! Luck is definitely on your side!"

Zhou Yun said, "Don’t hold such high expectations, the pressure on me is already huge."

"Don’t feel pressured, even if today isn’t your day, from now on, I will do everything in my power to pave your way, to take on good films. You have such talent; it would be a waste not to act in films," He Yong said decisively. "I haven’t said it seriously to you before – I’m sorry. I should’ve told you earlier. If I had known about your talent, I wouldn’t have turned a blind eye to Wei Ru Xue’s behavior no matter what."

Zhou Yun smiled, "President He, let’s not talk about the past today."

He Yong nodded, "Alright, we won’t talk about it. You know what I mean."

At that moment, Yao Yuanfeng was getting impatient, saying, "If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late. Let’s go!"

Thus, the "Life" crew set off.

...

Returning to the cinema palace, sitting down, the surroundings were identical to before, but everything felt different.

Previously at the opening ceremony, Zhou Yun felt like a mere spectator, with the excitement and curiosity of someone attending for the first time.

This time around, Zhou Yun had expectations and as she sat among the crowd, people occasionally looked her way, their glances revealing recognition.

How did they recognize her? There was only one possibility, because of the film "Life."

People kept coming over to greet her, causing her to repeatedly stand up and sit down.

Among these people were cinema people whose names she had heard of as well as celebrities whose works she had watched.

With a warm demeanor, they told her how much they enjoyed her performance.

Zhou Yun couldn’t help but wonder, had they all seen the film "Life"?

The warmth she and Wen Bing received was no less than that of the main creatives of the competing films.

Many directors told her that they certainly wanted to collaborate on suitable future projects.

Of course, Zhou Yun knew that ninety-nine percent of these statements would not come to fruition. But what of it? At this moment, every person’s attitude toward her already proved a point: her role in "Life" had earned her the respect of these people.

In just a matter of days, she had gone from an unknown newcomer to a well-known figure.

When the closing ceremony officially began and the film festival chairman took to the stage, she settled back in her seat, her surging emotions still not subsiding.

She smiled elegantly and warmly, but her heart was an excited ocean.

And when the presenter read out the name of the Horizons Unit Best Actress award winner, that ocean of emotion set off a huge wave.