Chapter 151.2: The Qingzhu Awards Ceremony
All the The Galaxy members were leads too, so they wouldn’t need tickets from him.
He’d actually been wondering who he could give his extra tickets to—offering tickets out of nowhere felt too abrupt, and he didn’t know how to bring it up.
But now, hearing Liang Cheng’s words, Shen Xiu naturally offered, “When it premieres, if you need movie tickets, I can give you some.”
Liang Cheng: “!”
“Thank you!”
Movie tickets personally given by Shen Xiu—just the thought of it! Telling others about it would hit completely different from just saying you bought the tickets yourself!
Fang Chengxing looked at Liang Cheng with envy and raised his hand. “Can I have some too?”
Shen Xiu: “Sure.”
He lifted his gaze and swept his eyes over everyone in the car, stiffly asking,
“If you all need some too…”
“We do!”
“Thank you, Captain Xiu!”
“Me too, Captain Xiu!”
“Thanks!”
…
Shen Xiu: “…”
Just moments ago they were all calling him Shen Xiu, and now it had turned into Captain Xiu.
Was that kind of nickname contagious?
While everyone was chatting, the red carpet segment of the Qingzhu Awards had already begun.
Zhao Heng glanced at the message from the organizers and said to the group, “It’s almost our turn.”
Then he looked toward Xuan Ji.
He was someone without power or influence, and this kind of potentially offending comment—especially if it might offend Shen Xiu—was something only Xuan Ji could say.
Noticing Zhao Heng blinking at him twice, Xuan Ji suddenly remembered what they’d discussed earlier and quickly turned to Shen Xiu.
Nervously, he said, “Captain Xiu… um… when we walk the red carpet later, since your role is a supporting one, you’ll need to walk on the side, not in the center. Is that alright?”
Shen Xiu: “!”
There is such a good thing?!
He immediately nodded. “That’s fine.”
More than fine—it was perfectly fine.
If it were up to him, he’d prefer walking behind everyone, but of course, that wasn’t possible. Their Immortal Path group was small—they had to walk side by side.
Though everyone had guessed Shen Xiu would probably agree, the moment he sat there, his presence made it hard for anyone to be completely sure what he was thinking.
At that moment, after receiving Shen Xiu’s definite response, no one said anything out loud or showed it on their faces—but inwardly, everyone silently let out a breath of relief in perfect unspoken sync.
Now that their positions on the red carpet were settled, Zhao Heng instructed the driver to start the car and head toward the drop-off point right by the carpet for a smooth exit.
A few minutes later, the car came to a stop.
The window was rolled down just a crack, enough for those inside to hear the voices of media reporters outside, one after another, calling out and inviting the celebrities to pose for photos.
“Look over here—Goddess Li, here!”
“Actor Shen, you look amazing!”
…
The Qingzhu Awards’ red carpet segment was also arranged to be livestreamed. Fans from various fandoms gathered in the livestream chat to cheer for their idols’ red carpet looks and stunning visuals today.
[My Goddess Li really has the one-of-a-kind bold beauty look in the entertainment industry! Love you, goddess!]
[When is our Boss Xiu coming? So excited! It’s his first time playing a supporting role and he already got a nomination. As expected of our Boss Xiu! (hands on hips proudly)]
[I just saw Jian Jiayu earlier. Shen Xiu totally roasted him a few days ago, and now they’re at the same award show—one nominated for Best Actor, the other for Best Supporting Actor. Tsk tsk… This is gonna be fun for us drama-loving bystanders, haha!]
…
Each celebrity walking the red carpet had a set time limit to stay on it. Zhao Heng had been keeping a close eye on the timing and finally said, “It’s our turn. Let’s get out.”
Hearing this, the driver quickly got out, walked to the back seat, and opened the car door.
As the chief director of Immortal Path, Xuan Ji was the first to step out. Assistant Director Zhao Heng followed as the second. Lead actor Liang Cheng was third, and Fang Chengxing was fourth.
Shen Xiu, the fifth to exit, carefully observed the behavior of those before him. He noticed how each of them smiled and waved to the cameras as soon as they got out.
Following their example, Shen Xiu walked to the side and raised his hand to wave to both sides.
As for smiling—when he looked at the camera and tried to tug at the corners of his mouth, he realized he just couldn’t smile, so he gave up.
“Boss Xiu, look over here!”
“Chengcheng, this way!”
“Shen Xiu, can you look here for a second?”
“Please look over here, we’re begging you, Boss Xiu!”
“Can we get a group photo?”
…
The others walking the red carpet with him heard that almost all the shouting around them was for Shen Xiu. They smiled kindly, showing no resentment at all that Shen Xiu was stealing the spotlight.
Instead, the fact that Shen Xiu was walking the red carpet with them actually worked in their favor—it meant they could ride the wave of attention and trend together with him. At an awards show packed with stars, this kind of group appearance brought far more buzz than if they had walked alone.
Hearing that almost everyone around them was shouting his name, Shen Xiu felt too guilty to meet the eyes of his companions. Yet he didn’t want to let down the fans asking for photos, so he quickly struck a pose, let the cameras flash, and then promptly moved along—worried about making the others wait.
For most celebrities, three minutes on the red carpet was barely enough—but for Shen Xiu, his guilt and anxiety about making his group wait made it feel endlessly long.
[If I’m not mistaken, that suit Xiu-baby’s wearing is from luxury brand Jwer, right? A new haute couture piece—get!]
[No wonder it looks so expensive. On Xiu-baby, it gives off an aura of untouchable elegance.]
[Um… not everyone can pull off luxury brands. Maybe—just maybe—it’s Shen Xiu’s aura and handsomeness that elevate the entire outfit. Let me just @ that heavenly king who also wore high fashion tonight, so y’all can see what a difference it makes. No shade, just facts.]
[So nervous! Will Xiu-baby win an award tonight?!]
[Hmm… not sure. After all… he is a villain. Not that villains can’t win, but the Qingzhu Awards have always leaned toward righteous, noble characters in their judging standards…]
While netizens were passionately discussing the livestream, the Immortal Path team finished walking the red carpet. After signing the backdrop and taking a group photo, they headed into the Qingzhu Awards ceremony venue.
The team was assigned seats in the fifth row—not too close to the front, but not stuck in the middle either. For Shen Xiu, it was a perfectly comfortable spot.
On the way to his seat, Shen Xiu kept director Xuan Ji’s words from earlier in the car firmly in mind. He positioned himself just behind Fang Chengxing and kept his gaze calmly fixed ahead, not bothering to look around and see who was seated nearby.
Seeing the others sit down, Shen Xiu quickly followed their lead and sat down in sync with them, making sure he didn’t stand out or seem out of place.
Once seated, Shen Xiu belatedly realized that, on the way here, he had been so focused on staying in step with his companions and trying not to draw attention to himself that he had subconsciously ignored everyone and everything around him.
Shen Xiu: …Basically, if you round it up, that means I wasn’t nervous walking to my seat!
Next time, keep it up!
Everyone else: “……”
As expected, whether it was Best Actor or Best Actress nominees, or even Jian Jiayu—the same person Shen Xiu had ruthlessly clapped back at just days ago—Shen Xiu didn’t so much as glance at them as he passed by.
To others, they might be big-name celebrities. But in Shen Xiu’s eyes, they were nothing.
He had been this way since training camp, and everyone knew that with Shen Xiu’s naturally aloof personality, he wasn’t intentionally ignoring people—he just genuinely didn’t care. Everyone had come to accept that.
Besides, among the attendees were many long-time “runners-up”—actors who’d played supporting roles for years. Naturally, their impression of Shen Xiu, who dared to speak out righteously, was far better than that of Jian Jiayu, who talked a big game about being upright but casually disrespected others’ hard work.
Jian Jiayu, sitting just one row behind Shen Xiu, was fuming in silence.
What was the organizer thinking? How could they put him, a senior actor nominated for Best Actor, behind Shen Xiu, who was just nominated for Best Supporting Actor?
Though inwardly displeased, Jian Jiayu didn’t let it show on his face and kept his gaze fixed on the award stage up ahead.
The gossip-hungry bystanders nearby had initially gotten excited upon seeing how Jian Jiayu and Shen Xiu were seated relative to each other, ready to witness some drama. But Shen Xiu didn’t even glance at Jian Jiayu the entire time, and Jian Jiayu didn’t try to speak to Shen Xiu either. Disappointed, the crowd gave up on their hopes for drama and turned their attention back to the hosts, who had already begun announcing the awards.
…
An hour into the award ceremony, it was finally time for the announcement of this year’s Best Supporting Actor at the Qingzhu Awards.
“Yang Zhenxi, Jiang Xianlu, Shen Xiu, Li Dao’an…”
As the host read out the names of the nominees one by one from the card in hand, the large screen behind them rapidly displayed each name as it was called.
Once all the names were read, the host turned to the audience—many of whom looked visibly nervous—and smiled, deliberately building suspense:
“So, who will be the winner of this year’s Best Supporting Actor? Let’s take a look at the big screen!”
With that, the host turned sideways toward the large screen, which was still rapidly scrolling through the nominees’ names.
Only one name at a time was visible on the scrolling screen.
Prompted by the host’s words, many in the audience were instinctively drawn in by curiosity and turned their eyes toward the screen.
As one of the nominees, Shen Xiu also couldn’t help but look up at it, heart pounding with anticipation.
At the same time, some people were actually more interested in Shen Xiu’s reaction than in the award result itself.
Several celebrities seated in the same row as Shen Xiu couldn’t resist subtly turning their heads to glance at him, trying to read his expression.
“Shen Xiu’s face looks so calm. Is he not even nervous about this award?”
“Keep your voice down…”
“We’re all looking anyway, what’s the big deal?”
“Probably not. He got a nomination on his first acting role—winning or not probably doesn’t matter much to him. With acting skills like his, it’s just a matter of time before he sweeps any award he wants…”
After a full thirty seconds of the nominees’ names rolling across the screen, it finally came to a stop.
Amid the eager anticipation of the crowd, the scrolling screen finally stopped—on the name Li Dao’an.
The host turned toward Li Dao’an, and their cheerful voice rang out through the microphone, filling the venue:
“Let’s congratulate Li Dao’an!”
Clap clap clap…
The audience broke into the same warm applause that had accompanied earlier award announcements.
Shen Xiu, eyes fixed on the name Li Dao’an, raised his hands to applaud along with everyone else—while secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
‘Finally—it stopped. If it had kept scrolling any longer, even without having heart disease, I would’ve developed one!’
Immortal Path team: “…”
What kind of mental state was Shen Xiu even in, clapping like that?
Hmm