The Best Actor Insists On Living With Me!-Chapter 1653 - 1643: Awards Ceremony (Part 2)

Bo Yan’s premonition wasn’t wrong; it was indeed around the time of shooting the reality show.

Receiving the notification didn’t mean they had to go immediately; after all, the artists needed some buffer time. Generally, when signing up, there would already be a sense of whether one could be shortlisted, and once officially notified, it would be more than half a month before the final award ceremony.

During this half-month period, Xia Siyu took on two commercial deals and also connected with Director Yu to prepare for her next film. In this film, she had to play an ugly character—originally, she could do this without makeup, but Xia Siyu is stunning even without makeup, just not as glamorous, which didn’t quite suit the role. So, Director Yu suggested she appear more unattractive, which she agreed to.

In all her films, she is always beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Even if the audience isn’t tired of it, she herself is weary of this beauty aesthetic. She doesn’t stress over whether she’s beautiful or ugly, because regardless, the audience isn’t blind; it’s obvious without proof.

The problem is, she doesn’t want everyone’s focus to be on whether she’s beautiful or ugly. Pretending to be unattractive is just a gimmick, but what truly attracts people is the characterization and the story itself. She wants to make the unattractiveness worthwhile, instead of tricking people into theaters only to have them write grumbling bad reviews afterward.

With both reality shows and film distractions, Xia Siyu wouldn’t put all her thoughts on the awards. In fact, she was already clear that the possibility of winning an award this time was very low. No, it should be said, not just this time. Influenced by last year’s criticisms, this year’s films —one being "Youth 2," which was submitted for the Golden Phoenix, but the chances of winning were slim. Then there’s Director Ji’s film. For this one, it’s not just the Golden Moon that’s out of reach, but it’s equally difficult for Gold Oscar or Golden Phoenix. After all, it’s a commercial-leaning film with no protective measures for foreign films, so competing with all of China’s films is highly challenging.

This year’s round of the three awards can be considered wasted. Next year, whether Director Sun’s "Spring Light," Bo Yan’s "Sunrise," Director Ji’s "Divine Catcher," and Wang Ju’s just-completed "Overthrows the Country and the City" can be released is unknown. If they can’t even be released, they won’t be eligible for awards, let alone get shortlisted for film awards.

But these are really not things that human effort can accomplish. Every year, even big directors might have films held back, let alone these.

Xia Siyu has come to terms with it; she’s ready to lose the competition. But even if at thirty she hasn’t won mainstream awards, that doesn’t mean her life afterward will be despondent.

She loves performing, she is passionate about acting; it’s part of her work and her whole pursuit. A momentary failure only motivates her to work harder. After all, in her past eight years of work, she’s had two low points and several peaks; she’s seen it all.

Admitting defeat is admitting defeat. Although Shang Feifei’s second award with "Storm" is somewhat questionable, her first trophy was indeed earned through hard work. Opportunities don’t favor the unprepared. She at least has the foundation to dare compete with herself. If she can truly surpass her mother and win more awards with her own legitimate efforts, she would be congratulated.

But Xia Siyu still decided to give it a try. Last year, when attending the Golden Phoenix ceremony, she was in a low phase, and the designer she had been friends with didn’t dare to lend her a dress. She spent nearly a million to buy a new piece to proudly wear to the awards. But this year, with her rise, the designer, who had once been on good terms with her, lent her the dress after a greeting.

If she weren’t attending the Golden Moon Awards abroad, she’d prefer wearing Chen Fan’s traditional style clothing. But the Golden Moon Awards are famous for their Europe and America trendiness. Since she’s going to their award ceremony, she must adapt to local customs. Even if she doesn’t win this year, she’s laying the foundation; someday, she’ll surely hold that little golden statue.

**

On the weekend, the third episode of the first season of the dating reality show aired.

The dating reality show is divided into three seasons, with four episodes each, totaling twelve episodes. The first and second seasons have already been recorded. Based on timing, this episode happens to feature each pair of guests giving each other "love gifts."

Ever since the dating reality show officially announced Xia Siyu and Bo Yan, the show has taken a wrong turn. In previous seasons, audiences watched couples sprinkle sweetness, whether forced or accidental, or showing post-marriage conflicts and little squabbles. In any case, it was all about relationships between lovers.

But since Xia Siyu’s teaser clip, where she instantly skewed the rhythm as a "bootlicker," in the first season, audiences harshly criticized her laziness, her caprice, and her disrespect for the male guest. In the second season, they began noticing her quirky saving methods and even speculated about what happened during that night of the power outage.

This episode opens with a bang, with Xia Siyu reaching a new realm of stinginess. If not for the production team’s desperate intervention, she would have probably finished off that oatmeal. The yogurt in the fridge was also depleted. Then, Bo Yan prepared multiple different dishes with a single chicken. Not only was Xia Siyu amazed, but even the TV audiences marveled.

Honestly, there was nothing particularly special about his chicken-cutting skills, and many chefs or seasoned cooks could do it. The issue is: he is Bo Yan.

Bo Yan is consistently seen as a cool, aloof male god, deep and gentle but never a joker. Yet this time, besides becoming Xia Siyu’s "bootlicker," he also transformed into a "Chinese Little Master Chef." Naturally, Xia Siyu’s criticized habit of "not doing chores" changed too—she started washing dishes. One cooks, the other cleans—it’s harmonious now.

Then it was evening.

To be honest, watching other couples busily prepare "gifts," some visiting the beach with heart-shaped candles and fireworks. Some lavishly rented drones and prepared a piano. Others were more practical, reserving the highest revolving restaurant for a romantic candlelight dinner. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Meanwhile, Xia Siyu was napping. Yes, she was napping again. She napped for an entire afternoon, with no preparations whatsoever. And Bo Yan? He went out, then back into the kitchen to chop radishes for a long time.

How to describe this group, they perfectly illustrate the saying: the Emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is. To be honest, watching other couples busily prepare "gifts," some visiting the beach with heart-shaped candles and fireworks. Some lavishly rented drones and prepared a piano. Others were more practical, reserving the highest revolving restaurant for a romantic candlelight dinner.

Meanwhile, Xia Siyu was napping. Yes, she was napping again. She napped for an entire afternoon, with no preparations whatsoever. And Bo Yan? He went out, then back into the kitchen to chop radishes for a long time.

How to describe this group, they perfectly illustrate the saying: the Emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is.