After Tan You returned to her seat, Old Qi chuckled. "Congratulations, big-shot screenwriter."

Tan You was very composed. "I wouldn’t go that far. It’s just an empty title."

After the awards ceremony ended, people began to leave one by one. It was already past two in the morning, yet the entertainment reporters outside hadn’t dispersed. If anything, their numbers were growing.

With every award announced, the news was transmitted in real time outside the venue, and online articles were updated almost instantly. This was the case both abroad and back home.

The more awards *Cellblock Overlord* won, the more certain people back home lost face. But who had time to worry about their feelings? Everyone was busy celebrating the night’s results.

At the same time, state media also released a congratulatory message, clearly showing their support for Tan You. After all, while Chinese directors had been nominated in the past, the only ones to actually take home a trophy were, to this day, the members of Tan You’s crew.

And it wasn’t just one—they were practically sweeping the awards.

Of course, Tan You and her team, being abroad, were oblivious to the celebrations back home. As they were leaving the venue, they were stopped by Zhu Lin.

Tan You said, "I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Zhu Lin’s gaze swept over the trophies clutched in their arms, and a broad smile lit up her face. "As long as the results are this good, any wait is worth it. Sister Wen, would you be available for an exclusive interview right now?"

Tan You was amused. "I’m just a behind-the-scenes worker. Everyone here is more famous than I am. I think their interviews would be far more newsworthy."

Zhu Lin smiled. "Sister Wen, you’re being too modest. I have colleagues here with me. I’d like to arrange an exclusive interview with you—the sooner, the better, of course."

Tan You glanced over and saw that the main cast had already been nabbed by the reporters who came with Zhu Lin, and they were all speaking in hushed tones.

Tan You sighed in resignation. "Let’s head back to the hotel, then. This isn’t the right place to talk."

Zhu Lin hadn’t expected Tan You to be so direct. She agreed at once. "Great. We can talk as we walk."

In fact, the interview had already started the moment Tan You agreed. On the way back to the hotel, Zhu Lin asked many questions about the production process, details that were unknown to the public.

Eventually, Zhu Lin began asking about Tan You’s personal life and experiences, such as whether she would ever return to the big screen and what her future work plans were.

Tan You had nothing to hide. "My most recent plan is to focus on running my company. I don’t worry much about the film sets; having time to drop by and see how things are going is enough..."

"The script? Oh, I’ve already given it to Director Qi..."

"It’s not that I have a lot of scripts on hand. It’s just that everyone spent the last few years honing their craft, so a lot of good scripts got stockpiled. Good screenplays are rare, and I genuinely don’t have any more in my reserves right now."

Zhu Lin was surprised. "Sister Wen, you’re truly talented. How did you manage to write a screenplay like *Cellblock Overlord*? From what I understand, it’s not the kind of work someone could create without having gone through certain experiences."

Tan You thought for a moment. "Perhaps it’s because I’ve had similar experiences. After seeing the highs and lows of human nature, I realized that in the end, the only person who can save you is yourself. That’s how this work came to be. Of course, I also spent a lot of time polishing and refining the script."

"It’s really not like Wan Yi said, where inspiration is a constant, endless flood."

Zhu Lin smiled and moved on from the topic. "Sister Wen, you started out as an actress yourself. Do you think you’ll ever be active in front of the camera again?"

"Probably not," Tan You said after a moment’s thought. "I prefer my life as it is now. Besides, running a company takes a lot of time and effort. It’s hard enough to do just one thing well in a lifetime."

"But you do more than just one thing well," Zhu Lin said, flipping through her notebook. "Your script won for Best Screenplay, your company is thriving, and you dance very well. You’re truly incredible."

Tan You held up her hands. "No matter how good a script is, you need people to film and act it out. Otherwise, it’s just a few silent lines of text. The awards we won are the result of our complementary efforts, not just one person’s work."

Zhu Lin countered, "But you can’t deny that you’re the source."

Tan You didn’t deny it. "That’s true, but the film is the fruit of everyone’s hard work. It doesn’t belong to me alone."

The conversation with Zhu Lin went on for two hours. Tan You never felt tense or offended; on the contrary, she found the experience quite pleasant. Zhu Lin was a host with real substance, and her conversation revealed a deep cultural knowledge.

"We should get tea sometime," Tan You said. "I have very few friends in the industry. To be honest, I was a little surprised to see you here."

Zhu Lin shook Tan You’s hand. "I’ve been following your career for the past few years. I wanted to see how it would all turn out."

Tan You smiled. "I wouldn’t call this the end. We’ll have new and even better films in the future."

Zhu Lin beamed. "Good. As long as I’m still a host who can conduct interviews, I’ll be sure to cover you every single time you attend an awards ceremony in the future."

Seeing that their interview was over, Sister Li quickly arranged for someone to bring over the breakfast she had ordered earlier. It was already dawn, and only then did Tan You realize just how long she and Zhu Lin had been talking.

Sister Li said, "The others finished their interviews a long time ago, but nobody wanted to go to sleep. They all wanted to celebrate with you."

"You should have gone to bed," Tan You said. "There was no need to wait up for me."

Hu Yi sidled up to Tan You. "No way! I haven’t even gotten my celebratory hug from Sister Wen yet. We can go back to our rooms and rest after breakfast. Sister Wen, when are we heading home?"

Tan You looked to Sister Li, who was looking right back at her. Tan You mulled it over. "If no one’s too tired, let’s just head back early. I’m really not used to being abroad. I’ve been here for almost two months, and I’m completely sick of the food."

"But if you all want to stay and sightsee for a few days, I don’t mind. Director Qi’s crew hasn’t started setting up yet, anyway."

Director Qi pushed his glasses up his nose. "That’s right. I still need to go location scouting, so the production won’t start for a while. Besides, I have to study the script. Don’t you all need to prepare?"

Hu Yi pouted. "We do. I was hoping to go sightseeing and take some photos with Sister Wen. Oh well, what a shame."

Tan You pinched the bridge of her nose. "I’m really not in the mood for that. I just want to go home right now. Sister Li, how about booking my flight for tonight? The rest of you can return in a few days. I need to go home and properly recharge."

Hu Yi said, "In that case, I’ll go back with Sister Wen. It’s no fun being out here by myself."

Wan Yi yawned. "Alright, let’s go rest after we eat. Sister Li, could you book our tickets, too?"

Before Sister Li could say a word, the actors’ manager spoke up. "You all just focus on getting some rest. I can take care of booking tickets and arranging for cars. There’s no need to trouble Sister Li. Her hands are full just taking care of Sister Wen."