The Film Festival

The public was still buzzing about the cast of Painted Skin. Some guessed it would be the talented Miss Xu and Gao Yuanyuan, since both had been romantically linked to Wei Jin;

Some guessed Liu Yifei, since certain directors preferred working with the same actors;

Some guessed Fan Bingbing, because Wei Jin had publicly declared at an audition that Fan Bingbing was too beautiful;

In short, rumors both true and false were flying everywhere, and entertainment newspaper sales had risen considerably...

Wei Jin paid the public chatter no mind. He was attending the Beijing College Student Film Festival.

When Teacher Jiang had called a couple of days earlier, she had brought it up in passing. Wei Jin was a student director, yet his Berlin award-winning film from last year had somehow failed to participate in the College Student Film Festival. Wasn't that a slap in the face for the organizers? This time, no matter what, she had to make him attend, or she wouldn't let him pass his final exam.

He hadn't attended last year because he really had been busy setting up an overseas company to participate in the UEFA European Championship. He hadn't even entered. How could a film festival possibly compare in importance?

This year, Wei Jin truly hadn't planned to attend either. He was a Silver Bear-winning director now. Wouldn't entering a student film festival be bullying the competition?

To put it bluntly, awards from a film festival with so little prestige only attracted directors who had never won anything and wanted to get a little shine, like Feng Dapao.

But who would have expected Teacher Jiang to put it so strongly? Wei Jin had been in the industry long enough to know some of its twists and turns, so he agreed.

At this festival, Those Years had received six nominations, including best feature film, best director, best visual presentation, best actor, best actress, and the jury prize. Qiao Zhenyu and Liu Yifei had therefore both come. For them, this was a rare opportunity.

Wei Jin had little interest in walking the red carpet. He went ahead alone, itching to run into the venue.

Liu Yifei and Qiao Zhenyu followed a little farther behind, walking very slowly and waving to the crowd on all sides. And sure enough, plenty of fans shouted out their characters' names. The two of them beamed and struck poses for the media's cameras.

Once inside, Wei Jin headed straight for the seats reserved for the production team. He had no intention of moving his butt for the rest of the evening, except to accept awards.

Before long, Liu Yifei and Qiao Zhenyu came in too. They looked around, then sat down on either side of Wei Jin. They were one production team, after all, so naturally they had to stay together.

"Brother Wei Jin, do you think I can win an award today?"

Liu Yifei was wearing a white shirt with its collar standing up, paired with dark red leather pants. The outfit was unbelievably tacky, but her face was alight with excitement.

"Did you put that outfit together yourself? Next time, you should let your mother do it."

Wei Jin mercilessly attacked the girl's taste, earning a roll of her eyes. Then he spoke again, delivering the finishing blow.

"As for winning an award, keep dreaming. Don't you know how good your own acting is?"

"You're so mean! I'll fight you..."

Liu Yifei bared her teeth and brandished her claws, her face full of displeasure.

Wei Jin promptly subdued the girl, who was not yet eighteen. After spending so much time with her, he had found her genuinely quite innocent. A personality like hers really wasn't suited to the entertainment industry.

In her previous life, she had played a heavenly winning hand terribly. Her own personality might well have been one of the reasons. But she was so widely known among the public that, as the saying went, her health bar was incredibly thick. Now that Wei Jin had stacked another layer of the "nation's first love" buff on her, he wondered whether she would still follow the same path as in her previous life.

The two laughed and played around like that, while Qiao Zhenyu sat quietly beside them. Anyone who saw him would have to say, "What a quiet, handsome man."

As time passed, the other production teams filed in, and stars from all corners of the industry began circulating and socializing.

"Director Wei, Yifei, hello. Long time no see."

Wei Jin turned to look. It was Huang Xiaoming.

Besides film production teams, the Beijing College Student Film Festival also presented awards for television dramas, so Huang Xiaoming and the team behind The Return of the Condor Heroes had been invited as well.

"Hello, Brother Xiaoming. I haven't had a chance to thank you for looking after Yifei on set. Otherwise, I might be one leading lady short today."

Wei Jin responded with a smile. As for the thanks, during the filming of The Return of the Condor Heroes, a problem with a prop had caused Liu Yifei to accidentally fall into the water during a scene.

There had been a waterfall not far away, and if she had gone over it, she might have been GG on the spot. At the critical moment, Huang Xiaoming had grabbed Liu Yifei, saving her life.

Liu Yifei had told Wei Jin about it later over the phone.

"You're too kind, Director Wei. Any man would have stepped in under those circumstances."

Huang Xiaoming looked modest, as though he really hadn't taken it to heart.

"It was a small effort for you, but you saved her life. Brother Xiaoming, you're a good man. We should work together when there's an opportunity."

Wei Jin had gained a firsthand impression of Huang Xiaoming's character. In his previous life, apart from ridicule over Huang Xiaoming's wildly inconsistent acting, he hadn't heard much dirt about him. He was worth getting to know. At least up until Wei Jin's death, Huang Xiaoming's reputation hadn't collapsed.

Hearing Wei Jin's earnest words, Huang Xiaoming knew he had truly caught his eye this time.

"You flatter me, Director Wei. I'd love nothing more than to work with you. Just call on me whenever you need me."

Even under these circumstances, Huang Xiaoming didn't ask about Painted Skin. He really knew how to conduct himself. After all, the cast list hadn't been announced yet, and everyone still thought they had a chance.

Liu Yifei soon joined in, and the three of them chatted. Before long, the awards ceremony was about to begin, and Huang Xiaoming returned to his seat.

After a stretch of dull formalities, the awards ceremony officially began.

The best feature film award went to Dunzi's Story. Wei Jin hadn't seen it, so he couldn't comment.

Best director went to Those Years. What a joke—a youth film that had broken the hundred-million mark, directed by a Silver Bear winner. If they hadn't given it the award, there would have been something shady going on.

The jury prize went to three films: Kekexili, Zhang Side, and Those Years.

The organizing committee award went to three films: Silent Mountains, Please Praise Me, and The Gunman.

Two triple-yolk eggs in a row were standard practice at major domestic film festivals.

The best actress award went to Zhang Jinchu, the actress who had been collectively blacklisted by a group of directors' wives. The film that won her the award this time was, surprisingly, a comedy, something she herself had never expected.

The best actor award went to Xia Yu. His strongest competitor for the prize was Big Brother Cheng, but unfortunately, Big Brother Cheng narrowly lost to the Venice best actor winner.

Best debut feature went to Waiting Alone by new director Wu Shixian.

Best visual presentation went to A World Without Thieves. Feng Dapao finally didn't go home empty-handed from this year's festival.

Best newcomer went to two new actors, Yang Zi and Feng Jiaqi. But afterward, neither seemed to have produced any particularly outstanding work. That was the entertainment industry: without work to keep up your popularity, you never knew when you'd become a person no one could find.

Those Years had received six nominations in total and ended up with two awards, which wasn't bad. Wei Jin had already made up his mind that if they didn't give him an award, he wouldn't attend again. Fortunately, the judges weren't that unreasonable.

What came as more of a surprise was the online voting: Wei Jin won the award for director most popular with college students, and even Liu Yifei won the award for actress most popular with college students. She was overjoyed. When she went onstage to give her thanks, she kept grinning foolishly, looking quite silly.

Wei Jin went onstage three times in total, repeating the same words of thanks over and over. He didn't leave out anyone he was supposed to thank, but by the end, even he didn't know what he was saying.

The last time he went onstage, Wei Jin pulled a slick move.

"Thank you to all the college students for your recognition. I'm still a third-year university student myself, so I believe I have a better understanding of young people's tastes and interests.

"I don't usually advertise, unless a film is especially good.

"Crazy Stone, carefully produced by the Wei Jin Fengliu Film and Television Company, will officially open on July 15. I guarantee it's really good.

"Say important things three times: July 15, Stone, good..."

Wei Jin had used his acceptance speech to promote Ning Hao's new film, leaving the industry professionals in attendance exclaiming, "Holy shit!"

The next day, Wei Jin's slick move at the film festival made the front-page headlines of the entertainment papers, and Crazy Stone became a hit before its release.