Caught in Affairs with Superstar

Chapter 335: Chapter 290: Rising Period: 126

At the filming site of the new episode of ”Geology Talk,” during a break in shooting, several regular guests gathered to chat and brought up Zhou Yun.

”It’s not that easy.” Su Yan scoffed, ”It’s all just publicity stunts by her team.”

”Isn’t the word of mouth very good?” Liu Haiyu said, ”Even the Film Festival Chairman said in an interview that her performance was outstanding.”

Su Yan folded her arms in front of her chest, smiled and said, ”Have you ever heard the Chairman say anyone’s performance was bad? As a host, when being asked about Zhou Yun’s acting in an interview, of course, he has to praise her. Now if journalists come and ask me what I think of Zhou Yun’s acting, could I possibly say that she’s bad?”

Liu Haiyu chuckled and said, ”That’s true. Even in the Horizons Unit, Best Actress is not easy to win.”

”This kind of press release praising her acting, those fans might be fooled not knowing any better, but how could you all not know? It’s clearly a message put out by Zhou Yun’s team to create hype for her. By the time she doesn’t win an award later, nobody cares anymore, but the impression of her good acting has already been set.” Su Yan said.

Wei Chen: ”How is Zhou Yun’s acting really? I’ve heard several people commenting, saying she has talent and acts well.”

Su Yan curled the corners of her mouth, saying, ”It’s just so-so. If she’s so talented, why doesn’t Director Kang Xin let her pass a scene in one take? She always does several takes every time.”

Everyone knew Su Yan’s attitude towards Zhou Yun, so no one contradicted her.

Anyway, such things are subjective.

”It’s just her first movie, a low-budget art film, and she got lucky to go to Venice.” Su Yan sighed. ”Some people have luck, unlike us, who have worked for many years and still linger domestically.”

Liu Haiyu thought that it was not about others being lucky.

If such a low-budget art film had approached Su Yan, he didn’t think Su Yan would have taken it.

An actress of Su Yan’s caliber, unless it’s a famous director, why would she take on an art film by a new director?

Just then, they heard a staff member next to them exclaim.

”Zhou Yun won an award!”

”Yuehai Media has announced that Zhou Yun won Best Actress in the Horizons Unit!”

”Did she really get it?!”

These exclamations reached their ears.

Liu Haiyu’s first reaction was to look at Su Yan’s reaction.

One glance, and Su Yan’s entire face darkened.

The words she had just said seemed like slaps smacking her own face.

...

Yuehai Media was the first media outlet to send the news back to China.

The first people to see this message reacted with ”Is it true?” But then, more and more media outlets began to release the news.

The internet erupted.

Unlike Venice, the reputation and affection earned by ”Life” were actually not something that people in China could immediately and authentically feel. Yao Yuanfeng and his team could directly gauge everyone’s attitude through conversations with other festival participants, international media journalists, and critics, but people in China could not.

Most could only learn about some related news through bits and pieces reported by the media.

Before the final results were in, Chengqian Entertainment chose not to heavily promote it, to avoid a potential loss of face later on.

More importantly, before the results were out, only film fans, celebrity fans, or media bloggers would follow the developments; the general public rarely cared about the process.

So, when the news reached China, it created a shockwave.

Everyone knew that Zhou Yun had been frequently updating her status in Venice, appearing on hot searches. This was a very routine operation, and those who frequently surfed the internet were already used to seeing celebrity marketing updates from time to time. They subconsciously lumped Zhou Yun into that category - the category of stars who hadn’t acted in much, but were still popular.

Under such a preliminary impression, Zhou Yun suddenly won a prestigious Best Actress award, giving everyone a huge surprise.

...

”Zhou Yun, who has only debuted for three years and is starring in her first film, won Best Actress in the Venice International Film Festival’s Horizons Unit. Before her, Chinese actresses have won Best Actress in the main competition, but she is the first to win Best Actress in the Horizons Unit.”

”After the premiere of ’Life’ at the Venice International Film Festival, Zhou Yun’s performance received unanimous praise. Previously, Wan Ke, the chairman of the Venice International Film Festival, commented in an interview that Zhou Yun delivered an outstanding performance. At the opening ceremony, Wan Ke also showed a uniquely warm and enthusiastic appreciation for Zhou Yun. Now it seems that Mr. Wan must have already seen ’Life,’ which is why he had that close conversation with Zhou Yun during the opening ceremony.”

”Who would have thought that when ’Eighth Heartbeat’ was broadcast back in March, Zhou Yun was criticized for the film being a box office bomb.”

”Those who ridiculed Zhou Yun for downgrading her resources and filming a low-budget film, are they getting slapped in the face now? Indeed, Zhou Yun has leveraged this low-budget film, once ridiculed by many, to become the first Chinese actress to win Best Actress in the Venice International Film’s Horizons Unit!”

...

A single stone caused a thousand ripples.

Various opinions bubbled up like boiling water.

Everyone had their own feelings.

Xu Siyao walked into Chengqian Entertainment Company’s building, seeing everyone bustling through the building as if on fire wheels.

Because of Zhou Yun’s award, everyone’s phones and calls were ringing off the hook.

Interviews, program recordings, business, film, and other various invites came snowing down into the building.

Almost no one noticed her, which was the first time since she became popular.

Her assistant whispered, ”Yaoyao, let’s go upstairs.”

Xu Siyao’s face was shrouded in shadow, as if she hadn’t heard her assistant’s words.

Watching the scene before her, her fingertips dug into her palm.

Once again, she had been disregarded.

Earlier this year, she entered the public eye with the label ”Little Zhou Yun,” with her fame and reputation growing inversely.

No one likes to be second to others, and she was no exception.

Whenever she was ignored, this feeling spread like weeds.

Like a hand, gripping her heart tightly.

”Where are you lacking compared to her?” A voice in her heart incessantly asked.

Xu Siyao took a deep breath, put on the sunglasses she had taken off before entering again, and said expressionlessly, ”Let’s go.”

Her assistant followed closely.

It wasn’t until they were in the elevator and the doors closed, with only the two of them in the confined space, that Xu Siyao finally bit her lip, revealing a hint of jealousy from the depths of her heart.