Chapter 25: The Award Ceremony Begins, Su Chang Wins an Award

After hanging up the phone, he started dialing again.

He made five consecutive calls before finally stopping.

Looking at Li Yue's curious gaze, the editor-in-chief said, "I'm calling our friends in Venice to have them quickly find the crew of *Cheng Sheng* to take some photos and send them back. Once the photos arrive, we'll upload them online immediately along with the article."

"Got it, boss," Li Yue said excitedly.

"Xiao Yue, go get ready right now. First, prepare the press releases for the Best Actor and Best Actress; find the actors' profiles immediately. Second, prepare the press release for *Cheng Sheng*—I don't need to teach you how to praise it, do I? It would be best if you could get detailed information about his time at the Central Academy of Drama; that way, we can discuss the matter based on facts."

Li Yue nodded and took notes as she listened.

"Once those two preparations are made, don't rush to report. Wait until the Venice awards are confirmed tomorrow, then release everything to me at the first possible moment."

September 11th.

It was the closing ceremony of the Venice Film Festival.

The film crews able to attend the closing ceremony were all those that had been selected for the main competition unit. Those that hadn't been selected were basically selling their films; after selling them, most people flew home, leaving only a small fraction to stay for the awards.

The closing ceremony also featured a red carpet, but this time it was different. People could linger on the red carpet longer, and there were dedicated photo and interview areas.

It was entirely an opportunity for the film crews and actors to showcase themselves and gain fame.

Cheng Sheng walked at the very front with the female lead, Su Chang. Behind them were the main stars like Zheng Guolin and Fu Dalong. As for the coal bosses, they did not walk the red carpet.

Su Chang wore a pale yellow, modified Hanfu. The pleated design at the waist accentuated her curves, making the overall look more striking and giving her a sense of girlish playfulness.

As the female lead of the film, Su Chang played the young Empress Zhangsun. She had portrayed the wisdom and youthful mischief of Empress Zhangsun to perfection in the movie.

Holding Su Chang's icy hand, Cheng Sheng felt speechless. He hadn't expected Su Chang to be just like Zeng Li—prioritizing style over temperature.

*Sigh!*

Being a female star was truly not easy. Not only did they have to maintain their figures and attend various major events, but no matter how cold the weather was, they had to wear revealing, figure-hugging gowns. It was truly a hardship.

After walking the red carpet, they proceeded to sign autographs on the movie posters on the wall.

Cheng Sheng simply signed the character "Cheng," while Su Chang's signature was incredibly smooth, clearly showing she had practiced it.

Then came the signatures of the others.

Next was the photo area, where they accepted photos from media outlets from various countries.

"Cheng!"

"Su Chang!"

"Guangyang!"

"Mingshili!"

"..."

During the photo session, many photographers were actually shouting the names of the attendees, clearly having seen the film.

Su Chang was a bit stiff while posing for photos, whereas Zeng Li was quite poised, striking various poses and modeling.

Although the other actresses were also somewhat reserved, they didn't want to miss the chance to become famous, so they tried their best to showcase their beauty.

For a moment, the actresses of the entire crew were competing to outshine one another.

Fifteen minutes later.

The group finally finished the red carpet.

Cheng Sheng couldn't help but glance at Su Chang, whose face was as red as a boiled egg from the cold, and asked, "Are you cold?"

Su Chang's small mouth trembled a few times, but she didn't make a sound. However, her grip on Cheng Sheng's hand tightened significantly, making her feelings clear. She blinked her eyes while looking at him.

Seeing Su Chang's pitiful state, Cheng Sheng quickly led her into the theater and found the crew's seats. The coal bosses had already arrived and were seated there ahead of them.

Under the enthusiastic calls of the coal bosses, Cheng Sheng sat in the middle of them, while Su Chang sat nearby with Zeng Li and the others.

While Cheng Sheng chatted with the coal bosses with a forced smile, he felt utterly helpless.

These coal bosses were far too enthusiastic; if there hadn't been no alcohol here, he might have ended up drunk.

However, he could understand. After all, they had stolen the spotlight this time. They had even accepted interviews from CCTV reporters earlier; if that were broadcast on *Xinwen Lianbo*, they would be able to open a new page in their family trees when they returned to their hometowns.

People entered the crew area one after another and took their respective seats.

Once everyone had arrived, the President of the Venice Film Festival Jury took the stage to give the opening remarks, and the jury members made their collective appearance.

As the youngest jury member, Scarlett was quite playful, actually winking secretly at Cheng Sheng's crew from the stage.

A signal.

Cheng Sheng received a message: his movie was definitely going to win an award.

Previously, Scarlett hadn't revealed any information, but since the awards were about to be presented, even if Scarlett gave him a signal, others wouldn't say anything even if they understood.

There were many procedures in the film festival. Besides the main competition unit, there were various other units, such as awards for short films. Only after those were presented did the awards for the main competition unit begin.

The Bresson Award was given to Wim Wenders.

The International Critics Award went to Kim Ki-duk's *Empty Room* and Vincent Marone's *Windshakes*.

After that came the Digital Awards and the Horizons Awards, and finally, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, which was awarded to American director Stallone and Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira.

With these awards concluded, the heavy-hitting awards were next.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the entire theater changed, as this was the environment everyone looked forward to most and the most important moment.

The host first spoke a long string of nonsense, which Cheng Sheng couldn't understand anyway.

Then, the first award began to be presented—the Best Newcomer Award.

"The winner of Best New Actress is, Su Chang, for *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins*."

Su Chang had won!

The entire *Great Tang* crew was stunned.

Amidst the applause, everyone looked toward Cheng Sheng's side, and Su Chang stood up, her face flushed with excitement.

Cheng Sheng frowned slightly. Although it was a great start, if Su Chang won Best Newcomer, she likely wouldn't win Best Actress.

He felt secretly sorry for her.

After all, Su Chang had indeed worked very hard in his film, and with the added boost of the "Immersive Experience," there was no problem with Su Chang winning Best Actress.

However, being able to win an award in Venice was a form of validation for her.

After returning to the country, Su Chang's career would likely develop even better than in the original timeline!

After excitedly shaking hands with the crew members, Su Chang went up to the stage to receive the award.

After receiving the award, it was time for her acceptance speech.

Although Su Chang was a bit nervous, fortunately, she had prepared in advance. She stumbled through her speech in English, and the first person she thanked was Cheng Sheng, followed by the crew, her friends, and family.

Back in China.

On the set of *Palace of Light*.

At this moment, no one was filming on the set; everyone was gathered around a radio, listening to the Venice awards ceremony.

When he heard that Su Chang had won Best Newcomer, Director Chang's whole body tensed up, then he clenched his fists, unable to hold back the smile on his face.

"Haha, great! Changchang won an award, great!" Director Chang laughed loudly.