Chapter 229: This Is Bullying An Honest Guy
“Thank you everyone, thank you.”
After Yu Wei finished his award-winning gratitude speech, he calmly stepped down from the stage. The trophy for the best Golden Melody Award was quite different from the other minor awards; it looked more exquisite and weighed quite a bit more.
Looking at the several trophies beside him, he was slightly lost in thought. Today had gone too smoothly; he got every award he was supposed to, and even two he wasn’t supposed to were shoved his way.
Of course, smooth sailing was a good thing.
Mediocrity was the norm in life. Today’s smoothness was because every step he took before had counted.
Now he had become an existence in the music scene that no one would provoke—not because they couldn’t afford to, but because there was no need.
Even those who truly disliked him would consider his fame and public appeal, greeting him with smiles and applause. They’d have to endure it even if they couldn’t stand him.
That’s how it should be. Where do all these blind villains come from?
Yu Wei didn’t have persecution delusions. Today, he just needed to obediently collect his awards.
The music awards ceremony didn’t have clear segments, but the major awards were arranged quite dispersedly. After the Golden Melody Award, the awards started balancing things out again. The only one with any gold content in between was a group award, which had nothing to do with Yu Wei.
When it came to the performance interlude segment, he unusually perked up a bit, because the ones performing on stage were Tong Yulu and her girl group.
Yu Wei was ready to nitpick, but they danced surprisingly well. After all, they’d been dancing together for years; they couldn’t be that bad.
Not everyone was like him…
“What are you looking at, kid?”
Accompanied by a cough, Ye Shengyu directly reached over and patted him, his expression unusually serious.
What’s wrong with me?
Yu Wei belatedly realized: this Old Deng was probably being protective. He was just watching a girl group dance, not eyeing the pot while eating from the bowl.
Besides, he hadn’t even gotten to eat his own Qi Luo An yet. This old geezer was wicked, not even letting him look.
Domestic girl group dances were still pretty proper anyway. Looking wouldn’t hurt…
What shocked Yu Wei even more came next. After patting him, Ye Shengyu didn’t withdraw his hand but casually rested it on the seat back in between.
After a pause, he stopped even pretending and directly slid it down to drape over Teacher Zhong Qing’s shoulder.
???
Yu Wei seemed to have glimpsed some long-buried scandal. No, veteran artists played this game too?
Ye Old Deng actually had the nerve to call him out. Clearly an old lecher.
These two obviously had a story. Who hasn’t been young? The veteran artist was a bold and passionate figure in his youth. So what if he got ambiguous in old age?
“Cough cough.”
Zhong Qing didn’t indulge him at all. She gave him a white-eyed glare and dodged directly. Only after Ye Shengyu retracted his hand did he awkwardly look around.
Not many people noticed them. Even if they saw, they’d pretend not to. The only one who saw the whole thing up close was Yu Wei.
“Ignore him; he’s like that.”
Zhong Qing’s old face clearly reddened as she proactively teased Yu Wei with a couple lines to defuse the awkwardness.
The other old guys knew full well about this sort of thing. He still dared to do it with a young person sitting next to him today. Disrespectful in old age—he didn’t care about his face, but she did…
Ye Shengyu didn’t take it to heart, acting as if nothing had happened.
Yu Wei didn’t dare say anything reckless and could only awkward laugh twice before turning back to the stage. Embarrassing, Old Ye—taking advantage of an old lady and failing at it. How did such a handsome old man come off a bit like a loser?
The girl group’s performance on stage just happened to curtain call. The host came back on to start the next round of award ceremony.
Yu Wei knew right away it had nothing to do with him, as it was the female singer section. The first one up was Annual Most Popular Female Singer.
The Most Popular award actually had quite a bit of gold content; it had nothing to do with strength. Popularity was value in itself for a star.
Among the nominated female singers, Yu Wei knew Shen Yutong; he wasn’t familiar with the other three.
“Congratulations, Lu Li.”
Yu Wei joined in the applause, but inwardly sighed it was a pity. Shen Yutong had good public appeal, but unfortunately didn’t market much.
In the entertainment industry, you still needed marketing. Organizers awarded based on commercial value too. Stars winning awards, whether posting on Weibo or trending on search, generated buzz and promotion for the event.
For someone quiet like Shen Yutong, the organizers’ willingness to award her was definitely low. Classics done right didn’t beat ones reported well.
Yu Wei had never interacted with Lu Li, but he’d heard of her. When writing real-life songs into the novel back then, he’d planned to write about Lu Li at first.
But later he heard “Lychee” had strong combat power, so he dropped it.
She was a pretty strong musician, a popularity singer since her talent show debut, and willing to hustle everywhere. She had both traffic and strength—a singer with both, sitting in the second row.
Lu Li clearly was an old jianghu hand. Before giving her award-winning gratitude speech, she clutched her chest pretending to be excited, though her mouth couldn’t hide the smile.
Her gratitude speech was emotionally sincere, thanking fans’ support three times in a row. No wonder her fan stickiness was so strong.
Pandering to fans was a required course for stars nowadays. Nothing wrong with pleasing fans; better than lording over them.
Yu Wei glanced back at Shen Yutong in the third row and saw no unusual reaction from her; she’d reverted to that apathetic energy-saving state.
These things probably weren’t important to her. She made music without fighting or grabbing—pure to an absurd degree.
The next Annual Best Female Singer was similar; the nominees were still the four of them. But Shen Yutong had a shot at this one.
Among these four singers, Shen Yutong had three new songs this year, all of good quality. From a strength perspective, giving it to her was fine.
But the result went against wishes: Lu Li won again. Shen Yutong still showed no reaction. Winning awards was like fate—get it and good, lose it and no big deal.
She stayed composed, but Qi Luo An watching the live broadcast in the lounge was getting restless. She’d been hoping Yutong would snag a couple awards too. Why no chances at all?
She was a bit short on popularity, but her strength was publicly acknowledged. Not even that…
“If this award went to Shen Yutong, how many people do you think would cry foul for Lu Li?” Liu Ning sighed beside her.
“Probably just Lu Li’s fans. Yutong winning this would be well-deserved.”
“Then… vice versa?”
Qi Luo An was stunned. If Lu Li won, sure, fans would speak up for Shen Yutong, but hers weren’t as numerous—probably couldn’t out-argue.
Though Yutong had good public appeal, it was useless here. Netizens would just glance at the winner; whoever got it was fine.
Those fond of her might at most say “what a pity.” That was it.
“Organizers awarding isn’t always to satisfy the majority, but to minimize the dissatisfied as much as possible.”
This wasn’t black curtain, just choice. Organizers weren’t fools; whoever they gave it to, they’d pick the one less likely to get flak.
With so many awards in a year, some were bound to be controversial. Minimizing negative public opinion was the optimal solution.
Simply put, Shen Yutong’s fans were few and quiet—not giving it was fine. Lu Li’s fans were few but loud—if not given, they’d really make noise.
Plus, Lu Li had higher commercial value; organizers made more money. Fame and profit both—obvious choice, right?
“This is just bullying honest people.”
“That’s the entertainment industry.” Liu Ning patted Qi Luo An’s back to calm her. “If Yu Wei didn’t have his current influence, he’d get bullied too.”
Truth be told, Yu Wei before beating Chen Ping still wouldn’t easily get awards. Back then he had good works and high popularity, but no commercial value.
No one really counted on readers, netizens, or passersby to protect him. Public appeal only gilded the lily, couldn’t send coal in snow, and didn’t make money.
Good conscience was good, then what? Good reputation still meant bankruptcy if it came. Brands wanting profit needed marketing, fan-circling, and purification—same for stars.
Gamers knew: reputation had nothing to do with combat power.
Yu Wei one-shot the boss and max-leveled. Otherwise, his situation was similar to Shen Yutong’s.
Insiders knowing you had ability was useless; knowing you were not to be messed with was real.
Qi Luo An realized it made sense. Plus, Yutong herself wasn’t mad. If the emperor wasn’t anxious, why was she?
As long as Shen Yutong gave the order, she’d launch the offensive. Too bad this one was indifferent to fame and fortune.
Live broadcast audience saw it too: close-ups on the other three nominees clearly faked relaxation—they cared a ton.
But Shen Yutong’s little gaze was like she was just sightseeing. Only she truly didn’t care.
Good mindset meant you couldn’t be her fan—easy to die of anxiety…
Yu Wei admitted he didn’t have Shen Yutong’s mindset. He was the type who could do without, but couldn’t be denied. She truly didn’t care.
What could stir her emotions was probably only songs.
Lu Li smugly went on stage. This award affirmed her strength; fans could brag about it too—perfect for her taste.
This was the biggest award for female singers. The following minor awards were filler. Shen Yutong didn’t go empty-handed; she got Rising Singer.
Even Tong Yulu inexplicably snagged an award: Annual Trendy Singer. Sounded like small fry. In a sense, she did stir up winds and waves in the abstract realm.
“Next, we will present the Annual Best Female Voice Golden Melody.”
Also an annual Golden Melody, but this one specially added a prefix, greatly reducing gold content. Among the four selected songs, one was Shen Yutong’s “Facing the Sun.”
This was the one she wrote at the beginning of the year; she used it to compete in her own fake competition. Very high standard; Yu Wei liked it too.
This kind of minor award should…
“Congratulations, Lu Li, ‘Tracing the Source’.”
No matter then. Major awards given, minor ones naturally followed. At this point in the music awards ceremony, Lu Li’s haul nearly matched his own.
Not insignificant. Inner area favoritism, huh?
Yu Wei instinctively glanced back, thinking Shen Yutong would stay composed. Unexpectedly, her expression clearly changed this time—brows furrowed like she’d lost her soul.
Her otherworldly temperament paired with this resentful look was oddly attractive, but now wasn’t the time. Was there a problem with this song?
She’d ignored missing major awards; a minor one naturally wouldn’t faze her. Must be some other reason.
Zhong Qing seemed to notice Yu Wei’s confusion and explained: “Because it’s a chorus.”
A chorus naturally had a female voice, so it could pass, but whether “best” was debatable.
Organizers wanted to look good too. Mainly, Lu Li only had this one new song this year; couldn’t swap.
But this minor award could go to anyone, generally wouldn’t offend. Worst case, “Lychee” would debate scripture for it.
But Shen Yutong couldn’t stand this one.
Most Popular and Best Singer she didn’t care about—personal honors. Best Song might seem minor, but it was praise for the work.
Awarding her brought fame and profit, but disrespected the music.
Insult her fine, but not the song!
Her song, the other two seniors’ songs—not as good as this half?
The more carefree people were, the more they cared about what they valued. This poked Shen Yutong’s sore spot.
When Yu Wei looked back again, Shen Yutong’s seat was empty. She wasn’t causing trouble—just heading backstage to wait in the wings.
She had an interlude performance later, scheduled to sing “Willow Catkins.” Though simply rehearsed twice, she’d suddenly changed her mind: she wanted to switch songs.
The instant she exited the inner area, Shen Yutong pulled out her mobile phone and messaged Qi Luo An: “All on you later.”
Chorus, huh? They had one too!
Qi Luo An: ?
