On hearing that, Edmond slightly froze and was fuming inside.
However, he was still smiling as he looked at Chen Changqing and said, “You’re right. It does not concern me at all whether you come or not. But I’m the host, and I need to welcome you as a courtesy. You’ve made me lose much money recently, but it’s fine since I was willing to make the bet. I’ll put that behind me.”
“Okay.”
Zi Yan showed a mocking smile.
“It feels really good to win money, and I have to thank you for that, Mr. Edmond. If there’s nothing else, we have to get to our seats. You can continue talking with your friends.”
Well?
Zhang Han was a little surprised and shot a glance at Zi Yan. He did not expect her to be pretty good at annoying others.
Edmond might not be mad at what Chen Changqing said, but when it was Zi Yan who mocked him, he was really mad.
He was really pissed off. His smile froze on his face, and he could not hold his anger back anymore.
“I was just trying to say, you won’t win anything because your rivals are just too strong. We all think that Amois will win the Best Actress this year, and you’re far from being her match, Zi Yan. What a pity! Of course, I know for you guys, winning Oscar nominations are already a huge glory, so I still want to say, congratulations,” Edmond said while trying to maintain his rigid smile.
He could not lose his manners on this occasion.
However, he was also good at mocking others in an ironic way with a smiling face.
Upon hearing Edmond’s words, the other two men in suits who came with Edmond chimed in.
“That’s right. You don’t stand any chance, Miss Zi, and I don’t mind telling you that if you want to win the awards, first, you have to know a lot of powerful people; second, you have to be in this industry long enough; third, your film has to be good. Unfortunately, you don’t meet any of these three requirements.”
“Manns, you’re wrong about one thing; their film is really good,” said another man, “I also like Pirates of the Caribbean, but do you know any powerful person? You’re just eastern stars, and I suggest you go back to Xiangjiang to win your own film awards. The time that you guys can win the Oscars is yet to come. Besides, you’re just rookies. You don’t have a shot this year, but next year, the year after that, maybe you will. As a senior, I have to remind you that having powerful friends is important. While you’re young and beautiful, why don’t you associate with those who are worth it? What do you think?”
These words soothed Edmond a little bit.
First, he praised them, then he pointed out their shortcomings, and at last, he gave them a piece of advice. It seemed nice.
However, the fact was that he made them mad and at the same time unable to refute.
Unfortunately, the hot-tempered girl, Mu Xue, was there. Before others could reply, she rounded her eyes.
“Are you so eager to dig your own graves? How dare you disrespect my master and his wife. I’ll kill you!”
While saying that, Mu Xue was about to attack them.
“How dare these ants make noise here?”
“Ahem, calm down.”
Chen Changqing smiled wryly and gently patted Mu Xue’s shoulder.
Killing three people on this kind of occasion would bring them into trouble.
Nevertheless, Mu Xue was not afraid of that at all.
If Zhang Han were not here, she would have swallowed the insult, but since he was there standing beside her, she wasn’t afraid of anyone.
“Hehe, the Radiant Sect, the vampires, and you guys are nobodies compared to my master!”
In the past, as the eldest princess of the Luo Fu Sword sect, Mu Xue never feared anyone or anything.
Now, she was even more fearless on Zhang Han’s coat-tails. If she had a chance, she would dare to tear open the sky, not to mention killing a few people here.
“What did he say?”
Edmond’s smile disappeared as he questioned.
Of course, he was speaking in English. He did not know much Hua language or understand what Mu Xue said.
“Well, he said that you’re a shabi.” (“Shabi” means d*ckhead in Hua language.)
Zhou Fei snickered and replied in English. Then, she continued to explain.
“I’m afraid you don’t understand what ‘shabi” means, Mr. Edmond. The eastern culture is extensive and profound. Why don’t you learn about those two words?”
“Let’s go.”
Zi Yan tugged Zhang Han’s hand. Finally, the group of people could walk to the seats by the side and sit down.
Edmond and the other two men didn’t move. They talked to each other.
“Did that woman just call us ‘shabi’”?
“What does that mean? Was she praising or cursing us?”
“I’m sure she was taunting us. I’ll find out who ‘shabi’ is.”
Thus, one of them simply looked it up.
However, after he found out the meaning of the two words, his face darkened.
“What does it mean?”
“Look for yourself. They are… so rude!”
Hiss!
After looking at the definition, Edmond turned resentful.
“Well, well, I’ll make these b*tches pay a big price!”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what they would look like when they win nothing!”
Another man looked indifferent as he said, “What’s the point of having a sharp tongue? Here, if you’re truly capable, you win awards.”
While speaking, they also went to their seats to sit down, not in a mood to talk anymore.
In the meantime, after Zhang Han and his companions sat down, Mu Xue said indignantly, “Why did you stop me just now?”
“Er, there’s also a Heaven Peak Stage guy present.” Chen Changqing shook his head wryly.
He asked Zhang Han about it when he entered the venue, and the reply was, there was one person in the Heaven Peak Stage, two in the Heaven Last Stage, and ten in the Earth Peak Stage.
It could be said that they were a strong force. Especially the guy in the Heaven Peak Stage, he looked just in his 40s. From him, Zhang Han felt a strong aura.
Zhang Han’s spiritual sense energy almost got detected by that guy.
Since the soul sense of Taiyi Wood Thunder had made that guy alert, it showed that he had something on the ball and was stronger than the Caprice Mo Sect Leader and his kind.
However, these people seemed to only want to guard the place. Whether they came for Zhang Han or had been doing this all the time did not interest Zhang Han very much.
Soon, the ceremony started.
“I announce that the Oscar ceremony now officially starts, and we’ll finally announce the winner of each award.”
A male and a female superstars hosted this year’s ceremony.
They gave a long speech and then the ceremony officially started.
“The nominees are…”
There were a few nominees for each award, but in the end, only one person would win.
In this case, the winner would be proved to be better than the rest and her or his performance during the past year was the best. Whoever won would also see their market value rise.
It was a huge glory.
“The next award is the greatly-anticipated Best Actress Award. After one year, there are totally five nominees.”
“The first nominee—she has played the role of Monica, and I’m sure you all know who she is.”
The host chuckled, and a video clip played on the big screen.
Seeing that, Amois stiffened and even breathed more quickly. She looked at Edmond Parker and then Edmond’s uncle in the front. She had served them well the past few days, and now, it was time for her to collect the fruit.
“The best actress must be me!”
While Amois was feeling smug inside, the host started to introduce the second nominee.
“She’s a rare eastern beauty who simply has two films, but they have grossed more than 7 billion dollars in total. She’s the leading actress of Pirates of the Caribbean, Zi Yan from Hua nation…”
“The third nominee is…”
After the introduction part, these nominees, including Zi Yan, got a little nervous.
It was natural they would become nervous when it was about winning an Oscar award.
“Who will be the best actress of the year?”
The host’s voice trailed off. Amois even held her breath at the moment.
Edmond could not help glancing at Zi Yan not far away, his eyes full of subtle feelings.
“No matter how hard you mocked us, you will look funny when you take zero awards.”
Gradually, all eyes were on the stage.
The host finally announced in a certain tone.
“Congratulations, Zi Yan, our beauty from the east. You won the best actress! Please get onto the stage to receive your award!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Instantly, the entire hall fell silent.
It was so surprising.
Zi Yan’s face was full of disbelief as it was totally beyond her expectation. She turned to look at Zhang Han in a daze. “Did my husband get this for me?”
Zhang Han slightly shook his head.
“Looks like the Oscar awards are pretty fair. You deserve it. Now go to accept your award.”
After that, Zhang Han smiled gently. “This is an award you deserve.”
“Elder Sister Yan, move. Go up to the stage!”
Zhou Fei’s face reddened from excitement. She felt so excited that she wanted to laugh out loud! However, she managed to hold back because it was not good timing to laugh.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Zhou Fei grabbed Chen Changqing’s hand and screamed in a low voice! She was expressing her joy inside.
If Chen Changqing were an ordinary person, he would feel pain from her grabbing, which showed how much strength Zhou Fei had exerted.
“Best actress! Yes, yes! That’s just great!”
The director and others couldn’t control their excitement. Everyone present watched Zi Yan slowly walk up to the stage. She looked like a queen at the moment, and everyone’s eyes were on her.
Edmond was dumbfounded. “How, how is that even possible!”
Amois almost blew up. “Did I sleep with them for nothing? Edmond family, you’re really great! Do you guys really think you could sleep with me for free?”
Edmond’s uncle also got stunned. “What’s happening? This isn’t in the script!”
“No! Did you read the wrong name?”
Amois failed to control herself and stood up to voice her doubt, which also made Zi Yan falter for a moment. She began to wonder if this was a farce that the Edmond family used to make fun of her. If that was the case, then her husband would…
Not caring if it was a scheme, Zi Yan walked onto the stage fearlessly and gracefully.
While looking at Amois, the host thought of something and quickly said, “Oh, Amois, it’s a pity you didn’t win, but I will never make jokes with the Oscars. I completely understand how you feel now because I’ve also sat down there many times watching others win the awards. I worked very hard for more than a decade to win the best actor. Amois, you’re still young and have a lot of chances in the future. Now, please sit down.”
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Amois felt very aggrieved, bit her lips, and almost caused them to bleed, but she still sat down. She could raise a question, but since the host had resolved the awkward situation, she should stop pursuing the matter so as not to disturb the ceremony.
