Inside Jin Liwei’s French villa which was previously owned by Grandpa Lu, Dom and Tang Yiyi finally joined Jiang Ying Yue and Little Jun in the living area to watch the awards night on TV. The European makeup artists and hairstylists followed behind them. They just finished cleaning up and organizing everything at the room where Iris, Jin Liwei, Wei Lan, Grandpa Lu and Lu Zihao dressed up and had their hair and makeup done earlier for the awards night.
There was now a big group in front of the TV. Some of the household staff prepared some snacks and drinks in order to make watching the show more enjoyable.
The red carpet event was still underway.
Later, the cast and crew of “Strong Yet Broken” started arriving. There were more cheers for them this time. Plenty of people watched the screenings and associated events of the film. Many of them were impressed of its quality. Thus, more people recognized them this time around.
Finally, Iris Long and Jin Liwei climbed out of a vehicle onto the red carpet.
“Aaaaaah! It’s Iris Long and Liam Jin! They’re here!”
“My dream couple has arrived! Make way, make way!”
“Liam! Iris! Please look here!”
Since the couple always attended events together during the Sommet International Film Festival, they obtained quite a number of fans. Most of these new fans were people who watched “Strong Yet Broken” and loved it. When they discovered that Iris Long was the sole composer of the film score, they immediately converted into her fans. Seeing that she was always together with her handsome fiancé, they turned into Jin Liwei’s fans as well.
Both Iris and Jin Liwei turned their heads to their new fans who were screaming and shrieking for them at the top of their lungs. Iris gave them a bright smile and a wave which made them scream and shriek even louder, almost vomiting their throats out. Jin Liwei also waved his hand at the fans but didn’t smile. He maintained his default cold expression, but at least, it didn’t look as indifferent as before. As usual, the two walked while holding hands.
Complementing her gorgeous dress was dark, smoky makeup with blood-red lips. Her nails were also painted in black and red ombre colours. As for her hair, it was arranged in glamourous waves. A crystal-encrusted platinum ornament in the shape of a phoenix was pinned on one side of her hair. It gave her a side-swept hair look.
Beside her, Jin Liwei was wearing a Chinese-style formal tuxedo suit. It was all black from head to toe. There was a long and intricate embroidery of a red dragon on the front of the suit jacket. The red colour popped from his all black ensemble and also matched Iris’ beautiful dress.
Their stylist purposely matched their outfits, from the black and red motifs, to her phoenix hair ornament and his jacket’s dragon embroidery.
He was the dragon king, while she was the phoenix queen.
This was the meaning of their outfits.
Individually, each of them looked striking in their own right. Together, they were absolutely magnificent and formidable.
Everyone was wowed by their stunning appearance. The people standing close around the two of them seemed to pale in comparison to their combined resplendence.
Back at Jin Liwei’s villa estate, everyone cheered when they watched the couple appear on TV.
“Mama! Papa! Yay yay!” Little Jun pointed at his godmother and godfather in excitement, and then clapped his hands.
“Yesh! Mama bootiful! Papa hansam!”
The others nodded their heads in agreement. The European makeup artists and hairstylists looked proud of their work, as they examined Iris and Jin Liwei’s attention-grabbing appearances on TV. Everyone continued to watch in rapt attention.
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After the red carpet, the awards ceremony finally started. The general protocol was very similar to the opening ceremony. Even the seating arrangements were mostly the same. This time, however, there were more people attending. The grand theatre was filled to the brim.
Iris Long and Jin Liwei sat together with the cast and crew of “Strong Yet Broken”, including the President of LX Productions and Guan Jintao and his wife.
As for the VIP guests, Grandpa Lu and Lu Zihao sat together with Wei Lan. The people sitting around them, however, were quite different from the opening ceremony. They were more famous and influential. It seemed that there were many who fought to acquire the opportunity to sit close to Vizcondesa Lan. She had become a very popular figure during the social events of the Sommet International Film Festival.
In addition to this, their seats were also moved to a part which had one of the best views of the stage.
Enrique Valdez, Maestro Ludovico De Luca and his wife also attended once again. Their front-row seats remained the same. This row was mostly reserved to all the award laureates of the past film festivals.
The host, speakers and performances were still more misses than hits, but nobody really cared much. Everyone didn’t feel bored at all. Instead, they all felt very excited…and impatient as well. They couldn’t wait for the main course of the night—the actual awards ceremony.
Everyone became quiet and sat straighter on their seats, including Iris and Jin Liwei.
“We will now officially start the awards ceremony! To all the nominees, congratulations and I wish you the best of luck!”
