133: The Hundred Flowers Awards are now open!

"A custom suit? I don't think it needs to be that much trouble, does it?" Wang Baoqiang asked in surprise upon hearing Li Xin's words.

He felt that the suits he had bought himself were quite good and fit well; surely it would be fine to wear those?

"How is it not necessary? Many of the people attending the event will be industry big shots. You are the pillar of your company; wouldn't dressing so casually be a loss of face for the company?" Li Xin said, shaking her head.

Hearing this, Wang Baoqiang nodded.

When it came to the company's reputation, he didn't dare to be so careless. He didn't mind for himself, but it was a different story when the company was involved... Time quickly passed, and it was the day before the Hundred Flowers Awards.

Chen Le brought Zhang Songwen and Wang Baoqiang to the host city of this year's Hundred Flowers Awards, Jiyang in Su Province.

They arrived at the Jiyang International Convention and Exhibition Center, the venue for the Hundred Flowers Awards.

At this time, the venue was covered in posters and banners for this year's awards.

The 30th Hundred Flowers Awards.

There were many nominated films, including quite a few blockbusters.

As soon as Chen Le arrived at the venue with Wang Baoqiang and the other, the staff immediately recognized them.

"Hello, are you Director Chen?" a staff member asked very warmly.

"Yes, I am," Chen Le nodded.

Then, the staff came forward to receive them and led them into the venue. There were already many directors and actors who, like them, had arrived early.

Chen Le found a place to sit. Seeing this, many directors and actors came over to greet him.

"Hello, Director Chen!"

"Greetings, Director Chen!"

They left after greeting him, mainly just to show their faces.

As long as Chen Le could remember their faces, it would be worth it for them.

After resting for a while, Chen Le took Wang Baoqiang and the others to look around the venue.

However, most parts of the venue were inaccessible at the moment, so they only walked around for a bit before heading back.

Next, the staff took them to the hotel arranged by the organizers.

The hotel arranged by the organizers was quite good; after all, everyone invited was a well-known director or actor.

There was no need for them to offend so many directors and actors just to save some money.

Just as Chen Le was about to take Wang Baoqiang and Zhang Songwen out for some local food, before they even left the hotel, he saw Huang Bo, Ning Hao, and Xu Zheng, who were also being brought in by the organizers' staff.

Seeing the three of them, Chen Le was a bit surprised.

Huang Bo and the other two were even more surprised; they hadn't expected such a coincidence as to run into Chen Le.

"Director Chen, you're here too!" Huang Bo walked over with a smile and greeted Chen Le.

"Haha, yes. You guys arrived quite early too, didn't you?" Chen Le said with a smile.

Beside them, Ning Hao saw Zhang Songwen and smiled as he shook his hand.

Then, the two of them began discussing matters regarding their future filming.

"I really didn't expect lost in thailand to get four nominations. It feels like there's a good chance of winning!" Huang Bo said with a smile.

"That's hard to say. If it were another film, the chances might be much higher," Chen Le said, not wanting to be too certain.

After all, winning awards was never a sure thing.

"Director Chen, are you guys heading out for dinner?" Huang Bo asked curiously.

It was already past five in the afternoon.

"That's right! I was just about to take them out for dinner when I ran into you guys," Chen Le nodded with a smile.

"Hey! Director Chen, why don't we all have dinner together tonight? It'll be nice to have more people to chat and catch up with!" Huang Bo looked at Chen Le with expectation in his eyes.

Chen Le thought for just a second before nodding in agreement.

Since the three of them were going to eat anyway, eating with Huang Bo and his group was just the same.

"Sure, we'll wait for you then," Chen Le nodded with a smile.

"Okay," Huang Bo smiled and immediately followed the staff up into the hotel upon hearing Chen Le's agreement.

Seven or eight minutes later, Huang Bo and the other two came down.

"Let's go, Director Chen. Sorry to keep you waiting," Huang Bo said somewhat apologetically.

"It's fine, we haven't been waiting long. You guys were actually quite fast," Chen Le shook his head.

Then, they all took a car to find a nearby restaurant for dinner.

"Baoqiang, long time no see! Why do I feel like you've become a lot more handsome?" Beside him, Huang Bo said in surprise when he saw the well-dressed Wang Baoqiang.

"Really?" Wang Baoqiang asked instinctively.

He usually didn't pay much attention to his appearance, only shaving or getting a haircut when he had to act, join a variety show, film a commercial, or attend an event.

"Yeah, you seem more composed today than before. And this suit—it's custom-made, right? It looks much better on you than what you used to wear," Huang Bo inquired.

"Teacher Huang Bo, are you really that amazing? You guessed it just by looking?" Wang Baoqiang was a bit surprised.

"Haha, you can tell once you've seen enough of them," Huang Bo laughed.

That evening, they went to a local specialty restaurant in Jiyang.

They ordered local dishes. Looking at the presentation and smelling the aroma, Chen Le could tell that the food should be delicious.

"Come, Director Chen, let me toast you with tea instead of wine!" Ning Hao smiled and raised his cup, which was filled with tea.

The reason he wanted to thank Director Chen was also because he had taken Zhang Songwen to film, for which he was very grateful, as Zhang Songwen was just too perfect for that role.

"Alright, I'll use tea instead of wine too!" Chen Le replied with a smile.

The dinner that night was very harmonious.

Time quickly arrived at the next day, and the Hundred Flowers Awards ceremony began.

Chen Le brought Wang Baoqiang and the others backstage. There, Chen Le saw many familiar faces he had seen at the previous film festival.

"Senior Brother, long time no see," Chen Le smiled and stepped forward to greet Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou was chatting with Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kaige at the time. Hearing Chen Le's voice, he instinctively looked back and spotted him immediately.

"Chen Le, you're here too! Haha, how come I didn't see you yesterday?" Zhang Yimou asked with a smile.

"I only arrived yesterday evening, and then I went out for dinner with them!" Chen Le said, glancing at Wang Baoqiang and Zhang Songwen beside him.

"Haha, I see! Your lost in thailand is nominated this time. With four nominations, I feel only the best director has a chance; the probability of getting the other three is very low," Zhang Yimou said with a smile.

"It's fine, getting one is enough," Chen Le said with a smile.

"True, just one best director award is plenty," Feng Xiaogang also chimed in with a smile.

As they chatted, the Hundred Flowers Awards ceremony was about to begin.

Chen Le led them to prepare backstage; they would need to walk the red carpet soon.

Wang Baoqiang was a bit nervous. This was his first time attending such an awards ceremony. Although winning wasn't guaranteed, just being able to walk the red carpet was enough.