217: Awarded!

It seemed that many people attending the award ceremony had arrived early.

These people only glanced at them before looking away.

Although the Tokyo International Film Festival is not as famous as the Cannes Palme d'Or or the Oscars, it still carries some international prestige.

After glancing at them, Chen Le walked straight into a private room inside.

In the afternoon, after finishing their meal, they arrived at the award ceremony venue.

Many staff members were busy here, preparing for the evening ceremony.

After showing their invitations, they entered the venue for a tour.

"Boss, this place is quite large," Wang Baoqiang said.

"Haha, it is an international film festival, after all."

Beside them, Lin Yuko looked around the interior of the venue with curiosity.

This was her first time here.

Living in Tokyo, she naturally knew about this international film festival, but she had never actually attended it.

Now that she could enter alongside Chen Le and his group, seeing many figures she normally wouldn't have the status to meet, it felt almost surreal to her.

They spent two or three hours wandering around the venue before leaving.

Evening soon arrived.

The award ceremony began.

The venue was now bustling with noise.

Many reporters and audience members entered the venue.

Walking onto the red carpet, the surrounding reporters were constantly taking photos, documenting the grand occasion.

Li Xin, Naza, and Lin Yuko were all walking the red carpet for the first time, making them very nervous for fear of embarrassing themselves.

Fortunately, they finished the walk without any issues and performed very well.

Walking into the inner hall, Naza patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Brother Le, I was so nervous just now."

Beside her, Li Xin nodded in empathy upon hearing Naza's words.

"Me too."

Although Lin Yuko didn't speak, one could tell she felt the same from her relieved expression.

"It's fine. It's only natural to be nervous the first time you attend an event like this, and didn't you all perform wonderfully just now?" Chen Le said with a smile.

"Mm," Naza nodded slightly.

She hadn't actually expected Chen Le to bring her to the ceremony.

After all, her status was sensitive; in what capacity was she attending the ceremony with Chen Le?

Such frequent public appearances would inevitably lead to people finding out.

But Chen Le told her not to worry; since Baoqiang had brought a date, he had to bring her along as well.

As for Lin Yuko, she was just there as a translator.

Her English was decent. Coming to this film festival, Chen Le naturally couldn't just come to collect an award; getting to know famous directors from other countries was the most important thing.

Entering the inner hall, Chen Le and Naza found their seats.

Then, as time passed, the awards of the ceremony began to be presented.

It started with minor awards to test the waters, and then the climax arrived as the major awards began to be announced.

Below the stage, Wang Baoqiang was a bit nervous.

The best actor award was being presented now.

Beside him, Li Xin was also nervous, hoping in her heart that Wang Baoqiang would win.

When the host called out Wang Baoqiang's name in English, thunderous applause erupted in the venue.

A smile also appeared on Chen Le's face.

Winning this award was already enough; as for the Cannes Film Festival, it didn't matter.

Wang Baoqiang was the same, his face filled with excitement.

A look of pleasant surprise immediately appeared on Li Xin's face. "Brother Baoqiang, you won!"

Hearing her words, Wang Baoqiang excitedly hugged Li Xin.

Being hugged like this and noticing the gazes of those around them, Li Xin's face instantly turned red, but she was very happy in her heart.

Wang Baoqiang had won.

Moreover, they were sitting in relatively forward seats. When the host announced Wang Baoqiang's win, the camera on the big screen cut to him.

Then, Wang Baoqiang walked onto the stage to accept the award, holding the trophy with a face full of smiles.

After giving his acceptance speech in Chinese, he stepped down from the stage.

Immediately after, the best director award began to be presented.

Chen Le was also a bit nervous; this was his first time receiving a nomination for an international award.

If he could win, it would naturally be wonderful.

However, the competition for international awards was much fiercer than domestic ones, as works from all over the world were competing together.

At the same time, the judging criteria were different from those in China, so Chen Le had no confidence in whether he could win.

Beside him, Naza watched the stage nervously.

Even though she wasn't the one winning, Brother Le winning was the same as her winning.

Lin Yuko was also a bit nervous; well, she didn't know why she was nervous either.

Perhaps it was because she knew Wang Baoqiang had just won Best Actor, and now it was Chen Le's turn.

After all, "Hello, Mr. Tree" had received two nominations.

Soon, the best director award was announced.

When the host called out Chen Le's name, Naza excitedly hugged him and even gave him a kiss on the cheek.

But she quickly realized what she'd done and let go of Chen Le.

Just then, the camera panned over.

Fortunately, Naza wasn't wearing the kind of lipstick that leaves a mark, otherwise Chen Le would have suffered a social death in public.

Chen Le quickly snapped out of it and looked toward the stage with a steady smile.

Many of the foreign directors and actors present were very surprised to see Chen Le's young face.

They had seen many young actors win awards, but young directors winning awards were rare.

Even the youngest directors they had seen were at least in their thirties.

There were also many domestic directors in the audience who introduced Chen Le to the foreign directors. When they learned that Chen Le on stage was only twenty-four or twenty-five and had only been in the industry for a little over two years, they all exclaimed, "Oh my God, amazing!"

Their shock and disbelief were written all over their faces.

They found it even more incredible when they learned that Chen Le produced one movie a year that broke the one billion box office mark—meaning over a hundred million US dollars—especially since the costs were only a few million dollars, a hundredfold return.

Seeing the foreigners looking so astounded, the domestic directors felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Even though these achievements belonged to Chen Le and not them, the existence of such a formidable genius director in their own country felt like a complete vindication for them.

After all, they used to be constantly mocked, told that besides the Hong Kong style, those from the mainland couldn't make any good movies.

After accepting his award, Chen Le continued watching the rest of the ceremony.

Many people were looking over at him.

After all, he was the winner of the best director award; winning two awards for a single film was a rare achievement. Most would be thankful just to get one, let alone two.

Moreover, this was a Chinese-language film, making it even harder to stand out.

"Brother Le, congratulations on winning another award!" At this moment, Naza's face was full of admiration, her eyes fixed on Chen Le, seeing only him and completely ignoring everyone else.