The Golden Osmanthus Awards ceremony was being broadcast live across the nation. Long before the first car even arrived, millions of netizens had already stationed themselves in front of their televisions, computers, and phones, eagerly waiting for the star-studded spectacle to begin.
A plush crimson carpet stretched from the grand entrance all the way to the main stage. Both sides of the barricades were a sea of reporters and screaming fans, a fortress of lenses and smartphones raised high, waiting to capture the night’s biggest icons.
Soon enough, the first luxury vehicle glided to a halt. A glamorous actress in a pastel-yellow trailing gown linked arms with an actor in a bespoke suit, the pair stepping onto the carpet with practiced, elegant smiles as a barrage of camera flashes erupted around them.
Following their entrance, the red carpet became a revolving door of the industry’s elite— A-list titans, popular starlets, trending young idols, and revered veteran actors. Every actress present had pulled out all the stops, determined to weaponize her wardrobe and present her most flawless self to the public eye.
Meanwhile, the online audience watching the livestream was working overtime, aggressively spamming the bullet comments with their respective idols’ names to completely drown out rival fandoms.
Suddenly, a sleek, roaring Ferrari cut through the crowd’s chatter and entered everyone’s line of sight. The door swung open, and the industry’s reigning golden boy, Movie King Xue Yang, stepped into the frame wearing a sharp, tailored black tuxedo.
To clinch the title of Best Actor at such a young age, Xue Yang’s talent and aesthetics were naturally top-tier. His fans often joked that when Xue Yang locked his deep, brooding eyes on someone, no matter how outrageous his demand, they simply couldn’t find the strength to refuse him.
The one destined to be the sole focus of that intense, affectionate gaze would surely be the happiest person alive.
Xue Yang’s arrival acted like a shot of adrenaline for the reporters, their cameras flashing in a deafening, blinding frenzy. Yet, instead of heading straight for the venue, he circled around to the passenger side. With a gentlemanly flourish, he opened the door and gently offered his hand to a woman stepping out in a plunging, low-cut black evening gown.
By all standard industry metrics, Qin Yu lacked the credentials to even set foot at an elite event like the Golden Osmanthus Awards. But with a group of wealthy, powerful men pulling strings behind the scenes, rules simply didn’t apply to her. Her makeup was exquisitely sultry. She lightly hooked her arm through Xue Yang’s, projecting a serene, triumphant smile as they walked the red carpet together.
The moment Qin Yu stepped out, the actresses who had preceded her suddenly seemed to pale in comparison. She possessed a spectacular silhouette, and every fiber of her being practically radiated raw, magnetic charm. Tonight’s styling had amplified that innate allure tenfold, making it physically impossible to look away from her.
The livestream chat instantly descended into utter chaos.
【Holy sh*t, who is this woman?! She is insanely gorgeous!】
【Wait, what is her relationship with Xue Yang? They look way too intimate……】
【I know her! That’s Qin Yu! She’s signed to the same agency as Xue Yang. Technically, she’s his junior!】
【Movie King Xue’s expression is so doting! Ahhh, I’m literally swooning just looking at them!】
【This sister’s visuals are out of this world. As a hardcore visual-stan, I am officially on my knees!】
【He and my family’s Yanyan just broke up, and now he’s already parading another actress on the red carpet? My heart aches so much for her right now.】
【I agree with the comment above!】
The reporters on the scene looked as though they had been injected with chicken blood[1]someone becoming suddenly hyperactive, crazed, or intensely energized jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2454217_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2454217_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. The movie king had broken up with his high-profile girlfriend mere days ago, and now he was playing prince charming to a rising actress on the red carpet? This was front-page gold.
Most of the celebrities had already entered the venue. In the final ten minutes before the doors closed, a nanny van glided up to the entrance. The sliding door opened, first revealing a single, breathtakingly fair and slender leg.
Then, Yan Ji stepped out into the night, a vision in crimson.
She slid off her oversized sunglasses, her striking eyes sweeping calmly across the venue before she stepped onto the red carpet with slow, deliberate grace.
The rhythmic, commanding click-clack of her stilettos echoed clearly through the crisp air.
The exact moment Yan Ji appeared, everyone in the venue unconsciously held their breath.
There was no complex reason for it. Yan Ji, in that fiery red gown, was simply beautiful to a devastating extreme. The slight, upward tilt at the corners of her eyes carried a mesmerizing charm. As she casually brushed a cascade of waves behind her back, every effortless movement overflowed with a hypnotic allure, hooking everyone’s gaze and refusing to let go. For a few paralyzed seconds, the seasoned reporters actually forgot to press their camera shutters.
Sensing the stunned stares pinning her from all sides, Yan Ji cast a lazy, sidelong glance toward the crowd, the corners of her lips curving into a subtle smirk. That faint, dangerous smile left the onlookers utterly dazed.
A scarlet gown.
Fiery red lips.
A lifted, piercing gaze and a devastatingly gentle smile.
She was, without a doubt, a beauty capable of toppling empires.
The audience viewing the livestream went into a complete, unhinged frenzy.
【Already screenshotted! This face is so gorgeous, it literally made me forget how to breathe! Wuuwuuwuu, Yanyan’s visuals are truly out of this world! Oh my gosh!】
【Calling all video-editing masters right now! That glance and smirk just now were absolutely enchanting. My HP bar is entirely empty. I need healing!】
【……I take back every single thing I said earlier. Yanyan is my ultimate true love! I will worship those peerless visuals for the rest of my life!】
【Suddenly feeling like Movie King Xue might be blind. How could anyone willingly break up with a literal goddess like her???】
【Maybe the movie king just has…… unusual tastes……】
The bullet comments flooded the screen like a tidal wave, a chaotic wall of text entirely dedicated to praising Yan Ji’s breathtaking, transcendent beauty.
Yan Ji calmly walked the length of the red carpet. Catching sight of Xue Yang and a distinctly displeased-looking Qin Yu from the corner of her eye, the smile on her face widened with genuine amusement.
Oh my, she thought playfully, a natural-born masterpiece like me really is impossible to keep hidden.
……
Meanwhile, Xue Yang stared darkly at the woman currently basking in the center of the universe’s adoration. A toxic mixture of possessiveness and unadulterated fury flared in his chest.
After their breakup, she actually acted as though nothing of consequence had happened at all. In fact, her vitality and allure only seemed to be skyrocketing by the second.
A disturbing thought suddenly took root in his mind. Could it be that being with him was merely a game to her? Even if he hadn’t initiated the split, would Yan Ji have ended up dumping him anyway?
Countless unanswerable questions swirled through his mind, causing his expression to grow increasingly dark and tense.
“Movie King Xue, long time no see. How have you been lately?”
While Xue Yang was lost in his spiraling thoughts, Yan Ji had already glided over to them. Up close, her skin appeared even more flawless and luminous than it did on screen. Her beautiful eyes shimmered like deep, rippling water— the kind of gaze that felt as though it could easily drown a person’s soul with a single look.
Xue Yang pressed his lips into a tight line, remaining silent.
Yan Ji’s gaze flicked to Qin Yu, lingering for a fraction of a second before she let out a soft, low chuckle. Even her laughter carried an intoxicating weight. “Movie King Xue,” She murmured meaningfully, her voice dripping with hidden subtext, “with such a spectacular beauty by your side, life must be quite…… exhilarating lately.”
She deliberately dragged out the final word before turning on her heel and sweeping away gracefully, treating the entire encounter with complete nonchalance.
Xue Yang’s fists clenched tightly at his sides.
She truly didn’t care. Not a single bit.
Heh. Women.
“Ms. Yan really is a total stunner. I can’t believe you actually had the heart to break up with her.” Qin Yu remarked with a tightly managed half-smile. The hand resting at her side balled into a fist, her lowered eyelashes barely concealing the lethal malice brewing beneath them.
This woman is a complete eyesore, no matter how one looks at her!
Xue Yang turned his attention back to Qin Yu. Noticing her suddenly dampened mood, he immediately forced his doting smile back onto his face. Arching an eyebrow, he teased softly, “What’s this? Is my little vinegar jar[2]a playful, affectionate way of calling someone a jealous type jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2454217_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2454217_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); getting jealous again?”
Qin Yu shot him a sharp, coquettish glance. “I am absolutely not jealous!”
Ordinarily, that single, calculated look would have been brimming with irresistible charm. If Yan Ji hadn’t disrupted the atmosphere moments prior, Xue Yang would have easily succumbed to Qin Yu’s practiced allure.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, looking at Qin Yu right now…… he suddenly found her a bit bland.
Xue Yang quickly shook the thought from his head, maintaining his affectionate facade. He had thrown away his relationship with Yan Ji specifically for Qin Yu. If he turned around and wavered now, wouldn’t he just be slapping his own face?
Rationalizing it that way, Xue Yang forced his mind to go blank, though his eyes still drifted uncontrollably toward the front row.
……
Yan Ji’s designated seat was situated dead center in the prime first row. To her left sat a veteran powerhouse actor, while to her right sat the industry’s current reigning heartthrob, the massively popular young actor Meng Yiming.
“Sister Yan…… you look incredible tonight.” When Meng Yiming saw Yan Ji slip into the seat beside him, his heart skipped a violent beat. Still reeling from her devastating red carpet appearance, the compliment blurted out of his mouth before he could stop it.
Yan Ji arched a delicate brow, looking mildly amused that the young star had initiated a conversation. She turned her head, her eyes curving into beautiful crescents as she smiled. “Perhaps it’s because I’m single again. My mood has improved drastically.”
“Does Sister Yan mean…… you weren’t happy while dating Movie King Xue?” Meng Yiming pressed, his curiosity getting the better of him.
“Not exactly. It’s just that being single simply feels superior……”
After all, if I’m tied down, how else am I supposed to play with all of you?
With a dangerous, playful spark dancing in her eyes, Yan Ji held Meng Yiming’s gaze as the thought drifted through her mind.
Meng Yiming was, of course, another prominent target on Yan Ji’s hit list.
In the altered timeline, he and Qin Yu would soon collaborate on a high-profile, republican-era drama. Once production wrapped, intense rumors would flood the internet claiming the two had fallen deeply in love on set. Though both of their agencies would swiftly issue public denials to appease fans, only the two actors involved knew the truth.
For Meng Yiming to ascend as one of the industry’s most sought-after leading men, his aesthetics were naturally beyond reproach. Defying the typical, delicate ‘pretty boy’ archetype of modern idols, his features carried a sharp, rugged masculinity.
To use the most popular internet slang of the era, he was the textbook definition of a ‘little wolf dog[3]a younger man who is passionate, fierce, protective, and fiercely loyal to an older woman jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2454217_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2454217_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });’.
Yet, under the weight of Yan Ji’s gaze, that very wolf dog found his pulse racing erratically. Every tilt of her brow and curve of her lips carried a devastatingly seductive charm. Feeling himself begin to unravel, a thoroughly flustered Meng Yiming abruptly jerked his head away, forcing a mask of rigid composure as he pretended to focus entirely on the hosts taking the stage.
Unfortunately for him, the bright crimson blush blooming at the tips of his ears completely betrayed his inner turmoil.
Yan Ji lightly licked her lips, a low, knowing chuckle vibrating in her throat before she finally turned her head back toward the stage.
Naturally, their brief, electric interaction hadn’t escaped the camera. The broadcast fed the moment directly to the official livestream, causing the bullet comments to instantly explode into a frenzy.
【Ahhh, why on earth is Xiao Ming blushing like that?! What exactly did the goddess just whisper to him?!】
【Goddess Yan is a literal hazard to men’s health. Xiao Ming looks like he was about to completely lose his mind and had to stare at the host just to stay sane!】
【Hahaha! To the person above who said he’s using the host as an emotional anchor— you are absolutely evil for that!】
【Am I the only one who wanted to know what they were talking about? TAT】
【No, you are definitely not alone.】
Right at that moment, the lights throughout the venue suddenly dimmed into total darkness.
The Golden Osmanthus Awards ceremony had officially begun.
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