FS-novel Chapter 335: The 33rd Golden Rooster Awards, Best Actor: Jiang Ci!
Chapter 335: The 33rd Golden Rooster Awards, Best Actor: Jiang Ci!
Chapter 335: The 33rd Golden Rooster Awards, Best Actor: Jiang Ci!
The host finally regained his professional composure from the shockwave.
He walked back to the center of the stage, trying to pull the proceedings back on track.
However, his voice, after experiencing the extreme sorrow and heroic passion just moments ago, sounded somewhat hollow.
"Thank you, Teacher Zhao Yingfei, and congratulations to her! Next, will be the most exciting moment of the evening!"
His voice strained to rise higher, trying to stir the atmosphere.
"The competition for the Best Actor award at this year's Golden Rooster Awards!"
As his words fell.
The atmosphere in the entire venue did not become as fervent as he had hoped.
Instead, it sank into a deeper, heavier silence.
Everyone present knew what tonight's battle for the Film Emperor title signified.
The large screen lit up, flashing the faces and clips from the representative works of the five nominees one by one.
This was a true group of death.
However, when the screen finally settled on the five separate panels,
Everyone's attention was focused on only two of those panels.
*The Legend of Han and Chu*, Liu Bang, portrayed by Qin Feng.
*The Legend of Han and Chu*, Xiang Yu, portrayed by Jiang Ci.
And also the veteran Film Emperor Liu Wei, sitting not far from them.
But everyone knew in their hearts, the real contest was only within *The Legend of Han and Chu* itself.
Would it be a new king ascending the throne, or the old general defending the city.
The nomination clips began to play.
First was Qin Feng's clip on the large screen.
Not a battlefield, not a court hall, but a deep night in the ancestral temple.
Qin Feng's portrayal of Liu Bang, after pacifying the realm, was already in his twilight years.
He walked alone into the empty ancestral temple, stroking the memorial tablets.
He did not display the majesty of an emperor, nor the joy of a victor.
There was only a bone-deep weariness, and suspicion towards everyone, both before and behind him.
He looked at the empty throne symbolizing supreme power, slowly extending his hand,
Only to jerk it back violently at the very moment before touching it.
That fear and loneliness of the perilous heights, was portrayed by him with a subtle movement, vividly and incisively.
The acting was seasoned, gentle and imperceptible like spring rain.
A low murmur of admiration rippled through the venue.
This was textbook-level performance, the pinnacle forged from technique and life experience.
The screen switched.
Jiang Ci's face occupied the entire screen.
The banks of the Wu River.
No lines, not even the sound of the wind.
The camera locked onto Xiang Yu's face, smeared with blood and dirt.
The river surged, the ferry boat drifted away, taking the last thread of hope with it.
The glimmer of hopeful fire initially burning in those eyes, extinguished inch by inch as the boat's shadow shrank.
Transforming into boundless despair.
Yet, right at the edge of that despair, he suddenly smiled.
That smile held no mockery, nor any resentment.
It was a kind of complete, unburdened release.
Such was fate, not a fault of the battle.
From seeking life, to seeking death.
A mere five seconds.
All the struggle, weariness, and unyielding pride of a hero, burned to ashes.
The venue fell silent again.
Qin Feng's performance deserved quiet, careful appreciation.
Jiang Ci's performance struck directly at the heart.
It gave you no room to savor or think.
It simply used the most primal despair to seize your throat,
Dragging you down into the waters of the Wu River along with it, to feel the suffocating pressure of drowning.
In the back row, Liu Wei silently released his hand from the armrest.
He looked at those two names on the screen, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He had lost.
In this battle, he didn't even have the qualification to step onto the field.
Qin Feng was also looking at Jiang Ci's face on the large screen.
A tumult of emotions churned within him.
He had acted his whole life, relying on study, technique, and life experience.
He could precisely control every inch of his muscles to "act" out a character.
But Jiang Ci was different.
This young man had torn himself apart, crushed himself, and offered himself as a sacrifice to the character.
A trace of genuine fear actually welled up in Qin Feng's heart.
He feared this young man might forever sink in those waters of the Wu River, never to return.
The lights in the entire venue brightened.
The award presenter, Hou Hsiao-hsien, walked onto the stage.
Dressed in a Tang suit, his unyielding pride remained unchanged.
The moment he stood still, the atmospheric pressure in the entire venue seemed to drop by several degrees.
He didn't look at the cue card, his sharp gaze sweeping across the venue, finally settling on the first row.
"Acting, is of two kinds."
He spoke, his voice not loud, yet clear in every corner.
"One kind, is acting like."
"The other kind, is you are."
"Today, these two represent the pinnacle of these two schools."
The host stepped forward appropriately, raising the microphone, fulfilling the final procedure.
"So, before revealing the result, we'd like to ask the two teachers about their current feelings?"
The microphone was first handed to Qin Feng.
All the cameras and gazes in the venue focused on this three-time Film Emperor.
Qin Feng took the microphone.
He didn't say any polite formalities.
He simply turned his head, looking at the excessively quiet young man beside him.
"In the drama," Qin Feng began, his voice carrying a trace of hoarseness he himself hadn't noticed, "I won the realm, forcing you to die by the Wu River."
His voice trembled slightly, uncontrollably, on the two words "outside the drama." He had to pause, his Adam's Apple bobbing with difficulty.
"...But outside the drama, for that look in your eyes, you drove yourself into a... dead end."
"As an actor, I envy this level of immersion of yours."
"As a senior, I... ache for this madness of yours."
The entire venue erupted in an uproar.
This wasn't competition; this was the most profound and lofty respect, from the "victor" to a "madman."
The fingers Jiang Ci had resting on his knee curled unconsciously.
This was the first superfluous movement he had made since appearing tonight.
He lifted his gaze to look at Qin Feng, and in his eyes, there finally appeared a genuinely human, real astonishment.
Immediately, that astonishment transformed into the first real, faint smile of the evening.
Dispersing the accumulated alienation of the entire night.
He replied softly:
"Your Majesty, the realm is yours, but the drama belongs to everyone."
A single "Your Majesty."
Spoken without thought, it had already become instinct.
Qin Feng swayed slightly.
Those eyes that had seen all the vicissitudes of life slowly grew moist.
This single form of address was heavier than any trophy.
It represented Jiang Ci's complete acknowledgment of the world they had built with their lives.
Hou Hsiao-hsien, watching this scene from the stage, nodded.
Then, he opened the envelope that would decide the ownership.
The entire venue held its breath.
He pulled out the card, glanced at it, an understanding expression appearing on his face.
He put down the card, gripping the microphone again.
Speaking into the microphone, he recited the award citation.
"He doesn't play a hero; he is the hero's end."
"He made a tragedy from two thousand years ago resonate today, with the soul of each one of us."
Hou Hsiao-hsien's gaze locked onto that figure in the audience.
"The winner of the 33rd Golden Rooster Awards, for Best Actor is—"
"*The Legend of Han and Chu*, Xiang Yu."
He read this name; this was the final answer.
The entire venue was silent for a moment, about to erupt in applause.
However, Hou Hsiao-hsien raised his hand, pressing down in a gesture for silence.
He stared directly in Jiang Ci's direction, correcting himself in a tone that was almost a declaration.
"No."
"It is Jiang Ci."