My System Forces Me to Live off Women

Chapter 507 - 334: Awards Ceremony (Part 3)

Five minutes later, under the announcer’s introduction, Guli Nazha gracefully took the stage, delivering a flawless... lip-sync performance.

The song was prerecorded by Guli Nazha in a studio in advance, and at the live event, all she had to do was hold the microphone, move her lips, and strike a few elegant poses. Anyway, audiences never set high expectations for actors’ singing abilities. Moreover, Guli Nazha wasn’t the only one lip-syncing at the event; besides the self-assured singers, two other actors were lip-syncing as well.

"Alright, thank you Nazha for the wonderful song."

"Now, we will present the award for the Super Quality Actor. Let us welcome the evaluator, writer Renjian Yiliang, to join the actor Guli Nazha in announcing the award winner. Please, welcome!"

Li Peifeng stood up from his seat, waved and smiled at the camera focusing on him, and walked slowly towards the stage, once again appearing in the live stream.

The screen was flooded with bullet comments praising Mr. Li’s looks or complimenting Guli Nazha’s beauty.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Ningyuan City, Li Peifeng’s home housed two of his hardcore fans.

Li Qiyuan and Yu Huizhi were also watching the live stream on TV, and when they saw their son taking the stage, they couldn’t hide their excitement.

"Our Fengfeng is really handsome. Hey, hubby, look quickly; his forehead’s wound seems to have healed."

"Yes, I see it."

Li Qiyuan felt very gratified but frowned when he saw Guli Nazha on stage with his son. "Once the scar’s healed, forgetting the pain, he’s off to flatter other girls again!"

Yu Huizhi sighed, then reassured him, "Didn’t Fengfeng tell us during the day that he’s regained some of his memory? So, he probably won’t have anything with that actress, just walking the red carpet together."

"Let’s keep watching."

Li Qiyuan was noncommittal, and at this time, on the screen, Li Peifeng and Guli Nazha had already announced the result. The award winner Zhong Chuxi stepped onto the stage, and after delivering her acceptance speech, stood back in the center along with several others.

"Actually, Nazha, you just said you collaborated with Chuxi and admire her acting skills. But do you know that I’ve also worked with Chuxi?"

"I really didn’t know that."

Li Peifeng explained with a smile, "My book ’Evil CEO’ has been adapted into a film, which is currently being shot, and the female lead Chen Aohong is played by Zhong Chuxi."

Guli Nazha realized, "No wonder you and I were chosen to present the award to Chuxi."

The segment at the event had been well thought out by the organizers; an award winner with two presenters who generally knew the winner or had collaborated before or had some acquaintances, so there wouldn’t be awkward silences on stage.

However, Li Peifeng actually hadn’t met Zhong Chuxi before and wasn’t quite familiar with her past works. Not being much of a movie-goer or TV watcher, he only recognized some veteran stars.

Zhong Chuxi? I don’t know her, but Zhong Chuhong looks familiar.

Thus, even though Zhong Chuxi was going to play the female lead in his book adaptation, Li Peifeng hadn’t bothered to research her online; just seeing her unfamiliar name made him uninterested. Anyway, he didn’t plan on watching the ’Evil CEO’ drama; he’d sold the rights, and they could do whatever they pleased with it.

With this mindset and thinking that the actors willing to act in ’Evil CEO’ wouldn’t be anything prominent, he assumed Zhong Chuxi was some low-tier, unknown star.

It wasn’t until he found out he’d be presenting the award to her that he learned a little more and realized he’d underestimated her and Director Ding Teng’s network.

Zhong Chuxi was neither a newcomer nor an unknown; at twenty-nine, she’d been in the industry for nine years, acted in many films and dramas, and worked with numerous big stars. In one way or another, she was at least a C-list celebrity.

More importantly, when Li Peifeng met her today, he felt that Zhong Chuxi did indeed resemble Chen Aohong a bit, and despite having no expectations for ’Evil CEO,’ he couldn’t help but feel a slight thrill.

This felt like being told you’re pregnant and that the baby has congenital disabilities and should be aborted, only for a second checkup to reveal the initial test was wrong and the baby might just be undernourished and might be fine with more nutrition...

"Chuxi, could you tell us a bit about your new drama ’Evil CEO’? Or perhaps share some fun stories from the set?"

He Lei handed the microphone to Zhong Chuxi, and the camera zoomed in for a close-up.

Zhong Chuxi had slightly high cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and a slightly masculine face shape, but her features were elegant and striking. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, exuding a mature and strong presence. Paired with her high-end black suit and makeup today, she epitomized a sharp, professional woman. Notably, before coming on stage, she rolled up her suit sleeves halfway, revealing part of her arm, holding the microphone with confidence and poise.

"The full title of ’Evil CEO’ is ’The Devil CEO Falls for Me,’ and this film doesn’t deviate much from the original book. It’s a story about urban workplace romance, where the female lead, Chen Aohong, is a very, very unique kind of strong woman..."

After a brief introduction, Zhong Chuxi laughed, "There’s not much to say about the crew, but I can’t help but share something about the story of the author Yiliang Feng’s brother."

"Oh? Please, go ahead!"

Hosts He Lei and Si Wen perked up; this conversation depended on their impromptu reaction without any set script, so when a topic emerged, they naturally steered it.

However, Guli Nazha frowned slightly, instinctively glancing at Li Peifeng, who was also looking at her.

Amidst a gathering of stars at the event, the two of them drew attention by walking the red carpet together, stirring up discussions online, and the buzz continued to rise. Zhong Chuxi suddenly bringing this up made her intentions quite clear...

"I’m all too familiar with this; you female stars have many tricks for gaining publicity, surely trying to create some drama here! We’ve never met before; what’s this story with me? Calling me a brother? Just trying to hop on the bandwagon, isn’t it?"

Li Peifeng felt an ill premonition but couldn’t outright interrupt her; after all, Zhong Chuxi was also promoting ’Evil CEO,’ so he could only let her continue.

"Actually, I almost missed this drama because I already had an offer for another project, and I’d verbally agreed to it. But Director Ding was very sincere, repeatedly asking me to meet and read the script, so I couldn’t refuse and agreed to a meeting."

Zhong Chuxi glanced at Li Peifeng beside her, revealing a peculiar smile, "But after reading the script, I wanted to find an excuse, since breaking a verbal agreement was unreliable. I said it didn’t quite fit my style, and Director Ding urged me to read the original ’Evil CEO’ novel before deciding, but I said I didn’t like reading web novels."

"In the end, Director Ding was at a loss, then after a long silence, said he’d show me the author’s photo of the book..."

Co-hosts Si Wen and He Lei both struggled to hold back laughter, "And then? You agreed?"

Zhong Chuxi nodded, smiling, "Something like that. After seeing his photo and hearing Director Ding’s introduction, my curiosity was piqued. I wanted to know what kind of story a handsome brother in his twenties could write with a female lead. So when I got home, I read the original ’Evil CEO’ overnight, found the story quite intriguing, and the role of Chen Aohong very challenging. The next day, I called Director Ding to discuss the script."

"But even then, I still had my doubts, until Director Ding said something that made me decide to take the project."

"What did Director Ding say?"

"He said he’d arrange for Yiliang Feng to play the male lead in this drama."

Zhong Chuxi’s tone carried a mix of teasing and mock complaint, "But I didn’t expect he was joking; on the opening day, ’Yiliang Feng’s brother was nowhere to be seen."

"Hahaha~"

The camera panned over the audience, most of whom were smiling, whether artists or writers.

He Lei continued with a grin, asking Li Peifeng, "Yiliang Feng, it seems Chuxi has quite an opinion on you; is there anything you’d like to say?"

I want to say thank you, because you have warmed the hearts of four women...

Feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket again, Li Peifeng understood that Zhong Chuxi’s little story had surely stirred up Zhao Qingge and the others watching the live stream, giving them enough excitement to feel warm all day.

"It’s an honor to have Chuxi appreciate my work. I’ll strive to create even better stories in the future, hoping to live up to this recognition. As for acting, I’ll pass on that; I prefer expressing myself through writing."

Li Peifeng made some polite remarks as a response to Zhong Chuxi’s seemingly affectionate yet advertising and teasing move.

The insecurity of the four vinegar jars was already at its peak; any more, and the jealousy would truly topple!