Just as Lu Qingfeng had said, Yan Xiuchen was also at the venue, mingling with the crowd without making his presence known. From where he was seated, he could see the love of his life conversing with a happy smile on her face with the woman seated next to her. However, he could also see her nervousness at the same time.
Yan Xiuchen couldn't stop himself from smiling. Her smile was something he was willing to protect at any cost. This was why he made sure that none of Ye Mingyu's attempts to tarnish Xiao Rufeng's reputation were fruitful. He wouldn't fail to protect her as her man and would allow no one to harm her.
"Do you think Miss Xiao will win the award?"
Yan Xiuchen wasn't planning to bring Elder Meng to accompany him tonight, but the old man insisted on coming with him to show support for their future madam. Furthermore, it wasn't usual for Yan Xiuchen to willingly go out in public like this.
"It would be good if she could win it, but her competitors aren't weak. However, I know that she'd done her best and wouldn't have any regrets if she lost. I can only help her make this better for her."
Elder Meng smiled and gave his master an approving look. Things had been going well between Yan Xiuchen and Xiao Rufeng. His master's relatives hadn't dared to make a move since Yan Xiuchen had proactively made sure that they wouldn't cross the line for Xiao Rufeng's sake.
One of Yan Xiuchen's men came and whispered something to him. Yan Xiuchen kept his gaze below them as he and Elder Meng remained in the private booth at the balcony. It had been easy for him to get a spot in this event because he practically owned the whole venue.
This was why no one was able to spot him arriving with Xiao Rufeng earlier. It would be easy for them to slip away without getting anyone's attention.
"Master, we spotted Han Yize nearby. Should we do something?"
They were given an order to keep an eye on the man.
Yan Xiuchen remained silent, but looked at Lu Qingfeng from afar. As if the man could sense his stare, Lu Qingfeng whipped his head and looked in their direction. Their gaze only met for a few seconds, but there was a mutual understanding between them.
"Let Lu Qingfeng and Su Xiaofei deal with him. Just make sure that neither Han Yize nor Ye Mingyu would dare to get anywhere near Xiao Rufeng." He delivered his order after a long silence.
"Understood." His subordinate replied and excused himself at once, leaving Yan Xiuchen with Elder Meng.
The award ceremony continued until it was time to announce the Best Newcomer category. Yan Xiuchen stood and waited for the nominees to be called. He spotted Xiao Rufeng clasping her hands together, eyes fixated on the huge screen above the stage.
The names of the nominees were flashed on the screen, one by one, until Xiao Rufeng's name appeared on it. Xiao Rufeng lowered her gaze as her eyes clouded with nervousness.
Yan Xiuchen wanted to go to her and assure her that things would be fine, but he didn't think it was the right time to announce their relationship in public. He also knew that Xiao Rufeng wanted to prove to everyone that whatever achievement she would have was due to her hard work and not because she had him to back her up.
He didn't care whether she would win or lose tonight because his perception of her would remain the same. No amount of awards would be able to change his love for her.
The audience erupted into applause as everyone waited for the presenter to announce the winner. Even Ye Mingyu's eyes lit up in anticipation. She and Xiao Rufeng starred in two different films, and she refused to believe that her performance would fall behind Xiao Rufeng this time.
The spotlight suddenly turned towards all the nominees, their faces flashed on the big screen. Xiao Rufeng tried to contain her nervousness and forced herself to keep a smile on her face. Yan Xiuchen's heart ached seeing her like this. However, he knew that he couldn't intervene in her career.
As the presenter pulled out the content of the envelope, Xiao Rufeng's expectation failed to meet the reality as the name announced by the presenter wasn't her name, but Ye Mingyu's instead. Yan Xiuchen could see the disappointment in Xiao Rufeng's face, but she immediately hid it behind a smile.
"Ye Mingyu from 'Brightest Star'!"
Hearing Ye Mingyu's name, the audience had conflicted expressions on their faces, as if they didn't believe that neither Xiao Rufeng nor the other contenders fell behind Ye Mingyu's performance. They felt that Ye Mingyu didn't seem to deserve the award after seeing a snippet of her performance being played on the big screen.
–
Ye Mingyu shot up to her feet and happily made her way up the stage to accept her award. She had a wide smile on her face, momentarily forgetting her woes over the past weeks. She finally received the recognition she'd been eyeing for and hoped that her career would continue to flourish after receiving the award.
'Su Xiaofei, can you see? You cannot stop me from advancing.'
Ye Mingyu gave her speech and tried to find Su Xiaofei in the audience. Their gaze met at once, and they regarded each other in silent contemplation. Ye Mingyu gave Su Xiaofei a mocking smile as she bragged about how she worked hard and gave her best to win the golden award.
She saw Su Xiaofei leaning on Lu Qingfeng and whispered something, but she couldn't be bothered by what the other woman was saying at that moment. The only thing that she could think of was how blissful it was to be regarded and acknowledged by everyone. Her wishes had come true and neither Su Xiaofei nor Xiao Rufeng could stop her this time.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺