Chapter 99 – Proposal

Chapter 99 - Proposal

As autumn faded into spring, the award ceremony was held in City A, with live broadcasts beginning from the red carpet.

Chen Yibai walked the red carpet with his colleagues, unusually wearing a tie. Objectively, he felt that formal attire wasn't as comfortable as his usual $39.9 outfit, and he couldn't help but reach up to loosen his tie from time to time, only to restrain himself under the watchful eyes of his agent and stylist nearby.

This year, they had a new venue, finally abandoning the inhumane row seating for a setup akin to a banquet hall, exuding grandeur. Even the corridors and sides of the hall were adorned with splendid bouquets, creating a sea of flowers. There were chairs and tables in the hall, and agents didn't have to be separated, seated conveniently nearby.

It was extravagantly different, more like a wedding scene than an awards ceremony.

Upon entering the venue, the social prodigy swiftly located his friends who were also present today, engaging in a round of socializing.

Quite a few friends were at this award ceremony, except for Qian Jin, who hadn't returned after going back to school a few years ago to study directing and screenwriting. Through the crowd, he even spotted someone from his client's circle, Zhang Something.

In just a few years, the person had changed significantly; if not for the distinctive floral tie, he might not have recognized him.

After catching a glimpse, before he could look further, his agent approached him.

Standing a step away, she handed him a water bottle and said, "Calm down, will you?"

In the brief moment it took to greet an old acquaintance, the people around him had vanished, seemingly walking miles away in the blink of an eye, almost out of her sight.

Chen Yibai accepted the water bottle with a smile and thanked her.

The agent glanced around at the others present and simply stated, "Feels like everyone here is an old acquaintance of yours."

The social prodigy humbly smiled.

She fetched a cup of water for herself, leaned against a pillar, and asked, "Is your boyfriend picking you up later?"

"It's unlikely," Chen Yibai replied, "He left early this morning, probably has work."

The agent nodded. "That's good, then Uncle Zhao can finally give you a ride today."

If his boyfriend came to pick him up again, Uncle Zhao would start suspecting someone was trying to steal his job.

"What are your plans with your boyfriend...?"

As she spoke, her eyes flicked to the side, glancing past him towards something behind him, momentarily pausing before continuing, "Are you planning to continue dating like this?"

Chen Mutou didn't catch her meaning, his eyes widening. "Well... we can't break up if we're not dating, right?"

After saying this, he turned his head to follow her gaze, looking behind him, but saw nothing, prompting him to ask, "Sister Qian, what were you looking at just now?"

The agent waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing, I thought I saw Zhang Wenxuan heading this way, maybe he wanted to talk to you."

Just as she was about to step aside, he walked by without stopping, seemingly having no intention of speaking, possibly just taking extra steps for exercise.

Leaving her hand in mid-air, she lightly tapped his head. "I didn't mean break up; I was wondering when you plan to take things further."

After some thought, she added, "Remember not to use the word 'break up' in front of your boyfriend."

Having known each other for so many years, from pre-employment to two years on the job, followed by another year, anyone would shed a tear for the boyfriend's plight.

After enduring all these years, she doubted he'd want to hear that word from this person's mouth.

Chen Yibai now understood her implication, recalling something he had previously mentioned, and his gaze drifted as he said, "It's still too early."

The agent looked at him. He continued, "When we were shopping quite a while ago, I told him I'd get him a ring once I win Best Actor."

At the time, he didn't see anything wrong with it, but later realized that what was once a simple decision to buy a ring became contingent upon winning Best Actor after his declaration.

The other nominees for Best Actor this year had already won the title, leaving little hope for him this year. The ring would have to wait until next year.

With no leading role in any film next year, that option was also out. His dear boyfriend would have to wait a bit longer.

Chen Yibai analyzed reasonably, "If I never win Best Actor, does that mean I'll never get married?"

The agent promptly intervened, telling him to refrain from such talk.

Muzzling his words, it was nearly time for the ceremony to begin, so he returned to his seat.

The order of awards varied each year, and this year, they had placed Best Actor last, which was perfect.

Under dimmed lights, Chen Moubai spent two hours as an emotionless clapping machine in the semi-darkness. Halfway through, he struggled to stifle a yawn while clapping, with physiological saline welling up in the corner of his eye, which he forcefully held back.

The temperature and lighting were just right, and there was a table to lean on, making it objectively the perfect place for a nap.

Best Supporting Actor and Actress shared the misfortune of being placed last, with the slight consolation that they were second-to-last, with Best Actor and Actress bringing up the rear.

By the time the award for Best Supporting Actor was announced, Chen Moubai was half-asleep, propping his chin on his wrist on the table. At first glance, he seemed engrossed in the proceedings on stage, but in reality, his eyes had been closed for a while.

This year's Best Supporting Actor went to Lin Wanyu.

Awakened abruptly by the mention of his former colleague's name, he blinked groggily, joining in the applause without fully registering what was happening.

Following the Supporting Actor award was Best Actress. Still in the midst of the host's speech, feeling he couldn't succumb to sleepiness anymore, he picked up his water cup for a sip. Chen Moubai then lowered his head to send a nonsensical message to his good neighbor.

His good neighbor must have been free from work, responding quickly and understandingly, asking, "Feeling sleepy?"

He replied with a vigorously energetic dog emoji, attempting to continue discussing the feasibility of building a pool on the sun's surface.

Before he could finish his message, the presenter for Best Actress stepped onto the stage with the trophy, prompting the busy atmosphere team to put their phones away and join in the applause.

The awarding of Best Actor and Actress was quite ceremonial, with actors who had previously received lifetime achievement awards announcing the winners' names and presenting the awards, signifying a recognition of their talent.

The presenter for this year's Best Actress was a teacher he had seen during online classes at a certain Film Academy long ago. Upon receiving the award, the actress's face was filled with surprise, embracing the awarding teacher after accepting the trophy.

Watching this, Chen Yibai turned to whisper to his agent, "Is hugging the presenter a tradition when receiving an award?"

In one sentence, it directly revealed that he had been slacking off during previous award ceremonies.

His agent's eyebrows twitched fiercely as he denied it.

After the Best Actress award, it was time for the final category: Best Actor.

The crew members seated at the same table had already received all their awards, and they finally awaited another nomination, so they temporarily stopped their quiet chatter. There was now a risk of being caught by the cameras, so those who were leaning on the table straightened up, looking as if they were genuinely engaged.

The host began to read out the script.

Unaware that he was also among the nominees, Chen Bai took advantage of the pause to quickly send an emoji to his good neighbor. Then, pretending nothing happened, he lifted his head to continue listening to the host, occasionally glancing at his dimmed phone screen.

The award presenter for the new film emperor ascended the stage, and while applauding, Chen Bai glanced at his screen again, facing the stage but with his eyes looking down.

Great, his good neighbor hadn't replied; he must have returned to work.

The host introduced the award presenter, then stepped aside after finishing, making room for the presenter to announce the winning actor's name.

The presenter looked sharp in his suit as he lowered his head to open the envelope.

His ears selectively filtered out the host's voice on stage. A master of slacking off, after clapping along with everyone else, he put his hands down and sent two newly collected emojis.

Just as he sent the emojis, a familiar voice sounded by his ear. The voice called out his name, saying, "Chen Bai."

He didn't need to recognize it; this was the voice of his good neighbor.

"?"

Thinking that the contact he was harassing had sent a voice message which he accidentally tapped while poking around, and that his phone wasn't on silent, causing it to play out loud in public, he froze for a moment before hastily reaching to turn off his phone's volume.

But his phone's volume hadn't been on in the first place.

The applause around him suddenly exploded in his ears. Still pondering the volume issue, he joined in the clapping without understanding why, until his agent, whose eyebrows were twitching, nudged him to stand up.

He stood up while still clapping, and only then did he notice that everyone's gaze was directed towards him. He raised his eyes to meet the gaze of the man standing on the stage.

It was the chat partner he had just sent emojis to, dressed in a suit with a neat black tie. Clearly, he was today's award presenter.

"…"

In half a second, Chen Yibai pieced together the current situation. Smiling, the corner of his eye twitched, and his lips touched as he blurted out, "Oh no."

Without discussing the current situation, from a practical standpoint, he thought he was here just to go through the motions. Thus, he hadn't even started working on the promised ring after winning the award.

Not having figured out the ring situation, he first went on stage, each step filled with the daze of someone who had just woken up.

"Hahaha, you got caught slacking off! I said Xu Ge was on stage and you, Chen Yibai, had no reaction at all, hahaha!"

"It's his first nomination, I was worried about Yibai being nervous, but Chen Yibai…you didn't show any signs of tension at all! Did you forget you were nominated?!"

"Hahaha, it's really obvious how out of it you are. Xu Ge was staring at you for a while, and you were still secretly checking your phone, even clapping along with everyone else, hahaha"

"I wanted to say congratulations, and I thought it would be interesting for Xu Sinian to present the award to Chen Yibai, but seeing Yibai's expression, I couldn't say anything. You actually dared to slack off during the award presentation!"

"Not bad, how can Xu Sinian not be considered a heavyweight and prestigious award presenter, hahaha"

Amidst the continuous applause, Chen Moubai, the one who slacked off, bounded onto the stage.

On the brightly lit stage, he approached the man, his steps quick, his forehead hair fluttering back. Upon getting closer, he lifted his eyes to meet the dark pupils, unable to resist smiling.

Under the bright lights, watched by everyone, he accepted the slightly heavy golden trophy.

The trophy was cool to the touch, its edges finely reflecting the light above. The man standing in front of him was impeccably dressed in a suit, looking down at him with lowered eyes, whispering, "Congratulations."

His voice was strangely tense, his attitude more serious than ever, tight as if it wasn't just an award presentation.

Thinking it must be an illusion, Chen Yibai struggled to control his smile, politely thanking him, "Thank you, Teacher Xu."

The occasion was solemn, and he was doing his best to act unfamiliar and polite.

His efforts were evident to all, both those present and the netizens watching the live stream could clearly see. The netizens remained silent, instead starting to frantically capture screenshots of their stifled laughter.

Following the procedure, after receiving the trophy, the newly crowned film emperor Chen needed to deliver his acceptance speech. Lowering his head to meet the microphone standing on the stage, he began to speak.

His words flowed smoothly without any stutters, his logic clear, his speech concise and organized, showing no signs of being improvised.

His brain was still rapidly processing information, his attention focused, so he didn't notice the figure of the person originally standing beside him leaving his field of vision.

As his high-speed brain-generated speech neared its end, if he hadn't misheard, he seemed to hear exclamations from the audience below.

He hadn't misheard; it wasn't an illusion, because when he finished his last word, the exclamations were no longer faint whispers, but a mixed chorus.

Everyone, including one of the parties involved, assumed that today was just another ordinary award ceremony. But when the man who had quietly stepped aside earlier returned, everyone except the other party realized something was amiss.

Standing on the stage, he could see the people near the side of the hall under the faint light. Following the gazes of others, Chen Bai turned his head and saw the man walking towards him with a single hand holding flowers.

The deep red bouquet, with velvet-like petals. The man was tall and leggy, his perfectly tailored trousers giving off the impression of casual cargo pants, walking with a breeze.

Unexpectedly, there was a small gift in addition to the award, Chen Bai watched as the man approached, reaching out to accept the flowers, embracing them fully.

Each flower in the bouquet bloomed splendidly, their colors passionate and deep. Having frequently received flowers from this boyfriend, he had received every kind, but this seemed to be the first time he received red roses.

The fragrance of the flowers spread irresistibly, and he struggled to poke his head out from among them. Originally intending to laugh and give a thumbs-up, he ended up watching as the man took a half-step back, his figure lowering.

"…"

The instant the dazzling diamond ring appeared, Chen Bai's motion of holding the flowers paused, his lowered eyes widening.

The crowd, which had quieted down with the end of the award ceremony, erupted in exclamations. Those sitting in the back rows stood up, leaning on tables to look forward, and photographers who were about to leave hurriedly moved closer.

Zhang Wenxuan sat amidst the crowd, his ears filled with exclamations of surprise. He was seated near the front row, and as those around him stood up, he turned to see a sea of smartphones capturing the scene.

In the lens, a man knelt on one knee, his gaze unwavering as he spoke each word with calm and solemnity. The onlookers' eyes widened, their minds still processing the scene, clutching tightly onto the flowers in their hands.

Their affection was simple and direct, devoid of tangled relationships or the presence of an ambiguous third party. The air seemed thick with sincerity and ardor, palpable and intense.

The atmosphere was electric, everyone gasping in awe, but no one dared to jeer.

For the two figures on stage required no encouragement; they knew what was about to unfold.

This was a grand proposal whose outcome was already known. Amidst the incessant clamor, Zhang Wenxuan lowered his head to type a message:

"You might not have to wait for their breakup after all."

In the midst of the overwhelming roar, Xu Sinian's stunned mind finally caught up, his pupils slowly dilating. After a long pause, he managed to utter: "Didn't we agree I'd be the one to do this?"

Xu Sinian chuckled. "I couldn't wait any longer."

Chen Bai looked down at the tiny yet dazzling ring, hesitating for a moment before squatting down, his grip on the flowers tightening. He whispered, "Should I extend my left hand or my right?"

His experience with proposals was zero, having never considered which hand to offer in such a situation. In that brief moment, he had contemplated extending both hands but reconsidered, thinking it didn't resemble the gesture for placing a ring on someone's finger but rather surrendering to be handcuffed.

Thus, his hesitation was over which hand to present.

As he squatted closer, Xu Sinian smiled gently, lifting Chen Bai's hand and sliding the ring onto his pale, slender finger with care.

It fit perfectly, neither too large nor too small.

With the diamond ring securely in place, he lifted the hand, bending his head to kiss the cool digit softly.

Silence.

The live stream of the award ceremony stuttered and went black due to the overwhelming number of viewers and data requests. It had crashed.

Everyone now understood where the opulent venue and meticulous setup for the proposal had come from, and it hadn't cost the organizers a dime.

During the final photo session, the person standing in the center held a golden trophy in one hand, while the middle finger of the other sported a new, small ring. His smile was radiant.

Netizens who missed the crucial moment due to the disconnection repeatedly tried to re-enter the live stream, only to be met with failure each time. They were left outside, refreshing their screens for pictures shared by kind-hearted attendees.

"How disappointing! To disconnect at such a critical moment, can't the organizers handle the pressure!"

"Some people win in their careers, but in reality, they win in life too. I'm the only one losing, cursed with a poor internet connection that kicked me out early (sobbing)."

"I guessed that when Chen Yibai hesitated, he must have been wondering whether to extend his left or right hand. And indeed, it was true. You never disappoint (thumbs up)."

"It's getting laggy here too. Cherish this moment, I have a feeling this platform will go down soon as well."

Unexpectedly, during an ordinary late night, several mainstream platforms experienced crashes and lags, making it difficult to see any more live photos from the event.

After the award ceremony that evening, Chen Yibai was picked up by his former boyfriend, now his newly appointed fiancé. As he watched him leave, Uncle Zhao sighed deeply, sensing that his position as a dedicated driver might be in jeopardy.

Due to the late hour and the distance from the estate, they opted for a closer neighborhood to return to.

The newly appointed fiancé, also serving as the driver, steered the car through the streets. Chen Bai sat in the passenger seat, cradling a bouquet of deep red flowers. The other floral arrangements he had received that day were in the backseat, secured by seat belts.

The window was open, allowing the night breeze to blow in, ruffling his hair. Bathed in the glow of the streetlights, he raised his hand, his eyes fixated on the shimmering ring that remained steadfast on his finger. He asked, "What would you have done if I hadn't won the award tonight?"

Driver Xu, having shed his suit jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves, kept his hands on the steering wheel. Without changing his expression, he replied, "Then we would have waited for the next time."

The next opportunity could conservatively be estimated to be in two years. Chen Bai smiled. "Good thing I came through."

Driver Xu did not argue, simply agreeing with a nod and a slight lift of his lips.

He had gotten enough sleep during the award ceremony, so despite it being late, Chen Yibai's mind was wide awake. It was his first marriage, and although it was still early days, curiosity got the better of him. At a red light, he began searching on the all-knowing search engine for wedding arrangements that even a novice could manage, musing aloud, "We'll probably need a pretty big venue."

Primarily because they had quite a number of friends and acquaintances, roughly approaching triple digits.

The first result was an advertisement, boasting that it would make you want to get married again after your first time. It seemed confident, and Chen Yibai found it appealing. However, just as his finger was about to touch the screen, the other party involved intervened, stopping the action in time.

Xu Sinian's gaze lingered on the phrase "get married again," his eye twitching slightly. He said softly, "Let's look at something else."

Once was enough for marriage; there should not be a second time in this lifetime.