They returned to the hotel and then Ke Lan and Xu Chenhao arrived. Everyone had been busy during this period of time and it had been a long time since they got together. They met and couldn’t stop talking. Ji Zehui obviously wasn’t a member of IUD and he wasn’t familiar with Xu Chenhao and the others, but he could actually chat with everyone. It was like he didn’t want to leave.
Xie Yang let them make a fuss. He called the manager of the hotel and told him not to let any waiters up here and to not let people casually disturb him. Then he went back to the suite. Everyone talked until 11 o’clock and didn’t separate until Qin Cheng came to urge them.
The next day, Xie Yang got up early to prepare for the awards ceremony in the afternoon.
The waiter brought breakfast in and the hotel manager followed him. The manager told Xie Yang, “A man called Zhou Zibin came to see you last night. We stopped him as he tried to enter this floor. We followed your order and told him that you are gathering with friends and don’t want to be disturbed. We asked him if he needed us to give you a message on his behalf. He refused and left the hotel by himself.”
Xie Yang was surprised. Zhou Zibin actually found the hotel? How did Zhou Zibin know what hotel he was staying in and the floor?
Qin Cheng had just come over and frowned when he heard the manager’s words. He asked Xie Yang, “What’s the situation?”
Xie Yang sent away the manager first. It was only after his own people were in the room that he talked about Zhou Zibin.
Qin Cheng listened with a heavy expression. “There is a type of person in the circle who looks glamorous on the surface but behind the scenes, they are just clearly priced goods. They sell themselves in exchange for resources, job opportunities or money. Zhou Zibin is such a person. In addition, his target customers are all men. Zhou Zibin is very famous in the circle and only does things when collecting money. He has a good eye, never messes up and doesn’t make random appointments. Now he is actually taking the initiative to approach you.”
“You mean, someone paid him to seduce me?”
Qin Cheng nodded. The more he thought about it, the more wrong he felt. “Fortunately, this hotel is well managed and he didn’t find the door to your room. Fortunately, this floor is empty and the paparazzi definitely won’t be able to get here. Otherwise, if he is photographed hovering at the door of your room then it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t enter your room. You won’t be able to explain it once the photos are released.”
Xie Yang was thoughtful.
Qin Cheng continued, “Don’t think about this trivial matter. Being photographed by the paparazzi isn’t the most terrible thing. The most terrible thing is if relationship news is revealed and Mr Qiu misunderstands you…” He didn’t finish the rest but the meaning was clear.
It would definitely be unlucky if Xie Yang was misunderstood by Qiu Xing. He should have less conflicts with Qiu Xing. If there was a serious conflict… What if they broke up?
Xie Yang also thought of this. He had the faint feeling that if Zhou Zibin was really bought by someone, then provoking his relationship with Qiu Xing should be the real purpose of the person behind Zhou Zibin.
He said, “It seems we will have to find a chance to talk to this Zhou Zibin.”
Qin Cheng shook his head. "There is nothing to talk about. People like Zhou Zibin can mix in the circle until now without being overturned due to their tight mouth. If he really collected money to approach you then he will never say it."
"A tight mouth depends on whether the benefits are big enough and if the threats are heavy enough. Don't worry, I'm not going to use money to smash him. I will find someone to test him and compile a particularly powerful force background for me. It is best if we can scare him into telling the truth. If he isn't scared then watch his reaction."
“Reaction?”
“Yes, if he is particularly nervous then the person who bought him doesn’t have a very strong background. If he is particularly calm then it proves the person who bought him has a deeper background. There are only a few people who aren’t pleasing to my eyes. I can make a general guess based on his reaction.”
Qin Cheng understood and got up. “Yes, I will arrange for someone to scare him.”
***
At 1 o’clock in the afternoon, the awards ceremony started on tall. All the nominees had to walk on the red carpet. Xie Yang was arranged to walk with the others in the new IUD. Their position was in the middle and it was neither good nor bad.
On the red carpet, Xie Yang consciously walked to the side and left the middle positions for Tong Jian and Ke Lan.
Coincidentally, walking in front of them happened to be Yuan Pang and Mu Zhouyi. By the time he reached the middle section of the red carpet, Mu Zhouyi and Yuan Pang had just reached the signature board and were being interviewed by the host.
Xie Yang looked at Mu Zhouyi’s appearance in the distance. Today’s Mu Zhouyi wore a long-sleeved dress with her hair curled up. She looked gentle and elegant. Her exposed skin seemed white again and her hair was smooth and shiny.
Xie Yang withdrew his gaze.
Did Mu Zhouyi optimize herself using the love value again? However, where did Mu Zhouyi get so much love value to use? She hadn’t been exposed in any works for a long time and she had the rumours of being a third party. Her image and reputation had fallen to the bottom. It should’ve been a long time since she received any love value.
Moreover, Mu Zhouyi should’ve used the goodwill skill on Hong Zhijie and Feng Qingbai during this period of time. Even if she accumulated a lot of love value points previously, there should be very little left now. She shouldn’t be able to splurge.
Mu Zhouyi’s interview ended and she entered the awards ceremony with Yuan Pang.
Xie Yang converged his thoughts and followed Tong Jian and the others to the signature board. They signed their names and walked to the host to accept a short interview. After the interview, they headed inside the venue.
Just like the red carpet position, the position of IUD in the venue was also in the middle. They sat with other singing groups in the circle and some famous new generation singers.
Xie Yang took his seat and found that Xue Xian was sitting next to him. More coincidentally, Ge Zhuo was sitting in front of him. Xue Xian looked embarrassed and after greeting Xie Yang, he turned to talk to the singer sitting on the other side of him.
Xie Yang glanced at the field and found that Ji Zehui was sitting in the second row next to Yuan Pang. Mu Zhouyi wasn’t next to Yuan Pang and it was unknown where she was sitting.
At 2 in the afternoon, the awards ceremony officially began.
In the first 30 minutes, the awards weren’t important and the atmosphere was more relaxed. After the small awards finished, there was a performance. Then after the performance, today’s first important award was finally ushered in—Best Lyrics.
Both Xie Yang and Ke Lan was shortlisted for this award. Xie Yang’s shortlisted song was ‘Reincarnation’ while Ke Lan’s shortlisted song was ‘IUD’. Tong Jian visibly became nervous and reached out to grasp Xie Yang’s sleeve.
Xie Yang glanced at his hand and then at the camera. He pulled out his sleeve and comforted Tong Jian. “Relax. ‘IUD’ is very good.”
The song ‘IUD’ brought together the efforts of the entire new IUD. The lyrics written by Ke Lan were based on his psychological changes over the years of joining the group. It was filled with his feelings and was very touching. ‘Reincarnation’ was also good but it was a bit worse than ‘IUD’.
The winner was announced and ‘IUD’ picked up the award for best lyrics. Ke Lan’s clenched hand loosened. He stood up amidst the applause, crossed Tong Jian and gave the first hug to Xie Yang. Ke Lan’s voice was a bit choked up as he said, “Thank you.”
Xie Yang patted Ke Lan on the back. “This is just the beginning.”
This was indeed just the beginning.
Not long after Best Lyrics, it was Best Arrangement and ‘IUD’ was once again nominated. In the end, Xu Chenhao won the Best Arrangement Award for ‘IUD’. Xie Yang was also shortlisted for Best Arrangement for the new song ‘Happy’ for Tong Jian but regretfully didn’t win.
Like Ke Lan, Xu Chenhao hugged Xie Yang first after getting up. Xie Yang said nothing and just patted Xu Chenhao on the shoulder with a smile.
Soon, it was Best Composition. IUD was shortlisted again along with the works of Xue Xian, Ge Zhuo and the others.
Tong Jian, Ke Lan and Xu Chenhao were all secretly excited. As long as they won Best Composition, ‘IUD’ will officially become this year’s true annual golden song. Moreover, the soul of ‘IUD’ was the composition. This award would definitely belong to Xie Yang! It was a great honor to get the Best Composition, Best Lyrics and Best Arrangement for the same song!
The award presenter spoke and the winner was announced—Ge Zhuo.
Apart from Xie Yang, Tong Jian, Ke Lan, Xu Chenhao and even Xue Xian all showed sluggish expressions and looked at Xie Yang in unison. The camera moved over and Xie Yang took the lead in applauding while secretly pushing Tong Jian with his elbow.
Everyone returned to their senses. Xie Yang took the lead and everyone in the row clapped one after another.
Ge Zhuo got up and was ready to go to the stage to accept the award. He smiled as he shook hands with the people sitting next to him. He even specifically nodded at Xie Yang and Xue Xian before walking to the stage.
The moment the camera left, Tong Jian immediately stopped applauding. He felt aggrieved and unwilling. “Why is this…”
Xie Yang patted Tong Jian on the arm so he wouldn’t talk. Ke Lan and Xu Chenhao controlled their expressions and didn’t say anything, but their hearts were the same as Tong Jian. Yes, how could this be? Ge Zhuo’s work clearly wasn’t comparable to IUD.
The major awards were announced one by one. Xie Yang finally won two heavyweight individual awards, one for Best Singles Producer and one for Best Album Producer. It was ‘IUD’ that won him Best Single and the Best Album was Tong Jian’s ‘Children’s Language’.
At the age of 20, in the first year of his debut, he won two producer awards that represented the highest level in one fell swoop. If it was changed to another singer then they would probably be crying with excitement. However, Xie Yang was very calm. He was composed during his speeches like he was a veteran producer who won numerous awards already.
He didn’t get the Best Composition, Best Lyrics or Best Arrangement but there was no doubt that the biggest winner of this year’s Golden Song Awards was Xie Yang. In the end, the highlight came. The Best Combination Award was announced. The new IUD won the award with the mini-album ‘IUD’ and replicated the glory of their debut.
When receiving this award, Xie Yang finally showed a smile that fit his age. As Ke Lan spoke, he looked at the camera and shook the trophy in his hand.
***
The awards ceremony gradually came to an end. Before the announcement of the last three heavyweight awards of Best Male Singer, Best Female Singer and Best Album, the host introduced the hot performance according to the schedule.
After the host stepped down, Mu Zhouyi made her appearance holding a microphone, shining and beautiful in her long dress.
Under the stage, Xie Yang watched Mu Zhouyi advance to the center of the platform. His fingers moved and he started to mobilize his ability that had been restored.