As she was leaving the interview area, she seed to catch a glimpse of soone from afar.
Qin Baizhou.
This ti, however, he was here only as an invited guest. He hadn’t appeared during the red carpet walk, wasn’t seen at the cocktail party after entering the venue, and only rushed to the awards ceremony.
Moreover, as a guest, he wasn’t seated with her or the other nominees. They were quite far apart from each other, and once the ceremony ended, she was surrounded by the dia, without any ti or opportunity to greet him.
Xia Siyu wasn’t in the habit of dwelling on old grudges. When she broke away from Huixing, though she bore the bla for over a year and missed out on two potential trophies, Huixing did help cover quite a bit of endorsent compensation. There was a mutual understanding between the two parties. Although Huixing ultimately reaped substantial benefits from the faction incident at the TV station and successfully grood Zhou Weiwei and a new batch of young actresses, Xia Siyu, once having left, refrained from comnting on her forr company.
Every Spring Festival, Qin Baizhou would routinely send a generic mass ssage of blessings, to which she would conventionally reply with a "thank you," but beyond that, there was little interaction between them.
This ti Qin Baizhou seed to have brought along an artist from the company, not Zhou Weiwei. Xia Siyu had occasionally encountered them at other events, and it was said that the artist was being grood to be the next Xia Siyu.
She had just taken a quick scan. The young girl was in her early twenties. In terms of looks and figure, there was no comparison. However, she seed quite rebellious — calling her wild and domineering wouldn’t be right — she had that kind of ambition written all over her face, the stance of soone determined to beco a star.
Over the years, there have been quite a few debuting under the banner of "the second Xia Siyu"; even Li Yiru once tried to leech off her fa constantly. Xia Siyu wasn’t bothered; if it hadn’t been for Wang Zisu ntioning that the female lead in his new movie was this young girl, she might not have rembered her at all.
It was heard that Qin Baizhou had invested considerable effort into this young girl, urging her to hone her acting skills, even receiving specialized dance training. Many resources were allocated to her, and so resources initially intended for Zhou Weiwei had now been diverted to her.
Wang Zisu had gossipily added, "Rumor has it that this girl is Qin Baizhou’s kept canary."
How to put it, when Xia Siyu heard this news, she was utterly unmoved and simply remarked, "n gossiping is really terrifying!"
**
Throughout the years, Xia Siyu has not had many true friends.
As a child in Sicily, in a foreign land yet living in the Chinese district, studying in a predominantly white private school, she had no friends on either side, and she returned to her holand during high school.
She dropped out of college after just under two years, having a closer relationship only with Zhou Weiwei from her dormitory. Later, everyone knew what happened between them.
And then, there was Qin Baizhou.
Entering the entertainnt industry, which is even more of a fa-driven arena. When you’re popular, it seems like there are friends everywhere. Of course, there are also plenty who slander and envy you secretly. But as soon as you fall out of favor, everyone imdiately turns against you, eager for your permanent downfall.
She’d been in the industry for ten years, and she hadn’t made many friends. Instead, she drifted apart from Zhou Weiwei and parted ways with Qin Baizhou. Previously, there was no conflict because Xia Siyu always had the upper hand over Zhou Weiwei. In terms of resources, endorsents, and circles, they were not on the sa level, hence no conflicts. But once interests collided, they imdiately turned their backs on each other.
The sa was true for Qin Baizhou.
Thinking back now, she couldn’t entirely bla Qin Baizhou for his actions. The man was in business, and everything had to be about profit. Having spent several years together, emotional bonds might have ford. But when emotions and business were on the sa scale, they needed to weigh which was heavier.
She wouldn’t bla Qin Baizhou for his covert maneuvering and ultimately letting her take the fall; it was all business. Nevertheless, once emotions get mixed with manipulation, they lose their purity, be it friendships or romances. And she was, coincidentally, a person who valued purity. Hence, they wouldn’t be friends, but they wouldn’t beco enemies either.
At this awards ceremony, Bo Yan was also nominated, but he didn’t co. The reason was the sa as before, the show had conveyed that he was unlikely to win this ti.
While whether one wins can sotis only be determined on-site, sotis there’s insider information to forewarn if a visit would be unnecessary.
Yet, it’s probably for the better. If Bo Yan had been here, the dia would undoubtedly have been probing about her relationship with him. On Valentine’s Day, she had interacted with Bo Yan on Weibo and got backlash from his fans. Although Xia Siyu later threatened that if they kept causing trouble, she’d post a grid of pictures of the two of them to provoke the fans.
However, once her emotions cald down, she reverted to her normal self — reluctant to air her private matters for public scrutiny and judgnt.
This ti, when the dia queried about Bo Yan, she deftly changed the topic and didn’t bother responding.
It was only after the interviews were concluded that she ca face to face with Qin Baizhou.
Xia Siyu hadn’t intended to encounter them, but unexpectedly, after Qin Baizhou said goodbye to the dia and turned, he saw her.
Not only did he see her, but the young girl beside him did too.
After all, attending an award ceremony, Xia Siyu always dressed extravagantly for such events. Now, she was no longer the rebellious young girl, picked by a star scout Qin Baizhou on the street, troubled by family issues. Having endured countless ups and downs, the still thriving Xia Siyu, though bold and unyielding, had long refined her reckless impulsiveness into a dominating charisma with strong aggression.
The young girl beside Qin Baizhou, though evidently modeled after her, lost her rebellious edge at the sight of the real deal, just like ice lting in the sun.
Moreover, she slightly moved closer to Qin Baizhou, standing nearer to him. As if silently protesting sothing or asserting herself with insecurity.
Or rather, her aggression was present but entirely redirected into hostility towards her.
After all, when a knock-off ets the genuine article, there’s always that bit of vexation and stage fright.
Yet, Xia Siyu didn’t even bother to look directly at the young girl. She genuinely hadn’t wanted an encounter with Qin Baizhou firsthand — after all, greeting was such a hassle.
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