My ‘Healing’ Game
Chapter 511: Best Supporting Actor (6000 votes for monthly pass)

Chapter 511: Chapter 511: Best Supporting Actor (6000 votes for monthly pass)

The master’s blood indeed could help Big Evil suppress the Curse, but to completely eradicate the Curse would still take a long time.

As a living blood pump, Han Fei was gradually getting overwhelmed. He had not only developed a high resistance to Soul Poison but had almost become immune to the Curse ingrained in Xu Qin’s meals.

While eating, he praised Xu Qin’s cooking skills. In just this short half-hour, Han Fei had maxed out both his loyalty to Big Evil and his goodwill towards Xu Qin.

"I can’t hold on any longer. I’ll come help you suppress the Curse again tomorrow night."

After absorbing the blood from Han Fei, three different patterns appeared on Big Evil’s body.

One was its own inherent pattern, one was the Unspeakable Curse, and the last was the blood Han Fei had infused into its body.

The three patterns intertwined and twisted around each other, like a devil taking up a paintbrush to create the most bizarre and fierce design on Big Evil.

"This little thing is becoming more and more outrageous; taking it out would probably scare those players to death."

Once his blood volume recovered to a safe level, Han Fei chose to exit the game.

Due to the presence of the Unspeakable, Han Fei was now very cautious each time he exited the game, fearing that he might be accidentally seen by the adversary.

The Unspeakable was able to move in the city after the blood had congealed; if it noticed Han Fei, it was very likely to come over.

Removing the gaming helmet, Han Fei stepped out of the Game Box and sat at the desk, briefly organizing the information he had gathered.

"The Plastic Surgery Hospital has three Hatreds. If they enter the Death Building Area together, Zhuang Wen won’t be able to stop them. By then, someone else might occupy the Shrine I’ve worked hard to build."

"I must weaken their strength as much as possible before they voluntarily enter the Death Building."

Enveloped in fog, the three Hatreds in the Death Building were unsure if Butterfly had died, which is why they hadn’t made a move yet. But as time progressed, they would surely realize the truth.

"The fingers at the Department Store also fled into the Plastic Surgery Hospital Area. I met him once in the Shrine World and must find a way to scatter his soul."

"When the Whale Falls, All Things Live. Killing just one Hatred, the remaining Dark Energy and Resentment will be enough to greatly enhance the strength of my neighbors."

The Death Building’s foundational strength was much stronger than the Plastic Surgery Hospital: besides Butterfly, there was Zhuang Wen who had failed the Transformation Hate, Old Ghost about to ignite the Hatred Black Fire, Spider who was always hiding her strength, Little Eight who would lose control after a full outbreak, Jin Sheng from Yimin Private Academy, and the wandering Gesheng.

If it weren’t for the hostility among these Ghosts and Monsters in the Death Building Area, they would have probably steamrolled the Plastic Surgery Hospital long ago.

To Han Fei, the Plastic Surgery Hospital Area seemed more like a Buffer Zone between Paradise and the Death Building, likely left deliberately by Fu Sheng.

Turning on the computer, Han Fei cleared his thoughts and continued his research on cases related to plastic surgery from years ago.

"This wall should have some new faces posted..."

At 9:30 in the morning, Han Fei received a video call from Director Zhang, who appeared to be in high spirits: "Is your outfit ready? Bai Xian is driving over to pick you up, our crew will make a splendid appearance at the movie festival together."

Director Zhang had been worrying due to the poor reception of his previous works, and now he finally had a moment of relief.

"Alright, see you at noon."

Just after Han Fei hung up, Bai Xian rang him up: "Brother, have you bought your clothes? I’m coming over to pick you up."

"No, why does everyone call and ask about my clothes? Do I look like the kind of person who runs around naked?"

"Hahaha, today’s event is not like usual, I was worried you weren’t prepared, so I brought a suit for you. Honestly, you do look handsome in formal attire." Bai Xian was already driving over, and various street noises were audible through the phone.

"I’ve already bought it." Han Fei thought Bai Xian was truly a good person, a kind-hearted person he should definitely get along with well.

After hanging up, Han Fei hurriedly took a shower.

At noon, Bai Xian brought Han Fei to the Xinhu Smart City District. Some crew members and the nine main actors of "Mystery Novelist" were all present, and they entered the Yunshui Building Hotel together.

The second floor of the hotel had been specially decorated, clearly marked: Celebrating "Mystery Novelist" breaking a hundred million on its first day, setting a new ten-year record for the opening day box office of mystery thriller films.

Seeing those words, Han Fei subconsciously searched online for the box office list. "Mystery Novelist" was at 1.7 billion, only a few hundred thousand behind "One Third Comedy." As the increase in box office numbers for "One Third Comedy" was slowing down, "Mystery Novelist" was expected to overtake it by tonight.

"Bai Cha’s acting was inferior to yours, and now the box office has surpassed him; you’re almost guaranteed the Best Young Actor award." Bai Xian’s words were filled with envy: "It’s a pity that this year’s Best Leading Actor nominees are all too strong, and I’m just making up the numbers again."

Director Zhang heard Bai Xian’s words and raised his glass, "Don’t be discouraged, you’re in your prime, there’ll be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Bai Xian shook his head, a bitter smile on his face, "If it doesn’t work out this year, next year might be my last chance, then it will probably be Han Fei’s stage. He’s only in his twenties, yet his acting already has the essence of a master. I’m really curious now, where did he gain so much experience and knowledge? Every character he portrays is incredibly rich and lifelike."

"Brother Bai, actually, I have a special training method. Would you be interested in training with me?" Han Fei smiled slyly as he extended the invitation to Bai Xian.

"A special training method? You’d better not be fooling me."

"How could I fool you? You are such a good person and you’ve always looked out for me." Han Fei switched on his master-level acting in his mind.

"Okay then, I also want my acting to have a new breakthrough." Bai Xian was very serious as he discussed with Han Fei, "I feel like something has been holding me back, I could still perform better emotionally."

"Yes, you need to unlock the emotional shackles and have a thorough release!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Bai Xian nodded continuously, "That’s exactly how I feel."

They continued their conversation at the dining table until one o’clock in the afternoon.

"Everyone, pack up your things. Actors who need to go to the venue should get ready in advance." Director Zhang’s assistant bustled about, leading everyone to the main venue of the film festival.

On their way to the venue, Han Fei truly saw the influence of the film festival—media vehicles almost blocked the park, and it was crowded as far as the eye could see.

Domestic heavyweight actors gathered here, along with numerous entertainment companies and industry insiders. This is the biggest annual event in the entertainment circle, and all the award-winning actors will become the new trendsetters within the industry.

There were more than a dozen huge virtual screens broadcasting inside the activity park, and many idol singers were performing, surrounded by flashing lights and ecstatic fans.

"Director Zhang, isn’t the main event of the film festival in the evening? Why are there so many people already?"

"Starting at three o’clock in the afternoon, a jury of eighteen industry authorities will begin public voting, considering various aspects, and ultimately select the best supporting actor, best lead actress and actor, best director, and other awards." Director Zhang smiled, "I even served as a judge the year before last. This year, since I have works to be judged, I’ll have to sit down there with you all."

"It starts at three? That’s good." Han Fei was worried if it started too late, it would affect his gaming plans in the evening.

"The Outstanding Young Actor Award was added a few years ago, and it’s somewhat more commercially oriented. The method of selecting this award is also different from others. Young people represent vitality and change, and this award, by comparison, has the lowest value, so when we want to try new voting procedures, we start with this award. For instance, the newly introduced online voting and so forth. If there are no issues, it will be extended to other awards."

After finishing, Director Zhang patted Han Fei on the shoulder, "Don’t misunderstand what I said about the Outstanding Young Actor Award having the lowest value—it’s still quite an achievement to win an award at the film festival. Look at Bai Xian, even as a top second-tier actor, he doesn’t have a significant award, and this has prevented him from becoming top-tier."

"You’re still poking at my heart, is this supposed to be a counterexample? I don’t want it to be." Bai Xian was very familiar with Director Zhang; his initial rise came from acting in Director Zhang’s films.

"I’m just giving an example, don’t take it to heart. Let’s go, let’s get ready to enter."

Director Zhang led the actors across the red carpet, where everyone shone their brightest smiles under the countless flashing lights, then posed in front of the prepared giant movie screens.

From the entrance to the main venue was only a little over a hundred meters, but it took them nearly fifteen minutes to walk it.

Once inside the venue, people were guided by the staff to their respective places.

All nominated actors sat in the front rows of the main venue, Han Fei, Director Zhang, and Bai Xian seated together. Han Fei also saw the crew of "One Third of a Comedy" in the distance, Bai Cha was sitting behind Xu Zhen, and a middle-aged woman next to him kept talking to him incessantly.

"You two can’t leave early this time." Director Zhang remembered the previous event, which made him furious; bringing his two most treasured actors to the event, and when it was time to go on stage, both had vanished, leaving him embarrassed for the first time in nearly twenty years.

"Don’t worry." Han Fei sat on an automatically adjustable chair and pulled out his phone to review cases from years ago where plastic surgeries had led to deaths.

At two-thirty in the afternoon, all the actors had basically entered, and the venue, which could hold hundreds of people, was almost full. Various media began live broadcasting.

This film festival was utilizing new technologies from Deep Space Technology, and when netizens entered the live stream, it was as if they were actually at the venue, able to watch from an incredibly close distance.

Compared to previous years, this year’s film festival was more grand, with most streaming platforms broadcasting live, and discussions about the film festival temporarily overshadowing "Perfect Life," topping the real-time trending list.

After the opening song and dance, the two most well-known hosts in the country appeared on stage. Their speech was witty and humorous, their coordination flawless, creating a very lively atmosphere on the site.

After warming up the audience, the first award of the film festival officially began.

To ensure the awards were widely acknowledged, from ten years ago, all awards have been selected by the judges on site.

The process and reasons for the selections were also broadcasted live. Because of this transparency, each award at the film festival was highly valued—a true recognition of an actor’s merit.

"With the rapid development of the era, our mindset towards films must not be rigid. Films indeed have a unique artistic quality, but just obtaining the recognition of a small group of professionals is not enough; we need to consider the public opinion," said the female host as she walked to the forefront; the screen behind her displayed various voting data. "The original voting method has been maintained for six years. This year, we wanted to try a brand new judging mechanism on the Outstanding Young Actor Award."

As she gestured, the data and names on the screen began to change, "This year’s Outstanding Young Actor Award will combine the judgment of nine authoritative judges, the results of an online vote, and a popularity report from big data analytics to make a comprehensive decision."

The music sounded, and the personal profiles of nine authoritative figures appeared on the screen. These nine judges were backstage conducting the final evaluation, each working independently to arrive at their own judgment results.

The atmosphere at the venue instantly became tense, with everyone glued to the constantly changing data on the screen. Han Fei also sat up straight.

"This doesn’t seem quite right." Director Zhang was also watching the screen, but he seemed to have noticed something, his brow suddenly furrowing, "Previously, the judges were always veteran actors, heavyweight directors, and top-tier screenwriters. How come there are people from entertainment companies among the judges this time?"

"People from an entertainment company?"

"Yes, those two so-called senior film critics on the far right both have the backing of entertainment companies." Director Zhang felt something was amiss; he gently patted Han Fei, "It’s a live broadcast now, no matter what happens, we have to maintain our composure."

As an old hand, Director Zhang seemed to have already sensed something was amiss.

The music ended, and the data on the screen ceased to change.

The results of the online voting were announced, with Bai Cha from Deep Space Entertainment ranking first, followed by Han Fei in second place, and Xu Junci in third.

Next up was the annual film and television popularity report generated by big data. Bai Cha was first again, and Han Fei, who had risen to fame a few months ago with "Twin Flowers," was in second place.

Upon seeing these two sets of data, Bai Xian looked at Han Fei with some concern.

After the first two sets of results were announced, the judgment results from the nine authoritative figures were delivered to the female host’s hands. Seeing the results, her face showed a hint of surprise, as if the outcome was different from what she had expected.

As a professional host, she didn’t elaborate much but pointed to the big screen once again.

The results of the nine judges appeared on the screen, with four of them choosing Han Fei. The reasons mostly praised Han Fei’s acting abilities, and they meticulously analyzed his classic scenes in "Mystery Novelist" with a high level of expertise.

One picked Xu Junci, noting that Xu Junci had a deep understanding of historical drama and was adept at portraying various characters.

The remaining four judges chose Bai Cha for various reasons; one compared Bai Cha’s rapid improvement in acting over the past year, praising his immense potential and growth; others mentioned the youthful energy suitable for young talents and the performance style favored by younger audiences.

In total, Bai Cha ranked first in two out of three selections, indisputably making him the winner of the Youth Excellence in Acting Award.

The female host tried to announce the result with professional verbiage, and music played, but the venue, capable of holding a hundred people, garnered scant applause.

Bai Cha went on stage amid his crew’s congratulations to receive the award, but many eyes in the venue turned toward Han Fei, who remained seated.

He kept his usual smile as if nothing had happened.

Director Zhang gently held Han Fei’s arm and whispered, "I’ll go ask them later. For an award that judges acting, not using acting skills as the criterion is ridiculous!"

"No worries," Han Fei smiled faintly, "I seem to have gotten used to it."

On the stage center, Bai Cha took the trophy from a leading actress, excited and thrilled; a film festival award is the highest recognition for an actor.

Holding the trophy, Bai Cha began his acceptance speech, slightly stuttering as he mentioned he would continue to strive and thanked the judges and everyone who supported him.

At the end of his speech, he seemed to deviate from his prepared remarks, improvising a few sentences, and looked unmistakably toward where Han Fei was seated without any attempt to conceal it.

His smile carried a hint of provocation, indeed, backed by Deep Space Entertainment, he had the right to display such a smile.

The somewhat sensational acceptance speech ended to still scant applause from the audience, many of whom were surprised, including the award-presenting leading actress who hadn’t expected this outcome.

Holding the trophy, Bai Cha walked off the stage; aside from his drama crew and his company’s colleagues, hardly anyone congratulated him.

"If they dare do this, I’d like to see how they wrap up this year," Bai Xian said coldly, pulling out his phone to express his severe dissatisfaction on a platform.

It wasn’t just him; the film festival’s live broadcast was in chaos, and the staff was struggling to maintain order.

Once Bai Cha returned to his seat, the whispering in the venue never ceased.

"The Youth Excellence in Acting has been announced; the next few awards will still follow the original judging procedures this year!" The host was trying hard to control the situation.

The next award was for the Best Supporting Male Actor, unlike the Youth Excellence in Acting Award, competing actors for this category spanned all age groups, including golden supporting actors, veteran actors with decades of experience, and popular second-tier stars.

It was precisely because the younger actors couldn’t compare with these experienced ones in terms of acting skill and depth that a separate Youth Excellence in Acting Award had been established.

The controversy from earlier slowly subsided under the host’s control, and everyone shifted their focus to the Best Supporting Actor selection.

Unlike the selection for the outstanding young actor, the Best Supporting Actor was still chosen in the same old way.

The big screen rotated images, and in addition to the previous nine judges, another nine appeared. Among them were veteran directors, top-tier actors, and some highly respected veterans in the industry.

After the selection that had just taken place, the expressions on the subsequently appearing nine judges seemed very serious.

As the selection for the Best Supporting Actor began, among the eighteen judges, one directly placed his voting panel face down on the table. He didn’t say a word, and the nearby staff didn’t dare to ask, as this actor had quite an extraordinary background.

After all the judges had made their decisions, the central screen in the venue changed again, giving each judge’s camera individually. They needed to reveal their votes one by one and explain their reasons for such decisions.

The first judge was the senior film critic, and his choice was still Bai Cha, followed by a flurry of elaborate praise.

Although the second judge was also a film critic, he had some semblance of decency and gave his vote to a veteran actor.

Following that were the third and fourth judges, who each gave their votes to a second-tier top star and another veteran actor, respectively.

After the first four judges who had voted for Bai Cha expressed their opinions, the camera shifted to the fifth judge, who was the oldest of all the judges. The name displayed on the electronic screen in front of him was—Zhuang Ren.

Unlike the previous four judges, Zhuang Ren’s expression was very serious, and there was even a hint of anger in his eyes.

Once the director turned Zhuang Ren’s microphone on, he looked towards the screen in the room, staring at the senior film critic who still voted for Bai Cha, and spoke his first words.

"Are you blind?"

As soon as he said this, the whole venue was shocked, and the staff became busy, intending to cut off Zhuang Ren’s microphone, but the leaders did not agree.

"Although I am known as the king of bad movies and have filmed countless terrible films, I can at least discern what is good and what is bad."

"From character image, basic skills in dialogue, tension in detailed scenes, understanding and performance of inner drama, how does that young man named Bai Cha compare to Han Fei?"

"An acting award, and you don’t discuss acting, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Zhuang Ren pounded on the voting board, comparing Han Fei and Bai Cha’s acting from aspects of voice, physique, emotion, and artistic conception. Actually, he wanted to say more, but his microphone was cut off afterward.

On the screen, Zhuang Ren’s vote appeared; he had chosen Han Fei, and then the camera quickly moved to the sixth judge.

This judge was a well-connected veteran actor who had dedicated his life to the big screen.

"I also vote for Han Fei. Although there are old friends of mine among the nominated actors, they truly did not perform as well as Han Fei this year. This young man is truly stunning; he has almost reached the threshold of master-level acting."

The camera moved again, showing the seventh judge, an old gentleman with his arm in a bandage. He looked into the audience for a long time and finally located Han Fei.

"This kid will be extraordinary in the future. His acting has been honed sharp as a knife, it can strike to kill when revealed, yet when sheathed, it’s as gentle as anyone in the world. My vote goes to him."

Among the seven judges, three had given their votes to Han Fei. The Bai Cha team was becoming restless, with one middle-aged woman continuously making phone calls.

By now, Bai Cha’s expression had completely changed. He was somewhat losing control. To prevent the media from capturing any photos, he slightly lowered his head, his hand holding the trophy was already showing bulging veins.

The camera moved to the eighth judge, who also directly voted for Han Fei without any hesitation.

Next came the ninth judge, the tenth judge...

As the vote count continued to accumulate, all the actors in the venue were captivated by the numbers on the big screen; the female host had never seen such a unanimous decision.

Soon it was the last judge’s turn. His appearance on the screen already elicited many exclamations from the actors.

The eighteenth judge was Yinghuo, a national-level comedian who, despite not having filmed for six years, still ranked among the top-tier actors.

The camera shifted to him, he looked at the voting numbers on the screen, after a long while, he showed a smile.

Then he picked up the voting board in his hand, watched by the entire audience, and on the board was written a name—Han Fei!

Among the eighteen judges, fourteen had cast their votes for Han Fei—such an overwhelming advantage had not been seen for many years!

Someone in the audience started clapping, followed by applause that drowned out the music.

The female host, looking at the numbers on the screen, was also somewhat excited, "Let’s congratulate Han Fei; he is this year’s Best Supporting Actor!"