True Star Chapter 127

    After the final exam, Tang Feng went to the restroom to wash his face. Just before filming, the makeup artist had applied some foundation onto his face.

“h.e.l.lo?” He answered the call, while pulling a few paper towels out of the dispenser to dry his hands.

With that theatrical way of speaking, that strange and exaggerated tone, and that voice that more or less qualified as beautiful and smooth, it was difficult for Tang Feng to pretend that he didn’t know who was on the other end of the line.

“Thank you.” Out of mere courtesy, Tang Feng expressed his grat.i.tude.

Tang Feng had heard corny words of praise before, but hearing those same words come out of Albert’s mouth made his hair stand on end. It was like they were enacting a Shakespearean tragedy. It was awkward and strange no matter how they went about it. Tang Feng squeezed the bridge of his nose and walked out of the restroom. He’d better find an empty room before continuing their call; a special man like Albert wouldn’t call him out of nowhere just to express some admiration.

I don’t hear an ounce of shock in that flat voice of yours, Tang Feng remarked to himself. However, how did Albert come to know that he had been kidnapped by Su Qi Cheng?

You can only blame going insane on yourself. Don’t push the responsibility onto me, Mr. Albert the Insane.

“Relax, don’t worry. I’m only a loyal audience member of yours. I’m simply trying to express my adoration for you. Haha… I look forward to the day when you will light up the sky with your brilliance. At the end of everything, I’m the only one who can offer you love. A harmless and unique type of true love.”

Loyal audience? An obsessive psychopath was more like it.

True Star Training Cla.s.s had come to a perfect conclusion. The Tian Chen Group was holding a celebration banquet and awards ceremony at their office building the next evening. Before entering the banquet hall, all the attendees had to walk a stretch of the red carpet, signifying their smooth path toward future stardom.

Before stepping onto the red carpet, the trainees were dressing and grooming themselves in a company-provided dressing room. Due to the lavish sponsoring from Dior, the young trainees who hadn’t officially stepped foot into the entertainment world had the chance to wear luxurious clothes they normally couldn’t afford. Of course, they had to return everything after the ceremony.

According to Xiao Yu, Tang Feng was going for a hipster-gentleman look. Standing on the red carpet, he wouldn’t lose to any other male celebrity. It didn

Tang Feng was currently sitting in a black car heading toward the ceremony venue. Xiao Yu, his manager and a.s.sistant, was sitting next to the driver at the front. He was sitting in the back with Lu Tian Chen to his left and Charles to his right. As two of the three biggest investors of the training cla.s.s, Lu Tian Chen and Charles would be walking the red carpet as well. With their tall and handsome―not to mention rich―profiles, numerous girls would be screaming for them tonight.

“This is your first time walking the red carpet. Are you nervous?” Lu Tian Chen asked in a quiet voice.

“This isn’t my first time walking the red carpet, but it’s definitely the most memorable one,” Charles said good-humoredly.

“Please head over to the preparation area and get ready,” a staff member informed them when they reached the venue.

The sound of music and cheers drifted faintly into the car. It felt as if they were floating in the dark, blue ocean.

And this was merely the beginning.

Charles and Lu Tian Chen got out of the car from their respective doors. When Tang Feng stepped out, he saw two hands reached out waiting for him. He smiled and grasped those hands without any hesitation.

As they walked, many spectators wondered about their relations.h.i.+p. Was it the proclaimed love triangle that fueled the rumors? If that were the case, why were they walking hand in hand with not a hint of worry on their faces? Perhaps those rumors were fake in the first place.

As for the answers to those questions, outsiders would never know.

After they walked a stretch of the red carpet, there was an interview and autograph signing session waiting for them. After signing the sponsor backdrop that hanged behind them, the three men were dragged away by a beautiful, female red carpet host. One by one, she asked them questions.

Lu Tian Chen accepted the microphone with a faint smile and gave a reply with the flair of a bureaucrat: “As long as it’s someone with promise, Tian Chen Entertainment would certainly watch over their future. Of course, everyone has seen Tang Feng’s excellent performance in the training cla.s.s.”

“Mr. Charles, we never knew you were one of the investors for True Star Training Cla.s.s. Is that the reason why you have chosen Tang Feng time after time in Dream Lover?” The host turned and directed a question at Charles.

After the two tall, handsome, and rich men finished their interviews, loud cheers rang out among the female fans outside. Faintly, they could make out calls of “Tang Feng and Lu Tian Chen” and “Tang Feng and Charles are the true couple” among the cheers.

The host’s smile grew even more suggestive at the cheers. She handed the microphone to Tang Feng and asked, “Tang Feng, if you were asked to choose between President Lu and Mr. Charles, whom would you choose?”

Charles and Lu Tian Chen didn’t comment on Tang Feng’s response, but the host and the reporters nearby all chuckled at the actor’s humorous banter.

For the most part, Charles and Lu Tian Chen got surrounded by a crowd of business reporters. As for Tang Feng, due to the mult.i.tude of rumors about him lately, he also got caught in the hold of several reporters from online news sites and TV stations.

“Tang Feng, have you practiced holding microphones at home?”

“Right now, I’m holding microphones. In the future, I’ll be holding trophies. Of course I’ve practiced at home. Rather than microphones though, I’ve practiced holding four or five trophies at the same time.” It was certainly a reply only he would make, in true Tang Feng style.

“Oh, of course.” The cheeky smile Tang Feng gave made others chuckle alongside with him.

“All of those rumors are rubbish. My relations.h.i.+p with President Su couldn’t be any better. Last week, we even went to a hotel together. Of course, it wasn’t for the sake of getting a room. We simply sat down for a while and chatted about work and acting.” If he didn’t give that kind of answer, was he expected to tell the truth? Have him face the camera and say: Actually, we really did go to a hotel last week. However, President Su had kidnapped me and forcefully taken me there. A few minutes longer and we would have slept together! But I ended up giving President Su a beating instead.

Tang Feng blinked a few times before he understood the hidden meaning of the reporter’s words. Was she asking for a confrontation so she could compare their answers? Acting shocked, he turned around to see Ge Chen and Su Qi Cheng standing together as the latter answered a few questions from a reporter. On the surface, Su Qi Cheng looked rather well. Of course, there was a reason for that. Aside from slapping the man in the face, Tang Feng had mainly punched Su Qi Cheng in areas that would be hidden by clothes, such as the abdomen, the chest, the backside, and etcetera.

Su Qi Cheng narrowed his eyes and stared at the handsome Tang Feng who had walked right up to him. He lowered his voice and spoke beside the actor’s ear, “What are you doing?”

Su Qi Cheng let out a light snort, but when he looked at the cameras, he was the image of intimacy with Tang Feng. Cooperating with Tang Feng’s suggestions, he smiled while bending down to talk beside the actor’s ear.

Su Qi Cheng was still trying to act like a formidable and intimidating man.

“The sight of the big superstar Tang Feng masturbating in the bathroom was a steamy sight. If it had been captured on camera and made into a film, it would surely top the box office.” Su Qi Cheng was not to be outdone with biting remarks. After receiving a beating from Tang Feng, he had to recover some lost ground. No matter what, he wasn’t losing the verbal battle this time.

“I was merely joking with you the last time. I think you’ve given me enough retribution.” The minute they turned around, Su Qi Cheng changed his tone of voice.

“If I had truly wanted to deal with you, Lu Tian Chen and Charles would never have found you that quickly. I would never have been fooled by your act.”

“You had drugged me.”

“Why are you telling me this now? Don’t say that you want to bury the hatchet and return to our previous relations.h.i.+p, or that you had fallen for me. Because of you, I almost jumped out of a three-story window. If I had heart disease, I would’ve died from all that excitement.” Tang Feng didn’t give Su Qi Cheng a chance to reply and walked away right afterwards. He headed toward Ge Chen, who was standing by the side looking at them with a barely contained look of curiosity.

Under the scrutiny of cameras, no one would dare try to ruin their own image. With the labels of “bright like suns.h.i.+ne” and “perfect” weighing him down, Ge Chen gave a fake smile. “Drop the act please. I didn’t realize you were so talented before. Were you just pretending in the past?”

“Did you seduce him?!”

“So they told you everything. Haha.” Suppressing his anger and unwilling to admit defeat, Ge Chen continued, “Who do you think you are? After they grow tired of you, they’ll abandon you sooner or later. You’ll end up no better than roadside trash. Do you know what kind of people Lu Tian Chen and Charles are? They are ferocious wild animals. They’ll swallow you whole and not even spit the bones back out.”

Unknowingly, Tang Feng had ended up spending longer than he’d liked talking with Ge Chen. After giving enough time for the paparazzi to take a few more pictures, he left and went to find Lu Tian Chen and Charles. He had given Ge Chen advice out of the good of his heart, but whether Ge Chen will listen to his advice and accept them was not something he could control.

Celebrity gatherings were such interesting places to be, right?

At seven o’clock on the dot, the True Star Training Cla.s.s Award Ceremony officially began. The guests gradually migrated inside the banquet hall and took their seats. A host walked onstage and gave a bureaucratic opening of the event. After that, the three big investors of the show, Lu Tian Chen, Charles, and Su Qi Cheng went up onstage separately to give their speeches. The three of them shook hands and smiled at each other like they were old friends. The people who didn’t know them personally probably believed in the facsimile produced onstage without a doubt in their hearts.

The first award was the Best Potential Award. The receiver was a young and handsome man called Zhang Rui Cheng. Off-screen, he had a good relations.h.i.+p with both Tang Tian Tian and Tang Feng. He was an earnest and respectful new talent. Prior to receiving the award, he had already signed with Tian Chen Entertainment.

Charles was the one responsible for handing out the Best Potential Award. Zhang Rui Cheng walked up to him and shook his hand emotionally. After accepting the award, he gave a speech dictating his thanks. Unexpectedly, he mentioned Tang Feng’s name.

It didn’t matter if Zhang Rui Cheng’s grat.i.tude came from the heart or if it had been an act for the media, Tang Feng was happy to accept it.

After that, Su Qi Cheng called out the name for the Most Photogenic Award. The winner was Tang Tian Tian, whose future path was bright like a sea of stars. After getting to know Tang Tian Tian, Tang Feng discovered that while she might appear like a simple-minded and cheerful girl, she had an ambitious heart when it came to acting.

While walking onstage, Tang Tian Tian appeared unexpectedly calm. Without any signs of anxiety, she accepted the check from Su Qi Cheng and expressed her grat.i.tude to the crowd. As she was walking offstage, she glanced triumphantly at Tang Feng. He couldn’t help but chuckle at her expression.

The real prize was at the very end. As the show was called True Star Training Cla.s.s, the final prize would naturally have “True Star” in its name.

“Firstly, the receiver has to be someone whose coursework grades rank in the top three among the trainees. Secondly, the receiver has to gain the approval of two-thirds of the other trainees. Lastly, the receiver must also gain the approval of the training cla.s.s’ instructors.” After the host stopped speaking, a video appeared on the screen at the back of the stage.

Cheers and claps immediately rang out in the banquet hall following Pacino’s words. A spotlight also beamed down on the spot Tang Feng was sitting in. He looked at the screen and smiled at Pacino’s image. He would be very happy to dance with him again.

Subsequently, the instructors for horse-riding, social interaction, and more appeared on the screen. Following that were videos of each of the trainees. The host had asked each of them whether they would support Tang Feng as the receiver of the True Star Award, and none of them had disagreed.

Of course, the three big investors who were still standing onstage, Lu Tian Chen, Charles, and Su Qi Cheng also appeared in the video. It wasn’t strange to hear Lu Tian Chen and Charles praising him, but Tang Feng was thoroughly surprised when he saw Su Qi Cheng voice out his approval.

Giving me something sweet after I gave him a beating? Was this the whole good cop, bad cop routine?

It was one the world’s most celebrated actors, Fiennes’ teacher, Leroy.

When Leroy appeared on the screen, Tang Feng felt tears at the rim of his eyes.

At that moment, a lively old man walked out from behind the screen. With a smile on his face, he spread his arms. “Congratulations, my child. You are the true star.”

“Tang Feng, quickly, go onstage.” Seeing Tang Feng standing still with shock apparent on his face, Xiao Yu gently pushed him forward.

“If Fiennes were still alive, he would be extremely happy to see you right now, because you have succeeded his spirit.” Leroy was extremely saddened by the pa.s.sing of a gifted actor like Fiennes, but he was also extremely happy to see the rise of another true star during his life. Like a father, he kindly patted the man silently crying on his shoulder. “You’re very much like Fiennes. You are both grown men on the outside, yet occasionally, you both would cry nonstop like children.”

“I know you will become a true star in the future. I’m very happy to have met you, my child.”

His father would teach him acting, guide him on the principles of life, and quietly pat him on the back when he was feeling weak and hurt.
Tonight, a true star was reborn.