IPCFS: Chapter 141 Part 2

“……”

Ji Li’s footsteps suddenly froze.

This matter might’ve just passed if he didn’t understand Korean. However, it just so happened that Ji Li had made a Chinese-Korean joint venture movie in his previous life.

In the beginning, he specially learned some Korean to communicate normally with the actors of South Korea.

He hadn’t spoken it in a long time and wasn’t proficient in the language, but it wasn’t a problem for him to understand individual vulgar words.

Disgusting? Thief?

A layer of coldness formed in Ji Li’s eyes. He was willing to maintain politeness in the international banquet hall, but this didn’t mean he had to casually accept the malice of others and not fight back.

Ji Li turned around and asked with a smile, “Mr. Kim, who are you scolding as a thief?”

“……”

Kim Seungyu was speechless for a while when facing Ji Li’s suddenly cool aura. He hadn’t expected that Ji Li would actually be able to understand what he was saying.

“Mr. Ji heard me wrong, I didn’t say anything.”

“You should know that the casting power of ‘Long Island Iced Tea’ lies in the director. Compared to Mr. Kim Seungyu, who repeatedly lost the audition, I was at least handpicked by Director Cameron. Why are you calling me a thief?”

Ji Li sharply hit the nail on the head and tore through this layer of deception on the surface.

Kim Seungyu’s complexion changed and he retorted without thinking, “Who cares about a gay movie? A relationship between men is the most disgusting thing in the world.”

The true disgust in his heart was greater than the rational thinking of his brain. By the time Kim Seungyu reacted, these words had already come out.

Kim Seungyu was a completely straight man, and he couldn’t bear the love between two men at all.

In the beginning, it was his management team that forced him to try for ‘Long Island Iced Tea.’ Due to the popularity of Director Cameron, Kim Seungyu concealed his true thoughts and pretended to be able to accept the feelings between two men to try and act for the role.

No matter how well he disguised it on the surface, he couldn’t bear the growing disgust in his heart.

How could Kim Seungyu blend in with Lu Yao when he treated the character differently on the surface and in his heart?

Cameron had read countless people and must’ve seen Kim Seungyu’s state, so Cameron refused to sign him.

After learning that the role in ‘Long Island Iced Tea’ was lost, Kim Seungyu’s team was disappointed, but he didn’t have any unnecessary emotions.

This was until February this year. ‘Long Island Iced Tea’ was a big hit after its release. The literary movie ‘Along the Coastline’ that he starred in was released at the same time and the box office was very dismal.

The sharp gap between the two movies finally caused Kim Seungyu to feel remorse and dissatisfaction. This also made him feel inexplicable jealousy.

He would’ve definitely been able to receive more applause and praise with his acting skills in ‘Long Island Iced Tea’. After all, compared to Ji Li, who debuted for less than three years, he debuted as a child star and had a longer acting career.

If this was South Korea, then Ji Li would have to respectfully call him ‘Senior.’

In the end, the dismal box office didn’t affect his ability to be selected as the ‘Best Actor.’ It only showed that he was more powerful than Ji Li, who relied on the box office explosion of the movie.

Ji Li saw the look in his eyes and sneered, “Deep in your heart, you were unwilling to accept this movie, and now you’ve come to accuse me of ‘stealing’ your opportunity?”

He looked at Kim Seungyu and asked loudly, “Where did you get such shamelessness?”

Kim Seungyu took his questioning as a blatant provocation and immediately lost control of his expression.

“Ji Li, stop pretending! Your management team is copying my path and vying for resources. Isn’t this the behavior of a thief?”

Facing this sudden blame, Ji Li almost laughed out of anger.

Kim Seungyu saw his expression and added, “Don’t pretend to be an innocent white lotus. Natural mineral water is the brand endorsement that I had been in discussions with!”

“……”

This was the first time Ji Li heard about this. He paused for a few seconds before he finally couldn’t help laughing loudly. “Sorry, why are you everywhere?”

The endorsement was won by Yu Fuya for him, and the cooperation between the two parties was very pleasant. There had been no overlap of spokespersons from beginning to end.

“I played a role in a movie and took a brand endorsement, yet you swear that I am copying your path?”

Kim Seungyu arrogantly asked, “What else would you be doing?”

“You missed out on the movie while I got a role, so you lost and I won. You didn’t get the endorsement while I did, so by the same token, you lost and I won.”

Ji Li just made a few simple points, settling the most straightforward win-loss outcome. “The entertainment industry believes that the winner takes all. Can you blame me for not having the strength to win the resources?”

What year was it?

Was it still popular to say ‘whoever is weak is right?’ Who was the white lotus in the end?

“Please figure it out yourself. You are the one who lost the movie role due to your hatred of homosexuality! I’m not the one who stole your role!”

“Did the Natural brand sign a preliminary contract with you? If you truly feel that the brand has defaulted on your contract, then you can confront them directly. Are you just afraid of offending the brand, so you instead accuse me behind my back? Do you think your behavior is glorious?”

Just because you have come into contact with resources doesn’t mean you own them and put your mark on them. Are you living on Earth? Why don’t you just tell the whole world that the Earth is yours?”

Kim Seungyu was silent under Ji Li’s series of smooth statements as he shot his mouth off.

He blushed in embarrassment for a long time. Finally, he could only stubbornly force out a sentence. “In any case, you Chinese actors can only play despicable tricks. Do you think it is fair to rely on one movie to take up two spots?”

“Mr. Kim, if you feel that it is unfair then you can go directly to the organizing committee of the film festival to protest.”

Qin Yue’s cold and hard voice was suddenly heard from behind them.

Ji Li looked over and found that there were many people behind his lover. All of them were outstanding actors who were nominated for this year’s Best Actor and Best Actress.

Qin Yue met his puzzled gaze and explained in a low voice, “Everyone here was nominated for the same award. We originally planned to get together and chat.”

Unexpectedly, they ended up hearing the final verbal dispute between Ji Li and Kim Seungyu.

At this moment, Qin Yue only thought about protecting his own baby. He stared directly at Kim Seungyu, who could barely maintain a smile, and threw out a question in a deep voice.

“The male and female protagonists of the same movie can be nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively. The two male protagonists of the same movie can’t be nominated together or it is unfair?”

“Mr. Kim, are you saying that homosexual movies are inferior to others?”

“……”

The sharp question pierced Kim Seungyu’s throat, freezing him in place and making him unable to speak.

The other onlookers were silent, but the emotions in their eyes were different. Some people were watching a good show and some were surprised. Of course, there were those who secretly laughed at Kim Seungyu’s stupidity.

There was indeed competition between actors nominated for the same award. However, they were all actors. How could they not control their emotions and express what was in their hearts?

Now Qin Yue cunningly brought the discussion around to the topic of ‘homosexuality’. If Kim Seungyu dared to say a bad word, then the homosexual love supporters would tear him apart on the Internet!

Kim Seungyu calmed down from his initial panic and smiled again. “Mr. Qin, you’ve misunderstood me. Love knows no borders, let alone gender. How could I possibly feel that homosexual movies are inferior?”

The confrontation between the two sides just now was said in suppressed voices. No one heard it. He just had to stubbornly deny the claim and not recognize the last sentence, and Ji Li wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.

“I was joking with Mr. Ji. ‘Long Island Iced Tea’ won two Best Actor nominations and their chances of winning the award are the highest. I am just a runner-up.”

The moment he said the word ‘runner-up, he deliberately looked over actors such as Javier and Christopher who were also nominated for this year’s Best Actor.

Ji Li and Qin Yue looked at each other and understood what Kim Seungyu meant.

Not only did he blur the concept, but he wanted to deliberately arouse competitive hostility in the other male actors.

There was a moment of silence.

Suddenly, a loud and firm voice was heard. “No! Mr. Kim Seungyu looked down on gay literary movies. He also said that male-male love is the most disgusting thing in the world!”

Everyone looked toward the source of the voice. A young man wearing a waiter’s uniform walked out.

Ji Li recognized the person immediately. The other person was the employee who welcomed them into the hotel.

The young employee saw Ji Li and unprecedented courage surged in his heart. He played the video recorded on his phone.

Not long ago, he finished his welcoming work and entered the inner hall to push the champagne tower. After discovering Ji Li resting in the corner, he couldn’t hold back his love as a fan for a while and wanted to secretly take a few photos as a souvenir.

Before the employee could start taking photos, Kim Seungyu ran over to greet Ji Li and he saw the scene that followed.

He was afraid that Kim Seungyu would feel unfavorable to Ji Li, so he secretly recorded everything. He became even angrier for Ji Li, who was straightforward and hardworking.

“Who cares about a gay movie? A relationship between men is the most disgusting thing in the world.”

Kim Seungyu’s words in the video immediately caused the onlookers to frown.

“You, a hotel waiter, secretly recorded the conversation between celebrity guests. You are…”

“Mr. Kim, please don’t change the subject!”

The British actor Christopher was the first one to speak. “You talked about how gay relationships are disgusting while saying that gender doesn’t matter. This hypocritical style is really disgusting!”

The Spanish actor Javier also said firmly. “Mr. Kim, I am openly in support of homosexuality. Your words make me feel very uncomfortable!”

Same-sex marriage was legal in both Spain and the United States. Most people had good wishes for such relationships, and Kim Seungyu’s words clearly hit their hearts.

All types of love were beautiful. Why was it disgusting?

The person who said this was the most disgusting!

Kim Seungyu’s face was as red as a fast-cooked shrimp. He didn’t expect that his bad words would be recorded in this private banquet hall.

The most frightening thing was that his management team wasn’t qualified to enter the banquet hall. If this matter wasn’t stopped in time, what if it was leaked?

The American actor Paul Lawrence wasn’t a supporter of homosexuality, but as an actor who had been shortlisted for Best Actor at the Yana Film Festival three times, he had always pursued the supremacy of strength.

He had also watched Qin and Ji’s movie. They were both good actors with excellent acting skills. In addition, the box office was hot and the plot was excellent. Why couldn’t they be nominated?

Paul couldn’t stand seeing Kim Seungyu’s act of pettiness and coldly threw out a sentence, “How did your country raise such an unconfident actor? Is it because you have no strength that you feel inferior?”

“The shortlist for the festival is fair. Everyone has a one in six chance. You might think you are the runner-up, but don’t bring us with you!”

The arrogance of strength against the arrogance of a guilty conscience.

Paul’s words made Kim Seungyu feel helpless. His voice was white for a while, and he almost couldn’t lift his head.

He just wanted to poke at Ji Li with a few sentences. Why did things get bigger and bigger? Then in the end, he became the target of a group attack?

Ji Li and Qin Yue exchanged looks and silently withdrew from the tip of the storm.

Among the crowd, Director Norwegian came forward and met Kim Seungyu’s eyes in disgust. “Mr. Kim, from now on, you don’t have to ask your agent to find me. I won’t give you an opportunity to participate in my movie.”

Kim Seungyu was stunned stupid.

He came to the banquet tonight for one purpose. It was to obtain better resources for commercial movies.

For an entire hour, he had wooed Director Norwegian in every possible way. Finally, he obtained the qualification to show his face in a commercial movie. How could it suddenly be taken back?

“Director Norwegian, I…”

“Sorry, I have a male lover who I deeply love. I am gay through and through. I’m afraid you will only feel disgusted by participating in my movie.”

This sentence was enough to explain the reason why he rejected Kim Seungyu.

In addition, Director Norwegian turned to Ji Li and Qin Yue. “Mr. Ji, Mr. Qin, can we talk? If I have an opportunity in the future, I would like to invite you to cooperate with me.”

A pie suddenly fell from the sky. Why shouldn’t he pick it up?

Ji Li smiled and sincerely thanked him. “Of course. Thank you, Director Norwegian for the invitation.”

Kim Seungyu watched Ji Li, Qin Yue, and Director Norwegian walk away with smiles on their faces. Meanwhile, he was still surrounded by everyone’s cold gazes. His heart was tormented.

Ji Li once again ‘stole’ his opportunity, but what position was he in to call the other person a thief?

In the eyes of the public, he was the clown!

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Proofreader: Azure