The excitement and nervousness in the atmosphere became heavier after the host announced the official start of the awards ceremony. Cheers and applause sounded throughout the entire grand theatre, expressing their approval, relief and impatience.

Jin Liwei held his baby girl's hand and rubbed it gently. Her hand felt dry and warm to the touch. It didn't feel damp or cold at all, as one would expect from a person who was nervous. He glanced at her. She had a calm and pleasant expression, as if she was just relaxing at home rather than awaiting her name to be called as a nominee for one of the important awards inthe prestigious Sommet International Film Festival.

If it weren't for her racing pulse throbbing in her wrists, he would've thought that his baby girl didn't think much of the film festival's awards ceremony at all. She may look like she was just treating the awards night like any normal day, but she must be feeling nervous inside. Or excited. Maybe both. However, these feelings couldn't be seen on her face at all.

The corners of his mouth curved upward in a faint smile. His baby girl was truly impressive in maintaining her composure despite the gravity of this awards. In contrast to her calmness, the rest of the cast and crew of "Strong Yet Broken" looked like they drank too much coffee. They were all jittery and couldn't sit still. Despite this, the excitement was obvious in their eyes.

Jin Liwei was amused at the difference of their state to his baby girl's. She was the youngest among them, yet she was the most composed. He lifted her hand that he was holding and kissed it. His action made her turn her head to him before giving him a beautiful smile.

He inhaled sharply, his eyes darkening with passion. No matter how many times he saw her smile at him, it always managed to take his breath away and make his heart skip a beat.

His gaze that was filled with so much heat affected Iris. Her breathing couldn't help but speed up, as her eyes darkened with desire for him as well. It was only when she vaguely heard the names of the nominees for the first award that she regained her senses.

She pouted her blood-red lips at him before telling him in a whisper, "Don't distract me."

A soft, low chuckle escaped from his lips. "Alright, I'll try not to distract you. It's just that you're so beautiful that you're the one who's distracting me. I don't mind, though. You can distract me all you want, love."

Her racing pulse normalized a bit after hearing his mushy words. She giggled. "Stop it."

"En," he replied but not before giving her hand another kiss.

Beside them, the cast and crew of "Strong Yet Broken" who were sitting the closest to them couldn't help but blush after overhearing what the couple had been whispering to each other. Although they spent time with the couple almost every day during the duration of the film festival, they still hadn't completely gotten used to their lovey-doveyness. It was just so difficult to match and accept that the lovestruck man uttering such mushy words was the same person as the cold and intimidating CEO Jin Liwei. The image of Jin Liwei in their minds was slowly crumbling.

Iris and Jin Liwei didn't know what they were thinking about at the moment. Although they were all sitting together as one team, a special invisible lovey-dovey bubble separated the couple from the rest of the other people around them. The two of them were very much in tune with each other's emotions.

Jin Liwei sensed that his baby girl had become a bit more relaxed, thanks to his words. It made him feel both gratified and relieved.

As for Iris, she may look calm and composed, but she was actually feeling quite nervous inside. Fortunately, her darling managed to relax her somewhat. Even though she kept telling herself that she wouldn't care much if she won or lost tonight, there was still a desire inside her to win. After all, who wouldn't want to win an award from such a prestigious event as the Sommet International Film Festival?

She was confident of her own work—she had always been—but the winner would be chosen from jury voting. She had no control over the jury's personal preferences. As such, even if a work was a genius masterpiece, if it wasn't to the jury's tastes, then it still wouldn't win. All Iris could do was to continue believing in her own work while keeping an open mind, so even if she didn't win, it wouldn't discourage her.

The first awards that were being distributed were the minor ones given out by other independent entities affiliated to the film festival, not by Sommet International Film Festival itself. Nevertheless, these minor awards were still important and respected by many in the world's film industry. Some of these awards even included rather generous cash prizes, especially those targeted at young filmmakers to encourage them to continue pursuing their dreams.

By this time, the grand theatre was filled with applause and cheering every time a winner was announced. The winners went up the stage to give their acceptance speeches. Since the winners came from all over the world and spoke in different languages, the audience had the option of listening to real time translations via the provided earphones, just like during the opening ceremony.

Of course, Iris didn't need to use the earphones at all. Jin Liwei also didn't bother using them. He already had a skilled interpreter beside him. Fortunately, all of the languages being spoken so far were ones that she was proficient in. She had no trouble translating everything to him.

There were quite a number of other awards being given out. The atmosphere within the grand theatre had become much more relaxed compared to earlier. The winners were already starting to celebrate. The losers could only clap their hands in congratulations to the winners. It would be bad taste to express outward disappointment or resentment for not winning.

As for the remaining nominees, they eagerly awaited their turn.

Would they win and celebrate?

Or would they have to congratulate someone else's win?

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