Chapter Sixty-Three: The Golden Melody Awards

At seven thirty in the evening, the Golden Melody Awards ceremony glittered with starlight. Artists arrived in elegant attire, gracefully walking the red carpet amid a frenzy of flashing cameras.

Zhou Miao stepped out of the hotel’s Rolls-Royce and extended his hand to help Zuo Qiu from the car. Tonight, he wore a well-fitted black casual suit, exuding a calm and handsome demeanor. Zuo Qiu swung her long, fair legs out of the vehicle, took Zhou Miao’s arm, and carefully emerged, her figure perfectly outlined by a mermaid gown adorned with black sequins.

The moment Zhou Miao appeared, the reporters who had been swarming Hui Yuan for photographs suddenly abandoned him and rushed toward Zhou Miao. Hui Yuan’s elegant smile froze awkwardly; he cast Zhou Miao a deep glance and strode away from the red carpet.

Facing the blinding flashes, Zhou Miao was well prepared. He took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, looking every bit the silent, cold bodyguard beside a wealthy heiress, his expression unreadable.

The reporters were a little exasperated—what celebrity wears sunglasses on the red carpet? Most of his face was obscured. When signing the board, Zhou Miao scribbled a few random lines. Zuo Qiu stared at it for a while. “Is this your new artistic signature?”

“No, I just drew whatever. No one really cares anyway,” Zhou Miao said with conviction, earning a roll of Zuo Qiu’s eyes.

Once all the guests were seated, the Golden Melody Awards ceremony officially began. The opening act featured the Summit Youth Band, whose album had shattered pre-sale records. The boy group was at the height of popularity, with countless “mom fans” eager to spend money on them. The members were around fifteen years old, their faces still childlike.

Zhou Miao watched for a bit. Their dancing was decent, but the singing was just generic pop, and they were lip-syncing. Still, he offered polite applause when they finished.

The awards commenced after the performance. The first round had nothing to do with Zhou Miao; it was a special regional award for Taiwan.

After the second round of performances, the presenter took the stage. “For this year’s Golden Melody Awards, the nominees for Best Composer are…”

“Zhou Miao—‘Hero.’”

“Zeng Lijing—‘If You Love Me, Hug Me.’”

“Huang Ming—‘The Rain Has Stopped.’”

“Luo Yonghui—‘July Love.’”

As each nominee’s name was announced, the big screen played a snippet of their respective songs.

Many of Zhou Miao’s fans were present. When the chorus of ‘Hero’ echoed through the venue, they screamed in support.

The presenter opened the envelope and raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised. “The award goes to Luo Yonghui for ‘July Love.’”

As soon as the words left her lips, the room erupted in astonished murmurs. It wasn’t Zhou Miao’s ‘Hero’? That song’s lyrics and arrangement were widely regarded as the industry’s gold standard, yet it lost to ‘July Love’? The musicians in attendance exchanged subtle glances; the message behind this award was clear, and they understood its implications.

The camera lingered meaningfully on Zhou Miao, but his sunglasses concealed any trace of emotion. Upon hearing the result, he simply gave a few gentle claps and then sat still.

Luo Yonghui was equally surprised at hearing his name. Seeing ‘Hero’ among the nominees, he had resigned himself to being a mere runner-up, but unexpectedly, he won Best Composer! Even as he accepted the trophy, Luo Yonghui felt as though he were dreaming, muddling through his speech before leaving the stage.

The ceremony pressed on. Right after Best Composer came Best Arrangement.

“This year’s Golden Melody Awards, Best Arrangement nominees are…”

“Zhou Miao—‘Hero.’”

“Hui Yuan—‘Unrivaled.’”

“Ming Zhi—‘Beloved by Thousands.’”

“Hu Xinyu—‘Rocking the Rivers and Lakes.’”

Hui Yuan’s ‘Unrivaled’ had made the shortlist, something Zhou Miao hadn’t anticipated. He had thoroughly dissected the song on social media, exposing its flaws, yet the judges still allowed it through—remarkable.

“The award goes to Hui Yuan for ‘Unrivaled.’”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Miao couldn’t help but laugh aloud. How absurd.

Hui Yuan, despite winning, looked as though he’d tasted something foul. Rigidly, he went up to accept his trophy, sweating through his acceptance speech, already dreading the avalanche of comments online.

Indeed, since the Golden Melody Awards were broadcast live, the streaming comments had exploded.

Losing Best Composer to Luo Yonghui was a major upset, but ‘July Love’ was at least passable. Yet for Best Arrangement, the classic ‘Hero’ lost to Hui Yuan’s ‘Unrivaled’—which was filled with grating electronic sounds—an outcome that baffled everyone. How could it possibly surpass ‘Hero’? Hui Yuan must have paid off the judges.

Anyone aware of the bad blood between Hui Yuan and Zhou Miao began to speculate along those lines. Yet in truth, Hui Yuan had nothing to do with it; the orchestrator was clever, using the opportunity to disgust Zhou Miao and conveniently shift the blame onto Hui Yuan.

The third round was Best Lyricist, and Zhou Miao’s ‘Fragrant Rice’ was once again a runner-up, losing to a song with heavily stream-of-consciousness lyrics.

What did “stream-of-consciousness” mean? Either you thought the lyrics were incoherent and ugly, or you considered them sophisticated—a deeper expression of the soul. Whether such lyrics were good or not depended on whether the comment section had more pretentious people or ordinary fans. Ordinary fans were often intimidated by those who acted superior, left wondering if their own taste was lacking.

On camera, Zhou Miao yawned, resting his arms and reclining in his seat, sunglasses hiding whether he had fallen asleep.

In the fifth round, Best New Artist, just as the audience assumed Zhou Miao would once again be overlooked, he won the award.

Zuo Qiu nudged the nearly sleeping Zhou Miao, who rose slowly, stretched extravagantly for the cameras, and rolled his neck, his manner entirely irreverent.

He took the trophy from the presenter, weighed it in his hand, and said into the microphone, “To receive the Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist is truly a surprise and an honor.”

“I thank the judges for their recognition. I will continue to strive, learning from the other winners this year, and endeavor to compose songs that will satisfy all of you. Thank you!”

The moment he finished, the judges below looked particularly displeased; his words were laced with sarcasm. The host, too, was awkward—Zhou Miao’s remarks had offended the organizers, and since this was a live broadcast, his words amounted to a minor on-air incident. The host hurriedly moved the program along.

Back in his seat, Zhou Miao exhaled deeply. Zuo Qiu said helplessly, “Feeling better now?”

Zhou Miao laughed. “This is just the beginning. The real drama is yet to come.”