Chapter 538: 6th

So they say, better the devil you know.

Only until this point did Tangning finally understand that her path wasn't particularly filled with more obstacles than everyone else. Being in the industry that she was and holding onto the position that she had, even if it was someone else, as long as they stood in someone's way, their result would be the same.

Thinking of this, her heart sank a little.

Perhaps the person that was playing tricks was determined to make their actress win. But, they couldn't forget that Tangning was also competing for the same award this year!

They were influential, but that was only because Mo Ting didn't normally get involved with the voting process of the Fei Tian Awards. But, this time, they had impacted Tangning. If someone dared to touch his wife, there was no way he'd let them off easy. Especially when she would be disqualified from receiving audience votes after three warnings. He couldn't possibly let them effect her votes.

It was impossible!

So, the next morning, a good show played out in front of everyone. Every single nominee was suspected of cheating. In fact, the numbers were more dramatic than the first two times. As a result, not only did the organizers clear all the votes, they also changed the rules for voting.

Each ID number could only vote once and votes from the same IP only counted as one. All the nominees had a fresh start in a fair race.

If anyone dared to compete with Mo Ting, they had to consider their abilities.

Otherwise, they were shooting themselves in the foot!

That night, just as the final votes were piling in, Tangning received a phone call from Elder Mo, "You don't have anything that you'd like to ask of grandfather?"

"I'll let the heavens decide," Tangning replied with a smile. "I've already done everything I can and should. I have no regrets."

"That's the true Mo Family spirit…"

Elder Mo originally wanted to praise Tangning a little more, but her phone was suddenly snatched out of her hand by Mo Ting, "Old man, it's getting late. Ning needs to sleep."

"Rascal! Don't you want to do anything for your wife? Shouldn't you be asking me to help out behind-the-scenes?"

"Ning doesn't need help," Mo Ting replied confidently.

"Fine…"

Seeing Mo Ting's childish behavior, Tangning couldn't help but warn, "Don't treat grandfather like that next time."

"I just want you to get some rest. Plus, he's obviously trying to get acknowledgment of his existence. Don't let him have his way."

Hearing Mo Ting's words, Tangning couldn't help but laugh. In the end, she leaned into Mo Ting's embrace and fell asleep…

…

The next day, outside the Starshine Entertainment Building, it was time to announce the final five nominees. Out of the ten newcomers only five would be selected and, of course, out of the five only one of them would eventually receive an award.

Elder Mo was involved with the voting process, so after the first round of voting, the judges placed the 5th and 6th ranked together to compare.

The actress in the 5th place starred in a surrealist film called 'Survive'. And sitting in 6th place, was Tangning…

Tangning was 6th!

Elder Mo did not understand this result. With Tangning's acting abilities, she was more than capable of at least ranking in the top three. Why did she have such a small amount of votes?

"I think we should just eliminate Tangning. After all, she is relatively new amongst the newcomers, whereas, there is no doubt that the other nominees have more experience, so they must have better acting than her."

"No doubt?" Elder Mo cut in and scoffed. "The Fei Tian Awards isn't based on experience, it's based on skills."

"Elder Mo, those that are sitting here, all have decades of experience. Don't you think we can tell who can and can't act? If you're so good, why don't you tell us, out of the 10 nominees, who can't act."

"You want to talk to me about acting?" Elder Mo wasn't willing to admit defeat, so he asked for someone to fetch the two films submitted for the two women that were currently in 5th and 6th place. Of course, at a time like this, he had to use comparison to prove his point, "Since we've gotten to this point, let's look at their acting in detail."

"There's no point looking at when they entered the industry and how many films they've produced, let's skip that and jump straight to acting ability."

After speaking, Elder Mo asked for the staff to skip to the climax of both films and broadcasted it on the screen behind them…

The female lead of 'Survive' played a blind engineer. To highlight small details, she purposely wore her clothes the wrong way around, and when bullied, she could only kick and punch into thin air. She perfectly portrayed the pitiful nature of a small, insignificant woman.

Then there was 'W.H.'. The female writer played by Tangning was worried that she had contracted the virus, so in the scene they were viewing, she was examining her body in the bathroom. From imagining herself turning into a monster to confirming that she had not been infected and looking relieved, her entire performance was extremely smooth and complete. In fact, in just 3 minutes, she displayed a perfect transformation of emotions.

Both women were flawless…

From a glance, it was indeed hard to decide on a winner between the two. However…

…after they finished watching the excerpts from the two films, Elder Mo smiled and said, "It's not that I want to protect anyone in particular, but there is no reason that Tangning's acting makes her deserving of being eliminated."

"In that case Elder Mo, are you trying to say that we should eliminate the actress from 'Survive'?"

"I didn't say that. The young lady's acting is versatile and full of spirit. I just want to question whether the actresses that are ranked higher, are as flawless as them? I simply don't understand why, the two actresses with the best acting are ranked 5th and 6th."

"What are you guys trying to do? I know the higher ranked actresses have more experience and it is time for them to be rewarded, but is the Fei Tian Awards that cruel and realistic? This is not an award based on experience. If you want to comfort them on their hard work, you can go buy them a lolly. But, when it comes to judging the Fei Tian Awards, it's best to put away your casual approach."

After his warning, Elder Mo presented everyone with the profiles and film excerpts of the top 4 actresses. Since 'some people' weren't being fair, then they had no choice but to do some overtime and discuss everything in detail.

"Also, may I ask for the reason why you are all so certain about eliminating Tangning?"

Hearing this question, everyone fell silent.

"Absolutely ridiculous…"

"Are you guys blind to good acting?" Elder Mo couldn't help but stick up for what was right and get justice for his granddaughter-in-law. But, Elder Mo had no idea that the real trouble was yet to come.