Shortlisted

As soon as they walked out of the casino, they put on their coats. It was January, and the temperature in Las Vegas was still very low at night, and the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors was even greater.

The two of them deliberately chose a casino that was quite close to the hotel they were staying in, so there was no need to take a taxi and they could just walk back.

In fact, the hotel they stayed in had a casino, which was also a major feature of the casino city. Most hotels have their own casinos. But for Lu Yan and Su Mo, enjoying the fun of gambling was one thing, and traveling together in this city was also a kind of fun.

Las Vegas is indeed a city that never sleeps. At night, the whole city becomes even more bustling and noisy. The huge electronic billboards change various patterns in a dreamy way, which makes people dazzled.The neon lights of various shapes and colors are constantly changing, dazzling the eyes. Each skyscraper displays a different light color; the iconic buildings in front of each hotel are full of light. Many hotels also have large-scale performances in front of them.

Lu Yan and Su Mo walked along the street, watching the night view with the crowds of tourists. They walked side by side, intertwining their fingers and putting the other hand in the pocket of their coat. The weather was cold, but their bodies pressed together were particularly warm. They had nothing to talk about, but their occasional glances expressed affection and sweetness.

Before they knew it they had walked a long way.

No matter how prosperous a place is, there are always some dark corners, and Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps, is no exception.

The lights gradually became less numerous, there were fewer tourists on the road, and the sound of footsteps behind them, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, became more obvious.

Since leaving the casino, they had been followed by several people. The two noticed it from the beginning, and deliberately took a detour for a while, and then walked to this slightly remote road. They must had been targeted in the casino. The two of them had a great harvest tonight, not to mention that they refused the security escort.

Lu Yan and Su Mo looked at each other and saw confidence and smiles in each other’s eyes.

There were only three people following behind them, all of them were young and strong. They followed Lu Yan and Su Mo all the way. At first, they saw them disappear into the crowd and thought they had no chance, but they followed them unwillingly. Unexpectedly, they suddenly turned into a remote place, probably because the outsiders did not know the terrain. In any case, this was an opportunity. The three of them wanted to take it here.

Who knew that after following them around for a few circles, they suddenly lost the person. The three looked at each other in disbelief. They were professionals at this, but they were escaped by two Asians who looked non-threatening.

The three of them searched separately, hoping to find the target again. However, when they turned around, they saw the person they were following appear in front of them. They were really scared at that moment.

Lu Yan stood in the shadow of the light, looking at the three European youths exposed in front of him, while Su Mo stood quietly beside him. Lu Yan slightly curved his lips and asked in English, “Are you looking for us?”

The three of them looked at each other without saying anything. If they still didn’t feel something was wrong at this point, it would be a waste of their time in this line of work. This time they really made a mistake.

Lu Yan didn’t mind their silence at all and smiled again, “You guys have been following us, what’s the matter?”

The three of them still didn’t say anything. Lu Yan also felt a little bored, so he took out the check and waved it in front of the three of them, “You want this? Let’s have a fight, you three and us two.” As Lu Yan spoke, he pointed at the three of them with his index finger, then turned back and pointed at himself and Su Mo, “If you win, this is yours. If you lose, you can only leave on your own.”

Three against two, if they lost, they would at most be beaten, but if they won, they could get what they wanted, so there was no reason not to fight. Besides, even if they wanted to leave now, they haf to get the consent of the two men opposite.

Lu Yan smiled slightly and slowly put the check back into his arms, “Don’t be polite, you can get it if you win.” His nonchalant attitude already gave him a slight advantage in terms of momentum.

The tallest of the three young men suddenly rushed over and punched Lu Yan, then suddenly changed direction and punched Su Mo. The other two had already made their moves when the first one did. Their target was not confusing, but Lu Yan.

Okay, they also knew how to use some tactics, although they were a bit simple and crude. Lu Yan thought to himself, this was more interesting. As for Su Mo, Lu Yan did not even turn his head to look. Although he had never seen Su Mo fight, Lu Yan had heard Su Jue say that Su Mo was very skilled. For a young man like Su Mo, one person could easily beat ten people.

Lu Yan focused on dealing with the two people in front of him. Anyone who could do this kind of business in Las Vegas must not be a mediocre person.

Sure enough, the two men cooperated very well. Every attack was almost simultaneous. One hit the front, and the other swept down. Moreover, their attacks were ruthless and merciless. Every attack was aimed at the place that was most likely to undermine the enemy’s fighting power.

However, Lu Yan was not an ordinary person. In addition to the skills he had acquired during the two years of training in the fighting club, he also had the fancy moves and kicks taught to him by his master when he was a child. So he could fight to a draw for a while.

Orientals like to pay attention to attack and defense when using martial arts. Out of ten moves, seven are usually defensive and only three are offensive. They emphasize not using up all their strength and keep going. This is suitable for a protracted war. Westerners are simpler and more brutal. If they want to hit someone, they must first learn to be hit. They often do not avoid the opponent’s attack and like to fight with force and make a quick decision. If the strength of the two sides is very different, it is better to make a quick decision. If the two sides are evenly matched, they still have to consider the issue of staying strong.

Moreover, Lu Yan was a master at this. He did not try his best at the beginning, but just countered the opponent’s moves. He first tried to find out the opponent’s attack routines, and then resolved them one by one. Over time, his advantage became more and more obvious.

Lu Yan gradually gained the upper hand. The two European youths were panting and were hit by him several times, but they didn’t hit him at all.

Su Mo ended the fight first. The man who rushed towards him was knocked to the ground and couldn’t stand up. With Su Mo’s joining, the fight ended quickly. The two men who were exhausted by Lu Yan’s powerful attack surrendered as soon as Su Mo joined, squatting on the side and panting.

Lu Yan clapped his hands and smiled at Su Mo, who was still calm and composed, “Director Su is very skilled.”

Su Mo curled his lips and said in a low voice, “Mr. Lu is no less capable than me.”

Before the two of them could say a few more words, the European youth who was taking a break on the other side whispered, “Damn it, the police are coming, hurry up.”

The three men stumbled away, and Lu Yan also pulled Su Mo and ran away. Although it was not a big deal, and they were still victims, they did not want to be called to the police station to record a statement during their honeymoon.

Lu Yan pulled Su Mo and ran on the streets of Las Vegas on a cold night. The surging wind blew up their open coats, making a whistling sound. The cold wind hit their faces, which was both cold and stimulating.

After running for a while, the two stopped. They didn’t know where they were, but it was a little more remote than the place they were in. There were few pedestrians, and only occasionally saw a few men and women wearing thin clothes and heavy makeup. With a little thinking, they knew what kind of place they were in. Las Vegas encourages gambling, but strictly prohibits sex transactions, but no matter how much it prohibits, it cannot be truly eliminated. This is how society is. As long as there is demand, there will be buying and selling.

The two walked hand in hand. The men and women who saw their intertwined hands could probably guess their relationship, and no one was interested in approaching them to solicit business.

Along the way, they saw many men and women kissing each other in corners or in the shadows. The occasional slight gasps and moans kept stimulating the eardrums of the two.

When they passed through a dark alley, Lu Yan suddenly pulled Su Mo inside, turned around, pressed him against the wall, and kissed him eagerly. Su Mo also climbed onto his shoulders without hesitation and responded eagerly.

As they were kissing passionately, suddenly a beam of light hit their faces and a voice said in English, “Sir, no transactions are allowed here.”

Although the light was not particularly strong, it was still very uncomfortable when it hit his face. Lu Yan covered his face with his hand and looked up. There was a plainclothes officer standing at the entrance of the alley, looking at him with disapproval, obviously misunderstanding their relationship.

Lu Yan smiled, took Su Mo’s hand with the ring on it, and raised it together with his own. “Mr. Policeman, you misunderstood. We just got married and are here for our honeymoon.”

The plainclothes officer relaxed his expression, whistled, and said with a smile, “Oh, congratulations. But there are a lot of prostitutes here, it’s not a good place to do business, you’d better leave quickly.”

Lu Yan nodded and said, “Thank you for your reminder, but we seem to be a little lost.”

The plainclothes officer pointed them in a direction and said, “Just walk a little further over there and you’ll be able to get a taxi.”

“Okay, thank you.”

In the end, they still had to take a taxi back to the hotel.

The next day they returned home. The month before the Spring Festival was not a time of leisure for either Lu Yan or Su Mo.

A few days later, another big news came that “The Legend of Wang Xuance” had been shortlisted for the Best Film at this year’s Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear Award, and Lu Yan had also been nominated for Best Actor.

The Berlin International Film Festival is one of the world’s four major art film festivals, along with the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival. The Berlin International Film Festival was originally held between June and July, but later moved forward to February and March to compete with the Cannes Film Festival. January of each year is when it determines the shortlist.

This was not the first time that Chen Li had been nominated for an award at the Berlin Film Festival. He had been nominated for the Best Picture Award three times before. In the end, he won the Golden Bear Award for the film “The Young Swordsman” and the Silver Bear Award for Best Director. This happened many years ago. Chen Li was also the first Chinese director to win these two awards at the Berlin Film Festival.

Domestic public opinion was generally very optimistic about Chen Li’s nomination. After all, it was not an exaggeration to say that Chen Li was the most influential director in the country. Not only did he win a prize at the Berlin Film Festival, he also won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and even won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

However, the attitude towards Lu Yan’s nomination for Best Actor was a bit subtle.

Lu Yan had already won the Best Actor Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Bell Awards for his role as Ji You in “Uncontrollable”. Although it was rare, it was not impossible. But before the end of the year, he was nominated for the Best Actor Award at the Silver Bear Awards for his role as Wang Xuance in “The Legend of Wang Xuance”. For an actor as young as him, it was really too fast.

The entertainment industry is full of miracles, and the myth of becoming famous overnight is also often staged, but Lu Yan’s case was still rare. The Best Actor is not a cabbage or radish that can be bought just by wanting it. Many actors have worked hard all their lives and have not managed to get a few nominations, but for Lu Yan, it seemed to be easy to get. But then again, winning the Best Actor award is not charity. It is not something you will get if you work hard enough. Sometimes it is not just about your acting skills. It also depends on the right time, right place and right people. There are actors who are called uncrowned kings but have never won an award in their lives. There are also actors who have won seven or eight Best Actor awards for just one movie or one role.

But no matter what, Lu Yan’s nomination for the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor was a foregone conclusion, and fans were once again excited by this good news.