Chapter 805 Tongues Wagging
Jin Chonglin frowned and looked at Iris with concern. "So you're really sick? Dammit. If something happens to you on my watch, my brother will murder me."
"Smile," Iris reminded him. "Don't look at me like that or people will gossip that all is not well between us in-laws."
He smoothed out his expression but continued to talk in a low voice. "You're making me nervous, Sister Xiulan."
"Don't be. I'm feeling fine. Not 100% fine but enough to get through this awards ceremony. Hopefully."
"That doesn't sound reassuring at all," he muttered.
"Fortunately, we're only award presenters tonight. Don't worry about what I said anymore, Brother Chonglin. I feel fine, really. I just warned you so that you won't freak out if something really happens to me later."
He clicked his tongue but still maintained a light smile on his handsome face. From an observer's point of view, the two of them looked like they were talking about something amusing based on their smiling expressions. Nobody would ever guess that they were talking about something worrying instead.
A few minutes later, all celebrities and other attendees were finally seated on the ground floor VIP seats in front of the stage. The surrounding seats in the upper levels of the stadium were filled with hordes of fans holdings banners of their favourite celebrities.
Jin Chonglin was among the top 3 most seen face and name on the fan banners. The other top 2 were also superstars like him. One was an internationally successful male movie star while the other was a top actress in the country.
Iris Long's face and name could also be seen on a lot of banners, especially among a very distinct group wearing stylish tuxedo suits, but nowhere near the level of the superstars like Jin Chonglin. Nevertheless, she was still among the most eye-catching celebrities attending tonight's event. Even disregarding her breathtaking beauty and presence, her achievements this year alone were all truly deserving of respect and admiration. People no longer saw her as a mere pop singer.
She was Iris Long, a multi-award-winning musician and owner of the hottest trending beauty company this season, Orchidia Beauty, among her other incredible achievements so far since her comeback. In addition, she was also the fiancée of CEO Jin Liwei and future sister-in-law of superstar Jin Chonglin.
Her current status in showbiz had ascended many levels compared to her unstable track record when she was still a teenage pop idol. She was now a very valuable and in-demand celebrity.
People were looking forward to how she would manage her showbiz career down the road. Would she continue on this rising momentum and become even more famous in the future? Or would her career stall at this stage, neither rising nor falling? Or would she make an irreversible mistake, destroying her career and causing her to retire and disappear from the limelight?
Or perhaps the rumours were true and that she was planning to withdraw or maybe even retire from showbiz to focus on her role as the next Madam Jin after marrying CEO Jin Liwei—if they really ended up getting married.
There were quite a lot of people betting that Iris Long and Jin Liwei would break up before managing to tie the knot. Similarly, there were also many who believed that they would marry but would eventually divorce. They just couldn't imagine the relationship between the two of them lasting, especially since there was a perception that rich folks and people from showbiz would break up with their lovers or divorce their spouses on a regular basis.
In short, people were watching Iris Long. They wanted to know more about her, how she lived her life, and what the future held for her. This heightened interest was a huge boost to her current fame. Bright Summit wanted to capitalize on this and promote her even more.
As for Iris Long herself, she didn't give a whit about what others thought about her, especially right now. With so many people congregating in a single place, it was inevitable that there would also be a lot of distinct smells, both pleasant and nasty, from different sources. The mishmash of different scents in the air was starting to affect her as the awards ceremony went on.
Her nausea was gradually worsening. She was even starting to feel lightheaded and a little dizzy. Despite this, she was still able to project a calm and pleasant exterior, looking like the other audience members who were enjoying the show and applauding the winners.
Finally, a staff member informed her and Jin Chonglin to head backstage for their turn as award presenters after the commercial break. With a smile on her face, she grabbed on to her partner's arm and held on to him tightly.
"Hold me up, Brother Chonglin," she said in a low voice while still maintaining her smile. "I think I'm going to faint."
"Shit. For real?" Jin Chonglin immediately supported her without being too obvious about his actions. He, too, had a smile on his face as if nothing was wrong.
"Let's just get this over with."
"Keep holding on to my arm," he told her. "I'll carry the trophy. We'll only be on stage for a couple of minutes at most."
Iris made a sound of agreement. She held on to his arm more tightly and focused on staying conscious long enough to present the award and return backstage.
Many people noticed their closeness. Tongues immediately began wagging. Some speculated that there was something going on between them, perhaps an affair, and that they were cheating on CEO Jin Liwei. How scandalous! Others rejected this, saying that it was only natural for the two to be close since they were going to become in-laws in the future.
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A handsome Jin Chonglin flashed his killer smile and a beautiful Iris Long graced everyone with her enchanting smile as the two walked to the centre stage. All eyes focused on their closeness and on her hand holding his arm as if she didn't want to let him go.