Over a month later, she once again received the Best Actress trophy.

When Xia Siyu first entered the industry, she never thought she would reach this stage. At that time, her parents were not getting along, and she and her mother were thrown out by the Xia Family. Her mother fell ill, and she was discovered on the street by Qin Baizhou, who was a star scout back then and invited her into the entertainment industry.

Initially, she was distrustful, but Qin Baizhou and the company at the time saw great potential in her. They even visited her home, repeatedly assuring her she wouldn’t be asked to partake in anything illegal or against the rules. She knew that the Xia Family looked down on her mother’s career as an artist, so she agreed in a fit of pique.

She was lucky too. The film company was founded by a big name in the industry who was going solo. It was newly established and urgently needed a hit, so there weren’t many gray areas. After a few months of training, she shot a youth film that became an instant hit, and she was unwittingly thrown into the entertainment circle.

Later, her mother passed away, and she hit rock bottom for the first time due to scandals. She secretly married Bo Yan, switched management companies, and Bo Yan rose to fame. Even then, she never really thought about her future. She didn’t particularly dislike acting, nor did she particularly enjoy it. It was just work, something she had to take seriously. She had no plan, no motivation, no pressure, merely had an every-day-is-a-new-day drift-through-life mindset.

It wasn’t until her relationship with Bo Yan deepened that she began to find a kind of enjoyment in acting. Later, her rivalry with Shang Feifei awakened her competitive spirit, and she began to delve into her work. Initially, she did it just for the competition, but unknowingly, she started enjoying the craft.

Her life was limited to this, but through scripts, she could portray other people’s lives. She could travel through countless landscapes for them, meet different people, encounter different events, experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, the separations and reunions of family, and the rise and fall of nations.

Up until last year, she was obsessed with winning awards and beating the competition. But repeated failures had already put her mindset at ease. Little did she expect that after she completely let go, accolades would follow one after another.

The Golden Moon Award a month ago didn’t quite move her as much. After all, the Golden Moon Award is often jested as "Hong Kong’s own carnival". To qualify for selection, a film must have Hong Kong investment. Although it remains one of the three major Chinese awards, compared to the Golden Phoenix and the Gold Oscar, which encompass the whole of China or even the entire Chinese-speaking world, it’s nothing much to speak of.

Besides, winning a trophy doesn’t signify anything grand. Her mom won two before, Shang Feifei also two.

But now, she had her second trophy in her life.

Though a few years later than her mother, who achieved two major prizes before she was thirty, she held two trophies in her hands and was no longer ridiculed as someone with box office hits but no accolades.

Xia Siyu was a bit dazed, still sitting in her seat, unmoved. Instead, it was Bo Yan beside her who immediately turned, gripping her hand upon hearing her name: "You won! You won!"

With Bo Yan’s large hand holding hers and thunderous applause resounding around them, she turned her head, looked at Bo Yan, looked at his smile, and finally came back to her senses.

"Congratulations, congratulations Xia Siyu, congratulations!"

The host’s string of announcements urged her to receive her award. She first got up, but leaning on the armrest to rise from the chair, she seemed to lack the strength. It was Bo Yan who noticed this and gave her a light assist from the side to help her stand.

But this absent-mindedness was only momentary. By the time she stepped onto the stage and received the trophy from the presenter, she felt an indisputable sense of groundedness.

She looked at the trophy for about ten seconds. Although ten seconds is not long, at an award ceremony like this, it’s a rather considerable span of time. Holding the trophy, she only felt: "This trophy looks beautiful."

This comment evoked laughter from the audience. Usually, trophies are crafted by esteemed sculptors, and for such a prestigious Chinese award, they are indeed works of art.

Xia Siyu continued: "What you see is me looking at this trophy for ten seconds here; in reality, it took ten years for me to earn this trophy."

She was discovered by the star scout at nineteen, her film was released at twenty, officially marking ten years in the industry. Within those ten years, she fell twice and rose by herself. Especially with the Golden Phoenix two years ago, although she had a chance to win for "Storm", she wasn’t even given a nomination, which was the ultimate humiliation.

She could be scolded, doubted, criticized, and didn’t care about public opinion, but the lack of recognition for her work was worse than any scandal or ruined reputation.

Yet she wouldn’t forget: "I truly have to thank Bo Yan here, honestly. Even though saying thanks seems odd given our relationship now, I truly want to thank him, thank him."

Achieving this award undeniably owed much to Bo Yan’s support. Whether guiding her to sharpen her acting skills or sticking by her side during her lows, first with theater to further hone her acting and deepen her understanding of roles, or later giving her the lead role in a film, it allowed her to star.

Even though Bo Yan later marveling at Xia Siyu’s acting skills was beyond his expectations, she genuinely delivered 120% of her performance. From this movie onward, she became the kind of existence that "drives" a film. It was she who led the direction of the entire movie, affecting the surrounding cast and, ultimately, the final cut.

However, if it weren’t for Bo Yan laying the groundwork and constant support, she wouldn’t have made it this far.

Challenges indeed are the fountainhead of artistic creation. Only by experiencing the full spectrum of emotions, through joys and sorrows, witnessing changes, can one portray a role with greater depth.