Chapter77

Cen Zhen embarked on the journey to Cannes again in her 30th year.

Coincidentally, seven years later, the person fighting alongside her was still Xie Qingzong.

At first, because of her unexpected pregnancy, Cen Zhen had paused her work for nearly a year. After publicly announcing her motherhood, she received well-wishes from netizens and the public. Everyone thought she would fade from the screen to care for her pair of twins. But no one knew that, after the babies reached 100 days old, she quietly joined Xie Qingzong’s film crew.

Xie Qingzong's *Legend* had delayed its shooting schedule by half a year for her, and she didn’t want to disappoint his trust.

Although she was reluctant to leave her two children, fortunately, Meng Fanchuan and both families gave her tremendous support.

They all knew that Cen Zhen still harbored a stubborn dream. At 23, she had sat at the Cannes awards ceremony and brushed past the Best Actress award. Even now, although she had won countless awards domestically, the dream of standing in that highest hall of cinema in her youth and the regret of missing that opportunity still lingered in her heart.

Meng Fanchuan knew this, so he understood and supported her.

So, during the filming of *Legend*, for several months, Meng Fanchuan never made Cen Zhen worry about family matters. When the weather was good, he would personally take the two children to visit her on set, accompanying Cen Zhen through that period.

Seven years later, as an actress who had become a leading figure in Chinese cinema, Cen Zhen’s return to Cannes caused a huge media frenzy. Some were optimistic, some skeptical, and some neutral, with many differing opinions.

Of course, no matter how the outside world speculated or mocked, Cen Zhen remained the undisputed queen of traffic. She could enjoy life as a young lady, yet she chose to go out and act. She took a break from her rising career to have children, and after giving birth quietly, she released a film that was nominated for Cannes.

It seemed that from the beginning of her career, she had always been bold, a person with the kind of audacity and remarkable spirit that could take the world by storm. Perhaps that was why she had remained on top for so long and is still the leading actress in China.

A media outlet even created a column dedicated to her, following her every move from the moment she arrived in Cannes.

The last time Cen Zhen came to Cannes, she was alone. This time, she was holding hands with her husband.

After arriving at the airport, the raw photos were sent back to China, quickly sparking a heated discussion among netizens:

"This couple’s looks are like they’re about to crash the event."

"Hahahaha! The Meng couple is dominating Cannes."

"LOL, whenever there's a photo with the brother-in-law, he's always holding Zhen Zhen’s hand, as if he's afraid she'll run away."

"Please, if I had such a beautiful and capable wife, I’d be scared too, okay?"

"Ahhh! Where’s the baby? Did the little ones come?"

"Let’s talk about it—can’t this electronic grandma at least see the babies?"

"+1, other than during the announcement, I haven’t seen those little hands again! Wah, they should be two years old now, they must be adorable!"

"I want to see them!!!"

Because of Cen Zhen’s celebrity status and the attention from her wealthy background, the two little ones had been under constant scrutiny ever since they were born. There was even a media outlet that followed Meng Fanchuan and Cen Zhen for an entire month just to capture photos of the babies, but they never found an opportunity.

The media just didn’t pick the right timing—during that month, the little ones happened to be in Hong Kong with Grandpa Zhuang Tai. The elderly man was thrilled to hold his great-grandchildren—two at once—and he couldn’t stop smiling.

On top of that, the Meng family had a long-standing rule: no exposing family members to the media before marriage.

So, even though the twins were already two years old, they hadn’t appeared in public, and their names were kept a secret.

This time, as their mother attended the Cannes Film Festival, the little ones came too, but they were on a private flight with a whole team of caretakers, taking a much more secretive route—no one knew.

After arriving at the hotel, Meng Wenruo brought the two children to see their mother. The kids, stumbling along, ran toward Cen Zhen, wanting her to pick them up.

Thankfully, they were only two, so Cen Zhen could manage to hold one in each arm, kissing their little faces. “Junyi, Jing’an, have you been listening to Auntie?”

“Yes!”

The twins' names were derived from “Jun Jing Ru Ye, Wen Hua Ruo Jin.” Both “Jun” and “Jing” referred to beautiful jade. The names were chosen by Meng Fanchuan and Cen Zhen together, wishing for their children to grow up as talented and beautiful, shining brightly.

The older brother was named Meng Jing’an, and the younger sister was named Meng Junyi.

Although the kids were now two years old, Cen Zhen still vividly remembered how overjoyed the Meng family had been when they were born.

The happiest person was probably Meng Songnian. The high-ranking figure had patiently waited for the twins to open their eyes. When the babies finally did, he immediately checked—

Bad news: The grandson’s eyes didn’t resemble his mother’s at all.

Good news: The granddaughter’s looked almost exactly like hers.

This delighted Meng Songnian, who had hoped for both a granddaughter and for the child to inherit the mother’s beautiful eyes.

The happiest thing for someone in middle age was, of course, having grandchildren around. Especially when two came at once. Knowing that Cen Zhen had endured a difficult pregnancy for ten months, when the babies turned 100 days old, Meng Songnian and his wife specially gifted Cen Zhen a yacht worth over a billion.

The yacht was named *Zhen* after Cen Zhen, and it was docked in Monaco. Every year, during the F1 event in Monaco, Cen Zhen would accompany Meng Fanchuan there. Now that they had children, the whole family could sail on the yacht and enjoy the southern French coastline every year.

Little Junyi, being the first-born daughter, was spoiled by the whole family, and even Meng Fanchuan favored her a little more.

After all, she was the little “Zhen Zhen” that he had imagined when he first learned of Cen Zhen’s pregnancy, and with her features almost a perfect copy of her mother’s, she was as cute as she was lively.

So this favoritism manifested in all aspects of life. When it came to bath time, Meng Fanchuan would personally wash his daughter. When feeding her milk, Meng Fanchuan would personally check the temperature. Day by day, he watched his children grow, but things slowly started developing in ways he hadn’t imagined.

**Good news:** His son was much quieter and more composed than the older brother's child, not mischievous.

**Bad news:** It was the daughter who was mischievous.

He had thought his daughter would be gentle and obedient like Cen Zhen, but unexpectedly—

When the older brother liked to run to his grandfather's study, the younger sister preferred playing with her father’s various model racing cars, enjoying it immensely.

Meng Fanchuan was somewhat speechless and tried to cultivate some artistic sense in his daughter. He sent her to the "art hall" on the third floor to be nurtured.

Over the years, Cen Zhen had won many awards, too many to even hold, so Meng Fanchuan had cleared out a room on the third floor specifically to display her trophies and medals.

He wanted his daughter to stand among those awards and feel the value of them, rather than just playing with racing cars for no reason.

However, while he was taking a phone call, he turned around and saw Junyi holding her mother’s Best Actress award from the Baihua Awards in her left hand and the Golden Statue Award for Best Actress in her right hand, rubbing them on the floor as if she wanted to see which one would spin faster.

Shocked, Meng Fanchuan quickly picked his daughter up and, from then on, locked the door to that room without mercy.

He had calculated everything but never expected his daughter to resemble him so much.

After Cen Zhen finished tending to the two little ones, Meng Fanchuan shamelessly asked, “What about me?”

“?” Cen Zhen looked at him. “What do you mean?”

Had he lost his memory? Hadn’t he behaved himself the entire way from North City to Cannes?

Meng Fanchuan truly acted like he had lost his memory, as though the person who had been clinging to Cen Zhen on the plane wasn’t him.

He called Meng Wenruo to take the two children away. “They want to sleep with Auntie tonight.”

Junyi shook her little head in all honesty. “No, I want to sleep with Mama.”

Jing'an silently pulled his sister’s hand. “Let’s go find Auntie. She has lots of yummy food.”

The word “yummy” successfully tricked Junyi, and when the two little ones held hands and went out, Jing'an whispered to his sister, “Didn’t you see that Daddy also wants to sleep with Mama?”

“Ah?” Junyi hummed in a babyish voice. “Why is he always trying to take Mama away from us?”

As the door closed behind them, Cen Zhen was also carried into the bedroom by Meng Fanchuan.

“Do you remember what we did here seven years ago?” He had specifically booked the same hotel and the same room as that year.

This question made Cen Zhen slightly shy to answer.

Back then, she was still young, 23 years old. After not winning the award, she felt a little disappointed, but after being comforted by Meng Fanchuan for a few words, she felt better. Then they spent an entire night together here, without any shame or embarrassment, calling it—checking in.

Returning to this place, the memories of that year seemed to appear right before her eyes. Seven years had passed, the hotel had been renovated, and the room’s layout had changed.

But their feelings seemed as if they had never changed, still as passionate as when they first fell in love.

When Meng Fanchuan kissed her, Cen Zhen trembled slightly. It felt as if her nerves were instantly tuned to that early summer night. He had stood at the bottom of the stairs with a beautiful flower, waiting for her. He had held her hand and walked along the beach for a long time. He spoke of his regrets and then gently told her—

She still had a long way to go, and that nearly priceless red ruby would only have value when she wore it.

The 23-year-old Cen Zhen remembered his words, and now, she had finally come back here.

The carefree night of seven years ago, and now, tonight—Cen Zhen felt Meng Fanchuan's every kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering, “What if we fail again this time...”

“Then we’ll try again next time,” Meng Fanchuan interrupted her without hesitation, kissing her gently. “At 40, at 50… No matter how long, I’ll walk this path with you.”

Cen Zhen was no longer the 23-year-old girl. Now, as she stepped into her 30s, having the chance to stand here again, she felt surprisingly calm. Nowadays, filming was more about her admiration for the art of cinema. As Meng Fanchuan said, this road was still long, and whether she won an award depended on fate.

That year, Cen Zhen’s performance had been graceful and composed, but she had still been young—her features were beautiful yet naive. Seven years later, after gaining more experience and maturity, she and Xie Qingzong embarked on this star-studded path, still as breathtakingly beautiful as ever.

All the world’s cameras were focused on her. She smiled faintly, her eyes now carrying the steadiness and aura that came with the passage of time. The 23-year-old version of herself hadn’t dared to wear that red ruby, but the 30-year-old Cen Zhen now wore it with confidence and composure, a gracious and beautiful ambitious woman.

The priceless red ruby around her neck, following her every move, became the most dazzling presence in the spotlight.

“Who understands? My sister’s red carpet is always flawless.”

“This red ruby is so beautiful, it has such a vibrant, energetic life force! It matches Zhen Zhen so well!”

“High jewels for a beauty, the perfect match.”

“After comparing, at two Cannes red carpets, Zhen Zhen’s aura is completely different. This time, she’s more mature!”

“Chapter One: The Queen’s Return! This time, I will take back everything that belongs to me.”

“Hahahahahaha.”

Several major domestic websites created special columns for Cen Zhen. On the night of the awards, the media and netizens stayed up almost all night, anxiously yet expectantly waiting for the final result.

Over the years, there had been other Chinese films nominated, but none had succeeded. Chinese films at Western film festivals had always struggled to stand out. Simply being nominated was often considered the best achievement. Now, as Cen Zhen made another attempt, whether fans or not, everyone secretly hoped for her success.

If she failed again, what awaited her might be a slew of mocking articles.

She could have stopped at the peak, after winning the domestic Grand Slam and happily having a pair of twins. She could have retired gracefully and lived her life as a young mistress.

But she didn’t. She continued to walk the path of a filmmaker.

The domestic netizens, for once, were united—

"Not sleeping tonight, will stay up with Zhen Zhen."

"It doesn't seem very hopeful this year... although 'Legend' has a high rating, the Spanish film is also quite strong."

"Doesn't matter, just being nominated is already a win. I’m staying here today to see who dares to criticize Zhen Zhen."

"I don’t care, the strength of Chinese actors doesn’t need to be proven by Westerners."

"I’m in Cannes, and I was lucky enough to attend the premiere of 'Legend' the day before yesterday. Lao Xie really made an incredible film, I think Zhen Zhen has a chance!"

"Ahhhhhh I’m so nervous."

At the same time in Cannes, the awards ceremony was underway.

Cen Zhen was sitting in the film festival palace for the second time, and this time, unlike last time, she had Meng Fanchuan by her side.

Of course, not far away in the corner, the two little ones were also secretly accompanying their mother with their aunt.

She had gone through every award process before, she was familiar with it, and she thought she’d be able to face it with a calm mindset. But for some reason, she still found herself taking deep breaths during every interval between when guests and actors went on and off stage.

"You know, the award presenter is the best actor of the year I was nominated, and he only won after 31 years in the industry," Cen Zhen turned her head and deliberately whispered to Meng Fanchuan to start a conversation.

Meng Fanchuan, however, calmly took her hand and said, "Don’t be nervous."

Cen Zhen: "…"

He always easily saw through her disguise. Cen Zhen lowered her head and confessed, "What if I leave empty-handed tonight? Would it affect Mution?"

The Mution event IP had gradually taken shape over the years and was being promoted worldwide. However, Cen Zhen’s influence had yet to reach an international level. Becoming a spokesperson was entirely due to the bias of her husband, Meng Fanchuan.

This was her second time standing on an international stage after seven years, the closest she had ever been to her dream, and perhaps the best chance to repay Meng Fanchuan for his continuous support.

So, although Cen Zhen hadn’t been nervous before, the thought of it now made her breathless. What if she failed again? Would Meng Fanchuan’s event be affected? Would the sponsors hesitate because of her as a failed spokesperson?

"Think about something else," Meng Fanchuan said in a calm tone, bypassing her worries and encouraging her. "Like, if you win, how much will the endorsement fee go up?"

Cen Zhen smiled at his words. "Xiang Jie is very fair, she will definitely raise your price."

Meng Fanchuan secretly tightened his grip on her hand. "Understood, even with my dear husband, I have to keep accounts clear."

After a few jokes, Cen Zhen felt slightly relieved. The best actor award had already been given out, and the next one was for best actress.

Her gaze fell on the stage. Suddenly, she thought of something and slightly turned to look for the two children in the dimly lit seats.

It didn’t take long to find them.

Her son was sitting very properly, while her daughter seemed a little impatient. Meng Wenruo had given her a lollipop to temporarily calm her down.

What were they thinking right now?

Were they also hoping for Mama to win an award?

If she really won, would Junyi stop eating the lollipop and happily clap for Mama?

Thinking about these happy moments, she felt a little lighter. Cen Zhen comforted herself in her heart—since she was sitting here, even if the chances were slim, it was still possible to win.

If she didn’t win, well… she could just start endorsing her husband for free from tomorrow.

At the same time in China, countless netizens were staying up all night, watching the live broadcast of the awards ceremony.

The best actor had received the award and gone off stage. The new presenter came up, said a few formalities, and then opened the list of winners.

The two seconds he paused felt long enough to make people hold their breath.

Cen Zhen was holding her breath, so was Meng Fanchuan, and even the netizens watching online were.

It seemed like the whole world had been paused until he slightly parted his lips and read out the unfamiliar but beautiful Chinese name.

…The sound around Cen Zhen exploded in her ears.

…

That night, the entertainment industry in China was as lively as the New Year. Many filmmakers stayed up all night, excited.

The mocking articles had no chance to be published, and major websites displayed the titles they had prepared in advance:

【She was a legend! The first Cannes Best Actress from Mainland China, at 30 years old, Cen Zhen finally won her Golden Palm trophy with 'Legend'! Click to review all Cen Zhen’s works from her 9 years in the industry!】

Many netizens were moved to tears. Some fans who had waited with Cen Zhen seven years ago for the results were now already working, some were married with children, but on this night, they once again stood by their idol, witnessing history.

This was a celebration day for Chinese cinema, and even passersby were infected by the joy.

"I’m crying!! My Zhen Zhen deserves this!!!"

"Queen Cen Zhen!! Slay Cannes!!"

"Okay, okay, okay, Cannes, I’ve criticized you for seven years, but I won’t criticize you anymore, you finally grew eyes that understand aesthetics."

"The couple kissed right there at the awards ceremony, a bit too bold, don’t you think? Hahaha!"

"Huh? Didn’t brother-in-law always act that bold? Get used to it, love watching it, more kisses."

"Director Xie is standing beside them with a smile, who understands? Hahaha, Director Xie is amazing, personally bringing out a Cannes Best Actress, he’s a legend."

...

No one knew that after Cen Zhen snapped back to her senses from the wave of applause, the first thing she did was hug Meng Fanchuan beside her.

Only by truly feeling his warmth, his presence, did Cen Zhen dare to believe the name that was announced on stage really belonged to her. Only then did she dare to believe the scenes that had lingered in her heart for so many years had finally come true at this moment.

She finally stood on that stage seven years later, ready to introduce herself to the world: I am Chinese actress Cen Zhen.

What she didn’t know was that at the moment her name was called, Meng Fanchuan’s inner shock was no less than hers.

Finally seeing her covered in stars standing on the stage she longed for, every step of the way, he was willingly content.

The hug wasn’t enough. Meng Fanchuan took the initiative to kiss her, but still couldn’t help but joke, "Don’t raise the endorsement fee too much."

That day, they kissed in the spotlight of the film festival palace, expressing their love openly in front of the global audience. Meanwhile, far in North City, Meng Songnian saw the image and snorted in disdain, "He’s showing off again."

Meanwhile, at the scene, the little ones saw their parents kissing and hugging. Little Meng Junyi had no idea what was going on and mumbled to herself, "What is daddy doing? Why is he kissing mommy again?"

Meng Jing'an raised his sister’s hand, "Mommy won an award, let’s clap."

Meng Junyi, biting her lollipop, widened her eyes. Though she didn’t understand what the foreigners were saying, she saw her mommy walking to the stage in a beautiful dress, accepting the trophy from an uncle’s hands. She saw mommy seemed to be crying but also smiling happily.

Mommy said many things, but Junyi was too young to understand everything and couldn’t remember clearly.

But there were two sentences she would never forget and would remember very clearly for many years to come.

Her mommy said on the dazzling stage, "Thanks to my husband, the one who has accompanied me all the way, the one I love most."

Her daddy was mommy's most loved person.

And her mommy, she should also be daddy’s most loved person, right?

Because many years later, Meng Junyi would still see that post her daddy made years ago on that night at Cannes—

"My girl, your dream has finally come true!"

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