333 Battle of the Performances (1/2)
Everyone stood up and gave Iris a deafening standing ovation. There was not a single person who remained on their seat. The people felt like they would be doing something very disrespectful if they remained sitting after such a beautiful and magnificent performance.
It was the loudest and longest standing ovation for a performance so far tonight. The other artists and celebrities who begrudged and didn't believe that Iris Long deserved to receive the most award nominations this year finally experienced firsthand her amazing live performance which wasn't in any way inferior to the recorded versions of her music. Not to mention that they completely lost themselves to her insanely powerful charisma and stage presence.
”Iris! Iris! Iris!”
The Black Stars didn't need to lead the chant because everyone in the audience started calling her name in unison.
Of course, the brothers Jin Liwei and Jin Chonglin were also clapping their hands with everyone else. The people were too preoccupied cheering and admiring Iris' spectacular performance that nobody noticed the proud and loving expression on Jin Liwei's face, nor did they think too deeply about the flying kiss Iris Long sent directly to him.
They thought that her kiss was for everyone. They were wrong. Her elegant curtsy bow and hand waves were for everyone, but her sole flying kiss was for her darling alone.
Jin Chonglin glanced at his older brother beside him. Jin Liwei had an adoring expression on his face. Jin Chonglin elbowed his brother hard on the side, earning a harsh glare from him. Then Jin Liwei quickly reverted to his usual cold and indifferent expression when he realized that a camera was pointing their way.
Sometime later, Iris and JJ walked together to their assigned seats a few rows behind the Jin brothers. They changed back to the outfits they wore on the red carpet earlier. Everyone greeted them warmly, praising them for their brilliant performance.
JJ looked extremely smug and puffed out his chest. He immediately started bragging to his friend DJ Song. Iris sat between the two friends. She wasn't really listening to their conversation. Her eyes were gazing directly at the back of her darling's head. She felt tempted to just walk over to the front and then hug and kiss him in front of everyone. A giggle escaped from her lips at the thought.
It was as if he heard soft laughter because Jin Liwei turned his head behind him for the first time. They locked eyes at each other. They showed no outward expression but their eyes were filled with love.
Then Iris' expression darkened when she realized that many women were giving her darling flirty looks. She closed her eyes and fought against the urge to leap over to those women and slap them until their faces became swollen.
Similarly, Jin Liwei's expression turned even colder and slightly menacing when he saw several men looking at his baby girl with obvious interest. Some of them didn't even bother disguising the lust in their eyes.
The people sitting around him paled when they saw his scary expression. They also shivered and shifted their bodies away from him. They wondered if someone displeased or offended him in some way.
Farther back in the audience, the Black Stars were busy monitoring something on their phones. They were watching the real-time polls, specifically for the people's choice award of Most Popular Female Artist.
”Come on, comrades! We only need less than 500 votes to get our boss to the number 1 position. We can do this!” Zhou Mei'er (a.k.a. CaptainBlackStar) encouraged her fellow Black Stars.
”Oh! I just refreshed! We only need 300 more votes…no, 200! 130…60…what…” Ming Li (a.k.a. Little Phoenix) gasped and looked at her companions in excitement.
”Yes! We did it!!! Our Boss Iris is now number 1 in the ranking! Whoop whoop!!!”
”Uwah! Look! We didn't just surpass the previous number 1 but we're now widening the gap!”