Trimmed By Time Chapter 1

Behind the scenes of the award ceremony, Liam Chen and Nathan Song were bound to meet head-on.

Emily Jia, Liam Chen's assistant, had just been with him for a short time, so she didn't know anything about the old people and things. Newcomers in the workplace are not familiar with the ways of the world, and all their thoughts are written on their faces. Emily Jia was originally a fan of Liam Chen and an anti-Nathan Song, so she didn't look happy when she saw Nathan Song, but Nathan Song smiled at them politely.

Liam Chen and Nathan Song actually have different acting styles and are not in competition with each other. One has been tepid for several years and has been working hard as an acting school, while the other comes from a literary and artistic family and has countless resources. He has already been filming a baby formula commercial at the age of one. However, the two are of similar age, so they are often compared by the media. Liam Chen was fine when he first debuted, but in the past few years, most of his peers in the circle have had friendly exchanges, occasionally appearing in the same frame at a party or interacting on Weibo, but he and Nathan Song are parallel and have no intersection. From time to time, people in the circle have revealed that even if the two are in the same scene, they don’t say hello at all and have cold expressions, so their identities as rivals are confirmed. Fans feel that they must protect their idols and regard each other as their nemesis. They will fight over the slightest disturbance. On the one hand, they say, "Our elegant and graceful Mr. Liam Chen has nothing to do with your second-generation artist who has a weird temper and no acting skills and relies on his parents." On the other hand, they say, "Master Hui is born with a celebrity style and doesn't compare with passers-by who have just become famous."

Today's award is also a big deal. Liam Chen's movie last year was well-received, and he became famous thanks to this trend. He was fortunate to be nominated for this ceremony. An An followed him into the separate dressing room, and did not forget to step on Nathan Song: "Boss, you are nominated, so you are here today. I don't know why Nathan Song came to the red carpet. He is not afraid of losing face if he can't produce a work in a year."

Nathan Song has almost faded out of the spotlight in the past year and a half. The entertainment industry is changing with each passing day, so it is no wonder that even his assistant can make a few disparaging remarks about him.

Liam Chen didn't respond to her, but just said that he wanted to close his eyes and rest before the makeup artist came.

Liam Chen has always been famous for his good temper in the circle. He never makes negative comments when dealing with people. Even when he said to drive people away, he was polite and courteous. When An An closed the door, she only felt that the boss was a little more charming. She went to the other side of the corridor to contact the makeup artist, but saw that Nathan Song did not go far. He was leaning against the wall and smoking leisurely. Emily Jia turned a blind eye to the long legs and only complained that the other party was uncivilized for smoking indoors and should be fined immediately.

She didn't even plan to greet Nathan Song, but Nathan Song stopped her and asked, "Xiao Jia, does Liam Chen still have headaches recently?"

If they weren't the only two people in the corridor, Emily Jia would have thought that Nathan Song was not calling her and Liam Chen was just someone with the same name.

There were too many bombshells in this statement. Emily Jia was puzzled as to how this big shot knew the name of her new assistant, and why he cared about a competitor of the same age whom he was not familiar with. However, Nathan Song politely put out his cigarette and looked at her eyes with sincerity, so that even she, who was Nathan Song's strongest anti, could not say "what do you care", and could only answer blankly without any conclusion: "...I've been much better recently."

Nathan Song's expression relaxed slightly after hearing this, and he thanked him and turned to leave. Emily Jia saw him take another cigarette out of the cigarette box, but he didn't light it.

Sure enough, his personality is just as weird as the gossips revealed, Emily Jia thought to herself.

Liam Chen in the lounge had no expectations for winning an award. His reason for entering the entertainment industry was ridiculous. In the final analysis, he did not have any great ambitions for this career. Being nominated was enough to satisfy his agency. In the past few years, he just fulfilled his duties and did not fight for resources. He would perform well when he got them, and take a vacation when he did not. However, this left a good impression on many producers. Everyone commented that he was tactful and polite, and was a rare down-to-earth person in the impetuous entertainment industry.

Liam Chen closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Before the encounter, he had not met Nathan Song for a long time. He did it on purpose in the past few years. He did not know Nathan Song's attitude, but he would try to avoid the opportunity to meet him on the same stage. He had a minor car accident more than a year ago. When he came back from recuperation, rumors spread in the circle that Nathan Song had retired to Europe to study art history. There were also rumors that he was traveling around the world with his secret wife. Everyone said that Young Master Song was willful. After all, he had a strong foundation in the circle. He still had a place after disappearing for a year or two.

Intentionally or unintentionally, five or six years have passed like this. Liam Chen couldn't tell whether today's encounter was a coincidence or intentional, and he didn't want to guess what the other party's smile meant.

The movie nominated today was originally starring Nathan Song, but the willful young man had to temporarily retire after breaking the contract. When Liam Chen was first replaced, he was badly criticized. The character's personality in the play was tailor-made for Nathan Song by the screenwriter. Nathan Song's fans and passers-by thought that Liam Chen could not play such a personality, but Liam Chen did it very well. So gossip magazines and fan forums have to compare Nathan Song again, probably because he was born with a good fortune but didn't cherish it and let others take advantage of him. There are also public accounts that speculate that Liam Chen got Nathan Song's role and became popular unexpectedly. I'm afraid the two will become more hostile.

Liam Chen's role was indeed beyond most people's expectations. At the wrap party, the screenwriters praised him and were not afraid to speak their minds: "Xiao Chen's basic skills are really impeccable. At the beginning, I tailored this role for Lang Hui. I was still worried when it was your turn, but I didn't expect you to play it so well. If you two hadn't always been at odds, I would have suspected that Lang Hui had privately taught you the role."

Liam Chen simply drank the glass of wine offered by the screenwriter in one gulp and did not respond to any conversation related to Nathan Song.

Liam Chen didn't need Nathan Song to explain the play, but he couldn't explain it to the screenwriter - Nathan Song and he used to be close to each other. Liam Chen was even familiar with Nathan Song's expression at the climax, so how could he not play a role tailor-made for Nathan Song?

Emily Jia, who had returned, came knocking on the door with her makeup artist. Liam Chen opened his eyes and responded with "Come in".

Closing his eyes and resting did not make him relax. All thoughts related to Nathan Song only made him more tired.