Chapter 517: Probability of Winning an Award

Chapter 517: The Possibility of Winning an Award

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, which fell on February 14, 2021, work was originally scheduled to begin that day, but due to the special date, objections were raised, so it was postponed to the fourth day for reporting in—and even then, it had to be in the afternoon. Who would want to go to work in the morning on that day and risk exposing themselves?

Meng Fan, after spending Valentine's Day with Wu Tong, returned to Hangzhou ahead of the others, who continued to enjoy themselves in Sanya and likely wouldn't head back until around the eighth or ninth day of the new year.

The February 22 Animation Awards were drawing closer and closer, with only a week left.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the staff at Shanhai Animation Studio, Damei Studio, and Chocolate Factory had mostly returned to work. All preparations for the Animation Awards were complete, but there were still many tasks for them to handle.

Additionally, the staff of the Xizi Cultural and Creative Park, where these three studios were located, had also resumed work, as both the Animation Awards and the related Animation Festival would take place within the park.

The park's management was, of course, a hundred percent welcoming and supportive. The venue fees for this year's Animation Awards and Festival were fully waived, with a green light all the way. They had also secured a large amount of policy support and assigned all management staff to assist Shanhai Animation.

The park was well aware of the scale of the Shanhai Awards. With this event, the Xizi Cultural and Creative Park had a strong chance of surpassing other cultural and creative parks and animation bases in Hangzhou, making future investment attraction a breeze.

From the fourth day onward, the park underwent its final preparations. Starting on the fifth day, guests from all sides would begin arriving. Many animation professionals and investors came early, taking the opportunity to gather, discuss projects, explore investments, and seek collaboration opportunities.

From certain perspectives, the smooth progress of events exceeded Meng Fan and the team's expectations. Overall, even without the invited industry giants, this could already be considered a grand-scale animation festival.

After returning for just two days, Meng Fan had to leave again. On the sixth day, he headed to Monaco, a small European country, to attend the Laureus Awards ceremony. He boarded the plane at Shanghai International Airport. Besides Wu Tong, fellow passengers included Dean Zhan and his wife, tennis star Na, speed skating goddess Mu Yiyang, and others. Wu Tong and the dean's couple accompanied Meng Fan, while the rest were either Laureus Academy members or invited guests. Naturally, the delegation from the Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Judo Association was also there.

"Congratulations, congratulations!" Tennis Na, though appearing aloof, was actually quite warm. Her congratulations weren't about Meng Fan's Laureus nomination but about the news that had spread online a few days earlier—Meng Fan's proposal to Wu Tong on Valentine's Day in Sanya. Mu Yiyang joined in the fun, "When are you giving us wedding candies?"

Meng Fan smiled "shyly": "Soon, soon."

Along the way, Meng Fan chatted extensively with Mu Yiyang, Tennis Na, and others. Their conversations naturally revolved around sports. Meng Fan specifically sought advice from them on sports philanthropy—most of them had their own or related charitable foundations. As for matters concerning Laureus, especially whether Meng Fan would win, it was barely mentioned. After all, these individuals were Laureus Academy members and needed to avoid conflicts of interest, even with no outsiders around.

After the plane landed safely, the hosts were already waiting to pick them up. The cars were all luxury vehicles, and the hotel they checked into was extravagantly opulent.

Monaco's total area is only 2.02 square kilometers, a place where land is as precious as gold, even smaller than Tsinghua University. The hotel built there was naturally top-notch. Even Meng Fan, who had experienced the lavish hospitality of Qatar, was still amazed by certain details here.

"Monte!"

Teddy Riner, who was practically a local—Monaco is entirely surrounded by France except for its southern coastline, making it a French enclave—came as soon as he heard Meng Fan had arrived. He wanted to take Meng Fan to do something thrilling, but seeing Wu Tong there, he backed off. He knew Meng Fan was a man who "feared" his wife.

Meng Fan asked, "Have you gained weight?"

Teddy Riner made a pained expression: "Ever since I had that hotpot with you last time, my weight has been out of control."

"Are there great Chinese hotpot places in France?"

Teddy Riner exaggeratedly replied, "Yes, of course! The owner of the place I've been frequenting lately is Chinese—from a place with a very beautiful name, Double-celebration! I think it's a lovely blessing too, double celebration—celebrating our reunion and also congratulating you in advance for winning the award. Well—hopefully you'll win double! Wow, what a wonderful word, as wonderful as their hotpot!"

Meng Fan was stunned for a moment before "translating" the place name. It was indeed a beautiful and delicious location.

Teddy Riner had been nominated for Laureus three times but never won. It was a regret and a helplessness, as no judoka had ever received a Laureus Award. Before Meng Fan appeared, Teddy Riner thought it unlikely he'd see a judoka win in his lifetime, since he had done everything a judoka could and still couldn't win.

Meng Fan's emergence made him the greatest rival Teddy Riner had ever faced, and then that rival became an insurmountable mountain—immovable and unbreakable. So, he chose to befriend that mountain. Upon learning of Meng Fan's Laureus nomination, Teddy Riner projected his own regret onto Meng Fan, hoping he could fulfill that regret—not just for himself, but for all of judo. Meng Fan was also the judoka with the best chance of winning Laureus.

To be honest, when it came to the Laureus Awards, Teddy Riner was even more enthusiastic than Meng Fan himself. Over this period, he had leveraged his influence to actively campaign for Meng Fan, hoping to increase his chances of winning, even if only by a little. He was willing to use all his connections.

The International Judo Federation shared the same sentiment. Previously, there had been considerable East-West conflict within the federation, but on this matter, they were unprecedentedly united. This wasn't because the federation's management truly admired Meng Fan or was captivated by his charm—ultimately, it was about interests. If a judoka could win Laureus, it would greatly benefit the development of judo.

Over the past few months, with efforts from all sides, optimism about Meng Fan's chances had grown. Another point worth mentioning was that Meng Fan had taken on an endorsement for an SUV brand, which happened to be one of Laureus's two global partners. The other was a watch brand. Due to Meng Fan's fashion sense and personal charm, that brand had already been in contact with him. If all went smoothly, these two brands would certainly increase Meng Fan's likelihood of winning.

This wasn't some backroom deal or shady manipulation. When several candidates were nearly equal in sports achievements and influence, other comprehensive factors naturally came into play.

(End of chapter)