The applause was so deafening that the entire arena seemed to visibly vibrate from the force of its sound waves.

At first, Iris automatically clapped her hands like everyone else. It took a few moments before the words registered in her brain. She gasped in surprise and turned her head to JJ. She had no idea that she was going to receive this award tonight. Based on JJ’s expression, he appeared to have already known about it beforehand.

"Stop spacing out, brat! Go back to the stage and make history! Ahahaha!" JJ looked proud and ecstatic, as if he was the one receiving the special award himself.

Iris nodded and made her way back to the stage. She couldn’t determine exactly what she was feeling at the moment. This special award appeared to be very important because the President of the Harmony Music Awards, the Minister of Arts and Culture, and an official from the biggest international association of musicians in the world were personally presenting it to her.

It felt a little weird that she was receiving such an award for an achievement that she didn’t really think was very important. The three new musical techniques were just something she utilized to achieve her musical vision when creating the song "Monster of Insanity".

She never deliberately planned on creating them. In fact, she didn’t even know that they didn’t exist before using them! For her, they were very minor elements of the song. That was why she felt perplexed that she was receiving an award for them. And with so much fanfare too!

The Minister of Arts and Culture handed her a big, glass plaque. The words "Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in Music" stood out the most with her name "Iris Long" below it.

"Congratulations, Miss Long. Be careful, it’s heavy," the minister told her.

And indeed, it was heavier than the golden treble trophies she received earlier. After thanking the minister and the others, she stood once again in front of the mic for another speech. The audience continued to give her a loud standing ovation.

She had no idea what to say. "Thank you" seemed too casual, especially since she repeated it so many times in her previous speeches. Her eyes found Jin Liwei in the front row, silently asking him for help.

He stood there clapping his hands. To others, his expression remained cold. But to Iris, they looked very proud of her. He immediately understood her current predicament. His lips moved silently.

After reading his lips, a big smile lit up her face. People gasped at her blinding beauty.

Iris stepped away from the microphone, confusing many. She hugged the big, heavy plaque with one arm close to her body and swept her other arm up in the air. Then her body folded into an elegant and graceful curtsy bow. It was so deep that she was almost sitting on the floor.

The audience gave her an even louder standing ovation this time.

"Iris! Iris! Iris!"

So what if she didn’t give a speech? They were already tired listening to what felt like endless speeches earlier. Iris’ deep curtsy bow felt more sincere and refreshing than an overly emotional speech.

’You don’t have to say anything if you don’t have any words. Just do whatever you want, love. You are you.’

These were Jin Liwei’s silent words to her earlier. It not only calmed her down but also reminded her to be herself. This heavy award was indeed heavy. It was heavy with people’s expectations of her.

She realized that for a moment, she allowed herself to feel pressured by all the awards she received tonight. Fortunately, Jin Liwei reminded her that she was her own person. It was her choice to feel pressured. And in the same way, it was also her choice to just be herself. She could choose not to burden herself with other people’s expectations of her.

This was her own path of freedom, her own path of independence. And walking that path together with her was her darling, Jin Liwei.

Her view had completely changed. Freedom and independence didn’t need to be pursued alone. She was now learning that having a lover wasn’t shackling her down but giving her a boost to fly higher instead.

As she straightened her body, she looked straight in the eyes of her man and blew him a sweet kiss filled with love and gratitude.

Index
chapter-338
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