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The premiere ended and Cassius dragged his exhausted body back to Beverly Hills.
He did the math. Since buying this house, the nights he'd actually slept here barely added up to a month. And most of those nights he'd spent alone.
Why had moving out of Kristen's place turned him into a complete loner?
Cassius was still mulling it over when he drifted off into a heavy sleep.
The next morning at seven, the sky was barely light.
Cassius opened his eyes and fished his silenced phone out from under the pillow.
Twenty-three missed calls from Rob and a flood of texts lit up the screen.
He was just about to call back when the phone rang again.
"Bro, you're finally awake!"
Rob's frantic voice exploded through the speaker. "Turn on the news!"
News?
Cassius rubbed his eyes and sat up. Had something major happened?
"You got nominated for an Oscar!"
Before Cassius could even get out of bed and turn on the TV, Rob blurted out the news.
For a full five seconds Cassius didn't say a word. His brain kept replaying the sentence.
"Oscar?"
Even after he understood the word, he still couldn't believe something this good had actually landed on him.
"Cassius has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 85th Academy Awards for his role as Peeta Mellark!"
Rob was talking so fast his words blurred together.
Cassius hung up and opened his laptop.
He didn't even need to search. Every major news site already had the headline splashed across the front page.
CNN: "Historic Breakthrough — Cassius Nominated for an Oscar for The Hunger Games, First Asian Actor Nominated in a Performance Category for a Mainstream Teen Blockbuster."
BBC: "From The Hunger Games to the Oscars — Cassius's Extraordinary Year."
The New York Times went even harder: "The Oscars Embrace a New Face — Does Cassius's Nomination Signal a Shift in Hollywood Voting Trends?"
"Cassius's nomination is surprising, yet it makes perfect sense when you think about it. His portrayal of Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games is more than just a love interest — it's a complex character making moral choices under impossible pressure. This nomination challenges the Academy's long-standing bias against big commercial films, especially those aimed at teenagers."
Cassius scrolled down to the list.
In the Best Supporting Actor category, his name sat in third place:
Philip Seymour Hoffman — The Master
Tommy Lee Jones — Lincoln
Cassius — The Hunger Games
Robert De Niro — Silver Linings Playbook
Alan Arkin — Argo
"Holy shit."
Cassius couldn't stop the curse from slipping out.
He'd imagined getting an Oscar nomination someday, but never this fast.
He ran through the movies he'd done — Thor, Green Lantern, The Hunger Games — plus the ones still waiting to come out: Fast & Furious 5 and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
According to Hollywood's unwritten rules, the Oscars loved prestige dramas, historical epics, and biopics. He'd never been in any of those.
Big commercial movies? They were lucky to scrape a technical nomination.
A performance nomination?
Basically impossible.
His phone started buzzing again. This time it was Justin Lin.
"Cass! You see it? I fucking knew you could do it! You better be in the sixth movie!"
Vin Diesel sent a voice message. "Bro, this is bigger than my first Oscar nomination. Wait — I've never been nominated. You're insane, bro!"
Paul Walker kept it short and sweet: "Bro. Fucking awesome."
Jennifer texted: "Brother-in-Law Bro, double celebration! I got nominated for Best Actress and you got Best Supporting Actor!"
Cassius replied to every message one by one.
When he finally opened Twitter, five of the top ten trending topics were about him:
#CassiusOscar
#FirstAsianOscarActor
#PeetaOscar
#HungerGamesOscar
#CassiusVsDeNiro
He clicked in. The reactions were all over the place.
"Finally! The Oscars are admitting commercial movies can have great acting!"
"But it's The Hunger Games — can it really compare to Lincoln?"
"Cassius really killed it. I cried three times watching it."
"So he's officially Cassius Oscar now. That title slaps."
"The other nominees are all 55+. Cassius is how old? This is wild."
"Pretty sure the Academy only nominated him for diversity points. Hollywood's been pushing that hard lately."
"Shut up, dude. The performance is good. That's it. His ethnicity has nothing to do with it."
There were the usual snide comments too: "A Asian actor getting an Oscar nomination for an American teen movie? What the hell is the world coming to?"
They got shut down fast: "What's the problem? American movies can't have Asian actors now? What decade are you living in?"
Cassius smiled.
His phone buzzed again. This time it was Kristen.
"I just wrapped. The whole crew is congratulating me like they got nominated. How are you feeling?"
"Still stunned," Cassius answered honestly.
"You should be! I won't walk the red carpet with you, but if I can make it, I'll come to the ceremony!"
Dakota texted: "Congrats on joining the Oscar-cursed club. Remember not to walk the red carpet with Kristen, lol."
Both of them hitting him with the same joke finally made it click.
They were both referencing the old Oscar curse — couples who walk the red carpet together supposedly break up, and Best Actress winners often have marriage problems.
These two.
Cassius shook his head, half-exasperated, half-amused.
He opened Weibo.
The second the app loaded, it crashed.
After restarting, #CassiusOscarBestSupportingNomination was already exploding.
The top post was from the official movie channel: "Historic breakthrough! Asian actor Cassius has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 85th Academy Awards for The Hunger Games, becoming the first Asian performer nominated in a performance category for a mainstream commercial blockbuster."
It had over fifty thousand retweets in ten minutes.
The comments were pure chaos:
"Holy shit! Brother Xun is actually doing it!"
"Last time Rio War God, this time Oscar nomination — next stop president?"
"The Hunger Games getting an Oscar nod? This year's voters finally woke up."
"Proves the acting was really good. He brought Peeta to life."
"So where are all the people who said he had shady connections? Does an Oscar nomination clear his name or what?"
The second trending topic had originally been #WangFengOfficiallyDivorcesKangZuoRu.
Wang Feng's love life was always gossip gold.
But the second Cassius's nomination hit, the divorce tag dropped from second to fifth, then out of the top ten completely.
Netizens lost it:
"Wang Feng: What the hell did I do wrong?"
"PR team wasted all that money. Trending or not, it didn't matter."
"Next time Wang Feng drops a song or announces something, he should check Cassius's schedule first."
"Sympathy for Wang Feng — one second. The rest of the time I'm laughing."
"Can he get a refund on that trending package?"
Cassius stared at the comments, caught between laughing and crying.
He never expected Wang Feng's trending curse to come back around and hit him.
By then Rob had already shown up at the Beverly Hills house and hadn't stopped taking calls since he walked in.
"Yes, thank you — no, no, it's not luck. Cassius earned this."
"Interviews? This week is packed. Next week works."
"Endorsements? After the ceremony."
He hung up and chugged half a bottle of water. "Warner, Lionsgate, Universal — all three studios are fighting over his next project."
"I never thought I'd be this in demand."
Rob laughed out loud.
Back when he'd switched to being an agent just to survive and signed the unknown Cassius, he never imagined one investment would pay off this big.
Rob was convinced signing Cassius was the smartest move he'd ever made.
His tiny ten-person company had turned into one of the hottest agencies in Hollywood.
Even A-list actors whose contracts were ending were reaching out.
Rob's name in the agent world was almost as big as Cassius's in the acting world.
While they were talking, the doorbell rang.
A production assistant stood there holding a large box with "Director Justin Lin" written on it.
Cassius took the box and opened it.
Inside was a bottle of champagne and a card: "To our Oscar nominee. The Fast 6 script is in your email. This time your screen time is equal to Vin and Paul's."
Justin had clearly moved fast the second he heard the news.
That night Cassius invited Rob to stay for dinner.
For once they both relaxed, popping open the champagne Justin had sent.
The media coverage kept rolling.
The New York Times ran the most detailed piece, breaking down why a commercial movie like The Hunger Games could land a performance nomination.
"Cassius's performance proves something important. In an era when studios lean harder on IP and CGI, an actor's work can still be the heart of a film. His Peeta Mellark takes the old 'love and sacrifice' trope and gives it real human weight."
CNN's headline was even more direct: "Cassius Nomination Signals Oscar Shift? Academy Finally Opening Doors to Commercial Actors?"
BBC focused on his Asian identity: "In a Hollywood that still has an invisible ceiling, Cassius's nomination carries real symbolism. He's never hidden the fact that he's a Asian actor, not just Asian-American. That unapologetic attitude might be exactly why he succeeded."
A few conservative pundits on Twitter tried to be snide: "The Oscars are getting weird. Even Eastern actors can get nominated for American blockbusters now."
The replies came fast: "So you're saying Cassius doesn't deserve it? Watch his performance first, then talk."
Even funnier — people dug up old conspiracy accounts that had claimed Cassius had secret military ties.
Those tweets were now flooded with mockery: "So the Asian military sent him to win an Oscar nomination?"
"Creative way to infiltrate, I guess."
"Next step — run for Academy president?"
"OP, does your face hurt yet?"
Cassius refreshed again. The account had been deleted, taking the original post with it.
He'd just sent Rob home when his phone rang once more.
Cassius rubbed his temples.
Between the news and the nonstop calls, his throat was dry and his face muscles were starting to cramp from smiling.
Acting hadn't been this exhausting.
He pulled out his phone. It was a video call from Jackie Chan.
"Cassius, congratulations!"
The second the call connected, Jackie appeared on screen, grinning wide.
"I just had dinner with a few Academy voters. They all said you crushed that scene. Prepare well for the ceremony. Nomination or not, you've already won."
"Thanks, big brother. I'm still kind of stunned, honestly."
"You should be! I was the same way the first time I got nominated."
Jackie was clearly calmer about the nomination than Cassius expected.
In his mind, Cassius had the talent — winning was just a matter of time.
"The nomination is recognition, not the finish line. The road is long. Keep working."
Jackie had always treated Cassius like a little brother and was happy to pass on advice from his own Oscar experience.
"Got it."
After hanging up, Cassius stepped out onto the balcony.
For once the Los Angeles night sky was clear enough to see stars.
Fast & Furious 5 was riding the Oscar heat hard, dropping new trailers and character spots across Facebook and YouTube.
Cassius's clips were topping the trending charts.
Universal launched the #FastFurious5 hashtag and encouraged fans to post their own drift videos.
On the night of the North American premiere, the red carpet outside TCL Asian Theatre had never seen anything like this.
Usually Hollywood premieres just had stars walking and maybe a couple sponsor cars for background.
But tonight Fast & Furious 5 turned the red carpet into a full-on car show.
Real cars.
The black Dodge Charger sat dead center on the carpet. Next to it was Paul's blue GT-R.
Gal's Ducati was displayed on a custom stand.
Even Cassius's Dongfeng Mengshi was there, looking mean and powerful.
They'd even brought in a few wrecked police cars from the movie and set them up like a crash scene.
"Fuck. Now that's how you do a premiere."
Rob stood at the second-floor VIP lounge window, staring at the crowd below. "Other premieres bring stars. We brought the actual cars."
Cassius stood beside him in a custom suit.
Tonight's premiere was even bigger than the one in Rio.
It was the North American home turf and his first big public appearance since the Oscar nomination. Every media outlet had eyes on him.
At seven the red carpet officially started.
By tradition, producers, the director, and supporting cast went first. The leads came last.
But tonight the order had changed.
Cassius was walking with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.
The message was loud and clear.
He was now one of the franchise's core assets.
The moment they stepped onto the carpet, the screams were louder than anything in Rio.
Cassius spotted Asian fans in the crowd holding signs that read "Oscar Nominee Cassius" and American fans cosplaying as his character from the movie — black jacket, tactical pants, even a prop gun.
The media questions had leveled up too.
"Mr. Cassius, how has your mindset changed since the Oscar nomination?"
"Are you, Vin, and Paul the new Hollywood power trio?"
"Rumors say your salary for Fast 6 tripled. Is that true?"
"Will you use the nomination to push for more creative control?"
Cassius gave the same polished answers to every question.
"The nomination is recognition and motivation. I'm grateful, but it won't change who I am."
"As for salary — that's my agent's department. I don't know the details."
It was airtight. The reporters couldn't poke any holes.
Halfway down the carpet, Vin suddenly stopped and patted the hood of the black Charger.
"Remember this car?" he asked Cassius.
"Of course."
Cassius had driven it plenty of times himself. He'd even thought about buying one.
"This car carried us through the whole shoot. It's not just a car anymore — it's part of Fast & Furious 5."
The comment stirred up memories for everyone.
They'd all bled for this movie.
Vin had done something no one expected.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of car keys.
A Dodge logo dangled from the keychain.
He turned to face the cameras and fans, raising his voice.
"This movie means everything to all of us. We've been through a lot together — and we gained a new brother."
The crowd went quiet.
Even reporters who had been interviewing other cast members drifted closer.
Vin paused, eyes sweeping over Paul, Gal, Justin Lin, then landing on Cassius.
"The crew decided — starting tonight, this car belongs to Cassius. A thank-you gift for stepping up when it mattered most."
Vin slapped the Charger's hood.
Cassius froze.
He had zero warning. Rob hadn't said a word. The producers hadn't hinted. Even Paul had kept quiet.
He looked at the people around him.
Rob gave him a thumbs-up.
Everyone else was clapping and smiling like they'd known all along.
"Take it."
Vin pressed the keys into his hand. "You earned this."
Cassius wrapped his fingers around the keys. The cold metal felt real.
He looked out at the sea of flashing cameras, every lens pointed straight at him and the keys in his hand.
Cassius took a deep breath, turned to the cameras, and held the keys up.
"Thank you to the crew for this gift. I'll take good care of this car — and I'll never forget what it represents. Not just the movie, but everything we went through together."
His voice was steady and sincere.
Applause rolled across the carpet.
Paul walked over and slung an arm around Cassius's shoulders.
"Congrats, bro. But fair warning — this thing drinks gas like crazy. One month of fuel costs more than a new iPhone."
"Worth it."
Cassius laughed.
The car giveaway instantly became the night's biggest story.
#CassiusCar was trending on Twitter within minutes. Someone posted the live clip and it hit a million views in ten minutes.
Comments flooded in:
"Vin Diesel really sees Cassius as family."
"How much is that car worth in the movie?"
"It's not about the money. It's symbolic. You saved the crew — they gave you the war machine."
Car enthusiasts went deeper: "That Charger is a 1970 Dodge Charger R/T. In the movie it's got a built V8 pushing around 500 horsepower. Clean examples go for about two hundred grand, but add the Fast 5 hero car factor and it's priceless."
Cassius stood there holding the keys, the weight of the moment settling in.
For the first time in a long time, he felt like everything he'd fought for was actually paying off.