**Chapter 207: Surrounded by Enemies**

When Link arrived at the music hall, the segment where Madonna mourned MJ had already ended. The host, Russell Brand, took the stage and made a few political jokes to liven up the atmosphere.

"Hey! Link, congratulations on your successful performance," Eminem greeted him when he returned to his seat.

"Thanks!" Link smiled lightly and sat down next to Eminem.

Before coming to the awards ceremony, he thought he would be sitting with Taylor. After all, they were a couple, and sitting together would create more buzz if caught on camera.

However, the organizers were even better at creating topics.

MTV had arranged his seat right in the middle of the East Coast rap crew.

In front of him were Jay-Z and Beyoncé, to his right were T.I., Rihanna, and Kanye, and behind him were 50 Cent, Drake, and a few others. At a glance, apart from Eminem, who was neutral, they were all enemies.

But the organizers had their reasons for such an arrangement.

This year, five singers were nominated for MTV's Best Male Video Award.

They were Jay-Z with "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)," Eminem with "We Made You," Kanye West with "Love Lockdown," T.I. and Rihanna with "Live Your Life," and Link with "Unstoppable."

Having them sit together made it easier for the cameras to capture the moment.

However, as soon as he sat down, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, T.I., and Drake all craned their necks to stare at him, their faces showing obvious hostility and anger.

Originally, the East Coast rap crew was extremely successful in the rap scene, and even in the music industry.

Even MJ, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Justin Timberlake, and other superstars approached them for collaborations.

Beyoncé, the newly crowned queen, even married Jay-Z, largely because of their dominance in rap music.

Other types of singers wanted to ride their wave to attract a younger fan base and expand their music market.

After collaborating with them, MJ, Madonna, Justin, and others also achieved great success in the hip-hop and rap music field.

They were very proud of this.

But everything changed when they encountered Link, that bastard.

At the Grammys, Lil Wayne only criticized him a few times and asked him to apologize to Kanye, which was a very reasonable request.

But this bastard used the media to hype it up, turning a small matter into something huge, almost spiraling out of control. Even Washington was alarmed, forcing them to come out and apologize, which was a huge embarrassment.

Later, that guy came over pretending to make peace, saying he wanted to get into rap music.

In reality, it was Link's scheme.

He deliberately pretended to be a newbie who didn't understand rap, saying he wanted to test the waters, and then released a single that shot up to the top three on the rap charts.

A classic case of the rabbit eating the wolf.

After his sneak attack, of course, they wouldn't let him get away with it. Kanye, T.I., and Jay-Z released songs one after another, trying to crush him and restore the East Coast rap crew's dignity.

At first, it was going well. Kanye and Jay-Z's singles successively defeated Link's "I'm the One" and "Lighters," taking the number one spot on the rap singles chart. On the Billboard Hot 100, "Empire State of Mind" firmly suppressed Link's "Believer."

Although Jay-Z's album sales were slightly lower than Link's, the East Coast rappers' songs still dominated the rap charts, and they hadn't lost face.

But everything changed with the appearance of that song "See You Again."

That damn song stuck to the top of the rap singles chart like a piece of dog crap for four consecutive weeks, refusing to budge.

And their songs were right beneath that crap.

The feeling was indescribably disgusting, worse than being cheated on.

They tried releasing singles to regain the top spot.

But that song was just too popular. It was playing everywhere, and even their family members were singing it at home.

They just couldn't beat it.

A rookie's rap song had left a group of veterans helpless, which wasn't just professional competition—it was a spiritual insult.

Seeing Link sitting right in front of them now, if they had guns, they would have shot that bastard long ago.

"Hi, good evening!" Link sat confidently in his seat, legs crossed, and casually greeted the dark-faced group around him with a slight smile on his lips.

Seeing him still daring to smile, Lil Wayne and the others grew even more furious. This clearly showed that he didn't take them seriously. If this were the '80s or '90s, they would have turned him into Swiss cheese with their guns.

Link being alive today could only be credited to the times.

"The cameras are coming, watch your image," Eminem called out.

Lil Wayne and the others glanced at the cameras in front of them and had no choice but to restrain their expressions and sit back down.

Link remained calm, looking straight ahead. When he saw Taylor glancing over from the row in front, he waved.

Taylor was seated in the middle of the second row near the aisle, while his seat was in the third row on the left side, with five or six seats between them.

"Link, about what happened earlier, we're sorry. We were driving too fast," Beyoncé said, turning slightly after the cameras moved on.

She was referring to the incident with the limo cutting in line.

Beyoncé had been in the car as well. At the time, she had apologized and offered to let them go first, but Link and Taylor had declined. They weren't in a hurry to walk the red carpet and didn't see any point in competing over it, especially since winning wouldn't have gained them anything.

"It's no big deal, just a small matter," Link replied, politely leaning back in his seat. Beyoncé was wearing a deep red, plunging V-neck evening gown, and her well-endowed chest was quite visible when she turned slightly.

Not wanting to be caught on camera looking at something inappropriate, he quickly directed his gaze elsewhere.

Noticing his movement, Beyoncé smirked slightly and turned back to face the stage.

After the previous performance ended, Latin pop queen Shakira took the stage along with three actors from the "Twilight" series.

The actors included Taylor Lautner, who played the werewolf, along with supporting actresses Ashley Greene and Leighton Meester. They were invited as presenters for the awards.

This year, "Twilight" had become incredibly popular, much like Lady Gaga.

Even though only the first installment of the series had been released, and the second had yet to premiere, the lead and supporting actors had already gained significant fame.

Even though it was just a few supporting actors present today, the crowd's cheers were louder than when they saw the idol singers.

Seeing Taylor Lautner and the others, Link was reminded of the "idle" Kristen Stewart.

As the lead actress of "Twilight," her popularity was far beyond that of the others. If she wanted to make appearances, she would probably be busy around the clock.

Shakira and Taylor Lautner were there to present the first award of the night, one of the more prestigious ones: Best Female Video.

There were five nominees.

Beyoncé for "Single Ladies," Katy Perry for "Hot N Cold," Lady Gaga for "Poker Face," P!nk for "So What," and Taylor Swift for "You Belong With Me."

All of them were strong contenders, with no weak entries.

So, who would take home the award? 

(End of chapter)