At the end of the year, Han Junqing was nominated for the Best Actor award and won it in one fell swoop. At the same time, his debut album sales surpassed ten million, making him a dark horse in the declining music market, shocking both the industry and the public.
He refused to appear on variety shows or attend any commercial activities, but he portrayed classic characters on the screen. His acting skills were excellent, recognized unanimously by both his peers and fans. In fact, his talent was so outstanding that every character he played became a classic.
His family background only added to his fame, but it did not stop him from pursuing his passion. He was truly devoted to doing what he loved.
At the age of 20, he won his first Best Actor award, and from then on, he received various awards every year. At 27, he made his international debut in a film and won the Oscar for Best Actor. No one suspected any behind-the-scenes manipulation because his talent was indisputable.
That same year, he directed his first film, "My Mother". Without fabrication or exaggeration, the film portrayed his mother's entire life.
After watching the film, the audience fell silent. Han Junqing had never defended his mother, not even after being accepted into the Lin family. People had believed that everything that happened was true and he had no defense. But after watching the film, they realized that he didn't need to defend her, because his mother had never done anything that needed defending.
Dropping out of school as a teenager, getting into fights over first love, being sold by his father, and being led astray by others...his mother's experiences seemed like choices forced upon her by fate. Whether it was her strange background or giving birth to Han Junqing later in life due to a twist of fate, her story left everyone feeling emotional.
The woman who had never been favored by fate was like a wildflower blooming alone, stubborn, willful, and humble, resisting the malice of the world and strong enough to make people feel sorry for her.
And this film not only earned Han Junqing the Best Director award, but also won numerous other awards, once again pushing Han Junqing's fame to new heights.
As Wen Qing said, even without this system, Han Junqing would eventually become a revered figure among the masses. Hardworking people never get disappointed.
When Han Junqing was 30 years old, he got married, not to a noble lady from a prestigious family or a celebrity in the entertainment industry, but to his assistant, Zhou Nianshi, who had been by his side since he had nothing.
Although Zhou's family was neither wealthy nor noble, they were a scholarly family. Zhou Nianshi initially joined the crew as a summer intern and later fell in love with Han Junqing. She volunteered to be his assistant. Ten years of companionship had already made them the closest people to each other.
As someone who grew up in a single-parent family, Han Junqing was somewhat guarded about love. Compared to love at first sight, silent companionship was what could really break down his defenses.
However, Wen Qing was the person who had been with Han Junqing the longest and had been the most considerate. Yet, Wen Qing had never revealed her true identity. Although Han Junqing had deep feelings for her, it was more akin to a familial love. Wen Qing had never thought about developing a cross-racial love with him. Moreover, the client entrusted her to make sure Han Junqing got married and had children, living a normal life, rather than being with her.
Therefore, the gentle, pure-hearted, caring, and beautiful Zhou Nianshi, who was incredibly compatible with Han Junqing, was undoubtedly the most suitable person for him. Witnessing them coming together, Wen Qing was happy for them.
As she watched his happy marriage, his two children, the faint smile on his lips, and the subtle happiness in his eyes, Wen Qing appeared less and less in his life, fading away until she left.
"So, you're leaving?"
[...Yes.]
"Then I might as well die."
Wen Qing was silent.
"I've always been curious about your origin, and why you came to me in the first place."
[Your mother found me and asked me to come help you.] As he was near death, Wen Qing had nothing left to hide.
"Of course," Han Junqing's face was filled with sorrow and yet there was a hint of relief as he smiled, "I knew it was related to my mother. Otherwise, how could it be so coincidental that you appeared just after her death?"
"Never mind, I won't ask about your origin anymore, but I still want to thank you. Thank you for telling me about my mother and for coming to help me. Meeting you as a friend and companion is my greatest luck. I don't know if the good things I did helped you..."
[They did.]
"That's good. Otherwise, I would feel very guilty..."
His smile became more and more relaxed, his eyes bright and shining as they were before. He sat in a rocking chair, looking at the warm sunshine outside the door. His youngest great-granddaughter was running in the garden, everything was so beautiful.
As his consciousness gradually became hazy, he asked his last question, "Can I... see you?"
The next moment, he saw a beautiful girl slowly materializing in front of him - black hair cascading down like a waterfall, bright eyes shining like gems, and skin as soft and delicate as snow... stunningly beautiful. He slowly curved his lips, "Just as I imagined..."
His life gradually faded away, his smile frozen on his face, preserving his last expression. Wen Qing sighed and also disappeared.
Watching Han Wenqing jump into the reincarnation pool, Wen Qing flicked her finger and sent a trace of merit power into the other's soul. Wen Qing wasn't a saint, indiscriminately bestowing kindness on anyone, but for those poor souls with troubled destinies, she didn't mind sending a wisp of merit power to help them have a better next life. So far, only Xu Wenqing from the imperial harem world and Han Wenqing from this world had received her merit blessings.
After seeing Han Wenqing off, Wen Qing suddenly felt that the space was too quiet, like something was missing. It wasn't until she saw the little phoenix wrapped in a cocoon on the tree that she realized what it was - the phoenix was missing.
Wen Qing walked over and examined it carefully. The little guy had evolved again, with spiritual energy enveloping it like a cocoon, making it impossible to see what was happening inside. Wen Qing guessed that the phoenix would have reached adulthood by the time it came out.
The summoning bell rang, and Wen Qing returned to the courtyard to wait for the next client to enter.
The person who arrived was dressed in a black outfit and exuded a powerful and aggressive aura, like an unsheathed sword with its sharp edge exposed with a heavy bloodthirsty aura. Wen Qing quickly scanned the information on the death stone and learned that the person came from the end of the world, which didn't surprise her.
The end of the world... sigh! It was the world she least liked.
"What is your unfulfilled wish?"
"Unfulfilled wish..." The client's face was calm, but her gaze was cold. "Being at the end of the world, death is liberation. What kind of wish can there be?"
Wen Qing opened her eyes again, finding herself in a cramped room, her body immersed in an indescribable pain. She endured the discomfort and reached under the pillow to retrieve her phone. Glancing at the time, it was 13:07 on August 18, 2102, the first hour of the apocalypse.
Fortunately, this time period wasn't too bad.
Outside the window was a pitch-black darkness, nothing could be seen. The entire world had fallen into a death-like silence. Wen Qing knew that all living creatures were in a state of coma and would gradually wake up tomorrow. Thus, without hesitation, she entered the space.
Spiritual energy nourished her body, and the pain slowly faded. Wen Qing prepared a muscle-cleansing and marrow-purging decoction for herself while organizing the information in her mind.
This world was originally a typical modern world, but due to an unknown substance colliding with the Earth, some abnormalities occurred. Some people evolved with supernatural powers, some turned into walking corpses, and the same applied to animals and plants. Thus, the apocalypse came.
The client, Lin Wenqing, was a typical senior student who awakened dual abilities during the apocalypse and obtained an end-of-the-world survival system. She was cautious by nature and didn't become reckless and arrogant just because she had a cheat system. Instead, she kept a low profile like everyone else around her, gradually adapting to this collapsing world.
After experiencing betrayal from friends, being cheated on by a lover, and witnessing the depravity of human nature, she gradually became the cold-blooded queen of the apocalypse and the only female leader among the seven major bases. Of course, there was no plot of meeting a stronger man along the way. She followed the path of the strong men, overcoming obstacles and finally becoming a ruler.
Her death was due to being besieged by another base, and she wasn't too upset about it, as this was a common occurrence in the apocalypse. But...
"I want to know the truth about my death!"
"I feel like this is a conspiracy against all of humanity! Someone is behind this!"
"Because at the moment of my death, I heard a voice similar to my system’s voice saying - Task completed, and the reward points are 100,000."
...
Her guess was correct, there was indeed someone behind this.
At the moment when Earth was struck by the unknown substance, the barrier that had shrouded the planet's outer reaches for billions of years was unexpectedly shattered, revealing it to the interstellar beings. A previously undiscovered native planet suddenly caught the attention of the people in the universe.
When the Interstellar Alliance discovered that Earth was in its second evolutionary period, they didn't send a fleet to explore the planet's secrets. Instead, they released tens of thousands of invisible live-streaming devices, broadcasting the apocalypse evolution live globally.
A historic grand live broadcast, yet the most brutal disaster that humanity has ever experienced.
Although the Interstellar Alliance had no obligation to assist the people of Earth, nor did they take any action to worsen the situation, watching the calamity of others through a screen was a cruel and heartless experience. They watched as people fought to the death for a piece of bread, as they schemed and plotted against each other, and as their ugly nature was exposed under the apocalypse...all while high up and criticizing the darkness of humanity, mocking the ugly faces of the end times. The indifference they showed was a cruelty beyond imagination.
The live broadcast was not enough, and some bored and powerful members of the Alliance even deployed seven intelligent systems on Earth, each selecting their own players to remotely control and stage a real-life killing game.
Lin Wenqing was one of those seven.
A real-life version of Earth Online, complete with a live broadcast, and yet amidst it all, all Wen Qing could say was, "F**k you!"