Speaking of which, these two people collaborated not long ago. When dealing with the Chen family, their goals were surprisingly consistent, but when it came to dealing with Li Shu, they didn’t give an inch.
To be honest, Li Shu and Su Qing didn’t spend much time together, and their relationship wasn’t as dependent as it was in the original plot. It seemed destined that Su Qing had an inexplicable fondness for Li Shu from the moment they met.
Back then, his thoughts were pure, unaffected by the subsequent dark events. He approached Li Shu on impulse, and the closer he got, the more drawn he became. After learning the truth about his parents’ deaths, this relationship became even more precious, and he didn’t want to let go.
Now, whatever had to be avenged had been avenged. He did not grow up in the Chen family and had no deep attachment to it. After careful consideration, he decided to return to the entertainment industry.
There would be no progress between him and Li Shu. Su Qing knew that no matter what he did, he could never replace Mo Yanzhi. Li Shu was a beacon of light in his heart, and he didn’t want to see him unhappy, so he chose to silently watch over him, finding satisfaction in his happiness.
Returning to the entertainment industry meant being closer to Li Shu and enjoying the feeling of being a star. Acting was a profession he genuinely liked from the bottom of his heart. He enjoyed the exhilarating feeling of acting and hoped to meet Li Shu on the same set someday.
Mo Yanzhi was always vigilant of Su Qing’s presence. He clearly felt that Li Shu treated Su Qing differently from others. It was an indescribable feeling but it was enough to make him wary.
As for Su Qing himself, Mo Yanzhi didn’t have any other opinions. His dislike was purely because of Li Shu. Su Qing cared too much about Li Shu, and while Mo Yanzhi understood that feeling, he didn’t approve of it. Li Shu was his, and Su Qing’s feelings for Li Shu made him uncomfortable.
Because Li Shu was present, their competition was conducted in secret. On the surface, the three got along well. Li Shu could see through their little actions, and felt somewhat subtle when he thought that these two were supposed to love and fight with each other for a lifetime, but now they were only in a tit-for-tat confrontation.
Sure enough, after that day, Su Qing returned to the entertainment industry, still under Mo Lan Entertainment and using his original identity. The explanation given to the public was that he had been studying abroad for a year.
The group he was originally part of had disbanded, but it didn’t matter much to him as he had always wanted to develop his career in the entertainment industry. The existence of an idol group was actually a hindrance to him.
In any case, Su Qing was the protagonist of this world, with great luck behind him. After returning to the entertainment industry, he made a smooth progress and became a rising star in the entertainment industry.
Li Shu noticed that without the bond of love, Su Qing’s happiness value kept steadily increasing. As for Mo Yanzhi, who was with Li Shu, his happiness value was even higher, surpassing eighty.
However, after surpassing eighty, his happiness value didn’t increase much. Li Shu speculated that this was probably related to the memories he had lost.
Mo Yanzhi cared a lot about those lost memories, he didn’t want to forget any memories of getting along with Li Shu. However, this was beyond his control. The more he wanted to know, the more he couldn’t remember. It was as if there was a thick, invisible wall separating him from his past memories. He tried various methods but couldn’t touch those memories. It was clear that he was just a little short of remembering, but he never broke through.
This troubled him greatly.
Li Shu could roughly guess that Mo Yanzhi’s memory loss was related to the world’s consciousness. When a new world consciousness is formed, Mo Yanzhi’s lost memories would probably be released.
He still had a long time in this world, so Li Shu was not in a hurry. He will fulfill the original owner’s wish according to the plan while paying attention to the situation of world consciousness.
As for the latter, 1314 paid more attention to it than Li Shu did. Not for anything else, but mainly because the chances of encountering such a situation were too small. The system had existed for who knew how many years, and encountering the birth of a new world consciousness in a small world was extremely rare. Even if encountered, successfully completing the mission was even rarer. After searching through countless records, 1314 finally found a successful example.
That was something that happened a long, long time ago. At that time, the system’s mission execution mechanism was different from now, it was much more brutal. The mission worlds were far from being as gentle as they are now, and losing one’s life was a common occurrence. Despite such circumstances, a mission taker managed to complete a mission known as super S-class, but that senior later disappeared during a mission, and the main system couldn’t find him after searching through all the small worlds.
In the blink of an eye, thousands of years have passed. The existence of that mission taker and that period of history has been sealed in top-secret files. Later, that past was also erased in the newly born system database. This matter was buried in the long river of history and gradually disappeared at the end of the long river.
It took a lot of effort for 1314 to find these, but he still only found a scratch. Just the tip of the iceberg exposed made it think more: Was it really just an accident for the host to enter such a world?
The mission world can be chosen within a limited range. 1314 remembered clearly that it didn’t choose such a world. Although the background was somewhat similar, it was certain that among the worlds that they could choose, such a world didn’t exist. Moreover, the strange period when it lost contact with the host when they first entered this world made everything far from simple.
If it was intentional, what was the purpose of the other party?
1314 didn’t detect any malice. From the current situation, it seemed that the other party arranged everything for their good. Until the truth is revealed, one shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
1314 didn’t hide this major thing from Li Shu. Now, they were one entity. Although they didn’t know if all this was planned by someone or just a coincidence, if it was planned, what was the purpose of the mastermind behind it? However, being cautious wouldn’t hurt.
[Have you… experienced reform as well?] Li Shu played with the porcelain cup in his hand, his tone rising.
1314: [Yes, but it happened many, many years ago. Many systems involved and mission takers died at that time, with only a few survivors. Those survivors have now become managers, and it hasn’t happened again for many years. Since then, the main system has classified the mission systems into different categories to complete different missions. This greatly reduced the difficulty of missions and the death of hosts would not occur frequently.]
Li Shu: [How much do you know about what happened during that time?]
1314: [Not much. The main system has classified everything before that as top-secret files, and ordinary systems don’t have permission to investigate. What I know is pieced together from many fragmentary pieces of information.]
During this time, 1314 had been busy with this matter. It graduated as an excellent system, although it made two mistakes in binding hosts, it was skilled at extracting information from a pile of documents.
Li Shu silently noted this doubt in his heart. 1314’s concern was justified. From the first world to this world, it seemed like an invisible hand was pushing them forward. Having cultivated until now, Li Shu was definitely not an arrogant person. At present, he was constrained in many ways and couldn’t exert his full strength, so it was better to be cautious.
While fulfilling the original owner’s wishes, Li Shu also paid attention to this world, hoping to find some clues from it. Disappointingly, after the birth of the new world consciousness, there were no more abnormalities in this world.
Su Qing, the protagonist shou in the original plot, once again reached the peak of the entertainment industry. But because there was Li Shu who had greater achievements in front of him, his achievements were not as dazzling as they were in the original plot.
Three years later.
Three years wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either. In three years, a lot could happen. It could turn a promising star into a has-been in the industry, or it could turn an unknown artist into an international superstar. Li Shu was obviously the latter.
It only took Li Shu to go from being unknown in the entertainment industry to being famous worldwide. No one was not shocked by his achievements. Many young people who aspired to enter the entertainment industry took him as a role model, and entered this dazzling world with their dreams.
Some succeeded, achieving remarkable accomplishments. Some gave up halfway and pursued another path in life. Others were deceived by the glamorous appearance and fell into the quagmire, ruining their promising lives.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with Li Shu. He had now become one of the top stars in the country, on par with Fu Xilan.
Who was Fu Xilan? He was nominated for the Little Golden Man for Best Actor three years ago. Although he missed out on the award, he was the only artist in China nominated for this award, not to mention the countless other awards he had won over the years.
Li Shu was a rising star, and his achievements are almost as good as those of Fu Xilan. In three years, Li Shu won many awards both domestically and internationally. The display case prepared by Mo Yanzhi for him was filled with trophies, both domestic and international, from Best Newcomer to Best Actor awards. The golden and silver trophies were displayed together, like a magnificent symphony.
Mo Yanzhi personally managed the display case. He arranged the trophies one by one according to time and made exquisite cards to place in front of them, introducing the trophies and the winning works.
The cards were black, with gold font, dignified and noble. The words on them were handwritten by Mo Yanzhi stroke by stroke, sharp and vigorous, containing the master’s strong love.
During this time, Li Shu’s fans were once again excited. Compared to three years ago, Li Shu’s fans had expanded to a huge number and fan management became more standardized. As Li Shu won awards again and again, the number of black fans on Weibo had dropped sharply, and those little stars who disliked him didn’t dare to manipulate behind the scenes anymore.
When a person is only slightly better than others, they may be jealous or even set up traps for them. Some people will get dissatisfied and want to pull the person down. But when the distance between him and others becomes infinitely wide, becoming a gap that others can’t cross in a lifetime, at this point, others can only look up to him.
Li Shu had now become the latter. No one had achieved the same level of success as him. Whether it was a blockbuster film or a niche literal film that wasn’t well received initially, it sold out after its release. Every screening is full. Not to mention those commercial blockbusters made specifically to hit the box office.
In the past three years, Li Shu had created one box office miracle after another. The name “Li Shu” represented the power to attract box office success. Countless directors wanted to collaborate with him. Acting skills were one aspect, and this powerful box office appeal was another.
This time, Li Shu’s fans were excited not for anything else but because the blockbuster film “Stellar,” in which he starred, was successfully nominated for the Little Golden Man award, and Li Shu was nominated for Best Actor for his role as the male lead.
Even just a nomination was enough to make the fans ecstatic. Up to now, apart from Li Shu, the only one who could receive this nomination was Fu Xilan. How could the fans not be excited?
The Little Golden Man is the most authoritative and influential award in the world, and the top award in the entertainment industry. Since its establishment, no Chinese has had the honor of receiving it. Before Fu Xilan, there wasn’t even a nomination.
The fans didn’t hold much hope for whether Li Shu could win this award. Due to historical issues, domestic films were not favored by award committees. Fu Xilan’s performance in that movie was outstanding, but he was unexpectedly defeated by an American actor at the last moment, even though their performances were similar or slightly inferior. This was solely because the actor was American, which allowed him to easily turn the tables in the final round.
When the results came out, the internet was in an uproar. But what could be done? The results were already out, and no amount of noise could change them.
Three years later, Li Shu was nominated for Best Actor. While fans rejoiced, they also felt some regret. They had watched the other nominated films, and although the male leads performed well, there was always a feeling of something missing compared to Li Shu.
But what could be done?
Li Shu didn’t think as much as the fans did. To him, achieving the best performance and doing his best was what mattered. It wouldn’t be in vain as long as he worked hard.
As the award ceremony approached, Li Shu had to go to the United States. Even if he might not win the award, he still had to attend. Qin Ran specifically cleared Li Shu’s schedule for this period, and put aside his own work to accompany Li Shu to the United States.
Looking at the relaxed young man beside him who had his eyes closed, Qin Ran felt infinite emotions in his heart. Three years ago, it was the same place but different people, they walked the same road. That time, they were filled with joy and anxiety. This time was no different, except that the person involved this time was much more relaxed than three years ago.
Qin Ran still remembered that time when he accompanied Fu Xilan. He had never seen Fu Xilan so nervous. This man was always in control, as if everything was within his grasp, except that time…
Thinking of this, Qin Ran smiled lightly. In the blink of an eye, three years had passed since that incident. Now, he was revisiting the old place with another artist under his wing. With the same conditions, would there be a different result this time?
Rationally, Qin Ran told himself not to have too high expectations. Wasn’t one lesson enough? Li Shu was still young. After this failure, there would be new opportunities for him. Li Shu’s achievements wouldn’t stop here. If the awards committee could hinder him once, could they hinder him a second time because of those undisclosed secrets?
Emotionally, Qin Ran couldn’t convince himself. Li Shu was so excellent and hardworking. Why should he not receive awards he deserved because of some strange reasons? An artist had already suffered once; did another one have to suffer at the second time?
After staying up most of the night last night, Li Shu had been resting with his eyes closed on the plane, completely unaware of the many thoughts running through his manager’s mind. To him, the Little Golden Man award was no different from other awards. He wasn’t that concerned about them. Winning an award just meant adding another trophy to his collection at home.
Everyone cared about this award ceremony except Li Shu himself. His manager Qin Ran didn’t need to be mentioned. Mo Yanzhi didn’t mention it on the surface, but he cared deeply inside. If it weren’t for a crucial project going on at the company that required his attention, Mo Yanzhi would definitely be with Li Shu in the United States.
Before leaving, he promised Li Shu that he would come before the official start of the award ceremony to let Li Shu relax and not be too nervous.
Three years had passed, and Mo Yanzhi still hadn’t remembered those past memories related to Li Shu. But now, he wasn’t as anxious as before. After three years of companionship, he fully realized that Li Shu was with him because of who he was as a person. Whether he had amnesia or not, as long as he was himself, Li Shu wouldn’t leave.
Li Shu and his entourage arrived in the United States a week before the award ceremony. Qin Ran had to continue working, so Li Shu could take some time to relax first.
For the sake of filming, Li Shu had been to the United States several times. Three years ago, he participated in an American blockbuster series and the director was preparing to shoot a special episode, and Li Shu was the protagonist.
Li Shu had already cooperated with this director several times, and there had been no unpleasant incidents during their collaboration. When the director proposed it, Li Shu readily agreed. This director opened the door to international opportunities for him, so Li Shu was very grateful to him.
After arriving this time, Li Shu met the director. The two greeted each other warmly, and the director suggested meeting up: “Li, don’t refuse my face this time. Several of my old friends are here this time. Let me introduce you to them.”
This was to introduce Li Shu to some connections. Li Shu smiled and agreed. Since the director was so kind, Li Shu naturally wouldn’t decline his goodwill.
Back in his room, Li Shu lay on the bed and asked, [Is there any progress from the world consciousness?]
[It said that the memory loss of the protagonist gong was caused by fragments of the previous world consciousness. Once it absorbs all the fragments of the original world consciousness, the gong’s memory will naturally be restored.]
With that said, they could only wait for now. If this were his original world, Li Shu could figure something out on his own. But in this world, he was just an ordinary person and couldn’t solve such problems.
There was no point in overthinking. Li Shu rubbed his forehead and lay down to rest.
The time that the director and Li Shu had agreed to meet was after the award ceremony. During the time before the awards, few people probably had the mood for eating, drinking, and having fun.
These days, Qin Ran has been busy. Public relations before the awards were very important. Qin Ran had to socialize with people here while also paying attention to online publicity. He didn’t have a single day of rest in a week.
Amidst the eager anticipation of countless people, the award ceremony officially began. Due to the time difference between the United States and China, it was early morning in China. Even so, there were still many people glued to their computers watching the live broadcast.
In a rush, Mo Yanzhi arrived in the United States the night before the awards ceremony. He didn’t tell Li Shu, wanting to surprise him.
