There was a big display screen in the central square of the Imperial Capital, which normally had advertisements or news on it. Today it was no different, and was showing an interview session. However, the pedestrians walking on the streets couldn’t help but stop in their tracks when they caught sight of the screen.
A clear and beautiful face was on the screen, and she seemed to have an ethereal glow about her. When she turned to look at the camera, her eyes seemed to draw everyone who was watching into the deep abyss.
There was a line running across the bottom of the display—Oil painting, For A Millenium.
Mu Yunfan looked up to see the familiar face, and then he noticed the line beneath. If there was a mirror in front of him, he would definitely be able to see just how fast the blood drained from his face, leaving it pale and white.
He pushed the car door open, not caring about whether or not cars were allowed to stop where he did. He walked in big strides to the big screen, the noises of the people around him were muddled in his ears. He walked in a daze, his eyes focused on the words ‘For A Millenium’ with a baffled expression on his face.
The reporter on the screen was interviewing her, and it was a young boy. An interview in the art world was not as grand as compared to ones in the entertainment circle.
“Miss Gu, our newspaper tried to contact you in the beginning for an interview, but we were turned down three times before you finally accepted it. Can you tell me the reason for finally accepting it?”
The girl on the screen seemed to think for a while, before opening her mouth to respond, “I’ve never thought about accepting an interview, as I don’t want to have multiple burdens on my life. But the chairman came to look for me yesterday, and I realized that I can also influence a lot of people through my work.” And so, that was the reason she came.
“We are all aware that your painting has been included in the international art exhibition,” said the reporter, picking up a tablet. “This is a comment from an internationally renowned oil painter master: The sun and love comes together in the dark. How did you manage to paint such a painting?”
“I didn’t think too much about it.” She pondered about it for a while, her expression solemn. “Borrowing someone else’s words, I want these words to reach even more people in the world: Everything that doesn’t destroy you will eventually make you stronger.”
“We also learned that you’re a student of A University, and you entered as the top ranker…”
This interview was definitely more sensational than any other before, because this was the first time Gu Xiqiao had agreed to one. From the time she gained the title of national top ranker, countless people have tried to get an interview with her. And then the cell fusion incident happened, she only showed up for the press conference for a short while. Many people tried to dig out her information, but unless you were extremely high leveled, no one could find anything on her.
This was the first time that her life was laid bare for all to see.
At the same time, the Weibo account of ‘For A Millenium’ was certified, a ‘Verified’ added in front of her name, and descriptions: Gu Xiqiao, famous painter, Princess Qixia from ‘Empire Under Siege’, Top student in A University Faculty Of Medicine.
In an instant, all the countless fans of hers were shocked.
“Ahhhhhh! This is the national goddess! Do you remember those pictures that were viral on the internet a few months ago? That’s her!”
“Wait, I found the original post!”
“As a fan of the Divine Goddess, why do I feel so worthless at the moment…?”
There were also some passing netizens who saw the interview that didn’t know the entire story about her.
“Isn’t it just an interview with a painter? Why are they making it seem like the entire world is at war, so hyped up!”
“Are these fans mentally retarded or something?”
“Young people nowadays, really. The only oil painter I admire is Qiu Yang!”
Before these people who talked about Qiu Yang could say anymore, they discovered that Qiu Yang had posted a Weibo.
(Verified) Sunshine: The real soul painter. //@ (Verified) For A Millenium: [JPEG]
This was like getting a slap in the face okay!
Qiu Yang’s fans: Idol, if you’re like this, I’m going to jump ship and fall for another!
Gu Xiqiao’s fans didn’t bother engaging all those casual passersby and trolls. It was as though they had been influenced by their idol, choosing to silently watch as the truth unfolded itself.
“I heard that my goddess has started a Weibo, and I immediately downloaded it too. First, let me tell you that I’m a student from the Faculty of Computer Science in A University. I was really angry when I saw all these strangers posting these comments, and I hacked into the university’s database to find these. I think it will explain everything, see for yourself [JPEG] [JPEG] [JPEG] [JPEG]”
The first picture was of Gu Xiqiao’s national finals’ examination score, it was almost full marks at 747 points.
The second picture was of her result in her first exam in A University, as well as the various comments of the professors.
The third picture was of the oil painting.
The fourth was the promotional picture of her as Princess Qixia from ‘Empire Under Siege’.
And the comments on this were numerous.
It was quickly pushed to the hot topic list, and those who were just observing were in for a big shock. They were initially only watching the discussion, and felt that these fans were just too much, describing Gu Xiqiao as such a perfect person that was impossible to find in this entire world.
And so when the comment with proof was shown, they were completely speechless. There really existed such a person on earth!
Gong Chen was one of the many who didn’t believe the comments, and after reading them, he started to investigate more deeply. He sneaked into the school where Gu Xiqiao had gone, trying to find anything that would blemish her name.
After searching for such a long time, he finally realized, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Those who had been classmates with Gu Xiqiao or worked with her before only had words of praise and admiration whenever her name was raised.
Instead, he found other things. Videos of her saving people in N City, appeasing terrorists, and of her helping tutor her classmates during their final year of high school. She even spent a lot of time organizing notes that had important key points for them to focus on…
If he didn’t dig hard enough, he wouldn’t have found these videos. If she had really wanted to increase her reputation, these videos would have been more than enough to do it.
Was there really such a perfect person in the world? That’s not it, it’s impossible to have such a perfect person exist.
There were also several other short interviews after this one.
The first was with a famous medical professor from A University, who was quite well known in the medical world. Hearing that a reporter wanted to interview him, he painfully gritted out through his teeth, “Student Gu is an extremely talented person, basically a gift from the heavens. Only, laziness is harder to cure than cancer!”
“Miss Gu is amazing.” This time it was the handsome and gentle Li Yu. “But don’t place her on a pedestal like that, she’s still a regular person. Everyone has flaws in them, but only those who are close to her will know hers.”
The actress, Song Guanjiang, also said words that were completely unexpected, “I’m a fan of hers, her number one fan!”
And finally, the chairman of the Imperial Capital Oil Painting Association, Mr. Wu only had a few words to say, “You can truly see what is reflected in a person’s heart in oil painting, and from hers, I saw an unyielding soul.”
***
Mu Yunfan stood rooted in the spot. The interview was finally over, and it ended with Gu Xiqiao’s oil painting on display. There had been countless scenarios in his mind that would play out, but in the end he never expected… that it would be her.
He had scoured the entire China, searching for anyone that might be this person, suspected countless people, but he never thought that the person he had been searching high and low for was the same person that he had hated all along!
“Do you also know Miss Gu?” A girl beside him said suddenly. Mu Yunfan could only hear a gentle voice, and an excitement that couldn’t be concealed in her tone. “My name is Ning Qing, you might not know me, but that’s fine. I’m just so excited and want to share a bit. Miss Gu really is a great person. There was a time when I almost, almost fell into a really dark place, almost to the point where I thought that my whole life will be spent in that darkness. She was the one who pulled me out of that state, gave me hope and even a whole new life…”
Know her! How could he not know her!
Mu Yunfan covered his eyes with slightly trembling hands, raising his head feebly. He recalled the first unpleasant meeting with her, and all the other chance meetings after that. It seemed like fate was really playing tricks on him.
How would he have suspected it was her! How was that possible?!
The current him really hated his past self.
A drop of tear slid from the corner of his eye, and Mu Yunfan still felt trapped in an endless pool of regret. He suddenly realized, the person that she didn’t want to meet all along, was him, wasn’t it?
His phone rang over and over, and without seeing who was the caller, Mu Yunfan answered the call. Sima Jun’s voice came from the other side.
“Yunfan, hurry and look at the report from the National Channel, they found For A Millenium! We don’t have to withdraw the painting, I’ve already sent someone to contact her…” Sima Jun’s voice rang in his ears, yet Mu Yunfan didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t even remember what Sima Jun said to him later.
When Sima Jun said the words ‘For A Millenium’, his mind blanked out.
***
[Beauty Qiao, Sima Jun wants to contact you.] The system said from the void space, looking at Gu Xiqiao who was sitting with it. [Do you want to answer?]
“Nope.” Gu Xiqiao was flipping through a bunch of materials, finishing one book in ten minutes on average. “Little system, where do you think the Hua family descends from?”
The system spirit shook its head. [I tried searching through the database, but I didn’t find anything, Beauty Qiao. I think Little Huazi is more clear on these things.]
“Leave him to study in peace, I don’t want to disturb him with this first. I will settle the Hua family.” Gu Xiqiao started on another book. “Didn’t Brother Jiang say that the Hua family was going to enter the ancient martial arts world? He would probably know.”
She had heard from Jiang Shuxuan about the Hua family entering the ancient martial arts world. In the beginning, she didn’t understand why he would tell her about it. Later on she realized that he had probably figured out Hua Youlin’s identity, and that was the reason he shared the information with her.
[Hua Jingya has been released from the capital’s holding cell.] The system spirit said, frowning. With a wave of its hand, a screen appeared in front of it. On the display was Hua Jingya, leaving the place. The one that came to pick her up was an old man with a white beard.
Gu Xiqiao smiled faintly. “It’s about time to get out anyway.”
The system spirit had wanted to give her a shock, but it didn’t expect Gu Xiqiao to have known about it, and its eyes widened. [You knew about it?]
Gu Xiqiao glanced at the system spirit. “You’re such a brainless lil system, you probably didn’t think about it.” Under such heavy surveillance, if it wasn’t for her arrangements, they wouldn’t be able to save that girl no matter how much money they had!
[…]
“Didn’t they want to have a place in the ancient martial arts world, that’s fine. But the master of the Hua family isn’t just someone they can pick on their own.” Gu Xiqiao’s hand stopped suddenly, an indescribable smile curling at the corner of her lips.
[…I really pity those people in the Hua family, catching her eyes like this.]
***
At the same time, the Hua family were gathering in the Imperial Capital.
“Little Ya, we spent most of our fortune getting you out. Now we don’t even have enough to start our business in the capital,” The old man with white beard said, his eyes full of sadness. He had been moved by Hua Jingya’s words in the beginning, and that stirred him into coming to the Imperial Capital.
Hua Jingya had said on the phone that she had found a place to stay, but she didn’t expect it to change just when they arrived, and she had even gone to prison.
Hua Jingya’s talent was outstanding, which was the hope the Hua family needed to rise up again. No matter what happened, they wouldn’t just leave her in prison like that, and so they pooled all their resources together to rescue her.
“Don’t worry, I still know some people. Before Uncle comes to the capital, the Hua family will definitely have a place here.” Hua Jingya touched her face, her eyes deep in thought. Although Li Xiang was no longer around, she had kept her eyes out and was acquainted with a few other gangs. It looked like the only thing she could do was to change allegiance now, she still had the medical bath up her sleeves, she didn’t believe that none of them would be tempted!
Thinking about it, she immediately set off to find a medium sized gang. She didn’t expect her first try would end up with a closed door in her face. Hua Jingya didn’t even manage to get a meeting with the head of the gang. She could only reign in her temper and spoke to the doorman politely, “My name is Hua Jingya, I can research an even better medicine to help you increase your men’s strength tenfold!”