Chapter 398: Side Story: Finale

When Cheng Zhou came in, he saw Gu Xiqiao standing by the window, clearing up her painting tools. Her eyes were lowered, and the sunlight was shining down on her. It was like so many years ago when he first saw her, the scene in front of him was almost no different than that time.

If you insist on saying there was a difference, the only thing would be her temperament, now exuding a sense of peace that she lacked back then. She was dressed in a light-colored dress, and her eyebrows were a delicate arch, and her face was as beautiful as a painting. Besides being exquisite and stunning, she also carried a magical aura.

Even after so many years, Cheng Zhou had yet to see anyone with a better temperament and appearance than her.

There were many rumors in the outside world about how Cheng Zhou was an extremely talented but picky director. Whether it was a movie or TV series, he was critical to the extent that many were apprehensive of him.

Only a few people knew that it was because of Gu Xiqiao and Li Yu’s acting skills that made him so dissatisfied with the acting skills of everyone else.

“Little Gu, are you still in a hurry to leave after coming back this time?” Cheng Zhou looked at Gu Xiqiao, giving her a light smile.

Gu Xiqiao put away the last of her tools, and turned around when she heard him speak. “I was supposed to be in a rush, but I suddenly feel that it’s more fun to be here.”

“Oh?” Cheng Zhou’s eyes lit up. “Then, are you willing to take on a role?”

“Of course.” Gu Xiqiao poured a cup of tea for Cheng Zhou, and also for herself. “I hear from Xiao Yun that you’re shooting a movie about the prosperity of the country and society?”

Hearing Gu Xiqiao’s reply, Cheng Zhou knew he had gotten the agreement from her that he needed, and his eyes sparkled even brighter than ever. “That’s right! And we’re lacking a female lead!”

“I don’t know if I deserve the privilege…” Gu Xiqiao had heard from Xiao Yun that Cheng Zhou had always been lamenting about not being able to cooperate with her in the previous years, and so she pointed it out.

But before she could finish her sentence, Cheng Zhou interrupted her hastily. “Of course you do! You must! In fact, let’s go now!”

Outside the door, Jiang Yiyan was holding Tan Yongsi’s hand in her own. “Sister Sisi, so you’re Yearning! The goddess of Server 3! You’re very well known!”

“Yan Yan, your godlike movements are the ones that gave me a shock.” Today was the offline meeting of Server 3, and this was when Tan Yongsi finally knew that the player, Bridge On The River was Jiang Yiyan. She was shocked, but there was a feeling of it being inevitable. The daughter of the goddess was naturally also as great as she was!

Hearing this, Jiang Yiyan touched her nose. She smiled, not saying anything in response. She couldn’t say that that account, Bridge On The River was actually her mother’s smurf account, and although Jiang Yiyan had started off playing, her mother could only watch so long before she got impatient, and decided to clear the dungeon in one sweep by herself!

Could she ever say this?

Of course not!

She pushed open the door and saw that her mother and Cheng Zhou who were about to leave the house.

“Beauty Mama, Director Cheng, where are you both going?” Jiang Yiyan’s eyes lit up, throwing herself into Gu Xiqiao’s arms.

Gu Xiqiao had a serious look on her face as she said, “Don’t let your dad see you in this state. Didn’t he teach you to be more dignified?”

“My dad loves me so much, he wouldn’t.” Jiang Yiyan muttered, but she straightened up obediently. Although she was just a little luckier than Fatty Egg Jiang, her father loved her just a little more, but when it came to Beauty Gu, you’d have to discount that little bit once more.

Jiji, who was standing at the side: “…” Did it want to tell this idiot girl that Master Jiang wasn’t around at all?

‘But Beauty Gu, is it really good for you to cheat your daughter like this?’

“Yan Yan, I’m bringing Little Gu to the audition site for a bit. We’ll be back soon!” Cheng Zhou couldn’t wait for a single minute, he was afraid that Gu Xiqiao would suddenly decide not to take on the role, and so he quickly pulled her away!

After Gu Xiqiao and Cheng Zhou had left, Jiang Yiyan and Tan Yongsi were still standing in the same spot.

Tan Yongsi suddenly recalled why the man had looked so familiar!

Wasn’t that the most prestigious, talented movie director, Cheng Zhou?!

Why had he come looking for her goddess?!

Was Beauty Gu going to star in a new movie?!

Tan Yongsi sat down on the soda, drinking a glass of cold water. She couldn’t contain all the emotions that she had in her body! It seemed like it was happening ahhhh!

***

‘The Flourishing Golden Age’ was a film that the Tang Enterprise had invested in, and was directed by Cheng Zhou. All the big superstars like Li Yu, Xiao Yun, Ning Qing, and many others were in it. However, they were all only holding supporting roles, and the female lead had yet to be fixed. Regarding the selection of the female lead, Cheng Zhou had already held auditions three to four times, but he had yet to find anyone suitable.

Today was the fourth audition of The Prosperous Golden Age.

Knowing that the possibility of being selected was small, countless superstars, first and second rate, and even inferior actresses had chosen to attend the audition. Everyone knew that being part of Cheng Zhou’s work was the best way to make a name for yourself. Forget about being a lead, even if you got a small role in his movie, it was enough to multiply a person’s worth by a hundredfold.

“I wonder if I will catch Director Cheng’s eye this time.” A demure-looking girl was standing outside the audition room, looking very nervous. “I won’t ask for the lead role, giving me a costume to wear in the background would also be enough.”

“Me too.” The girl standing next to her was holding her hands up to her chest. “We just graduated, it’s good to even catch on to that little bit of popularity.”

The two girls soon got along and chatted happily. One of the girls said mysteriously, “I heard that ‘The Prosperous Golden Age’ is actually based on true stories!”

“Did I hear that correctly, true stories?” The other girl repeated, the disbelief clear in her voice. But when she thought back to the dialogue script that she had been given in her phone yesterday, she couldn’t help but snap her head up. “Is it possible that you’re talking about that person?”

“That’s right.” The girl nodded, then looked behind to see a group of people walking in the back. “Do you see that? That’s the movie queen that’s been making a name for herself for a long time now, even she’s here!”

Tensions started to run high with the appearance of the movie queen, and the change in atmosphere was obvious.

The girl had wanted to continue saying something, but the words were suddenly stuck in her throat.

The entire audition site descended into a pin drop silence at the same moment, and everyone’s eyes were unconsciously drawn to the entrance.

There were two figures slowly approaching. Everyone knew who the man was, it was the famous, super talented director, Cheng Zhou.

However, their attention was not on the man, but the woman beside him. She was wearing a light blue dress with a coat of a matching color, and her eyes were clear and bright like water. The sunlight shining down behind her, and her face was a little unclear due to the shadows casted by it.

Cheng Zhou glanced around, looking at the staff who were around the place. “I’d like to announce that I’ve found the person for my leading role, the audition ends here.”

Having said that, he hurriedly brought Gu Xiqiao into the set up of ‘The Prosperous Golden Age’, which carried a mysterious, fantasy novel-like feel. Cheng Zhou had especially traveled overseas just to find the perfect scenery, which explained why the investment into this movie was large. Now that he had managed to convince Gu Xiqiao, he needed to hurry and finish filming the show without any delay!

***

In the apartment beside A University, Jiang Shuxuan threw Haha to the ground with a ‘thump’, his cold eyes looking around the area.

“Master Jiang, Beauty Qiao is upstairs.” Jiji was playing games with a bunch of people, and it spoke up to remind Jiang Shuxuan.

Jiang Shuxuan glanced at Jiji, then headed upstairs with a straight face.

Jiji quickly executed a killer move in the game. “F*ck, sh*t, crap! Fatty Egg, what the heck are you doing! Do you want to wipe out the entire team?”

“Silly girl, do you know how to play or not?” Jiang Yirui pursed his lips, avoiding an ulti from the enemies, looking at Jiang Yiyan as he said that.

Tan Yongsi raised an eyebrow. “Yan Yan, didn’t you take us through the dungeon the last time?”

Jiang Yiyan coughed awkwardly. “Haha, well, that’s… It was actually my beauty that was helping me last time!”

“How could you guys go on a quest without me?!” Shu Chen saw her character lying dead on the ground, and she couldn’t help but bang her hand on the table in a huff. “Daughter-in-law, hurry and save me!”

“Come on, Grandma.” Jiang Yirui pursed his lips again, glancing at Shu Chen. “You’ve been playing for twenty years now, and you still call for my mom every time this happens…”

“You may not be able to understand, but the keyboard did it by itself.” Shu Chen said, calm and straight faced.

Jiang Yirui: “… Sure, that reason is so logical.”

“Don’t say that I don’t know how to repay favors,” said Jiji as it casted a resurrection skill on Shu Chen’s character. “Don’t forget to bring me along when you go play cards with the others next time.”

Tan Yongsi looked at how Shu Chen was practically keyboard mashing, and she couldn’t help but take a step back with her laptop clutched to her chest. “…” You’re so desperate, I don’t even dare to come any closer.

Come to think of it, why was that the entire family apart from Beauty Qiao, were all so freaking weird?

But after being surprised for a short moment, Tan Yongsi turned her attention back to the game.

After the three servers had merged into one, there was a new feature that was released. Each team now could have up to twenty people.

Now this team was filled with all the great godlike players from all three servers, including Tan Yongsi, Jiang Yirui, Jiji, and many others. Even so, they hadn’t managed to pass this level, and someone in the team started crying out.

“Egg God, we won’t be done by next year at this rate! How about I head down and eat first?”

“That’s right, Master Jiji, it seems like it won’t work this time, even with you in the team. My mom’s calling for me to come down and have a drink already.”

The chat went on with more comments of the same lines, with everyone in the team seemingly losing hope for this level, and started chatting instead. Just when this was happening, a request to join the team was sent to the party.

Seeing that the party wasn’t full anyway, the leader happily accepted the request!

The group of people was still chatting away, but after a while longer, they found that something didn’t feel right.

“Hey, that’s not right. Why did the boss suddenly disappear?!”

“It’s not only this one, even the bosses after have been cleared.”

While they were talking in that short few seconds, another boss’ health bar disappeared!

The party leader saw this happening, and his heart started thumping wildly in his chest!

Everyone’s eyes fell on the party list first, scanning down to the last glowing name in it—For A Millenium!

An announcement was issued by the game throughout the server just a few seconds after, “The party led by Looping Vegetable has completed the first-ever run of the Divine Dungeon with the help of For A Millenium!” 

As soon as the announcement was made, everyone on the server seemed to freeze on the spot.

The three servers had only been merged yesterday, and a new dungeon was released with it. Everyone had said that it was impossible to clear the Divine Dungeon, and it was just a pit trap. Unexpectedly, there was actually someone who managed to clear it today?!

Also, who was this ‘For A Millenium’?!

The people from Server 2 and 3 were unaware of who ‘For A Millenium’ was.

However, those great godlike veteran players in Server 1 who were usually cold and silent were all using their microphones to yell out and celebrate the news on the World Chat.

“We celebrate the return of the goddess!”

Who was this goddess? The people who used to be in Server 2 and 3 were all shocked and extremely curious. She had appeared just in time to clear the impossible dungeon, and if that wasn’t enough, she had also moved so many godlike players?!

D*mn, even Egg God had joined in in sharing the news over and over?!

***

Upstairs, Jiang Shuxuan pushed open the door to the recording studio, where he found Gu Xiqiao in front of the computer.

“What are you doing?” The deep, low voice came from behind her, and Gu Xiqiao gave a soft grunt as she closed the game’s interface. She turned around, pointing to the screen. “I’ve just finished recording the theme song for ‘The Prosperous Golden Age’, and I’ll be sending it to Director Cheng after some editing.”

“The Prosperous Golden Age?” Jiang Shuxuan chuckled lightly. “Sounds like it suits the season right now, let me hear it.”

Gu Xiqiao cut the last part of the soundtrack, mixing it and roughly having the shape she wanted. She then put on her headphones and said, “Let me hear it first.”

After a while, she took off her headphones, and let it play on the speakers.

The first sound that entered their ears was the clear sound of the guzheng, like the jingling sounds of clear water, followed by the sound of the Chinese lute as well as the piano. There was also a mix of modern jazz at the end, but the entire piece didn’t sound out of place at all. On the contrary, it made the mood feel like it was flying and dancing along to the music!

Just when the music reached its highest point, it stopped abruptly. A clear, ethereal voice was inserted at this part.

After listening to the song, Gu Xiqiao rendered the track, giving Jiang Shuxuan a smile. “Was it okay?”

“Yes, it’s exactly the same as back then.” Jiang Shuxuan said, his voice solemn.

Feeling that there was something wrong with the expression on his face, Gu Xiqiao could probably guess the reason behind it, and immediately changed the subject. “Are Sisi and the others still playing games downstairs?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Shuxuan raised his head. “The three servers in Nine Heavens were merged yesterday, and there was also a new, impossible dungeon that was released. The few of them are caught up in it.”

“Huh, they didn’t even think to bring me along to play?” Gu Xiqiao didn’t want to do the editing and mixing anymore, and sent the one in her hand to Cheng Zhou, intending to head downstairs.

However, Jiang Shuxuan reached out to grab her at the same time. “Don’t think of avoiding this.”

“Was I?” Gu Xiqiao asked, staring at him with wide eyes. She didn’t dare to look directly into his eyes though, due to the guilt that she felt in her heart!

Jiang Shuxuan laughed softly, and this was a real laugh. His eyebrows were raised with a tender expression in his eyes. Finally, he sighed. “Do you know how much you frightened me at that time? If you didn’t come out at the end, I can’t even imagine what I would have done. Do you know your wrongs now?”

“I knew that I would be fine.” Gu Xiqiao held his hand, looking a little helpless. “You’ve been talking about this for more than ten years already, fine, I’m sorry, okay? What else is there?!”

Jiang Shuxuan cleared his throat. “Yan Yan and Mom said that they wanted to play games with you all night.”

Gu Xiqiao: “… OK, I won’t play tonight. Happy?”

“Barely.”

“Horrible man!”

***

The next day, the official Weibo of ‘The Prosperous Golden Age’ released a promotional video.

Although it was titled as a promotional video, it was actually the theme song of the movie.

There were bullet screens on Weibo now, and Li Yu, Xiao Yun, Ning Qing, and many others were reposting it over and over in it.

Countless fans of For A Millenium finally discovered that their Beauty Qiao had returned.

The melodious sound of the piano played, and an exquisite, delicate face slowly emerged on the screen. Those eyes were slightly narrowed, but it did nothing to hide the intense gaze in them, as if they were about to burn your heart when you looked into them!

“Ahhh! My Beauty Gu! Beauty Gu!”

“We welcome the return of my beauty!”

As the music progressed on, a clear, sweet-sounding voice rang out.

The fans of For A Millenium on the internet had basically erupted!

“Life is so long! So what if I waited twenty years for you!”

“The reincarnation circle is very long! So what if I love you for a hundred lifetimes!”

“In the twentieth year, I’m still here.”

“This is the first year Beauty Gu is here.”

“My Goddess Gu, she is eternal and will never be forgotten!”

“I don’t regret being unable to enter the Gu family, in the next ten years, I’ll still be here!”

The soft, pleasing voice gradually entered the chorus—[Submerged into the corner of the horizon in the next moment, I’ll leave one last sentence to everyone, please take care of yourself, goodbye].

When it reached this part, there was only one sentence on the screen!

“Waiting for the rain that seems to fall for a thousand years to stop, hoping for the person to arrive as planned!”

“Waiting for the rain that seems to fall for a thousand years to stop, hoping for the person to arrive as planned!”

“Waiting for the rain that seems to fall for a thousand years to stop, hoping for the person to arrive as planned!”

“Waiting for the rain that seems to fall for a thousand years to stop, hoping for the person to arrive as planned!”

“Waiting for the rain that seems to fall for a thousand years to stop, hoping for the person to arrive as planned!”

“Waiting for the rain that seems to fall for a thousand years to stop, hoping for the person to arrive as planned!”

“Waiting for the rain that seems to fall for a thousand years to stop, hoping for the person to arrive as planned!”

(T/N: This line is from a Chinese novel, which basically means this rain has fallen for what feels like a thousand years, and I’ve been waiting for someone for so long, I hope that they will come back as planned when the rain stops.)

The dense subtitles were overwhelming and filled the entire screen, and no one could begin to count how many times this sentence was on the screen, and everyone felt shock coursed through them, even those netizens who were just passing by! They had never felt such shock in their lives before!

The melodious song slowly came to an end.

There was no accompaniment, no promotional pictures. All there was, was just an exquisite face and a soft, sweet voice coming from the screen. There was no other music mixed in it. “Thank you for still being here. I’m back.”

After this sentence, countless men and women who were watching this video so intently couldn’t help the tears that flowed uncontrollably from their eyes.

—Twenty years have passed in a flash, thank you for giving us such a wonderful, prosperous golden age.