Chapter 87: World 3 [1] Part 1

With official personnel providing protection and many security guards on Hildeya Island loyal only to Boss Jing Ke, the safety level couldn’t be higher.

On the day of the wedding, Jing Ke also fulfilled her previous promise. She drew ninety female fans and nine male fans, giving each of them a solid 999,000 yuan.

Interestingly, among the ninety female fans, exactly nine had previously received aid from Jing Ke and Shao Qing. They had all relied on their own efforts to get into key universities, and the most outstanding among them had already been recommended for graduate studies.

Perhaps Jing Ke’s contributions were simply too significant. In the same year she and Shao Qing held their wedding, a draft bill proposing the legalization of same-sex marriage was formally submitted during a relevant legislative conference.

The bill not only passed with an overwhelmingly high vote but was actually implemented on January 1st of the following year.

Naturally, Jing Ke and Shao Qing wanted to join the fun. They became the very first couple to receive their marriage certificate. They also generously shared the process of getting their license, effectively dispelling the reservations of many same-sex couples.

Marriage and the official certificate didn’t stop Shao Qing from continuing her path as an actress. The honors Song Xiaocao received weren’t limited to domestic awards either; it also garnered a nomination at a world-class international film festival.

Although she didn’t win Best Actress in the end due to nationality reasons, Shao Qing’s international recognition underwent a qualitative leap. Numerous renowned directors extended olive branches to her.

After this development, it seemed capital also began to take female-centric stories more seriously.

Unlike the bandwagon-style filmmaking that followed Song Xiaocao’s initial success, this time, thoughtful investors got serious. They stopped pouring money into inviting traffic-bait celebrities and excessive promotional campaigns, and for once, patiently settled down for a period of reflection.

The impact of such change on the entertainment industry was undoubtedly positive. Even those shoddily made female-centric films weren’t entirely useless.

At the very least, while those films were being ruthlessly panned, the watching netizens, guided by professionals in related fields, learned about the achievements and contributions that originally belonged to women.

Before Shao Qing’s fortieth birthday, she received her third nomination from the World Film Festival. This time, she wasn’t just a runner-up. She successfully won the Best Actress award, becoming the youngest winner in the history of that award among her country’s actors.

Having achieved her life’s goal, Shao Qing’s entire demeanor relaxed. She began to hole up in the Urban-Rural Fringe Area, accompanying Grandma Shao, who was already over eighty, starting her retirement life early.

Usually, she would chat with her grandmother, then tinker in the yard with Jing Ke, tending to the vegetables and the tangerine and loquat trees they had planted when they got married.

With the companionship of her loved one, Grandma Shao lived past the hundred-year milestone, ultimately passing away peacefully in her sleep.

After seeing Grandma Shao off on her final journey, Shao Qing didn’t leave the Urban-Rural Fringe Area. Instead, she bought up the surrounding land and wholeheartedly embraced a life of leisure.

Jiang Qingyi and Yu Hongjun also frequently came to visit. Their break from the entertainment circle happened around the same time as Shao Qing. When Jiang Qingyi, at nearly sixty, finally won the domestic Best Actress award, they all began to reduce their public appearances.

Aside from their leisurely daily life, the only thing requiring Jing Ke and Shao Qing’s dedicated attention was the charitable foundation they had jointly spearheaded. Even though the software was already sufficiently transparent and clear, they would still take three months out of every year to conduct on-site field inspections.

All this money was earned through their hard work. It absolutely, positively could not end up in anyone else’s pockets!

After seeing off Jiang Qingyi and Yu Hongjun, Jing Ke and Shao Qing also eventually saw off Sister Ke. As time passed, the old friends who had once surrounded them seemed to grow fewer and fewer.

But the word “loneliness” held no relevance to the two of them. First, they had each other’s company. Second, every so often, people whose destinies had been changed because of them would arrive, laden with gifts, to express their gratitude.

The most frequent visitors were those nine people who had received the 999,000 yuan as wedding celebration money. They had each achieved considerable success in their respective fields. If Jing Ke and Shao Qing hadn’t thought their two-person world was perfectly fine, these nine had even planned to move together as a group to the Urban-Rural Fringe Area to retire alongside them.

Oh, wait. The Urban-Rural Fringe Area could no longer be called by that name. With technological and economic development, the original fringe area had transformed into a commercial center.

Had Jing Ke not had the foresight to buy up the surrounding land early on and build this place into a massive private manor, they probably would have been mobbed at their doorstep every single day.

“Jing Ke, right now, in your heart, is it only me left inside?” one day, while basking in the sun in the courtyard, Shao Qing suddenly asked.

“Mm. Right now, my heart is full of you,” Jing Ke replied truthfully. “I only love you.”

“After I draw my last breath, will you fall in love with someone else?” Shao Qing continued. Her hair had turned completely white. Barring any surprises, she likely couldn’t accompany Jing Ke for much longer.

Jing Ke pursed her lips. That familiar sense of being caught in a dilemma arose again. She couldn’t bring herself to lie to Shao Qing, so she only gave a relatively tactful answer. “I dare not make definitive claims about the future, but I will never forget my love for you. Never.”

Shao Qing raised an eyebrow. Years had left many marks on her face, but the boldness and confidence between her brows still shone through.

“Of course. A woman as wonderful as me, who has single-mindedly loved you for so many years—you absolutely cannot forget me.” Shao Qing said. “I’m not some unreasonable person. After I’m gone, if you fall for someone else, I might even allow it.”

“But let me give you one warning. Don’t be so foolish as to tell her she reminds you of me, or that’s why you fell for her.” Shao Qing emphasized, not forgetting to poke Jing Ke’s arm with her finger.

Shao Qing: “I, Shao Qing, am unique. I am no one’s substitute, nor do I want anyone to become my substitute. Do you understand what I mean?”

“I understand.” Jing Ke nodded in acknowledgment. “You are Shao Qing. I will never confuse your existence.”

“Remember that well. Otherwise, even after I’ve drawn my last breath, I might just pop back up to knock you on the head.” Shao Qing said with a beaming smile.

The sensation of sunlight warming her body gradually made her feel sleepy. After murmuring a few more quiet words, she relaxed and drifted off to sleep.

–

Presiding over a lover’s funeral was not unfamiliar to Jing Ke. But the feeling of a loved one’s heartbeat and breath ceasing in her arms was deeply unpleasant.

Especially since Jing Ke’s perception was extraordinarily strong. She could even feel the body in her embrace gradually losing its warmth, the once soft form slowly stiffening.

After Shao Qing left, Jing Ke had no further attachments to this world. After donating all their combined assets to the state under both their names, she chose the same method as in the previous world, allowing the body that had accompanied Shao Qing through life to thoroughly merge with her own essence.

Because Shao Qing had chosen to entrust all her Fortune to Jing Ke, Jing Ke selected a world where her core consciousness’s perception would be relatively concealed.

After sealing and backing up the memories related to Shao Qing, Jing Ke re-examined her Core. Only after confirming both sets of memories were fully intact did she initiate the world transition.

–

“Have you heard? At Squire Luo’s residence in the north of the city, out of a household of eighteen people, only one survived! Only Squire Luo’s youngest daughter, Luo Yuezhu, was left alive.”

“I heard a little. They say it was the Devil Sect seeking revenge. Miss Luo happened to be staying overnight at a friend’s house that night, and that’s how she dodged the calamity!”

“But Squire Luo was usually a very good man! How could he have provoked the Devil Sect? Squire Luo was just a businessman, not some martial arts practitioner.”

“I’m not clear on that. Perhaps he unintentionally offended someone. Besides, the ones who acted were the notoriously unreasonable Devil Sect. Isn’t the thing the Devil Sect is most famous for just killing people indiscriminately?”

“True. Maybe Squire Luo was just unlucky, and the Devil Sect chose him as a target. What will happen to Miss Luo now? She seems to be only ten years old this year, right? Without her family’s help, how can a single girl manage such a large family business?”

“That’s not something we need to worry about. It’s true that the only direct family member left in the Luo household is Miss Luo, but many distant cousins and relatives are still around. Haven’t you noticed? After hearing about the tragedy, they all rushed over here, no matter how far away! They say they’ve come to help with the funeral arrangements, but what they’re really after… hard to say.”

Jing Ke sat in a private booth of a certain teahouse. Relying on her excellent Inner Strength, she overheard the conversation some patrons were having down in the 1st Floor main hall.

This world was slightly special. Jing Ke was not permitted to manifest as a Consciousness Form and simply appear inside someone’s mind directly. So, after a brief communication with the World Consciousness, she acquired a physical body immediately upon entry.

A body barely twenty years old, yet possessing no less than a century’s worth of Inner Strength and mastery of numerous supreme martial arts techniques—a true martial arts prodigy.

According to the information provided by the World Consciousness, Jing Ke’s true identity was the sole disciple of a certain hidden sect, and simultaneously, the Sect Master of that sect.