Chapter 19: A Happy Day

The first National Awakened Representatives Conference lasted an entire day; after the meeting began, the head of the Xia Nation spoke first, detailing the tremendous changes to be faced in the future, how to respond to such upheavals, and grounding his address in the present while looking toward the future.

Then Yang Yi, as the representative of the Awakened, delivered a speech, recounting her personal journey of awakening, expressing trust in official institutions, and calling upon all Awakened to jointly build a better society.

Of course, Yang Yi had not written this herself; it was penned by a wordsmith within the Awakened Management Bureau. This wordsmith, a graduate of the Literature Department at Capital University, was extremely excited upon learning he was to draft Yang Yi's speech; after grasping Yang Yi's core ideas, he wielded his brush, and a masterpiece that Yang Yi could absolutely never have produced emerged. The resulting address was magnificent and sincere, brimming with confidence in the present and vision for the future, both accessible and fluent, yet with a distinctly clear theme.

During the meeting, Yang Yi also shared a cordial handshake and conversation with the Nation's Head—something her former self would never have dared imagine, yet now it happened naturally.

The conference was scheduled for three days; after the first day concluded, many outstanding Awakened from various provinces came up to take photos with her and seek advice on matters of awakening, and she answered as many questions as she could, with many expressing that they had benefited greatly.

Wei Chang'an, being sociable and adept at navigating relationships, was asked by someone to create a group chat—primarily to include Yang Yi—so that everyone could mutually exchange insights regarding confusion about their awakening abilities.

Wei Chang'an sought Yang Yi's opinion; Yang Yi subtly indicated that she disliked socializing and feared that even if she joined the group, she would merely be a figurehead. But Wei Chang'an insisted that even if she never spoke, the mere presence of her name within the group would serve as a silent deterrent, guiding the group toward a positive atmosphere and preventing these proud and arrogant individuals from acting rashly.

Yang Yi considered her primary purpose for attending this meeting and thus agreed.

After finishing dinner with everyone at the Capital Grand Hotel, it was already nearly 10 PM.

Yang Yi leaned against the back seat with her eyes half-closed; the city's brilliant lights and flowing colors reflected in her eyes, leaving only a sense of cold desolation.

Liu Liu Siyuan glanced at her through the rearview mirror; today, during her meeting, he had handled the matter concerning her "mother," and now he pondered whether he should report the outcome to Yang Yi.

"Every matter must have an explanation, every task must have a result, and every issue must have a response" was his principle of work.

However, Yang Yi's resolute tone that morning, along with her attitude of never wanting to see or hear news of that person again, made him hesitate slightly; he worried about upsetting her.

Yang Yi's expression remained indifferent, showing not the slightest intention of asking about it.

Suddenly, the sound of a text message rang out in the silent car.

Yang Yi snapped out of her thoughts, rubbed her eyes, and swiped open her phone screen.

"I saw you on the news! I feel like you seemed a bit unhappy today. 【Question Mark Face】"

The corners of Yang Yi's mouth lifted slightly as she began typing a reply.

"I thought I hid it well; how did you notice?"

"Hey, don't forget I'm an actor! Acting is my profession. If one pays close attention, it's not hard to discover."

Yang Yi's gaze fixed on the word "close," pausing slightly for a moment.

"It seems my acting skills are too poor; do you have any suggestions?"

"The suggestion is to pour all of today's troubles onto me, then eat an ice cream and sleep; tomorrow will be another happy day! Chris's Emotional Trash Can is at your sincere service! 【Trash Can】"

Liu Liu Siyuan, who was closely observing Yang Yi, was surprised to discover a faint smile appearing on her face; it was genuine, not the kind of official smile she had displayed on television today.

"Alright, I met someone; I once had some expectations for her... but..." She typed a line, then deleted it; after pondering for a while, she wrote: "The mother who abandoned me since childhood showed up today; my feelings are very complicated."

————

Aka Nation, Xincheng.

In the Karls Five-Star Hotel, Chris was eating breakfast; having filmed a night scene last night, he had slept somewhat late and only woke up at 9 AM today.

After showering, breakfast had already been delivered to his room; he turned on the news to accompany his meal and immediately saw Yang Yi's figure in the broadcast.

After all, as the two most powerful nations in the world, monitoring each other's movements had become a daily routine; the news was reporting on the Xia Nation's first Awakened Representatives Conference, giving Yang Yi a solo camera shot. She wore a white shirt, black suit trousers, and white board shoes, a very steady and boring outfit, yet on her it possessed a quiet charm.

Chris dared to assert that her style of dress would surely be imitated by a large number of people in the future.

As he watched, his eyes became glued to her face; the jawline of her profile was smooth, her nose bridge high and straight with a slightly protruding knuckle that added a touch of dominance. Her double eyelids were of the fan-opening type, her pupils extremely black, like two mysterious and deep black holes; if one looked for too long, one would feel as though being sucked into them.

When expressionless, her demeanor was quite cold; when she lowered her eyelashes, she appeared somewhat melancholy, especially at this moment: someone was speaking on the podium, she sat in the middle of the first row below, head half-lowered, and the camera happened to capture her profile, from which Chris perceived a sense of dejection.

She was unhappy.

Upon realizing this, Chris had already picked up his phone to send her a text message.

"I saw you on the news! I feel like you seemed a bit unhappy today. 【Question Mark Face】"

When he suddenly realized what he had done, he belatedly discovered that he seemed to care about her a bit too much.

He was no novice in love; in fact, given his appearance, he had always enjoyed good fortune with the opposite sex from childhood onward. When he was interested in a girl, he would directly approach and ask for her phone number—in fact, this was very simple, and he had almost never been rejected; the only exception was when the other party was a lesbian.

This unprompted concern caused his vague fondness to suddenly emerge from the mist, making him abruptly realize that he cared about her somewhat excessively.

Carefully reviewing his actions over the past few days—they were simply acts of currying favor! Chris couldn't help but rub his face.

He found it strange, as he was not someone prone to love at first sight. Under normal circumstances, he would interact for a period of time to determine compatibility before proceeding to the next step.

Yes, she had saved him, and he was grateful to her; this fondness was almost natural—yet it seemed to be more than just that.

Was it a psychology of admiring the strong?

Chris put down his fork, leaned back in his chair, and gazed out the window at the sun, lost in quiet contemplation.

The sun, as always, slashed through the darkness, overlooking the earth; its dazzling light was impossible to look at directly, causing Chris to squint his eyes as he recalled the scene he had seen in the news: she hung expressionless in mid-air, below her were panicked dignitaries from various nations, behind her rolled black smoke and blazed Xiong Xiong flames; this was the first chapter of the Dark Matter Era, and without a doubt, she was the undisputed protagonist of this chapter.

Human genes inherently carry admiration, respect, and affection for outstanding individuals; and if such an outstanding person is not merely excellent in one aspect but has even reached the pinnacle of the pyramid, people will involuntarily follow him or her, trust him or her, and even fall in love with him or her.

Sometimes, this psychology of admiring the strong is difficult to distinguish from love; the reason "Cinderella"-type movies endure forever is precisely due to this psychology at work—everyone hopes to be favored by someone far superior to themselves.

Was he also driven by such psychology?

He employed the methods of character psychological analysis used in acting to dissect his own psyche, with the meticulousness of a surgeon performing an operation, dissecting his deep consciousness.

Usually, this trick was very effective; he had once used it to climb out of a quagmire, and it had also helped him deepen his understanding of roles in his work. But now, the execution of this trick seemed not to be functioning well, sluggish like an old, rusted machine.

Involuntarily, her indifferent smile from that banquet floated into his mind; whenever she occasionally looked at him, he precisely captured her gaze, and he could confirm that she liked him—a fan's liking for an idol, not as fanatical as other fans, but an extremely restrained form of affection.

He was very sensitive to emotions; he could perceive her partiality toward him, yet when her gaze fell elsewhere, he simultaneously realized that she did not seem to care that much about him either—she seemed to be here, yet also seemed to be elsewhere.

He knew that a fan's liking for an idol was merely a projection effect, projecting the excellent qualities of a character onto the actor; they liked the character settings of the film and television role, subconsciously transferring this liking to the actor themselves, so he generally viewed the frantic pursuit of fans with rationality.

But during that banquet, had he truly viewed it rationally? Surrounded by numerous dignitaries, she lowered her eyelashes and smiled at everyone, polite yet distant; only to him did she look directly, her gaze and smile both possessing warmth. He could feel it.

This unique, special treatment was obvious to anyone with a discerning eye.

Afterwards, John excitedly told him: "Undoubtedly, this Super Miss likes you! She couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to that group of high officials; she only smiled at you! Moreover, she spoke with you for the longest time!"

He did not answer.

The entire night after returning, he was surrounded by a floating sensation, as if walking on clouds.

Is this admiring the strong? He asked himself once again.

Do you want to follow her? No.

Do you worship her? No.

Do you revere her? No.

Then do you admire her?... It seems so...

So, why not admit it? You have feelings for her, the kind of feelings between a man and a woman.

You care about her; every time there is news about her, you can't help but click on it, and you even recall the circumstances of your first meeting.

You even picked out a few citrus-scented perfumes—did you suddenly change your taste and start liking citrus perfumes? Besides, you now always carry orange-flavored gum with you.

You are practically like a silly teenager, desperate to present your best self before her.

Admitting you have feelings for her is nothing to be shy about; she is indeed charming, possessing an indescribable, complex allure.

After realizing his true thoughts, he lowered his head to find his phone, only to discover the message had already been sent.

He put down the phone and pondered when he had first started thinking of her incessantly.

Perhaps it was the moment he learned she had saved him, or when she smiled and said "I am your fan" during their first meeting, or perhaps it was the moment she jokingly threatened to kidnap him.

No clue at all.

People might be shocked by her power, viewing her as someone aloof and arrogant, or like Superman possessing immense, extraordinary strength and facing everything with indifference, but he vaguely sensed the melancholy hidden beneath her cold exterior.

Ding-dong, the sound of a message reply rang out.

"The mother who abandoned me since childhood came to my door today; my feelings are very complex," she said.

Chris frowned deeply; he stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, glanced at the distant skyscrapers standing like a forest, then looked down at the line of text on his phone, and finally paced around the room a few times.

Finally, he sat solemnly on the sofa, weighing every single word: "I feel very sorry..."

He deleted it all again.

"Why did your mother back then..."

Delete again.

"How do you plan to..."

Delete! Delete!

Oh God, she must be in terrible pain right now; what is the point of asking such messy questions? Perhaps she just needs a listener who can empathize by standing in her shoes.

So he replied directly: "Do not forgive her, do not pay attention to her; a mother who abandoned her child since childhood is unforgivable for any reason! Most importantly, you are not happy! I do not see any joy on your face."

Then he sat there waiting for her reply; he had never waited so anxiously for a message reply, not even on the day he waited for audition results—that most important role in his film career.

Otherwise, should I call her now?

"Ding—" the message sounded; he immediately looked:

"Do you know what I want to do right now? I want to fly immediately from Xincheng in the Kingdom of Xia to Xincheng in the Kingdom of Aka, then abduct you from the film set in front of everyone, and we will wander together through the sky, the ocean, and the mountains, like two free birds."

Chris licked his lower lip; he tried to hold back his smile but could not suppress it at all; finally, he lay back on the sofa, staring at that message for a long time.

It is easy to imagine that today is absolutely a happy day.

————

Liu Liu Siyuan parked the car at the entrance of the Awakened Management Bureau dormitory; Yang Yi sat on the back seat without moving.

Liu Liu Siyuan did not urge; he waited silently, like a silent stone.

Finally, Yang Yi said: "I'm going to clear my head; pick me up here again tomorrow morning at seven thirty!" Having spoken, she pushed open the car door and flew into the vast night sky.

Liu Liu Siyuan opened his mouth, watching that figure suddenly vanish into the night sky.

The car was so silent, as if she had never been there.

Facing Yang Yi, he often felt a contradictory sensation; sometimes he felt she was very close, just like every colleague and friend beside him, having meals together, complaining together about trivial work matters, and caring about salary increases.

Sometimes he felt she was very far away, as far as heaven and earth.

She is very kind; she is very approachable—given her age, this word is a bit strange, but given her current status, such a description is not wrong; she is usually no different from ordinary people, at least she never acts arrogant or looks down on others.

Liu Liu Siyuan has seen many Awakened ones—after all, working at the Awakened Management Bureau, there are more than ten B-rank Awakened ones here alone, not counting those who come from various provinces for exchange and study.

These Awakened ones are of all types: domineering, self-important, outwardly humble but inwardly arrogant, and truly humble—but that is only when facing capable peers and high-IQ, highly educated experts and researchers—in any case, most Awakened ones possess a kind of arrogance, feeling superior and distinguishing themselves from ordinary people, whether displayed on the surface or hidden in their bones.

For ordinary people like him who have not awakened, they usually turn a blind eye. Some Awakened ones even look down on Director Zhou and Deputy Director Zheng, considering them two ordinary people fundamentally incapable of leading Awakened ones with superpowers.

Liu Liu Siyuan thinks this is ridiculous; long before the Awakened ones appeared, Director Zhou and Deputy Director Zheng had already established glorious merits for the nation; their abilities and comprehensive qualities are beyond question.

What about Yang Yi? She has never looked down on anyone; her attitude toward ordinary people and Awakened ones is no different; she seems not to think there is any difference between the two types, or perhaps in her view, Awakened ones possessing superpowers is no more remarkable than ordinary people having piano skills.

She also cares whether wages have increased and once asked him if being on call twenty-four hours a day would affect his dating life—of course, she usually doesn't call him after getting off work—in short, she is quite respectful; whether Awakened or ordinary, she treats them all equally. In her view, Chen Chen Yushu, Wei Chang'an, Li Li Chengxuan, and he, Liu Liu Siyuan, differ only in work content; otherwise, there is no difference.

She is very respectful toward Director Zhou and Deputy Director Zheng, never arrogant due to her great merits, never feeling superior, completely different in attitude from those arrogant Awakened ones.

Sometimes Liu Liu Siyuan wonders if the reason she sees no difference between the two is that those Awakened ones are simply too weak, so there is no need to pay too much attention.

Just now, the moment she flew away, that sense of strangeness appeared again.

When she wants to, she can be any colleague, friend, or passerby beside you; you might even momentarily feel you are of the same kind; but at other times, she seems like a cloud in the sky, visible but forever out of reach.

How could they be the same? What normal person can fly?! Liu Liu Siyuan silently mocked himself.