Chapter 132: Past and Present Lives, A Long-Cherished Wish Fulfilled

Far away in North America, Wei Jin and the others naturally did not know how excited the domestic media had become over this year's Oscars.

Before the awards ceremony had even finished, the day's headlines back home were already out.

"Oscar Miracle: The First Chinese Best Actress is Born!"

"Wei Jin and Ceng Li Both Take Home Little Golden Men!"

"The Room Crew Scores a Total Victory; Two Major Awards Well-Deserved!"

The Beijing Film Academy was incredibly swift this time; they had already hung up a banner by the time Wei Jin went on stage to give his speech, clearly having prepared it in advance.

"Warmly celebrate our school's outstanding 2006 graduate student Wei Jin for winning the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 79th Oscar Hong Kong Film Awards!"

The Central Academy of Drama's reaction was much slower; they truly hadn't expected such a huge surprise, but they still hung up a banner that afternoon:

"Warmly celebrate our school's outstanding 1996 alumna Ceng Li for winning the Best Actress award at the 79th Oscar Hong Kong Film Awards."

This time, both art schools were very satisfied; in a sense, the Central Academy of Drama's laughter was even louder—for no other reason than that the first Oscar Best Actress of the yellow race was an earth-shattering honor.

However, where there is joy, there is sorrow. With Wei Jin having won the award, both Zhang Weiping and Lu Chuan were now wishing they could smash their televisions. They had dared to confront him directly before he won, but now that he had won, carrying the momentum of a great victory, wouldn't he come to shit on their heads?

Recalling their statements from a few months ago, the two felt as ridiculous as clowns, and they could already foresee the scene of being dragged out online to be whipped as corpses later.

For Zhang Weiping, Zhang Yimou had failed to win an Oscar several times, while Wei Jin had taken it on his first try and even produced the first Asian Best Actress; it was practically a series of loud slaps to his face.

For Lu Chuan, he had gained nothing but the enmity of industry bigwigs; he would become a joke in the industry and would have to lower his head whenever he saw Wei Jin. —Afterward, many international media outlets evaluated the 79th Oscar Hong Kong Film Awards held in 2007 as the most international, most diverse, and most inclusive, but also the most North American.

The works of two Mexican directors, Babel and Pan's Labyrinth, received 13 nominations, reflecting internationalism.

The Queen and The Last King of Scotland were both popular films at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival, reflecting diversity.

The Room winning Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress made the people of Huaxia shine at the Oscars, reflecting inclusivity.

However, the result was the final victory of a remake like The Departed.

Coupled with the American Black pop music history review of Dreamgirls, the American-style family warmth of Little Miss Sunshine, and the critique of North American government environmental policy in An Inconvenient Truth, the nature of the Oscars remained a reflection of North American film and North American values.

Regarding this, Wei Jin, who participated in the entire awards ceremony, deeply agreed. —After the awards ended, the winners took a group photo; Wei Jin stood next to the Best Director and the Best Actor and Actress, which could be considered the core position.

Afterward, he attended the Oscar banquet, eating burgers and drinking red wine, and everyone began to communicate cordially.

At this time, Jing Tian proposed the idea of returning to the hotel to rest. Wei Jin thought that after several hours, the young girl might be truly exhausted, so he arranged for a bodyguard to take her back.

But let alone Jing Tian, even Wei Jin himself couldn't hold on; he hadn't eaten or drunk for three whole hours, and couldn't even go to the bathroom.

After coming to the bathroom to relieve himself, Wei Jin felt completely refreshed and invigorated.

When he came back out, he saw that Ceng Li was already surrounded by quite a few people; after all, she was the first Asian Oscar Best Actress, an achievement that would be recorded in film history.

Among them were Zhang Ziyi and Wendi Deng; at this moment, Wendi Deng was trying to coax Ceng Li into developing her career in Hollywood.

"Ms. Ceng, you must trust my judgment. With your current momentum, entering Hollywood will absolutely allow you to open up the situation very quickly."

"That's right, Li Zi. The domestic film market isn't doing well right now. Come to Hollywood, and you and I, sisters, can join forces to carve out a piece of the sky. Besides, with Director Wei's support, it would be hard for you not to be famous."

Zhang Ziyi's intentions were very clear: she hoped to tie herself to Ceng Li and get on Wei Jin's speedboat.

"Hollywood is a place where I'm unfamiliar with the people and the land; I'd better listen to Wei Jin's opinion."

Ceng Li was not some naive novice who understood nothing; she still understood the principle that 'when you are famous, everyone around you is a good person.'

"What are you chatting about, so happily?"

Wei Jin walked quickly to Ceng Li's side and greeted the two women who had ulterior motives.

"Ms. Zhang, Ms. Deng, hello."

"Director Wei, congratulations. You are now the pride of us Huaxia people. I hope there will be an opportunity to cooperate with Director Wei."

Ms. Deng spoke with great art, but Wei Jin knew that this woman had remarkable means.

In early 1998, because of work, Ms. Deng met the media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, who was 38 years her senior, and began serving as his accompanying interpreter, while at that time, Rupert Murdoch still had a happy family.

Who would have expected that a year later, Rupert Murdoch would divorce his wife, and even hold a wedding with Ms. Deng just 17 days after the divorce.

With such a fast rise to power, how could it be possible that she didn't have some tricks up her sleeve?

"Ms. Deng is too kind; if there's an opportunity, certainly."

Wei Jin also responded with a smile. He would cooperate in the name of Summit Entertainment when the time came; it was impossible for him to get involved with this woman.

"Director Wei, I am still waiting for your blockbuster, don't forget it."

Zhang Ziyi's attitude toward Wei Jin at this moment was simply incredibly good; an Oscar-winning director is always the target of stars and artists, not to mention Wei Jin, who was so capable of promoting people.

"Ms. Zhang, rest assured, Wei has it in mind and will not break his word." Wei Jin gave a definite answer; he had already thought of the project, so he would see if it could be launched in the second half of the year.

After a few pleasantries, Wei Jin took Ceng Li toward other circles; after all, the most important thing at a cocktail party is building connections. —Returning to the hotel, Wei Jin asked at the front desk and learned that Jing Tian had indeed returned. He felt relieved; it was too late, so he didn't think about disturbing her, assuming the young girl was just tired.

He had originally wanted to take the opportunity to be intimate with Li Jie, but who knew that Li Jie also said she was too exhausted and had many important calls to return, telling Wei Jin to sleep by himself tonight.

Somewhat sullenly, he arrived at his room door. Just as he opened it, he saw Jing Tian standing prettily in the entryway, looking at him with a smile.

Wei Jin had some guesses in his heart, but he couldn't be sure, yet he put on a surprised look on his face:

"Tian Tian, why are you here?"

"Brother Wei Jin, congratulations on winning the Oscar. I have prepared a gift for you."

When Jing Tian mentioned the word 'gift,' her face flushed slightly. She then pulled Wei Jin into the living room, where a candlelight dinner was already set on the table.

"Brother Wei Jin, I know you definitely didn't eat much at the banquet, let's celebrate together."

Seeing the candlelight dinner the young girl had prepared, Wei Jin secretly said to himself that she was thoughtful, and then felt a bit disappointed, but it was Jing Tian's heartfelt intention after all.

"Tian Tian, thank you. Cheers."

In the romantic atmosphere, the two toasted frequently; the red wine was soon finished, and the steaks were also polished off.

The young girl was already slightly tipsy by now. She sat on Wei Jin, wrapped her arms around his neck, and seemed to be acting spoiled: "Brother Wei Jin, you are really amazing. When you were speaking on stage, you were simply dashing. I really like you so much."

"Tian Tian, I like you so much too."

"But why do you have to be so unfaithful?"

"."

"Brother Wei Jin, do you love me?"

"Amour, very, very much."

"Then will you love me forever?"

"I will, we will always be together, until our hair turns gray, spending the rest of our lives together."

"Brother Wei Jin, kiss me."

That night, Jing Tian gave herself completely to Wei Jin; this was the gift she had prepared. — After a bout of close-quarters combat, before the brand-new city gate, a great battle was about to erupt.

Wei Shiba let out a roar, issuing the order to storm the city.

The massive battering ram advanced rapidly, its target aimed straight at the city gate. At this moment, the female general standing on the city wall revealed a look of nervousness; one must know that since the city gate was built, it had never encountered an enemy.

As the battering ram struck the city gate, the entire wall emitted a loud boom, the gate began to shake, and inside the passage behind the gate, soldiers had already begun to die and be wounded.

Seeing this scene, sorrow welled up in the female general's heart, and a look of pain surged onto her face.

Seeming to sense that the city gate was sturdy, Wei Shiba began to command the backup forces he had arranged to flank from both sides, capturing the noble persons inside the two white domed tents behind the city.

Sensing that her vital point had been seized, the female general lost all will to fight, but her innate sense of duty made it impossible for her to easily give up resistance; a slaughter was unavoidable.

After seizing the weak point, Wei Shiba indeed noticed that the opponent's defensive strength had weakened, and he could not help but be overjoyed; more troops surrounded the two white domed tents, forming a siege.

Now the soldiers' resistance within the city was even weaker, and Wei Shiba let out a roar, launching the final assault.

By this time, the battering ram had already smashed the city gate, but there were still many stubborn soldiers in the passage; yet, facing the massive battering ram, this was nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot, completely meaningless.

Sure enough, as the battle grew more intense, the casualties became increasingly heavy, and the female general was even streaming with tears.

As the battering ram continued to penetrate deeper, the power of resistance grew smaller and smaller, and Wei Shiba thought to himself, "In the end, I have achieved Conquest over you."

Seeing that they were about to reach the inner city, the female general's reaction became more and more intense, and her whole body began to tremble.

Only then did Wei Shiba discover that all the city's water sources were stored here, and he was overjoyed.

He immediately ordered the great army to continue forward, destroy the water sources, cut off the enemy's retreat, and thoroughly achieve Conquest over the enemy.

"No, don't."

Wei Shiba was naturally becoming more and more valiant and unstoppable, killing anyone who stood in his way; seeing that the enemy forces had already collapsed, he no longer restrained military discipline.

For a time, a large number of soldiers swarmed out from the battering ram and rushed into the city to act tyrannically, signaling who the final winner of this war was.

Seeing this scene, the female general felt powerless all over, her eyes vacant, and she collapsed to the ground, muttering to herself: "It's over, I'm going to die, I'm going to die." — This night, the long-cherished wishes of two lifetimes were fulfilled, and Wei Jin's psychological and physical needs were greatly satisfied, and he drifted into a deep sleep without realizing it.

In a daze, he seemed to have returned to the beginning, to that period of time when he floated in an unknown space in a soul state.

In the darkness, Wei Jin saw that white light that had brought him through time again, but at this moment the white light was not moving; it was just a cluster of light, emitting an intoxicating radiance that made his whole body feel warm. Today's second update, I implore all readers to reward me with subscriptions, follow-up readings, and collections. For follow-up readings, please flip to the last page, thank you everyone! (End of this chapter)