Previously, when Jiang Ling acted in their directed play, every scene left them astonished.
They were all thinking that with acting reaching such an uncanny level of artistry, further improvement was likely impossible.
Yet now, Jiang Ling, with a single glance, told them there was no best, only better.
The internet was awash with praise for Jiang Ling's acting, with terms like "explosive acting," "absolutely brilliant acting," and "divine eye-acting."
Although these words weren't an exaggeration for the five-second turning and looking back scene, any occasional negative comments were quickly drowned out by angry fans.
However, perhaps due to receiving so much praise for her acting before, Jiang Ling felt nothing from the current overwhelming accolades from audiences and fans.
They say audience reputation is more valuable than any award.
After the "a glance for ten thousand years" moment trended on hot search, more and more viewers bought tickets to the cinema.
They wanted to see for themselves if this eye-acting was truly as amazing as the online hype suggested.
As it turned out, upon watching, they were indeed surprised, and after finishing, they burst into even more praise.
This back-and-forth praise caused the popularity of "Phantom Realm" to continuously surge, with its box office soaring ahead, easily breaking the one billion mark.
A box office of ten billion!
This was a remarkably impressive achievement even for the most commercially successful films.
For a niche, art-house film, it was almost unimaginable.
The support from the audience and fans was not only reflected in the box office but also pre-emptively secured Jiang Ling's place in cinematic history.
In the Hong Kong film history of her previous life, there were four most beautiful shots: Xia Qingxia drinking wine, Joey Wong changing clothes, Athena Chu blinking, and Michelle Reis turning back.
These four shots were hailed as the classics of classics, constantly imitated but never surpassed.
During this year's National Day Golden Week, a selection of the "Four Most Beautiful Shots in Film and Television" was being held online.
After rounds of repeated screening and fierce competition, and with the votes of over a hundred million netizens, the Four Most Beautiful Shots from a parallel universe were freshly released.
They were Jiang Ling's turn back, Zhang Xuewan's hair styling, Dou Yuan embroidering plums, and Chang Yan dancing with a sword.
Among them, Jiang Ling's turn back, with seventy-three million votes, took the lead, surpassing the other three to become the foremost among the Four Most Beautiful Shots.
This became a classic that the older generation would fondly recall for the next thirty to forty years.
Jiang Ling was pleasantly surprised by this result.
She knew that "Phantom Realm" would become a classic in the future.
But she hadn't expected that the potential of "Phantom Realm" hadn't even fully erupted yet, and her five-second turn back had already been elevated to divine status, a truly unexpected joy.
The surprises kept coming, one after another.
While "Phantom Realm" was being screened, it coincided with the evaluation period for the three major film festivals in China that year.
In her previous life, there were numerous film and television awards, a dazzling array.
In the realm of film, the most prestigious were the "Three Gold Awards": the Golden Rooster Awards, the Hong Kong Film Awards, and the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.
As for television dramas, there were other awards.
In the parallel universe's Dragon Country, the awards were not as complex as in her previous life. Film and television awards were combined, and there were three heavyweight Golden Awards.
These three Golden Awards were the Golden Plum Blossom, the Golden Peony, and the Golden Magnolia.
The three Golden Awards had different focuses and evaluation methods.
The plum blossom, the foremost of the Four Gentlemen, was a symbol of purity and strength in traditional culture, the eternal muse of literati throughout the ages.
Correspondingly, the Golden Plum Blossom placed great emphasis on the film's watchability, artistry, and the cultural and spiritual depth of its content.