Against the Light - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Luo Bing

Gu Xinran had been trying to explore the inner world of this body, but she came up with nothing. Even her mind was a blank slate, devoid of any useful memories.

She didn't even know what road or street she was on. But when she unconsciously stopped at the entrance of a residential complex, a few images flashed through her mind. She walked in, and a security guard bowed to her, saying, "Good day, Miss Gu."

This confirmed that this was her current residence.

She walked along the cobblestone path, the backs of two girls gradually appearing in her mind. They were walking arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder.

In the memory, the original Gu Xinran was smiling happily, swinging the other girl's hand back and forth, her affection written all over her face.

As for the other girl, she could only recall her from behind. She wore a camel-colored trench coat and black stiletto heels. Her chestnut-brown curls were scattered over her shoulders, and she walked with a steady, graceful gait.

The gentle sunlight bathed her, coating her in a warm, pale-yellow glow. Just the sight of her back exuded a sense of warmth and sanctity. Even the simple act of raising a hand to brush back her hair was incredibly elegant.

A silver ribbon was wrapped around her left wrist, tracing beautiful arcs of light as her arm swayed.

Gu Xinran closed her eyes. The figure felt incredibly familiar. She tried hard to see the girl's face, but could only make out a silhouette.

She took a deep breath and couldn't help but think of her Yilan. Yilan had also loved to hold her hand and swing it back and forth. Whenever they were together, she was as happy as a child.

After a moment, she collected her thoughts and followed the memory back home. She studied the door for a long time before managing to unlock it with her fingerprint through trial and error.

When she turned on the lights, she froze.

She could hardly believe the empty room before her.

The house was large and spacious, but there wasn't a single piece of furniture! To say it was "bare-walled" wasn't quite accurate—this was, after all, a luxury apartment in a prime location. But if taken literally, the phrase was a perfect description.

Gu Xinran entered and closed the door. There was no shoe cabinet by the entrance, nor a sofa or coffee table.

She wandered through the house, the sharp clicks of her high heels echoing on the marble floor. The sound made her feel hollow inside. This place had none of the warmth of a home. Had the original owner really lived in an environment like this?

The kitchen was connected to the living room. There was a wine cabinet, which did contain some fine, aged wines.

The refrigerator held only drinking water, bread, and ham sausage. Not even a single vegetable.

In the cupboard was a single set of bowls and chopsticks, and only one water glass. She frowned, recalling that she had also seen only one pair of slippers at the entrance.

The walk-in closet, on the other hand, had plenty of clothes and accessories. But many of the outfits were brand new, with the tags still on, and had never been worn. They seemed to exist merely to fill the empty wardrobe.

The bedroom was pitch-black; she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. Only after turning on the light did she discover that the dark brown curtains were drawn tightly, letting in no light at all. Besides a bed, a wardrobe, and two nightstands, the room was empty.

Gu Xinran leaned against the doorframe, looking at the pristine white sheets on the bed. She almost had the illusion of being in a hotel.

No, even a hotel would be warmer than her home.

The bathroom was fine. Toiletries and various skincare products were all there, though in her past life, living alone deep in the mountains, she had never used skincare and was a little unfamiliar with these things.

She pulled out a chair and sat down to rest her feet. She had walked all the way back in high heels, and her calves were a little sore.

She massaged them for a while.

She had now seen every room in the house. All the daily necessities were in single sets, and there were no photographs anywhere—not even a picture of herself.

She felt that the original owner had been using this method to deliberately erase another person's existence. Perhaps when she was alone, she was unwilling to remember or face the past.

At this thought, a sense of desolation washed over her, and she thought of her Yilan again.

In her past life, she had always been busy with work. When Yilan was home alone, was she also this lonely and helpless?

A "ding-dong" sound came from her phone.

She picked it up and saw a WeChat message from Qu Qi, asking where she was.

She replied that she was home to keep Qu Qi from worrying.

She could tell that Qu Qi was the type to have a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She said she wouldn't bother with her, but she couldn't help sending a message to check in. She was a lot like her previous manager.

Staring at the phone screen, she scrolled up and saw their previous chat history.

【May 4, 11:11 PM】

【Qu Qi: I got you a spot on a variety show. Go make an appearance as a guest for one episode. Try to make a good impression and seize this opportunity. I've sent the schedule and script to your email. Remember to read it.】

【Ran: 1】

Gu Xinran was baffled for a moment. What did this "1" mean??

【Qu Qi: I have to accompany Xiao Xi out of province for the next couple of days, so I won't be going to the show with you. Keep a low profile yourself. Remember the situation you're in and don't attract any more hate.】

【Qu Qi: Did you hear me?】

【Ran: 1】

【May 8, 9:23 AM】

【Qu Qi: Gu Xinran, what is wrong with you? Did you just treat everything I said before like bullshit? Answer your phone!】

【Qu Qi: Who told you to change your Weibo password? Go apologize to Luo Bing on Weibo right now. Don't let this incident get any bigger!】

【Qu Qi: Gu Xinran!!】

【May 8, 8:16 PM】

【Qu Qi: Use the side door when you leave the hospital. There are reporters at the main entrance.】

After reading the chat history, she had a rough idea of what had happened. The original owner had gotten into a conflict with a guest while participating in a variety show, hit them, and seemed to have gotten injured herself, ending up in the hospital.

Gu Xinran raised a hand to the back of her head. There was still a lump there. It had been hurting earlier, and now that she thought about it, she must have hit her head during the conflict and been knocked unconscious. When she woke up, the soul in this body had changed.

Gu Xinran stared at the screen for a moment. She couldn't recall any specific details of the conflict. After a brief pause, she opened Weibo.

Before she could even find the search function, she saw Luo Bing's name at the very top of the trending topics. She quickly tapped on it to take a look.

【weedice: That bitch Gu Xinran hit my idol, she can go to hell!!! Can someone with such a bad record and obvious mental problems really be a celebrity!?】 A video was attached to the post.

In the video, Gu Xinran was standing to the side as a guest star. The moment fellow guest star Luo Bing appeared, Gu Xinran's smiling face suddenly turned cold, her expression becoming extremely ugly. Luo Bing proactively stepped forward to hug her, but Gu Xinran suddenly shoved her away and tried to lunge at her. Other guests rushed to intervene, and the scene descended into chaos. Luo Bing was pushed over and fell to the ground, clutching her wrist in pain. Gu Xinran was thrown off and hit a pillar, fainting on the spot.

After watching the video, Gu Xinran was stunned. At first glance, it really looked like the original owner was picking a fight for no reason. She watched it again twice, her brow gradually furrowing. Something struck her as odd. When Luo Bing went to hug her, the Gu Xinran in the video raised her hands as if to return the embrace, but then for some reason, she suddenly pulled back and shoved her away violently. It was as if she'd received some kind of shock at the moment of the hug that made her lose control on the spot!

She scrolled down and saw many comments. Without exception, they were all insulting her, demanding that she get out of the entertainment industry.

【Can Gu Xinran just get lost? GET LOST!! This isn't the first time she's tried to leech off Luo Luo!! @Qu Qi, can you please control the mad dog under you? Don't let her out to bite people!! You're from the same company and she's still pulling this crap!】

【What right does she have to be on the same show as Luo Luo? Because she's shameless?】

【Replying to the sister above, of course it's because she's shameless.】

【Sob sob, Luo Luo is so good, what did she ever do to anyone? If anything happens to my Luo Luo, you'd better watch out! Gu Xinran, come out and die!!】

【Aaaah, I must have been blind to have liked her so much before! And Teacher Bai! How could my Teacher Bai have ever fallen for her! She's a stain on Teacher Bai's life!】

【I think Teacher Bai and Luo Luo are a good match!】

【Who isn't Teacher Bai a good match for? Except Gu Xinran. She's such a drama queen. I've never genuinely hated a female artist this much before!】

There were many more comments below, but Gu Xinran didn't read any further. She now roughly understood what Qu Qi meant by "Remember the situation you're in and don't attract any more hate."

She shook her head. In her past life, she had been attacked by the entire internet, boycotted by the nation, and even physically assaulted after her same-sex relationship was exposed. These insults and curses were nothing to her. Besides, she hadn't fully adapted to this new identity yet, so she read these abusive comments as if she were just watching some drama, feeling no deep personal connection to them.

However, she was still curious about why the original owner had suddenly lashed out. Since she couldn't see Luo Bing in person, she couldn't access the corresponding memories.

Eh?

An idea struck her. She opened her phone's browser and searched for Luo Bing's name.

The first few results were Luo Bing's biography. She was twenty-two years old, having debuted a year ago through a talent show. She was a newly popular idol, a talented singer-songwriter, and, like the original Gu Xinran, a signed artist under Light & Shadow Entertainment.

She found a photo of Luo Bing. She had delicate features and a sweet, pure appearance—the very picture of a girl-next-door type that made people want to protect and dote on her. Even Gu Xinran's first impression was that this girl seemed very innocent.

Gu Xinran narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the photo. Sure enough, as she looked at it, fragments of memory gradually surfaced in her mind!

She closed her eyes, reviewing the memory.

When the original Gu Xinran saw Luo Bing walk into the recording studio, her face instantly turned cold, but since they were filming a show, she didn't act on it immediately.

Luo Bing opened her arms and gave her a hug. The original owner raised her hands, intending to give a perfunctory pat, but then she heard Luo Bing whisper in her ear, "Gu Xinran, your ex-wife is really amazing."

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