Against the Light - Chapter 41
Chapter 41: Fang Yi
The group went to a coffee shop near the university town, found a private room, and waited for Fang Jinghai's niece to finish class.
"Hey, can we count on this hacker of yours?" Qu Qi was a little worried.
"Hmm… how should I put it? When I was a freshman in high school, I skipped class to go to an internet cafe. She was a senior that year with a tight schedule, so she couldn't sneak out. I deliberately tried to make her mad."
"And then?"
"And then… my computer got hacked."
Qu Qi frowned. "Did she send you some kind of file that attacked your computer?"
"No. I later discovered that as long as I was at an internet cafe and chatting with her, the computer I was using would get hacked. It would crash and get infected with viruses, and no amount of fixing could solve it. Then all the internet cafe owners started calling me a computer jinx… I got blacklisted from every internet cafe in town and was banned from entering."
"I only found out later that it was her doing. She even warned all the internet cafe owners that if any of them let me in again, she'd hack all the computers in their entire cafe, and no one would get to play."
Qu Qi and Gu Xinran exchanged a look, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Your niece sounds pretty great. She cares about you, afraid you'd fall behind in your studies. You don't see many people who care about their elders like that anymore~"
"Give me a break. She was just jealous that I could go to the internet cafe and she couldn't. The moment she turned around, she ran and tattled to my sister, saying that as an elder, I wasn't setting a good example and that leading the charge in skipping class for internet cafes would be a bad influence on her. I got a beating from my sister because of it. This person is petty, holds a grudge over the smallest thing, and is incredibly manipulative. Don't you dare be fooled by her act!"
"Fang Jinghai, are you itching for another beating?" The door to the private room was pushed open.
The group turned to see a girl with short, neat hair and a clean-cut face. She wore a black t-shirt with letters on it, capri pants, and a pair of flip-flops, exuding an air of rebelliousness.
She was clearly taken aback when she saw other people in the room. But when she recognized Gu Xinran, her initially annoyed expression suddenly lit up. She took a deep breath. "My apologies, everyone. Please wait a moment while I go get Fang Yi." Her voice was that of a standard broadcaster. After speaking, she turned and left.
"???" The two women looked at Fang Jinghai, completely bewildered.
Fang Jinghai's mouth twitched. "Ah, she has a split personality. That was her true self. Whatever you see in a moment will be completely fake."
Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
Fang Jinghai threw up her hands at the other two. "Come in. Stop pretending."
The door opened and Fang Yi walked in. She pushed up a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and gave them a faint smile.
The others were dumbfounded.
This person had changed into a form-fitting white shirt, jeans, and canvas shoes. Her hair was even styled with gel, and she was holding a laptop. She was like a completely different person from the free-spirited girl from before.
"Hello, I'm Fang Yi. Jinghai has never been the sharpest tool in the shed. Does she often cause trouble for you? I apologize on her behalf. Thank you for your hard work." Fang Yi gave the two a slight bow.
They didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Gu Xinran couldn't help but smile at Fang Yi's prim and proper act.
She remembered the Fang Yi from her past life. When she first met her, Fang Yi also dressed like a tomboy. It was only after she was frequently mistaken for being in the wrong restroom that she slowly began to change her style.
Fang Jinghai rolled her eyes. "You, hurry up and sit down. We have business to discuss, so cut the nonsense."
"Please, speak. Sister Ran is my idol. For any request she has, I would face ten thousand deaths without hesitation!"
"…" Fang Jinghai was exasperated. "Your idol is being threatened."
"What the f—!? Who the hell… ahem, who is it?" Fang Yi almost lost her composure. She frowned in thought. "Is it that little punk from Luo Bing's camp!?"
"Who?"
"We don't know who it is. There's just a Weibo account. We wanted to ask if you could find anything out." Fang Jinghai looked at Gu Xinran.
Gu Xinran took out her phone, found the private message, and handed it to Fang Yi.
Fang Yi glanced at it and nearly exploded. Threatening my idol? This person must have a death wish!
Fang Yi opened her laptop and her fingers flew across the keyboard, typing a string of code onto the screen with intense focus.
Gu Xinran and Qu Qi exchanged a look. They both watched her actions, and after a short while, they both straightened up, admitting to themselves that they couldn't understand a thing.
Five minutes passed. Fang Jinghai looked at Fang Yi's face, which was furrowed in a tight frown as if she'd run into a difficult problem. A jolt of panic went through her. Oh, for heaven's sake, I was just bragging about how awesome you are. Don't drop the ball on me now!
"How is it? Can you find them?"
The clacking of Fang Yi's keyboard was relentless.
"They've got some skills. This person is hiding behind several layers. The IP address is from Ping County. For the specific address, just give me a little more time." Fang Yi suddenly smiled, her eyes glinting with excitement.
"Ping County?" Fang Jinghai was startled and suddenly looked up at Gu Xinran.
"Sister Ran, that plastic surgery hospital you had me look into yesterday is also in Ping County!"
Gu Xinran frowned.
The Weibo post claimed she had plastic surgery before her debut, and that the hospital was in Ping County. Now, this person who was repeatedly threatening her was also in Ping County. And he seemed to know a lot about her, including things from her past.
Could it be that the original owner of this body had lived in Ping County for a while before coming to Xiyuan?
If the plastic surgery was true, then the idea that the original owner had lived in Ping County became even more plausible. After all, it would be the place she was most familiar with.
It seemed a trip to Ping County was necessary.
"Plastic surgery hospital? What?" Fang Yi abruptly looked up.
"Your idol is being framed for getting plastic surgery. Hey? Are you a fake fan? This has been all over Weibo for six or seven days, and you don't know?"
"Ugh, don't even mention it. I've been busy looking for that little punk from Luo Bing's camp these past few days."
"Who's that?"
"No idea. But this person is the first one who could argue with me in the bullet comments for a whole day and night. Twice." Fang Yi held up two fingers, looking a little resentful but also a little pleased.
Fang Jinghai pouted. What a psycho!
"Hurry up and find the address. Sister Ran, should we go to Ping County?" Fang Jinghai asked.
"Ping County? I know Ping County well! Idol, I'll go with you. I know Sanda, I can protect you!" Fang Yi volunteered eagerly. She had been a fan of Gu Xinran since her debut, a huge fan!
Gu Xinran smiled at her. Just seeing her made her happy. In her past life, Fang Yi had been her most trusted partner, someone she could entrust her life to! So, seeing this version of Fang Yi, she trusted her instinctively.
"Don't be ridiculous. With those flimsy moves of yours, you call that Sanda? I could grab any random old lady off the street, give her a one-cane handicap, and her moves would still be sharper than yours!" Fang Jinghai was in the middle of mocking her when she heard Gu Xinran say…
"Okay," Gu Xinran nodded.
Fang Jinghai choked. ???
"But you can't let it interfere with your studies."
"!!!" Cared for so sincerely by her idol, Fang Yi was suddenly filled with motivation. She buried her head and furiously typed on the keyboard. A moment later, she snapped her fingers.
"Done!"
"You found it?"
"Yeah, the last known address for this account was Shilin Community in Ping County, Building 9, Unit 3. I looked up the community; it's an old neighborhood with average housing prices. This person is probably just an ordinary working-class person."
"Can you narrow it down to a specific person?"
"Hmm…" Fang Yi fiddled around for a bit more. "Ah, got it. This person once used the screen name 【A Salted Fish With No Dreams】 and posted on a social media platform, saying…"
"What?" The group immediately looked at the computer screen.
"She said that she and Sister Xinran grew up together and knows a lot of inside dirt on Gu Xinran. That she used to be really ugly, so scary that she didn't dare show her face in public, and kids would often cry when they saw her! That her beautiful face now is entirely the result of plastic surgery, yet she tells her fans it's all-natural… Damn it, my ass it is!!!"
"This person also said Sister Ran used to steal things as a child and was always being chased and beaten, that she was a bad kid in everyone's eyes, and her character… You're the one with a rotten character, talking trash about people behind their backs! I swear I'm going to dig up your family's ancestral graves!"
Fang Yi exploded. What kind of scumbag is this? How dare they slander my idol? Your ancestors' graves are gonna explode!!!
The group exchanged glances, then looked at Gu Xinran. "Sister Ran, is this someone you knew from before?" Fang Jinghai asked.
Qu Qi also looked at her. Now that it was mentioned, she didn't know much about Xinran's life before she entered the industry, and she had never heard her talk about her past.
Gu Xinran shook her head. "I don't really have any impression. It was too long ago, I can't remember clearly."
It was now almost certain that the original owner's hometown was Ping County. Knowing this, many mysteries might be solved once she went there herself and met these people.
"There's no time to lose. We need to move quickly, find this person, and figure out why she's threatening Xinran. And what role does she play in this plastic surgery matter? Why would the hospital release a patient's information? I have a feeling our opponent this time is going to be tough," Qu Qi said, taking a breath to prepare everyone.
"Can I join you guys too!?" Fang Yi looked at Gu Xinran expectantly.
Gu Xinran patted her on the shoulder and smiled. "Of course. We can't do it without you."
"Okay!" Fang Yi was so moved she almost cried! Meeting her idol in person and being valued so highly by her—life was complete!!!
"Alright, Fang Yi, could you… could you come up with a code name first?" Qu Qi said her name, feeling a bit awkward. For some reason, it felt like she was being taken advantage of.
"Er Gouzi. That's what I call her. Fang Two Dog."
"Hey! Fang Jinghai, my idol is right here. Can you give me some face?"
"Ahem… Xiao Fang and Xinran will go to Shilin Community to find this person. You two must be careful when you meet them. Don't say anything rash, and it's best to record your entire conversation as a precaution. Jinghai, you're with me. We'll take the company's legal team to that hospital. We'll split into two groups and leave today. Let's settle this quickly!" Qu Qi clenched her fist, full of fighting spirit.
"Okay!"
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