Reunion
The morning sunlight streamed in through the French windows. Chu Yiran leaned back on the sofa, his fingertips caressing the blanket that Zheng Shuyi had knitted for him. The rough yarn and seams had a unique softness to them.
Sun Xiaoxiao raised her voice, her mascara-smudged eyes trembling as she stared: "Brother Ran, what nonsense are you spouting in broad daylight?"
Chu Yiran called Sun Xiaoxiao to his home early in the morning and said he was planning to buy a detached villa in the neighborhood next to Jiangcheng Station.
This was something Chu Yiran had carefully considered. Zheng Shuyi was still living in her rural hometown and only came to Jiangcheng to see Chu Yiran once or twice every six months. Moreover, the elderly woman was in poor health and couldn't fly. Chu Yiran was currently living in Jiangcheng's CBD, in a high-rise building with heavy traffic. He was worried that it would be inconvenient for Zheng Shuyi to come by herself. He thought it would be better to buy a villa near the Jiangcheng train station. Firstly, Zheng Shuyi could move there directly and it would be convenient for her to visit her hometown occasionally. Secondly, if the villa had a yard, Zheng Shuyi could grow some vegetables and fruits to pass the time.
Seeing Chu Yiran's confident expression, Sun Xiaoxiao walked into his room with practiced ease and soon came out with a wallet and a stack of A4 papers.
“Ran-ge, look at these five credit cards of yours,” Sun Xiaoxiao took out five cards from her wallet and placed them on the table one by one. “They are all in a delicate balance. You were waiting to pay off your credit card debt after the web series you were filming was finished, have you forgotten?”
“And this,” Sun Xiaoxiao pushed the A4 paper in front of Chu Yiran again, “Brother Ran, have you forgotten that you still have a five-year contract with the company? We didn’t even have a decent set of clothes for the magazine event before, and we had to shamelessly borrow second-hand haute couture. Not to mention that last year when you took Auntie to have breast cancer surgery, you even borrowed 200,000 yuan from Sister Kelly in private…”
Seeing Chu Yiran's complexion worsen, Sun Xiaoxiao's voice grew softer and softer.
Chu Yiran truly hadn't expected this! It's not entirely his fault; a thousand years of change and the original owner's 25 years of memories all rushed in at once, and he hadn't fully digested them yet. Plus, so many things had happened in just two days, so he had to draw upon the original owner's memories to recall some things.
Hearing Sun Xiaoxiao's words, Chu Yiran's heart sank even further. The original owner was the same age as him back then. He thought that when he was 25, he had already made great achievements and held a high position in the imperial court (although he was later sentenced to death a few months later...). He never expected that the original owner had been in the business for five years and not only had he not earned a penny, but he also owed more than 200,000 yuan. How could a young person a thousand years later be so useless?
Chu Yiran slightly suppressed his disdain and pondered, "Do I still have any work now?"
“There was one,” Sun Xiaoxiao said, spreading her hands with a helpless expression, “but it was all messed up yesterday.”
Yesterday, Chu Yiran was kicked out by the director after saying those words to Lin Wanxing on set. He had no resources or background to begin with, and although he was good-looking, his professional skills were average. In addition, he spoke rudely to the only popular actress in the group. After such an unlucky divination, it was only a matter of time before the director wanted to replace him.
Lin Wanxing... it seems the breakthrough point is still with her.
"Xiaoxiao, is there any way to contact Lin Wanxing?"
"Brother Ran, do you mean... you want to apologize to her?" Sun Xiaoxiao asked tentatively.
"No, I want to talk business with her."
"Ran-ge, why are you still talking nonsense?" Sun Xiaoxiao touched Chu Yiran's forehead, on the verge of tears. "You don't have a fever... Ran-ge, don't joke with me. Lin Wanxing is all the rage right now, where am I supposed to contact her for you? Not to mention you want to discuss some kind of business with her—"
Before she could finish speaking, Sun Xiaoxiao's phone rang. When she saw the caller's name, her eyes lit up: "How is it, Sister Kelly? Is there a new job offer?"
A calm female voice came from the other end: "Lin Wanxing's agent just contacted me and said that Lin Wanxing specifically asked to see Xiao Ran. You should quickly get him ready to go out."
Sun Xiaoxiao was stunned, speechless and dazed. Chu Yiran, unsurprised, took the phone from her hand: "This is Chu Yiran. Where is Lin Wanxing now?"
"VIP Room 03, 18th Floor, Jiangcheng Central Hospital"
——
It had started raining heavily outside, and in the taxi, Sun Xiaoxiao stared in disbelief as she scrolled through Weibo's trending topics. She felt like she was almost illiterate.
#Lin Wanxing's car accident#
#Lin Wanxing's sasaeng fans#
#Lin Wanxing rear-ended on highway#
...
Clicking on a random topic, I saw a black sedan driving smoothly on the highway. Suddenly, a white SUV overtook several cars and followed behind the black sedan. The black sedan tried to increase the distance between the two vehicles, but the white SUV accelerated and sped past it.
The trunk of the car in front and the hood of the car behind were smashed open, and wisps of thick smoke billowed out, which looked particularly shocking in the dim weather. Immediately afterward, a silver-gray car crashed into the rear of the white SUV because it couldn't brake in time. Under the huge impact, the black sedan at the front overturned to the side of the road, and the glass of the car window was shattered all over the ground, with blood flowing out.
Because the video was too far away to clearly see the people inside the car, Sun Xiaoxiao nervously swallowed and then opened the comments section—
"Boycott obsessive fans! Boycott scalpers! It's outrageous that obsessive fans and scalpers are chasing and blocking celebrities on the highway!"
"Aiyu Culture is utterly shameless! How can they not even protect their own artists?! I wonder how badly Xingxing is hurt..."
"I'm so tired of seeing this woman constantly trending on social media!"
"Hey upstairs, watch your mouth! If you don't want to see this, don't click in. Nobody's forcing you to watch!"
...
Sun Xiaoxiao went back to the Weibo trending topics list and suddenly noticed a familiar name slowly climbing the list—
#Chu Yiran's Prophecy#
She almost screamed, but then remembered that they were still in the taxi, so she quickly tugged at Chu Yiran's sleeve to make him look at the screen.
"Brother Ran, look! You're trending!" The voice was low, tinged with surprise and delight.
Chu Yiran took the phone and opened the topic. The popular video on the topic page was still a candid shot. In the shaky camera, he could be seen standing in front of Lin Wanxing with a bad expression, saying to her in the noisy environment of the film set: "You... don't ride in black cars lately, something bad will happen."
The comment section of this video is also quite interesting.
"Wow, who is this person? How could they be so accurate!"
"Am I the only one paying attention to his face? When did the Chinese entertainment industry release new idols? He's so handsome!"
"Is this fake? These two are definitely doing this together to create hype. These celebrities are becoming more and more shameless in their pursuit of attention."
...
At Jiangcheng Central Hospital, the VIP elevator requires a card to reach the 18th floor. Sun Xiaoxiao's hands, clutching the temporary pass, were sweating profusely; the edge of the metal card left a faint red mark on her fingerprints.
"Brother Ran," she said, staring at the ever-increasing floor numbers, "do you know what level Lin Wanxing is at now? Her salary for her last film was enough to buy three of those villas you mentioned."
Chu Yiran glanced at her with some surprise, while Sun Xiaoxiao said with a determined look, "So you really have to stick with this powerful guy!"
The elevator doors opened, revealing smooth, shiny dark gray marble floor tiles that reflected the linear light strips overhead, stretching like a galaxy all the way to the end of the corridor.
Two bodyguards in suits stood at the door of the innermost ward, while a young girl wearing glasses was talking to the doctor.
Perhaps sensing the commotion, the girl with glasses looked up and then ran over with a delighted expression: "Ran-ge, Xiao-xiao, you're here! Xing-jie has been waiting for you for so long, come in quickly!"
This is Lin Wanxing's assistant, Xiao You; Chu Yiran's brain automatically matched her identity to him.
The two followed Xiaoyou inside. The smart sensor door in front of the ward opened silently, revealing the entire 80-square-meter VIP suite before them.
The huge LCD TV was showing the latest entertainment news. Next to the leather sofa in the reception area was a mini bar. A person in a white hospital gown was bending over to take champagne from the built-in wine cabinet below, with his left hand holding the IV stand with some difficulty. Half of the blanket was still lying on the hospital bed by the window.
"Oh my goodness," Xiao You snatched the wine glass from her, "You can't drink now!"
Just as Lin Wanxing was about to speak, she caught sight of the two people at the door out of the corner of her eye, and immediately stepped forward with trembling hands: "My benefactor—my savior!"
Chu Yiran looked at Lin Wanxing, whose face was full of excitement, and his lips twitched slightly.
He looked down and examined Lin Wanxing closely. Although she was a little pale, she was unharmed. Logically speaking, after such an impact, she would have been bumped or bruised at least.
"Are you... alright?" Chu Yiran asked tentatively.
"It's nothing—" Lin Wanxing waved her hand dismissively, "As smart as I am, I didn't even get on that car!"
Then Lin Wanxing began to vividly describe the scene that had just occurred—
Yesterday, Lin Wanxing finished filming in Hengdian and rushed back to Jiangcheng overnight to prepare for her next trip. This morning, she got up early to do her makeup, try on her dress, and take departure photos. Then, as they were about to leave for a TV drama awards ceremony, Lin Wanxing suddenly realized that her usual white van was gone, replaced by a black sedan. The driver explained that the white van had a tire problem and had been temporarily taken for repairs, so they had to use a different car today.
Lin Wanxing didn't think much of it at the time. She had already put one foot on the back seat of the car when Chu Yiran's words suddenly echoed in her mind: "You... don't ride in black cars lately, something bad will happen."
The deep voice in her memory sent a chill down her spine. She immediately decided to have the driver go and get another car to pick her up. Even though Xiao You reminded her that changing cars would definitely make her late, Lin Wanxing resolutely refused to get in the car. Unexpectedly, the black car actually had an accident.
“You all didn’t see how pitiful our driver, Uncle Zhao, was. He had eight stitches in his forehead and even broke his leg! He was completely unconscious when he was brought in…” Lin Wanxing spoke with great emotion, pitifully touching her face, “I can’t imagine what would happen if I hurt my face, I just had hyaluronic acid injections last month—”
"Sister Xing!" Xiao You quickly covered her mouth, afraid that she would say something she shouldn't.
Sun Xiaoxiao asked curiously, "Sister Xing, why are you at the hospital even though you're not injured?"
Lin Wanxing pried Xiao You's hand away, looking aggrieved: "I was scared~ Just thinking about such a dangerous thing makes me shudder, my pulse is still unstable!" As she spoke, she placed her right hand on her left wrist to show them.
Sun Xiaoxiao & Chu Yiran: "..."
"But speaking of which, are you a fortune teller? When did you learn fortune telling?" Lin Wanxing stared at Chu Yiran suspiciously. "How can you be so accurate?"
Chu Yiran remained calm: "When I examined your face, I noticed a slight break at the end of your right eyebrow. As the saying goes, 'a scattered eyebrow is called a knife-edge affliction, indicating potential danger to your travels.' In addition, the area around your carriage and horse palace (a Feng Shui feature) was dark and bluish, also suggesting unfavorable travel conditions recently. Furthermore, you mentioned it was your birthday that day, and your birth chart shows an excessive amount of water, which clashes with black things..."
The three people standing nearby were stunned, not expecting Chu Yiran to make such a convincing story.
Seeing their expressions, Chu Yiran coughed lightly and became modest: "Of course, the theory of Bazi (Four Pillars of Destiny) and face reading isn't entirely accurate; I just happened to come up with it—"
“No need to explain—” Lin Wanxing looked at him with admiration, “From today onwards, I am your Xing-jie, and you are my Ran-di. We are siblings from different fathers and mothers! I will remember your kindness. From now on, as long as I have a bite to eat, you will have a bite to drink.”
“Sister Xing,” Sun Xiaoxiao weakly raised her hand to interject, “the director of our web series broke your brother Ran’s soup bowl. We were kicked out of Hengdian by the director overnight yesterday…”
“That’s easy to say,” Lin Wanxing raised her chin. “Xiao You, call the director later and let him know that my brother Ran’s scenes must continue!”
"Ran-di, what's your schedule like next quarter?" Lin Wanxing casually stood on Chu Yiran's shoulder, "I'm in talks for a new escape room variety show. The platform is already preparing it. If you have a flight attendant to take you on—"
"I'm free! I'm free!" Before Chu Yiran could even speak, Sun Xiaoxiao quickly replied loudly, "I'm free all year round! When are we going to sign the contract, Sister Xing?"
——
After leaving the ward, Sun Xiaoxiao, true to her name, couldn't stop smiling, while Chu Yiran remained silent.
Sun Xiaoxiao nudged him with her elbow: "Brother Ran, why aren't you saying anything? With Lin Wanxing around, we won't have to worry about work anymore! Maybe we can buy the villa you want by the end of the year."
Chu Yiran gave a soft "hmm," still not showing too much excitement. He quietly slowed his pace, and beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
It's happening again.
In his past life, he would feel unwell after each divination session, but for Su Jing's grand ambitions, he couldn't help but cast a divination for him in private.
Sometimes he thought that his eventual fate was a kind of backlash.
Chu Yiran took a deep breath and continued walking. The long corridor suddenly became shaky, and his vision suddenly went black.
The noise around them suddenly faded away, leaving only the sound of a pair of shiny Oxford shoes stepping on the floor—unhurried, like a drawn knife scraping repeatedly on a whetstone. Chu Yiran tried to focus his eyes and vaguely saw a man in a shirt and trousers walking towards them.
The man was tall and slender, holding a bouquet of flowers. Chu Yiran stared at him and was suddenly horrified.
He is... Su Jing?!
His brow bone was sharp as a blade, his nose bridge was high and straight to the point of arrogance, his thin lips were pressed into a cold line, and his dark eyes were like a deep pool of ice.
The familiar face that Chu Yiran could never forget until his death appeared before his eyes.
His pupils suddenly contracted, his breath caught in his throat, and without thinking, he lunged forward and grabbed Su Jing by the collar.
"You..." His voice caught in his throat, dry and painful, and a fine layer of cold sweat seeped out on his back. "How did you get here?"
"Excuse me, who are you...?" The man frowned slightly, his thick eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath his eyes, adding to his aloofness. "Have we met before?"
The flowers were squeezed together between the two of them, sticking to their necks with sweat, and Chu Yiran increased the pressure on his hands.
"Does the past life count?" Chu Yiran scoffed, his right eyelid twitching uncontrollably. The name he had gritted his teeth over countless midnight dreams slipped out, "—Su, Jing."
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