Ten years ago.
In the summer, the sky in City X gets bright at 5 a.m., and in the winter it gets a little later, at 7 a.m. Qin Xuexin knows this because she has to get up every morning to empty the toilet.
Once in the morning and evening.
Leaving the main hall, there is a narrow path and two equally dilapidated and crowded houses on both sides. This is the edge of the city, where migrant workers gather, and a poor security area that gives government workers a headache. Qin Xuexin once overlooked this place from a nearby mountain. It looks like an isolated island made of garbage floating in the city.
Because just a few steps away from the isolated island you will find a busy street and new buildings built a few years ago.
They seem to belong to the big city, but in fact they are the part abandoned by the city.
Qin Xuexin's family lives here.
When Qin Xuexin came back with the toilet, she would often pull the collar of her school uniform high, hoping that this would cover her face. This kind of embarrassment would happen twice a day. Which young girl would want to be seen carrying a bucket of filth
Besides, she is pretty.
But she didn't today. Her eyes were red, she was absent-minded and numb.
The sound of breathing in and out in the room was the sound of men drinking porridge. Yesterday, my uncle brought his cousin Qin Xing to the city for medical treatment, so they stayed at home for one night. Qin Xuexin didn't go in immediately because there was a conversation inside.
"…So the student status issue is still unsuccessful?"
"No way. I left her in the countryside when she was little, and she doesn't have a hukou here."
"There was such an opportunity a few years ago when the supervision was not strict. I told you about Qiangzi's real estate project. At that time, there was no subway in this area and the housing prices were not high. At that time, everyone advised you to bite the bullet and buy the project. Qiangzi would use his connections to help you, and Xiaopan's schooling could be solved."
Qin Nian'er. Nian means thinking about her son.
Xue Xin was her later stage name.
"What are you talking about? I only have one girl, why should I buy a house? In the end, it will belong to someone else. I might as well smoke a few more packs of cigarettes. Unlike you, who have Qin Xing at home, you have some hope..."
Inhale, breathe out.
There's the sound of eating noodles again.
"My wife's belly is also unreliable. After a miscarriage, she never got pregnant again. When I die, I will have to rely on your Qin Xing to break the pot, otherwise there will be no one to break the pot..."
Teeth are chattering.
"What about the college entrance exam? I've been studying for so many years."
"I'm too lazy to run. I won't take the exam, since she's from someone else's family. Li Jiajuanzi would have gone to work in a factory at her age. Two years ago... the betrothal gift... 120,000... I can make the money back by raising this girl..."
"Juanzi is not as pretty as Nian'er. Your Nian'er can at least get 300,000..."
No more exam.
So I won’t take the exam.
Qin Xuexin never doubted her father's words, because she knew better than anyone that this man would not change any decision for her.
Then there was a woman's voice, her mother's.
"She's just a little girl. I've done her a great service by raising her to this age."
The final word.
"Sister, what are you doing standing here?" A sleepy voice.
It was Qin Xing, the boy who went out to release water.
"You're killing me! What are you doing standing there with a toilet in your hand?" the middle-aged woman in the room screamed, "Are you being lazy?"
Qin Xing pulled Qin Xuexin's sleeve. Qin Xuexin silently put down the bucket and went in. The woman nagging while cleaning the stove: "Today your father and uncle went to the construction site to find work. I see that the stall is not open, you take your brother to the hospital to get an IV."
My dad went to the construction site? He went to play cards. For so many years, he has been using the excuse of "raising a girl, why save money" to do things half-heartedly. Such a poor excuse still makes the middle-aged woman feel guilty.
Qin Xuexin felt something in her throat was about to overflow. She heard Qin Xing say, "Aunt, today is Monday, and my sister has to go to school."
The middle-aged woman said, "Just let her go. She won't be able to take the college entrance examination anyway. If she doesn't want to go to school, then she doesn't have to go to school... Who are you showing off to? Qin Nian'er, let me tell you, we are very good to you. We let you go to high school, and we only raised you. Don't be so shameless and show off to others..."
"It just so happened that Aunt Wang and her family were short of people. I could just go over there. She's a teenager, still living at home and eating at home, thinking she's some kind of spoiled young lady..."
"Uncle, aunt, my sister's grades are so good, why don't you let her study?" Qin Xing said with a cough, "Dad! Don't you know so many people? Think of a way to help Sister Nian'er..."
"You only raised me. You can't give birth to another one—"
“Bang!”
A hard slap in the face.
Qin Xing was so frightened that he burst into tears. Several adults gathered around to comfort this precious boy. Qin Xuexin's hair was in disarray, and she covered her face and dared not look at her family.
Ran out.
She rushed to the street that was only a hair's breadth away from the busy traffic, and then retreated after looking up and seeing the car merchandise building. Qin Xuexin always wore school uniforms when she was on the isolated island. Although they were old, they made her proud and felt different from others. But outside the isolated island, this outfit only represented poverty and backwardness in the eyes of others.
So she quit.
Student status.
Middle school.
It was a waste of time.
I'm worth three hundred thousand, right
She covered her face and cried in the morning light. There were advertisements of female stars flashing on the bus stop next to her. She said: "I have come to where I am today mainly because of my own efforts and the opportunities I have fought for..."
Just give me a chance, just give me a little respect.
Let me kill people and set fire to things.
"Qin Nian'er?"
It's over.
Qin Xuexin looked up blankly. She saw several girls looking at her with mischievous eyes. One of them looked at the slums behind her with disgust. Another one raised her chin, with a malicious smile.
"I just saw you running out of here. Do you live here?"
"Isn't this our school beauty and college bully?"
"Oh, no wonder you want to get into a 211 university so much, you're just different from us."
It's over.
These are the girls who bully the most in school.
The girls left with a sneer. Qin Xuexin felt cold all over. As a student without a student status, she certainly couldn't go to a good middle school. The atmosphere in this middle school was very bad, and she certainly knew the fate of those students who were targeted. In addition, when she went to school in the past, in order to disguise her family background, she always took a detour and came out from the other end, pretending that she lived in that commercial housing community.
I forgot all about it today.
It's all over.
Her shoulders shook and she began to twitch. In a trance, she saw the slogan on the billboard.
Women's talent show.
She gritted her teeth and suddenly stood up. She remembered the road to the talent show, she had passed by it before. The bus was crowded in the morning, no one noticed whether everyone had bought a ticket. Even so, she squeezed in the gaps between people and felt like a thief.
Give me a chance.
Just a little chance.
Let me kill people and set fire to things.
She thought desperately.
All the gifts of life have a price tag on them, but some people don't even have a ticket to receive them.
Only once in the many years that followed did she receive a gift.
"Qin Nian'er is a very gentle name." The company boss said, "Nian'er..."
"Actually, it means I want a son." Qin Xuexin said stutteringly.
"That's not good. Change your stage name. Many artists use stage names." The company boss said, "Think of one now."
It turns out that artists can change their names.
The young Qin Xuexin did not travel through time, was not reborn, did not obtain a system, and was not adopted by the wrong family. She was suddenly adopted by a family with a double surname and became the younger sister of a wealthy princess.
But she still got a name when she was 18. This was the first gift that the young Qin Xuexin gave herself.
…
So why did he look for Bo Jiang? Qin Xue couldn't figure it out.
"You actually hate Bo Jiang, don't you?" She heard Yi Wan say, "She has everything, and she always looks half-dead."
really.
"Yeah." She raised her face without smiling, "Very annoying. From the past to now, he has turned his back on so many people. And I can only try to please his brother here."
The two walked in silence, passing a familiar pavilion. Qin Xuexin suddenly felt bitter in her heart. Finally, she said, "... I'm sorry."
A very light sound.
Yi Wan said: "You don't have to say sorry to anyone. You didn't make any mistakes."
"I know everything now. You had already left at that time, and you came back to help me." Qin Xue thought, "If you hadn't come back, I wouldn't be standing here now. I have retired because of the huge scandal."
Before she knew the conspiracy of this world and Lin Meng's tricks.
She had become a puppet at the other party's fingertips, walking step by step towards the ending they had designed for her.
He was caught having an affair with Bo Jiang's brother and retired from the entertainment industry in disgrace.
Yi Wan didn't say anything. Qin Xuexin smiled self-deprecatingly again: "But now I have become a member of Lan Guang, and I am in the crew of "Rao Tianchou"... Yi Wan, I am sorry for you."
Yi Wan said: "Not really."
Qin Xuexin still said seriously: "Yi Wan, I'm only telling you. If they want to harm you, I will never harm you."
Only you.
Yi Wan said: "Don't make a promise. Promises are hard to keep. And since you were tricked by them before, if they trick you to harm me again, you won't be able to escape."
Qin Xuexin finally smiled bitterly: "You are still so direct."
Yi Wan knew that Qin Xuexin had no other explanation. Greed and desire for power are human nature. Moreover, Qin Xuexin had been suppressed by Lin Meng for so many years, so who would be willing to give up this opportunity
In novels, it is even a matter of cause and effect, and reincarnation is unpleasant.
"Lin Meng has been having a hard time recently. She was abandoned by Tiandao and Languang, and her husband no longer loves her. Her past scandals were exposed, and major advertisers have terminated their contracts with her... You don't know, right? She once spread a lot of bad things about you in the circle. The fact that Hong Lei treated you so badly on the previous dating show was also due to her." Qin Xuexin said.
Is it because saying these will make Qin Xuexin feel more at ease
It was as if I was just taking back what I deserved and had done nothing wrong.
Yi Wan said: "Yeah."
"It's so strange, you don't seem to get angry at all." Qin Xue thought, "If it was Lin Meng who was trapped here today, would you save her?"
She expected Yi Wan to answer yes or no. But Yi Wan just said: "If it was Lin Meng who was trapped here like you that day, I would save her."
It's just an attempt to change one's destiny, regardless of who the person is.
Qin Xuexin's smile faded, and she continued, "I also know the latest news about someone. He failed to enter Blue Light, and he is not doing well. His remaining fans are also continuing to insult you..."
"If it was Jiang Bei who was trapped here, would you save him?"
“…” Yi Wan looked away.
"Yes," he said, "but if it weren't for me. He should have."
Will he still be the boy drinking orange soda with a bright smile
Qin Xuexin finally curved her eyes. She said lightly, "Why should you feel guilty for him? Even if it wasn't you, he would have other ways to enter the entertainment industry. At least this place can make much more money than other places."
"I entered the entertainment industry to make money. My father wanted to sell me to a boss when I was 18, and the betrothal gift was 400,000 yuan." She shook her hair, "Then I saw the boss, he had gone bankrupt."
"My name used to be Qin Nian'er, not Qin Xuexin. Qin Xuexin was the stage name I changed. Then I sold myself to that agency for ten years." She smiled again, "At least I didn't change my name this time."
She pretended so well that it was hard to tell whether she was genuinely happy or just pretending.
The two continued to walk in. Qin Xuexin changed the subject again and said, "No matter how much money I make, it can't compare to the Bo family and these calligraphy and paintings. If my last name was Bo..."
Yi Wan said: "Just like I didn't know your name was Qin Nian'er before. Bo Jiang may not be as happy as you think."
"What can he have..."
Qin Xuexin was about to shake her head. She turned around the rockery, but was shocked by what she saw.
"This is… "
The Bo family has a rockery and naturally a river.
On the quiet river, one painting after another was casually discarded.
Hang on the tree and throw it into the water.
…
"Is it really okay to break into a private residence like this..." An Yelin clasped his hands and complained behind his back.
Assistant: "We can't help it. We are looking for someone. He doesn't answer the phone or check WeChat."
An Yelin thought of everything he had seen in front of the hall and sighed, "It looks like Bo Jiang is not happy at home either."
This was his first time visiting the Bo family, and it was also the first time he knew that the Bo family had such a dirty side beneath its glamorous appearance.
Brother Liu: "Yes, so we have to bring him back to the company as soon as possible and let him enjoy the warmth of home in the company."
An Yelin: … This joke will never end.
Brother Liu and the assistant walked away. An Yelin turned his head and saw Ding Biehan entering a room. This room looked like Bo Jiang's study.
"Why are you doing that..." An Yelin complained.
Ding Biehan: …
This kind of thing that looks like an old house always triggers some of his muscle memory of infinite flow.
He turned on the flashlight and shone it inside. The thought of Yi Wan could not be shaken off his mind, and his expression was naturally solemn.
at this time.
“Pah.”
An Yelin: "There is a ceiling light here."
Ding Biehan: …
As the most watched next generation of the Bo family, Bo Jiang, although a branch family, also has his own large study room. The facilities in the study room are extremely elegant, and the first thing you see is a large bookshelf filled with various purchased and borrowed ancient books.
The study room had small windows and little light. Coupled with the various quaint ornaments inside, they both felt it was a bit eerie.
It was very eerie, like a relic from a previous age.
Ding Biehan looked over and said, "So many ancient books..."
I always feel that the DNA is moving again.
An Yelin: "Hey, look, here is a box of five years of college entrance examination and three years of simulations, and there is also a box of Qu Yixian Xue Jinxing. It turns out that college tycoons also have to practice questions."
He squatted down, and these boxes of teaching supplementary books diluted the gloomy atmosphere in the room.
The two of them completely forgot about looking for Bo Jiang, and were happy in Bo Jiang's study. Ding Biehan glanced at the other two walls: one of them was still a bookcase. There were also some cabinets with antique-like things. The other wall was more strange.
There are many paintings hanging on it, all of which appear to be painted in pale crimson style.
But the content of the paintings is very strange. It is either endless yellow sand, or a blood-red sunset, or a dilapidated city tower.
There was a strange smell on the painting... Ding Biehan bent down to smell it carefully. For some reason, the small building where Bo Jiang lived always gave him a strange feeling.
Strange and familiar, just like the feeling he had when he went to the Fu family's old house before.
An Yelin was still staring at Bo Jiang's Wu San with his head down. Ding Biehan took two steps back in front of the painting and turned to the huge desk - there were a few books on the small table next to the desk. Ding Biehan glanced at the cover, all of which were historical books from the past Bo Dynasty.
It was quite normal for Bo Jiang to study the history of the Bo family... although Ding Biehan's uneasy feeling was growing stronger.
On the desk were half-dried paints and a painting. Ding Biehan approached the painting step by step.
Then he saw clearly what was in the painting.
Yellow shirt, thin, tall, long hair...
A young man.
A young man without a face!
Suddenly, his intuition kicked in. This was Ding Biehan's intuition, which he had honed in the face of life and death. He had relied on it to escape death many times. Ding Biehan stared at the painting, and suddenly, he had an extremely ominous feeling.
The person in this painting is from many years ago and seems to be dead.
But somehow, the aura around it was too familiar. So familiar that Ding Biehan felt that it had come behind him, traveled through time, resurrected, and was releasing chills...
"I don't know why." Ding Biehan thought solemnly, "Since I felt that An Yelin and the person in the painting at Mr. Fu's house were dead."
"I think the person in Bo Jiang's painting is also dead."
"What are you doing in my study?"
Bo Jiang's voice sounded from behind the two of them. !