Qiming Chapter 19

Chapter 19

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"Sorry I didn't catch you..." He apologetically smiled, relieved at heart, and pulled her out of the wardrobe. "Why were you hiding here?"

Pointing at the dark and damp wardrobe, he said, "When you're feeling down, you should stay somewhere with light. This place is so confined and dark, it'll make you ill even if you aren't." After speaking, he ruffled Yuan Man's hair.

Gu Yunfeng's mind was filled with Xu Chengyue's words, "Show her some care, maybe she'll reveal everything."

This made sense. Yuan Man had always lived in an environment lacking love, she needed care, encouragement, and affirmation.

But in reality, the relationship between him and Yuan Man was very delicate. Treating her as an ordinary person was already the greatest respect he could offer her.

Where could he find the care to give her?

Yuan Man stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles on her white dress with her fingertips. She sat on the sofa and opened a can of cola from the table.

"When I'm unhappy, I just want to hide in that wardrobe, then I'll forget about time and unhappiness."

"Chen Jie doesn't let me drink these or eat snacks. So, I've hidden a lot of things in my lounge." She wiped away her tears, stretched out her arms and legs, and looked up at the clouds outside the window. "When I was young, I lived in an orphanage and was always bullied by others."

"They must have been blind. Cute girls should be popular," Gu Yunfeng comforted her.

She was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head. "They always said I was a bringer of disaster, that from the moment I was an embryo, I was destined to bring bad luck, and anyone close to me wouldn't live long."

Starting from Gu Chunqiu and those victimised girls, the perpetrators, criminals and ex-convicts were no exceptions. It was like a continuous race against death, and none of them won against her.

"Actually, I have a lot of things now, and they came so fast and in such abundance..."

"So, I'm really afraid that something will change in my current life." As she spoke, she lowered her head and fiddled with her nails, adorned with pink bears. "Being an idol allows me to gain a lot, but if one day I lose my value and am abandoned by everyone, how would that be different from my life a few years ago?"

"Officer Gu, I did hide something." She suddenly raised her head, her eyes firm. "Someone is stalking me, and it's more than one person."

"If someone really dies because of me again..." She gasped, "I would feel guilty."

Gu Yunfeng sat beside her, took out the photos he had prepared, and laid them on the table in front of her, arranging them in order of importance.

"Why 'again'?" he asked. "Has anyone died because of you before?"

"Maybe," she answered vaguely. Seeing she didn't want to say more, Gu Yunfeng didn't press further.

"Look at these people, have any of them stalked you before?"

"This person." She pointed to Guan Jianhua's photo. "He follows me the most frequently. The first time I realised I was being followed was a month ago, and it was this person."

"What were the specific circumstances?"

"That day I snuck out to buy food. Although I was well-disguised, he recognised me." She said with lingering fear, "After that, I didn't dare sneak out for a long time."

"How did you discover him?"

"One evening, he forgot to turn off the flash while taking pictures. At that time, I thought it was a peeping tom and was so scared that I couldn't move." She opened a bag of chips as she spoke. "As a result, I hadn't moved, but he ran away first, I guess he didn't want to hurt me."

She offered the chips to Gu Yunfeng and continued, "After that, I didn't see him as frequently. He didn't look like a fan either; it's mostly younger people who like me."

"Then someone else continued to follow you?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"The person named Guan stopped appearing after that day, I didn't expect he had been murdered..." She sighed, leaning against the back of the sofa, staring blankly at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"Tell me about the stalkers besides Guan." Gu Yunfeng gently tapped the photos on the table. "Are they in these photos?"

Her gaze swept over the row of photos on the table, lingering on Cao Yan for a second or two, then she pretended to look at the others casually.

"They aren't here. The person who continued following me was another man. Let's call him Man B. He was about the same age as Guan, also an older man. But I never saw his face, he wore even more clothes than I did. In such hot weather, I was already feeling hot, how could he stand it?"

She continued, "There were several nights when I went out alone to buy ice cream. This Man B always followed me from a distance. When I walked, he walked. When I stopped, he would stop and smoke."

"He must have gone through several packs of cigarettes on one of those trips," Gu Yunfeng remarked.

"Yeah, I almost felt like I was playing a game with him." She suddenly smiled. "Strangely, I didn't feel any danger at all, instead... I felt very safe."

"Very safe? Was he following you to protect you?"

She froze, as if struck by an electric current, unable to speak for a long time.

After a while, she lowered her head and answered softly, "I'm not sure."

When Yuan Man left Tianyi, she gave him a ticket to a concert. She said that AIR would have a concert at the Siping Stadium next Saturday and that he must come to watch.

"This will be our first concert since our debut. Before, we only held small fan meetings." As she mentioned this, her eyes sparkled, and she finally smiled. The stadium wasn't very large, accommodating only two or three thousand people. Although she had become an overnight sensation as an idol, she was well aware of her position and cherished every performance.

Three years ago, she had been a timid and cautious problem girl. Now, those who had pushed her to this position also had the power to push her down at any time.

The so-called otaku goddess and idol star had only gained temporary success through her beauty and youth.

Feeling somewhat bitter, she scrolled through Weibo. She truly didn't know if the company planned to cultivate her long-term or just saw her as a tool for quick profit.

As she spoke, she seemed both confused and worldly, not at all like an underage girl.

Gu Yunfeng noticed a workbook on her desk, with a blank piece of paper underneath. It was a paper form for filling out college entrance exam preferences, which was completely empty.

He remembered that the exam scores had been released a few days ago. However, as she said, the college entrance exam was just a trivial experience in her life. No amount of choices would truly make her life complete.

"Xiao Man, can you write songs?" he asked, standing in front of the blank form.

"I haven't tried."

"You should give it a shot. You have a good voice, and singing your own songs would definitely be more moving." He suggested casually.

"Alright, it's a deal!" To his surprise, Yuan Man excitedly rubbed her hands together and nodded seriously. "When I write my first song, whether it's good or not, I'll dedicate it to the person who loves me the most."

As she said this, it was as if she had really found the person who loved her the most. She imagined herself standing on stage in a white dress, singing, with colourful glow sticks and stars in the sky blending together like fireflies dancing across the hills.

As for who that person might be, she didn't know.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: July 1, 2024 by Angel

Edited: July 11, 2024 by Angel