Chapter 1: Rebirth, Five Years Ago
“Run? You wretched woman! Try running now! Let’s see how far you get!”
A lecherous, grating voice echoed near her ear.
No. No, no! This can’t be happening!
Had she failed to escape, even after taking her own life? Why was she still trapped in this nightmare?
A sharp, searing pain pierced through her chest. In the next instant, she jolted awake, her crimson eyes locking onto the grotesque face of the overweight man standing before her.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Sheng Wenyin grabbed a heavy ashtray from the bedside table and smashed it onto the man’s head with all her strength.
“Damn it! You bitch! Still not behaving, are you? Your fiancé already sold you to me, and tonight, you’re going nowhere!”
Fiancé? Ye Chengfeng?
Wait. This doesn’t make sense. Hadn’t she already taken her own life to protect her dignity? She had died in that sinister underground studio filled with cameras and machines. So why was she here?
Her disoriented gaze took in her surroundings—it was a hotel room.
And this man wasn’t one of the black-market thugs. It was Director Li?
Memories came flooding back like a tidal wave. This had happened five years ago.
Back then, she had just entered the entertainment industry. Refusing to bow to the unspoken rules of the industry, she offended a powerful producer. Overnight, malicious rumors about her spread online, and she became the target of vicious cyberbullying. Plunged into despair, Ye Chengfeng had called her, offering comfort and inviting her to visit the set of his TV drama.
But that very night, the drama’s director had barged into her hotel room. Her body had felt strange, as though something was deeply wrong. Just as she thought she was doomed, the hotel’s fire alarm suddenly blared. Assuming there was a fire, Director Li fled in panic.
Her refusal to comply with Director Li’s demands had further ruined her career. Online vitriol intensified, and at one point, a crazed anti-fan had nearly attacked her with acid.
That was all in the past. So why was Director Li standing before her now?
Snapping back to the present, Sheng Wenyin gripped the ashtray tighter and swung it again, putting all her remaining strength into each blow.
Director Li stumbled backward, swearing as he clutched his head.
“Damn it! How are you this strong? Didn’t Ye Chengfeng drug you? You bitch, do you even know who I am?”
Her sharp eyes caught the gleam of a fruit knife on the coffee table. Without hesitation, she lunged for it, snatching it up and plunging the blade into his shoulder.
“You’re nothing but a beast!”
His scream of agony filled the room. Sheng Wenyin’s strength was waning, her body growing weaker by the second. Desperate to stay conscious, she bit down hard on her tongue, the sharp pain jolting her mind back into focus.
Director Li’s eyes flashed with fury as he bared his teeth like a cornered animal. Sheng Wenyin gritted her teeth, yanked the knife from his shoulder with a sickening squelch, and stabbed again—this time into his thigh, dangerously close to his groin.
“AAAAHHHH!!!”
His face turned ashen as he collapsed onto the floor, clutching his thigh.
“Don’t—don’t come near me!” he stammered, his voice quivering with terror. Blood pooled beneath him, streaming from the wound.
Sheng Wenyin, still clutching the bloodied knife, felt her body nearing its limit. Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground.
Director Li, realizing she was succumbing to the drug’s effects, scrambled to his feet, clutching his injuries.
“You’ll regret this!” he spat, before staggering out of the room, clutching his groin as he fled.
The open door revealed a long corridor lined with crimson carpeting.
Sheng Wenyin’s vision blurred, but she knew one thing: she couldn’t collapse here. If Director Li returned, she wouldn’t survive.
Using what little strength she had left, she stumbled out of the room. At the doorway, her hazy eyes caught sight of someone stepping out of the room next door—a tall, dark figure.
Instinctively, she lunged forward, her bloodied knife still in hand, collapsing into the stranger’s arms.
The man froze, startled, before catching her reflexively.
Grasping his collar, Sheng Wenyin struggled to focus her vision. It wasn’t Ye Chengfeng. Relief washed over her as consciousness slipped away.
“Call an ambulance,” she murmured weakly, her head leaning against his firm chest. Then, everything went black.
“Qi Si, wait up! I’m telling you, this variety show is seriously interesting! You’ve got time to kill anyway, so why not—HOLY SHIT!”
Qi Si’s manager, Ming Lang, skidded to a stop as he rounded the corner, his jaw dropping. There stood the ice-cold movie star, cradling an unconscious girl in disheveled clothes, a bloody knife still in her hand.
