Drowning in Love Amidst a Sea of Hate - Chapter 5

When Ji Ran woke up, her nose was filled with the sharp scent of disinfectant.

She flexed her fingers and realized there was a needle in the back of her hand, cold fluid dripping steadily into her veins. The harsh white light around her made her eyes ache.

“You’re awake?”

A nurse walked over, peeled back her eyelids to check her pupils, and then adjusted the drip rate.

“Hypoglycemia, you passed out. We’ve given the wounds on your body some basic treatment, disinfected them and applied ointment, nothing too serious, you’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

Ji Ran nodded, trying to speak, only to find her throat bone-dry.

The nurse poured her a cup of water, which she downed in one go, finally feeling a bit more human.

“Where’s my phone?”

The nurse pulled her bag from the nightstand and handed it over. Ji Ran fished out her phone and switched it on. A Weibo notification immediately popped up:

[Ji Ran Mobbed and Beaten in the Street] Trending at number three.

The comment section was polarized, half the people were cheering while the other half argued that violence was wrong, but regardless of the side, her name was inextricably linked to the words “deserved it.”

Ji Ran tossed the phone aside.

“Are there still people blocking the entrance downstairs?” she asked.

The nurse glanced outside. “There are some in the lobby, but security is holding them back. If you want to be discharged, you’ll have to take the underground passage.”

Ji Ran: “.”

She turned her head and thought for a moment. “I’m staying. I’ll stay for another two days.”

The nurse nodded, asking no further questions.

Ji Ran closed her eyes.

Everything hurt. She went to the bathroom and discovered her face was covered in various ointments and bandages, with patches of dark bruising everywhere.

“Oh, look who’s still alive?”

the voice was laced with a laugh, sharp and thin, like nails scraping against a blackboard.

Ji Ran turned her head.

The Diva, Dong Yan, was standing at the door, wearing a black trench coat tied loosely at the waist, revealing a deep-V evening gown underneath. She took off her sunglasses, looked Ji Ran up and down, and let her lips curl into a smirk.

“That face, tsk, what a shame.”

Ji Ran said nothing.

Dong Yan walked in, sat on the edge of the bed, and crossed her legs. She fished a cigarette out of her bag and tucked it between her lips, not lighting it, just letting it dangle there.

The woman was in her forties, but she was well-preserved and looked radiant.

“I heard your schedule for the music festival was canceled?”

Ji Ran nodded.

“Well, that works out,” Dong Yan took the cigarette out, twirling it between her fingers. “I’m at the music festival too.”

Ji Ran remained silent, wondering what kind of trouble this woman was looking to stir up now.

Dong Yan let out a laugh. “Ji Ran, oh Ji Ran, what am I going to do with you? You’ve been playing in this circle for three years, and I thought you knew the score, but then you go and pull a stunt like this?”

She leaned in closer, staring at the bruises on Ji Ran’s face. “You really just sleep with anyone? Is your brain full of water?”

Ji Ran tilted her head away. “It’s none of your business.”

“None of my business?” Dong Yan laughed out loud as if she’d heard something hilarious.

“Fine, none of my business. Then just wait to be dragged through the mud until you’re dead.”

She stood up, paced a few steps around the hospital room, and suddenly stopped.

“But seriously,” her eyes held a playful glint, “that Xu Enzhi, how was she? You know, after you slept with her?”

Ji Ran frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“What I mean is…”

“You know the type, right? Those ‘little white flowers.’ They look cold as ice, but it’s all an act. They pretend to be untouchable on the surface, but behind closed doors, they’re wilder than anyone.”

“The industry is full of people with that kind of persona.”

“Mark my words, in a couple of days she’ll come out crying, talking about how innocent and pitiful she is, how she was bullied by someone like you. Then the fans will hate you even more, and she’ll come out looking even cleaner.”

Something stung deep inside Ji Ran.

“That’s enough.”

Dong Yan blinked, then laughed. “That’s enough? Ji Ran, are you serious?”

“How long have you even known her?”

Ji Ran stayed silent.

Dong Yan stared at her for a moment, then suddenly stopped laughing. She sat back down and crossed her legs.

“I can help you suppress this whole mess.”

Ji Ran looked up.

Dong Yan pulled her phone from her bag, swiped a few times, and handed it over. On the screen was the back-end of a marketing account with a pre-written draft. The headline read: “Xu Enzhi’s Chaotic Private Life: Secret Flings with Multiple Industry Insiders.”

The attached photos were a few blurry shots taken from tricky angles, looking very much like paparazzi snaps.

“I’ve been sitting on this dirt for a while,” Dong Yan took the phone back. “I was saving it for a rainy day, I didn’t expect to use it on your behalf.”

Ji Ran looked at her. “And the catch?”

Dong Yan smiled.

“Well, aren’t you the smart one?”

“The condition is simple,” Dong Yan reached out toward her neck.

“The two of us, we resume our relationship.”

Ji Ran tilted her head to avoid the touch.

Dong Yan laughed and pulled her hand back, leaning against the chair. “What? Not interested?”

Ji Ran didn’t speak. Dong Yan stared at her, her expression slowly shifting.

“You can’t be serious, right?” Her voice turned cold. “Ji Ran, you don’t actually like that little white flower, do you?”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Then why won’t you agree?” Dong Yan stood up, looking down at her.

“You know that right now, nobody is willing to help you except me. What can that pathetic agency of yours do? Issue a statement saying they’re ‘looking into the situation’? By the time they’re done looking, your career will be dead and buried.”

“Do you really think that woman surnamed Xu is going to let you off the hook? Why would she clear your name? You’re a nobody, no one believes you. Crushing you right now would be as easy as stepping on an ant for her.”

“The moment she issues a statement, you’re finished.”

Ji Ran kept her head down, silent.

Dong Yan let out a cold laugh.

“Ji Ran, do you even realize what kind of person you are?”

“Everyone in the industry knows you’re dirty. You’ve been swapping partners for three years, you’ve slept with enough people to fill a platoon. Your scandals are common knowledge. And now you’re telling me you want to go straight?”

She leaned down, whispering right into Ji Ran’s ear.

“You think you can actually go back?”

Ji Ran gripped the quilt tightly.

“That Xu woman, has she really got you this obsessed?” Dong Yan straightened up with a scoff.

“If she has even half a brain, she’ll release a statement saying she was harassed. Believe me, the only reason she hasn’t said a word yet is because she’s waiting to see which way the wind blows. Once enough people are cursing you, she’ll come out and play the victim, and you’ll be in even worse shape.”

Ji Ran closed her eyes.

“Fine,” Dong Yan’s voice was lazy. “If you don’t want to, forget it. Just wait then. Wait for the music festival to drop you, wait for the brands to cancel your contracts, wait until you’re completely blacklisted,”

“When you come crawling back to me then, the price won’t be this cheap.”

The sound of high heels clicked toward the door.

Ji Ran opened her eyes.

“Wait.”

Dong Yan stopped, but didn’t turn around.

Ji Ran looked at her back, silent for a long time.

“I agree.”

Dong Yan turned around, a satisfied smile plastered on her face.

She walked back, kissed Ji Ran on the forehead, and left a large red lipstick mark.

“I’ll pick you up tonight. Your hotel is definitely being staked out, let’s find you somewhere else to stay.”

Ji Ran nodded and said nothing. At 1:00 AM, Dong Yan’s minivan pulled into the underground garage.

Ji Ran wrapped her mask and hat tightly around her, stepped out of the elevator, glanced around, and quickly boarded the car.

The heater was on. Dong Yan was leaning back with a glass of red wine. She offered one to Ji Ran when she climbed in.

Ji Ran didn’t take it.

Dong Yan didn’t care, drinking her own.

The car pulled out of the garage and onto the midnight streets. Streetlights flickered past, shadows and light dancing across the windows.

Ji Ran leaned against the window, staring blankly at the night scenery.

While queuing to enter another garage, Ji Ran looked out aimlessly, her gaze sweeping over a minivan parked side-by-side with them.

That car had dark tinting, making it hard to see inside. But the window was cracked open slightly, and a faint sound drifted out.

“Don’t be like this…”

It was a woman’s voice. Ji Ran froze, the voice sounding somewhat familiar.

She instinctively sat up straighter, looking over.

Dong Yan’s car started moving forward. The other minivan moved too, staying parallel to them. Ji Ran leaned out, seeing the window of that car roll down a bit more. A hand reached out, trying to push something away.

Then she saw the face. It was Xu Enzhi.

Ji Ran’s pupils shrank instantly.

Xu Enzhi was being pinned to the seat by someone. That person had their back to the window, so she couldn’t see their face. But she could see Xu Enzhi’s hand pushing back, she could see her head turning away, as if hiding from something.

The minivan suddenly accelerated, overtaking them and turning down another path into the garage.

Ji Ran jerked her head up.

“What are you looking at?” Dong Yan asked casually.

Ji Ran’s head was buzzing with that image. The car stopped in the underground garage.

Ji Ran pushed the door open, her feet barely touching the ground when…

“Ji Ran?”

The Diva’s voice came from behind, laced with impatience. “Are we going or not?”

Ji Ran didn’t stop. She started walking toward the direction that other car had gone.

“What are you doing?” The Diva grabbed her, her voice low.

Ji Ran shook off her hand.

“Ji Ran!”

The Diva called after her, her voice urgent and sharp, but Ji Ran could no longer hear her.

She finally found the minivan, walked up to it, and yanked the door open.

The people inside turned at the same time.

The woman was about thirty years old, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and dressed sophisticatedly, looking very refined. Her hand was still gripping Xu Enzhi’s wrist. The two of them were squeezed into the back seat, their posture eye-searingly intimate.

Xu Enzhi saw her and froze.

“You, you?”

Ji Ran’s gaze landed on the woman, then flicked to the hand gripping Xu Enzhi.

“Let go of her hand.”

Her voice was as cold as ice.

The woman frowned, recognizing her as the low-tier celebrity currently all over the trending searches.

Ji Ran didn’t waste words. She grabbed the woman by the collar and dragged her out of the car. The woman stumbled, nearly falling, her glasses knocked askew on her face.

“I told you to let go of her hand. Do you not understand human speech?”

“You little” The woman steadied herself and raised a hand to push her.

Ji Ran was faster, slamming a fist into her face.

The woman cried out in pain, clutching her face as she stumbled back and hit the car door. Her glasses flew off and shattered on the ground.

“Xia Shuang!”

“Ji Ran, what are you doing!”

Xu Enzhi rushed out of the car, grabbing the woman to support her. She looked up at Ji Ran, her eyes red, but her gaze was filled with pure fury.

Ji Ran opened her mouth. “She… she just now”

“She what?!” Xu Enzhi’s voice was trembling. “You dare lay a hand on her? You actually fucking dared to lay a hand on her?!”

“Ji Ran!” Dong Yan rushed over to pull her back. “Are you out of your mind? You want to be on the trending searches again, is that it?!”

Ji Ran’s hair was a mess and her clothes were wrinkled. She looked at Xu Enzhi, her lips twitching, suddenly finding herself pathetic.

The woman pointed at Ji Ran and cursed: “You son of a bitch, you dare hit me!?”

Dong Yan was taken aback, the woman’s refined appearance did not match the foul language coming out of her mouth at all.

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