There's Something Wrong With My Little White Flower - Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Obscure Idol X Top Girl Group Member

Just as Ruan Jiyun had worried, even though Jiang Peifeng had been extremely careful and had borrowed a friend’s car, she was simply too famous, and her caution did not deter the zeal of certain people eager for a scoop.

As their car drove into the city, headlights began to illuminate behind them. Ruan Jiyun sensed trouble and glanced through the rear-view mirror.

The flashing light was all too familiar. Paparazzi, having sniffed out the gossip, were tailing their car. The car sped forward, the flashes flickered in the distance, and they had nowhere to go, trapped in a city surrounded by staring eyes.

“We can’t keep going,” Ruan Jiyun said. “There are so many traffic lights in the city. If we stop, we could be photographed.”

The two of them appearing in the same car, even if they did nothing, would trigger another wave of public outrage as soon as the photos were published.

Jiang Peifeng silently gripped the steering wheel.

Phone rings constantly sounded, alternating in the narrow confines of the car. She made up her mind and took a turn: “We’re going to Luhe Plaza first. I have an acquaintance there. You can hide there for a bit…”

She had too many things to tell the “little white flower”—like don’t sign a contract impulsively, and don’t risk your reputation to protect me. But these words were too numerous and complex. She simply said, “Ruan Ruan, do you trust me?”

The person in the passenger seat returned a smile: “Of course I do.”

It was more than just simple trust. No matter the distance or the thorns ahead, she was willing to brave it with her.

The scenery on both sides of the road rapidly rushed backward. At an intersection, Jiang Peifeng seized the moment the traffic light changed, sped through the intersection, and turned into an alley.

It was an alley right next to a main road. A young man stood at the entrance. Seeing their car approach, he quickly pressed a controller in his hand, and a large wrought-iron gate in the alley silently opened.

“Hide here for a while. This is a private area. The paparazzi won’t dare to get close.” They hadn’t shaken off the paparazzi completely, so they had to leave again quickly. Jiang Peifeng spoke as she jumped out of the car and walked to Ruan Jiyun’s side.

She personally opened the car door for Ruan Jiyun, her gaze lingering on her: “Be good, wait for me here.”

Ruan Jiyun also got out of the car. The courtyard they were in was huge. A three-story wooden building was hidden among layers of bamboo, and a screen wall carved with peonies stood in front of the building, looking particularly grand. The person standing nearby wore a white traditional Chinese jacket and black trousers, looking like a butler.

Time was critical. Jiang Peifeng said no more and turned to leave again.

However, Ruan Jiyun was faster than her. She only had time to see the other person flash past before she pulled the car door open first: “You stay here. I’ll drive away.”

She spoke as she slipped into the car, raising her hand to close the door. Jiang Peifeng would never let her risk herself, rushing to grab Ruan Jiyun: “Drive what? Those paparazzi would risk their lives for a photo! You’re actively putting yourself in their path!”

“Then isn’t it more dangerous if you go?” Ruan Jiyun was unusually stubborn and unyielding. “Being photographed won’t make the news for me. If you get photographed by them, they will never let it go.”

The two hands resting on the car door were locked in a tug-of-war. Suddenly, Ruan Jiyun’s hand slackened. Catching Jiang Peifeng off guard, she slipped into the car and raised her hand to close the door.

“No!” A flash of lightning seemed to strike through Jiang Peifeng’s mind. She desperately yanked the car door handle. She used too much force, her fingernails scraping against the car body with a sharp, screeching sound. Blood immediately welled up on her fingertips, but she didn’t care, using all her strength to press against the car door.

“You can’t go!” The scenery in front of her began to blur, and her mind felt stuffed with cotton, growing increasingly chaotic. But she still held the car door, repeating, “You can’t go, you can’t drive away…”

She heard Ruan Jiyun’s anxious voice, distant yet close: “Why?”

Why? Jiang Peifeng couldn’t quite remember. The surroundings seemed like a pot of boiling water, constantly exploding with the sound of bursting bubbles. She watched Ruan Jiyun’s face gradually blur, as if separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. She muttered, repeating herself, and then suddenly, as if something occurred to her: “Because something will happen to you!”

Because as soon as you drive out, you’ll encounter the paparazzi who caught up at the intersection.

You’ll drive straight ahead, with dazzling headlights everywhere. You’re anxious, wanting to shake off these persistent followers. The red light ahead suddenly turns on, but you forget to step on the brake. Then, a sharp honking sound comes from the right side of the road…

A violent impact hits the side of the car. You’ll see the car window glass shatter in slow motion right before your eyes, and your consciousness will float away. All sounds, all images, will leave your mind, as if someone pressed an off switch.

Just like a scene she had personally experienced.

Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes. She trembled violently, everything shaking and twisting. She couldn’t see her Ruan Jiyun clearly, couldn’t hear her voice, and couldn’t grasp the hand that was so close.

“I remember…” Jiang Peifeng’s heart felt pierced by something, her whole body’s blood seemed to have gone cold. She murmured with immense pain, “I remember, I was… hit just like that…”

Her breath was mixed with grit, grinding against her chest with a rough, dull ache. She turned her head with difficulty, trying to grab those hands again. Her throat was again filled with the coppery taste of blood. It hurt too much. The pain of her bones being crushed inch by inch came flooding back. She opened her mouth soundlessly, trying to call that name one last time.

“My Ruan Ruan.”

Yucheng Advanced Private Hospital, VIP Ward.

When several young nurses walked through this ward area, they looked at each other and lowered their steps in unison.

“Miss Ruan came again today. She looks even thinner than last time, hey.”

“Miss Ruan is so good to Miss Jiang… Even though her work is so busy, she insists on visiting her every week. It’s been more than three years, hasn’t it? It’s a shame Miss Jiang hasn’t woken up…”

“Even so, the fans still keep calling her a murderer…”

The conversation was kept very low, though the person in the room wouldn’t notice at all. Ruan Jiyun sat by the bedside, gently holding Jiang Peifeng’s hand. Her gaze was focused, as if the person in the bed was her entire world.

Three years and seven months.

Since that car accident, three years and seven months had passed.

“Miss Ruan, this afternoon, the ‘Comet Project’ treatment capsule detected violent fluctuations in Miss Jiang’s data. Our mental wave likely stimulated her deep consciousness. Perhaps we can attempt to wake her…” Dr. Fu stood behind her, waiting a long time before speaking.

“I must reiterate that the ‘Comet Project’ is an experimental program. Medicine is not a miracle itself, so you need to be psychologically prepared for the outcome.”

Ruan Jiyun nodded. She had already stood up. Besides the hospital bed, there was a white device in the room that looked like a bioship. She expertly walked over to the device, and a nurse stepped forward to connect her to the neural lines.

“I know medicine isn’t a miracle, but I believe her,” she smiled at the doctor. “She told me to believe her.”

The treatment initially did not receive support from the Jiang family. For over three years, she endured overwhelming verbal attacks from fans while persistently visiting the Jiang family, begging them to allow her to try and wake Jiang Peifeng. Finally, about half a year ago, Jiang Peifeng’s brother, the man who looked serious and silent, finally relented.

She was allowed to apply as a subject for the “Comet Project.”

This was a cutting-edge bio-consciousness wave therapy program, aimed at penetrating the subconscious of patients in a vegetative state or deep coma by simulating brain wave patterns.

Jiang Peifeng once again entered the white room full of electronic screens, but this time her emotions were much more agitated.

“So you’re not a system. Am I dead? Or am I not dead, just suffering from amnesia?” she asked anxiously. “What about Ruan Jiyun? How is she?”

The system did not answer her. Just as she was getting frustrated, a familiar voice appeared.

“Do you remember me?” It was Ruan Jiyun’s voice, entering her mind from an unknown place, the sound carrying a subtle tremor. “Jiang Peifeng, I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

“I’ve been waiting for you for so long. Don’t leave me again.”

The voice was like a long-lost light. Jiang Peifeng closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was so foolish. It took me this long to remember.”

Her name was Jiang Peifeng. At the age of nineteen, due to her love for the stage, she convinced her family to let her participate in a talent show.

And there, she met the most important person in her life.

The mentor who chose her was Ruan Jiyun, who was already the popular leader of a girl group at the time. They had a spectacular collaboration stage during the show. Even knowing that favoritism might harm her image, Ruan Jiyun cast all her fast-pass votes for her.

Later, she began to pursue her.

Love could not be concealed. They secretly fell in love, hiding all their secrets, only daring to express their longing for each other in the deepest quiet of the night.

Ruan Jiyun chose to give up her thriving idol career for her, turning her focus to the big screen. And she was actively preparing to go to France to study film directing, planning to use the least harmful, most gradual way to mitigate the impact of their relationship.

And then? Then came the sudden exposure of their relationship and the overwhelming torrent of abuse. That day, their car was frantically chased by paparazzi. To avoid being photographed together, she made an impulsive decision that she regretted for the rest of her life.

She never expected that it would lead to a car accident.

“No wonder I always felt something was missing,” she chuckled bitterly. “It turns out that was the only movie we collaborated on. How much the CP fans loved us then. I was the female general, and you were the little princess. We even secretly printed out fanart to collect…”

“I went back to your hometown with you once. That’s when I found out that after finishing high school, your family forced you to give up the chance to go to college because the money had to be saved for your younger brother’s schooling. I wished then that I had met you sooner…”

“If I had met you earlier, maybe I could have met the girl named Ruan Jiyun and told her not to be afraid. She would definitely receive all the best love in the world.”

“There was one time you went to Paris to shoot an advertisement. You played a Republican-era young lady, and your styling was incredibly beautiful. I mingled with the tourists, pretending to run into you by chance. We stole three days of vacation and went to the South of France to see the lavender fields. You said how wonderful it would be to buy a house there someday…”

Jiang Peifeng said more and more, gently covering her face: “I really did buy that house. I haven’t even had a chance to show you yet.”

She felt the voice in her mind getting clearer, gradually enveloping all her thoughts.

“Remember me, and then, wake up…”

Time passed by second after second. The hospital room remained silent, with only the biological capsule’s breathing light, like a constantly burning star in the dark night, flickering, flickering…

Dawn gradually broke in the east. Sunlight slowly filtered through the clouds, casting a faint glow into the room.

Ruan Jiyun was helped out of the biological capsule. The exhaustion from connecting her brain to bioelectricity for such a long time was immense, but she never gave up. She worked during the day and came to the hospital at night, serving as a signal connector, persistently contacting the unconscious Jiang Peifeng over and over.

Sweat beaded on her forehead, but her eyes never blinked, fixated on the person on the bed.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

The person on the bed seemed to briefly move her eyelashes.

Ruan Jiyun feared she was mistaken. She held her breath, staring more intensely at Jiang Peifeng’s eyelids.

This time, she wasn’t wrong. Those thick, long eyelashes trembled lightly again, and then, she slowly opened her eyes.

In the silent morning light, they quietly looked at each other.

Jiang Peifeng felt as if she had just had a long dream, so long that she didn’t know how far she had walked, the scenery silently rushing past. She only remembered that she had to keep moving forward.

Keep moving forward, where someone was waiting for her.

The long-unused vocal cords made her first sentence extremely difficult. She tried hard to make her expression softer, flashing a smile at the person in front of her.

“We meet again, my… Ruan Ruan.”

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