Chapter 1 — Awakening

The sharp smell of disinfectant stung her nostrils, like a cold needle piercing the chaotic void. Gu Qingshuang's consciousness surfaced from a silent darkness, and the first thing she felt was the cold. Not the coolness of skin contact, but a desperate chill that permeated from the depths of her bones. Immediately afterward, a sharp pain, like countless fine needles repeatedly piercing her, radiated from her left wrist. She slowly opened her eyes. What met her gaze was a dazzling, lifeless white. White ceiling, white walls, white sheets. Tiny dust particles floated in the air, silently dancing in the pale daylight that squeezed through the gaps in the blinds. This was a hospital. As soon as this realization formed, a complex and turbulent flood of memories, not her own, suddenly overwhelmed the dam of her consciousness. It was the short and tragic life of a girl named Lin Weiyu. [Scene 1] At a dazzling awards ceremony, the eighteen-year-old girl wore a pure white gauze dress, holding the Best Newcomer Award trophy in her hands. Her doe-like eyes were moist, filled with anticipation and shyness for the future. She spoke to the camera in a sweet, soft voice: "I will continue to work hard and become a good actress." Below the stage, her "best friend" Su Manqi applauded vigorously, but a hint of barely perceptible jealousy flashed in her eyes. [Scene 2] In a dimly lit KTV room, a greasy producer pushed a spiked drink in front of her, and her agent Wang Yao smiled obsequiously: "Weiyu, drink this, and the female lead in Producer Zhang's next film will be yours." Lin Weiyu recoiled in panic, but Su Manqi held her shoulder, and her "best friend's" gentle persuasion whispered in her ear: "Weiyu, don't be silly, this is how this industry is, we all have to learn to adapt." [Scene 3] The hotel room door was burst open, and countless flashbulbs flashed wildly. Lin Weiyu lay disheveled on the bed, next to the half-drunk, half-conscious Producer Zhang. Her mind was blank, but through the gaps in the crowd, she saw Su Manqi, arms crossed, a cold, triumphant smile on her lips. [Scene Four] The internet exploded. #Lin Weiyu Scandal# #Pure and Innocent Image Collapses# #Lin Weiyu Get Out of the Entertainment Industry# Overwhelming insults and curses, like a dirty tide, completely engulfed her. Every word became a sharp blade, mercilessly tearing apart her already fragile self-esteem. Her agent, Wang Yao, immediately issued a statement terminating their contract, severing all ties, and slapped a lawyer's letter demanding exorbitant compensation in her face. [Scene Five] In the cold apartment, the curtains were tightly drawn, blocking out the sunlight. On her phone screen was the news of Su Manqi's meteoric rise to fame with a big-budget fantasy drama, hailed as the "new generation's queen of television." And in the comments section, countless people were still cursing Lin Weiyu with the most vicious language. She finally picked up the sharp blade and aimed it at her wrist. Warm blood flowed out, taking away the last trace of warmth from her body. In the last moment before her consciousness faded, this naive, even foolish, girl felt no hatred, only a bewildered sorrow—_Why? Why did it turn out like this?_ … The flood of memories receded, and the hospital room remained deathly silent. Gu Qingshuang lay expressionless on the bed, her eyes, which had been somewhat bewildered when she first opened them, now settled into a deep, bottomless pool of coldness, hard, indifferent, and devoid of any emotion. Lin Weiyu's heart-wrenching pain, the despair of betrayal, the suicidal despair... to her, it was merely a stream of data that had just been loaded, illogical and full of fatal errors. She felt no sympathy, nor any empathetic anger. Like a top programmer reviewing a piece of buggy, garbage code, her only thought was analysis. She moved her stiff fingers and began to calmly assess the situation. "I," now Lin Weiyu, is 22 years old. This is a situation on the verge of collapse. 1. Career Status: Socially dead. Blacklisted across the entire internet, her reputation is in tatters. In the entertainment industry, where "image" is the core asset, this body's commercial value has plummeted to zero, or even negative. 2. Financial Situation: On the verge of bankruptcy. Her former management company, "Xingyao Entertainment," has demanded eight million in breach of contract fees. For a washed-up artist with less than five figures in savings and whose only assets are a small, old apartment, this is an astronomical sum that could crush her. 3. Interpersonal Relationships: Complete collapse. Her agent, Wang Yao, quickly cut ties after squeezing out her last bit of value, even kicking her while she was down. Her "best friend," Su Manqi, the venomous schemer who orchestrated this destruction, is now basking in her success. Allies? None exist. Lin Weiyu's love-struck personality and weak way of handling things meant she couldn't possibly have any reliable allies. 4. Physical Condition: Extremely weak. Long-term depression has led to endocrine disorders and extremely poor physical health. Coupled with excessive blood loss, this body now feels dizzy even just sitting up in bed. Gu Qingshuang mentally drew a large "X" in the "assets" column. No, perhaps not entirely. She raised her slightly pale right hand and touched her cheek. There was no mirror, but her memory data told her that this was a face with great potential. Unlike the currently popular sweet or glamorous looks, Lin Weiyu possessed a classic movie star face, with superior bone structure, especially her eyes, which were clear as a stream and full of stories. It's just a pity that the *previous user* completely failed to utilize her greatest asset. She slowly sat up, leaning against the headboard, letting the throbbing pain in her wrist remind her of the fragility of this body. She didn't bother with the overwhelming amount of negative publicity and insults; those were merely the "results," not the "causes." She needed to find the "singularity" that led to this complete collapse. Was it the orchestrated "under-the-table" scandal? No. Gu Qingshuang's gaze was cold and sharp, as if it could penetrate the mists of time. That was merely the last straw that broke the camel's back. The real collapse began when Lin Weiyu signed that unequal management contract; it began when she treated a venomous snake as her best friend, sharing her resources and secrets without reservation; it began when she repeatedly faced exploitation and injustice, only to weakly retreat and hope for others' conscience to prevail—the ending was already predetermined. Stupid. This was Gu Qingshuang's only evaluation of Lin Weiyu's life. Not pity, not regret, but purely, on a technical level... stupidity. > Core Logical Error One: Lack of Risk Management. Failure to effectively vet and conduct background checks on those around her, deeply binding core interests to untrustworthy entities. > > Core Logical Error Two: Inability to Handle Crises. After being framed, her first reaction was not to collect evidence and seek professional legal assistance, but to have an emotional breakdown, surrendering the public opinion battleground. > > Core Logical Error Three: Misconception of Self-Worth. Attaching personal value to external evaluations and vague emotions, lacking an independent core, leading to a fragile mental defense that crumbled at the first blow. After the analysis, Gu Qingshuang felt a hint of... irritation in her cold, logical thinking. Not because of Lin Weiyu's plight, but because she had taken on such a completely messed-up situation. It was like a top-notch pilot being shoved into a dilapidated plane with a leaking engine, broken wings, and a nearly empty fuel tank, and being told: You must fly this thing to the sky. A challenge? Perhaps. She reached out and picked up the old phone on the bedside table, its screen already cracked. Fingerprint unlock. After turning it on, the phone instantly froze due to the overwhelming influx of messages. WeChat, text messages, Weibo... the red notification numbers on various apps were shocking. She ignored the 99+ unread messages and directly opened the contact named "Brother Wang." That was her former agent, Wang Yao. The last message in the chat history was from three days ago. It was a PDF file sent by Wang Yao, along with a cold, curt message. > [Wang Yao]: "Termination Agreement," read it carefully. If you don't sign it and transfer eight million yuan to the company's account within three days, you'll be waiting for a court summons. Don't pretend to be dead; I know you don't have the guts to actually die. Lin Weiyu certainly didn't read it. At that time, she was consumed by fear and despair, and seeing this document was like seeing a death warrant. But Gu Qingshuang was different. She opened the file; it was a twenty-page agreement full of legal jargon. She skimmed through it, her cold gaze quickly scanning the dense clauses. The eight million yuan penalty was stipulated in Article 5, Section 2 of the contract. The waiver of all rights to claim a share of her performance income was stipulated in Article 7. Acknowledging that her personal misconduct had caused significant damage to the company's reputation... Each clause, each section, was a trap, a set of shackles. For an ordinary person, a girl terrified out of her wits, this was an inescapable death sentence. Gu Qingshuang's gaze, however, showed no fluctuation. She read it meticulously, like a high-precision scanner, not missing a single pixel. Her fingers slowly slid across the screen, the speed gradually decreasing. Finally, on the nineteenth page of the agreement, in a very inconspicuous corner, the last item of the appendix clauses, she stopped. [Appendix C, Article 11]: This agreement shall officially take effect twenty-four hours after both parties sign and seal it, and after Party A completes the "Final Termination Notice" in written form (including but not limited to delivery by courier, email, or designated instant messaging software). This awkward and lengthy sentence was buried among a bunch of irrelevant clauses, easily overlooked. In Lin Weiyu's memory, she hadn't noticed its existence at all. But Gu Qingshuang did. The corners of her mouth slowly, almost imperceptibly, curved upwards. That wasn't a smile; it was more like a top predator, finally spotting the single, fatal loophole in a seemingly inescapable trap. So, the weakness was here. Just then, in the quiet hospital room, the old, worn-out phone suddenly vibrated, and two words flashed across the screen— Wang Yao. The call had come. Was it a final ultimatum? Was it a demand for the eight million yuan "payment for her services"? Gu Qingshuang's eyes held none of Lin Weiyu's panic and fear, only a wintry chill and... a hint of almost cruel anticipation. She raised her hand and pressed the green answer button. "Hello." A cold, indifferent single syllable escaped her lips. Her voice was still hoarse from not speaking for a long time, but it was like an ice-cold blade, instantly shattering the deathly silence in the room.