Gu Nanci lowered her gaze, glanced at the note, and remembered who this person was.
Gu Zhaofeng.
—The one who had sought out the original owner, coaxed and pressured her into taking the place of Gu Nanjue’s uncle.
“Hah.” Recalling Gu Zhaofeng’s actions, Gu Nanci let out a low laugh.
The timbre was unique—delicate yet substantial, clear yet tinged with a lingering sensuality.
It was as if a noble, aloof celestial being had half-fallen into the mortal realm, exuding both an untouchable distance and an unconscious, soul-stirring allure.
Even she herself was taken aback the moment it escaped her lips.
It sounded even more captivating than her voice in her previous life!
Surprised to discover a vocal talent even more remarkable than before, a flicker of delight passed through Gu Nanci’s eyes. After a moment of calm, she sneered coldly at the other end:
“Fine, then I really won’t go. Let’s see who, in the eyes of the law, ends up responsible for those five million.”
“What do you think, guardian of Gu Nanjue?”
On the other end, Gu Zhaofeng was stunned.
In his eyes, Gu Nanci was nothing but a timid, insecure quail of a person—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been intimidated into joining the industry back then.
But what was going on now?
Confused and furious, Gu Zhaofeng snapped, “You—are you trying to rebel?”
“Me what? Ask your precious son what he’s done!” Gu Nanci’s voice was laced with bone-chilling coldness.
“Xiao Xiao…?” Gu Zhaofeng was taken aback.
Gu Nanci casually walked over to the wardrobe, rummaging through the “scandalous outfits” Gu Xiao had prepared for her. She picked up her phone, snapped a photo with a click, and sent it over along with pictures of her own injuries.
“Gu Zhaofeng, have you forgotten? Ours was an equal partnership, each getting what we needed.”
“But what happened? Your son tried to take my life!” Gu Nanci curled her lips into a cold smile. “I expect to see a satisfactory resolution to this matter. Otherwise—”
“I have no reason to risk my life for someone else’s reputation, even if that person is my brother!”
The original owner, naive and inexperienced, had been fooled into taking on Gu Nanjue’s breach of contract all by herself.
According to the laws of the Hong Kingdom, as the legal guardian, Gu Zhaofeng should be the one responsible for the defaulted debt since Gu Nanjue was missing.
The tricky part, however, was that Gu Nanjue had debuted under the stage name Gu Nanci.
If this were made public, even if the original owner were cleared, unless she changed her name, she would inevitably be affected to some extent.
And besides…
Gu Nanci lowered her gaze. The original owner had endured everything so desperately all to help her brother.
Even for the sake of the original owner, she could never truly expose Gu Nanjue and burden him with the penalty.
But she would absolutely not suffer in silence like the original owner had!
Gu Nanci said coldly, “You have one hour. Otherwise, during the live broadcast later, I won’t mind letting everyone know exactly who I am!”
With that, she hung up without leaving any room for argument.
The decisiveness was terrifying.
A low, dark laugh echoed in the depths of Gu Nanci’s pitch-black pupils, reflecting a trace of exhilarating madness.
She and Gu Zhaofeng were like two ends of a seesaw on a cliff, maintaining a delicate balance due to shared interests.
Whoever was tougher would overpower the other.
Before, the timid and cowardly original owner had been completely suppressed by Gu Zhaofeng.
Now, it was time for the tables to turn!
With a faint smile, Gu Nanci skillfully opened the medicine cabinet in the wardrobe and took out alcohol and gauze.
The wounds had been left for too long; some had dried and stuck to her clothes. But to bandage them, she had to tear them open again, instantly splitting the skin and flesh, leaving them bloody and raw.
Having battled illness for a long time in her previous life, she had grown accustomed to pain.
The stunning young man frowned slightly, yet his hands moved without hesitation—tearing, disinfecting, and bandaging in one fluid motion, completing the task in moments.
Truly terrifying in his self-inflicted ruthlessness!
After tending to her wounds, Gu Nanci wiped her face before the mirror and applied two adhesive bandages near the corner of her eye, where a cut crossed her brow.
In her memories, the original owner’s image was always defined by shoulder-length hair, thick bangs, and clothing that obscured her face. Makeup artists paid little attention, often even deliberately making her look unattractive.
With innate qualities that could have shone at ten, less than three were ever revealed. Her posture was poor, her styling disastrous, yet even at her worst, when she was universally criticized online, the mocking nickname she earned was still “pretty face.”
Her natural advantages were incomparably superior to ordinary people!
Gu Nanci chuckled softly, picked up a pair of scissors, and with a crisp snip, decisively made the cut.
The blood-stained ends of her shoulder-length hair were all trimmed away and tossed unceremoniously into the trash.
The bangs that had covered most of her face were swept back, trimmed casually, and brushed toward the back of her head.
The uneven, layered short hair fell in delicate strands—a hairstyle that would have been a Tony-level disaster on anyone else, yet Gu Nanci wore it flawlessly, exuding a fragile, chaotic beauty.
But what left people speechless was her face—stunningly perfect, exquisite without a single flaw.
Gu Nanci looked at her new appearance with satisfaction.
Yet the next moment, as she glanced at the clothes in the wardrobe, a headache set in.
Her current outfit was nearly soaked in blood, and she still had to rush to the debut battle later—there was no way she could wear it.
But the clothes in the wardrobe…
They were new, some even with tags still attached.
Yet almost all of them were sexy and revealing!
Gu Nanci sighed helplessly and pulled out a relatively less daring red silk shirt.
It draped beautifully, with large cutouts on the side shoulders and back, offering glimpses of her porcelain-white skin.
Due to insecurity, the original owner had preferred oversized clothes that covered her up completely, hiding her from everyone’s sight—oversized black hoodies worn year-round.
As for Gu Nanci herself, during her time as a top star on tour, she had been bold in experimenting with various styles and looks. But after falling seriously ill and spending years in hospital gowns, she hadn’t dressed like this in a long time.
Gu Nanci raised an eyebrow and thought with a click of her tongue:
A new life calls for a fresh start—changing styles isn’t a bad idea.
…
As the largest media conglomerate on the Hongluan Continent, dik was immensely wealthy, and its h-dik branch in the Hong Kingdom exuded an air of lavish extravagance.
The nearly ninety-story skyscraper belonged entirely to h-dik, with floors twenty to forty dedicated to the artist department.
Having not debuted a new group in nearly three years, not only were fans eagerly anticipating it, but dik itself was fully invested, renovating an entire floor for the recording and filming of this debut battle.
After paying the driver, Gu Nanci glanced at the balance on her phone—two hundred and fifty—and sighed quietly.
She was truly broke.
In her past life, her annual royalties alone had reached nine figures! And now? She was practically the epitome of a penniless fool. At this rate, forget the five million penalty looming over her head—she wasn’t even sure if she could afford the company cafeteria in a few days!
After the competition ended, she’d have to figure out a way to earn some living expenses…
Tonight, the crowd outside the company was unusually large. Fans who had supported their favorite trainees for so long had finally reached the moment of their debut, gathering to bid farewell to the end of their trainee lives.
Gu Nanci hadn’t even gotten close when she heard excited screams from over there: “Ahhh Changchang is so handsome!”
“Wuwu, brother is so gentle!”
“Changbao, do your best in the competition! We’re waiting for you to debut!”
Gu Nanci tilted her head and saw a young man getting out of a black SUV. He was youthful and handsome, dressed in casual clothes that looked very stylish. Pulling his suitcase, he noticed his fans and happily took off his sunglasses, waving with a bright smile as he walked inside, already carrying himself like a seasoned artist.
Si Chang, the most popular contestant in this debut competition.
And also the original owner’s longtime rival.