The old man with the white beard poured himself more tea, saying, "What's the rush? You've already died once. Why are you still so impatient?"
"What are you talking about?" Fang Miaomiao blurted out. "I was living a perfectly fine life. How could I have died?"
In her last drama project, she had a faint feeling that something was watching her from the surroundings. But when she looked around, left and right, she saw nothing, and the feeling of being watched disappeared.
Later, she dismissed it as an illusion. When she was about to call her assistant or driver to pick her up from the set and take her back to the hotel, she found her phone had no signal. Even more terrifying, the bustling film crew suddenly fell silent.
Mustering her courage, she looked behind her and saw nothing but empty space. From time to time, she heard faint curses from women and the crying of children.
Crying?
Could she be seeing ghosts?
This thought made Fang Miaomiao freeze instantly. With trembling hands, she dialed the phone.
Either there was no signal, or the other party was on the line. Please try again later.
"Damn it." Fang Miaomiao looked at the swirling white mist ahead, which was drifting towards her.
She could no longer suppress the fear deep within her and screamed.
When she woke up again, she was lying in the hospital.
Her agent, Li Shan, asked her as soon as she woke up if she had encountered a ghost.
Then, she handed her a surveillance video.
Under the camera, she was repeatedly pressing something on the script. Then she turned around, pressed the script again, and the staff around her stood by, confused, watching her inexplicable performance.
Immediately after, she shouted and fell to the ground.
"Fang Miaomiao, you haven't been up to anything mischievous lately, have you?"
"What mischievous things?"
"Like inviting some little ones from abroad?" Li Shan looked at her seriously.
"How could that be? I'm in the film crew for 360 days of the year." She scoffed and lay back on the hospital bed. "Do I have time to go abroad?"
"That's true. Could it be that someone drugged you?"
The entertainment industry was quite convinced of this.
"How is that possible?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard a child's sobbing, and it sounded like they were calling for their mother. "Is there a child outside calling for their mother?"
"Fang Miaomiao, I think your brain is really messed up. How could there be a child here?"
Li Shan retorted, but still went to open the ward door and look outside. Seeing the empty corridor, her expression changed.
She quickly closed the ward door and strode towards Fang Miaomiao. "Are you sure you heard something?"
"Mm." She nodded subconsciously, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.
Li Shan followed her gaze, her face paling. "Fang Miaomiao, it's broad daylight. Don't talk nonsense."
Fang Miaomiao was looking out the window. Their ward was on the 19th floor. How could she hear sounds from outside on the 19th floor?
"But." Her voice abruptly stopped. "It stopped."
Li Shan, having been in the entertainment industry for decades, quickly calmed down. She had Fang Miaomiao undergo a hearing and brain examination by the hospital doctors. After confirming she had no issues, she took her back to the apartment.
She recalled the scene from last night and the "Mom" voice from her ears; the two sounds were identical.
"Sister Li, what should we do now?"
"Professional matters should be handled by professionals."
Li Shan said, dialing a number. The call was answered quickly.
She briefly spoke to the person on the other end before hanging up and nodding. "For the time being, the company will give you some time off. Stay at home and don't go anywhere. Someone will come to see you later. Remember to explain your situation to that person, and be very thorough."
After saying that, Li Shan turned and left.
The person Li Shan mentioned arrived very quickly. It was a monk.
The monk muttered a few words, saying something about being entangled by grievances and twisted karma, and that he was unable to help.
Li Shan handed him a bank card.
The monk shook his head, said "I can't help it," and turned to leave.
After that period, she always saw a blurred figure in her mind. He was curled up in the darkness, crying incessantly, and occasionally calling out "Mom."
One night, she couldn't sleep and went for a walk in the neighborhood.
The stars were twinkling in the sky, looking beautiful.
Immersed in her own world, she accidentally bumped into an elderly man as she turned. The old man fell to the ground, motionless.
"Hello, Grandpa, Grandpa, are you alright?"
"Grandpa, don't scare me. I, I've been scared out of my wits lately."
"Grandpa."
She cautiously approached to check. She saw the old man's face was pale, his eyes closed.
She was very scared and wanted to run, but her conscience made her stay at the scene and call for an ambulance.
However, before she could make the call, the old man lying on the ground suddenly sat up and grabbed her wrist: "Fang Miaomiao, the future Film Empress Fang."
"I don't know you. I'm sorry, you've mistaken me. I apologize for bumping into you just now. Grandpa, how about I take you to the hospital?"
"Fang Miaomiao?"
She answered subconsciously.
"You are going to die."
She was startled, and her hands stopped struggling.
"You are going to die, but don't worry, death is also a release. You haven't been happy in this world, have you?"
Happy?
She was a little lost.
She didn't know either.
By the time she came to her senses, the old grandfather who had grabbed her wrist had disappeared. All that was left on the ground was a somewhat yellowed hairband woven with hemp rope.
It looked like the one her grandmother had given her, but she had accidentally lost it.
As if by some strange compulsion, she took the hairband with her.
After that incident, she no longer heard the sound of children crying. Everything returned to normal, as if it had all been an illusion.
Until.
She won an award and was leisurely taking a bath in her apartment.
She opened her eyes and found herself in this place.
...
"Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed." The old man with the white beard, while drinking tea, looked at Fang Miaomiao mysteriously.
"Old man, how can you be like this? I know I was wrong to bump into you, but when I tried to call later, you stopped me."
"Film Empress Fang, do you remember what I told you before?"
"What?"
"Tsk, as an actress, how can your memory be so poor?"
Fang Miaomiao rolled her eyes and found a place to sit down. "How dare you say that? Did you bring me into this book?"
"What are you talking about? Why doesn't the benefactor think of it as another world?"
"Because this is a novel written by my anti-fan, and I happened to have read it."
"Who recommended it to you?"
Fang Miaomiao paused. That's right, who recommended this book to her? She remembered someone saying next to her that this book was good, so she decided to take a look. But who was it? Why couldn't she remember?