The woman's sobs eventually stopped a little while after that. Ding Jia watched the entire thing in front of her turn from chaos into pure tranquility. She almost doubted her eyes whether her lashing out truly happened and not just something she made out of her hallucination.
While she was lost in her own thoughts, the woman suddenly appeared in front of her.
Ding Jia held her breathe, as she stared back at the towering woman in front of her. The fear that she had before was almost gone as if it was also erased away along with this woman's emotions that she had felt from her.
Now looking at the woman closely, rather than being transparent, the woman almost looked like a living human. She looked pretty solid in front of her, and if she hadn't seen her wrecked appearance beforehand, the woman in front of her would surely pass as a human instead of...of a ghost?
Is that what she is?
Ding Jia wasn't sure.
"Thank you." Her voice was like a whisper being carried by the wind. It sounded light and sweet when she listened to it this time.
But in a split second, the woman slowly disintegrated before her. Her body slowly turned into a speck of shining silver dust and disappeared into the air as if it never existed.
She was left stunned in her place by her sudden disappearance. From where the woman stood up before she left laid a single white lily. Another gentle blow of wind brushed past her cheeks as she stared at the flower.
Her hand subconsciously reached out to pick up the flower and pulled it close to her to get a good look.
"Whoa, t-this…" Ding Jia gasped in amazement.
This wasn't an average white lily at all. The moment she saw the petals, she knew that it was different. The petal looked healthier and brighter as if it was a flower freshly picked at its best moment when blooming. Deep in the center, there was some kind of dust sparkling that made the flower looked even more enchanted.
She sat there on the floor, mesmerized by this most beautiful flower she'd ever seen. She couldn't help but touch the petals, and as soon as she felt the fragile yet silky soft petal, everything before her suddenly changed.
In a blink of an eye, she found herself in an unfamiliar place. She panicked, so she desperately looked around when she saw a familiar person coming. Her eyes widened as she realized who she was.
It was the same woman she saw…!
The woman was wearing a tight-fitting dress and heels. She looked neat and clean that made her look more charming than usual. Her surroundings changed in an instant, frightening her.
W-What?!
She almost jumped in surprise when she suddenly saw herself reflected in the wide wall mirror. She blinked in confusion, realizing that she was in a practice room. The sound of heels echoed behind her, and there she saw that woman again. She walked countless times in front of the mirror and each time, the woman was getting even more depressed afterward.
Ding Jia was puzzled.
So she was a model?
Why was she suddenly sighing ah? Her runway walk looks perfect but why was she—Ah.
Behind the girl, two girls appeared in succession. They ignored the woman and practiced their own walk and poses and that's when Ding Jia realized why the woman was depressed each time she watched herself doing the runway walk.
That woman... lacked the aura.
As a professional in this industry, she was able to meet diverse kinds of people. Famous people, people who retired from the spotlight, those who were born and fated to be in this career, and those who are desperately trying to climb into the stage to shine.
And this woman....falls on that last category.
Most of the artists that she met had this kind of star aura every time they perform. She couldn't exactly explain it, but it's like an innate thing. Like as soon as you see this person, they're naturally very eye-catching even if one isn't as beautiful or handsome as the other stars. You won't be able to take your eyes off them, and so as soon as they perform, you'll be left starstruck and amazed by them. It was like you knew that they were born for that stage.
And this woman realized it, seeing the two other women who looked like they were naturally born to shine, she knew…. That she didn't have it at all.
And so, Ding Jia watched her surroundings change continuously. How the woman desperately practiced every day in front of the mirror, how she grew more envious of her colleagues, and how her world would always fall every time she doesn't get chosen to perform for their monthly events. She watched how the determination and sparkle in her eyes dimmed slowly until they disappeared completely.
Ding Jia admitted that she pitied her, but it wasn't like her heart broke for the woman. Because it was a familiar sight to her eyes, as she'd seen a lot of people who were like her yet they gradually lost motivation after getting turned out continuously by people.
Along the way, Ding Jia finally realized what she was seeing was the girl's life. It was her memories, her most painful memories that she made her feel awhile ago.
Then the surroundings changed for the final time.
The woman was in her room, staring at her reflection on the mirrors. She looked so thin and her complexion didn't look good either. Bruises appeared on her arms and legs, a sign that her health was already bad. When she picked up the sliced apple at her side, she watched her eat it, chew, and spat it out continuously.
Her body was rejecting the food she was eating. And the girl realized that this wasn't gonna work. So she went out and walked around a familiar neighborhood. It was the neighborhood where Ding Jia's apartment complex is.
Her blood ran cold when she saw the woman tying some weights on her wrists. She stood in front of that small man-made lake, and jumped in with her eyes closed. A rush of emotions filled her soul as she watched in shock how the woman didn't resurface from the water, nor were there any bubbles disturbing that calm lake. The lake looked so calm as if no person had just jumped in.