"In the eastern region of the Pyrenees mountain range in southwestern Europe, a fleet of sports cars were speeding along The Garrone, spurring the French police into action…" the sweet voice of the female newscaster narrated. The headlines of the day were displayed on the screen behind her.
The sports cars tore along the road under the night sky. Helicopters were following them while police cars could be seen giving chase. "The police suspect that the street racers are citizens of the eastern country, but the identities of the drivers are yet to be determined…"
The moment the female newscaster finished, the screen behind her was enlarged. The honks and the roar of the helicopters' rotors that were initially muffled could now be heard clearly. Coupled with the rumble of the speeding sports cars, the noise level in the room instantly rocketed.
The thin walls could not mute the sounds of the television outside, so Jiang Se got up and found his way to the narrow living room. Du You, who had switched the television on in the first place, was nowhere to be seen. The fleet of sports cars was speeding past the screen of the television.
Then, the scene changed. When she saw the leading white sports car, she paused mid-action and was about to switch the television off. The door of the room to her left was flung open with a loud bang and Du Honghong's furious voice filled the room, "Why are you making so much noise in the middle of the night?! Don't you know that I'm about to sit for the Senior High School Entrance Examination soon?"
Jiang Se turned to look at her, but the teenage girl dressed in her red nightgown had already slammed the door shut impatiently. Even the slightly mottled windows of the living room shook from the impact.
She switched the television off and returned to her room. It was nearing the end of May, and the weather was getting warmer. Facing her single bed, a fan was spinning slowly, blowing a cooling breeze.
She climbed into bed and stared at the dim yellow light bulb above her. She recognized the white sports car with a superior design. It belonged to Pei Yi.
"Sese."
Mother Jiang's call interrupted her thoughts. When the door opened, Mother Jiang, Zhou Hui, leaned into the room and pointed at the light bulb above her to remind, "It's past nine."
With a nod, she propped her body up and tugged the cord beside her bed. Instantly, darkness engulfed the room.
The faint lighting from outside somewhat illuminated Zhou Hui's face in the night and she appeared to be cowering.
"Honghong is about to sit for her exams. The electricity tariff has been raised recently and your Uncle Du's factory hasn't been doing very well this month. You can use the fan for a while, but remember to switch it off once you've cooled down…"
Jiang Se cut her short by replying, "I know."
Zhou Hui said no more and closed the door behind her.
The room was pitch black as there were no windows. Jiang Se could not help but toss and turn in her bed.
It had been a long time since she reminisced about the past, but the headlines that night made her feel glum.
A fortnight ago, she was still the lady of the Feng family, Feng Nan. When she woke up, she found herself in Jiang Se's body.
Her grandfather, Feng Zhongliang, had served in the military before. When Huaxia was in turmoil, he brought his family into Hong Kong, bought a hotel, and had been operating it ever since. Today, the Feng family was a prestigious name.
In his golden years, Feng Zhongliang could not bear to be away from his homeland. With the help of his old friends, he brought Feng Nan back to Huaxia and settled down.
Feng Nan and Jiang Se were as different as heaven and earth.
Mother Jiang, Zhou Hui, had married an unfilial husband. When they got divorced, she brought her daughter Jiang Se with her, married Du Changqun, and gave birth to two children.
Her stepfather, Du Changqun, worked in a factory. Even after two decades, he was still a rank and file salesperson who had to provide for his family with his meager paycheck.
Since her surname was not Du, Jiang Se held an awkward position in the family. Apart from the fact that Du Changqun did not like her, her younger half-siblings also regarded her with scorn.
Jiang Se was 17 this year and was in her final semester of the 12th grade. However, she did not like studying. All she wanted was to enter the entertainment industry with her beauty and make a name for herself.
She figured this out by herself throughout these two weeks.
She did not know who Feng Nan currently was since she had become Jiang Se. She wracked her brains, but still, she could not come to a conclusion. She sighed and flipped over again, making the steel bed frame creak.
From the next room, Du Honghong pounded on the wall. "Can you keep it down?"
The Du residence was built in Huaxia's imperial capital where land was extremely expensive. There were six of them in the family, including Du Changqun's widowed mother. They were cramped in an old unit that was less than 15 square meters wide. Du Changqun had compartmented the rooms with planks. Jiang Se's room was in the far corner and there was only enough space for a single steel-framed bed and a chair. There were no windows, so when the doors were closed, it was always pitch black, even during the day.
Above her was the sleeping quarters of Du Changqun and his wife, hence the ceiling was very low.
Jiang Se closed her eyes when she heard Du Honghong still swearing. She was immensely beautiful. Her loveliness seemed to be a gift from the Creator. This was also why the original Jiang Se longed to enter the entertainment industry. Her cramped room was full of posters of various celebrities, and the notebook under her pillow were scrawled with the young girl's wishes of making it big.
Jiang Se was awoken by the sounds of someone coughing.
Above her, Du Changqun was having a coughing fit. He had been down with the flu for several days now. Zhou Hui had meekly persuaded him to take a day off and visit the community clinic next door. However, he told her off, "What about the money? Do you know how much will be taken out of my paycheck if I take a day off? The entire family depends on my income for food. How can I take a day off just because I want to?
Jiang Se blinked her eyes and gradually sobered up.
Du Changqun was still swearing and voicing out his dislike for the daughter Zhou Hui brought with her into the marriage. "She's 17, yet she isn't capable of doing anything. All she knows is to spend my money! When I was 17, I was already working in the factory unlike her."
Zhou Hui kept quiet, but Jiang Se was awake now. When Du Changqun climbed down the stairs and saw Jiang Se, he showed no signs of acknowledgment although his expression was sour. He freshened up and went out.
"Your Uncle Du has been under huge stress lately."
The edge of Zhou Hui's lips lifted as she glanced at her daughter. Under the glow of the light, she could see her 17-year-old daughter who was already looking like a fine young lady. She moistened a towel with the water Du Changqun used to wash his face and wiped her face with it. before walking to the kitchen.
"I can see that you aren't interested in your studies. Your siblings are still young…"
Jiang Se understood what she meant. Throughout her English lesson, she had absent-mindedly doodled in her notebook whilst her mind was elsewhere.
During their talk that morning, Zhou Hui had implied that she should stop studying after the 12th grade and make a living on her own.
When she had been Feng Nan, she had never worried about money.
She was deep in thought, but her sharp senses told her that something was off. She turned and saw her neighbor, Lu Baobao, was about to poke her arm with a raised fountain pen.
Lu Baobao was a year older than Jiang Se. She and the original Jiang Se were like birds of a feather. She had a rounder face and seemed cute. She was interested in any sort of gossip, especially about celebrities in show business which she was highly familiar with.
The original Jiang Se was set on joining the entertainment industry and becoming a star, so she naturally shared a common topic of conversation with Lu Baobao.
Lu Baobao removed the pen cap. She lowered her head and quickly scribbled a line in her workbook. "What're you thinking about? You seem out of it today."