Nearly 20 years had passed, and Qin Ran struggled to recall the exact details of the novel's plot. She could only remember vague bits, which was the best she could manage after such a long time. Knowing that a good memory was no match for written notes, she returned to her dormitory after seeing Ling Miaohan today and tried hard to piece together the story.
The truth was, she had forgotten most of it. Even when she first heard the name "Yu Shuman" in high school and witnessed what was happening to her, she hadn't been able to connect it to the novel. It wasn't until she saw the familiar name "Ling Miaohan" in the information she had gathered that the memories began to resurface, revealing the true nature of the world she was in.
Now that she had taken the time to organize her thoughts, more details were coming back to her.
With the information she had and what she could recall, Qin Ran filled three pages with dense notes. Ling Miaohan's success in the entertainment industry wasn't just a result of luck or her protagonist aura—her brothers and childhood sweetheart played significant roles. First, the male lead, her childhood friend, was the CEO of a top-tier entertainment company. With his support, her path to fame was practically guaranteed.
Additionally, Ling Miaohan was born into wealth, with three brothers in various high-powered industries to back her up. Even without the male lead, her chances of success were high.
Qin Ran wasn't being cynical; the world had always been inclined to favor the wealthy. Many rich second-generation individuals entering the entertainment industry were naturally given higher status. Labels like "rich and beautiful" or "wealthy and handsome" were automatically attached to them. Because of their privileged backgrounds, they were often shielded from the darker side of the industry. Even if someone accused them of using connections to get ahead, public perception quickly shifted, with fans defending them by saying, "Who even has the power to take advantage of them?" These accusations were easily dismissed.
Moreover, people naturally admired those with power and wealth, seeing it as a mark of superiority.
But this left her poor senior, Yu Shuman, at a disadvantage. Born into a lowly background and working for a struggling company, she was destined to be trampled underfoot.
In her previous life, Qin Ran had experienced the so-called upper class, the world of capital and wealth, and knew exactly what kind of people inhabited it. Some were noble, as pure as snow, while others were among the most corrupt individuals on earth. And in the entertainment industry, a place teeming with all sorts of people, it was even murkier. This was why Qin Ran had initially resisted binding with the system; she didn't want to be drawn back into that world. She believed that as long as she had enough money to get by, she could live peacefully without getting involved in those messy circles. When she did finally bind with Yu Shuman, she hadn't planned to use the system excessively. She was content with just enough to live comfortably.
Helping Yu Shuman while improving her own life a little was something Qin Ran didn't mind. She even imagined that one day, when Yu Shuman wanted to start a business, she could be the one to fund it, living the quiet life of a wealthy backer. That sounded ideal to her.
But the shocking truth of their world forced Qin Ran to rejoin the ranks of capitalists. Money itself wasn't the problem—it was how people used it. Qin Ran couldn't let the novel's plot play out with Yu Shuman as the victim, so the only option was to fight capital with capital.
After writing down everything she knew about the plot, she ended up filling four sheets of paper, with two pages dedicated to Ling Miaohan's background. She heavily circled several points about Ling Miaohan's numerous alter egos. Even when reading the novel, she had wanted to complain about how Ling Miaohan found the time to do all these things.
Like Qin Ran, Ling Miaohan had just graduated from high school, scoring high on her exams. Initially, her family had planned to send her abroad for college, but Ling Miaohan insisted on diving into the entertainment industry, telling her parents she wanted to spend two years there before returning to her studies.
As the protagonist of a beloved story, her family naturally agreed. They believed she was more than capable of resuming her studies after a couple of years, so her brothers set things in motion, ensuring she could pursue her dreams without worry.
Her childhood friend, the domineering CEO and male lead, was even more thrilled by her decision. In these types of stories, the male lead often faces opposition from the female lead's family, especially since he was five years older than Ling Miaohan. They didn't want him to take advantage of her. But now that she was entering the entertainment industry, he eagerly supported her, much like Qin Ran's own approach with Yu Shuman, wanting nothing more than for her to be happy.
Ling Miaohan's goal in the entertainment industry was clear: she wanted to be a top star, someone whose name everyone knew. She approached it with the same mindset she had for other fields—she aimed to be the best. But the number of industries she was involved in was staggering. Being a leading figure in the ancient music scene was one thing, but her achievements in fashion design, the fashion world, and traditional Chinese medicine were hard to fathom.
Fashion design required artistic skills and years of experience, yet she was only nineteen. Yes, prodigies existed, but Ling Miaohan had been consistently producing designs throughout high school. And as for traditional Chinese medicine, this field offered no shortcuts or special talents—it required years of hands-on experience. How had she made a name for herself in that at nineteen? Even if she had studied under a renowned master, Qin Ran found it hard to believe.
"The protagonist's plot armor is a bit too strong..." Qin Ran muttered to herself. She knew she had to be careful about Ling Miaohan's various identities. Otherwise, there was a real risk that one of these alter egos would come to light during a crisis, flipping the narrative in Ling Miaohan's favor and allowing her to triumph in a dramatic reversal.
This kind of twist was common in novels, where hidden identities were revealed to turn the tide.
Qin Ran tore up the pages containing information about Ling Miaohan and her connections and flushed them down the toilet, ensuring they would never see the light of day again. Using a computer for such sensitive information was risky—one of Ling Miaohan's brothers was a top-tier hacker. Qin Ran smirked. She hoped Ling Miaohan's hacker brother wouldn't cross her path, or she'd have him turned in as a white-hat hacker.
With that task out of the way, Qin Ran turned to other matters. While she had hired professional managers to run her company, that didn't mean she could be a hands-off boss. If she didn't keep her general manager in check, he might grow too ambitious and become uncontrollable. In her previous life, although her parents hadn't shown much affection, they had taught her everything she needed to know.
Qin Ran didn't need to be a business genius or have an MBA; she just needed to keep a tight grip on the reins, ensuring that those working under her served her interests without developing personal ambitions. From a young age, she had learned to identify and manage talent, to cut down those who showed signs of disloyalty, and to make them regret ever entertaining thoughts of betrayal.
Now, Qin Ran applied those lessons to her current situation. Although she was still getting used to her new position, managing the general manager she had hired was not difficult. With just her computer and phone, she could remotely control operations and handle the few tasks that required her attention.
In fact, if Yu Shuman were to use a business registry app, she might discover something odd—such as Qin Ran being the actual controller of the company. However, even if she did notice this, Yu Shuman would likely assume it was someone with the same name and never suspect her junior.
After finishing her work, Qin Ran opened her chat with Sister Li. The manager had sent her a report, and after downloading it, Qin Ran saw that it was a detailed account of Yu Shuman's day. Sister Li's report was far from glamorous, listing times for waking up, training, and filming. Even though Qin Ran had been at the recording earlier, Sister Li still diligently sent the report.
The cold, clinical details read like a schedule, but as Qin Ran skimmed through the information, she couldn't help but imagine Yu Shuman in those moments. She often wondered what Yu Shuman looked like as she practiced in the dance studio. Yu Shuman was a very dedicated person—if she entered a competition, she would give it her all.
Though Yu Shuman had no formal dance training, she was athletic. She had ranked among the top in long-distance running during her college entrance exams. Qin Ran, on the other hand, was the opposite—a self-proclaimed homebody with abysmal physical fitness. Running 800 meters left her gasping for breath, her face pale as if half her life had drained away.
When Qin Ran was a freshman and Yu Shuman was still in school, their PE classes sometimes overlapped. Yu Shuman would often join Qin Ran for a run. The first time she saw Qin Ran's condition, Yu Shuman had been so scared she nearly carried her to the infirmary. But Qin Ran had waved it off, admitting her poor physical condition, and avoided earning the dubious honor of being sent to the infirmary just two months into the school year.
Yu Shuman couldn't understand why Qin Ran was in such bad shape. She had worked so many part-time jobs that she should have been fit. But then Yu Shuman remembered that Qin Ran had never been adopted, which might explain her physical frailty.
This realization made Yu Shuman even more protective of Qin Ran. After spreading the word among her fellow seniors, they, too, became more considerate of Qin Ran. However, they were careful not to make it obvious, not wanting to hurt her pride. But Qin Ran, whose age in her two lives combined was twice that of these high schoolers, wasn't bothered by such things.
She just found it amusing that people who seemed to pity her were trying so hard to hide it. Even more amusing was Yu Shuman using the living expenses Qin Ran had indirectly provided to treat her to lunch, insisting on serving her food.
Qin Ran swore she hadn't intended to take advantage of Yu Shuman, but the senior sat beside her every day, chatting and piling food onto her plate, making it impossible to refuse. When Yu Shuman graduated and there was no one to share lunch and conversation with, Qin Ran found herself feeling a little lost.
Before Yu Shuman entered her life, Qin Ran had never felt lonely; but after she left, loneliness began to seep in.