Final chapter

Wen Mo's efficiency was fast, and on the same evening, Shi Shuangxia received a message saying that the court hearing was scheduled for the day after tomorrow afternoon in Ancheng.

As the place where the original owner lived for the first 17 years of her life, Ancheng was a small city located at the intersection of the north and south, with a relatively small size. It had seen decent development in recent years and could be considered a fifth-tier city.

Ancheng did not have an airport, so when Zuo Mingran and Shi Shuangxia arrived at the high-speed rail station, the driver who was arranged to pick them up had been waiting outside for a while.

Although Shi Shuangxia had a wide network of contacts, it didn't extend to this fifth-tier city. However, Wen Mo, as a capable executive assistant, took care of their accommodations and transportation when he found out they were coming here for the lawsuit.

Once they were in the car, Zuo Mingran sent a message to Yan Yunyang to let him know they had arrived safely.

This time they were traveling privately, taking an early morning flight and then transferring to the high-speed rail. Judging by the current situation, it seemed that no media had received the news yet, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to leave the train station so smoothly.

Although the weather was not hot, summer was approaching. The driver, a middle-aged man, couldn't help but be curious when he saw Zuo Mingran and Shi Shuangxia dressed so tightly. He glanced at them several times through the rearview mirror. Zuo Mingran noticed his actions and silently put down her hand that was about to remove her sunglasses and mask.

There was still a day left before the court hearing. Despite the fact that Wen Mo had arranged for someone, it was better to keep a low profile and hide her identity, so as to avoid becoming a hot topic on social media even before the trial began.

Lately, she had been trending on social media more frequently than ever before. It was as if she had purchased an annual package.

Having been warned before coming, the driver didn't ask any further questions after taking a quick glance. He just mentioned that their people were also in the black car behind, and they would be following them for the next few days, so they didn't need to worry.

Zuo Mingran and Shi Shuangxia exchanged a glance and understood that they had been assigned bodyguards.

Shi Shuangxia had been enjoying an abundance of lovey-dovey moments recently and knew that Zuo Mingran and Yan Yunyang were planning to fake their relationship. Hearing this, she looked at Zuo Mingran with a sly expression and whispered, "If I had known that Mr. Yan would make it so obvious for us, I wouldn't have rushed to join in the fun."

Zuo Mingran's phone vibrated, and she glanced at the message. Her eyes curved slightly beneath her sunglasses, and she murmured, "Well, when you have a boyfriend, you can do whatever you want."

Shi Shuangxia: "..."

Having woken up early and not slept well on the plane, Zuo Mingran was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep as soon as they arrived at the hotel. She only woke up in the evening when Shi Shuangxia called her for dinner.

The sun hadn't completely set yet, but a dark cloud drifted in from somewhere, blocking most of the remaining sunlight. The weather was gloomy, indicating that a heavy rain was approaching.

Shi Shuangxia came in with takeout and noticed that Zuo Mingran didn't look well. She thought maybe she had woken her up before she had fully rested, so she placed the takeout boxes on the table and asked, "Are you that tired? What did you do last night?"

Zuo Mingran washed her face and shook her head at the question. "No, I had a dream."

In reality, it wasn't just a dream, but rather certain things that she remembered. Perhaps because Ancheng was the place where the original owner lived, some of her past memories were triggered upon arriving here. When she got off the train earlier today, she had a faint feeling, and after taking a nap, those memories that were once blurry became clear.

Taking a sip of porridge to calm her turbulent emotions, Zuo Mingran said calmly, "The person responsible for the drunk driving that caused my parents' accident should be released soon."

Shi Shuangxia was stunned for a while. She knew that Zuo Mingran's parents had passed away in a car accident, but when she signed with Zuo Mingran, it was already several years later, so she didn't have much knowledge about the case. Even so, she knew that causing the deaths of two people due to drunk driving wouldn't result in such a light sentence.

Swallowing the food in her mouth, Shi Shuangxia asked, "It's only been a few years. Why was the sentence so light?"

Zuo Mingran pulled the corners of her mouth and sneered, "Because someone signed a forgiveness letter."

The forgiveness letter required the signatures of the immediate family members of the parties involved. As Zuo Mingran was still underage at the time, she couldn't sign it, so there was only one person who could have signed that forgiveness letter...

Zuo Mingran said, "One hundred thousand yuan for a signature."

Shi Shuangxia couldn't help but curse in frustration, wishing that she could go to the courtroom now and beat up Zuo Xingde.

The sky had completely darkened, and Shi Shuangxia stood up to turn on the lights. When she turned around, she saw Zuo Mingran lying face up on the sofa, holding her phone and staring at something.

Shi Shuangxia didn't know how to comfort her. The case had happened ten years ago, with strong evidence and witnesses, but it came down to just a forgiveness letter. Even if they could afford the top lawyers in the world, it would be impossible to reopen the case.

"Mingran..." Shi Shuangxia sighed, unsure of how to continue, "Don't...don't dwell on it too much. It's been so long...fuck."

Shi Shuangxia struggled to find the right words. Unless one experienced it firsthand, they wouldn't know how painful it was. The former Zuo Mingran was only sixteen at the time, at an age when she should have been happily going to school. But overnight, she not only lost both parents and became an orphan, but the perpetrator, who should have received a severe punishment, also survived due to a forgiveness letter signed by the so-called uncle. If it were her, there would be doubts about whether she could survive and live a normal life.

Zuo Mingran seemed relieved and sat up from the couch. He squeezed in next to Shi Shuangxia and said, "I understand, Xiajie. Don't worry, I've learned to be open-minded now. People have to look forward, as you taught me."

Shi Shuangxia sighed, and Zuo Mingran narrowed his eyes and smiled, "But as the saying goes, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' Tomorrow in court, Zuo Xingde will have to pay for what he has done."

Shi Shuangxia quickly took out her phone and sent a message, "I'll tell the lawyer to prepare again. If that scumbag Zuo Xingde isn't bankrupted, my name won't be written here."

After a night of rain, it cleared up a bit in the morning, but soon it started raining again. The rain was not heavy, but it was particularly annoying.

Suing Zuo Xingde wasn't considered a major case, but the lawyer Shi Shuangxia hired was experienced, although not a top player in the industry. Zuo Xingde wouldn't easily spend a large sum of money to hire a lawyer, unless he would be ruled against if he didn't show up in court.

With sufficient evidence, the case was quickly ruled against Zuo Xingde.

With the expected outcome, Zuo Mingran breathed a sigh of relief. Instead of the joy of winning, there was a sense of relief in letting go of the burden on her heart.

Shi Shuangxia was even happier than her, immediately posting the verdict on Weibo, "Some people said we were doing this for publicity before the trial. Now that the verdict is out, we must slap their faces."

Zuo Mingran chuckled, "I thought you wouldn't care about these things."

Shi Shuangxia replied, "How could I not care? I'm a manager. If I can't hold my ground, what would happen to my artists?"

She had never mentioned these things before. Before Zuo Mingran could be touched, she enthusiastically continued, "Hey, hurry up and repost it. Our studio's Weibo doesn't have as many followers as yours. If we want to slap their faces, we have to do it thoroughly."

Zuo Mingran sighed and silently took out her phone to repost the Weibo.

***

After the lawsuit with Zuo Xingde, Zuo Mingran had a lot of free time.

No various endorsements, no need to memorize scripts all day long, and no need to travel around. Zuo Mingran finally became a homebody as she had wished. If it weren't for Shi Shuangxia urging her three times a day for script readings, Zuo Mingran would almost have started living a retiree's life early.

The script is still the same as before, but so much has happened during the period that it has been delayed. Zuo Mingran is a severe procrastinator, and she has always been urged by readers to complete her manuscripts, even in her previous life. Now that she is financially secure, she has become even lazier, taking three to four months to finish a script.

The studio has already started to thrive, just like in the original plot. Shortly after, Shi Shuangxia signed on Yin Ruxin, who played the female lead in the original book, and the two of them officially became partners, ready to embark on the journey of fighting monsters and leveling up.

And the first leading role that Yin Ruxin played was in this drama invested by the Yan family.

After learning this news, Zuo Mingran was stunned for a while before realizing that this was probably a butterfly effect. In the original plot, Yin Ruxin played a role in a low-budget web drama that became popular solely because of the protagonist's halo. But this time, not only did the Yan Group invest a large amount of money in the film and television drama, but also a well-known domestic director who was about to retire requested to make this drama his retirement piece after reading the script.

The news caused a sensation, especially among Zuo Mingran's fans. After all, the studio was officially hers, and the investor was her husband. From all aspects, she should have taken on the leading role, besides her acting skills. Taking advantage of this, Shi Shuangxia released the news that Zuo Mingran would retire soon. After all, it was a common practice for female stars to retire after marrying into a wealthy family, and Zuo Mingran had been active for nearly two years after marriage, which was already an exception.

In mid-September, as the summer heat slowly dissipated, a heavy rain passed, and the air already had a coolness of autumn.

The case of Fan Zhenzhen finally came to an end after several months of struggle. The Fan family ultimately took a step back in their confrontation with the Yan family and chose to give up on Fan Zhenzhen. However, in exchange, in order to preserve the dignity of the Fan family, this matter was not publicly announced online. In the public eye, Fan Zhenzhen had to quit the entertainment industry for personal reasons. Although fans were curious about the specific personal reasons, with the Fan family suppressing the news, there was not a single trace of it online.

Approaching the end of the year, Zuo Mingran, who had been idle for a long time, rarely went out and took a stroll on the street before wandering to the studio.

The studio occupied three floors of an office building, which was quite large compared to other studios.

At this time, there were only staff members in the studio, and even Shi Shuangxia had taken artists out for appointments.

After grabbing a cup of coffee in the studio, Zuo Mingran received a call from Yan Yunyang and went downstairs. As she walked out of the elevator, she happened to bump into Yin Ruxin, who was coming back to get something.

Perhaps because they both had hidden identities, Yin Ruxin added Zuo Mingran as a friend after a reality show program. She even wanted to become good friends with her.

However, Zuo Mingran insisted on keeping a safe distance from the original female lead to protect her own safety, and after seeing her unwillingness to get involved in any trouble, Yin Ruxin did not force the issue. They maintained a normal friendship of liking each other's posts.

Yin Ruxin was taken aback. "Mingjie, why are you here?"

Zuo Mingran smiled and replied, "Just passing by, came to take a look."

She motioned for the elevator behind her. "You go ahead."

There were other people in the lobby, so Yin Ruxin couldn't stay for too long. She waved at Zuo Mingran and said, "See you later."

As the elevator doors closed before her eyes, Zuo Mingran blinked and suddenly felt a strange sensation. It seemed that from this moment on, she had completely disconnected from the original book's plot. She was no longer a cannon fodder supporting character, and she was no longer bound by the forced influence of the plot. She was truly Zuo Mingran.

Outside, it had started snowing heavily without them realizing. Yan Yunyang's car was parked on the opposite side of the road. When he saw her coming out, he pushed open the driver's door and stepped out. Snowflakes fell on his shoulders, creating a beautiful scene.

Zuo Mingran blinked and took a few quick steps to jump off the steps, throwing herself into his arms as the snowflakes fell all around them.