The Outcast Heiress’s Secret Identities
Chapter 451 - Chapter 451 0449 Conveniently on the way

Chapter 451: 0449 Conveniently on the way Chapter 451: 0449 Conveniently on the way “Like a moth to a flame?”

Chu Ling muttered to herself, her tone filled with confusion.

Su Ran leaned in slightly, her gaze direct and intense.

“Knowing it’s the wrong choice, why not cut your losses in time? You should know that I am Yun Feng’s agent. As long as you’re with me, I can give you resources, connections, and channels. All you need to give me is your talent.”

Chu Ling’s mind wavered, her emotions stirred.

“But I…”

Su Ran smiled and continued,

“Unless you agree to sink to their level, the company will keep you on ice until your contract expires. By then, are you sure you’ll still have time to fulfill your dreams?”

Chu Ling’s face darkened dramatically because she knew that Su Ran was addressing the very problem she was facing.

It wasn’t just her, there were many others in the company who, if they didn’t comply with the higher-ups, would be benched at best or entirely blacklisted at worst. Everyone was too afraid to speak out.

Trapped by their contracts, if one wished to terminate unilaterally, they would have to pay tens of millions in damages.

Because of these astronomical penalties, no matter how unfair, everyone had to suffer in silence.

After finally reaching the end of their contracts, the prime time for an artist’s debut would also wane with age, rendering it all a futile effort.

In an entertainment industry that changes far more rapidly than any other, when even making a living becomes problematic, who still has the heart to chase after dreams?

Seeing that Chu Ling understood her point, Su Ran smiled and said,

“Think about it carefully. With me, you won’t suffer any loss. When the time comes, I will help you realize your dreams and moreover…”

Su Ran paused slightly, moving closer to her. Chu Ling, intimidated by the aura of authority emanating from her, stood frozen in place.

Su Ran stopped in front of her, her cool gaze piercing through the sunlight as she looked at her, and her measured voice slowly reached out–

“You can fight against any injustice, including taking your revenge with your own hands.”

Chu Ling’s heart surged tumultuously, looking at Su Ran in disbelief.

“You…”

Su Ran curled her lips slightly, a gleam reflecting in her starry eyes.

“However, this is subject to you being strong enough. This is your last chance. When you’ve made up your mind, tell me your decision.”

Having said that, she nodded at her and turned away, leaving.

_

Su Ran did not plan to linger in the hospital. She headed downstairs and made a beeline for the parking lot.

She located her car, unlocked it, and was about to pull open the door when her gaze inadvertently caught a glimpse of a figure both familiar and unfamiliar.

She furrowed her brows, observing the woman who was slowly walking out of the hospital.

Dressed refreshingly and fashionably tender, there was a hint of sovereign independence in her brow, an icy detachment that kept others at a great distance.

The light was a bit blinding, and from afar, looking at that face, there was a sense of otherworldliness to it.

Moved by an impulse, Su Ran called out that name as if possessed.

“Qingan?”

The woman turned her head at the sound, her visage crystal clear before Su Ran.

A face of delicate beauty, and at the sight of Su Ran, her eyes curved, though her emotions did not fluctuate much.

“Su… Ran?”

“It really is you.”

Su Ran nodded at her, her tone complex and surprised.

Both fell into a silence. After a moment, Su Ran asked again,

“You… what are you doing here?”

She couldn’t bring herself to ask ‘You’re back?’ Although she was unclear about what exactly Qingan had gone through all those years ago, Qingan had chosen such a bitter and decisive way to leave. Presumably, the past was not worth lingering on for her.

She held up the medical records in her hand and said indifferently,

“Just a minor ailment.”

Afterward, she casually asked Su Ran, “What about you?”

Su Ran took a deep breath and revealed a faint smile on her face.

“My mother is here.”

There was a moment of stiffness on Ling Qingan’s face before it returned to normal.

“Take care.”

Su Ran lifted her eyebrows, showing no surprise.

This was Ling Qingan!

Indifferent, composed, and self-directed.

Su Ran watched her and asked,

“Where are you going? Do you want me to give you a lift?”

Ling Qingan glanced at her and asked back, “Where are you going?”

“I’m heading back to the city.”

Ling Qingan pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and opened the passenger door of Su Ran’s car.

“Let’s go; it happens to be on the way.”

Su Ran looked at her thoughtfully, then got into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove out of the parking lot.

The parking lot opposite.

Within the luxurious and imposing Maybach, a tall and straight figure sat rigidly in the driver’s seat, with a cigarette pinched between his well-defined fingers, the pale blue smoke slowly puffing from his thin lips, shrouding his features in haze.

His other hand grasped the steering wheel, his presence deep and cold, and his dark, unfathomable eyes fixed intently on the woman opposite. His pupils moved with her silhouette until he saw her climb into the silver Ferrari and speed away.

He took a fierce drag on the more than half-burned cigarette in his hand, burning it down to the end in an instant, his dark eyes showing indistinct emotions, revealing nothing.

Eventually, he ground out the cigarette in the ashtray, and the ashtray was filled with the crushed remains of cigarettes, contrasting sharply against his calm expression.

He finally started the car and followed the Ferrari speeding ahead, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.

–

On the drive back.

Neither of them spoke; Su Ran drove, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the road ahead.

After leaving the hospital and getting on the bridge, she felt like someone was following them. She first thought it was an illusion, but after taking two consecutive turns, the car behind still pursued them.

Su Ran’s eyes flickered, and without changing her expression, she glanced at Ling Qingan in the passenger seat. Qingan’s face remained impassive, but her hands resting on her knees were clenched tightly into fists, her knuckles white with tension.

At the traffic lights ahead, she slowed down, and cars behind her kept honking. Su Ran pursed her lips, her gaze lightly resting on the traffic signal ahead.

5… 4… 3…

She suddenly accelerated, crossing the intersection at the very last second of the green light.

Su Ran checked the rearview mirror; the car that had been following them was forced to stop at the intersection and didn’t manage to keep up.

Qingan discreetly let out a sigh of relief, and her tightly clenched hands gradually loosened.

But the medical report in her hand was already crumpled into a ball.

Su Ran kept her attention on Qingan, peripheral vision following her movements to the crumpled medical report on her knees.

She said she’d gone to the hospital for a minor ailment. It must have been the medical diagnosis the doctor had given her!

Just as she was about to look away, her eyes involuntarily caught the words “Psychiatric Department.”

Her pupils suddenly constricted, and a wave of sourness surged in her heart.

Su Ran never thought of herself as an emotionally overflowing person. Besides Zhichen, she didn’t have many friends she could call friends and never considered caring for someone other than Zhichen.

[Chu Ling is a rather important character in the second module, so it had to be written.

All settings in the text are plot-driven; do not imitate.]