LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 5: Gu Qin's Prophecy
Gu Qin suddenly sat up from the bed, drenched in sweat, panting heavily. Everything in the nightmare felt so real, but it had actually happened before—events from the original owner's past. The original owner must have been unwilling, believing so much in her family, only to be betrayed in the end.
Gu Qin hunched her body, muttering to herself, "Don't worry, I'll get justice for you. I won't let anyone who tried to harm you go free."
Straightening her posture, she sat cross-legged, took several deep breaths, and closed her eyes.
It wasn't until she heard the sound of the door being pushed open that she opened her eyes, turned toward the door, and realized she was in a clean, white room. The room wasn't large, with a TV on the opposite side, a red sofa beside it, two nightstands by her bed, each with a glass of water on top.
Gu Qin knew she must have been taken in by the people at the guesthouse. After saving that young man's life, there was no reason for them to kick her out.
A woman of medium build entered the room, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, her hair in curls, holding a tray. When she saw Gu Qin sitting on the bed, she smiled, "Little girl, you're awake? Are you hungry? I made some chicken soup for you, drink it quickly, and I'll cook some chicken noodle soup for you."
"Thank you, Auntie." Gu Qin stood up, trying to take the tray.
The woman hurriedly said, "Oh no, don't move, just eat it in bed. Chongchong, bring over a small table."
Zhao Chongbin squeezed in from behind, holding a small folding table in his hands. Seeing Gu Qin looking at her, he grinned, "Sister, thank you so much earlier. If it weren't for you, I might not have made it." He quickly set up the table in front of Gu Qin, "Don't move, the doctor said you have low blood sugar, and you're still very weak. You need to rest well. My mom's chicken soup is the best, she cooked it all afternoon. Hurry and drink it."
Zhao Chongbin took the chicken soup from his mother and placed it on the small table, handing a spoon to Gu Qin, "Drink up."
Gu Qin was indeed hungry. She thanked them and started drinking.
The woman sat down on the nearby sofa, and the young man squatted down. The woman said, "Thank you so much, little girl. If it weren't for you, my Chongchong might..." She glanced at her son and didn't finish the sentence. "In any case, you saved my son's life. I heard that resolving this kind of thing might not be good for you. How about this, I give you some money, is that alright? I know no amount of money can repay a life, but this is all we have left—ten thousand. We've invested the rest in another guesthouse. This ten thousand was for renovations. I know it's not much, but..."
The woman's name was Li Lingxia, and everyone who knew her called her Zhao's wife. She had lived in Daishan City for over ten years, running a small guesthouse. Recently, she had invested the money she earned into another guesthouse, leaving only ten thousand for renovations. She knew that one life was worth more than ten thousand, especially her only son's life.
Gu Qin finished the bowl of soup and placed the empty bowl on the small table. She looked at Aunt Zhao and said seriously, "Aunt, you don't need to give me money. I have one request."
Li Lingxia paused, "Huh, oh, sure, what request do you have? Just tell me."
Gu Qin said, "Can I stay here for a few days?"
"That's it?" Li Lingxia laughed. "You can stay as long as you want. In the future, whenever you come, Auntie won't charge you any money." When she saw Gu Qin's bowl was empty, she added, "I'll go cook you some noodles. I'll talk to you later."
With that, she took the empty bowl and left. The room was left with only Zhao Chongbin and Gu Qin. Their eyes met. Gu Qin blinked but said nothing. Seeing that he was still shirtless, she felt a bit uncomfortable. "Can you put on some clothes?"
Zhao Chongbin quickly left and returned in less than a minute, wearing a T-shirt on top but still in the oversized shorts from before. He sat down on the sofa, "Sister, hello, I'm Zhao Chongbin. That was my mom. Thank you again today."
Gu Qin nodded, "No need to thank me."
Zhao Chongbin, not knowing what else to say, was just in time to be called by his mom for help, and he quickly left.
Gu Qin sat on the bed and took out her phone from her pocket. It was a Nokia smartphone that her father had used for several years before giving it to her. There were several missed calls from her father and Gu Jia.
Just as she was about to call her mom, Gu Jia called again. Gu Qin hesitated for a moment before answering, and Gu Jia's anxious voice came through, "Gu Qin, where are you?"
"What happened?" Gu Qin asked, "I'm outside."
Gu Jia said, "I'm coming to find you. You don't have any money on you. I asked him for a few thousand. That should be enough for you to get by for a while."
Gu Qin said, "It's fine. I'm okay now. I'm planning to call Mom when she's back."
Gu Jia paused, hesitated, and said, "Gu Qin, if Mom finds out, she'll divorce Dad. Can you give Dad a chance..."
"No," Gu Qin interrupted him, "I don't want to acknowledge him as my father. If Mom divorces him, that's fine by me." She couldn't bring these people to justice herself, as she was still underage, and even if she wanted to, she couldn't sue them. If it had been her usual way, she could have set up a feng shui trap, but now with her current skills, she couldn't even set up the simplest feng shui array.
Setting up a feng shui trap required energy, and without any martial arts skills, she couldn't do it. A feng shui array set without energy would have no effect, at best just used for deception.
For now, she could only let the law punish them.
Gu Qin didn't give Gu Jia a chance to speak again, hanging up the phone. She found her mom's number in the contacts and dialed.
The phone quickly connected, and her mom's gentle voice came through, "Qinqin, what's the matter?"
Gu Qin's chest tightened, her eyes stung. "Mom, I miss you. Can you come back?"
Her mom laughed, "I'm at Grandma's house. I'll be back in a couple of days, okay?" Her mom had ten days off, and she hadn't gone to her maternal family last year for the New Year, so she took the chance to visit now, as it was her husband's suggestion.
"Mom, I have something to tell you." Gu Qin's voice choked up. She didn't know why she felt like crying. She inherited Gu Qin's body, her memories, and even her emotions. From the start, she had trusted her dad's words, not telling her mom about the kidney transplant. If she had told her mom, maybe she wouldn't have died on the operating table.
Her mom's name was Cheng Yinxiang. Hearing her daughter's tone, Cheng Yinxiang became anxious, "Qinqin, what's wrong? Don't scare Mom, tell me what happened."
"I'm fine, wait until you come back, okay? I'm staying at..." Gu Qin told her the address.
Cheng Yinxiang knew her daughter must have encountered something, "Qinqin, don't worry, Mom will come back right away. Whatever it is, Mom's here for you."
Gu Qin instructed, "Mom, don't call Dad. Don't let him know I'm staying here."
Cheng Yinxiang's face went pale. She had always known that her husband, Gu Yuanjiang, favored sons over daughters and hadn't cared much about their younger daughter. That's why she was even more protective of her. After hearing this, she realized the problem likely had something to do with Gu Yuanjiang, and she became even more worried. She quickly said a few words and hung up, planning to return to Daishan City immediately.
Her maternal family was in the southern province, which was a province away from Daishan City. It took about ten hours by train. Cheng Yinxiang couldn't wait, so she immediately headed to the airport, planning to take a flight back. The tickets were expensive, but she couldn't afford to wait any longer, especially since her daughter didn't know what had happened.
"Yinxiang, are you sure you're rushing back so quickly? Your second brother knows you're coming back and took a few days off. Don't you want to see him before you go?"
Cheng Yinxiang hesitated but then said, "Forget it, there will be other times. Mom, Qinqin's in trouble, I need to go back today."
Cheng's mother panicked, "What happened to Qinqin? That child has always been quiet and never tells you anything. If she's calling you now, it must be something serious. Alright, alright, you go back first. I'll have your second brother go to Daishan to check on you and Qinqin."
Cheng Yinxiang immediately took the fastest flight back to Daishan City. After two more hours by taxi, she arrived at the location her daughter had mentioned. It was already past eight in the evening.
In the meantime, Gu Qin had also been busy. Li Lingxia made her a big bowl of noodles, and she finished all of it. Then, she asked Li Lingxia if she had a camera. Zhao Chongbin immediately went back to his room to bring one. He curiously asked, "Sister, what do you need a camera for?"
Since learning her name, Zhao Chongbin had started calling her "Sister Qin," and Gu Qin had corrected him twice, but he still insisted, so she didn't bother anymore.
"I have a use for the camera. Can you leave for a bit?"
After Zhao Chongbin left, Gu Qin used the camera to take a few photos of her wounds, making sure her face was visible, then went out to print the photos. Originally, Li Lingxia and Zhao Chongbin had offered to copy them, but Gu Qin insisted on doing it herself.
There was a photo shop nearby, and after developing the photos, Gu Qin couldn't help but touch the pictures in awe. The clarity was astonishing. This era was truly shocking. Cars could drive on the ground, planes could fly in the sky, and the internet that she remembered seemed magical enough to make her marvel.