Chapter 6
Mom and Dad had overlooked one thing.
They had forgotten that Xiao Ran was not me. She had once known what it was like to live in heaven.
Falling from the clouds into the mud hurt far more than spending your whole life in the mud.
Treated so heartlessly, she was bound to go mad.
And once she did, she would take revenge.
…
I had just finished filming when I received news of the accident.
Apparently, Xiao Ran had run away from home, and Mom and Dad had found her.
As the three of them drove back, Xiao Ran lost control and lunged for the steering wheel.
The car rolled several times before stopping.
By the time I reached the hospital, Dad had already been pronounced dead. Xiao Ran and Mom were still in surgery, their lives hanging in the balance.
I crouched outside the operating room and sobbed inconsolably.
Someone recognized me, took photographs, and posted them online.
Within hours, the hashtag “Popular Actress Struck by Family Tragedy” shot to the top of Weibo’s trending list.
People dug up my background.
My parents had scrimped and sacrificed to raise me. My twin sister had been abducted and found only five years later. Mentally unstable, she had caused the crash that killed our father.
Messages flooded my Weibo account.
People comforted me, urged me to stay strong, and promised to see me through this terrible time.
I gained two million followers overnight.
…
Mom survived, but she was left in a vegetative state. No one knew whether she would ever wake.
Of the three, Xiao Ran had the mildest injuries.
She suffered several fractures, but after a few months she could more or less walk again.
When I visited her hospital room, she flew into a rage.
“Get out! Get away from me! Does seeing me like this make you happy?”
Wearing sunglasses, I regarded her without expression.
“Very. You have no idea how many spectacular action scenes I filmed while you were in here.”
Xiao Ran froze, then snatched up a crutch and swung it at me.
I stepped lightly aside.
“Focus on recovering, little sister. The police are still waiting to question you.”
After leaving Xiao Ran’s room, I went to see Mom.
She lay in her bed looking so peaceful.
I pulled the blanket higher and gently tucked it around her.
“Mom, I promise I’ll enjoy the good life you always wanted.”
The police summoned Xiao Ran on suspicion of endangering public safety.
But throughout her statement, she rambled incoherently.
She kept muttering about “Yin-Yang twins,” insisting that she was the real star and that someone was trying to hurt her.
After an evaluation, the doctors confirmed that she was mentally ill.
I placed her in the finest psychiatric hospital in the city, one equipped with the most advanced treatment and attentive care.
The director clasped my hand admiringly. “Not only are you beautiful, but you have such a kind heart!”
I sighed. “What else could I do? She’s my own sister.”
The director pulled a notebook from a pocket. “I’m a huge fan. May I have your autograph?”
I smiled, took the notebook, and signed my name with a flourish—Xiao Ran.
No matter how busy filming kept me, I found time every month to visit Mom at the hospital and my sister at the psychiatric institution.
One day, as I sat in Mom’s room, a news story appeared on my phone. At last, I could not hold back my laughter.
“Mom, look.” I raised the screen before her eyes. “They named me the year’s most inspirational actress.”
“Just as you wished, I became a great star.”
“Are you happy, Mom?”
…
When I left her room, I covered myself with sunglasses and a baseball cap before stepping into the elevator.
A man and a woman stood inside, each holding a child.
The children looked exactly alike.
I could not help smiling at them. “Are they twins?”
The woman’s face glowed with happiness. “Yes, they are.”
“The older one is sick. We brought him to see a doctor.”
I left the hospital shortly after the family did.
My agent picked me up and drove toward the office.
At a red light, I saw the couple again.
They stood by the roadside while a Taoist priest pestered them.
I rolled down the window and turned to look.
“Yin-Yang twins! Another pair of Yin-Yang twins! To think I’d encounter two pairs in one lifetime. What a marvel!”
The woman lost patience. “Get out of our way. We have somewhere to be!”
The priest grabbed her arm. “Of your two sons, you need only sacrifice one for the other to become a prodigy!”
She flung his hand away and cursed. “What a load of garbage.”
“Both of my children are precious to me! I don’t need either one to become some prodigy. I only want them both safe and healthy!”
The man stepped in front of his wife and children. “If you don’t leave now, I’m calling the police.”
The priest pouted and shuffled away, muttering under his breath.
“Born of yin and yang, as one wanes, the other waxes. The yin twin wallows in mud while the yang twin soars through heaven. Ha ha ha ha!”
I watched the couple carry their children away until they rounded a corner and vanished.
Then I turned back.
My agent looked at me with concern. “What is it?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. I’m fine. Let’s go.”
The End