She opened her eyes, picked up the phone that had been lying beside her, turned off the recording button, saved the recording, and then stored the original audio in several different email accounts. After finishing all this, she walked over to the water dispenser and drank five full cups of water.

She stood there in a daze for a while, then walked toward the dressing room.

The full-length mirror reflected a pale-faced girl. Her long, slightly wavy hair fell over her chest. This face—she used to hate it so much.

She lowered her head, bent at the waist, and gave three deep bows.

“Emily Bennett, I’m sorry.”

For my reckless attacks when I didn’t know the truth, for the harm I caused you by irresponsibly typing on the keyboard, for the slander and malice that run rampant on this internet.

I don’t know why you disappeared—maybe because you could no longer bear the malice this world gave you. And I was one of the culprits.

I will resolve all the trouble. I will let the light shine into your dark life.

She turned and walked out, picked up her phone, and dialed a number. It rang for a long time before someone answered. She took a deep breath: “William Carter, I want to see you.”

The person on the other end sounded confused: “Who is this?”

“I have some legal questions I’d like to consult you about. Can we set up a time to meet?”

“Sorry, I have several cases on my hands lately, and my schedule is pretty tight. How about this, I’ll have a colleague from the firm get in touch with you first…”

“No! I’ll only talk to you! William Carter, I really need your help. I don’t trust anyone but you.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then finally a helpless reply: “Alright, eight o’clock tonight, at…”

“At Xifeng Waterside Pavilion! I’ll wait for you at Shoufeng Pavilion.”

Xifeng Waterside Pavilion was near the Qiao family home, a high-end teahouse the Qiao family used to frequent. It was very private and had a great atmosphere. William Carter glanced at this unfamiliar number. “Alright, see you tonight.”

Emily Bennett hung up the phone and let out a small sigh of relief.

She sat on the sofa for a while. Remembering something, she opened her phone’s contacts, found a number saved as “Mom,” and dialed.

The call was answered quickly, and a woman’s cheerful voice came through the receiver: “Qiao Qiao!”

Tears immediately streamed down Emily Bennett’s face.

Was this the memory of this body?

She sniffled. “Mom, how have you been lately?”

“I’m good, I’m good, you don’t need to worry about me. The weather’s getting cooler, so more people are coming to buy insoles. Business is pretty good. Qiao Qiao, stop sending money to Mom, I have enough to spend. Keep it for yourself, buy something nice, eat something good. I saw that drama you were in recently—you’ve lost weight. Don’t starve yourself.”

“Mom, that was filmed last year.”

The woman on the other end chattered on, just like every mother in the world who cares about her daughter. After hanging up, Emily Bennett thought she should find time to go home and visit her mother.

She scrolled through her contacts, seeing several familiar names from the entertainment industry, and got a rough idea of the original owner’s social circle. But it seemed the original owner never had many friends in the industry and was always a loner.

Emily Bennett logged into her verified Weibo account. The latest post was a selfie the original owner had posted half a month ago. There were quite a few comments—half were spam, half were haters.

She scrolled through them, looking at all the vulgar insults, and let out a deep sigh. After thinking for a moment, she posted a new Weibo: Xiao Qiao, you have to work hard to become stronger.

Comments came in quickly:

— Want to team up for a game? My Xiao Qiao is awesome.

— Even trying to ride the hype of Honor of Kings, hopeless.

— Don’t you have any self-awareness about your own abilities? Become stronger? Yeah, right.

…

Emily Bennett logged out of the account.

She searched for her own fan support accounts. Aside from a “Emily Bennett Global Fan Support Club,” there were very few other fan sites or support accounts. Clicking into the “Emily Bennett Voting Group,” she saw that the latest voting post had only single-digit shares.

The official account’s stats were a bit better, but for a second-tier actress, the numbers were really dismal.

Emily Bennett called James Foster: “Little James, who’s running my official account? I want to talk to the fan club president.”

James Foster said, “It’s me.”

Emily Bennett: “……” She was speechless for a while. “Alright, send me the official account’s username and password. From now on, I’ll handle it myself. You don’t need to manage it anymore.”

James Foster: “???”

Being her own fan club president?

Not long after, Emily Bennett received the official account login.

After logging in, she reposted the message she’d just posted on her verified account: Time will prove everything. We’ll wait for you to grow.

She then went to the bedroom, turned on her computer, downloaded various graphic design software, and made a recruitment poster. After editing the image, she posted it from the official account, with the caption: In response to my call to become stronger, the official account is now recruiting Qiao fans. Please read the image below carefully.

She wanted to recruit fans who genuinely liked Emily Bennett, to start from scratch and build up the numbers bit by bit.

During this time, she reapplied for accounts on various social media apps, using the ID: Xiao Qiao wants to work hard to become stronger.

Soon, people started applying to join the official fan support group.

She opened her computer and chatted with them one by one. As a former anti-fan of the original owner, her understanding of Emily Bennett was on par with the fans.