This meal wasn't very pleasant, because what was initially a celebration dinner for Lan Jinyao had unexpectedly turned into a war zone for Qingqing's conspiracy.
After dinner, Chen Meile walked alongside Qingqing on their way out, while Lan Jinyao walked behind them together with Fu Bainian and Lan Xin. However, upon seeing the two being affectionate in front of her, Lan Jinyao suddenly let go of Fu Bainian's hand and squeezed herself in between Chen Meile and Qingqing.
"Sis, you seem to like this Qingqing a lot."
Chen Meile repeatedly nodded happily and said, "Yes, I do like her! It feels like we have known each other all along."
Seeing that the situation didn't look so good, Lan Jinyao hurriedly reminded, "Sis, it was a pity that Director Chen didn't make it today. I don't remember much from our childhood but Director Chen, unexpectedly, still remembers everything clearly. It was all thanks to Director Chen that I'd managed to win the Best Actress Award."
Chen Meile was stunned. "In that case, we must thank Zetao properly. But, it's been so long since I've last seen him. I didn't even recognise him that time when you went on a blind date with him."
Following this, Lan Jinyao cast a provocative glance at Qingqing. At this moment, Chen Meile's rationality had been pulled back from the brink, so even if Qingqing wanted to mislead Chen Meile again, she had to think twice.
Lan Xin quickly joined in and asked, "What are you girls talking about so enthusiastically?"
"Oh, it's nothing much; we're simply discussing the type of guy Qingqing likes. I believe that Qingqing doesn't like my Bainian; she probably likes someone like…Director Shen, right, Qingqing?"
At this instant, Qingqing's complexion paled slightly but she soon pulled up a smile.
Chancing a glance at her face, Lan Jinyao added, "Wait, no…you don't actually like Director Shen, but more the entertainment industry's fame and fortune, right?"
"What are you talking about?! Are you telling me that I don't possess any fame and fortune now?!" Qingqing's anger was instantly ignited by her words.
Lan Jinyao lightly snorted and said no more. It was time for her to return home with Fu Bainian. Sooner or later, she'd get to the bottom of this matter and expose this woman. But, hopefully, Chen Meile would stand her ground and not fall for any of this woman's lies before then.
After filming 'Twilight', Lan Jinyao stopped taking on new dramas and movies. When she stayed at home, she'd occasionally post an update on Weibo to reassure her fans.
She had, in fact, lost many fans following the scandal about her having extramarital affair. But, fortunately, 'Twilight' was still a box-office success.
Then, while Lan Jinyao was resting at home, Chen Meile came over to visit her.
When Lan Jinyao opened the door, Chen Meile had unhurriedly walked inside. Unlike her usual vigorous appearance, there was a rarely seen worried look on her face.
Lan Jinyao had a hunch that something had happened, which, most likely, was related to Qingqing.
She poured a glass of water for Chen Meile. "Your sudden visit today…must be about Qingqing, right?"
"You could tell?" Chen Meile accepted the glass of water and looked at her in surprise. "Do you also find Qingqing's behaviour very suspicious?"
Hearing this, Lan Jinyao asked in response, "What do you think?"
At present, the most important thing was Chen Meile's perception. However, Lan Jinyao had a hunch that even if Qingqing had gotten closer to Chen Meile, it was to no avail. Qingqing mainly wanted to get close to Old Chen through Chen Meile and then find a way to manipulate the power in Old Chen's hands.
Chen Meile furrowed her brows in deep thought and then shook her head after a while. "I'm not sure, but I truly think that Qingqing's manner of speech and demeanour is very similar to Meimei's. Also, only Meimei, that nasty girl, would call me 'Doyenne'. Apart from her, no one else knows about this awful-sounding nickname."
"Not even Old Chen?" asked Lan Jinyao.
Chen Meile nodded. "When Meimei was a kid, she was very naughty. Although my dad doted on her a lot, he'd still stand on my side whenever we got into a fight. Thus, Meimei gave me this nickname. She never dared to call me that in front of my dad, so my dad couldn't have known."
Hearing this, Lan Jinyao's heart instantly sank. That Qingqing sure had done a lot of homework. To think that she'd actually managed to discover such a well-hidden secret! It seemed that this battle between her and Shen Wei'an would last longer than expected and the victor had yet to be determined.
"Chen Meile, I've also addressed you as my 'Sis' before. What I want to say right now is that Qingqing is definitely not Chen Meimei. This time, she'd come prepared, covering all her bases. Do you believe me?"
Lan Jinyao stared at Chen Meile sincerely, wanting to convey her heartfelt thoughts to her through her eyes.
Her piercing gaze made Chen Meile feel somewhat awkward and it took her a while to respond,
"I'm at a loss now, that's why I came to find you. Would you mind telling me more about your…rebirth and related matters?"
Supernatural kinds of things like rebirth no longer came as an extraordinary shock for the minority of people that knew about it. Most of them had already unconditionally accepted this fact.
"Of course, I can tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about what I'm about to say next, not even a word! You have to take my secret to the grave!" Lan Jinyao stressed, very solemnly.
At this moment, Chen Meile's expression had also turned serious. "Okay, you have my word!"
Lan Jinyao then sat down next to her and unhurriedly recounted, "Prior to being reincarnated as Chen Meimei, Shen Wei'an and I were very good friends. You must've heard of her, right?"
"You mean that artist, Shen Wei'an, who'd mysteriously died some time ago with still no news of the cause of her death to date?"
Lan Jinyao nodded and continued, "Yes, that's her. However, whether that dead body they'd found was truly Shen Wei'an's or not isn't known yet. As I was saying earlier, I thought we were very good friends, but Shen Wei'an never thought so. She'd always thought that I was standing in her way, so she'd plotted against me and pushed me down the building that night. As a result, she'd killed three birds with one stone: firstly, she'd gotten rid of me; secondly, she'd borrowed my name and successfully received Fu Bainian's attention, and lastly, she'd taken advantage of the news of my death to rise to fame."
"And then?" Chen Meile hastily asked.
"Afterwards, when I woke up, I was already lying in a hospital bed and the moment I've opened my eyes, the first person I saw was you!"
Chen Meile nodded understandingly. "No wonder! At that time, I smelled something fishy but I thought that you were suffering brain damage after the car accident. So, based on your experience, do you think that Qingqing could've possibly reincarnated as you did?"
"No, I suspect that she's Shen Wei'an. Her evil roots hadn't been eradicated and now that she's back, she plans to borrow Chen family's hands to deal with me and Fu Bainian."