Chapter 133 – Yin Yun Showing Off (1)
In the end, Lan Jinyao failed to tell Fu Bainian that she was pregnant since she never had a chance to. That was because, on the one hand, Fu Bainian went on a business trip and, on the other hand, she'd figured out the identity of the woman from that night.
Competition in the entertainment industry was very tough; as an actor, if you paid too much attention to the entertainment news, it would increase the pressure you felt. But, if you didn't check it, then you would miss out on a lot of things being said about yourself, and you'd never know what kind of news that was.
After shopping around, Lan Jinyao called Qian Ran because Fu Bainian's phone was turned off, and not only her, but Fu Changning also couldn't reach him. Qian Ran informed her that Fu Bainian had gone abroad to handle a multinational corporate partnership, thus his phone might be temporarily shut down to avoid hindering the negotiations.
Following that, she had nothing else to do, so she began browsing Weibo. This was a habit that she'd had since long ago. As soon as she logged on to Weibo, she saw that her page had exploded with comments, and noticed that one of the female artists who was ranked amongst the top eighteenth artists with no gossip about them had suddenly risen to the number one spot on the headlines. She randomly scanned through her newsfeed and broke out in a cold sweat.
It seemed that from the beginning, there had been an unwritten rule in the entertainment industry. Whenever an artist got into a scandal involving an extramarital affair, no matter if it were the artist or the counterpart, this would always be big news, and the heat of it could outweigh nearly all other entertainment news.
Before the shoot, she'd seen a few rumours on the Internet, but she didn't pay much attention to it. Now that she looked at it, paparazzi couldn't make an omelette without breaking eggs, so if there were no loopholes, how could they find out? Those people must have found a loophole that even she'd failed to notice!
Such as that woman's existence.
Thinking up to here, she called Qian Ran again and bluntly asked, "When I went home that night, you said that Fu Bainian had gone to a banquet. Which banquet did he actually attend?"
Qian Ran hesitated for a long time before he uttered, "President Fu took part in the wrap party of the drama our company invested in."
A wrap party? Fu Bainian had only invested in one drama during this period of time. In the beginning, Fu Bainian had asked her to take on the female lead role for this drama, but she shot it down due to her agreement with Jiang Cheng. Then, she'd thought that the drama had been set aside, but to her surprise, that wasn't the case. On the day she'd returned, the drama was also finalised with a wrap party.
If she wasn't wrong, then that woman was the female lead that Fu Bainian had found to replace her!
"Qian Ran, answer me honestly. The female lead for that drama is that woman, right? And, the two of them attended the wrap party together, right?" Only like this would things make sense.
"That's right!"
"The scandal concerning that woman and Fu Bainian; was it really just all hype to promote the drama?" asked Lan Jinyao.
Then, after a long moment of silence, Qian Ran no longer wanted to answer her questions. He hurriedly said, "Madam, I'm sorry, but I'm currently quite busy. How about I report back to you about these things another time?"
Lan Jinyao had yet to respond before Qian Ran had hung up. She stared at the unlit screen for a second before angrily throwing it on the bed and holding onto a pillow, drifting away in her thoughts.
Fu Bainian, to honour an artist, do you need to do it in person? Did you find that woman promising? Or, do you think of her as a better wife candidate?
Sometimes, when one thought too much into things, one would become deterred. Lan Jinyao felt like she was caught in a never-ending nightmare that was difficult to wake up from.
The next morning, Lan Jinyao woke up and heard someone knocking on the door. She opened her eyes but was still in a daze. Only after the knocking continued for a long time did she finally get out of bed and walk over. However, right when she was about to open the door, the door opened on its own.
Lan Jinyao stared at the woman standing in the doorway, and then shifted her gaze to the shiny key in the woman's hand.
After a long moment of silence, Lan Jinyao regained her senses and stiffly asked the woman, "How come you…you have a key to my house?"
Currently standing in front of Lan Jinyao was the woman who'd recently become the hottest topic on Weibo; the one with whom Fu Bainian had a scandal with. She was the female artist who'd risen from the eighteenth rank to the top ranking artist overnight.
"Oh, you mean this? President Fu gave it to me. Qian Ran said that there was a vital document that had to be signed, but President Fu brought it back home. I happened to have the keys to your house, so I came to get it!"
What Yin Yun said was so just and forceful that Lan Jinyao couldn't find any grounds to refute her.
It took her quite a long while before she retracted her gaze and stepped aside to let Yin Yun in.
If Lan Jinyao was just slightly more rational or sensible, then she wouldn't have let this woman in and would've instead gone to the study to get the document herself. However, rationality was something that was easily influenced by one's emotions.
Lan Jinyao could only helplessly watch as Yin Yun wandered around her living room before she advanced to Fu Bainian's study, where she got the document that Qian Ran needed.
At this moment, Lan Jinyao felt as if the temperature around her had dropped. The pressure was so intense that she couldn't breathe, and she felt a dull pain in her heart.
Yin Yun stopped in front of her and asked with concern, "What happened?"
Lan Jinyao felt her head hurt more intensely when she saw Yin Yun's false concern.
"I'm fine. Now that you've gotten what you were looking for, please hurry up and leave!"
Yin Yun pretended to care and asked again, "Are you really okay? Don't tell me that you're thinking there's something between me and President Fu?"
The anger in Lan Jinyao's heart instantly flared up when she heard this, and she quickly rebuked, "Why would I think that way? Someone was willing to work so hard for my husband, so of course, I'm happy; why wouldn't I be? For a young artist like you to go from being listed as the eighteenth rank, and to then rise to fame like this, was all thanks to my husband. It's your luck and blessing that my husband is willing to support you, and you know how to repay his gratitude, so that's a very good thing."
Her words demoted Yin Yun again and again, yet Yin Yun was still able to pull off a sweet smile in front of her.
"As long as Madam doesn't misunderstand, then all's good. I was worried that since President Fu treats me so well, Madam would…uhm, let me not say any more; otherwise, you'll find me annoying. Qian Ran is still waiting for me, so I'm leaving first."
"Wait!"
Lan Jinyao suddenly called her to a stop.
Hearing this, Yin Yun turned around and stared at her with a smile on her face. "What's the matter?"
Lan Jinyao strode over and then held out her hand. "Give me the key. I don't want an outsider to have the key to our house."
"Huh?" Yin Yun was bewildered.
Without further ado, Lan Jinyao reached out and grabbed the key from Yin Yun's hand.
"If Fu Bainian asks you about this, you can tell him that I'm not happy!"
After leaving these words behind, Lan Jinyao turned around and walked back inside.
Chapter 134 – Yin Yun Showing Off (2)
Lan Jinyao clenched the key tightly in her hand, her mind in a mess. She'd obviously started to have doubts, but due to her swelling rage, these details were overlooked. The key in her hand was clutched so tightly that the hollow of her palm had started to hurt.
After a long time had passed, Lan Jinyao tossed the key away. The key slid along the smooth floor into a corner under the cabinet.
She clutched her head and dejectedly cried. Maybe it was due to her being pregnant, but she felt less optimistic than before. The former her would always justifiably say to Fu Bainian, "If you make me sad, you'll regret it in the future." However, now she didn't think that way any longer, and she could only helplessly ask herself, "What should I do? What should I do…?"
Around noon, she was lazing around and didn’t want to move anymore; she felt as if she was done for. Who knows? Maybe Shen Wei’an was living happily and freely somewhere in this world, yet her own life had become such a mess now.
Her stomach growled, and at the same time, the doorbell rang. Lan Jinyao felt her blood boiling with anger as she strode to the door and opened it, roaring, "What do you want?! I'm telling you, Fu Bainian and I aren't divorced yet…"
In the next second, Lan Jinyao froze and Fu Changning, who was carrying takeout, also blankly stared at her.
"Divorce? Sis-in-law, you want to divorce my Brother?" Fu Changning's expression instantly worsened and she quicked grabbed Lan Jinyao's arm to pull her inside, towards the living room.
Lan Jinyao massaged her aching head and said, "How come it's you? I initially thought that that woman came back."
Fu Changning quickly put down the takeout and nervously asked, "What happened? Did a woman come to bother you? And, what do you mean by divorce? My Brother loves you so much, so he would never allow you to mention divorce!"
Would he really not allow her to get a divorce? That woman had already openly appeared amidst the two of them, so how could he possibly not allow her to divorce? Lan Jinyao coldly sneered at this thought.
"Sis-in-law, please don't give me that look; you're scaring me!"
Fu Changning tightly clenched her hand, feeling somewhat sorrowful. She wondered: Was this all because of the rotten idea that she'd proposed to her Brother that the relationship between the two had become so rigid? If so, then wouldn't she become a sinner condemned for a thousand years?
Seeing Fu Changning's nervous expression, Lan Jinyao patted her hand and said, "Calm down. I'm just angry with your Brother alone, not you; it's not your fault."
"How could this be not my fault?" Fu Changning murmured in a low voice.
Lan Jinyao didn't hear what she was muttering about and didn't ask further. Then, her gaze fell on the takeout. "Changning, you brought me food? I was just starving a moment ago."
"Yep! I brought you some ginseng chicken soup. It's very fragrant, and there are many Chinese herbs in it, so it's very nourishing!"
Upon hearing this, Lan Jinyao's hand froze.
"I'd like to eat rice! I'll leave the ginseng chicken soup for you to drink. You must take care and nourish your body too."
Fu Changning's expression turned cloudy when she heard this. She declined and said, "How can I do that? I brought it over for Sis-in-law!"
Lan Jinyao merely laughed as she picked up the box with rice in it and started eating, leaving the big bowl of ginseng chicken soup untouched.
In the afternoon, Fu Changning said that she would stay to watch a movie with her. Lan Jinyao had initially wanted to send her away, but she thought about it again and let Changning stay anyway. After all, having someone accompany her was better than staying foolishly alone.
Not long after, Lan Jinyao felt glad that Fu Changning had stayed because, in the afternoon, Yin Yun came again. Yin Yun seemed to know that Lan Jinyao was at home, so she came once again to loiter around, making Lan Jinyao feel that she was doing it on purpose.
Fu Changning went to answer the door this time. At first, she was quite polite and asked, "Hello, who are you looking for?"
But, soon after, when Fu Changning got a clearer look at Yin Yun's face, she immediately walked out and purposely shut the door behind her. It was precisely this move of hers that made Lan Jinyao certain who the person standing outside might be. She quickly got up from the sofa to walk to the door, peering out through the peephole.
As expected, the person standing there was Yin Yun.
Fu Changning's expression blackened as she asked Yin Yun, "What qualifications do you have to come looking for my Sis-in-law? Did my Brother give you that right? Don't overestimate yourself; you're merely an actress that my Brother brought back to anger my Sis-in-law. Your role is to strengthen the bond between my Brother and Sis-in-law; not break them up!"
Yin Yun retorted, "Fu Changning, aren't you being a little too naive? Do you really think that all I am is an actress invited here by your Brother? Don't forget; I'm also a woman, and I know what your Brother needs. What he needs is a warm family, not a wife who only knows how to act."
While listening to their conversation, Lan Jinyao's hands tightly clenched into fists; her fingernails were almost embedding themselves into the hollows of her palms.
"Yin Yun, don't go overboard! How can you understand my Brother's thoughts? My Brother has been in love with my Sis-in-law for a very long time already."
"Haha, I don't understand, but I do know that any affection between two people can deteriorate, and now, the person who your Brother likes is me! Between the two of them, only the divorce papers are missing."
Yin Yun seemed to have guessed that Lan Jinyao was standing behind the door as she appeared to be staring at it. Lan Jinyao once again began to shed tears when she heard those words, and her body slowly slid down the door before she curled up into a ball. Following that, Changning was still quarrelling with Yin Yun, but Lan Jinyao no longer wanted to listen to the details.
After half an hour, Yin Yun had finally left, and Fu Changning rang the doorbell. For a long while, Lan Jinyao just sat there on the ground without getting up, ignoring the ringing of the doorbell.
Eventually, Fu Changning stopped ringing and placed her ear against the door before softly asking, "Sis-in-law, you…are you crying?"
Lan Jinyao covered her mouth and tried hard not to let herself make a sound, but she was shaking all over, so the sound couldn't be held back at all.
As a result, Fu Changning also began to choke with sobs. "Sis-in-law, this is all my fault! Why did I come up with this rotten idea? I've unexpectedly let the wolf into the house! That woman is as stubborn as a cow, so it was nearly impossible to drive her away."
Lan Jinyao steadied herself and softly said, "Changning, I don't blame you. That woman is so self-confident because of Fu Bainian. She repeatedly came over to provoke me all because Fu Bainian allowed her to do so; he gave that woman all her courage."
Fu Changning then continued, "Sis-in-law, could you please let me in now? I just want to accompany you while my Brother's away on a business trip and unreachable. When he's back, I'll surely ask him about this! Please give my Brother another chance, alright? At the very least, you ought to personally ask him about this!"
Lan Jinyao rubbed away her tears and then opened the door.
After Fu Changning walked in, Lan Jinyao hugged her and cried, "I won't get a divorce from your Brother."