Chapter 36 – Mysterious Recommendation Letter (3)
The next day, Li Qi called Lan Jinyao to organise a meeting with the new Director. That person had a rather strange stage name; Big Fish. When they were on their way to meet him, Lan Jinyao kept pestering Li Qi to find out why he didn’t use his real name. Li Qi told her that she would understand why later on when she met him in person. Then, when they arrived at their destination, Lan Jinyao looked at the man's facial features which were slightly hidden underneath his cap, and her eyes widened in surprise.
"This is the so-called new Director recommended by Director Chang?"
Didn't they say that he wasn't famous? Weren't they saying that he didn't have any previous works? Then what was up with this scenario in front of her? To think that the King of Acting had changed professions and was now a Director!
"Li Qi, do you know him? He's Alan, the male lead of the movie 'Blood' from many years ago. He's the one who was crowned the King of Acting after filming that movie! Why would Chang Sheng say that he was a rookie? That's utterly unfathomable."
Lan Jinyao had never expected that she would get to see this person here as she'd thought that he'd never set foot in the entertainment circle again. After all, so many years had already passed.
She was so excited that she didn’t even notice that her fingernails were jabbing Li Qi's skin.
Li Qi frowned and shook her hand away. He then remarked with a dumbfounded expression, "I didn’t realise that your taste is so similar to that of Jinyao's. This actor stepped down many years ago. Now, most likely only a few people still remember him. It's unexpected that you'd know who he is."
Even Chang Sheng, a first-class Director of the entertainment industry didn't know who Alan was. To think that a shallow woman like Chen Meimei would actually be able to recognise him was a surprise.
The moment Lan Jinyao heard Li Qi mention her real name, the smile on her face froze for an instant and her expression became somewhat unnatural.
"Hello, Chen Meimei!"
The man removed his cap and revealed the face of a man in his thirties before extending his hand towards Chen Meimei.
Oh, this was her idol's hand! Lan Jinyao seized his hand and was reluctant to let go. If it weren't for the fact that Li Qi coughed twice beside her, she probably wouldn't have let go of his hand.
While Lan Jinyao and Alan were discussing the roles on their end, Chang Sheng, on the other hand, was holding onto a letter as he entered Blue Hall Entertainment to look for Chen Meimei. After waiting in the office for a long while with the envelope in his hand, there was still no sign of Chen Meimei.
As far as he knew, Chen Meimei ought to be at the company by now!
When another ten minutes had passed, Chen Meimei had still not appeared. Instead, he happened to bump into Shen Yu. Shen Yu was actually just passing by the office on his way to look for an artist, but he'd surprisingly run into this busy bee. It was entirely unexpected for him to visit the company, so he immediately walked in and greeted him.
"Director Chang, how did you have the time to come over today? Could it be that you've got your eyes on a certain artist of ours?"
Chang Sheng awkwardly smiled and replied, "Indeed, I came here today to look for Chen Meimei. I've just started shooting A Thousand Years Of Tears, and someone's already recommending a new artist to me for a role. Moreover, the recommended artist was Chen Meimei. This favour's really hard to decline! Hence, I came here today to talk to Chen Meimei about this matter."
"Someone recommended Chen Meimei?" Shen Yu’s curiosity was immediately roused upon hearing what Chang Sheng had said.
As far as Chen Meimei was concerned, she didn't have many connections, yet someone actually recommended her? That person was certainly not simple, as he or she had managed to make even Chang Sheng give some leeway this time.
Shen Yu asked again, "Director Chang, didn’t you say yesterday that you've already recommended Chen Meimei for a new drama?"
"Haha, the production of that new drama won't start so soon as the roles haven't been finalised yet. Granted, although Chen Meimei landed the lead role, it doesn't really matter because when she's finished filming my drama, there's still enough time for her to shoot the new one!" As he was talking, realisation struck him, and he continued, "Oh, right! Wasn't Chen Meimei going to meet Big Fish today?"
Shen Yu's curiosity grew after hearing those words, so he asked, "Who's the person who recommended Chen Meimei? Would you mind divulging this to me?"
"Ha, there nothing to hide even if I tell you. You also know that person as she used to be under the banner of your company; Lan Jinyao!"
"Lan Jinyao…"
Shen Yu abruptly stood up while asking, "You're saying it was from Lan Jinyao? But, isn't she already…"
"Yes, she's already passed away. I was also startled at first when I received this letter, but the date shown on it is from before her death. I reckon that the two girls knew each other and that the recommendation letter was also written from back then. Besides, Jinyao was originally appointed as the female lead, so it could be that since the two were on good terms, she wanted to recommend Chen Meimei for a role in the same drama!"
"Those two were on good terms?" Shen Yu furrowed his eyebrows as he questioned Chang Sheng. Were Chen Meimei and Lan Jinyao close to one another? How come he wasn't aware of this? However, they were so close that she'd even written a recommendation letter for Chen Meimei!
He wanted to ask more questions, but Chang Sheng's phone rang, and he had to excuse himself. Not long after hanging up, he said to Shen Yu, "It’s regrettable, but today I still have some matters to attend to so I'll leave first. As for that matter, could I trouble Director Shen to speak to Chen Meimei about it?!"
Shen Yu immediately agreed. "Of course, that's no problem at all! It's just…Director Chang, could I have a look at the letter in your hands?"
Chang Sheng shoved the letter into Shen Yu's hands before he started to walk away, adding on his way out, "There's no issue with the handwriting; it's Jinyao's for certain. Although I don't think very highly of Chen Meimei, I do believe in Jinyao's insight. I'm sure that she wouldn't let me down."
No matter what, a deceased person's wishes should be honoured, and not to mention, the friendship between the two couldn't be overlooked. When Shen Yu received the letter, he ran straight to Fu Bainian’s office. As soon as he entered, he saw Fu Bainian sitting behind his desk, so he threw the envelope on his desk. He was panting as he said, "Make a guess: who do you think wrote this letter?"
Fu Bainian looked up and glanced at the blank envelope. He stared expressionlessly at Shen Yu and said, "A group of new people just joined the company. Since you're so idle at the moment, you can go and take a look!"
Shen Yu waved his hand. "That's not important; what's important is this letter. I just received it from Chang Sheng. It's a recommendation letter written by a certain person for Chen Meimei, and it's for a role in A Thousand Years Of Tears. Don't you want to have a look?"
"Someone wrote a letter of recommendation for Chen Meimei? Director Chang really went through a lot of trouble as he personally came over to deliver this letter to us. Chen Meimei must've been rejected firmly this time, so she ought to have given up by now!"
"Nope, that's not the case at all! Chang Sheng came over today not only to deliver this letter but to also inform Chen Meimei that she could go and report to him for a role."
After speaking for so long, Shen Yu noticed that he was slowly being led off-topic by Fu Bainian, so he quickly said, "That's not the main point, the main point is the person who wrote this letter. Do you know who that person is?"
"Who?" Fu Bainian asked in response.
To tell the truth, he was slightly curious since that person had made such a significant impact on Chang Sheng's decision.
Shen Yu laughed and said, "It's the person you love the most; Lan Jinyao!"
Upon hearing that person's name, Fu Bainian froze and his gaze locked on the letter.