Chapter 84 – Lan Xin's Conspiracy (6)
"The whole world knows that President Fu doesn't like Chen Meimei!"
"President Fu only married Chen Meimei because of pressure from his Mother."
"He was just acting along with the circumstances!"
These words echoed over and over in Lan Jinyao's mind. Even though she kept telling herself that that bunch of girls were just talking nonsense, she still felt anger boiling in her heart, and she arrived home with a dejected expression.
After Fu Bainian had sold Chen Meimei's house, he'd moved everything from Chen Meimei's room to his place, and that included the recliner placed on her balcony.
Whenever she felt down, she would pour herself a glass of red wine and sit on the recliner on the balcony, slowly savouring her glass of wine sip by sip.
It was currently around 9 PM, and since Fu Bainian had gone to attend a business dinner and hadn't returned yet, Lan Jinyao was sitting alone on the recliner, looking at the scenery in front of her from the balcony. It seemed that all the lights in this neighbourhood were lit around this time.
She stared at her old apartment opposite the balcony and saw that a new person had seemingly moved in. Before this, she'd met the couple that was living there after she'd moved out. This time, however, the new owner of the apartment appeared to be a very young man, but she couldn't see the figure very clearly due to the distance and the reflection of the lights.
While Lan Jinyao was inadvertently staring at the complex across from her, that young man seemed to also be looking in her direction. In this dimly lit night, it was quite difficult to see things clearly, so when she felt that gaze on her, she subconsciously felt a bit uncomfortable.
She then quickly returned inside, but the man was still standing there, staring at her balcony. When she saw this, she couldn't help but frown.
Meanwhile, her phone suddenly rang with a call from Fu Bainian.
"Hello?!"
"You're downstairs? All right, give me a minute, I'll be right down!"
When Lan Jinyao had gotten off work she'd been in a bad mood, so she'd gone straight home. It was only now that she remembered that she hadn't eaten dinner, but luckily she wasn't too hungry.
Fu Bainian was already waiting for her downstairs, so Lan Jinyao quickly changed her clothes and went out wearing an oversized hat. At the gate of the community, a black car was parked by the side of the road. Lan Jinyao had spotted the car at a glance when she'd arrived at the gate.
"You're so considerate. How did you know that I hadn't had dinner yet?" Lan Jinyao gave Fu Bainian a bear hug as soon as she got into the car.
Fu Bainian's lips curled up into a smile, and he gently said, "Of course I know! Because, someone told me that tonight you might be too angry to eat, so he called me and asked me to take you to dinner."
"Li Qi called you?"
"Yep!"
Okay! It seemed like what had happened in the practice room was already known to everyone.
Fu Bainian pondered for a moment before he said, "If you don't feel comfortable over there, then you don't have to participate in the newcomer training because you're not a newcomer anyway! Besides, it's just a waste of time for you to hang out with that bunch of girls all day."
Lan Jinyao glanced at him suspiciously and asked, "Hey! That's not what you said last time."
"The past is done, and the present is now; I can't just let my dear wife suffer like this! Besides, you never talk to me about anything work-related!"
Hearing this made Lan Jinyao feel slightly wronged, so she gloomily said, "I just wanted to fix my issues myself."
"I know, that's why I've never intervened!"
Fu Bainian was staring ahead, his eyes focused on the road. Meanwhile, Lan Jinyao was staring at the side of his face, emotions welling up in her heart.
"Thank you, Fu Bainian!" Not for not intervening, but for understanding and trusting me.
Lan Jinyao didn’t expect to see Xiaomin in the restaurant. Xiaomin's foot was injured, and although it wasn't anything serious, she had still sustained an injury after all; shouldn't she be resting at home instead? Yet, she'd come all the way to a restaurant to eat dinner.
There was only one set of cutlery on Xiaomin's table, and there weren't many dishes, so it seemed that she was here alone.
Eating alone in a restaurant seems kind of romantic.
When Fu Bainian saw her staring at the table, he asked, "An artist from the company?"
"Yep!"
Xiaomin had seemingly sensed Lan Jinyao's gaze, or, maybe this was something she'd planned, but when she'd lifted her head and looked over in Lan Jinyao's direction, she appeared to be pleasantly surprised.
Following that, Xiaomin trotted to their table and sat down on a chair uninvited as she exclaimed, "Big Sis Meimei, you’re also here for dinner?!"
"Mhm!" replied Lan Jinyao nonchalantly.
Xiaomin glanced at Fu Bainian before quickly asking, "Big Sis Meimei, now that President Fu is accompanying you, you must be feeling better now. Today, those people really went overboard; you mustn't take those words to heart. I believe that that matter has nothing to do with you."
At first, Lan Jinyao was confused as to why Xiaomin would deliberately mention this matter, but not long after she finally understood as Fu Bainian asked Xiaomin, "What did those girls say to Meimei?"
His voice sounded somewhat gloomy like he'd been born with an imposing air.
Xiaomin glanced at Lan Jinyao and appeared slightly awkward. However, the next second, she told Fu Bainian a spiced up version of events. She then stammered as she said, "B-but because I found glass shards in my shoes, everyone else thought that it was Big Sis Meimei's doing. Thus, they said a few bad things about her behind her back. When Big Sis Meimei heard their accusations, she was quite depressed. In short, they were saying that President Fu, you…you don't love Big Sis Meimei at all and that your marriage was just a political marriage. So, even if they say something behind her back, no one will get justice for Big Sis Meimei."
Lan Jinyao silently thought: This little girl sure was something! Her foot was injured, so she, of course, didn't want to let this matter go easily. But, since she couldn't figure out who was the main culprit by herself, she wanted to borrow Fu Bainian's hand to teach those girls a lesson.
"Meimei, you didn’t tell me any of this!"
Fu Bainian held her hand, publicly displaying his affection without the slightest scruple.
Upon seeing their hands clasped together, Xiaomin's lips almost unnoticeably lifted in the corners.
"I already told you that I'll take care of these things by myself!" uttered Lan Jinyao as she pinched her brows, feigning a displeased expression.
Xiaomin then said to Lan Jinyao, "Big Sis Meimei, I won't disturb you two anymore, enjoy your meal. I'm leaving first."
After Xiaomin had left the restaurant, Lan Jinyao suddenly pulled back her hand and asked, "You're not planning to intervene in this matter, right?"
If Fu Bainian made a move, then it would become a big deal!
Fu Bainian snorted, not denying nor conceding.
Of course, he wouldn't tell her. Someone had already come knocking on his door, so if he didn't do anything, then Lan Jinyao's standing would only become worse. He had to at least let those people know that they didn't get married because of their family connection, but because of love.
Chapter 85 – Lan Xin's Conspiracy (7)
When the weekend arrived, the results of the investigation into Lan Xin were in.
In the office, Fu Bainian stared at the information before him for a long time. The first page recorded Lan Xin's life abroad, while the remaining two pages documented her university achievements and plastic surgery information. There was no photo that could prove whether her face had really gone under the knife or not.
With a businessman's keen instinct, Fu Bainian subconsciously believed that the information collected was incomplete, because Lan Xin's history wasn't very detailed. Her parents were unknown, there was no mention of relatives, and there was no record of how or why she'd gone abroad.
When Fu Bainian had received the information, he'd asked Shen Yu if there was anything more, but all that Shen Yu could say was that was all the details they could find. Unfortunately, what was there wasn't any different from the average person.
But, it was exactly because it was too normal that doubts rose within his heart.
After staying in the office for a while, Fu Bainian left with the information.
During the weekend, except for the security guards and several cleaners, there were only a few people working overtime left in the company. As the elevator went down, it stopped at the 12th floor, and a man and a woman entered, seemingly quarrelling over something.
Impatience was visible on the man's face as his hands pushed the woman away as she continuously leaned against him, his tone irritated as he said, "This really isn't my decision; it's a decision that's come from the top. So, tell me, what is the use of you asking me?"
The man then gave a long sigh and said, "Let me give you some advice: if you have the free time to cry in front of me, then you'd be better of going and finding another company. Blue Hall Entertainment isn't able to keep you any longer. Additionally, if you go to another company in the future, remember to control your mouth…"
Apparently just noticing that Fu Bainian was also in the elevator, the man abruptly shut his mouth and smiled with embarrassment. "President Fu!"
"Mhm!" Fu Bainian indifferently responded.
Following the man's call of 'President Fu', the woman's sight became glued to Fu Bainian. Her expression was torn between joy and confusion, reflecting the battle currently being waged in her head.
The elevator quickly arrived on the ground floor. Fu Bainian glanced at the woman who looked like she had something to tell him before he got off the elevator as soon as the doors opened.
Sure enough, just as he reached the hall, the woman ran to catch up with him. She then pulled on his sleeve and cried, "Pres-president!"
Fu Bainian stopped in his tracks.
"Could you please not drive me out? I really didn't do it on purpose, I thought…"
Thought what? Thought that his relationship with Chen Meimei was so bad that they could bully her without consequences? Unnecessarily gossip behind her back?
Fu Bainian's expression turned cold.
The woman released her grip, and her eyes gradually became red. She held back her tears as she whispered, "I can apologise! As long as Chen Meimei forgives me, you'll let me stay, right, President Fu?"
It seemed like she was seeing her last ray of hope in him as her eyes were gleaming.
Fu Bainian's thin lips were pursed. "This was my decision; it has nothing to do with Chen Meimei! I suggest that you go to another management company. Of course, that's if other companies are willing to accept you!"
If Blue Hall Entertainment didn't want her, why would another company bother to accept her? What's more, she was just a newcomer who'd undergone a few days of training, nothing more.
The woman finally couldn't bear it anymore, and she opened her mouth to cry, beyond caring about her image.
The sharp noise made Fu Bainian frowned in displeasure. He waved at the security guard standing in the hall and indifferently ordered, "Don't let her disturb everyone. Hurry up and take her away."
The woman stared at him in shock. At that moment, her eyes reflected a combination of ruthlessness and hate.
Today was the final day to rehearse. Next Wednesday, the advertising company would come to pick the artist for the role, so everyone was staying close for training.
The dance instructor clapped her hands and said to everyone, "All right, now go and change into the clothes that you'll have to wear tomorrow. Let's do a rehearsal practice."
Everyone went to the changing room. Suddenly, Xiaomin gave another scream. Lan Jinyao, who was standing beside her, frowned and covered her ears to prevent her eardrums from being hurt by the high pitched scream.
When she'd arrived at the practice room this morning, she'd discovered that there was one person missing. When she'd asked Lan Xin about it, she'd learnt that the person in question had been kicked out. As for why, Lan Xin had only said how was she supposed to know that.
Of course, Lan Jinyao knew the reason. When she'd gone to the restaurant last night, Xiaomin had appeared in front of her and Fu Bainian to say bad things about the other trainees.
When she'd asked Fu Bainian not to intervene, he was vague and had immediately changed the topic.
The person who'd screamed this time was again Xiaomin.
Not long after, a bunch of people crowded around Xiaomin's locker. When they looked inside, they discovered that her dance clothes had been cut into pieces. Then, when Xiaomin went to take it out with one hand, the fabric fell apart into shreds.
Xiaomin collapsed into tears as she grabbed the tattered fabric and turned to everyone to scream, "Who did this? Why would you do this to me?! Why can't we just compete fair and square? Why would you do such a despicable thing? Could it be that you have no confidence in yourself?!"
The advertisement company's uniform dance clothes were specially made by the designer of the company. Everyone only had one set of clothes. Now that Xiaomin's clothes had been ruined, she'd completely lost the qualification to participate in the selection.
For a moment, everyone was deathly quiet. Nonetheless, Lan Jinyao found that some of the people present still discreetly glanced at her.
It wasn't surprising, to be honest. She'd previously said that she must get this advertisement, so it's no wonder that everyone would look at her with that kind of gaze.
Lan Jinyao thought it wasn't worth explaining though, so she just grabbed her clothes and left.
She knew that Xiaomin's words weren't aimed at her, but thinking about it from another angle, Xiaomin's words still pushed her toward the edge of a cliff. Fortunately, such a thing had happened before, so even if someone suspected her, they wouldn't dare say anything.
While she was changing her clothes, everyone dispersed, leaving only Xiaomin who was holding her dance clothes as she wept.
Seeing her coming back, Xiaomin threw away the clothes and said to her, "Big Sis Meimei, can you help me? Those people all think that it's your doing! I believe in you, so as long as you're willing to help me, then those people will also realise that you aren't deliberately targeting me."
Lan Jinyao raised her brows and smiled tauntingly. "Why would I care if those people believe that I'm not doing it? No matter what the facts are, would anyone dare say anything?"
Xiaomin stared at her, somewhat desperate.
Lan Jinyao then heard her quietly mutter, "Yeah, you're not afraid at all, so why would you do something like this?"
Lan Jinyao just ignored her and left.