Chapter 99 – Who Is The Mastermind? (1)
"How was the taste of being slapped, Shen Wei'an? Must be unpleasant, right?"
After the reporters had left, Lan Jinyao came out from behind Fu Bainian's and smiled at the gloomy Shen Wei'an.
Shen Wei'an covered her reddened cheek and glanced at Fu Bainian before she uttered in embarrassment, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Lan Jinyao's expression was still all smiles, though 'I don't believe you' was written all across her face.
Shen Wei'an said again, "I just went out to answer a phone call. How could things have become like this?"
"Yeah, how could things have become like this?" Lan Jinyao then turned to look at Fu Bainian and chuckled. "Bainian, how come you're here? Did you know beforehand that someone wanted to take advantage of me to create hype? To think that even the Director's wife had been invited over; you're quite amazing!"
She'd already guessed that Shen Wei'an would do something to her, but she hadn't expected that Shen Wei'an's smooth-talking was so great that even the Director's wife would come over. She'd thought that it would just be the reporters.
Fu Bainian swept a cold glance over Shen Wei'an before he closed the door.
In the quiet room, Lan Jinyao stuck her ear on the door and listened to the movements outside.
The steam rising from the glass of hot water placed on the table had gradually disappeared, but Lan Jinyao didn't drink a gulp of it.
The next day, Lan Jinyao received a phone call from the Director. In the end, the second female lead had still been replaced. The middle-aged man was quite embarrassed when he was talking to her, and he said that it was the top management's decision. After hanging up the phone, Lan Jinyao sighed. She wasn't that sad over it, but she did feel that it was slightly regrettable since the changes made in the script were quite good after all. If she was the second female lead, she guessed she would’ve severely oppressed Shen Wei’an.
What's more, is that the moment she saw Shen Wei'an arriving with the Director's wife, she'd already guessed that she had no chance with this film.
Not long after the call from the Director, Lan Jinyao received another call from Lan Xin asking her to meet up at the bar that they'd previously met at.
The newcomer training had just finished, and a Manager hadn't yet been arranged for Lan Xin by the company when her career went on hiatus. If she had to describe this with her own words, then she would say that she was idle to the point of growing mould.
When Lan Jinyao arrived at the bar, Lan Xin was already drinking. She was sipping on a strong alcoholic beverage, and noticing Lan Jinyao's arrival, she waved towards her.
"Hey, tell me, how long will it take for me to reach your position? You shot an ad and toppled the rest of the women's enthusiasm. It was amazing!"
"Just take it slow. Anyway, you have plenty of time!"
In this industry, who didn't walk this path? Compared to anyone else, she was lucky to be given a second chance to live, that's all.
Lan Xin seemed to be a little drunk, her eyes becoming slightly blurry.
"You're wrong, how could I have so much time? I'm not afraid to spend a lifetime to doing one thing, but I worry that when I go forward, that person also moves forward. I must close the distance between us as soon as possible!" her tone was somewhat frustrated as she spoke.
Lan Jinyao nodded as she listened to Lan Xin's words. It seemed that she'd fallen in love with a particular person and wanted to close the distance between them. Those words were well said.
"Come on, drink with me!" Lan Xin raised her glass and clinked it against Lan Jinyao's glass. "We won't go home tonight until we're drunk. From tomorrow, I'll start to work harder!"
"Okay!" Seeing Lan Xin's fighting spirit, she didn't decline further and downed her wine.
However, Lan Jinyao didn't expect to be drunk after only drinking one glass of alcohol. Additionally, it wasn't the half-awake kind of drunk. She instantly fainted into unconsciousness.
When she woke up later, she discovered that she was lying on the bed in the room above the bar. Lan Xin was lying on the couch.
Lan Jinyao felt like her head was going to explode, and her throat was terribly dry. As she called out to Lan Xin, she was surprised that her voice was so shockingly hoarse.
She quickly got out of bed, poured herself a glass of cold water, and downed it. It was only then that she felt better.
"Lan Xin, Lan Xin, wake up…"
After shaking her several times, Lan Xin gradually started waking up. She drowsily looked at Lan Jinyao. "Meimei? What is it?"
"Why were we so drunk last night? I feel like I'm done for."
When she connected her phone to a charger by the bed so that she could turn it on, a series of missed calls appeared on the screen. Her phone was almost exploding due to the amount of information it was abruptly receiving.
"Fu Bainian is looking for you?" Lan Xin stood up and stretched her stiff muscles.
Lan Jinyao took a deep breath and shoved her phone in front of Lan Xin. "Look at it! Most of them are from Fu Bainian. I guess the volcano has already erupted. When I go home, I'm going to be burnt into charcoal."
Lan Xin bit her lower lip as she displayed an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry. I also drank too much last night. I guess He Xiaoyun helped move us into this room."
Because they often went to this bar they were already familiar with each other. Due to this, of course, He Xiaoyun would help them find a room, but…when Lan Jinyao's gaze landed on the couch, a thread of doubt flashed in her eyes.
Lan Jinyao was fully armed and ready to leave the bar. She was worried that someone would take her photo at the entrance of the bar, so her pace was fast. After all, lodging for the night in a bar wasn't good for an artist's image.
She was walking fast, but just as she was outside the bar, she accidentally bumped into a man. She didn't pay much attention to the man and merely threw out a 'sorry' as she left.
After getting in her car, she gave Fu Bainian a call. On the phone, his voice sounded extremely anxious as he immediately asked her once the call connected, "Where are you?"
"I'm at…I'll explain it to you once I'm home!"
"All right. Drive slowly!"
Although it sounded like he was suppressing his anger, he still didn't forget to care about her welfare. Lan Jinyao's lips curled up into a smile.
As she started the car, she saw Lan Xin standing by the entrance to the bar through the car window. The woman was casually walking away with a pleased look and a faint smile plastered on her face.
She muttered under her breath, "I hope you can still be so carefree after you become popular!"
When Lan Jinyao returned home, Fu Bainian was sitting on the couch watching the news. Seeing her return home, he seemed relieved.
"If you hadn't turned on your phone soon I might've called the police!" he told her as he pulled her to sit down beside him and pointing to the news on the TV.
Upon seeing a large amount of blood being displayed on the news, Lan Jinyao's eyes widened.