Rebirth of a Star

Do You Want A Patron? (2)
Lan Jinyao nudged him away with her fingers and walked out of the bathroom, her shoulders brushing against his on her way out.

Mother Fu must’ve heard them fighting as she was standing outside the door eavesdropping on them. The moment Lan Jinyao walked out of the bathroom, she saw Mother Fu smiling at her. Lan Jinyao couldn’t look more awkward.

Lan Jinyao sighed inwardly. Chen Meimei used to chase after Fu Bainian like a puppy, and now, she’d fought with him right in front of his Mother. Lan Jinyao didn’t know how she could continue this lie and not get caught!

“Aun-Auntie!”

Mother Fu patted her on the shoulders and said, “Meimei, don’t be mad at my son. Bainian’s Old Man invited that woman, not Bainian. Besides, if I don’t see any good in her, then Bainian mustn’t either. You still have a chance. Remember, Auntie is always on your side! Go for it!”

Lan Jinyao smiled helplessly. “Okay. I will.”

After all that drama, Lan Jinyao returned the table to once again quietly eat dinner. Due to what she’d said, Fu Bainian abstained from placing any more food on her plate.

The whole room was now shrouded by a weird atmosphere. Xu Jin’ge seemed to have noticed how Fu Bainian was treating her and didn’t dare stir up any more trouble. All in all, Lan Jinyao had a pretty good time. Except for one thing: anytime she put something onto her plate, Fu Bainian would throw her a fleeting glance. When she would look over, he would turn away like nothing had ever happened. She didn’t at all know what to think.

After the meal, Lan Jinyao lay on the couch and watched the TV. The gears in her head were spinning as they tried to find the perfect time for her to leave. She would break down if she stayed here any longer. Just as she was about to use her work as an excuse, Fu Bainian suddenly said, “You should stay here for the night. You have to be on set tomorrow, and this house is closer.”

Before Lan Jinyao could say anything, Mother Fu nodded excitedly and piped up, “Yeah, yeah, you should stay here tonight. I’ll give Father Chen a call; he’ll probably be over the moon.”

As she was making the phone call, she babbled, “Oh right, since you’re staying here tonight, you might as well move in. If you live together, over time, you may grow to like each other. Then, you can think about getting engaged soon. The wedding needs to be big; we’ll invite a lot of people. The gown needs to be classy and beautiful. Hmm, and the venue needs to be a good one as well…”

Lan Jinyao looked at her, dumbfounded. Just how much was she looking forward to her son marrying Chen Meimei?!

That night, with Mother Fu’s encouragement, Lan Jinyao ended up staying at their place. She didn’t even have a chance to say no. As for Xu Jin’ge, after waiting a while, she was very politely asked to leave by Mother Fu.

Fu Bainian’s room was on the second floor and the first door on the left. Mother Fu told Lan Jinyao to stay in the room next to his.

In the evening, after Lan Jinyao had taken a shower and was just about to get her beauty sleep, someone knocked on her door. She’d thought that it was Mother Fu, but when she opened the door, she saw that it was Fu Bainian.

Her eyes widened in shock, and just as she was about to shut the door, she found that it was blocked.

“Wait! I have something that I need to discuss with you!”

He strode into the bedroom and locked the door behind them.

Lan Jinyao moved backwards, pulling her evening gown tighter around herself. “What do you want?”

Fu Bainian threw her a disdainful glance before casually sitting on a chair.

“What do you think I’m going to do? You, the person covered with fat!” His words provoked Lan Jinyao. “Then, why did you barge into my bedroom in the middle of the night?” She retorted.

“This is my house!” Fu Bainian rubbed the crease between his eyebrows and quietly said, “I told you, I’m here to discuss something with you. I heard that you wanted to get into showbiz?”

Lan Jinyao gave him a questioning look. She sat on the bed and pulled the blanket around herself. “Didn’t you know that ages ago?” she muttered.

“I knew that you wanted to get into the business, but you did that because of…”

Me. He, fortunately, didn’t finish his sentence, because if he had, this woman would’ve pointed at his nose and called him a narcissist.

“You didn’t really want to do the work as you had ulterior motives. Now, it’s different. I can tell that you’re serious about becoming an actress.”

Lan Jinyao was amused. Since when could this man tell what she was thinking? Everyone in the world thought she’d gotten into showbiz for him, and was only now working hard just to impress him. Even Shen Yu thought that!

“Oh? How did you know that I’m now serious about my job and aren’t just doing it…for you?”

Fu Bainian opened his mouth without saying anything. It was as if he was writing his speech in his head.

Lan Jinyao could tell that what he was going to say would not be easy on her ears.

“Because, that day…I saw you cry. The Chen Meimei of the past was carefree. If you didn’t really want to do this, you’d have quit the moment someone mistreated you. That’s the Chen Meimei I know. If anything didn’t go your way, you would tear the set apart.” Fu Bainian said.

Ha, so he did know Chen Meimei pretty well.

“Alright, let’s get back to the point. What do you want to talk to me about?”

“I think you need a patron, and I happen to need a girlfriend. We can help each other out by being a couple.”

Where do you see that I need a patron?

Lan Jinyao was going to say that, but after some considerations, she realised that she did need someone helping her. Chen Meimei wasn’t doing well at Blue Hall Entertainment, and almost everyone disliked her. She didn’t know how to act at all, but that was fine for her since she didn’t really want to work in the first place. But, Lan Jinyao was different, and as Chen Meimei, it was now hard for her to find something to act in.

Originally, she’d thought that she would be able to convince everyone of her worth with her acting, but reality differed significantly from her expectations. For just one scene, she’d had to take at least a dozen takes. She was pulling her weight, but people loved picking on Chen Meimei. She wondered how many people Chen Meimei had offended over the years for Fu Bainian.

Thinking about it, she was actually interested. If she agreed, then she wouldn’t need to rely on Old Man Chen anymore. What’s more, Fu Bainian had stated very clearly that there was someone he liked.

Lan Jinyao decided to give this suggestion some consideration. Fu Bainian didn’t rush her, and instead, he picked up a magazine and started reading.

After a few minutes, Lan Jinyao suddenly asked him, “You promise to pull some strings for me?”

Fu Bainian nodded seriously. “I promise!”

“Alright! I agree!” It was just acting, she thought. She could handle it.

After she agreed, Fu Bainian dropped the magazine and left as he didn’t want to stay for even a second longer. Lan Jinyao chased after him and asked, “What gave you this idea?”

Fu Bainian stopped, and he didn’t say anything for a long while. “My Mum threatened me with blind dates!”

Once he said that a burst of laughter rang through the hallway.

Fu Bainian strode back to his room with a dark expression and slammed the door closed behind him.