Rebirth of a Star

Chapter 43 – Divorce Storm (1)
Li Qi drove Lan Jinyao home, and on the way, he kept talking about what had happened on set. In short, he was praising her.

After he was done praising her, he asked, “Hey, did you see how green Shen Wei’an’s face was? Tell me, did you steal the powdered sugar that the crew had prepared and switch it to something else?”

Lan Jinyao was busy listening to a song on the radio, and with his question, she gave him a cheerful look. “How did you guess? I changed the powdered sugar into salt. I thought that she’d choke on it.”

“You’re a heartless woman. In the past, you and Shen Wei’an didn’t hate each other, so why are you so fierce towards her now?”

To tell the truth, when Li Qi had seen the pair interacting, he was bewildered. When it came to Chen Meimei, although her behaviour wasn’t the greatest, as long as someone didn’t provoke her, she wouldn’t take the initiative to provoke them. But, on set today, Chen Meimei’s actions were an eye-opener for him.

Lan Jinyao snorted and didn’t say anything.

Chen Meimei indeed didn’t feel any hatred towards that woman, but she did. Every time Lan Jinyao faced Shen Wei’an, her repulsive features of that night would come to mind. Shen Wei’an had blamed Lan Jinyao for blocking her path, and for stealing Shen Yu. Yet now, even without her presence as Lan Jinyao, that woman was still unable to make Shen Yu look at her. Shen Wei’an had now also degraded herself by having an affair with a married man and intruding in someone’s family.

“Alright, enough about that matter. Anyway, you have no scenes after this last one, so even if Shen Wei’an wants to make trouble with you, she can’t. You can prepare for your next drama with a peace of mind. By the time you become the female lead, there may not be as much leisure time as there is now. I guess that the fat on your body will be several pounds lighter by then too.”

Lan Jinyao smiled at him. “I also think that’ll be the case. Just wait and see, Big Sis will return to her peak!”

“By the way, have you taken any pictures or videos of me today?”

“What do you intend to do with them?”

“I can’t let Shen Wei’an get away with hitting me, can I? That was the first time that I’ve ever been slapped since I was born!”

Li Qi smiled slyly. “Of course I have some. I was initially going to sell them to a newspaper because I didn’t know that you’d already thought of a different method. I’ll give them to you later for free! Do you intend to post them on the internet?”

“Of course! It would be such a waste of good material if I didn’t post them on the internet, right?” If she were to sell them to a newspaper, PR would most likely cover the whole incident up. She’d heard that Shen Wei’an’s patron was filthy rich.

That evening, Lan Jinyao went straight home. However, as she neared her door, she could make out the tall silhouette of a man. To her surprise, Fu Bainian was waiting for her.

As soon as Lan Jinyao saw him, her expression turned cold and she indifferently asked him, “What are you doing here? I happen to have a day off tomorrow, so if it was about signing the divorce papers, come pick me up tomorrow morning!”

“There’s no rush with the divorce. Instead, I have something else to ask you!”

Lan Jinyao stared at him with a strange look. “Oh, if it wasn’t about the divorce, then is it about you being rejected by that other girl? Does the great President Fu want to use me as a shield again?”

This man’s attitude was becoming increasingly strange. If it had been before, Lan Jinyao definitely would’ve misunderstood him and thought that he liked her. But now, she didn’t dare consider it. After all, she’d been hurt once, and she knew well how it felt.

“Chen Meimei, can’t you speak nicely to me? I’m extremely sorry about everything that’s happened, and for hurting you.”

Lan Jinyao crossed her arms over her chest, and said to him, “Okay! I forgive you. So tell me, why are you looking for me today?”

“Can’t you invite me in to sit first? I have something to ask you!”

“No way!”

Lan Jinyao pouted and shook her head like a rattle.

Fu Bainian remained silent as he stared at her. Which in turn, made Lan Jinyao feel uncomfortable being stared at so thoroughly.

She raised her voice as she said, “If you have something to ask me, just ask here! It’s already so late at night, so it’s not appropriate for a man to come in.”

Chen Zetao could freely enter, yet it was inappropriate for him to go in? Did this mean that Chen Zetao wasn’t a man?

Fu Bainian felt frustrated.

However, he didn’t intend to force her. He’d just wait for her temper to cool down, and then he’d have a talk with her.

“I want to ask you about your relationship with Lan Jinyao. Were the two of you on good terms before? I heard from Chang Sheng that you and Lan Jinyao were good friends and that the recommendation letter was written for you? But, I thought that you used to hate Lan Jinyao?”

The recommendation letter hadn’t yet been professionally examined, but he was impatient and couldn’t wait any longer. For Fu Bainian, two days was too long. He’d originally wanted to wait, but every minute and every second was too tormenting.

Moreover, after he’d gone to the set, the thoughts in his mind had intensified; Chen Meimei really was different compared to her former self. When the current Chen Meimei was on set, she was very serious and engrossed in her work. Even when someone had made things difficult for her and had slapped her, she didn’t make a scene like she’d previously done.

Upon hearing him asking her so bluntly, Lan Jinyao drew a blank on how to respond. After a good while, she finally reacted and started babbling, “Our relationship was excellent, so she wrote a recommendation letter for me. But, after that, didn’t I enter the entertainment industry because of you? Hence, we had a fallout. Are you satisfied now that I’ve explained it like this?”

She spilled her lies with a straight face and a steady heartbeat. Her only fault was that her eyes showed her emotions and that they were looking everywhere but at him.

Fu Bainian caught this little movement of hers. Lan Jinyao’s heartbeat accelerated, and her hands were uncomfortably tucked into the pockets of her pants.

It was the same quirk that Lan Jinyao had. Even though it was coming from Chen Meimei, he didn’t feel that it was weird. In order to conceal his odd feelings, Fu Bainian turned around to avoid looking at her as he gave a noncommittal hum.

Lan Jinyao doubtfully stared at him. This man actually believed her? So, the great President Fu could be so easily deceived?

“Oh…then, do you have anything else that you want to ask me?”

“Yes,” he quickly answered.

Lan Jinyao stared at him, indicating that she was listening.

“It’s very late now, so I’ll ask you again next time. It’s some things regarding Lan Jinyao, so you must tell me when the time comes!”

“Ok!” Hurry up and go away!

As Fu Bainian was about to leave, Lan Jinyao suddenly asked, “If you want to know things about Lan Jinyao, why don’t you just ask her…ask Lan Xin? Aren’t you and Lan Xin together now?”

Did that recommendation letter make him doubt Lan Xin’s identity?

Fu Bainian turned his head to look at her and said, “Lan Xin, she…indeed knows a lot about Lan Jinyao, but I can feel it, she…”

Lan Xin wasn’t Lan Jinyao! But he didn’t want to tell her yet. After all, he’d chosen to abandon Chen Meimei because of Lan Xin, leaving her alone in the Maldives.

Lan Jinyao stared straight at him, a glint of hope in her eyes. But, Fu Bainian only said goodnight and left.

“What the heck!? Why did he stop speaking midway?” she muttered under her breath.