She shouldn"t be surprised by this but still, Li Xiuying felt bad for Lan Jinyao. This young woman didn"t deserve to be treated this way. That Lin Meirong… just how many people"s lives she"d ruin just to get where she was now? With Song Zexi"s help, they were able to calm Lan Jinyao through the night while Su Ling stood outside the bedroom, not daring to peek inside. Lan Jinyao had tried to jump on him earlier when he dared to help his miss and because of that, Song Zexi had to kick him out and told him not to enter despite whatever he heard inside the room.
Song Zexi then peeled Lan Jinyao"s sweaty clothes and helped her get into the shower to wash away the sweat and lower her body temperature.
It took them sometime before they could see an improvement on Lan Jinyao. The woman easily fell asleep on the ma.s.sive bed while Li Xiuying was left sitting on a chair next to the bed, pondering the recent events in her life.
What to do now?
Her husband wouldn"t come back for her soon and was probably staying with Lin Meirong. Her hand gently rested on her abdomen, trying to feel the child that was growing inside of her.
Should she tell Mu Jianyu about the child? Would it change his mind from leaving her?
Li Xiuying wanted to believe that he would but remembering what he did behind her back for the past three months had proven that he didn"t care for her anymore. It would be unfair for her child to be used as a bargaining chip to save her failing marriage.
She would rather etch Mu Jianyu out of her life than to let her child suffer but still, a part of her didn"t want to give up on him yet which was infuriating and frustrating at the same time.
Her Uncle Yuren and Aunt Yue"s words resounded on her head.
"A man who cheated once will most likely cheat again. You can"t keep someone who doesn"t want to be kept." Her uncle told her.
Zheng Yue agreed with her husband. "Ying, once trust is broken, things won"t ever be the same again."
Of course, Li Xiuying knew this. Since she discovered her husband"s affair, her view on people and things around her had changed drastically. She could never look at her husband the same way again.
Her thoughts were put in a halt when she heard Lan Jinyao groaning on the bed. Li Xiuying sighed in relief, seeing that the woman wasn"t in discomfort anymore. There were still a few hours before sunrise as it was only past midnight.
Lan Jinyao sat up and cradled her aching head on her hands. She could barely remember what transpired before she pa.s.sed out. Wasn"t she meeting Director Yao earlier? How did she end up on someone"s bed?
"I see you"re awake. Are you still in pain, Miss Lan?" Li Xiuying asked with such gentleness that Lan Jinyao wasn"t used to. Most of the time, people look at her with either curiosity or disgust.
It took several seconds before Lan Jinyao remembered everything. From meeting Director Yao to meeting this "Madam Li".
"W-where… where am I?" She asked in confusion and looked around. "...and who are you?"
When Su Ling said that Madam Li was looking for her, she originally thought she was going to meet Zheng Yue. Instead, she"d met this beautiful woman whom she"d never met before. She watched as Li Xiuying pulled herself up to her feet and sat on the edge of the bed, her hand reaching out to touch her forehead.
"Your fever subsided, that"s good." Li Xiuying sounded relieved which confused the woman in bed. "You"re here in my hotel room, Miss Lan. As for my ident.i.ty, I am Li Xiuying," She wasn"t expecting that Lan Jinyao would know who she was but that didn"t matter.
"Miss Li... thank you for helping me and I"m so sorry for troubling you." She said in a hushed tone.
Though it was Su Ling who had taken her from Director Yao"s hold, she knew that it was Li Xiuying"s initiative that was the reason she ended up safe tonight. She would be forever indebted for Li Xiuying"s help. if it wasn"t for this woman, her chast.i.ty and reputation would"ve been ruined and Lin Meirong would probably be celebrating her downfall by now.
"There"s no need to apologize, Miss Lan. I"m glad that we were able to save you on time,"
"Why... why did you help me?" Lan Jinyao voiced her confusion. While she was grateful for Li Xiuying"s help, she couldn"t help but be wary of her motive. She"d learned the hard way to not easily believe someone"s kindness. Just look at what happened to her now. If she hadn"t believed her manager"s lies, she wouldn"t have come here and met that lecherous director.
Li Xiuying regarded her for a moment, noticing the guarded expression in her eyes. She couldn"t blame her for doubting her intentions. Initially, she wanted to use Lan Jinyao but now, the thought sounded repulsive to her. She couldn"t bring herself lower than she"d already done.
She didn"t beg her husband to stay but that didn"t mean she was oblivious to his extramarital affair. She wanted to know what kind of woman was able to ensnare Mu Jianyu, and wanted to understand why she had allowed the other woman to trample on her marriage.
Lan Jinyao was waiting for her answer but instead, Li Xiuying evaded her question and stated something that shocked the young actress.
"I know who you are, Lan Jinyao. Or should I call you Xi Jinyao, second miss of the Xi family?"
As expected, Lan Jinyao jolted from her seat and scooted away from Li Xiuying. She stared at her with wide eyes, before turning her gaze to Song Zexi who was standing stiffly at the doorway. There was no way she could escape.
But how did Li Xiuying find out about her secret? she"d tried her best not to a.s.sociate herself with the Xi family.
"Relax, Miss Lan. I mean no harm to you," Li Xiuying rea.s.sured her. "I was merely stating a fact, nothing more."
Born from a mistress, Lan Jinyao was sent to an orphanage by her own father after her mother died in childbirth. The man, her father, refused to take her into the Xi family. For him, she was a mistake that shouldn"t have happened. Lan Jinyao reminded him of the sins he committed against his own family.
Even though her father refused to acknowledge her as his daughter, Xi Shaohua, Lan Jinyao"s half sister was enraged when she found out about her existence. Since then, her half sister had caused her a lot of troubles.
Wasn"t it a wonder then that while she was the second miss of the Xi family who owned Redux Entertainment, Lan Jinyao signed on its rival company, Griffin Entertainment?
Lan Jinyao had wanted to become a star but her half-sister somehow always found a way to pressure her previous agencies to let go of her. None of those agencies dared to antagonize the princess of Redux Entertainment but it was a different matter for the Tang family. She was invited to join the company when the Queen of Entertainment herself saw her live performance on stage.
"Then Miss Li, what do you want from me?"