The next morning, Lan Jinyao woke up around ten o"clock after sleeping soundly with no dreams. After sobering up, Lan Jinyao was in a particularly good mood. As expected, nowhere was more rea.s.suring than home sweet home.
By the time she"d woken up, the spot beside her was already empty and cold. She lay in bed with her eyes open for a while longer before getting up.
While brus.h.i.+ng her teeth, Lan Jinyao thought: She ought to make a trip to the hospital for a checkup. She didn"t want her deceased child to become a permanent scar between her and Fu Bainian.
Fu Bainian had already left for work, so Lan Jinyao was sitting at the dining table alone, eating breakfast. At this moment, the landline abruptly rang. Only when she"d heard the ringing did she remember that she had to get a new phone. Even though she was planning to withdraw from the public"s eye slowly, a mobile phone was an essential item that she needed to use in her daily life, so she still had to get one.
When she picked up the phone, Chen Zetao"s voice connected. She coughed twice and cleared her throat before saying, "Director Chen, are you looking for Bainian?"
"I"m looking for you!"
Lan Jinyao was quite surprised at his response; she didn"t expect Chen Zetao to be so well-informed. She"d just gotten home last night, and no one was aware of this news yet. But, Chen Zetao already knew, and he"d even called so early in the morning.
Chen Zetao, as if he"d guessed her thoughts, smiled and said, "If it hadn"t been for me, you might still be stuck at Jiang Cheng"s place. Yet, you"re wondering why I know you"re at home?"
Upon hearing him say this, Lan Jinyao laughed. She really hadn"t thought of this point because Chen Zetao was, after all, just a Director. He hadn"t experienced the hypocrisy of the business world, let alone Fu Bainian"s means of handling matters.
"Thanks! You"re right; if it hadn"t been for you, I might still be trapped at Jiang Cheng"s manor, suffering inhumane torture."
As she spoke, she also acted out a scene on her own and heaved a long sigh.
Chen Zetao didn"t laugh at her exaggerated performance. On the contrary, his tone grew heavier as he said, "Meimei, I"m really sorry. To think that you encountered such an incident during the movie shoot. When I chose that island, I didn"t think too much into it and never thought that President Jiang had feelings for you. So, I really wanted to apologise for that. I"m sorry that you had to suffer so much."
"No need to apologise, because it"s not your fault. In fact, this matter isn"t related to you." At that time, she"d already known that Jiang Cheng harboured evil designs against her, and even Fu Bainian was aware of this. But, who"d have thought that Jiang Cheng would be so daring as to do things the illegal way, without a care for the law?
Lan Jinyao tried to lighten her tone despite the bad memories. "Director Chen, you didn"t call today to simply check on me, right?"
As for Chen Zetao"s intentions, Lan Jinyao had guessed correctly right from the start.
Chen Zetao then faintly responded with a slightly encouraging tone, "Yes, I have some good news for you, so you should quickly liven up your mood and p.r.i.c.k up your ears to hear what I"m about to say next!"
Upon hearing this, Lan Jinyao pondered about it for a short while and instantly guessed what his next words would be.
Good news… What else could the good news be, aside from "Twilight" being a success? However, even though she"d already guessed the answer, she wasn"t going to expose Chen Zetao. After all, he sounded very happy at this moment, so she shouldn"t spoil things.
"Meimei, you"ve been nominated for the Best Actress Award together with Lan Xin…"
After speaking till here, Chen Zetao deliberately paused for a few seconds before continuing, "And…Shen Wei"an. Although she"s dead now, the film that she was in had been produced long before, and the reception was also very good. So, this time, she"s also on the list of nominees. But, you don"t need to worry as Shen Wei"an"s name on the list is just a gimmick. After all, this nominee selection also needs some propaganda and publicity, so there"s no way that she"d be the ultimate winner."
Lan Jinyao remained silent for a long time before she lightly responded, "That"s not necessarily the case. Shen Wei"an was entangled in so many scandals, but she was able to smoothly get away every time. Even though she"s not here anymore, her accomplices are still here!"
What"s more, whether Shen Wei"an was truly dead or not was still a mystery to her.
"In any case, you have to put on your best clothes and look the most beautiful while walking on the red carpet. But, don"t overlook this, because according to my experience and observation, the t.i.tle of Movie G.o.ddess will be yours to take."
Lan Jinyao laughed and said, "I hope things will go as you say." Chen Zetao was unexpectedly optimistic about her. The former Chen Meimei didn"t have any acting skills nor was she very attractive, so Lan Jinyao couldn"t understand how Chen Zetao fell in love with her.
No, that wasn"t right. Chen Meimei did have her personal charms. Otherwise, Jiang Cheng wouldn"t have loved her to the point of wanting to die with her. Wait…sacrificing himself for love should be a more accurate way to put it. Albeit, Jiang Cheng"s original intention was to drag Chen Meimei to the otherworld with him.
In the afternoon, Lan Jinyao was resting at home when someone suddenly knocked on the door. She walked to the door and peeked through the peephole. There was a group of angry-looking people standing outside. At the same time, there were also security guards anxiously following behind them, seemingly saying something to the group.
After just a glance at the situation outside, Lan Jinyao started to feel uneasy. Those people looked like those she"d seen in the TV series she"d filmed before. All of them were wearing black suits with a pair of sungla.s.ses, and they seemed very intimidating.
Her hands quivered upon witnessing this, and she quickly rushed back to the living room to call Fu Bainian.
"Fu Bainian, a group of people broke into our neighbourhood and they"re currently standing at our door!"
"Don"t open the door, just wait for me to come back," Fu Bainian urged before quickly hanging up the phone.
At this moment, someone outside abruptly spoke with an aged voice, "Mrs Fu, I know you"re at home. I"m Jiang Cheng"s Grandfather, and I want to discuss something with you. Don"t worry, I simply want to speak with you; I won"t hurt you."
Lan Jinyao, who was hiding behind the door, rolled her eyes after listening to him say that. He"d said that he wouldn"t hurt her and that he merely wanted to talk? Who would believe that?! Not even children would believe that, let alone her. If he"d wanted to speak to a frail woman like her, was there a need for him to bring along so many people and cause such a huge commotion? How laughable!
What"s more, Fu Bainian didn"t show Jiang Cheng any mercy at all, and had sent him directly to prison.
If she went out now, she"d undoubtedly turn into cannon fodder.
Lan Jinyao was determined not to take another step forward and silently stood there, next to the door, allowing the elder to continue exercising his persuasion skills.
But, not long after, the people standing behind Jiang Cheng"s Grandfather suddenly started to move. Lan Jinyao"s heart instantly leapt into her throat. It seemed that Jiang Cheng"s Grandfather wasn"t one to be underestimated. It appeared that he"d given up persuading her, and had decided to resort to force instead.
Lan Jinyao was starting to get anxious on behalf of those security guards. Why didn"t they call the police? Didn"t they know how to do that?
Just as those people were about to make a move, Fu Bainian arrived. At this moment, Lan Jinyao finally let out a breath of relief and relaxed.