Chapter 196: Chapter 196

Chapter 196 – Best Actress Award (2)

The Award Ceremony would take place later in the evening, but Li Qi arrived slightly earlier to pick Lan Jinyao up. At the same time, Fu Bainian had also called and proposed to come to pick her up after work, but she deemed it unnecessary and rejected his offer.

As soon as Li Qi arrived, he got off the van to wait by the door, and Xiaolin remained seated. Soon after, Lan Jinyao walked out while holding the hem of her dress. Upon seeing her, Li Qi hurriedly stepped forward to help her carry the tail of her long dress.

While walking down the red carpet, various actresses racked their brains to compete for attention. Even actresses ranked lower than the eighteenth rank came specifically to walk down the red carpet.

“Li Qi, do you have Lan Xin’s number?” Unfortunately, Lan Jinyao hadn’t gotten the chance to back up any of the numbers in her address book before she’d lost her mobile when she was kidnapped by Jiang Cheng. With the addition of her bad memory, she couldn’t remember any of the numbers except for her husband’s.

“Yes, I happen to have it… Actually, Lan Xin doesn’t have a strong prominence, so you don’t have to worry about her.”

Lan Jinyao’s mouth twitched when he said that. This wasn’t what she was worried about, alright? She merely wanted to ask Lan Xin if she’d arrived. From what she’d observed so far, Lan Xin did have a knack for acting, but it seemed that she wasn’t very keen on developing her acting skills. She’d only seen Lan Xin practise earnestly once, but that one time was with a specific objective in mind.

“Li Qi? It’s truly rare to receive a call from you. What’s up?”

Upon hearing this familiar voice, Lan Jinyao subconsciously clicked her tongue. Lan Xin’s voice sounded genuinely similar to her former self. Disregarding her manner of speech and by only listening to her voice, Li Qi would’ve certainly mistaken Lan Xin for her if he was the one who’d called her.

“It’s me, Chen Meimei. Are you here already?”

“Oh, it’s you. Yeah, I arrived long ago. By the way, I saw a woman who looks a lot like you. Hurry up and come over; she’s currently sitting in the first row!”

The first row? Those seats were reserved for special guests…

Lan Jinyao silently complained in her heart: Humph! Who else could it be…aside from you?

However, Lan Jinyao negated this thought soon after because she realised that she’d misinterpreted Lan Xin’s words. Perhaps, Lan Xin meant that she’d seen a woman who looked very similar to the current her, and that woman had, in fact, already made an appearance before her and Fu Bainian. That person must be Qingqing!

The smile on her face instantly faded when she hung up the call. Upon seeing her like this, Li Qi hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Is it because the person you’re competing against is Lan Xin, so you’re…lacking self-confidence?

Lan Jinyao shook her head before casting a glance at Li Qi. After staring at him for a while, the frown on her face suddenly deepened.

Li Qi, on the other hand, was somewhat baffled as he touched his cheek with a questioning look.

“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? That look of yours makes me anxious!”

Lan Jinyao didn’t answer him as she was still deep in thought: Since Qingqing had chosen to appear at the Award Ceremony, she must’ve come with a hidden agenda. She couldn’t say for sure that nothing would happen later. After all, this was the first time she’d been nominated for an award and, perhaps, this would be the only award she’d receive as Chen Meimei, so she couldn’t allow for any mishaps.

This time’s Award Ceremony looked like a grand gathering of all the superstars in the industry. Lan Xin had donned a bright red gala dress, exuding a sexy and enchanting vibe. However, the moment Lan Jinyao’s gaze landed on Lan Xin, she felt somewhat conflicted in her heart. That was because she’d never dressed so sexily in the past. Even when it was time to walk down the red carpet, she’d simply wear a light-coloured dress; that kind of low-key, sophisticated fashion was more her kind of style. Even though she’d slowly adapted to a sexier fashion style to match Chen Meimei’s preferences, she couldn’t help but feel a sort of dislike towards the way Lan Xin had dressed tonight, especially since she was wearing that while looking like her former self.

Upon seeing her, Lan Xin walked over and teased, “Why are you looking at me like this? Don’t tell me that you’re entranced by my beauty?”

Lan Jinyao solemnly shook her head. “Are you sure you like Lan Jinyao’s fashion style? What you’re currently wearing isn’t according to Lan Jinyao’s preferences though!”

In her previous life, she’d never wear this kind of sexy dress. Unless it was explicitly requested by the Director for a drama or movie scene, she’d never dress like this.

“Let’s not talk about me; tell me some more about you instead!” Lan Xin laughed while casting a mischievous glance at her.

When Lan Jinyao saw her mischievous smile, she instantly had a bad hunch. And, right after that, she saw Lan Xin pointing in Fu Bainian’s direction. “How about that, surprised or not?”

At Fu Bainian’s side there was a bright-looking woman who had her arms tightly wrapped around Fu Bainian, her hands about to hook around his neck.

Lan Xin stared at her intently and teasingly added, “Look, doesn’t she bear a striking resemblance to you? No…to be precise, she’s like how you used to be. Even Fu Bainian couldn’t resist her charm.”

At this moment, Lan Jinyao coldly snorted and responded, “I’m afraid her charm isn’t on the same level as mine!”

She had long expected that that woman would pester Fu Bainian. No matter what Fu Bainian had planned, the current situation didn’t look so great. *Didn’t he notice that those reporters were constantly snapping pictures of him? *

“Sigh, forget it. Shall we go? Remember to pose elegantly when we walk down the red carpet. You’ll surely outdo that woman; let her pale in comparison!”

This place was star-studded. There were beautiful-looking people everywhere.

Lan Jinyao wasn’t the most beautiful-looking one, but her temperament was the best.

After walking down the red carpet, she halted her steps behind Fu Bainian, boring holes in his skull with her gaze. Lan Xin sat next to her and continuously lamented, “Where’s your so-called virtuous temperament? You unexpectedly become a jelly woman within a second! If you can’t continue watching, then hurry over there and strangle President Fu. Well…strangling that woman is fine by me too!”

Lan Xin’s voice wasn’t too loud nor too low, but the people sitting in the front row just so happened to be able to hear her. Fu Bainian turned his head and cast an indifferent, emotionless glance at Lan Jinyao.

On the other hand, Qingqing leaned intimately against Fu Bainian’s shoulder with a provocative look on her face. Seeing this made Lan Jinyao’s blood boil.

“I certainly will!” Lan Jinyao scoffed indifferently.

Meanwhile, the Award Ceremony had already started. After the host had talked the hind legs off a donkey, he, at last, announced the shortlisted nominees.

“Cheng Huiya, Lan Xin, Chen Meimei, Xu Ru, and Shen Wei’an!”

Lan Xin seemed to be unaware of the nominees before this, so as soon as the host had finished speaking, her expression instantly stiffened and she unhappily questioned, “Why is that lowly woman, Shen Wei’an, nominated? Isn’t she already dead? To think that she could also be shortlisted with those kinds of mediocre achievements. Is there something wrong with the brains of those that voted for her?!”

Lan Xin’s words were too fierce. Lan Jinyao tried to stop her, but when her gaze fell on Qingqing, she dismissed this thought and let it be.

She really wanted to confirm her suspicions.

As a result, Lan Jinyao also followed along, and said, “Yeah, it definitely surprised me that Shen Wei’an was shortlisted even though she’s already dead. But, if she were alive, I believe that she wouldn’t receive this kind of honour. Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s just wait and see! She’s merely a shortlisted nominee; she couldn’t possibly win an award.”

Upon hearing this, Lan Xin glanced at her, flabbergasted. “Looks like you really dislike that woman!”