Chapter 61: Chapter 61

Chapter 61 – Suspicions Arise (2)

This time, the place where Rouge Fermentation’s crew had chosen for the shoot was a resort villa with a classical atmosphere. The area often attracted a bunch of tourists who admired traditional culture.

The trees were tall with thick aerial roots that were tangled and that hung down from the top of the trees. The ground was filled with clusters of small shrubs which were blooming with various tiny wildflowers that were colourful and beautiful.

Sitting in the car, Lan Jinyao’s eyes were fixed on the scenery outside the window. Sometimes, she would use her phone to shoot one or two short videos.

“Is this a holiday or a filming location? With such beautiful scenery, I might be reluctant to leave after living here,” she sighed softly. “What a beautiful view!”

Li Qi had his eyes closed to rest, and upon hearing her sigh, he opened them. Glancing outside, nothing but green vegetation entered his vision.

“It is beautiful. If you want to live here, you can buy a place...that is, if you’re not afraid of ghosts,” he said.

“Are there ghosts here?” Lan Jinyao looked at him in horror.

Li Qi smiled mysteriously.

“He’s lying to you!” the driver chimed in. “This is a famous holiday resort; how could there be ghosts? It’s just that there are more flowers and trees around.”

Lan Jinyao breathed out in relief.

Once they’d arrived at the resort, the Director let all the actors get some rest before they would spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening filming. Lan Jinyao had had a good rest last night, so after she’d arrived at the resort, she decided to stroll around. The scenery was charming, leaving her feeling refreshed in the midst of a vast expanse of plants.

There was a lotus pond behind the villa which imitated the lotus ponds of ancient times that would be found in the backyards of large households. Inside, there were various colours of koi.

Lan Jinyao sat in the pavilion and took pictures of her surroundings.

As she was checking the pictures she’d just taken, she saw a piece of clothing peeking out from behind one of the tree trunks. But, when she turned and stared at the tree trunk, there was nothing there.

She rolled her eyes and suddenly smiled. Then, she pretended as if nothing had happened and continued to take pictures. While she was pretending to concentrate on taking pictures, she saw a piece of clothing once again reveal itself from behind the big tree. The design on the clothes seemed so familiar, and she recalled having seen it somewhere before.

Right, she saw it when she was at the Fu residence. Those clothes belong to Xu Jin’ge!

What was that woman up to, being all sneaky behind her?

Lan Jinyao quietly walked towards the tree with light steps and then, before Xu Jin’ge managed to poke her head out, she slapped her on the shoulder and exclaimed, ”Hey! What are you doing here?”

Xu Jin’ge, who was shocked, retreated a few steps back before releasing a loud scream.

The scream was so high-pitched that Lan Jinyao couldn’t help but cover her ears. Xu Jin’ge slumped to the ground, her foot caught in a rat trap. Her beautiful high-heeled shoe had been crushed, and a few drops of bright red blood oozed from the wound around her ankle.

That must hurt! Lan Jinyao thought. No wonder Xu Jin’ge would cry due to the pain.

A thought raced through Lan Jinyao’s mind, and she realised right away what Xu Jin’ge was up to when she saw her being all sneaky by herself. At that, Lan Jinyao’s expression couldn’t help but turn cold.

“Hey, help me!” Although Xu Jin’ge was crying, she was still acting arrogant with a commanding tone.

Lan Jinyao crossed her arms over her chest as she watched Xu Jin’ge. “Did you want to harm me? Hehe, don’t you think that your situation now is just like the saying ‘you reap what you sow’?”

She hadn’t anticipated that Xu Jin’ge would ever be this childish, so it seemed that she’d overestimated this woman in the end. She didn’t think that Xu Jin’ge’s heart would be so similar to Shen Wei’an’s. Lan Jinyao looked down at the rat trap and flinched, terrified to imagine what would’ve happened if she’d been the one to step on it.

Lan Jinyao hadn’t worn high heels today, but a pair of flats made of soft fabric. If her foot had been the one caught in the rat trap, it wouldn’t have been just a simple cut; it was likely that it would’ve pierced her flesh too.

“Xu Jin’ge, this is what it means to reap what you sow!”

Xu Jin’ge’s cries increased in volume, her lady-like image utterly destroyed.

She pointed at Lan Jinyao while crying, and angrily said, “Chen Meimei, I already said that it wasn’t my doing. Hurry up and call someone to help me!”

Lan Jinyao snorted. “You’re asking me for help, yet you still act like this? You should wisen up!”

She then turned and left, leaving Xu Jin’ge crying in the bushes.

Li Qi was drinking tea in the living room when she returned. Upon seeing her enter, he promptly said, “I thought that only the environment here is good, but the tea here is delicious. Come and have a taste!”

Lan Jinyao took the teacup from his hand and nonchalantly said, “Xu Jin’ge’s foot is caught in a rat trap. She’s currently in the bushes crying her lungs out. You should ask someone to help her.”

“What? Caught in a rat trap?” Li Qi thought quickly before asking, “That woman wouldn’t be thinking of harming you, right? I’ll go and see. What if this delays the evening filming?!”

Since it was nearing noon, Lan Jinyao retreated to her room after she’d had her lunch. She had to start shooting later, so she wanted to rest first.

Just as she was half asleep, she heard someone knocking on the door. She rolled over and continued to sleep, ignoring the knocks coming from outside. After a while, the knocking stopped, but Lan Jinyao didn’t pay it too much mind.

By the time she woke up, it was already 1.30 in the afternoon. She freshened up her face and re-did her makeup. However, just as she opened the door and was about to go out, a basin of water was splashed onto her body. This made Lan Jinyao, who’d just woken up, shiver from the cold. Lan Jinyao inhaled sharply as she looked at the angered Xu Jin’ge who stood in front of her with a basin in her hands.

At that moment, Lan Jinyao thought of this woman as her nemesis. Anything bad that occurred to her must somehow be related to this woman.

“Xu Jin’ge, weren’t you done acting like a mad woman?! You’re crazy!”

Xu Jin’ge swung her arms and threw the basin to the ground. The basin was immediately covered with a web of thin cracks.

She then pulled an old man to stand in front of Lan Jinyao as she fiercely glared at her. “Uncle, explain it to her!”

The old man was about sixty-something years old. His hands were held together in front of his body, and his expression was awkward; he seemed very embarrassed. Then, he said to Lan Jinyao, “I deeply apologise. Because there were a lot of rats inside the villa recently, a rumour spread that the resort was haunted. Previously, our staff had used mouse cages and rat poison to deal with the issue, but they didn’t work, so they decided to use a rat trap. However, we made a mark on the big tree next to it so that we would know where it was. I am extremely sorry for letting Miss get hurt.”

Lan Jinyao was confused. She didn’t understand why Xu Jin’ge would find someone just to explain all this to her.

“Chen Meimei, I told you, this matter wasn’t my doing at all. As for your conduct of not helping me when I was in trouble, it was shameful!”

After saying this, Xu Jin’ge flung her long hair over her shoulder and limped away in a huff.

Lan Jinyao, soaking wet, returned to the bathroom.

“That crazy bitch!” If she hadn’t have called for help, who knew if someone would’ve discovered such a hidden place until the afternoon!