Chapter 96: Chapter 96

Chapter 96 – Tread On A Worm And It Will Turn (2)

At five o’clock in the morning, Lan Jinyao was sound asleep when her phone rang. She woke up in a daze and stared at her phone screen. Seeing that it was from an unknown number, she pressed on the decline button and didn’t answer it.

One hour later, the phone rang again. This time, Lan Jinyao woke up once more but was no longer sleepy.

She stared at the two different numbers on her phone screen and became somewhat hesitant. In her previous life, her number was leaked by someone and she’d thought that that was due to the carelessness of the staff. Following that, her phone was ringing off the hook during the following two days, so she’d had to change her sim card right away; only then did she get to enjoy a moment of peace.

“Why aren’t you answering the phone?” asked Fu Bainian as he stared at her.

Lan Jinyao shook her head to indicate that it was nothing and then accepted the call.

The call was from Xiaomin. The usually optimistic and cheerful girl was currently pitifully crying over the phone, sobbing so loudly that even her words were unclear.

Lan Jinyao immediately asked her, “What’s the matter?”

However, Xiaomin didn’t tell Lan Jinyao precisely what had happened to her and just said that she wanted to meet Lan Jinyao downstairs, at the cafe of the company building.

Lan Jinyao remained silent for a moment before a kind of understanding suddenly emerged in her mind. She put her phone away for a moment and asked Fu Bainian, “Xiaomin was the one behind the drug incident?”

Fu Bainian conceded and said, “From the investigation so far, it was confirmed that she was the one who did it. But, as for whether she was instructed to do so or not, we don’t know yet.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Lan Jinyao then told Xiaomin, “Alright, let’s meet there at 8 AM.”

When Fu Bainian heard that, he frowned with displeasure. “Why did you agree to her request? Since she dared to slip drugs in your drink, then she would definitely dare to do something else.”

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry,” comforted Lan Jinyao. She then patted him on the head with a smile on her face and added, “I have luck on my side!”

Fu Bainian, however, turned over and pressed her under his body, and said through gritted teeth, “Lan Jinyao, do you think you’re a nine-tailed fox? Do you think that the Heavens will still bestow you with countless lives? You were given a second chance maybe just this once. If something happens to you again, what am I to do? Do you want me to accompany you?”

He was a little emotional, so his voice became subconsciously louder. As they were gazing into each other’s eyes, Lan Jinyao felt somewhat stupefied.

After a long silence, she then softly said, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect myself.”

In the cafe, Xiaomin wore huge sunglasses and was occasionally looking here and there. She looked suspicious, like a thief afraid of being recognised.

When Lan Jinyao sat down on the opposite side, Xiaomin’s head was still facing the window, not having noticed her arrival. Thus, when Lan Jinyao coughed twice, she startled Xiaomin, who was all tense as she looked at her.

“Xiaomin, what are you doing?”

Truth be told, a newcomer didn’t need to dress up like this as there wouldn’t be any paparazzi secretly following her.

As soon as Xiaomin saw Lan Jinyao in front of her, she took off her sunglasses. Lan Jinyao was startled upon seeing her red eyes, and immediately asked, “What on earth happened?”

“Chen Meimei, stop acting like you care about me. You clearly knew about the things that I’d done, but you never exposed me. You watched me act like a clown, and then you let Fu Bainian sort me out from behind the scenes. I’ve never met someone as hypocritical as you before!”

A while ago, she was still begging her on the phone, yet now she did a one-eighty and was finding faults with her instead.

Lan Jinyao’s expression immediately sunk following her words. “Before this, I was just guessing, but now I’m certain. So, please tell me, why did you do those things? The past incidents concerning your shredded clothes and those glass shards found in your shoes weren’t my doing at all.”

This woman was clearly the one who’d acted like she was her biggest fan ever and then backstabbed her. So, how dare she call her a hypocrite now?! This woman must have a screw loose in her brain!

In a short while, Xiaomin’s loftiness faded as she lowered her head and quietly said, “In the beginning, it was because I was jealous of you. You were only slightly above average, but why were you so lucky? Not just President Fu, but almost everyone could easily be subdued by Lan Xin to take your side. Moreover, Li Qi was the company’s best Manager, yet he was snatched away by you as well...”

Xiaomin was choking with emotions as she spoke, so her words were barely understandable.

Lan Jinyao was speechless when she heard those words. Truthfully, who amongst the artists in the company didn’t want to be managed by Li Qi? She’d relied on her own abilities to persuade Li Qi to lead her. The only gift that the Heavens had bestowed on her was a chance to live a new life and nothing more.

“Then, what was the other reason for doing those awful things after that?” asked Lan Jinyao indifferently.

Xiaomin wiped her tears and said, “I-it was Shen Wei’an. That woman also doesn’t like you, hence, she asked me to put the drug in your drink. Although I hate you a lot, I didn’t put the drug that she’d given to me in your drink; I just put in a little laxative and nothing more. You made me lose my chance to audition, so I didn’t want you to make it smoothly through the ad shoot.”

Hearing the name ‘Shen Wei’an’ made Lan Jinyao break out in a cold sweat.

What if Xiaomin hadn’t replaced the drug? She didn’t dare imagine the outcome. To think that even a newcomer under Blue Hall Entertainment had been controlled by Shen Wei’an; that woman’s hand already extended so far.

“And the drug? Did you bring the drug that Shen Wei’an gave you?”

Xiaomin hesitated for a moment before she took a small bottle out of her bag and placed it in front of Lan Jinyao.

“Chen Meimei, I’ve confessed everything. Then, could you please do me a favour? I really don’t want to leave the entertainment industry. I love acting, so I don't want to lose my only chance to pursue that. Please, I’m begging you…”

Xiaomin earnestly stared at Lan Jinyao and choked with sobs as she said, “I promise that I won’t do those things again…I’ll correct my behaviour.”

The small bottle contained white pills, but the label had been torn off, so it was hard to tell what kind of drug it was.

Following that, Lan Jinyao took out a white-coloured pill the size of a nail from the bottle and placed it in the palm of her hand. She then took a sniff and frowned as she questioned Xiaomin, “It smells like an orange, are these vitamin pills?”

“How could it be vitamins? You might assume that because you didn’t see the look on that woman's face when she handed this bottle to me.”

“As for what these are, I can’t say for now, but I’ll look into it. So, you want me to forgive you?” Of course, I could. As soon as Lan Jinyao asked that, she took a box of medicine from her bag and dumped the contents into a glass of water in front of Xiaomin.

She placed the glass of water in front of Xiaomin and said, “Drink it! I’ll forgive you after you’ve downed this glass of water. Didn’t you say that you want to stay in the entertainment industry?”

She wasn’t very clear about what Fu Bainian had done behind the scenes, but she could vaguely guess what had happened when she saw Xiaomin acting like this.

Because, as soon as she placed the water in front of Xiaomin, that little girl with slightly reddened eyes didn’t even hesitate for a moment before she downed the glass. Only after she’d finished the drink did she ask, “Big Sis Meimei, what did you put in the drink?”

Lan Jinyao chuckled. “You’ll find out later, but I suggest you don’t leave the cafe yet.”

With these words, she stood up and left.

After a while, Xiaomin hugged her stomach and ran towards the bathroom.