Rebirth of a Star

At the press conference, Fu Bainian clarified everything, and Lan Jinyao didn’t say a word. Before this, she’d still harboured a grudge against Lan Xin, but at this moment, she no longer felt so. Instead, she secretly pitied Lan Xin in her heart. Although the truth was revealed, Lan Xin was, without doubt, pushed into the abyss of hell.

The questions asked by the reporters were sharp and incisive, but Fu Bainian answered all of them in detail.

Amidst the questioning, a reporter suddenly directed a question towards Lan Jinyao, who’d remained silent the entire time. “Meimei, how come you haven’t said a word until now?”

At this moment, a thought suddenly flashed in Lan Jinyao’s mind. Why did the reporter suddenly ask that? She couldn’t even ward off the question; he’d left her with no choice but to answer.

Fu Bainian’s gaze also fell on her, and upon seeing her in a daze, he softly called out to her.

“Meimei…”

Lan Jinyao returned to her senses, and took a deep breath before flashing her signature smile; she beamed elegantly and sweetly at the reporters in front of her.

“This kind of experience has made me somewhat unhappy, and I really didn’t expect that I would encounter such an incident in my life. The feeling of being framed by someone is quite awful, especially since that person is a good friend of mine. As to why Lan Xin committed murder…”

Speaking up to this point, Lan Jinyao suddenly paused. She knew that Lan Xin did that to avenge her sister. Lan Xin had deliberately planned everything step by step, and ultimately killed Shen Wei’an. However, in the face of so many reporters at this moment, she couldn’t say it.

Everyone subconsciously held their breath and waited for her answer.

After what felt like an eternity, Lan Jinyao took a deep breath, and unhurriedly added, “It may be because the feud between two of them was too deep, and Lan Xin couldn’t endure it anymore, so she killed Shen Wei’an. I believe that Lan Xin must be regretting her actions immensely right now, as after losing her cool, she committed such an awful deed due to a moment of impulse.”

As she was speaking, Fu Bainian loosened his hand around her waist and gave her a slight push forward to stand in front of the microphone.

“I’ve asked you all here today to reveal the truth of this matter so that you can write your reports based on facts and not groundless claims. As for Meimei’s involvement, her name has already been cleared by the police.”

Lan Jinyao listened absentmindedly as she stared at the group of people in front of her. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure amongst the crowd and froze.

They were standing on an elevated platform, so she could clearly see who was standing below.

At that moment, Lan Jinyao felt as if someone was strangling her, making her unable to breathe. That man’s cold, piercing gaze made her break out in a cold sweat, and she subconsciously shifted her gaze elsewhere. She didn’t even have time to restrain her emotions under everyone’s watchful eyes.

Fortunately, the press conference would end soon.

When Lan Jinyao looked down again, that person was no longer there. She could only see unfamiliar faces; that familiar face was nowhere to be seen. However, Lan Jinyao was certain that what she’d seen earlier wasn’t an illusion.

When the press conference was over, Lan Jinyao left with Fu Bainian. However, she was still feeling uneasy; she scanned her surroundings to check if there were any suspicious people around. However, every passer-by looked normal, and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

At that moment, an outrageous thought suddenly flashed in her mind.

“Fu Bainian, Shen Wei’an previously faked her death. Do you think that Jiang Cheng would do the same?”

Lan Jinyao gripped Fu Bainian’s hand tightly, her voice trembling slightly.

“Why are you abruptly asking that?” Fu Bainian got in the car, but he didn’t start it yet. Instead, he turned and stared at her with a solemn expression.

Lan Jinyao shook her head. “I don’t know…just now, at the press conference, I-I think I saw him there, but I’m not sure if it was him.”

That man’s existence was a nightmare to Lan Jinyao and Fu Bainian; one that lingered and refused to disperse.

“Jinyao, don’t worry. Let’s not think about those things for now. When we get home, just take a good rest. Afterwards, I’ll investigate Jiang Cheng’s death, and we can see whether he faked it or not.”

Lan Jinyao nodded, leaned against the car seat, and slowly closed her eyes. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t erase that cold, piercing gaze she’d seen earlier from her mind.

Soon, Lan Jinyao fell asleep in the car. In her dream, she lay on a hospital bed, and she was watching her child slowly leave her body. Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng was staring at her with his cold and gloomy eyes. She struggled to wake up, but she seemed to be chained and unable to open her eyes, no matter how hard she tried.

At last, her clenched fist landed on Jiang Cheng, and she abruptly opened her eyes.

Lan Jinyao realised at that moment that her fist had landed on Fu Bainian, and not Jiang Cheng. Their car was currently parked in the courtyard, and Fu Bainian was staring at her with a worried look on his face.

“Meimei, just now…you were shouting Jiang Cheng’s name in your sleep!”

Lan Jinyao covered her face and cried. “Fu Bainian, I’m in so much pain. Why didn’t he die?! Why is he still alive? I just dreamt that he’d made me lose our child again. I’m scared, Fu Bainian!”

Fu Bainian hurriedly got out of the car and proceeded to her side. He then quickly opened the door and scooped her out of the car.

“It’s okay, I’m with you. This time, I’ll stay with you no matter what happens. I won’t let you be taken away by that man.” Fu Bainian hugged her tightly and buried his face close to hers. At this moment, tears visibly fell to the ground. It was unknown whether those tears belonged to Lan Jinyao or Fu Bainian.

Both Lan Jinyao and Fu Bainian decided to ignore Jiang Cheng’s existence altogether. They’d initially thought that this matter was over, but in fact, that traumatic experience had left a shadow in Lan Jinyao’s heart which couldn’t be erased for the rest of her life.

Lan Jinyao fell asleep again, and she was carefully carried to the bed. Fu Bainian wanted to go out, but as soon as he turned around, Lan Jinyao awoke once more. She quickly reached out and grabbed his hand.

“I’m scared!” she said in a slightly hoarse voice.

The look in her eyes appeared bottomless.

“Don’t be afraid, I’ll stay with you. I won’t leave,” when Fu Bainian finished speaking, he grabbed a chair and sat down by the side of the bed.

Their hands were tightly clasped, and Lan Jinyao felt a rush of warmth course through her veins. She then closed her eyes with her mind at ease.

This time, however, she could no longer fall asleep; she was worried that she would hurt Fu Bainian in her nightmare again.

The next day, Fu Bainian went out as usual. When Lan Jinyao awoke, the spot beside her was empty. She looked around nervously before getting off the bed. She then went to search for the phone number that was given to her by the Jiang family’s housekeeper during her last visit.

It took her awhile to find the number, but once it was in her hand, she quickly gave Jiang Baitao a call.

“Jiang Baitao, Jiang Cheng’s still alive, isn’t he?”

The person on the other end of the line didn’t speak for a long time, and with every passing second, Lan Jinyao felt the chill in her heart intensify.