Chapter 168 – Kidnapped Again (5)

During the break, Jiang Cheng walked over to Lan Jinyao's side and faintly said, "Your performance was quite good!" His words didn't sound like he was sincerely praising her. It seemed as if he'd just casually said that to strike up a conversation.

Lan Jinyao sat in her chair, drinking water, and turned a deaf ear to his words.

She'd thought that as long as she ignored him, he'd eventually get tired of it and silently leave. Obviously, she'd thought too much as Jiang Cheng was much more tenacious than she'd expected.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Cheng finally spoke, "What had happened that day, I can explain… The things that Yin Yun said back then aren't true."

Lan Jinyao snorted inwardly when she heard this. What Yin Yun said wasn't the truth? What was the truth then? She wouldn't believe that woman, but she believed in Fu Bainian's words. After all, the only person she could trust in this world was him.

When Jiang Cheng saw her not say anything, he continued, "It could be that President Fu has misunderstood me. I was actually here at that time; I wasn't abroad."

Lan Jinyao finally couldn't bear with it any longer and said, "Does it matter whether you were abroad at that time? If you truly wanted to take action against Fu Bainian, you could just ask someone else to do the dirty work for you."

She honestly couldn't understand why this man kept bothering her repeatedly.

Based on his status alone, whatever woman he wanted he could get. What woman would refuse him? Out of all the women out there, he just had to pester her…no, the person he was stalking was Chen Meimei. What exactly did he want?

Jiang Cheng was reprimanded by her, yet he smiled at her and said, "You're finally willing to talk to me."

Lan Jinyao helplessly sighed at this point. Jiang Cheng was like a rubber band; if she pushed him, he'd bounce back and eventually hurt her instead.

"I think I need to have a good talk with President Fu. He's really misunderstood me this time. I never wanted to rob him of anything; I was definitely set up by someone."

Upon hearing this, Lan Jinyao's expression suddenly turned cold. Even now, he was still making up excuses. There was undeniable evidence, yet he was still trying to talk his way out of things. If he didn't want to fight with Fu Bainian, then why did he do that? He was truly shameless.

Lan Jinyao felt that her current expression was so icy that it could freeze Jiang Cheng to death, yet he was still smiling at her, making it seem as if he hadn't felt her anger at all.

"I swear that everything I'm saying right now is the truth. I really don't want to take anything away from President Fu, except for one thing, and that is…you. If President Fu wants something else, I can give it all to him. I can fill in the loopholes and damage to his properties because as long as he says so, I'll comply. However, as you can see, he just won't say it anything because he doesn't want to let go of your hand."

Lan Jinyao retorted, "I'm not an object; I have my own mind and freedom. I don't belong to anyone, I only belong to myself. As for Fu Bainian, I love him, so I want to be with him for the rest of my life. That's why I let him stay in my life."

Lan Jinyao realised that when she finished saying this, Jiang Cheng's expression had abruptly darkened.

"Really? However, I won't allow it. You're supposed to be mine."

At this moment, there was a chilly look in Jiang Cheng's eyes, and this sight frightened Jinyao. When she thought that Jiang Cheng might do something to her, her heart was flooded with fear.

Later, it was Li Qi's sudden appearance that made her inner fear disappear in an instant.

"Meimei, what are you talking about with President Jiang? Shooting is about to start again."

Hearing this, Lan Jinyao quickly shook her head and replied, "It's nothing."

Soon after, shooting started, and Lan Jinyao got into character rather quickly. However, Jiang Cheng's ferocious expression was imprinted in her mind, so she didn't feel at peace.

In the evening, when Lan Jinyao returned to her room, she saw that Fu Bainian was still working. He also ma.s.saged the areas around his eyes with his tired hand as if that could help him feel a bit more relaxed.

"Exhausted?" Lan Jinyao quickly walked over to his side and ma.s.saged his shoulders.

Fu Bainian smiled at her, then took her hands off his shoulders and pulled her into an embrace.

"I'm not tired."

When Lan Jinyao saw him like this, she felt her heart ache.

"How about you go back first. You don't have to stay here with me, I'll be fine. Besides, both Li Qi and Xiaolin are here with me. Chen Zetao is also not a stranger, so you really don't have to worry."

When she didn't mention Chen Zetao, things were still okay. But, as soon as she mentioned him, Fu Bainian's expression turned sour. "Don't forget that the person who Chen Zetao likes is Chen Meimei. He's truly in love with Meimei. Even when she was fat back then, he didn't mind at all. It was just that he never mentioned anything."

If Jiang Cheng was his number one opponent whom he had to guard against at all times, then Chen Zetao was the second one, and all the more he couldn't let his guard down.

"Stop! You only know how to get jealous. The person Chen Zetao likes is Chen Meimei, not me. What's more, he already liked her when she was a fatty. Tsk, look at you, you only look at outward appearances."

Fu Bainian was speechless. "I don't care about outward appearances. It's just that I already had someone in my heart at that time."

He'd had that woman in his heart for a very long time. His love for her had taken deep roots and sprouted into a towering tree, so no matter how charming and outstanding another woman was, he didn't care at all.

Upon hearing this, Lan Jinyao's cheeks flushed. "I know, that person is me; you don't have to stress it again."

"You're quite narcissistic; I didn't say that it's you."

"You dare to think about other women? See how I'll sort you out later."

Lan Jinyao was about to grab Fu Bainian's neck, but he quickly dodged her, and the two of them slumped down on the bed.

"You still dare to dodge, hurry up and spill the beans. Aside from me, who else do you have in your heart? If you don't confess today, you're not allowed to sleep on the bed!"

Fu Bainian hurriedly confessed. "Alright, I'll confess, there's no one but you. Be careful not to hurt our baby."

"You only care about our baby! You ought to be careful lest I run away with our baby!" Lan Jinyao wasn't happy and pouted.

Fu Bainian hugged her tightly and determinedly said, "You won't be able to get away from me."

The frolicking atmosphere was particularly lively in the room. Meanwhile, there was a pair of gloomy eyes staring straight at them, outside the room.

Fu Bainian seemed to have noticed something and quickly sat up from the bed. He then made sure that Lan Jinyao was sitting properly before he walked to the window and peered out.

The sky was dark and obscure, but there was nothing there to be seen. There was only the sound of waves cras.h.i.+ng on the beach.

"What's the matter?" asked Lan Jinyao.

Fu Bainian shook his head and said, "Nothing much, it was just a seabird."

However, his mood turned particularly heavy.

Tomorrow, the last scene would be shot. There shouldn't be any problems!

Chapter 169 – Kidnapped Again (6)

The last scene was about Chun Xiang and the explorer's encounter.

The white-haired Chun Xiang could no longer see the beauty of this world. She wore a pair of presbyopia gla.s.ses and sat in front of her house mending broken fis.h.i.+ng nets. Her chapped hands quivered, so the sharp silver needles often pierced her hands as she st.i.tched. Even so, she didn't stop mending.

And, it was at this time that the explorer, who resembled Chun Xiang's lover, arrived on a cruise s.h.i.+p. He looked exactly like his father's young self; extremely handsome and vigorous. Chun Xiang, on the other hand, had aged and become white-haired. She was already nearing the end of her time.

"Auntie, is there anyone else on this island?"

Chun Xiang looked up at him and answered with a hoa.r.s.e voice, "No, there's no one else."

In fact, she was the only one left on the island. Those young'uns had left to pursue their dreams, while the elders had already left this world. So, only Chun Xiang remained.

When Chun Xiang raised her head and stared at the young man in front of her, she instantly froze.

"Oh…Ye Lin, you're back!"

The explorer was stunned when he heard that name.

Under the camera lens, Lan Jinyao looked as if she'd aged a lot; her hair had turned white, and her hands were trembling. There were wrinkles all over her face, and her eyes looked muddy.

Fu Bainian stared at the camera in a trance. At this moment, he seemed to have witnessed an actress with innate talent using her acting skills to prove herself to everyone.

He suddenly recalled a saying that he'd heard before. Older actors could act adolescent roles well because experience taught them how to act. Young actors, on the other hand, couldn't always act elderly roles well, because they hadn't experienced old age yet. With no experience, their performance wouldn't turn out well.

However, Lan Jinyao was different. Through the camera lens, who could tell that she was, in actual fact, a very young actress? In her eyes, one could see seniority and exhaustion, as well as persistence.

When the explorer faced Chun Xiang and said the two words 'I'm sorry', the latter slowly closed her eyes. In that instant, everyone present subconsciously held in their breath and watched her performance. This scene didn't seem like an act at all; it felt real.

Upon seeing this scene unfold, Fu Bainian suddenly clenched his hands into fists. She was a born actress; she belonged on-screen for the audience. Yet, he had to selfishly keep her by his side to bear his children.

His heart suddenly felt heavy.

At the same time, someone approached him from behind, but Fu Bainian didn't turn around because he already knew who was standing behind him.

"Look, she's a born actress, but you selfishly imprisoned her and kept her by your side. If it were me, I'd let her have her freedom and fly as high as she wants. If this was what she wanted, I'd support her unconditionally. Fu Bainian, I'm fundamentally different from you, even though we both love her dearly."

Upon hearing this, Fu Bainian clenched his hands into fists.

"We're indeed different because…she doesn't love you!"

The next second, Jiang Cheng's expression sank.

Fu Bainian didn't turn around. Instead, his gaze landed on the person sitting by the sea, and the corners of his lips slightly raised.

Yes, no matter how outstanding Jiang Cheng was, he couldn't compare to him because the person Lan Jinyao loved was him, not that man.

Today's scene was nearing its end, so they could wrap up soon and return home.

In the afternoon, Fu Bainian was packing back in the room when Lan Jinyao suddenly came in and asked, "What are you doing? Aren't we staying one more night? There's still the wrap-up party tonight. Don't you want to attend?"

"No, let's just go back!" he dully said and continued packing.

Lan Jinyao sat down in the chair next to him and stared at him eagerly. "You're this movie's biggest investor. It won't look good if you don't attend, right?"

Fu Bainian also sat down and stared at her intensely as he asked, "What's wrong with that? I don't want to stay at this hateful place any longer. Everyone's eyeing you covetously, and…"

"And what?" asked Lan Jinyao.

He shook his head and remained silent.

While staying here, there'd been a constant feeling of restlessness in his heart, which had gradually increased as time pa.s.sed. He felt that his behaviour was becoming all the more abnormal with each pa.s.sing minute.

Lan Jinyao looked at the sky outside and tried to persuade him to stay. "Look, it's getting late and the weather forecast says that it's going to rain tonight. Let's wait until early tomorrow morning to leave, alright? It's our last day anyway. Pretty please?"

Fu Bainian firmly shook his head. "No, we're leaving tonight! Besides, a s.h.i.+p happens to be going back tonight."

When Lan Jinyao saw that she was unable to persuade him, she compromised and said, "Okay, fine. Let's go back tonight."

Fu Bainian seemed unwilling to stay here for another second. As soon as Lan Jinyao had agreed to leave tonight, he immediately started to pack up the rest of their belongings. His movements were swift. Seeing this, Lan Jinyao, who was sitting beside him, couldn't help but laugh. "Why do I feel like you're in a hurry? Could it be that you're sensing a bad premonition?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Bainian paused and said, "No, I'm not!"

Lan Jinyao nodded and then, after a while, she said, "In fact, I do have a premonition, and it's a very bad one at that."

"My heart is filled with uneasiness; as if something is about to happen. Especially tonight, as that feeling has gotten more intense."

So, that was why she'd insisted on staying.

"Don't worry, it'll only take us half an hour to get home."

Lan Jinyao leaned against Fu Bainian's chest and listened to his steady heartbeat, which helped to gradually rea.s.sure her. She looked out the window at the hazy sky. She reckoned that by the time they boarded the s.h.i.+p, the sky would've darkened already and heavy rain would start to pour. The weather forecast had stated that there would be a rainstorm tonight.

However, there shouldn't be any problems once they boarded the s.h.i.+p.

Unfortunately, contrary to what Lan Jinyao had expected, the game had only begun when she boarded the s.h.i.+p.

At seven in the evening, she stood on the deck, looking at the distant sky. It was dark, and rain could start pouring down any time soon.

The waiter brought over a gla.s.s of wine and said, "Mr Fu asked me to bring this over to you."

Lan Jinyao didn't doubt him. However, the moment she picked up the red wine from the tray, she suddenly recalled that she hadn't touched alcohol for a long time because she was pregnant. Fu Bainian was also aware of this, so why would he give her a gla.s.s of wine?

At this moment, when she noticed that something was wrong, the waiter was already revealing a sinister smile. And, before Lan Jinyao could react, she'd already lost consciousness.

Late in the night, amidst the icy seawater, she felt her body turn cold.

She tried to swim upwards, but a pair of hands grabbed her and dragged her deeper underwater.