Chapter 8 – Her Funeral (2)

That weekend, Lan Jinyao got up from bed early. Since she was going to be attending the funeral, she cancelled her morning running and drove straight to the mall. Chen Meimei didn't really have a good sense of fas.h.i.+on. She had a room specifically for clothes, but even though there were a lot of options, they were all far too bright and glaring to look at. After searching through everything, she still couldn't find anything suitable for a funeral. So, she grabbed her purse and went out.

An hour later, Lan Jinyao was wearing a black suit and standing within the cemetery. As she walked towards the mourners, she saw Li Qi weeping endlessly in front of her tombstone, making gooseb.u.mps crawl up her skin.

"Yaoyao, did you feel like you would have an accident? Is that why you bought a plot of land in this cemetery in advance? If I'd known that your premonition would be so accurate, I would've kept a closer watch over you and not let something happen to you."

The reporter standing nearby snapped a photo.

Just as Lan Jinyao wanted to go over to and comfort him with a few words, she noticed a woman clad in a long black dress stepping down from a car. She had a white flower pinned to her chest, and her face was made up with a light layer of light makeup. She seemed to be somewhat wan and sallow.

The people standing in front of the grave parted and gave way to her.

A light shower of rain was falling from the sky, so she held a black umbrella that contrasted with her snow-white skin, making her seem like a ghost.

When she was standing in front of the grave, the umbrella slipped from her hand. Bending down, she ignored the umbrella and instead knelt before the tombstone. Her skirt was instantly soaked from the rain and stained with mud, but she didn't seem to care at all. Her eyes were focused on the little tombstone before her.

Everyone could see the sadness on the woman's face.

She started to cry, and although her hand was covering her mouth, the sound of stifled sobs could still be heard.

"Jinyao, you persuaded me to keep on living, so why…why are you…sob sob…Jinyao…my poor Jinyao…"

Standing under the rain, mourning the death of a beloved sister, the currently popular actress shed tears over a grave. What a touching act of deep sisterly love!

Upon seeing this, Lan Jinyao, who'd always been a patient person, felt like her lungs were about to burst from rage. However, those reporters kept taking photos, seeming like they even were preparing to give Shen Wei'an a feature article. Needless to say, it would certainly appear as tomorrow's front page headline.

Previously, Lan Jinyao would've been touched, but now, in front of her grave, a murderer was putting on such an act of innocence! She was even using the affections between the two of them to promote herself! Shen Wei'an's face was thicker than the sky.

Perhaps Lan Jinyao lost all rationality at that moment, or perhaps it was because she currently had the appearance of someone that everyone hated, but she dared to be so unscrupulous.

Lan Jinyao dragged her fat body over and squeezed between to the front of the mourners to stand before the tombstone. As she squeezed by, she knocked away several microphones held in the hands of several reporters.

"She's already dead! Who are you crying like this for? Could it be that you're crying like this specifically for the reporters to see? Shen Wei'an, stop acting. Others might not know, but I, Chen Meimei, know the truth. On the surface you two acted like close sisters, but how many knives did you secretly stab her with? Now that she's dead, you're actually happy, right?"

She wasn't speaking quietly at all. In fact, she was actually shouting all this at Shen Wei'an. "Shen Wei'an, now that Lan Jinyao is dead, no one will hinder your future. I hope that the future path you travel will be even brighter. Fly higher and higher, because, the higher you fly, the further you'll have to fall to your death!"

The fat on the woman's arm trembled, while her finger pointing at Shen Wei'an's forehead jabbed it every so often.

The reporters watching such an outrageous scene had initially wanted to record it, but maybe due to the status the Chen family held within Beijing, they didn't dare to do so. When she noticed this, Lan Jinyao, as she was pointing at Shen Wei'an, called out to the reporters, "Hurry up and take a photo then! You dare to come to someone's funeral and intrude while people are mourning, yet now you don't want to take a picture?! I'll help you think of a t.i.tle, just write 'The 18 line actress didn't hesitate to use twisted means to ruin her best friend while seeking fame'. Yo, this t.i.tle sounds like a winner."

With the appearance of Lan Jinyao, the cemetery had instantly been thrown into chaos.

Regardless of her image, Shen Wei'an screamed, "Chen Meimei, what are you up to?!"

Lan Jinyao flipped her hair over her shoulders in agitation, unable to calm the rage burning within her heart. My body is lying inside of that grave! What do you think I'm doing?!

"I don't want to do anything. I just can't bear to see someone benefiting from doing bad things!"

The rain started bucketing down, and with the water wetting her face, no one could see the tears flowing down her cheeks.

The two women cut a sorry figure as they tugged at each other in the rain. A circle of people surrounded them, but not one of them dared to pull the pair apart. Standing with Chen Meimei's ident.i.ty, Lan Jinyao raised her hand to slap Shen Wei'an into the mud.

Suddenly, it was as if time froze, and Lan Jinyao lifted her head to see the thunderous face of a man as he fiercely gripped her hand.

"Enough!" he quietly berated.

Lan Jinyao stared into his deep eyes, then softly laughed as she said, "It's not enough. How could this ever be enough?"

In that split moment, Fu Bainian seemed to see an immense sorrow buried in the woman's eyes.

The heartless Chen Meimei felt sad for a stranger?

He quickly denied that absurd idea.

"If you two want to make trouble, then get out here. You can do whatever you want, but please don't do it here!"

Lan Jinyao fiercely flung the man's hand away. She then leaned towards the crying Shen Wei'an, and said in a very low voice, "Shen Wei'an, know that what you've done, the heavens have seen it all. You'll soon meet with your retribution."

Fu Bainian gestured to Li Qi. Soon, two men dressed in black suits came towards the trio. One pulled at Shen Wei'an, while the other pulled at Lan Jinyao, to take the two women away.

Lan Jinyao glared hard at the man standing under the umbrella before she flung away the hands restraining her and said, "I can walk by myself!"

An hour later, the wind and rain had finally stopped, and the people in the cemetery had left one after another. Lan Jinyao exited her car and once again stood in front of the grave.

"Lan Jinyao, take a good look; this is the grave that you chose!"

She gently stroked the cold tombstone as tears continuously slipped from her eyes.

"You're dead. There's nothing left anymore. Unfortunately, there was a person who dared to use any means possible to s.n.a.t.c.h away everything you had; even going so far as to ruin your reputation. But, while you're dead, she is still alive!"

Tears dripped onto the bouquet in her hands, reflecting the sorrow that filled her eyes.

The reflection of the meaty face in the puddle, however, was smiling.

She softly murmured, "Fortunately, I'm alive once more."

The cemetery was built on a vast hillside, and from the dense forest further up the hill, there stood a man. After Lan Jinyao had returned, the man had been closely watching her; his eyes fixed on the figure in front of the grave. He saw her first crying and then laughing. His brows were deeply wrinkled.

"Chen Meimei, what game are you playing?"