Rebirth of a Star - Chapter 100

Chapter 100 – Who Is The Mastermind? (2)

Last night, two female artists were threatened, one after the other. The Public Security Bureau had immediately set up an incident team after the accident had occurred. At present, the incident team was conducting an investigation.

Although the faces were blurred with mosaics, Lan Jinyao could still recognise one of them as Shen Wei’an. She didn’t know who the other one was.

Fu Bainian tightly clenched her hand. “You didn’t come back last night, and I was really worried.”

“I’m sorry. I was drunk last night, so I stayed at the bar. I didn’t know something like this would happen.”

It wasn’t like the matter reported in the news didn’t exist within the entertainment industry, but generally speaking, the level of confidentiality surrounding an artist’s residence was very high. It wasn’t like they were placed that ordinary people could enter as they wished.

“It’s good that you’re alright, but don’t worry me anymore,” his voice was light and devoid of the slightest trace of blame. Lan Jinyao’s heart warmed. All the way home she’d been extremely nervous as she’d thought that Fu Bainian would be angry with her.

What Fu Bainian didn’t say was that he’d called everyone who might be in contact with her, and he’d searched anywhere that she could go last night. At the time, he’d had the intention of turning the entire city upside down to find her.

Lan Jinyao leaned against his chest and focused her attention on the TV.

A moment later, she suddenly asked Fu Bainian, “One of the two people is Shen Wei’an, but who is the other person?”

“It’s a lesser-known artist in the industry, an 18-line singer who hasn’t filmed any TV series!”

Fu Bainian didn’t say the actress’ name, so Lan Jinyao thought that he probably didn’t know her name. She asked again, “What’s the connection between them? I mean, their relationship outside of the entertainment industry.”

“It’s not yet known.”

The news wasn’t long, and it soon finished. Lan Jinyao took the remote and replayed the news again.

Although there wasn’t an outline of the rooms on the news, the place where the blood was smeared was recorded in a close-up shot by the reporter. Lan Jinyao observed that the bloodshed on both sides was completely different. In the room of the unknown artist, the blood was spread out over a large area, while the blood in Shen Wei’an’s room seemed to have been deliberately smeared by someone. Looking at the shape, it looked like there were words that had been erased.

Lan Jinyao turned to look at Fu Bainian. When her gaze fell on his face, he nodded. “I also noticed that.”

Not only did Lan Jinyao and Fu Bainian notice this particular detail, but once the news was broadcasted, there was an amazing amount of forwarding on the internet. The netizens with sharp eyes had opened up the discussion on the topic. The most talked about was Jack the Ripper or a homicidal maniac.

Even other actresses had forwarded the news, saying that they were afraid they would be the next target.

At this moment, the entire entertainment industry was anxious.

Very soon, the results of the investigations conducted by the incident team were exposed by the paparazzi. The police officers of the team had thoroughly questioned Shen Wei’an. However, Shen Wei’an’s answer was that she didn’t know; it was already like that when she woke up. Shen Wei’an, who was beating about the bush, immediately had a close-up shot taken by the paparazzi.

When the video was posted online, the internet exploded once again, and the enthusiasm continued to rise without a sign of going down.

Lan Jinyao roughly took a look and found that there were two types of discussions. The first was that Shen Wei’an had offended someone. This version was quickly denied though because if Shen Wei’an really had offended someone, then what about the other actress? The other version was that a perverted psychopath had appeared in the city, so following that, more female artists’ homes were going to be stained red with blood. The number of supporters for this second version was rapidly increasing.

“Which version do you prefer?” Lan Jinyao asked Fu Bainian during breakfast the next morning. Instead of answering, Fu Bainian raised his head and asked her, “Where were you that night?”

Lan Jinyao, who was abruptly questioned, was dumbfounded.

“Do you suspect that it was me, Fu Bainian?” Lan Jinyao asked as she put down her chopsticks.

“I don’t; I merely asked you to remind you. Before, Shen Wei’an was able to plan the incident in the hotel, and although those reporters didn’t get anything, they still took pictures. Those with discerning eyes know that there’s a grudge between you and Shen Wei’an. No matter the size of the contradiction, it constitutes your motivation to do this.”

Lan Jinyao’s heart felt heavy.

“If I’m not wrong, those photos will be exposed soon, and the police will call you in for questioning. At that time, it doesn’t matter who did this, as it will have a great impact on your image.” At that time, even if the truth is revealed, this will be the first impression ignorant people will have of her when mentioning her.

“Then what do you think I should do now? Should I strike first?”

Fu Bainian pondered for a moment before he sighed, “That’s the only solution.”

Lan Jinyao felt helpless. No matter what happened, as long as it was something related to Shen Wei’an, it would always manage to drag her down; even if it had nothing to do with her.

That afternoon, Lan Jinyao left to shoot an ad. The images taken last time at the Glass Bridge were quite beautiful and had caused many advertising companies to notice her. Thus, the shooting schedule for the second short film of the series was bumped up by a week.

As soon as Li Qi saw her, he worriedly said to her, “I estimate that the media will come to you regarding this matter for a few days. We have to think of a way to deal with it first.”

As expected of a top Manager. Li Qi’s brain was turning very fast, and all possibilities were expected.

Lan Jinyao guessed some of the questions that he might ask, so she voluntarily confessed. “I was with Lan Xin that night. We were drinking in the bar where He Xiaoyun works. Once we were drunk, Xiaoyun helped us to the room above the bar, and we both slept until the next morning.”

“Just two people? This will be a bit difficult to deal with. All right, don’t worry, let me think about countermeasures.”

Seeing that he was slightly upset, Lan Jinyao added, “Isn’t there three people? He Xiaoyun happened to be working the night shift at that time. What’s more, there were quite a lot of people in the bar.”

“That’s right; we’ll deal with it this way. Everyone in the bar can be your witness. I’ll contact a reporter later and anonymously provide information. It’s unlikely that this news will be big, so it won’t have much of an impact on your reputation. But, this way we can avoid you being dragged into Shen Wei’an’s case.”

Lan Jinyao thought for a moment and nodded. “Go and arrange it. I’m leaving now.”

Initially, this matter should’ve been easily uncovered and done with, but what Lan Jinyao didn’t anticipate was that a problem would arise between her and Fu Bainian because of this.

The root cause of the problem was buried from then on.