Rebirth of a Star - Chapter 166

Chapter 166 – Kidnapped Again (3)

‘Twilight’ was being filmed on a small island; it was a story about love and anticipation.

Lan Jinyao played as the female lead, Chun Xiang. Generation after generation had lived on this isolated island, and they fished for a living. At the age of eighteen, Chun Xiang was betrothed to a fisherman who was hard-working and steadfast. However, the night before their wedding, a luxurious cruise ship docked on the island. The cruise ship was empty when they checked; apart from an unconscious man.

After rescuing the man, the fishermen greedily eyed the gold and silver treasures found in the cruise ship and wanted to keep it all for themselves. However, those that entered the ship died, one by one. Seeing this eerie chain of events unfolding, everyone said that the ship was cursed, so no one was allowed to go in there. On the other hand, the man who was rescued by them was now regarded as an unknown castaway and had to be burned at the stake to return the peace to the Islanders.

Chun Xiang fell in love with this man. That evening, Chun Xiang gave herself to the man and led him out of the island. The man wanted to take her away with him, but Chun Xiang couldn’t leave as she’d lived all her life there, so the man left and Chun Xiang desolately waited for him.

Many years later, an explorer came to the island and met Chun Xiang, whose hair had turned white. Only after the two of them talked about the past did Chun Xiang realise that the explorer was that man’s son. The explorer had basically explored all his life just to relay the words ‘thank you’ to her. After hearing this, Chun Xiang didn’t get out of bed the next day; she finally didn’t need to wait any longer. She left the world at the age of one hundred and ten.

In fact, the island that Lan Jinyao resided in wasn’t like how it was described in the story. It was an uninhabited private island that was owned by one of the investors. It was lent to the production crew solely to shoot this artistic film.

The scenery on this island was breathtaking. The air was fresh, and the water was clear. When Lan Jinyao arrived at the island, she instantly felt a light, salty sea breeze blow past, making her feel extremely comfortable.

As soon as Xiaolin landed onshore, she shouted towards the seamless sea with excitement.

Li Qi walked up to Lan Jinyao and said, “The scenery here is quite nice. Say, who do you think owns this wonderful island? One could come and live here for a week or two during their free time, and all their worries would be instantly swept away. The investor sure is rich!”

Lan Jinyao patted him on the shoulder and teasingly said, “Then you ought to quickly enjoy the coming few days. Otherwise, you won’t have a chance to do so anymore.”

“Hey!” Li Qi disdainfully chuckled and added, “When I have time in the future, I’ll also buy a small island and then bring Xiaoyun along to live there. The two of us can then enjoy the sea breeze while watching the sunrise. How romantic! I feel happy just thinking about this.”

Lan Jinyao was amused by his entranced expression and said, “Don’t just think it; you have to live up to these words. Xiaoyun was born for the stage. What if you bought the island and someone doesn’t want to live there with you? What would you do then?”

Li Qi was rendered speechless.

“Tsk, I just said these words and you’re already unhappy. You haven’t succeeded yet, so you still need to work hard!”

Following this, Lan Jinyao walked to her designated room. The room was clear and bright, facing the sea. At a glance, she could see that it was designed with the utmost care and a great sense of aesthetic.

She also wondered who was so leisurely and refined. The investor was very generous, willing to lend out the island to the crew and letting them wreck it.

Chen Zetao was still discussing the shooting location with the Assistant Director. The island looked stunning from every angle, but the scenery to be filmed ought to be desolate, dull, and dilapidated. If the scenes were to be re-processed later, then the effects wouldn’t be as good.

Lan Jinyao went over to greet the Assistant Director, then said to Chen Zetao, “Director Chen, don’t tell me that you want to destroy all the beautiful scenery?”

The Assistant Director was one step ahead of Chen Zetao as he replied, “Haha, no, we won’t do that. We’re just filming, not destroying the ecological environment. Later, we can use some props to make up for the desolate environment. It won’t be too difficult.”

Upon hearing this, Lan Jinyao nodded.

The Assistant Director then added, “Meimei, the scenery here is stunning. Would you want to live here for a longer period?”

Lan Jinyao went along with him and said, “Such beautiful scenery…I’m afraid that if I could live here, I’d wake up with a smile every day. I’d love to live here, but it’s just that I don’t know if the owner would allow me to stay.”

“Haha, I’m sure the investor would agree to your request!”

Lan Jinyao noticed the double meaning behind his words and casually asked, “Does Assistant Director Li know the owner?”

“I know him, and you also know him. He’s…” The Assistant Director suddenly paused, and then his eyes widened as he pointed behind her and smilingly said, “Isn’t that him? Speak of the devil; he’s here.”

When Lan Jinyao turned around, she saw Jiang Cheng smiling at her affectionately. The instant she saw him, she felt her entire body stiffen.

The Assistant Director smiled and asked, “You know each other, right? Meimei and President Jiang are friends, right?”

Lan Jinyao retracted her gaze and faintly replied, “We’re not friends; it’s just that we’ve worked together before.”

The Assistant Director didn’t notice the difference in Lan Jinyao’s expression at all. He walked up to Jiang Cheng and chatted with him. While Jiang Cheng was chatting, his gaze seemed to be following her. Lan Jinyao frowned and then quickly walked towards the house.

Jiang Cheng was definitely not this movie’s investor. Besides, if Fu Bainian knew that this island belonged to Jiang Cheng, then he’d never have allowed them to use it as a shooting location.

Chen Zetao noticed the change in her attitude and hurriedly caught up to her up. “Meimei…”

Lan Jinyao quickly walked into the spacious house and saw that some of the actors were already resting on the sofa, so she headed towards the back of the house. She then chose a hanging seat and sat down.

Chen Zetao seemed to have guessed that she had something to say and sat down alongside her.

“Meimei, are you unhappy because you saw President Jiang?”

Lan Jinyao was in a bad mood, so her voice went a few pitches higher as she replied, “Aren’t you asking the obvious? …I’m sorry, I’m not mad at you.”

Chen Zetao smiled instead. “The Chen Meimei from the past didn’t seem to be the kind of person who would apologise to others for doing something wrong.”

Lan Jinyao realised that things weren’t heading in the right direction, so she quickly changed the topic and asked, “Didn’t you say that this island belonged to another investor? How could it be President Jiang’s?”

“We’d initially thought that it belonged to another investor. Back then, when he’d said that he was going to lend us the shooting location, we were all baffled because that investor wasn’t a very extraordinary person. It was only when everything was set that the investor told us that the island belonged to President Jiang.”

Upon hearing this, Lan Jinyao’s heart sank. Jiang Cheng had indeed come prepared. No wonder the Assistant Director had asked her whether she wanted to live here.