Rebirth of a Star: Another Day, Another Drama

Chapter 35 - Mysterious Recommendation Letter (2)

That afternoon, Li Qi was slaughtered, while Chang Sheng was left feeling utterly satisfied. So, it was while he was relishing those memories later that evening and getting ready to go out and get something to eat that he received a call.

Answering the phone, Chang Sheng was surprised to find that it was Fu Bainian’s right hand man and Blue Hall Entertainment’s Director, Shen Yu; a man without much leisure time. Getting right to the point, Shen Yu said that he wanted to invite him and President Fu to dinner.

As he stepped out his door, Chang Sheng touched the blessed Buddha necklace that rested against his chest in doubt and mumbled, “Why have so many people invited me out to eat today? Is this some kind of blessing?”

As a glutton, there was almost no dinner party or banquet that would be missed by Chang Sheng, so he quickly drove himself to the restaurant. Or, to be exact, the same restaurant from this afternoon; with the same private room reserved too! When he entered, the same waitress from earlier turned to look at him with a smile, causing to Chang Sheng to feel embarrassed.

As soon as Chang Sheng entered the private room, he saw that Fu Bainian was already waiting. Wearing casual clothes, his head was bent as he played with something in his hands. As Chang Sheng got closer, he discovered that the thing in President Fu’s hands was a sparkling diamond ring. Moreover, looking at the size of it, it seemed to be a female ring.

He was recently divorced, but could it be that President Fu had already found his next wife? Or, perhaps, did President Fu have lingering feelings for Chen Meimei?

Soon, Chang Sheng’s suspicions were confirmed.

Seeing him enter, Shen Yu promptly got up and said to him, “Director Chang, you’ve come. Please, have a seat. The dishes are all ready; we’re just waiting for you.”

Eating with a man like Fu Bainian would naturally not be as relaxing as eating with Li Qi and Chen Meimei. Despite being accustomed to attending many significant functions, when he was in the presence of this man, he still couldn’t lower his guard. Whether it was by physical movement or demeanour, all were brought up with caution.

“I’m wondering why President Fu specially invited me to come today? Is there anything important we need to talk about?” Chang Sheng asked bluntly, resulting in Shen Yu’s expression becoming slightly awkward.

Initially, a role in A Thousand Years Of Tears had belonged to Chen Meimei. Moreover, Chen Meimei was as tough as nails and matched perfectly with the character’s personality. Known as President Fu’s tail, she was able to shout out one sentence of love that would be heard by the whole world. Additionally, it was effortless for people to dislike her. However, President Fu had previously dismissed her.

Thus, at that time, he’d used President Fu’s name to remove her from the candidate list. But today, President Fu had changed his mind and wanted to let Chen Meimei play the role. Unfortunately, though, the candidate for the role had already been finalised, and it would be troublesome to change it now.

Now that President Fu had gone through the trouble to organise this meeting, the meaning was obvious.

When Shen Yu remembered that he’d played a part in removing Chen Meimei from the role, he would feel guilty. So, he’d decided to treat this meeting as a way to make it up to her.

“It’s like this; about that role in A Thousand Years Of Tears, our company’s artist Chen Meimei is more in line with the character’s characteristics, so our President Fu’s meaning is...to let Chen Meimei play that role! Although we all know that this may be inconvenient, you also know that Chen Meimei...”

Before Shen Yu could finish his sentence, Chang Sheng raised his hand and interrupted him.

“I understand Director Shen’s meaning. This morning, Li Qi and Chen Meimei met me in this very room too. However, I’ve already rejected her, and she agreed to give up the role to star in another drama instead. For a newcomer, the weight of a female lead role carries more punch than a supporting role.”

“Chen Meimei agreed?” Shen Yu didn’t believe Chang Sheng and asked again. That woman’s dedication was something that ordinary people couldn’t ever imagine. Would she really give up so quickly?

Chang Sheng nodded. “Of course she agreed.”

Shen Yu looked at Fu Bainian, who’d been silent throughout their meeting. This matter would now be slightly more difficult to deal with since even Chen Meimei didn’t care about the role anymore. As outsiders, what else could they do? What’s more, Chen Meimei’s acting skills were amateurish at best.

“Look, President Fu, this matter...”

Fu Bainian returned the thing in his hand into his pocket, and said, “All right!”

He then got up and walked out of the restaurant.

After watching President Fu walk away, Chang Sheng had a serious expression on his face as he asked, “Director Shen, since President Fu has left, I presume that only the two of us will eat?”

Shen Yu couldn’t understand Fu Bainian’s intentions. However, judging by the irritated look on his face, it seemed that he was in a terrible mood. Smiling at Chang Sheng, Shen Yu said, “Director Chang, you can eat first. I’ve already paid the bill. There’s something within the company waiting for me to handle.”

“Huh? Then I’ll be eating by myself?”

Shen Yu started walking away with a quick wave goodbye. “Yes, I’m afraid you’ll have to eat alone. The matter within the company is urgent and needs to be settled. So, I’m leaving first.”

As he watched Shen Yu leave, Chang Sheng hid a smile filled with joy.

…...

That evening, Lan Jinyao was lying on her bed as she wrote a letter with piles of paper scattered about on the floor. Every time she wrote something that she thought didn’t quite work, she would scrunch the paper up into a ball, and chuck it off the bed. Eventually, her room became littered with rubbish.

She’d decided to write a recommendation letter to Director Chang Sheng, but as far as she knew, Chang Sheng’s only preference was eating. He had no friends, so if someone ever wanted something from him, they would invite him out to eat as a means to settle the business. Conversely, if he had something to request from others, he would just send them a large gift. His friendships were as shallow as water. Despite all this, Lan Jinyao had managed to cultivate a good relationship with him.

Unfortunately, with this, there remained a serious issue; if she wanted to write a recommendation letter, it would have to be in her handwriting. But, everyone knew that Lan Jinyao had ‘slipped’ and fallen to her death. If a letter with her handwriting were to be leaked, it would be unbelievable.

All she wanted was that role; she didn’t want to cause a commotion. It wouldn’t do her any good if the news of a dead body being resurrected were to be exposed.

So, after pondering what to do for quite a long time, Lan Jinyao decided to add a date to the letter. As long as it wasn’t professionally examined, it would be near impossible to find out the actual time the letter was written. And, in regards to what she’d tell Chang Sheng, she’d say that the letter was written ages ago, back when Lan Jinyao had been selected as the female lead of the drama and that she’d wanted to recommend a candidate for the supporting role.

Lan Jinyao wondered what the best way to write this letter would be while questioning if someone would look into her past relationship with Chen Meimei. So far, all she knew was that Chen Meimei had described her as troublesome on her schedule...this wouldn’t do. Since this was a significant issue, Lan Jinyao decided that she’d have to ask Chen Meile’s opinion first.

What was originally only going to be a few words ended up turning into a very emotional letter. The more Lan Jinyao read it; the more satisfied she felt.

Holding the piece of paper, she called Chen Meile. As soon as the call was answered, she hurriedly asked, “Sis, how was my relationship with Lan Jinyao?”

“Lan Jinyao? That female star? I haven’t heard you mention her name before. What happened?”

Lan Jinyao suppressed her joy as she excitedly said, “We were good friends! Are you sure you’ve never heard me mention her before?”

“You’ve never mentioned her! Chen Meimei, did you somehow manage to hit your head?”

“Nevermind. Sis, are you still going to introduce me to a man? Don’t forget to let me know when you find one! I’m hanging up first, bye!”

After disconnecting the call, Lan Jinyao lay on her bed and laughed.