Yan Huan held the laptop tightly in her arms.
“I’m not letting you use it.”
She locked the laptop in the cabinet upon saying that.
Luo Lin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Yan Huan, do you have to be so petty?”
Yan Huan did not feel like explaining, nor was she going to say that the laptop actually belonged to Lu Yi. She was afraid that it might be damaged if other people started to use it, therefore she would not even use it herself. She was afraid that doing so would subject the laptop to wear and tear.
She stepped toward her bed, took off her shoes and tucked herself in under the quilt, getting ready to sleep.
“Yan Huan, you have many TV show appointments. Do you know that?”
Luo Lin was really fed up this time, therefore she went to the bedside and tugged at the quilt forcefully. “Do you really have to be so depressed and zombie-like just because Lu Yi is dead now?”
Yan Huan reached out and grabbed her quilt. “Shut up, I want to rest.”
“TV show appointments, advertisements.” Luo Lin sat down and pulled the quilt away again. “Are you not going to accept a single one of them?”
“Yes, none of them.” Yan Huan was not interested in any of these. She had been working very hard to draw an ending for herself, and put an end to her career in the entertainment industry. She thought she had done more than enough.
“People will forget about you very soon,” Luo Lin warned. She just had to mention this cruel fact.
“Forget about me then. I have Linlang now, it’s unlikely that I will starve myself.” She did not have the energy to fight for anything more. Who else could she fight against? No matter how much she fought, she could never win over God at the end of the day.
Luo Lin seriously felt that Yan Huan was too difficult to handle. How come she had such a frustrating actress under her care? She was so famous and popular right now, yet she decided to abandon everything and let herself waste away.
However, the truth was that Yan Huan did not give up on herself. She was actually biding her time while giving herself a well deserved rest. All she wanted was some peace and quiet to herself. Yan Huan was very calm, more calm than Luo Lin expected her to be. Besides that, based on her current state, she knew herself well enough to know that she would ruin anything that she filmed.
She just wanted to have a good rest now, nothing more.
Luo Lin stared at Yan Huan for a long time. She knew that she was just wasting her breath. She had been preaching to deaf ears for half of the day.
She stalked to the desk and pointed at the documents that she brought with her. “These are the accounting statements of the company over the past year. Have a look at it. Lastly, I have one more thing to tell you.”
“Huang Ming has a new drama that is going to be filmed this year. He wants you to be the leading actress, which I should have informed you about earlier, but you were in the midst of filming at that time. I’m asking you now, do you want to participate in this drama?”
“What’s the name?” Yan Huan kept her eyes closed, but her ears were still listening and her brain was still working.
“The Aster Flower,” Luo Lin said as she brought out a script. “I have gone through the script briefly. The theme is very unique and the story is very exciting. Besides, there’s going to be a huge investment in its production. It is not an artistic film, but it has a star-studded cast. Do you want to accept the offer?”
“Well…” When Yan Huan heard about The Aster Flower, she already knew which drama it was. It was the drama that helped Su Muran win the Best Actress award in her past life.
“How about it, are you interested?”
Luo Lin heard Yan Huan’s tone. It seemed like she was somewhat interested.
“Yes,” Yan Huan hugged the quilt lazily, “I’m…”
“Interested,” Luo Lin finished Yan Huan’s sentence for her. “I shall call Director Huang right now and confirm this matter. Is that okay?”
“No,” Yan Huan turned over again. “I’m not interested.”
This drama was tailor-made for Su Muran, and it was also the largest investment of the Su family. How could Yan Huan even take advantage of it? Perhaps Director Huang had truly intended for her to be the leading actress, but that role would not be hers. It would belong ultimately to Su Muran.
What role would they dump her into when the time came? Would she be kicked out of the team, or act as an insignificant supporting role in the drama to complement Su Muran’s dazzling halo? Then, they would make use of her popularity to promote the drama. Did they really think that she was that stupid?
“Are you sure that you’re not interested? It’s Director Huang’s request.” Luo Lin came over again, sat on the bed and pinched Yan Huan’s face. “Director Huang had been an outstanding director over these few years, despite his relatively young age. Both of you have worked together before. All the films that Director Huang had led before was teeming with his own unique style, regardless of whether he was a producer or director in it. His style had always stood out domestically and even in foreign countries. It’s such a good opportunity! Are you really going to let it go?”
“Yan Huan, you have gotten the Best Actress award in this country many times, and you have several films under your name that are quite popular too. However, what you are lacking the most now is an International Film Award, which is the International Best Actress Award. No matter how many honors you have obtained in this country, no matter how many more Best Actress awards you get, what’s the point of it if you never achieve a higher standard? Getting 10 awards in this country is incomparable to getting an International Award.”
“I refuse,” Yan Huan kept repeating the same words no matter what Luo Lin said. Regardless of whether she was making threats or promises, coaxing or pestering, or even if she threatened to commit suicide by crushing her skull on the wall, it had nothing to do with her anyway.
Yan Huan had already made up her mind. She would not go.
Luo Lin’s hands itched to pull Yan Huan out of her covers and beat her up violently.
“If you continue to stagnate, Su Muran will surpass you very soon. She and Lu Qin have appeared in several films that had performed well this year. Her popularity has skyrocketed recently and her acting skills have greatly improved. Yan Huan, not everyone will stay the same and stop improving. Su Muran was known for her atrocious acting skills in the past, but we can’t do anything about it because of the power of her family background. Now that her acting skills have improved, it is just a matter of time for her to snatch the Best Actress award from you. Aren’t you worried about that? Are you willing to just give up like this?”
Luo Lin’s voice was full of emotion, speaking passionately for nearly half the day, but Yan Huan’s response was nothing else but her slight snoring. She was sleepy and exhausted. If nothing else required her attention, then she would have slept for at least three days and three nights to recover from the high intensity filming that she went through.
Luo Lin was infuriated. She extended her hands and wrapped them around Yan Huan’s neck. She almost wanted to choke her to death.
She felt like she was talking to a brick wall. Yan Huan was just going to let herself deteriorate and fall into despair. She stood up, grabbed her stuff and left. It was just a waste of time for her to come here and talk so much.
When the door closed behind Luo Lin’s fuming figure, Yan Huan slowly opened her eyes.
She would get the Best Actress award anyway, and The Aster Flower originally belonged to Su Muran. She could never take it away from her, even if she was Yan Huan. Nonetheless, she was not that anxious about who would get the Best Actress award in the end. She shall leave it to fate and destiny to determine that.
If Yan Huan was destined to die, then Su Muran’s fate would not necessarily be good as she had a short lifespan as well.
Yan Huan pushed the quilt aside and sat up again. Then, she walked over to the cabinet and took out the laptop. Holding it in her arms, she went back to bed, opened the laptop and placed it on her lap. She began to look for the films that Su Muran and Lu Qin had participated in over the past year.
