No wonder Luo Lin referred to her as an old woman.
She opened the trunk of her car, preparing to place her luggage into it before driving to the airport herself. However, she had overestimated her strength as they seemed to be very heavy. Thus, she intended to ask for the security guard’s assistance, but she managed to lift them up in one attempt. She immediately put them in the car trunk before shutting it close.
Yan Huan raised her head and muttered, “Thanks…” However, her expression instantly fell when she saw the person’s face. She hastily opened the car door and sat down in the driver’s seat, before forcefully stepping on the accelerator and speeding away like an unmanned rocket. The remaining droplets of the slowing rain gently fell and pitter-pattered against her car window, yet her path to the future still seemed to be clouded by a thick, shrouding mist of bleakness.
The man behind her was still standing unmoved in the cold drizzle. Even as specks of water landed on his face, he remained standing, motionless. The falling mizzle gradually soaked and drenched his clothes, blanketing him in a chilly coldness.
Yan Huan tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she peered at the man’s silhouette from the rear mirror. He firmly stood there, like a sturdy pine tree that was rooted to the ground. She violently stepped on the accelerator and sped away. She continued to drive until she reached very far away, where the only view in front of her was the dense downpour of the torrential cloudburst, and where she would no longer see the man in her vision. Then, she raised her hand to wipe her face.
Unbeknown to her, tears seemed to have fallen from her eyes, again.
Stifling her sniffles, she carried on driving until she reached the parking space in the airport. After opening the door, she removed her luggage from the car with great effort.
I can do it myself too, I don’t need anyone to help me…
As she lugged her luggage along, she slightly lowered her cap and bravely marched forward. The surrounding passerby hurriedly scuttled past her, no one bothered to glance at her weeping eyes. Perhaps what Luo Lin told her before was right, she was simply washed-up now.
Sniff sniff sniff… She wanted nothing more than to cover her face and cry to her heart’s content.
After a few hours of flight, she found herself yet again at the airport in another city. However, she was no longer in the territory of Sea City. The rain was still pouring in the Sea City. At the place she was now, the sun shone brightly and the wind blew lightly, as the birds were chirping and the flowers were in full bloom. She began to feel slightly warm with the sweater on now.
It seemed that the disparity in weather conditions was quite striking. After getting down from the plane, she did not wander around and immediately hauled her luggage away. In a hurry, she did not realize that some people have secretly taken photographs of her.
Suddenly, a group of young girls, who seemed to be university students, surrounded her and asked, “Are you Miss Yan Huan?”
Yan Huan appeared to have regained her confidence. It can’t be helped, I was pretty famous, after all. I have been living with fame for the past two lifetimes anyway. I was a little upset when others called me washed-up.
I’m very humble as well, alright?
Yan Huan smiled beautifully as her rosy red lips curved happily upward. She did not have much makeup on, but she still seemed exceptionally pristine and youthful.
“Ah, it seems that my fame has not worn off yet.” She carefully touched her face and asked, “All of you can still recognize me?”
The few young girls were stunned, then they burst into a peal of laughter. Of course, they did it shyly and very carefully.
“Miss Yan, I’m a huge fan of your movies. Can I please get your signature? I really adore you.” As she uttered these words, a blushing young girl walked over with a notebook in her hands, hoping that she could sign it. She would have never imagined that she would bump into Yan Huan here. Her rumors and defamation did not matter to her. To her, Yan Huan’s works were an important part of her journey growing up.
After all, Yan Huan had debuted for seven years. During that long span of that time, even a young girl would have grown into a young lady, and a young lady could have become a child’s mother. Additionally, a young woman would have aged into an old woman.
Yan Huan took the pen and gleefully signed her name for her. After rummaging through her bag for some time, she finally took out a lollipop from it.
“This is for you.” She handed a lollipop for each little girl, then waved them goodbye.
With the sweets in their hands, they could not regain their senses and react to that sudden gift. To their great surprise, Yan Huan was actually extremely friendly and did not act haughtily like a superstar. She even gave them some presents.
As for Yan Huan, she was on cloud nine from that encounter. However, she felt slightly miserable that she had to call for a cab to take her to the shooting venue.
“You’re here?” Luo Lin greeted her as she sauntered over. When she saw Yan Huan’s massive pieces of baggage, deep respect swelled in her heart. Although she did not voice it out, she did think that Yan Huan was a true fighter.
“Why didn’t you let me fetch you?” She frowned and asked, “Aren’t you afraid of the traffic congestion?”
“Nah, I’m washed-up anyway.” Yan Huan set her luggage aside in her private room that was allocated to her by the production crew. Even though it was not extravagant, it was not horrible either. Furthermore, she had a room to herself, so it was quite a decent arrangement. She was also quite satisfied with the place that they were staying at.
On the other hand, Yan Huan’s snarky remark greatly irked Luo Lin, she almost spat out a mouthful of spiteful blood as she choked from anger.
“Great.” Yan Huan clapped once and said, “Do I have any scenes to film today? If I don’t I’m going to head out to shop. I’ve never been here before. Since I’m washed-up anyway, no one should recognize me, right?”
The corner of Luo Lin’s mouth twitched furiously as she replied, “There’s none for you originally. However, I’m sure there would be soon.”
Yan Huan shrugged and thought to herself. If there are scenes for me, fine. It doesn’t matter to me anyway.
As she walked out, many of the actors and actresses there turned to stare at her silently. However, these words were forming in their mind, unspoken.
Look, Yan Huan.
Look, it’s that monkey.
Look, Yan Huan is a monkey.
Look, Yan Huan is a washed-up monkey.
Yan Huan did not have any works, endorsements, and advertisements for the past two years. However, she was not truly washed-up like what Luo Lin claimed. Conversely, her name was still widely known in the entertainment circle. Although she could not be considered as a lost legacy of the entertainment world, she still indeed possessed an unfaltering prominence and presence there.
What about me being washed-up and no one recognizing me? These were merely wicked lies concocted by the envious Luo Lin. Yan Huan was someone who had lived through two lifetimes, but she still believed Luo Lin’s ungrounded bluff that claimed she was a washed-up celebrity.
Yan Huan did not socialize much at the filming site. She merely shot the scenes when needed and sat beside alone to watch the others’ acting when she was free. After the establishment of Lin Lang, she barely stayed there anymore. Even most of the people brought to fame by Luo Lin did not know that she was actually the person in charge of it. After all, all their spectacular movies were provided by Yan Huan. It was not an exaggeration to say that the meteoric advancement of LinLang was single-handedly accomplished by Yan Huan alone. No doubt, Yan Huan was also the one who pushed these people into fame.
