Dicky took out the gold bullion, which left Cordy taken aback.It wasn’t small, and obviously quite heavy.Handing it to her, Dicky said, "Lucas gave it to me, saying he didn't know what to give. I can't use it anyway, so you can have it."Cordy was left speechless. Who on earth gives a kid gold bullions?Fashioning it into jewelry would be more acceptable!However, a thought occurred to Cordy when she took it. Was this actually Lucas's gift to her? Was he using Dicky as an intermediary to make amends for losing his temper at her the other day?After all, it would be more convincing if he gave Dicky something that suited Dicky’s age. An adult, on the other hand… Cordy decided she was too lazy to figure it out, since it was pointless anyway.As a business person, she had no reason to refuse a huge gold bullion. In fact, she would be less interested if it was just jewelry. No one could refuse such a gift.-After having dinner with the Lynds and seeing them off, Cordy lef
It was a little awkward, especially since Cordy hated anything conspicuous.Even so, Patrick was pulling every trick he could to declare his passion for her. He was almost stubborn about doing the exact opposite of what she preferred.Still, she held Dicky's hand and walked towards Patrick."Welcome back," he greeted them."And what are you doing in North City?" Cordy asked. "To receive you, of course.""And how'd you know what flight I was on?" "For my beloved, I'd brave hell and high water—"Noticing Cordy's glare, he promptly admitted, "I asked your assistant."Cordy wondered if she should start questioning Randy’s loyalties."Come on. I'll give you a ride home—""Cordy? Is that your boyfriend?" Nana suddenly asked.She and Lucas weren’t far, just a few paces. She quickly approached Patrick the moment she saw him."And you are…?" Patrick asked, frowning at Nana.He didn’t remember her among Cordy's list of family and friends."Hello. I'm Nana Lynd, Cordy's cousin."
Patrick grinned. "I could tell. But what if it's actually a yes, too?""No, it isn't," Cordy growled."I mean, who knows? You actually hated me when I touched you before, but you're touching me willingly now, aren't you?"Cordy was left utterly speechless. Was she not making sense before?"I mean, whatever your reason was, you touched me on your own accord," Patrick added very flirtatiously, before studying her for a moment. "That said, you rarely gave another person so much attention. You really hate Nana, don't you?""Nope.""Don't bother trying to trick me.""Nana's really your ideal type, huh? You men are all the same. ""You're my ideal type," Patrick said solemnly."Save the flattery," Cordy snorted, completely skeptical. "I mean, Nana is the type who… Actually, I can't really describe her, but either way, she's not my type." Patrick certainly didn’t know how to comment on Nana. He didn’t feel that positive about her at first sight, but wasn’t exactly repulsed either
Although Patrick brought Cordy home to her mansion, his request to go inside or for a drink was summarily refused.She really was ruthless.Fortunately, she received her roses, although that was because he threatened to go in the mansion if she did not.Cordy was compelled to take his roses, and that put Patrick in a good mood.She probably didn’t notice, but her guard against his courting and his presence in general was easing.Before, Cordy would look at him as if he was an idiot no matter how hard he tried, and strode off into the distance.The path before had certainly been long and harsh, but now… There was hope.-Meanwhile, filming for the second stage of 'Actors on Set' was under way at North City Channel's studios.Viewership on the first season crushed every other variety show, and shot straight to trending searches. Naturally, Zoe was mentioned to some extent as well, since many were curious about her sudden disappearance from the spotlight. However, she had too f
Zoe wanted to challenge herself—she would abandon Cora's interpretation of the character and make a completely new character instead. However, doing so had its risks; the audience might not be used to the new character since it went against what they remembered, which in turn would lead to her being slaughtered. After thinking things through, Zoe decided to stick to Cora's interpretation.The audience began to vote after the contestants' performances before the program moved on to the judges' comments.Hailey was the most experienced amongst the judges, and she had been watching solemnly.She was even more solemn after watching Zoe's team's performance.Zoe, Wynn, and Candice felt their hearts racing nervously. They more or less managed to recreate the performance as it was, but had no idea if the judges and audience would buy it.Hailey then spoke, "First and foremost, it's commendable that the performance overall was replicated without obvious mistakes. Naturally, there were
"Did you replicate Cora’s interpretation of the character without adjustments because it was Jay's production? It's a smart way to buy Jay's vote by playing the character to his tastes, isn't that so?" Hailey's aggressive rebuke wasn’t sparing Zoe an ounce of dignity, and Zoe actually had no idea how to defend herself.In fact, with Hailey now prejudiced against her, anything she said would only be considered excuses.However, she never thought of playing the character in a way that struck Jay’s fancy—not that she could.If anything, she wanted the audience's fancy."Your years in showbiz turns out to be a waste, Zoe," Hailey said coldly, her spite for Zoe abundantly clear on her face. Zoe was left wondering how on earth had she offended Hailey, especially when she found herself grounded.Even the host couldn’t stand it, and tried to steer the stage in another direction away from the awkwardness. "Do you have anything to say to Miss Zimmerman, Zoe?" As such, Zoe spoke with a
Zoe was simply waiting for Jay’s impending critique, since Hailey had mentioned almost everything that could be said.At this point, there was nothing she couldn’t accept.She was actually retaining her usual smile, having weathered through the world shattering beneath her feet over the years but bearing with it anyway.She would always put on her best performance in front of the cameras. She just had to do her utmost, even if no one was buying it.After all, your effort was disproportional—even inconsequential—to your success in this world.Nonetheless, Jay continued, "I'm sure anyone who was involved in a stage production would understand that a performance with zero mistakes is exceedingly difficult. It involves perfection in everything including your breathing, expressions, movements, dialog, and interaction with your fellow actors. And yet, no one has achieved that today, save for Zoe."Zoe simply kept smiling at Jay, but without gratitude in her eyes or the rejoicing of bei
Hailey scoffed. "So, I'm right. Zoe was trying to buy your vote.""I'm merely giving an actress the fairest assessment from my own personal perspective," Jay replied."Me too," Hailey said sternly. "That's why it doesn't matter what her objective was, or what dramatic events she experienced before that affected her life. I can’t bring myself to appreciate cutting corners, because the stage demands a grounded performance. Either way, she won't earn any points with me."Jay was about to argue when Zoe quickly said, "Thank you, Miss Zimmerman and Mr. Parker. I profoundly understand that I had been lacking. I’ll correct myself should I still have the opportunity to show my respect for the stage, the judges, and the audience."She nodded solemnly, afraid of having the judges argue over her and in turn getting flamed online.She yearned badly for a resurgence, but the less she was involved in any scandals, the better; she wanted a clean pedestal.Still, she was surprised Jay would help