If Isabella tries to clear her name now, it'll only make things worse—who would believe her anyway?
Cynthia is probably stirring up more trouble behind the scenes, and it seems like most of the crew has already bought into her lies.The only way to stop the rumors is to force Cynthia to confess, to make everyone see her ugly true nature.
With that in mind, Isabella started thinking about how to expose Cynthia.
Despite everything, she acted as if nothing was wrong, carrying on as usual, completely unfazed by the stares and mockery around her.But Cynthia was running out of patience. She wanted to deliver a fatal blow to Isabella, to get her kicked out of the production—and maybe even out of the entire industry. It was time to make a bigger move.
That evening, just as the crew was wrapping up, Amy approached Isabella with a file and said, "Isabella, the director wants to discuss the script for Lady Lucia. He needs to go over the lines with you.”
Isabel
The assistant director remained composed, standing firm as he gave Hailey a calm, steady look. “So, what you’re suggesting is that I’m having an affair with Ms. Isabella?”Hailey raised an eyebrow, her lips curling in a sneer. She stared at Isabella with contempt. “Exactly. I like to call things as they are. You two were alone in your office—what else could it be but an affair?”“Who said they were alone?” A cold, sharp voice suddenly interrupted from behind the assistant director.Everyone turned toward the source of the voice, and a woman stepped out of the office.It was none other than the assistant director’s wife, Producer Aileen, who also worked on the project.The onlookers were stunned.What was going on? Why was the assistant director’s wife here too?Producer Aileen looked calmly at Hailey, her expression unreadable. She asked coolly, “Isabella was in the office for less than a minute, and you’re claiming she and the assist
Faced with overwhelming evidence, Cynthia had no way to defend herself. Every trick she wanted to pull unraveled before she could even speak.Someone shouted, “Cynthia, you brought us all here to the assistant director’s office to slander Isabella, didn’t you?”The onlookers, who had been dragged into this mess by Cynthia, were now desperate to distance themselves from her. That shout was clearly directed at the assistant director, pleading for forgiveness and hoping he wouldn’t hold a grudge.The director and Producer Aileen remained silent, as the truth was already crystal clear. There was no need for them to say more. Cynthia was caught, with no escape.Panicked, Cynthia tried to bluff her way out. "That love letter was just a prank between my sister and me. Nothing actually happened, you're all overreacting—”“Slap!”Before she could finish her sentence, Isabella delivered a hard slap across her face, causing Cynthia to see stars and nea
Lysander, a bit taken aback, asked, "Why not? Cynthia has set traps on set and secretly slandered Isabella. If you don’t replace her, are you just going to let Cynthia continue to make things difficult for your Isabella?"Lucius’s voice suddenly grew deep and frosty. "If we remove Cynthia from the role, the Riveras will pull their investment. That money is essentially owed to Bella by the Riveras, and it should be paid to her. Why should we let them take it back?"Lucius’s voice carried a barely perceptible cold smirk as he looked at the bathroom door, touching the wound Isabella had bandaged for him. Although the scab had fallen off, the psychological terror Isabella had endured that night from the Rivera family—those helpless, frightened eyes like a young deer—still pained him deeply.His voice, now subtly heavy, grew louder. “If the Riveras withdraws their funding, it won’t affect them much. I want Cynthia to stay in the production and continue playing the le
Hearing Hailey’s words, Cynthia felt a secret thrill and repeatedly agreed, “Yes, Hailey, Isabella is our common enemy. We must never let her off the hook.”Thus, the two envious and scheming women united in their animosity.As for Cynthia’s plan to have the posts deleted, that was a story for another day. The Riveras tried every means to remove them, but none succeeded, as the behind-the-scenes boss who posted them was someone no one dared to cross.The next scene being filmed involved a dance.As the lead actress, Cynthia naturally took the central position in the dance.Isabella, playing the supporting role of the gentle concubine, had to dance behind the lead actress.Cynthia was once known as the ‘Dancing Goddess’ due to her passion for clubbing; in the glamorous nightlife, she was the most dazzling and seductive queen.However, the current production was a historical palace drama requiring ethnic dance skills.This partic
After finishing her costume, Isabella returned to the filming location for the next scene.As usual, Cynthia was the lead dancer, with the other dancers coordinating with her.The set was magnificent, with beautiful girls twirling and spinning like blooming flowers, creating a breathtaking display.However, an out-of-tune note disrupted everyone.Cynthia suddenly started dancing unevenly, stumbling and limping as if she were a cripple.Her facial expression was extremely bizarre, with grimaces and furrowed brows, showing immense pain.Her erratic movements made it impossible for the crew to continue filming the dance.Assistant Director quickly called for a cut and asked loudly, "What’s wrong with the lead actress? Did she sprain her ankle? Get the crew’s doctor over here!"Hailey hurried to help Cynthia sit down and began to help her remove her shoes.Cynthia immediately grabbed Hailey's hand, preventing her from touchi
No one expected the rope to break, and everyone was working beneath the bell without any precautions.At a critical moment, Isabella broke into a cold sweat and felt her scalp tingle. She could leap away to avoid the disaster, but what about the crew members under the bell?If the bell fell, everyone beneath it would be in danger.There was no time to explain; the bell was about to fall.Without thinking, Isabella decided to grab the rope that was about to snap. If she used her body weight to hold it, the support structure might stay upright, and the crew could stabilize the bell.She quickly ran over and attempted to jump up to grab the rope, but it was too high, and she couldn’t reach it.In her desperation, she noticed Cynthia, who was sitting in a wheelchair beside the bell.Without a moment to waste, she leaped over, stepped on Cynthia’s shoulder, and used her height to jump higher and grab the fraying rope.As the crowd a
Since Cynthia’s foot injury was revealed, she had become much more subdued.She seemed to understand that trying to harm Isabella and drive her out of the show was nearly impossible.She had failed repeatedly from the start. Besides Isabella’s good luck and cunning, there had always been someone helping Isabella from behind the scenes.She vaguely felt that the person supporting Isabella was extraordinarily powerful and well-connected.But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure out who could have such strong backing to support an ordinary orphan like Isabella.Unable to figure it out, she decided to bide her time.After that, the filming process went smoothly.Cynthia continued to come to the set in a wheelchair every day, using a stand-in to complete all her scenes.Isabella, on the other hand, devoted herself fully to playing the role of Lady Lucia.Her performances often dazzled everyone, and during filming
After three months, the crew finally wrapped up filming.The entire crew was buzzing with excitement and joy.Thanks to the collective efforts of everyone, the drama was completed successfully, and everyone felt a huge sense of accomplishment and relief.At that moment, a large group with a grand display of congratulatory banners arrived at the crew’s entrance.Everyone wondered who had come, only to see a crowd entering with huge signs that read: “Congratulations Miss Cynthia Rivera on the successful wrap of her film debut!”“Cynthia Rivera, our queen, we love you!”“Fan club of Best Actress Cynthia Rivera!”...Leading the group were Cynthia’s close friends, including Thalia, Fanny, as well as friends from the alliance family and a bunch of reporters and fans.Cynthia quickly stood up, smiling warmly as she welcomed her fan club. After a long period of recovery, she could walk with minimal difficulty now.Howeve
After the initial stage recording concluded, everyone returned to the trainees' dormitories, which were assigned by group. Naturally, the A group had much better accommodations than the others.Isabella was paired with a trainee named Zinnia, who had a powerful soprano voice.Both were somewhat introverted, greeting each other before getting back to their own tasks. The atmosphere in their dormitory was quite peaceful, unlike the noisy chatter in other girls’ dorms.Meanwhile, Masha and Cynthia were assigned to the same dormitory.Since everyone had seen Masha sitting with Isabella earlier, and both were from Knight Entertainment, it wasn’t long before the others gathered around to gossip about Isabella.Today, Isabella’s impressive performance had indeed made her the center of attention.“Isabella is truly outstanding; she’s very dedicated,” Mash
Among the trainees who had just performed, there were certainly those who sang foreign songs, but these choices often didn’t hold much advantage.Due to copyright concerns, they usually selected lesser-known tracks that weren’t widely recognized, which meant their performances had to be exceptionally outstanding to truly impress the audience.Just like with the song Isabella chose, many had never even heard of it.However, as soon as Isabella finished speaking, the judges flipped open her introduction sheet and discovered that this song was actually an original composition by her!While some trainees had tried the original route, none had been bold enough to challenge themselves with an original song in a singing and dancing performance.After all, most original songs are simply a combination of two or three instruments playing melodies with common lyrical chord progres
Cynthia, like Masha, followed a sweet style. Her outfit today was a noticeably improved version of her usual attire—a lovely pink short skirt that gave her a sweet, youthful vibe.As soon as she appeared, the other trainees in the audience couldn’t help but praise her. Singing a sweet song while smiling brightly, she performed a simple yet charming dance. The overall atmosphere was incredibly cute, and the crowd was in awe.“Oh my gosh, she’s so adorable!”“This Cynthia seems to be an individual trainee, and she’s the first to perform! Her skills are amazing!”“At this level, she should be able to score at least a B grade.”During the initial stage of *Next Girls*, trainees were graded by the mentors into five levels: A, B, C, D, and E, with A being the best. Only seven positions were available for debut.Isabella felt indifferent to Cynthia’s per
However, just as Isabella finished speaking, the manager who had just expelled Cynthia and Samuel approached again. This time, his face was beaming with smiles, completely different from the nervous, sweaty demeanor he had earlier. He cheerfully said to Isabella, “You’re a student from the Aetheron Film Academy, aren’t you?”“Yes,” Isabella nodded, unsure of what the manager wanted. Did he intend to say she didn’t comply with some rule and throw her and Lucius out as well?“What’s the matter?” Isabella asked warily, frowning at the manager.“Well, since it’s exam day, we have a special event going on. We’re holding a lottery for students from the Aetheron Film Academy who dine here, and the prizes are quite generous. Would you like to participate?” The manager said, placing a large lottery box in front of Isabella.
After bidding farewell to Derek, Isabella returned home. During her exam preparations, Lucius, as a family member of a candidate, had also put in a lot of effort. Today, they must celebrate properly—dinner at a restaurant!Isabella had already mentioned this to Lucius; as soon as she got home, she would take him out to eat.Who would have thought that when she opened her phone, she found a message from Lucius saying he had already driven to the school gate to wait for her to go eat together.“Your car seems quite expensive, doesn’t it?” Isabella didn’t know much about car brands, but the emblem on Lucius’s car depicted two little figures holding up a small fork, looking quite noble.So, she guessed that Lucius was probably driving a pretty nice car.“I’m not sure about the specifics; it’s just arranged by the company,” Lucius replied. He had been busy with some matters la
However, before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Isabella's cold laugh, her eyes filled with complex emotions. “If you had just told me what you wanted, I would have given it to you. So if you really like him, just say it, and I won’t hesitate to let you have him. Why bother tarnishing your reputation as a mistress by doing such a disgraceful thing? My dear sister, you’ve truly disappointed me.”“Anyone who can be seduced by a mere glance from you, do you think he’s worth anything? Thank you for helping me identify trash!”“Isabella, don’t say that! He... he’s not trash. We just got caught up in the moment.” Cynthia was at a loss, completely unsure of how to perform. Although she was supposed to be the supporting actress, she felt like she was being led around by Isabella.“You mean you were momentarily confused, right? In front of so many people, you can openly hold hands. What about when I'm not
Time flew by in the training camp, and in a month, Isabella will take her exams for the Aetheron Film Academy, including an interview test. Therefore, she didn’t visit the Knight’s training camp as often and returned to school to study.The entrance interview for the Aetheron Film Academy typically involves three teachers and two senior students as assistants. However, when Isabella arrived at the venue, she was surprised to find that the seniors assisting this year were familiar faces.Samuel and Cynthia stood beside the three interview teachers, looking like a perfect match with their impressive looks.Generally, the performing arts program at the film academy has multiple phases, including a first and second round for elements like dialogue, performance, and vocal skills. All these stages are completed in a single day to prevent any potential interference, such as bribing the teachers.Aft
“Uncle, I need you to help me check on someone. There’s a trainee named Cecilia at the Knight training camp.” Lucius’s voice grew angry as he mentioned her name, and he instructed Lysander coldly.“Is something wrong? Did that little wife of yours get bullied again?” Without needing much context, Lysander immediately guessed that Lucius’s anger and attention to detail must be due to something happening to his wife.“She withdrew at the last moment before the competition. Cecilia schemed to make her give up. People like her, who play dirty, don’t deserve to stay at the Knight training camp. She’ll only bring chaos,” Lucius stated, believing Lysander would understand that Cecilia could not remain there.Meanwhile, Cecilia successfully secured first place in the afternoon competition, guaranteeing her a spot in Bryan’s film.However, Bryan himself was not present at the finals that afternoon.
After Isabella left, Cecilia wasted no time stepping forward. "Director Wade, it was our fault. Karrie was on the phone with a friend, and he happens to be called Lucius too. Isabella thought it was her boyfriend, and that’s why she ran off. She got jealous and left the competition in a hurry."While Bryan had been speaking with Isabella, Cecilia and Karrie had been eavesdropping the whole time. So, as soon as Isabella left without an explanation, Cecilia seized the chance to pretend to defend her. In reality, she only made the situation worse.Cecilia assumed that Bryan would be displeased to hear that Isabella abandoned such a golden opportunity for a man. But to her surprise, Bryan saw right through the situation.Unlike Cecilia, Bryan knew that Isabella’s boyfriend was indeed Lucius from the Knight Group. Their relationship was well-known, and her concern was understandable. When Bryan recalled Isabella’s words