"Have you heard the rumors going around? The adopted daughter of the Brown family who got kicked out after signing the severance papers is here with us tonight. How shameless can she be? If it were me, I would've stayed well in my lane by working at the restaurant." It was a familiar face that spoke—Florence Seales. She was the one who helped Jessica film that video at Four Seasons."Seriously? She and Mr. Winston are already divorced. The Browns no longer acknowledge her. What right does she have to show up here at Fanny's fashion event? So many of us didn't qualify for an invitation.""What else could it be? She switched targets after failing to capture Mr. Winston's heart. It's the president of XR Entertainment, Sam Johnson. Didn't you hear? She arrived with Mr. Johnson.""What a shameless whore! This event is so strictly vetted. Why did they allow random people in here?"The group of women held flutes of champagne in their hands. Disgust graced their features at the words excha
"I'll have to ask you to leave, Ms. Seales. It'll save me the trouble of calling for security," Caleb got in front of Rebecca and said coldly.Florence was flabbergasted. 'You want me to leave? This must be a mistake, Mr. Crawford Junior!"The man remained nonchalant. "You're the one who was spinning these tall tales. You're also the one causing a scene. Tell me, why should she be the one leaving?" The spectating guests were just as shocked as Florence was. After all, it was the Seales heiress who got wine splashed on her. The Seales family were in no way giants within the circle, but they dabbled in many industries and were currently attached to the Winstons. Meanwhile, the adopted daughter of the Browns was someone who had already been disowned. What connections could she have? Surely, XR Entertainment's Mr. Sam Johnson couldn't be counted. Why was she the one being protected?With everyone's attention on Florence, she wasn't going to let herself be kicked out. That would be a g
Daniel stood by the railing in the VIP lounge on the second floor and watched the commotion downstairs with a blank expression."Come on, Danny. What are you looking at over there?" Ryan showed great interest in parties that involved beautiful women. Unfortunately for him, he had just returned to the country and was stuck negotiating business with old men instead of frolicking with bombshells. He finally had some time to himself. If it weren't for the massive runway set up, he wouldn't have known this was a fashion event.He approached Daniel with a glass of wine in hand, patted him on the shoulder, and sighed quietly. "You're getting comfy. Keep up with that long face and no one's going to approach you. Meanwhile, I'm stuck with people who annoy me wherever I go."Daniel coldly batted his hand aside. "Stay away from me.""What got you so heated up? You left your celebrity girlfriend downstairs and said you had to go see Sylvia. Are you that upset that you didn't find her?" Ryan st
"You didn't have to bring your husband into this. You're breaking my heart." The man who walked in was wearing the same off-white suit as Caleb. The pair of gold-rimmed glasses that sat on his face gave him the disposition of a refined man."Uncle Dante." Rebecca smiled as she got to her feet to greet the man."Sit. We're all family here." Dante hurriedly gestured for her to sit down before taking his place by Felicia's side. He then handed a vacuum mug he brought with him to the woman sitting next to him."I brought you a little something. You've been busy all evening. You must be tired." As soon as the lid was twisted open, the aroma of chicken noodle soup permeated the air.That prompted Felicia to huff. "Do you have any idea how late it is? Why did you bring this? Can't you see I've been gaining weight? You even used my mug for your soup. Unbelievable!" Despite her disagreeable words, she accepted the offering and took small sips of the broth.Dante grinned in satisfaction and
When the contracts were announced during the show break, those in the VIP lounge witnessed the live reaction through the live stream. And, of course, they didn't miss Daniel leaving midway through the show."Have you already decided not to renew the contract with Winston Group, Becca? Shouldn't you reconsider this?" Dante looked at the situation from a rational standpoint and concluded that she could continue to cooperate with the Winstons. It wasn't as if Daniel knew that Sylvia was the wife he had sent abroad. From a businessman's point of view, there was no harm in continuing to cooperate with Winston Group. He believed that as long as Fuller Studio was willing to renew the contract and the conditions weren't demanding, Daniel would concede.Rebecca firmly shook her head. "I understand what you're trying to say, Uncle Dante. But I must be conscientious with my work. I take care of my own, and that means I'll be ruffling feathers. That's why I don't want to continue working togethe
"Umm …" Daniel was shocked. He, of course, knew what to do. It was he who went out of his way to get her sanitary supplies a few years ago when he first saw how embarrassed she had been. Thinking about the past put him in a trance. It was hard to imagine how they had gotten to this point. But now was clearly not the time to reminisce.Rebecca was flushed with anger as she hastily covered up her predicament with the hem of her dress. She sounded close to tears. "Get out of my way!"Her reddened eyes made him back away. "I'm sorry."But she was not in the mood to accept his apology. She didn't even want to look at him and barreled straight into the restroom while clutching her purse. "Scumbag!" she cursed internally in anger. If it weren't for him losing his mind right outside the women's restroom, she wouldn't have gotten into this situation and ruined her dress. She hadn't even brought her cell phone with her because she thought she'd be able to return to the lounge fairly quickly.
Rebecca played up her misery. "Exactly, Mr. Winston. Have you changed your mind about divorcing me? Don't you want to marry Jessica anymore?"Daniel had finally heard enough. "Stop, Rebecca!" The two women arguing gave him a headache.Rebecca refused to play along and continued to feign frailty. "It seems my identity as an ex-wife-to-be is nothing compared to Ms. Jessica, Mr. Winston. What a cruel lover. How unfortunate that you were going to break my wrist right off, Mr. Winston." She cradled her reddened wrist with a pitiful expression that radiated innocence.That caught him off guard. He hadn't realized how much force he had used. He ignored her the first time she cried out in pain back at the restroom, but she never made a sound since.Rebecca did not miss the way he looked at her and shot him a sardonic smile. "Do you feel bad, Mr. Winston? You didn't show any pity just now.""Are you done, Rebecca?" Jessica had heard enough. She couldn't stand the sight of Daniel getting em
Daniel was leaning against the car door. His dark, neatly groomed hair tousled by the wind added swagger to his noble bearing. He casually straightened up when he noticed Rebecca walking close. His eyes darkened at the sight of the man beside her. The night breeze was far from gentle and carried a chill with it. Rebecca still felt the nipping cold despite Sam's jacket draped over her shoulders. She marched on alongside Caleb without sparing the man in front of her a glance. They passed one another as they had done inside, only Daniel was no longer as impassive as he had been earlier. He sidestepped to get in her way."What are you trying to do, Mr. Winston?" Rebecca had wanted to ignore him and leave, but others were filing out of the venue one after another. The press was also waiting outside. They were not part of the entertainment industry, but if a fight were to break out, it would be inevitable for them to be scrutinized online. How troublesome.Daniel shot her a glance but sa
Penny didn't have much free time over the past three years.As she had envisioned, during the first year, she honed her acting skills amidst criticism while also working as a translator.Later on, she felt that acting didn't hold much appeal anymore. Moreover, realizing that there weren't any roles left for her, she gradually gave up and moved toward working behind the scenes.She had some work during this period.It seemed that a daring reality show, not caring about potential risks, decided to capitalize on her controversial popularity and invited her to participate in one of their programs.The reason Penny agreed to participate was because the show's first season had a good reputation, and the payment offered was reasonable.Continuously doing translations could be quite tiring. After discussing with Cecilia and weighing the pros and cons, she eventually signed up for this TV show.Unfortunately, she had underestimated the darker side of human nature.The show's production
"Really?" Zane blurted out, staring incredulously at Sam, who nodded calmly. His unruly and carefree demeanor was restrained, and his composed attitude showed that he wasn't joking.Zane fell silent again, furrowing his brow as he intently observed Sam.It was as if he thought everything through in an instant, giving up without hesitation. He didn't even remind Zane of the request from years ago to take care of Penny. Instead, he said this would be the last time he would help out.Logically speaking, this should be a satisfactory outcome for Zane. After all, from any perspective, the Lowe family's scion would only be a burden to Sam.Looking again at Sam's attitude, it seemed he didn't want Penny to know he was the one quietly spending money to handle things behind the scenes.Since there was no plan to meet her, he didn't need to worry about anything after that. If that was the case, it would be better to just end it early.That way, if Sam saw Penny falling in love, getting mar
All those old scoundrels from the Lowe family undoubtedly ranked the highest. Then there was Jessica, the entertainment industry's national goddess, who also played a significant role.Besides them, there were a few minor celebrities who didn't really make the cut.However, as Sam's partner and someone who watched him grow up, Zane privately hoped Sam could find a better girl.So, he advised, "There are plenty of socialites in Riverwood, and Amdale has no shortage of beautiful young ladies, either, and Rookfort isn't much different."You and the Lowe family's daughter haven't even officially met…""Who said I haven't met her?" Sam interrupted him without a second thought.He had even seen her twice. How could Zane say they hadn't even met yet?The first time, she gave him all the money she had. The second time, he spoke up to help her get that role.After these interactions, they could be considered acquaintances.Zane choked up and couldn't find the words to refute.He was s
Because Penny declined his offer, Zane didn't insist. After a bit of small talk, he ended the call.He politely mentioned that if she needed any help, she could call this number again. If he could assist in any way, he certainly would.However, Zanw knew very well that, given Penny's temperament, she would rather give up what she had than actively seek help from a stranger.Yes, to Penny, Zane was just a stranger. He was a person she had met once but didn't really know.This time, Penny didn't respond as coldly as she did when she was 18. Instead, she exchanged a couple of polite pleasantries, mentioned that she would reach out if needed, and then hung up the phone.After that, she let out a long sigh of relief and lay on the lounge chair on the balcony, gazing at the view outside the window.There were fluffy white clouds in the azure sky and the greenery visible in the neighborhood. Sparrows were chirping persistently as they darted through the forest, and the cicadas loudly bu
Although the other person said only one word, Penny could still tell he didn't have any ill intentions.Because of that faint sense of familiarity, Penny didn't hang up the phone immediately. "Hello? May I ask what this is about?"The unfamiliar and distant tone probably made the man on the other end of the phone pause for a moment. It was only after a brief silence that he responded."Young lady, don't you remember me? It's Zane Moran."His voice carried a laugh, with a hint of teasing.Only then did Penny remember who he was, but she wasn't happy at all.Zane meant no harm when that incident happened back then. But despite that, over the years that had passed, he became one of the people and things Penny would rather not recall.Whether it was the exam she missed, the incident where Spencer took her to the hotel against her will, or Zane, who gave her 30 dollars for a taxi ride.She just wanted to hide all of them deep in her memories.The recent events had particularly made
"I'm fine. You all don't have to look so worried. You're making it seem as if something bad is going to happen to me."Penny looked at the two people at the door who were showing a range of expressions, feeling speechless.Cecilia was provoked by her words, and her eyes turned red."We're worried about you. You have no idea what you look like right now. You're almost like one of those disheartened protagonists in novels who hated the world."Penny clicked her tongue twice and said, "Aren't you exaggerating?"She didn't believe it. She was just worried about money. It wasn't like she had become disillusioned with life.Besides, she didn't dislike this world at all. On the contrary, she really liked it.Whenever Penny came across posts online suggesting that all humans should just die, she always felt like rolling her eyes. If they wanted to die, they shouldn't drag others with them.When searching for her own role in movies, TV dramas, and novels, Penny particularly preferred re
Penny's way of clarifying things was to simply tell the truth.Sometimes, trying to cover things up would just lead to needing 100 more lies to continue the cover-up. That would often end up making things worse and more ridiculous.It was better to tell the truth about the situation.To answer the question of why she lashed out at the Lowe family, she briefly explained her experiences over the years.Why didn't she attend the final paper of the college entrance examinations? She personally reopened that old wound.As for that man in the hotel, Penny didn't have much of an impression of him anymore. She only remembered not taking his business card and accepting 30 dollars from him.Why did she show up at that man's hotel room? She wrote it down truthfully—it was her father who personally took her and left her at the hotel, wanting to trade her like a commodity.Every single word was carefully considered and written by Penny.She didn't share much of these things with Cecilia. Th
Once the official statements were released, Penny's career being ruined became a certainty.The only surprising thing was probably that after the film crew issued their statement, the largest investor also requested to withdraw.The film crew was completely shocked, but there was nothing they could do. The scion was willing to lose money just to withdraw his investment, so what could they do?The amount of money in the compensation was nothing compared to the amount that the scion planned to invest. The production team would incur a significant loss.With one less investor, the project's status was essentially downgraded. They had much less room to manipulate their gains now, too.One would understand why the scion was doing this if they used their brain a little.However, the protests from the audience couldn't be ignored, and compared to the investors, it was clearly more important to keep the show going.After all, they could always attract more sponsors, even if the amount o
In addition to the widespread backlash caused by the phone recording, Penny's academic credentials were also scrutinized and exposed.Before the college entrance exam, she had always been the top student in her school and had never ranked anything else.However, in the college entrance exam, she barely passed the minimum mark for key institutions, far below her usual performance.Some people speculated that she had been cheating during regular exams and that her actual abilities were much worse.However, the exam results could be checked online, and the fact that Penny scored zero on the last exam was surprising.It was even more shocking that she was admitted to a top-tier university despite missing an exam. It was truly exceptional.But few people paid attention to this information.After all, the achievements attained through hard work couldn't be faked. Even if the results weren't as expected, it was undeniable that she was stronger than many others.Regarding this topic, t