It was silent.The awkward atmosphere filled the air.David’s sharp interpretation of her thoughts had left Rebecca speechless.Any explanations were futile at this point.David didn't rush her for an explanation either.He was still smiling gently. His tall figure was planted in front of Rebecca. He looked at her without saying a word.After a while, Rebecca, who was sitting on the stool, couldn't bear the weight of his deathly gaze anymore and finally spoke. "I'm sorry."Apart from apologies, there was nothing else she could possibly say.She couldn't explain this feeling of annoyance, not even to herself.All she could be certain of was that this feeling of annoyance started to grow when she began to avoid David.It was as if the confession had wiped away the withered grass that covered the truth that was buried deep under.When there was nothing to hide under, the naked emotions were the only things left.There were no other reasons.All she could do was apologize.Th
"Does it still hurt?" said David. He lowered his gaze and stared at Rebecca for a while. He then said, "In that case, I shall leave first, or else you will have a headache again."Rebecca looked surprised. She looked back at David with confusion.David didn’t seem to have the intention to leave. He continued, "I came here out of the blue today because I thought that you might be tired after the match. I’m more than happy to pick you up and send you back. Who would have thought that I’d give you a headache? I'm truly sorry."He explained the reason why he came to Crechester all of a sudden. His pitiful look made Rebecca feel conflicted about what she did.The annoyance she had felt had mostly been replaced by a feeling of guilt.Rebecca thought that if he continued to behave this way, in the future, they could perhaps be close friends again like they once were.Just as she was thinking, David said gently again, "We have been out here long enough. You should go back now. I'll go
David frowned.The car that had just started abruptly stopped in the middle of an empty road. A speeding car rushed past from behind. It probably did not expect another car to suddenly stop in front of it. The driver swerved and avoided an accident. As the car passed David, the driver rolled down the window and shouted a few expletives at David.However, David was completely unaware of this.The call remained connected, and aside from continuing to talk and asking more questions, David couldn’t think of any other thing to do. But there was no sound coming from the other end, only a cacophony of noise as if someone was stepping on the phone. The sound was anxiety-inducing.David had a grim expression on his face. He ended the call when the police officer tapped on his car window. He then dialed another number....Not long after Rebecca returned to the dining room, the meal was finished, and people started leaving.They had ordered quite a spread of dishes on the table, but t
Daniel had expected this and showed no reaction. He was smiling as usual. "Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Johnson."He was polite and courteous. Alex opened the door of the backseat. Daniel got in and fastened the seatbelt.Once seated, he looked outside the window.Rebecca had gotten into the passenger seat of the car Caleb was driving. They seemed to be in a conversation. The car door was still open. One of Rebecca’s legs was still outside of the car. Rebecca was smiling beautifully and gazing at Caleb.If he could, Daniel would watch for a long time.Unfortunately, Alex didn't give him that chance.After fastening his seatbelt, Alex glanced at Daniel from the rearview mirror. He followed his gaze and realized what he was looking at. He smirked as he quickly drove away while denying Daniel any opportunity.What were you looking at?In the past, when Rebecca was still with you, why didn’t you look at her more? Instead, you believed the words of that woman who was still in prison
Rebecca's gaze remained fixed on the lanterns. She was trying to memorize the scenery.Such scenery was something she had never seen before in other countries.Even during the New Year celebration, what she had seen in other countries was not as impressive as the sight in front of her now.As for Seardale, a chaotic and lawless city, it naturally didn't have culture like this.It didn't even have its own culture, let alone the culture of the country she was from.In the past, when she read about the concept of returning to one’s roots, she didn’t understand it. She believed that life was a journey and that it was the same everywhere. It was only after traveling thousands of miles that she realized the meaning of those words.She didn't want to go back to Seardale anymore."Shall we take a stroll around here for a while?" asked Caleb.He didn't rush to interrupt Rebecca's thoughts. He watched as her gaze slowly shifted away from the scenery in front of her before gently probing
SUN smiled and said, "Don't be so polite. If you don't mind, just call me Carissa."SUN's real name was Carissa Stevens, which could be found on the official name list of the club. In the past, players who were socially awkward never exposed any of their personal information online. But as the competitions went on, whenever the player appeared on stage, fans would jokingly mention their name in the comment section. Sometimes, during award ceremonies, there were also many comments joking about how players had lost their real names.Rebecca didn't have a strong impression of other players, but she greatly admired Carissa. After learning that many clubs didn't accept female players, she was even more impressed by her journey.Many clubs had no explicit rules against female players, but it had become an unspoken rule in the industry. A female who joined a club despite this would suffer blows to her self-confidence. Carissa thought she had a chance, but she was rejected time and ti
Carissa didn't allow herself to get too comfortable with her drastically increased wealth. Instead, she quickly organized her life. Carissa quit her several part-time jobs, which usually helped sustain her living. She redirected most of her time to hosting live streams and stopped offering services to game with her fans. After all, many only paid to play with her for entertainment. Her skills and in-game awareness would only dwindle if she spent too long on such services.So, she packed her schedule with training sessions instead.After the qualifying matches, she usually had training game sessions with people on her friend list. She could also broadcast those gaming sessions as live streams, so her income increased by the day.Generating online traffic was easy for her. Whenever she hosted a live stream, one fan watching would eventually bring in more groups of people.Carissa stopped hosting live streams for a long time after her income stabilized. In her spare time, she would
Carissa inevitably felt sad about it. Yet, pleasant surprises soon came one after another.Alex recommended her to other clubs willing to take in female players. Because of that, she didn't need to join the youth training camp and could advance straight to the clubs' tryouts.Still, Carissa ended up going to the youth training camp. She wasn't refusing to use her connections with Alex out of pride. Instead, she wanted to experience life in the training camp after conversing about it with Alex. Besides, she couldn't join competitions regardless of whether a club would sign her. That was because the competition season only started after the youth training camp ended. So, her wish to experience the camo wouldn't affect anything.She could also familiarize herself with a competitive environment. She'd train with the youth training camp's players.Carissa had also asked for Alex's opinion before she signed with the Flashfocus Esports Club. She wasn't trying to trouble Alex. Carissa si
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