In the early morning, the clock stopped at 6 o’clock, the sky was already bright, and the orange-yellow warm sun shone on the glass window.
A ray of light sneaked through the gap in the curtain that hadn’t been pulled properly.
Elliana Lyle, still in her dreams, was quickly woken up by Lana.
After washing up, she was groggily drinking the shrimp porridge prepared by Lana while listening to Norman Bennett describing today’s schedule to her. The more she listened, the more something didn’t seem right.
"Wait a minute! Why am I going to the crew?" Elliana finally realized, staring at the man with puzzlement.
"Eleanor Llyod and Joy Lyle are both artists under Roland, but due to Roland’s breach of contract, neither of them can continue acting. So the lead female role will be played by you."
Norman Bennett said lightly while sipping coffee, as if it wasn’t a big deal to him.
However, for Elliana, it was completely different. She had never acted before, not even as an extra, so how could she play the lead role!
She immediately thought of Luna, feeling a bit excited: "Norman Bennett, I can’t do it. I’m telling you, there’s someone named Luna who’s suitable for the female lead. You should find her instead."
"The entire crew is waiting for you. If you don’t go for a day, they’ll wait a day. If you don’t go for a month, they’ll wait a month."
Norman’s meaning was very clear; he wanted her, and only her.
"No... Norman Bennett, I don’t know how to act, and if I play the lead, I’ll probably be scolded to death." Elliana looked at Norman with grievance, hoping he would give up.
Norman finally looked up at her and spoke indifferently: "Aren’t you an intern in your senior year? It’s good to find something to do. If you can’t, learn. I’ll support you."
Suddenly, the porridge didn’t taste so good anymore. She felt like she was being pushed into something against her will, and Norman didn’t seem to be joking.
After thinking for a long time, she felt it was true, in her senior year of internship, she never chose where to intern. Being an artist under Norman seemed like a good idea.
So, she smiled and asked, "Will you pay me a salary?"
Norman didn’t speak, gesturing with his eyes for her to look at the table.
Only then did she notice a credit card on the corner of the table beside her, indicating she could spend freely.
Playing the lead female role, just learn if you can’t, what’s the big deal.
"Alright, I’ll give it a try. If it doesn’t work, then you find Luna, okay?" Elliana took a step back and agreed, quickly picking up the bank card and putting it in her pocket.
Seeing Norman agree, Elliana continued to drink the porridge happily.
Looks like she has to postpone a lot of things today. She had transferred ten thousand dollars to Luna yesterday, as if the money had been burning a hole in her pocket.
Originally, she planned to meet Luna today, but it seems she won’t have time and will have to reschedule.
――― North City, City Central Hospital.
"Son, your dad has no conscience. You’ve been beaten , and he doesn’t care. Tell me, who’s beaten you up ?"
A plump woman sat by Shane Southwell’s hospital bed, exuding a worldly air, a living image of a wealthy lady.
If not for her eyes and nose being very similar to Shane Southwell, it would be hard to tell she was his mother with all those excess facial fats.
The woman’s name is Rosy Brooke, who most detests being called Lady Southwell, so usually, Cari can only call her Mrs. Brooke.
Seeing Shane Southwell’s face full of annoyance, Cari spoke up: "Mrs. Brooke, the vice president still needs to rest. You’re tired from taking care of him, how about I help you take a break?"
"Tell me, who beat my son ? I must settle the score with them!" Mrs. Brooke insisted, her gaze fierce.
There were two tall bodyguards standing behind her, giving Mrs. Brooke a lot of confidence.
"This... I don’t know either." Cari had to say that, otherwise, Mrs. Brooke would probably make a scene again.
The Southwell Family sure has her worried; if it weren’t for being paid and Shane Southwell being good to her, Cari would have wanted to quit long ago.
Last night, the remittance didn’t go through until midnight, which made Cameron Southwell scold her for several hours.
"You don’t know? What do you do then? How can you not know?" Mrs. Brooke couldn’t stand being given the runaround and after hearing Cari’s words, she was instantly furious.
That was Cari’s phone ringing; she seized it like a lifeline and said to Mrs. Brooke, "Mrs. Brooke, I need to take a call, it’s work-related."
Saying this, she hurriedly covered the phone and rushed outside; as she just stepped out of the ward, she heard a scream from inside.
"Son～ how can you be bullied !"
This cry made Cari almost think Shane Southwell was gone and it was time to order a coffin.
"Hello, Yates." Cari answered the phone in the hospital corridor.
Yates: "Cari, this is bad. You need to check the headlines quickly."
"Alright!" Cari’s heart sank; what could be worse than Roland’s breach of contract and two artists being kicked out of the crew?
Shocking! The long-missing national husband Shane Southwell was caught beating up a barista in a café!
Seeing this headline, Cari knew she had her work cut out for her, yet another wave crashing in.
But this is a small matter; recently Shane was overshadowed by a celebrity named Yates Zander.
It’s been a while since paparazzi followed him.
Plus, this video isn’t very clear; with much obscured, and taken from a distance, it’s even blurrier.
That being the case, she had her ways.
She had shot some PR material for Shane previously, which now could come in handy.
Cari edited a message and sent it to Yates.
At 17:20 on August 2, 2019, a netizen maliciously fabricated and openly spread a "false video of Mr. Shane Southwell attacking a barista at a café."
This unfounded news enabled widespread misunderstandings and serious consequences for Mr. Southwell.
Therefore, Roland Group states: Regarding this malicious rumor, Roland Group has commissioned North City’s Miller & Partners legal office to handle it seriously and investigate according to the law!
South City Roland Entertainment Co., Ltd.
Writing such items was second nature for Cari, and with deploying some internet trolls to spread it around, along with a fake surveillance video showing Shane getting injured while rescuing a kitten on the riverbank, the issue would be settled.
After arranging things, Cari opened the ward door, only to find Shane Southwell still in shock.
――― South City, Roland Group.
Roland held an emergency shareholders meeting for this contract breach incident.
Sitting at the head of the table, Cameron Southwell looked worried, remaining silent, merely listening to the shareholders arguing.
Subsequently, among the shareholders with the largest shareholding, Matthew Lee looked at Cameron Southwell and asked, "President, this matter was originally handled by the vice president. He reassured us everything was settled, but now things have turned out this way. You owe us an explanation."
"What exactly happened, the vice president must explain!" another shareholder spoke coldly.
Only then did Cameron Southwell start to speak: "Everyone, the vice president is young and inexperienced, which led to this loss. Therefore, the penalty will be settled from my personal account."
"What do you mean by that?" someone asked.
"President, if you don’t give us a clear account, we will take legal action." Matthew Lee’s expression was serious, not a hint of joking.
Cameron’s brow furrowed; if this went to court, Shane would likely end up in jail.
These shareholders, usually easy to talk to, were now all pressing him.
Helplessly, Cameron said, "Everyone, please be patient. In three days, I will get to the bottom of this and give you an answer."
Cameron spoke serenely, but his heart was racing; this three-day period was merely a stall tactic.
This bunch of old foxes, now that they’ve got him cornered, were relentless, and all their talk of righteousness was merely for the sake of profit.
After the meeting, the assistant looked anxiously at Cameron and asked, "President, what should we do now?"
"How did I end up with such a mess of a son!" Cameron slammed the table fiercely, wishing he could drag Shane over now and whip him with a belt.