2

My tone turned cold.

"Rosalind Quinn, we're stepsisters. I have no obligation to share my private life with you."

"Oh, and by the way, don't just show up at my set anymore. I care more about my work than your pride."

With that, I hung up and focused on memorizing my lines.

Rosalind Quinn bombarded my chat with messages. I glanced at them and put her on mute.

Thanks to my maneuvering, the promotional materials that were released were completely unrelated to the "scoop" Rosalind Quinn had leaked.

Her plan to use this to generate more buzz completely fell through.

She's always been brazen, constantly tearing down other gossip bloggers on her livestream to build herself up. Plenty of people couldn't stand her already.

When this incident blew up, she was roasted by everyone online.

[Some "only connection in the entertainment industry." She's just hyping herself up. How dare she try to leech off Vivian Lennox's buzz!]

[Vivian Lennox never even acknowledged her. It's all for the money, duh.]

From having a perfect track record to being utterly disgraced, the smug look Rosalind Quinn always wore on her livestreams had finally come back like a boomerang to hit her.

But she refused to give up. Instead, she tried to ride the wave of infamy to stage a comeback, forcing a smile as she started a new livestream.

"Hey, fam! So, about last time... I was just a little backstabbed, that's all. But that kind of thing won't ever happen again, I promise."

"Just like I said, Rosie is here this time with some really juicy gossip for all of you~"

"It's about my bestie, Vivian Lennox! I know you all care so much about her love life. Well, there's going to be some good news very soon... Like, tonight!"

In my last life, Rosalind Quinn had used the same vague, teasing words on her livestream to hint to the media that something was going to happen between me and the newly award-winning Lucas Shaw.

And so, the scene of me confessing my feelings to Lucas Shaw only to be rejected was captured by every major reporter and spread like wildfire across social media.

Since I was the one who confessed, I was immediately labeled a clout-chaser and a shameless hussy, and the backlash sent me straight to the top of the trending charts.

But the most ridiculous part was yet to come.

Lucas Shaw approached me, saying he actually admired me and wanted to give us a try.

I fell for it and walked right into their trap.

Unfortunately for her, while Rosalind Quinn may want to pull the same old trick this time around—even deliberately fanning the flames of public opinion—I won't fall for it twice.

Not only that, I'm going to use this stage she's set to put on a damn good show for them.

Everything was ready. I just needed a sufficiently grand backdrop.

Just as I was wondering who I could use as a pawn, a message suddenly popped up on my phone.

[Julian Hawthorne: I'm back. Want to hang out sometime?]

: The Backer

3

Seeing the familiar contact name, I couldn't help but smile.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Julian Hawthorne was a childhood friend of mine. But more importantly, he was the famous Capital's Crown Prince, a well-known cash cow and backer in the entertainment industry.

However, he kept a low profile. He preferred pulling the strings behind the scenes to being flamboyant in the spotlight and rarely got involved in all the messy drama himself.

Rosalind Quinn had tried to get in touch with Julian Hawthorne many times, even sparing no expense to dig up some information on him. But all her scheming only ended with her getting snubbed.

I could just imagine: if this powerhouse were my backer, Rosalind Quinn would be positively livid.

In my last life, I was completely preoccupied with planning my confession for that evening. I was utterly lost in the sweet trap Lucas Shaw had laid for me, so of course I had no mind for anything else. That's how I ended up missing this message.

I replied without hesitation.

"Seven o'clock tonight at the movie premiere. Would you mind coming to pick me up?"

An affirmative reply came back quickly.

I put my phone down, a satisfied smile on my face.

"Vivi, my Agent told me you're also coming to the premiere tonight. Is that right?"

"I'm really looking forward to seeing you, and I have a surprise for you."

The two messages popped up with their special notification tone, its cheerful tune feeling like a sharp slap across my face.

Ugh, what a jinx. I immediately turned off his special notifications and moved his contact into my "psychos" group.

In my last life, Lucas Shaw used these same two lines to hook me so completely my brain shut down. I actually thought he was into me, fantasizing about a future where our feelings were mutual, and I eagerly threw myself at him.

Only later did I find out that Lucas Shaw and Rosalind Quinn had gotten together long before. From the moment he started deliberately flirting with me, the two of them had already been plotting to carve up my family's fortune.

I rolled my eyes, suppressing the urge to curse him out, and replied in my old tone.

"Of course! I'll make sure to get there early!"

"A surprise? I can't wait~ I have a gift for you, too!"

In my last life, right after rejecting me, Lucas Shaw immediately gave an interview to the media.

The entertainment reporters swarmed him like sharks that had smelled blood, refusing to miss any opportunity to dig up a juicy scoop. They desperately shoved their microphones in Lucas Shaw's face, asking him what he thought of me.

Lucas Shaw, ever the actor, played the part of the distant and indifferent man to perfection.

"Vivian Lennox and I are just colleagues. We aren't particularly close. Perhaps something I did gave her the wrong impression, but we are not in that kind of relationship."

With that one sentence, I was branded as a woman who throws herself at men, and my career opportunities plummeted.

I begged him multiple times to help clarify the situation, but Lucas Shaw just kept putting it off.

Just when I had lost all hope, things took an unexpected turn.