My new drama just wrapped up, and I'm stuck playing the familiar role of the vicious female antagonist—the kind of character that made viewers grind their teeth in hatred.

On Twitter, my tags were things like "Cecilia Wade's diva antics on set," "Cecilia and the evil supporting role locked in," and "Cecilia, the vicious."

It was pretty clear I was a so-called "blacklisted" celebrity. The diva claims came from a misunderstanding—my eyesight wasn't great, so I didn't notice the new young actress saying hi and got roasted for it. And as for wanting to be the lead—who didn't? But with my naturally fierce look, I was always cast as the villain in this appearance-obsessed industry. And the "vicious" comment? That's just someone getting too deep into my role. Criticizing me both on and off screen wasn't exactly polite.

To promote my new show, the company set up a livestream with Jennifer Lane, the scheming lead actress, to highlight her innocent image. After all, she was the company's golden goose. Of course, I'd play along. As long as I stood next to her, all the compliments would flow her way.

The live chat was buzzing with comments.

[How could they put my dear Jennifer next to this evil supporting role!]

[Seriously! It'll scare Jennifer with this!]

[Cecilia, what makes you think you can ride on Jennifer's coattails?]

I glanced at the chat. Oh, nice. They're all hating on me. Guess I'm still in the spotlight.

We started with the usual promotion for the new show, but then someone asked: [What kind of guy does Jennifer like?]

Technically, that question was off-script, but Jennifer blushed deeply and said, "Honestly, I admire Mr. Wayne a lot."

The chat went wild.

[Bruce Wayne! The Best Actor Bruce!]

[Wow, my ship is real!]

[So what if she admires him? Jennifer's just saying she respects a senior!]

I could see Jennifer's smugness clearly from where I sat behind her, legs crossed.

"Actually, Bruce and I have a special connection," she said, suddenly playing coy. I raised an eyebrow, thinking, Wow, she's really getting into character.

A special connection? Don't tell me it's what I think!"

[Does she have WhatsApp? Does she have his WhatsApp contact?]

[Of course, she has. A special connection would definitely involve that.]

[Bruce is one of a kind; don't mooch off him.]

[Exactly. Stop riding on Bruce's fame; who do you think you are?]

Jennifer's fans were ruthless, and it was the first time Jennifer had been roasted this badly. Looking pitiful, with her eyes and nose red, Jennifer said, "If you don't believe me, I'll prove it." She actually pulled out her phone and dialed a WhatsApp call.

[Wait, she really has Bruce's contact!]

[They worked together before; adding each other on WhatsApp isn't surprising.]

[If I remember correctly, Jennifer was just the third female lead in that drama, and Bruce was the male lead!]

"Hello?"

The call miraculously connected. Bruce sounded like he'd just woken up, his voice a lazy drawl mixed with a hint of gravel. The livestream erupted with excitement.

[Ahhhh, it's Bruce's voice!]

[Lock down this couple!]

[Hold on, calm down. Bruce's tone clearly shows he has no clue who she is!]

Jennifer answered in a high-pitched voice, "Hi, darling, I'm live streaming."

[What? Darling? No way Bruce is in a relationship!]

[I can't believe this!]

Bruce, on the other end, was clearly taken aback. "You're crazy." The live stream showed the call had ended.

The atmosphere was excruciatingly awkward as I watched Jennifer's face go from red to pale. I thought, Serves her right.

[Haha, Jennifer just got slapped in the face!]

[Told you not to ride on others' coattails!]

[So ridiculous! I knew Bruce wasn't dating anyone!]

As the live stream went berserk, I signaled to the crew to prepare to leave. Just then, my phone rang.

In a moment of clumsiness, I accidentally answered the call, and the phone speaker was unfortunately pressed right against my mic. "Honey, a woman just called and harassed me, boo-hoo."

I froze. Glancing at my phone, I saw the contact name: [Don't Mess With Me (Bruce)]

I thought, Oh great, now I've really stepped in the fire.

"Hey, honey? Why aren't you speaking? Cecilia?"

I thought, Oh great, now he's using my name! That single word shattered any excuses I'd been trying to cook up moments ago.

That night, the livestream crashed, and so did I.

Clearly, I was trending on social media again, but thanks to Bruce, our names were firmly at the top of the trending list.

Bruce sent me messages: [Baby, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were live.]

[Sweetheart, come on, talk to me.]

[Cecilia, let me explain. Don't be mad!]

I blocked his number with a swipe, and my world became a lot quieter. But then my manager, Emily Queen, said her phone was blowing up with calls all morning.

"Can you explain what's going on? Our PR team is at a loss!"

"Emily, I'm really sorry," I said, rubbing my temples. This situation had escalated beyond my wildest expectations.

"Hold on a second," Emily paused. "Check Twitter."

I opened Twitter and saw: [#Best Actor Admits to Dating#]

Bruce said: [I'm pursuing Cecilia!]

My face went from annoyed to furious. I thought, What is this, a soap opera script? Isn't anyone at his company going to rein him in? Could Bruce just do whatever he wants?

The comments on Twitter were a mix of outrage and confusion. Oh great, Twitter is crashing, too.

"Care to explain?" Emily's voice came through the phone again.

"If I say he pestered me until I agreed, do you believe it?"

Bruce had a crush back in school—someone beautiful and leggy, like a campus queen. And it was me. But I didn't have any special skills; I just had a face that made people hesitate to approach me.

To be honest, Bruce was a senior of mine. I was studying musical theater; he was into acting. We didn't have much overlap.

"Hey, is anyone around?"

"Nope," I mumbled, not bothering to look up as I continued eating.

The guy opposite me took the chance to sit down and silently joined me.

"Bruce, I like you!" I looked up and found myself buried in a huge bouquet of roses.

"Ugh, what is this?" The roses smelled like some overpowering perfume. I rubbed my nose and looked up. Everyone was staring at me. "What's your problem?" A nearby girl was trembling with anger.

I frowned, not sure why I was involved. "Why are you yelling at me? Ugh." The girl threw down the flowers and ran away, sobbing.

"You're my only one!" The guy opposite me looked at me with admiration. Just like that, I ended up with a new fan after lunch.

"Cecilia, open up! You need to explain your relationship with Bruce!"

Before I could even recall our first meeting, Jennifer was banging on my door. I peered through the peephole and sighed. Our leading lady was nothing like her on-screen persona. Normally, I'd ignore her, but she was now the top star at the company. I sighed again, thinking, Who can argue with money?

"Jennifer, what brings you here?" I forced a weak smile.

"What's with the attitude?" As soon as I opened the door, she started yelling. I dropped the smile and put on a poker face. "…Liar!"

Jennifer was taken aback by my sudden change in demeanor. "You... you did this on purpose to embarrass me!"

"Last night's live stream was an accident. I'm really sorry," I admitted. I knew Jennifer had been thoroughly roasted after the stream ended.

"Do you even realize Bruce is someone I had my eye on? What makes you think you're good enough for him? Just you? You'll never be the lead!" Jennifer, seeing me back down, took the opportunity to lounge on my couch, crossing her legs. I gritted my teeth. She was pushing it too far.

"Jennifer, I have a bit of a quirk. I've got a camera in my room. Maybe I should just release this recording for you?"

I pointed to the TV, where a small black box was aimed directly at us. "Go ahead, keep going. Say what you need to about Bruce being yours—I'm all ears." Leaning against the wall with my arms crossed and a half-smile on my face, I watched her.

"Are you threatening me?" Jennifer, ever the drama queen, only had a flicker of panic in her eyes before she settled into a sneer. "Do you have any idea what happens to people who cross me?"

"I'm all ears," I said, playing along.

"Right now, I call shots at the company, and you're about to be sidelined!"

I pointed to the camera. "Everything's already recorded."

Jennifer, fuming and tottering on her high heels, stormed out with her bag swinging.

After that, Emily asked, "You really do have a camera in here?"

"Not really. Just bluffing her."

"And how are things with Bruce?"

"Not great."

Since Bruce made his feelings known, I'd been avoiding him to dodge any further complications. With Jennifer's exaggerations and the company's growing issues, I was feeling pretty cornered.

"Cecilia, the company's lined up a variety show for you. It'll be a good way to lay low for a while."

"What variety show, Emily?"

"You'll find out when you get there."