: Scumbag

2

Jade Sinclair was the leading lady of FM Entertainment, the biggest company in the business, and she was wildly popular.

Like Aiden Vaughn, she had gotten her start as a child star. They had known each other since they were young and could be considered childhood sweethearts.

Many of Aiden Vaughn's fans would flock to her comments section, calling her their "sister-in-law."

"This is the woman I've picked for Best Actor Vaughn. Back off, everyone!"

On top of that, the two had just starred as the male and female leads in a major IP adaptation. Fueled by their fans, they were now the trending "Nation's Favorite Couple."

So, when Jade Sinclair walked into the room, holding her seven-year-old brother's hand...

I got it instantly.

'Are they treating this like a dating show?' I mentally spat, scorning them.

The first day of shooting was very simple, consisting only of self-introductions among the guests and a solo interview segment.

Besides me, Aiden Vaughn, and Jade Sinclair, the other guests on the show were the popular singer Ethan Ward, entertainment industry newcomer Lily Lynn, and the has-been actor Leo Lowe.

As filming went on, I gradually shed my stiffness. I made a conscious effort to ignore the silent Best Actor Aiden Vaughn and adeptly exchanged contact information with the others to make communication easier.

'Are you kidding me? To earn money to support Ryan, I'd long since trained myself to be a social butterfly.'

It wasn't until I was back in our room with Ryan that I finally dropped the act. I threw myself heavily onto the bed and couldn't stop a miserable groan from escaping.

I still couldn't accept the fact that I had to spend a whole month with Aiden Vaughn.

...

"Mom, come on, get up and wash your face," Ryan said, running over to pull at me. I didn't budge.

Ryan continued, "Mom, is that really handsome man from today my dad?"

I shot up in bed. "He's not!"

I looked at Ryan sternly. "Don't you go spouting nonsense like that. You are not to say that ever again, especially not in front of other people. If you do, Mommy won't take you to the amusement park anymore."

Ryan pouted and muttered under his breath, "I didn't even say which man I was talking about."

I was instantly speechless.

Before I could give him another warning, there was a knock on the door of our suite.

I opened the door. It was Aiden Vaughn.

Resisting the urge to slam the door in his face, I forced a polite smile. "Best Actor Vaughn, is there something I can help you with?"

Aiden Vaughn raised an eyebrow and held up his phone. "You didn't add me. We'll need to be in contact for the show."

I felt a flush of embarrassment and quickly added his contact info.

He had been so cold-faced and silent earlier that I'd subconsciously overlooked him and forgotten to get his information.

Aiden Vaughn's eyes were on his phone when he suddenly commented, "Ryan is seven years old."

I froze, my entire body tensing up.

"Chloe Keane, did you really think so little of me? You were already hooking up with someone else while we were still dating?" Aiden Vaughn stared right at me, his eyes full of scorn.

I froze again, then inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. But before I could answer, Aiden Vaughn spoke again.

"Who's his birth father? Don't tell me he already abandoned you, did he?"

The corner of my mouth twitched. I looked him in the eye and said, word by word, "His dad was a scumbag. He got what was coming to him and died."

Aiden Vaughn froze at my words. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by a gentle female voice.

"Aiden? You're not resting yet?"

Jade Sinclair sauntered over, greeted me casually, and then turned to Aiden Vaughn. "Aiden, I wanted to talk to you about what we're doing with our little brothers tomorrow. Is that okay?"

At that, I quickly gave them their space, shutting the door and retreating to my bedroom.

'Obviously. I had zero interest in eavesdropping on a conversation between my ex-boyfriend and his current girlfriend.'

'That's right. Aiden Vaughn is my ex-boyfriend. He's also the "scumbag who died" I just mentioned, and Ryan's biological father.'

'He just doesn't know any of it. And I have no intention of telling him.'

'I didn't tell him seven years ago, and I certainly won't tell him now. I left seven years ago, and I have no intention of going back to him.'

'Right now, I just hope I can get through this month of filming smoothly and never have anything to do with him ever again.'

3

By the time I finished washing up for the night, I already had ninety-nine unread messages on my phone.

It turned out Aiden Vaughn really did add me on WeChat just for work. He'd created a group chat, and it was already buzzing with activity. I was late to the party, so everyone had pretty much already formed their teams.

My teammate was none other than the popular singer Ethan Ward. I breathed a sigh of relief. Remembering my goal of generating buzz, I silently clenched my fists.

'Chloe Keane! Get to work! Earn that formula money for Ryan!'

The next day, when I walked into the living room wearing the same streetwear brand as Ethan Ward, everyone froze for a moment, their expressions a mix of emotions as they stared at me.

'I know what they're thinking. My reputation for being a clout-chaser is widespread; they must hold me in utter contempt.'

'But I don't really care. It's all for work, after all.'

Over the next few days, I dutifully played the role of Ryan's mom alongside Ethan Ward as his dad. We'd even "accidentally" wear matching outfits and have some moments of close interaction.

As the seven-day team-up period was about to end, I thought with great satisfaction, 'This time, I should have successfully met my clout-chasing KPI.'

Because this parenting show aired while we were still filming, I even went online to check out the trending comments about me.

In reality, because of Aiden Vaughn and Jade Sinclair's participation, my name was basically nowhere to be seen in the live comments when the show premiered.

I had to scroll all the way to the bottom to find anything related to me, and it was nothing more than posts cataloging my past clout-chasing offenses or angry curses from Ethan Ward's fans.

'All in all, the effect was pretty good.'

So, the next day, I doubled down, continuing to shower Ethan Ward with attention in front of the cameras.

I ignored his deliberate attempts to avoid me and still gave him a sweet smile. But the moment I turned my head and saw Aiden Vaughn standing behind me, my expression couldn't help but fall.

"Mr. Vaughn, you're back so early?" Ethan Ward greeted Aiden Vaughn as if he'd just been granted amnesty.

He gave the two of us a cold look and snorted.

I guiltily lowered my eyes, then cursed myself internally for being so pathetic. 'It's been so many years since we broke up, why do I feel like I was just caught cheating?'

Just then, a gentle, sweet female voice came from the doorway. "Aiden, don't walk so fast. Your keys are still in my bag."

Jade Sinclair walked in, holding her younger brother Ian Sinclair's hand, and ran right into us. Her face flushed, and she greeted us a bit awkwardly.

"Aiden, your keys." She handed them to Aiden Vaughn, a shy look on her face.

Aiden Vaughn was silent for a moment before taking the keys from her and giving her a nod.

'I rolled my eyes a thousand times over.'

'I thought this was a parenting show, not a dating show! If you want to be romantic, can't you just get the hell out!'

The complaints in my head were like a stampede of angry alpacas galloping through my mind. I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to leech off any of the buzz for this episode, either.

Sure enough, when this episode aired, the production team even deliberately featured the conversation between Aiden Vaughn and Jade Sinclair in the preview clip.

Countless fans commented below with things like, "I ship it!" and "They should get married on the spot!" But as for comments about me, there wasn't a single one.

I pouted, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

「A few days later.」

My team-up with Ethan Ward expired. Since every group needed a "dad," a "mom," and a "child," by a stroke of luck, I ended up paired with Aiden Vaughn.

Just when everyone assumed I would be shamelessly fawning all over Aiden Vaughn, I instead showed off some impressive serpentine moves on camera, dodging him at every turn.

"What's wrong with Chloe Keane? Why does she look so disgusted by Best Actor Vaughn? The nerve of her!"

"They look like mortal enemies. Not sure, though. I'll keep watching."

"Why do I kinda ship this, though? [Drooling]"

"To the person above: if you're sick, get help. And get some better taste while you're at it."

...

But no matter how the online discussions blew up, I ignored it all. I dutifully played the part of a single mother, treating Aiden Vaughn as if he were invisible.

Ryan, on the other hand, was unusually affectionate with Aiden Vaughn. He was always trying to cuddle up to him, and I couldn't pull him away no matter what I did.

"Uncle Vaughn doesn't like kids. Watch out, or he might kick you," I warned him.

Ryan Vaughn gave me a look that said he thought I was an idiot. My attempt to trick him had failed completely.

But I never expected that after filming wrapped up one day, Aiden Vaughn would actually corner me in the hallway.