Chapter 61

“Director, should we stop it?”

Oliver Arthur noticed that something wasn’t right with the way things were going on on stage. Especially the scenes involving the lead actress and the third actress were not going as planned. So, he asked Director Fang for his opinion.

Director Fang’s brows were tightly furrowed. Several times, he tried to put down his hand, and he was even ready to shout “Cut”.

But seeing that there was no sign of the performance coming to an end, and after thinking it over carefully, he realized that this performance wasn’t completely meaningless after all.

Although both characters on the stage made changes to the plot to varying degrees, it was precisely these subtle adjustments that made their characters more vivid and well-defined.

In simple terms, it’s about making the character profiles of the two people more well-defined.

“Let’s wait a little longer!” Director Fang said, continuing to observe what was happening on stage.

On stage, the heroine played by Simone Milton exuded an unruly and defiant demeanor.

The heroine slowly stood up, hands in her pockets. With a cold expression, she looked at the third female character. With a “tsk”, she even lifted the third female character’s chin.

After carefully assessing the looks of the female character number three, the heroine curled her lips into a sly smile.

“With your appearance, how dare you show up in front of me and annoy me? Who gave you the nerve?” said the heroine.

She pinched her hands hard. As she moved her fingers, they made a cracking sound.

Such an explosive move made the staff in the audience exclaim in surprise.

Katie Adams, who had been pushed hard and almost fell, looked at Simone Milton in surprise.

Seeing that all the attention was taken away by the heroine played by Simone Milton, Katie Adams was secretly resentful.

Afraid of such a completely different heroine, the third female character couldn’t help but take a step back.

Then, as if realizing how weak her actions were, she immediately tried to sound calm and said:

“I knew you were just pretending all the time! Look at you now—where’s that ‘good girl’ demeanor of yours? So you were just acting all along!”

As she said this, she took out her phone again, intending to take a photo.

As she took photos, she said, “I must post every aspect of your true nature, so that everyone can see what kind of person you really are—this so-called ‘good girl’ from your school!”

But right after that, the female lead stepped forward, snatched the phone from the third female character’s hands, and smashed it violently on the floor.

She even stepped heavily on the broken pieces on the ground, sneering, “It’s a pity you have no evidence left now. Do you still want to oppose me?”

“You…” The female character number three was so angry at seeing her phone get smashed that she couldn’t even speak.

The next second, the once domineering female protagonist froze for a moment. After blinking a few times, she reverted to her timid demeanor once again.

She looked at the third actress with concern, and even noticed the fragments on the ground.

It’s obvious that these fragments weren’t caused by the female character herself. After all, she always took great care of her phone before.

Since it wasn’t done by the third female character, there’s only one possibility: she did it herself.

After realizing this, she stepped forward to try to comfort the female character number three, even apologizing desperately. Unfortunately, the female character number three refused to accept her efforts at all.

“I’m sorry, I truly am sorry. I have no idea why things turned out this way. I hope you can forgive my recklessness…” The heroine said, her face filled with concern.

Watching Simone Milton’s portrayal of the heroine with such worry on her face, Katie Adams, who was supposed to follow the script and shake the heroine’s outstretched hand, unexpectedly found herself drawn into the character’s emotions.

At that moment, she seemed to be back in those distant times, when Simone Milton was still a mindless, impulsive, and vicious woman.

At that time, Simone Milton was undoubtedly the best tool anyone could use to get their goals accomplished. Anyone could use Simone Milton to make her do whatever they wanted her to do.

The Simone Milton before me now bears such a striking resemblance to the person I used to be. Yet now, she has become that vicious villainess.

No, that’s not correct.

If she shakes off this woman’s hand, who knows, someone might accuse her of being cruel the next moment.

No, she can’t end up in such a situation.

How could she be one of those brainless people?

With such thoughts in mind, Katie Adams didn’t shake off Simone Milton’s outstretched hand. Instead, she held it tightly.

“No, let’s leave it at that. We…” Katie Adams tried to turn the situation in her favor.

But before she could finish speaking, the director below the stage clicked his fingers. Director Fang, whose face had turned pale with anger, strode forward angrily.

“Female Lead No. 3, what are you doing? The atmosphere was so good just now. Why did you grab the female lead’s hand? And why say that this is the end of it? Have you even read the script?” Director Fang said angrily to Katie Adams.

Such intense language is something that’s very rare in Director Fang.

Even Director Fang’s emotional outburst caused quite a stir among the staff around him.

It was obvious to everyone that Director Fang wasn’t satisfied with Katie Adams in the role of the third female lead.

That’s why Director Fang was so cruel after Katie Adams made a mistake.

Once again insulted, Katie Adams remained silent, her head bowed low, as if ready to listen obediently. But her hands, hidden behind her back, were clenched tightly together.

This scene was clearly seen by Simone Milton, who was standing behind Katie Adams. She truly felt that Katie Adams was extremely unwilling to accept this situation.

Anyway, Katie Adams’s pretentious behavior managed to deceive most people.

Seeing how well-behaved Katie Adams was, Director Fang finally felt a little less frustrated.

Director Fang took a deep breath to calm himself down. After a long while, he finally said these words:

“Alright, let’s start this scene over! Supporting actress, stop causing trouble for me. Otherwise, I’ll have you pack your things and leave!”

After saying those words, Director Fang sat back down in his seat, waiting for Simone Milton and the rest to resume filming.

In fact, it wasn’t until Director Fang scolded her that Katie Adams realized, in a daze, that she had indeed gotten too caught up in the role.

She identified with the female character number three, which is why she reacted in that way.

Director Fang’s threats were all heard by her.

It’s for this very reason that she tried hard to stay focused and avoid making any more mistakes.

She was well aware that if something similar happened again this time,

So, Director Fang really will do as she says and have her removed from the project.

And this was something she absolutely didn’t want to see happen—she couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.

Losing this opportunity means that she’ll only be able to work on mediocre scripts from now on.

After assuring Director Fang once again that she would definitely not act out of character, Katie Adams gathered her thoughts and focused on dealing with the situation ahead of her.

As filming resumed, Katie Adams kept reminding herself not to get distracted again, not to let Simone Milton pull her into her thoughts once more.

But Simone Milton’s performance was simply outstanding—so good that it made me unable to help but immerse myself in the role once again.

She narrowly managed to knock Simonne Milton’s outstretched hand away. She bit her tongue in frustration.

Katie Adams, forcing herself to stay awake, resisted the urge to slap back and managed to complete the scene.

“Click! This scene is over! Next scene. Ten minutes of rest, then we’ll continue!” Director Fang took a deep breath and reluctantly agreed that this scene was finished.

Although Katie Adams’s performance wasn’t ideal, thankfully, there weren’t many major mistakes on the surface.

Or rather, it was actually within Katie Adams’ expectations that she performed poorly. Since her performance didn’t fall short of those expectations, Director Fang was able to tolerate it.

To be honest, Katie Adams on stage felt relieved when Director Fang said that scene was over.

She relaxed for a moment, glanced at Simone Milton, then walked away with her head held high, looking extremely proud.

It seems that, in this way, she remains the glamorous movie queen she always was, rather than a pitiful dog begging for mercy.

Well, Simone Milton was a bit speechless about this. She really didn’t understand why Katie Adams would look at her in that way, with such a defiant and aggressive expression.

But this didn’t prevent her from feeling wary of Katie Adams, as she always did.

Perhaps it was her past experiences that made it impossible for her to like Katie Adams at all.

To the point that now, whenever she sees what Katie Adams does, she instinctively wonders if there’s some purpose behind it.

But Katie Adams just took one look at her and then left, which relieved her.

Sitting in the audience, Simone Milton quietly stared at the script in her hands.

What she didn’t know was that Katie Adams, who had also left the stage, was secretly watching her from behind a tree.

Katie Adams’s gaze was filled with sorrow and hatred. If only she could, she wanted her gaze to be like knives, stabbing Simone Milton over and over again.

She never forgot why she had ended up in such a situation. It was all because of Simone Milton.

Just as she was filled with resentment, her phone suddenly rang.

Reluctantly, Katie Adams thought for a moment before finally answering the phone.

“Hello…” Katie Adams called out hesitantly.

“Are you okay now? I mean, regarding your career as a supporting actress…” Milna Dillon asked Katie Adams about her current situation over the phone.

Hearing Milna Dillon casually describe her current role as “a bit part,” Katie Adams naturally felt upset.

Especially when it’s such a minor supporting role, and she only gets it because of Milna Dillon, the discomfort becomes even more pronounced.

Yes, that’s correct! The reason she’s able to get the role of the female third lead now is entirely because Milna Dillon pulled strings behind the scenes.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to replace the original third female lead at all.

It was precisely because of this that she felt immense shame.

It’s as though she’s left the Arthur family. The only one she can rely on is Milna Dillon, who doesn’t even give her a second thought.

“Why are you not speaking? Have you already fulfilled my demands? Have you successfully framed Simone Milton?” Milna Dillon frowned.

Yes, of course she didn’t help Katie Adams for no reason.

If it weren’t for Katie Adams assuring her that joining this crew would definitely give Simone Milton a chance to shine, she wouldn’t have agreed to join.

Mirna Dillon would never go to such lengths or take all that trouble to get a once-famous actress like Katie Adams into Director Fang’s crew.

This is a great resource. If someone else were in charge, who knows, she might even get more in return.

“There isn’t any such thing…” Katie Adams said, feeling a bit embarrassed, to Milna Dillon on the other end of the phone. “In fact, I only met Simone Milton formally this morning. So, those matters might take some time to sort out…”

“Hmph, you’re really good for nothing. You’ve been at the filming site for so many days, and yet you only met Simone Milton now? Never mind… At least you have some good news. Let me know when you do!” Milna Dillon grew more and more annoyed, almost to the point of rolling her eyes.

She thought she’d hear good news soon, but she was wrong. Katie Adams was, as ever, useless.

After hanging up the phone, Milna Dillon put Katie Adams out of her mind for the moment. She excitedly dialed Nick Arthur’s number, wanting to go out with him.

In the end, the results weren’t what she hoped for. Nick Arthur rejected her once again, as expected.

Speaking of Katie Adams again, she’s not feeling very good right now, having been hung up on by Milna Dillon.

But even though she wasn’t feeling very good inside, Katie Adams could only tell herself that she had to hold back her emotions.

One could only endure this discomfort and attribute these feelings to Simone Milton.

She would never forget who was to blame for all the humiliations she was suffering now!

After glancing at Simone Milton one more fierce look, Katie Adams finally turned her gaze away.

Next, the task she had to undertake became even more troublesome.

She wanted to frame Simone Milton, but before doing that, she needed to do one thing to clear herself of any suspicion.

It’s time for her to show that she’s willing to turn over a new leaf and become a better person once again.

By doing this, she not only aims to restore the public’s opinion of her, but also to deliver a fatal blow to Simone Milton at the most critical moment.

It’s obvious which person’s words are more credible: someone with a poor reputation or someone with a relatively good reputation.

Moreover, she can’t keep herself in a stigmatized position forever. This would be extremely detrimental to her future development.

Katie Adams refuses to let things go that way. So, starting now, she’ll work step by step to turn things around.

It wasn’t an easy task, but it was something she had to do anyway.

So, in the days that followed, everyone on the set was surprised to notice that Katie Adams’s attitude had changed dramatically. Before joining the crew, she had been overly obsequious and showed no respect at all. Now, her behavior was completely different.

For these crew members, it was extremely unpleasant that Katie Adams would constantly try to flatter them, trying to increase her own screen time or use underhanded tactics to reduce the screen time of other characters.

And now, Katie Adams has stopped relying on little tricks to benefit herself.

Instead, I occasionally bring in some delicious desserts to reward everyone, allowing them to rest properly and keep working hard. This makes everyone feel more at ease.

Regardless of whether actions like Katie Adams’ are sincere or not, at least on the surface, they’re certainly pleasing to see.

In the dressing room, Simone Milton, who was getting ready for her performance soon, was browsing Weibo on her phone.

From time to time, when she comes across interesting Weibo posts, she’ll like them and even share them with her followers.

“Oh, my God!” Marian, who was sitting nearby, couldn’t help but exclaim upon seeing what seemed to be a Weibo post.

“What happened? You seem very surprised!” Simone Milton tilted her head slightly, puzzled.

At this moment, Simone Milton was wearing dirty clothes, with bruises and scars applied to her face using special effects makeup. She looked extremely pitiful.

But she tilted her head slightly, looking rather cute and endearing, thereby softening the initial impact of her makeup.

Hearing Simone Milton ask this, Marianne stood up, clearly upset, and handed over the Weibo post in her hands.

She said, “Look, Sister Simone… What on earth is this? It’s completely to everyone’s liking!”

Hearing what Marianne said, Simone Milton took the phone from Marianne’s hands and carefully read the Weibo post.

This Weibo post was released by Katie Adams’ studio. It’s a short video in which Katie Adams is working hard, lighting a desk lamp as she murmurs to herself, seemingly memorizing lines for something.

“It seems quite normal. I never thought she could be so hardworking!” Seeing how dedicated Katie Adams was, Simone Milton changed her opinion of her.

In this appearance, Katie Adams doesn’t seem as annoying as usual.

“That’s not what I mean, Sister Simone! Look at the comments below!” Marian was even angrier when she heard that Simone Milton not only didn’t share her resentment, but actually praised Katie Adams as well.

She took out her phone, opened the comment section under that Weibo post, and carefully scrolled through several comments that seemed normal, until she reached the bottom.

“What’s this?” Simone Milton was puzzled. After reading the comments more carefully, she was even more speechless.

The reason is simple: these comments initially praised Katie Adams for her hard work, but then they made sarcastic remarks about her taking breaks on set. There’s no way these two situations can be compared at all.

Simone Milton scrolled down a few more posts and noticed that some people said she only posted about being lazy and resting, while Katie Adams always posted about working hard and studying.

It’s unfair to make someone as laid-back as her the protagonist.

Although such comments were quickly criticized and condemned by Katie Adams’s fans, to be honest, they’re still quite annoying to read.

Because on Simone Milton’s Weibo, there’s absolutely no evidence of her being relaxed or leisurely at all.

Even the recent Weibo posts showed the staff working hard on the set. It’s understandable to see a few self-portraits here and there as well.

Marian felt a little embarrassed when she saw Simone Milton’s expression become serious.

“I’m sorry, Sister Simone. I didn’t mean to use this to upset you. But I really can’t stand it. Why would they say such things about you?” Marian grew angrier and more furious the more she spoke.

Compared to Marian’s reaction, Simone Milton was actually much more calm. She didn’t really care what those comments said.

As the saying goes, these guys can say whatever they want. After all, as long as she has a clear conscience, that’s enough.

So what’s the point of being so irritable?

“Alright, stop being angry! Let them say whatever they want. We’ll just go on with our lives as usual!” After saying that, Simone Milton put the matter out of her mind.

For her, what’s most important right now isn’t what those fans think of her.

Rather, it’s about how she can bring this complex character to life effectively.

This isn’t something easy at all.

Compared to Simone Milton’s calmness, Katie Adams seemed a bit irritable.

She looked at those derogatory comments under her Weibo post and was so angry that it made her teeth ache.

Right now, she’s in a crucial period of trying to restore her reputation. If similar comments keep coming up, people will likely think she’s just trying to undermine others. This will make it seem hypocritical of her if she really wants to clear her name.

Someone definitely wants to make her life difficult.

With such conspiracy-theory thoughts in mind, Katie Adams quickly called the troll farm company she usually hired.

She told the troll company to make the comments in her comment section more positive and uplifting, without involving other celebrities.

It’s not surprising that the online marketing company would make such requests. After Katie Adams happily paid the fee, they quickly transformed the comments section of her Weibo account.

This seemed like a good sign. Gradually, the idea that Katie Adams had turned over a new leaf and started living a better life began to spread across various forums.

The online backlash was resolved. Katie Adams even went a step further by spreading kindness within the filming crew.

By the middle and later stages of filming, practically everyone on the crew had a very positive impression of her.

Compared to Katie Adams, Simone Milton seems much more low-key within the cast.

At least, the actors and actresses in the crew would be more inclined to communicate with Katie Adams.

Seeing that the time was ripe, and having been urged by Milna Dillon several times to frame Simone Milton’s Katie Adams, she finally decided to take action against Simone Milton.

Katie Adams carefully chose this moment to have another acting showdown with Simone Milton, aiming to complete her scheme against her.

Simona Milton, who had no idea what Katie Adams planned to do, arrived at the filming location early. Under Director Fang’s direction, she went over to where the props were kept.

Watching Katie Adams become more graceful and mature over the past few days, Simone Milton couldn’t help but feel impressed.

In fact, she believed that if Katie Adams had been like this in the past, their relationship probably wouldn’t have deteriorated to such an extent.

It’s truly heartbreaking.

But anyway, Katie Adams, who won’t give her any trouble now, is still quite likable.

In this scene, after the heroine’s cruel personality is revealed, she teams up with the third female character to deal with her “main personality” and the male protagonist.

As a result, Female Character No. 3 turned against them at the last minute and was punished by the heroine’s cruel personality.

“I hope that this time, our acting together as opponents will go well,” Simone Milton said to Katie Adams before filming began. She also reached out her hand to show her friendliness.

Standing beside Simone Milton, Katie Adams smiled and nodded. But at the moment she reached out her hand, she showed a malicious expression from an angle that only Simone Milton could see.

Caught off guard, Simone Milton was shocked to see Katie Adams wearing such a malicious smile. What did that smile mean?

Such smiles came and went quickly. Soon, Simone Milton noticed that Katie Adams’s expression had returned to its kind and gentle demeanor as before.

This made her unable to help but rub her eyes. She wondered if she might have seen things wrong.

“Don’t worry, we’ll definitely be able to present this play perfectly…” Katie Adams said, her smile growing even brighter.

Seeing Katie Adams’s radiant expression, Simone Milton was momentarily stunned. She instinctively wondered if there was something fishy going on.

But before she could think carefully about what kind of meaning lay behind Katie Adams’s expression, Director Fang below called “Action,” signaling that filming could begin.

Hearing such a signal, Simone Milton took a deep breath and quickly got involved in the performance.

The heroine’s cruel personality seems utterly defiant. Not only does she wear torn-out clothes, but her hair is also dyed a rebellious red. As she chews gum, she enters the factory.

“The place you picked really gets worse and worse by the day… I really don’t understand what you were thinking. There are so many other places available. Why did you have to choose this one?” The heroine’s cruel personality complained while scanning the surroundings with a dissatisfied look.

The female character who had been waiting for a long time started to laugh nervously. She took a deep breath and went over to the main character’s cruel side.

“You promised me before that you would never hurt him. But clearly, that wasn’t your plan. He got injured because of you and had to stay in the hospital for so long!” Female Character No. 3 looked at the heroine’s cruel nature with disgust.

The reason why the female lead number three agreed to cooperate with this cruel man was to win over the male lead.

But now, not only has the male lead not come to her side, he’s also been injured due to his cruel personality. This is completely unacceptable to the female lead.

“That’s none of my business. I’ve calculated everything carefully, but you failed to hold him back. As a result, I couldn’t succeed at all. I still haven’t settled this score with you!” The cruel personality snorted in disdain.

To be fair, she simply had no interest in either the male lead or the female third role.

To her, the male lead who tried to prevent her from achieving her rightful place in society was an enemy. The female lead number three was simply a fool.

“You…” Hearing the cruel personality speaking to her in such a disdainful tone, Female Character No. 3 became annoyed.

But right after that, the cruel person’s words made her feel even more ashamed.

“In the end, this is completely your own problem. It has nothing to do with me! Look at yourself—how can you even expect to work with me in order to get the person you like? That’s nothing but delusional thinking!” The cruel personality spoke out its mockery without any restraint, appearing completely insane.

But the female character number three was even more insane than her. Enraged, she rushed forward, determined to teach the cruel personality a lesson. But the cruel personality pushed her away.

Just as Simone Milton was about to do this, Katie Adams suddenly stopped and shouted at the director, “Director, wait a moment. I don’t think I’ve handled this part well enough. Please let me give it some more thought.”

The director, who had been displeased when he saw Katie Adams stop, seemed much less annoyed after hearing what she said.

Anyway, he has a good eye for diligent and sensible actors.

“Alright, let’s take a ten-minute break. We’ll shoot this scene again in ten minutes!” Director Fang said cheerfully, allowing everyone present to rest for a while before continuing filming.

If anyone in the room had impaired senses, it would probably be Simone Milton.

After all, she was completely immersed in her role when suddenly someone interrupted her, which is extremely unfavorable for an actress.

If this keeps happening a few more times, she’ll probably be ruined.

Taking a few deep breaths, Simone Milton rested backstage without any complaints. She also wanted to make use of these ten minutes to think more carefully and perform better later.

At that moment, Katie Adams, who wasn’t particularly close to her before, suddenly came over.

Thinking back to Katie Adams’ malicious expression earlier, Simone Milton felt uneasy and repulsed.

“Uh… what do you want to do?” Simone Milton asked hesitantly.

But Katie Adams’s expression was very sincere. She smiled and said, “Here’s what’s going on. I hope you can do me a favor. I’m not quite sure how to act in this scene. Could you help me with my lines?”

Acting together? That’s completely unprecedented. Before this, Katie Adams had never acted with her before. Should she accept the offer?

Simone Milton looked at Katie Adams hesitantly. “You’re not trying to pull some trick again, are you?”

Katie Adams still had a smiling expression on her face, making it impossible to tell what she was really thinking.

“Of course not. I just really want you to help me. If you’re not willing, that’s okay too…” At these words, she shook her head in disappointment and turned to leave.

“Anyway, it’s not a big deal. Teacher Milton, please help her out!” One of the young actors standing nearby couldn’t help but speak up, seeing how pitiful Katie Adams looked.

This young actor has a pretty good sense of what Katie Adams likes.

Mainly, during this period, Katie Adams has handled things in a way that’s very popular with people. That’s why there are those willing to speak in her defense.

With one person taking the lead, the others couldn’t resist either, and they began to persuade Simone Milton as well.

Feeling quite stressed, Simone Milton glanced at Katie Adams. She knew it might be Katie Adams’s trick, but now there was no turning back.

“Well then! But let me make it clear from the start: whatever I say or do during our rehearsal later today will be in accordance with the script. If I happen to offend you in any way, please forgive me.” Simone Milton said indifferently.

“Of course, of course! In fact, if I make any mistakes later on, I hope you’ll feel free to point them out without hesitation. There’s no need to overthink it!” Simone Milton said this while bowing respectfully, showing great courtesy.

Seeing Katie Adams bow like that, Simone Milton quickly bowed as well. She couldn’t afford to ignore Katie Adams’ actions. Who knew what other tricks Katie Adams might have in store for her!

“Since that’s the case, let’s get started then!” said Katie Adams, and she got right into the role.

“You promised before that I would never hurt him!” Katie Adams said, her face cold and pretending to be strong.

Simone Milton also imitated the tone of a cruel person’s voice. The two of them exchanged lines back and forth, which seemed quite normal.

However, Simone Milton always felt that Katie Adams handled her emotions in a somewhat odd manner.

“No, I don’t think that’s right. The emotion the female character should be expressing is more like this…” Still feeling that the emotion wasn’t quite right, Simone Milton simply demonstrated her own interpretation while speaking.

With a forbearing expression, Katie Adams nodded and smiled as she said, “I see. Then, would it be better if I did it this way instead?”

Katie Adams spoke, once again expressing her understanding. However, this time, her expression became even more subdued, as if she had been reprimanded.

If someone were completely unaware of the situation, they might easily mistake Simone Milton’s expression for signs of being bullied.