Chapter 8

The more carefully Katie Adams thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She was afraid that Simone Milton might deliver a fatal blow to her without her even realizing it. She also feared that Alberta Arthur might simply be no match for the mysterious figure behind Simone Milton!

No, he needs to find a way to completely bring this person down. Once Simone Milton is completely disgraced, she won’t believe that the bigwig behind her will still be willing to help her.

If she manages to present herself as the perfect victim, who knows, she might even be able to catch the attention of the big shot behind Simone Milton.

Just the thought of such a scenario possibly happening to her made Katie Adams breathe rapidly and become excited.

Katie Adams, alone in the makeup room, had her mind racing. She kept rehearsing various scenarios in her head, trying to figure out how she could create a stark contrast between herself and Simone Milton.

Unfortunately, it seems that nothing recent has happened that could create a stark contrast between her and Simone Milton’s personal images.

That’s quite disappointing.

“Katie Adams, for your next scene, you’ll be filming with Simone Milton. The director wants you to come over; he needs to go over the lines with you!” The director suddenly knocked on the door of the makeup room and said to Katie Adams inside.

Upon hearing this, Katie Adams opened the door. After hearing the news, she took it to heart. But on the surface, she spoke to the director on set in a very humble manner: “Should I go now? Okay, I understand!”

“Yes, that’s right. Go now. You go ahead. I still need to inform Simone Milton!” The director nodded and rushed to Simone Milton’s makeup room to tell her that the director needed her.

Simona Milton, who had successfully reapplied her makeup, immediately stood up upon hearing the film director’s words and followed him to find the director.

Before long, the two of them arrived at the director’s side, one after the other.

The director, holding the script in hand, glanced at Katie Adams and Simone Milton. He began to explain the scene to them: “In this scene, Katie Adams, who plays the female lead, has previously had several confrontations with Simone Milton, who plays the female villain. But because of the emperor’s orders, you two must work together to investigate the affairs within the palace…”

By the end, the director was completely parched, but he didn’t seem tired at all. The reason was that Simone Milton was extremely intuitive and insightful. Even the little ideas Simone Milton mentioned casually sparked his creativity.

This made him even more eager to see what Simone Milton would shoot next.

“Alright, it’s just one scene. Do you both understand? If so, you can go ahead and start filming! Simone Milton, keep it up! I’m sure you’ll bring this character to life perfectly!” The director checked whether both of them understood, and was relieved to see them nodding in agreement.

Once the two people took their positions on set, the director began directing with full concentration.

Standing on the stage, Katie Adams had a very unpleasant expression on her face. As she watched Simone Milton, who was speaking her lines with a sneering and mocking tone, her resentment grew even stronger.

As Katie Adams recited her lines for the role, she couldn’t help but think: Why? Why isn’t my effort any less than Simone Milton’s? Why is it Simone Milton who gets praised, not me? It’s unfair! The director is being biased!

The more Katie Adams thought about it, the angrier she became. For a moment, she forgot to control her facial expressions, and ended up showing a fierce look in public.

“Stop! Gong Fei, what’s the matter with you? Why do you have such a fierce expression? You should look a little sad and excited at the same time! Who told you to make such a scary face? Aren’t you afraid of scaring the audience?” The director, who had been getting more and more engaged in the scene under Simone Milton’s guidance, suddenly lost his composure upon seeing Katie Adams’ fierce expression. Frustrated, he couldn’t help but curse out loud.

This was probably the most harsh scolding Katie Adams has received from a director during her entire acting career. She could easily imagine how sarcastic the other actors must have been upon seeing this scene!

Even so, she could faintly hear people’s conversations. Feelings of sadness, hatred, and anger all intertwined, causing Katie Adams’s heart to ache terribly.

It was all the humiliation that Simone Milton had brought her!

Trying hard to calm her emotions, Katie Adams forced a weak smile and said to the director, “I’m truly sorry, Director. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have done that! Please forgive my recklessness and give me another chance. I’ll do better next time.”

Hearing this, the director’s embarrassed expression finally eased a little. He thought that Katie Adams hadn’t encountered such a problem before either. Perhaps it was just due to nervousness!

Thinking I now understood why the director chose to cast Katie Adams in that role, I sighed and said in a forgiving tone, “Alright, take a few minutes to rest first, then we’ll go over it again.”

Katie Adams couldn’t help but sigh in relief upon hearing this. She quickly thanked the director, then left the stage to rest.

Sitting on the chair and resting, Katie Adams wasn’t feeling relaxed at all. She heard two people behind her whispering about her.

To be honest, those two gossips didn’t speak very loudly. But Katie Adams has excellent hearing, so she easily picked up what they were saying.

“Ugh… Katie Adams isn’t that great either. Then why was she so arrogant before? I thought she was really something, but in the end, she got completely crushed by Simone Milton…”

“I heard that she only managed to get ahead because of someone who’s backing her. And guess what, that person is actually from our crew…”

Hearing this, Katie Adams could no longer hold back. She stood up abruptly, glaring fiercely at those two extras who were gossiping.

“What are the two of you talking about? Can I join you?” Katie Adams, with a gentle smile on her face, stared intently at the two of them.

Those two extras had no idea whether Katie Adams had heard what they said or not. But they definitely couldn’t admit that they had said anything at all. So they just shook their heads and walked away on their own.

Seeing the two extras leave, Katie Adams’s smile vanished instantly. She sat back down in silence.

And this scene was clearly witnessed by Simone Milton. Seeing Katie Adams in such a gloomy mood, she even found it a bit amusing.

After all, according to the book, when the original character encountered people spreading rumors, this female protagonist calmly advised her not to pay attention to those insignificant people. With her kindness and gentleness, she managed to win the gratitude of those people.

It turns out that when something like this happens to Katie Adams, there’s simply no way for her to be magnanimous! Thinking about it this way, our heroine is indeed quite interesting to ponder over!

Simone Milton thought this way, already labeling Katie Adams as insincere in her mind. If something like this happened to Katie Adams, she wouldn’t react in such a sarcastic manner. Perhaps Simone Milton would even think better of her then.

Too bad…

Actually, there’s nothing really worth regretting. Simone Milton probably doesn’t even deserve Katie Adams’ pity. After all, judging by her previous reactions, it seems like Katie Adams has considered Simone a rival long ago.

Since both of them were now enemies, showing sympathy for the enemy was tantamount to digging one’s own grave. Simone Milton understood this all too well.

After taking a break, Katie Adams tried again during the rehearsal. This time, the results were much better than before. The director’s gaze toward Katie Adams wasn’t as harsh anymore.

Unfortunately, Katie Adams doesn’t think so at all. She firmly believes that the director is favoring Simone Milton. So no matter what the director does, it’s wrong in her eyes.

This dramatic scene was finally over. Katie Adams, whose clothes were completely soaked, sat down on the bench after leaving the stage and turned on a small fan to cool off a bit.

But she accidentally overheard the director praising Simone Milton. The two of them were laughing and talking together, looking very intimate.

Her eyes widened instantly, as if she had suddenly understood something. “I see why the director always praises Simone Milton! So, the relationship between those two isn’t ordinary at all! If their relationship were ordinary, why would the director behave in such a way toward Simone Milton?”

It seems like Katie Adams was completely delusional. The director was simply patting Simone Milton’s shoulder as a gesture of encouragement. But to her, it seemed like the director was trying to touch Simone Milton in an inappropriate way.

Perhaps only in this way could she maintain her proud self-esteem! Katie Adams subconsciously forgot how much the director disliked the original character when she was still alive.

Simone Milton’s success in gaining the director’s favor was entirely due to her own abilities. It had nothing to do with any unwritten rules or arrangements.

Katie Adams, who already had her own thoughts, slightly turned her eyes as her assistant approached. She couldn’t help but sigh, “In my opinion, Miss Milton has a really good relationship with the director right now. I’m so envious. If only I could win the director’s favor! But since the director is so strict with us, that’s probably impossible.”

Katie Adams’s assistant seemed to understand what was being said. As a few extras walked by, she deliberately raised her voice and said, “That’s strange. The director is strict with everyone equally. How could he possibly treat Simone Milton any more leniently?”

Hearing this from Katie Adams’s assistant, the extra who happened to be passing by rolled his eyes, thinking there must be some gossip involved. He stopped in his tracks and listened intently to see what the two had to say next.

The assistant then said, “But to be honest, Simone Milton’s acting skills are truly remarkable. It’s hard to believe that her acting was so poor before! Even with someone’s help, it’s unlikely she could improve that quickly.”

“You, stop envying others! Maybe Simone Milton’s talent is simply too great, which is why the director favors her. Don’t talk nonsense or you might get kicked out of the crew by the director!” Katie Adams said in a manner.

When she said these things, she was completely joking. Even if someone took them seriously later on, it probably wouldn’t have any effect on her at all.

After all, it was just a joke made on the set. Anyone could tell that it was meant as a joke.

By then, she can just pretend to do it as a joke. It’s just a joke after all.

Meanwhile, the supporting characters who were just there to listen to the gossip couldn’t care less. These characters had always been jealous of Simone Milton. After all, Simone had terrible acting skills yet still got the role of the female lead. Even if Simone improved her acting later on, these characters still thought she must have used connections to get the role.

After hearing Katie Adams and her assistant’s comments, she suddenly had an idea: perhaps the person who gave Simone Milton a leg up was the director himself! This would explain why Simone Milton was able to grasp the role so perfectly in just one take, and even manage to overshadow Katie Adams.

With unspeakable thoughts in his mind, this extra quickly left the place to go and complain to his friends.

And this extra’s friend was deceived by the extra’s earnest words, believing that the extra knew the whole truth. As a result, he began to despise Simone Milton even more.

“I really didn’t expect her to be so disgusting! Director Pond looks absolutely repulsive too. I have no idea how anyone could even speak to him…” A minor actor was sharing the gossip he had just heard with other actors of similar status.

The other actors, who held much lower status, were shocked by such sensational gossip. They started shouting loudly, causing the director, who was filming, to scold them angrily.

“That group of actors over there, what are you doing? Stop disturbing the actors on stage!” The director said, then signaled the actors on stage to continue with their performance.

The young actors, who had become quiet, were even more convinced that there must be something between Simone Milton and the director, given his attitude toward her. Otherwise, why would the director treat Simone Milton with such kindness?

Perhaps after telling too many lies, the extras, who were accustomed to exaggerating everything, became even more reckless. They truly believed that Simone Milton was the disgusting woman they described.

And that’s how, some of those who couldn’t stand it started to openly target Simone Milton, under the pretext of “teaching her a lesson”.

To this extra’s surprise, as soon as he made a move, Katie Adams grabbed him: “What are you doing? Why would you do this?”

Hearing the commotion behind her, Simone Milton frowned, turned around, and then noticed the clump of mud in the extra’s hands. If that got on her clothes, the consequences would be obvious.

“I don’t think I’ve done anything to offend you. Why would you use such things to attack me?” Simone Milton was puzzled.

The caught extra was furious and started shouting loudly, “You know exactly what you’ve done! Taking someone else’s role just because you’re related to the director! You even keep suppressing others. I’m simply doing what’s right!”

“How can you say such things? Maybe there’s some misunderstanding here! How could Simone Milton be the kind of person who uses her looks to get what she wants? Besides, there’s no way she could have anything with the director! Please don’t talk nonsense!” Upon hearing this, Katie Adams immediately stepped forward to act as the “good guy”.

To be honest, if Simone Milton hadn’t picked up the hidden meaning behind Katie Adams’ sweet-nothings, perhaps I would have actually been grateful that someone spoke up for me.

On the surface, Katie Adams is indeed trying to defend herself. Yes, but her tendency to shout loudly just to make sure everyone knows is rather intriguing.

Was she trying to hide the fact that she was hesitant to speak and clearly feeling guilty?

Katie Adams’ hasty denial seems like a clear attempt to cover up the truth. Simone Milton raised her eyebrows in admiration. She really admired this woman for coming up with such a method to slander her reputation.

Watching Katie Adams perform non-stop, it seemed clear that Simone Milton might have her own difficulties.

Simone Milton thought to herself that this person was simply ridiculous. He clearly hated her so much, yet still resorted to such methods to disgust her.

Simona Milton, with her eyes lowered, yawned, as if she had just watched some completely unimportant show.

Seeing her growing impatient, she clapped her hands to get the attention of the two people who were speaking louder and louder.

By now, a crowd had gathered around them to watch the spectacle. The “actors” in this little drama were all talking animatedly.

Although they spread rumors about Simone Milton’s faults during the filming crew, there was no concrete evidence to back those claims.

These actors all understood each other implicitly. They kept these exaggerated rumors to themselves, without revealing a single hint of them to the outside world.

But now it’s different. With statements like Katie Adams making, there’s obviously more to it than meets the eye!

Actors and crew members with ulterior motives couldn’t help but secretly turn on their phones and record everything behind their backs.

They thought to themselves that if they posted these videos later, they’d definitely make a nice profit.

Let’s put aside for now the mindset of the onlookers. Back to Simone Milton!

Seeing that everyone’s attention was focused on her, Simone Milton smiled in satisfaction. She looked at the annoyed extra who kept staring at her and said, “You just said I had an improper relationship with the director? Did you see it with your own eyes? Or do you have any evidence to back up your claims?”

Caught off guard by this sudden question, the extra instinctively shook his head. But then, the “wrong” extra immediately snapped, “Everyone says the same thing. Surely someone must have seen it. Otherwise, how could such a thing come to light out of nowhere? You must have some improper relationship with the director!”

On the other end, the director, who had been informed of the situation by the crew on set, arrived just in time to hear what the extra had said.

“What did you say? Are you questioning me?” The director couldn’t stand this at all and stepped forward to confront the extra.

As soon as the extra saw the director approaching, he immediately tucked in his neck. Frightened, he even instinctively glanced at Katie Adams. Then, with a stiff neck, he said, “Did I say something wrong? If you don’t have an improper relationship with Simone Milton, then why do you treat her so differently from everyone else?”

“Nonsense! I treat her well because she’s a good actress! If you all had her acting skills, I’d treat you all just as kindly!” As soon as the director heard the extra say this, he immediately grew angry.

“But even if you’re the director, you have no connection with her. Surely, this person has some powerful backer, right? Otherwise…” The extra didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone present knew what he meant.

Upon hearing this, the director immediately frowned. It was indeed difficult to respond to such a statement. After all, there was a complicated relationship between Simone Milton and Juliet Milton, and that was an undeniable fact.

Seeing the director’s troubled expression, the extra immediately understood the secret behind it. A hint of Monica-like satisfaction appeared on his face.

And throughout the whole time, Simone Milton, who was observing the expressions on the extras’ and Katie Adams’ faces, spoke up again: “I’m really curious. Why do you only say that I have a wealthy sponsor, but never mention Katie Adams? I remember that there was some sort of romantic relationship between Katie Adams and Alberta Arthur, right?”

“They’re completely different from each other. Who doesn’t know what kind of relationship those two have? How can you compare yourself to them?” Upon hearing this, the extra couldn’t help but sneer.

Simona Milton didn’t like hearing that at all. She frowned and said dismissively, “Fine, let’s say what you say is true. But it’s a shame! Of course I can compare with them. At least I’m more honest than Katie Adams—I don’t backstab others behind their backs!”

Upon hearing this, Katie Adams’ mood, which had been lifted by the supporting role victory, immediately became unstable. She stared at Simone Milton uncertainly, trying to figure out whether Simone Milton was just bluffing.

What scared her even more was that Simone Milton didn’t seem to be bluffing at all.

She even played a video from her phone, smiling as she said, “Isn’t it funny? I happened to record some interesting stuff just before this. Have a look!”

As she spoke, she played the video. In the video, Katie Adams’s assistant could be heard discussing with the extra present how to give Simone Milton a lesson.

“I’m doing all this to get revenge for Sister Katie Adams. What does Simone Milton think she’s doing? How does she dare to be better than Sister Katie Adams?” Katie Adams’ assistant said angrily.

And this troublemaker from the sidelines patted his chest and promised, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely bring Simone Milton down! By then, let’s see if she can still act so arrogantly!”

“Then, I wish you success in advance. Once you succeed, I’ll give you double the bonus!” Katie Adams’ assistant said cheerfully.

The video comes to an end here. Simone Milton stares coldly at Katie Adams, then says to the extra, “I’d like you to explain what’s going on in this video. It seems like you’ve been paid by someone to frame me! If you can’t provide an explanation, I reserve the right to take legal action against you!”

As she said these words, she kept staring at Katie Adams the entire time, as if giving a silent warning.

Upon hearing this, the extra immediately panicked and shouted, “That’s fake! It must have been edited by someone!”

“Whether it’s true or not, we can leave it to later to determine. In any case, I happened to record this by accident. I expect you to give me an explanation: why would you try to blame me for something like this?” Simone Milton said this, though inwardly, she was relieved that she happened to be passing by that stairwell, which was rarely used by anyone else.

If she hadn’t rushed to the set and taken that quieter staircase, she wouldn’t have captured such wonderful footage.

Katie Adams saw that the situation was unfavorable to her, so she pitifully apologized to Simone Milton: “I’m sorry, I had no idea that the assistant would do such things behind my back. I really am very sorry!”