"Julia, you're finally back." When Julia arrived home, she ran into Consuela, who was just about to
leave. She wrapped her arms around Julia and asked, "Where have you been? Do you know how
worried I was?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry, I'm home now." Julia knew that she was worried about her. But Consuela had
been so busy handling the scandal that she had no time to take care of her. She frowned and asked,
"How will the agency deal with the scandal?"
Consuela gave her friend a sad smile. "They will be punishing you for it. They decided to shut you out
from the industry for the time being."
"What?" Julia's face paled at what Consuela had just revealed.
For an artist, time was money. Her youth was life itself.
News didn't only spread fast in the showbiz industry, but opportunities as well. If she was shut out from
the industry for a while, then she would be easily replaceable by a younger artist.
Consuela sighed and continued, "But don't worry too much. I'm still working on it. As you know, the
most important thing for a celebrity is your reputation. Although this horrible incident will affect you,
everyone in H City now knows your name."
"Consuela, don't make fun of me!" Julia scoffed with a bitter smile. "I'd rather not have such a
horrendous reputation."
"I'm not kidding." Consuela arched an eye brow at her. "If we use this to our advantage, you may even
be able to become more popular.
Stay at home and rest. I'll be busy for the next few days, but I'll help you overcome this difficulty."
"Okay." Julia nodded obediently and watched as Consuela left. She didn't have a choice but to stay at
home.
She had been under a lot of pressure for the last few days. When she got to her room, she decided to
take a nap. In the evening, a phone call woke her deep slumber.
"Hello..." Julia answered the phone with groggy eyes. She didn't bother to check who was calling.
"Hello? Is this Julia Gu? I'm Director Zhang's assistant Are you able to answer the phone right now?"
Upon hearing the gentle voice mention Director Zhang, she immediately sat up straight.
Adrenaline rushed through her body as she responded, "Yes, this is her. Please go ahead."
If she could act in Director Zhang's movie, then the agency might still give her a chance.
She knew that once another scandal appeared, people would forget about her scandal.
"We regret to inform you that the female supporting role has been given to Miss Leona Lin. We
apologize and hope that we can work together again in the future." Julia's heart broke upon hearing the
news.
Leona Lin was the woman who auditioned after her, the one whose performance mirrored her own.
Director Zhang could figure it out, and yet he still chose Leona Lin. This made Julia extremely unhappy.
She hesitated for a while and stammered, "May I know why?"
For a while, there was silence on the other end of the line. In a hoarse voice, the assistant responded,
"I'm so sorry, Miss Gu. I don't know the reason why. I am only responsible for informing you of the
results. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
The phone call dropped. Even though Julia wanted to ask more questions, she didn't know what else to
ask.
She scowled at the phone and groaned in desperation. Nothing was going well in her life.
She had spent so much time and energy for Director Zhang to remember her performance, but those
efforts were lost in vain. Did it really have to end like this?
Dejected, she lay in her bed and clutched her phone tightly. It suddenly rang again, and Samuel was
calling her this time. "Julia, I just finished filming. Do you want to grab dinner?"
"Now?" Julia looked at her watch and frowned. "It's ten o'clock. What are we going to eat?"
"I just finished work and rushed back from another city. Are you really going to refuse me?" Samuel
asked in a wronged tone.
"No, I..." Julia took in a deep breath and bitterly explained, "Samuel, I'm not in the mood to go out right
now. We can go out after a few days."
"Is it because of the news? It's not real. The truth will emerge sooner or later." In an urgent tone, he
begged, "Come out now. I have good news to tell you."
"Good news?" Julia paused in confusion. "What is it?"
"I'll only tell you if you go out with me," Samuel whispered mysteriously. "I'll wait for you at our secret
base."
"I..." Before she could respond, Samuel hung up. Although she didn't really feel like going, she knew
that he wouldn't take no for an answer.
Perhaps, she could also ask him why she didn't get the part.
The secret base Samuel had mentioned was a hotpot restaurant, located in downtown. Since the
owner was his friend, Samuel wasn't afraid of getting recognized.
Whenever he ate there, the owner would arrange a private room for him. Nobody else was allowed to
use it except for him.
Even if the restaurant was full, the owner would not allow others to use the private room.
Samuel had already ordered food when she arrived. He quickly beckoned to her to sit down. "I ordered
your favorites, duck tongue and tender beef. Eat more, okay?"
"I don't really feel like eating right now, Samuel," Julia sighed in a disheartened manner.
"What's wrong? Isn't hotpot your favorite?" Samuel asked as he poured her a glass of water.
"Yes, I do like hotpot." Julia pursed her lips and bitterly grinned. "But everything in my life is going so
wrong, that I don't have an appetite."
"Is it because of those netizens? You don't have to worry about them. After a while, no one will
remember what happened." Samuel tried to comfort her by patting her back. "And you have me. I'll
always help you."
"Samuel..." Julia fidgeted with hands before she finally blurted out, "I just received a call from Director
Zhang's assistant and they chose Leona Lin. You were there that day, remember? Although she did a
good job, I..."
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda