Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“Callum, they were all picking on me earlier, and Elspeth was even trying to take my place as the female lead. And the key thing is, the director even agreed! Let’s withdraw our funds. I don’t want to do this anymore!””Elspeth wants to be the female lead?”
Callum repeated, thinking that her words were outlandish.Emma’s face soured at his words.
“Yeah, she wants to be the female lead.”Elspeth had no control over what Emma wanted to say, so she let her do as she pleased. Refusing to pay her any attention, she simply ignored her accusations.However, Yelena was unable to hold herself back and revealed the truth.
“What do you mean by that? You’re just so bad at acting that the director doesn’t want you anymore. Stop twisting the truth.”Callum’s sharp gaze flicked over to the director.Seeing this, the director immediately shrunk backward.
“I didn’t mean that. I was just thinking it would be a pity for Elspeth if she didn’t become an actress with her skills, so I wasn’t thinking about what I was saying.””I invested three hundred million for Emma to film in peace. Now that you’re planning on letting Elspeth take her place, I assume that you’re giving up on the money, are you?”Callum’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried weight. However, upon hearing this, Elspeth felt her heart sink.”What is up with you, Callum Winthrop? How can you pick on your current girlfriend by defending your ex? You’re such a b*stard!”Even when he was faced with Yelena’s accusation, Callum did not falter.
“Was what I said wrong?”By definition, Callum was only preserving his personal interests. He invested the money because of Emma, and if she was unable to take part in the filming, it would be a loss for him.Elspeth understood this, but she was getting even more confused now. She failed to understand the reason why Callum treated Emma so well, to the extent of deliberately ignoring her for Emma’s sake. Was it really as Emma had said-he had never been able to forget her? And now that Emma reappeared by his side, he was trying to get rid of her by giving her the cold shoulder? Elspeth lifted her head and looked into Callum’s eyes. In his gaze, there was no trace of warmth, only an icy cold. Even so, there was an instant when an inexplicable emotion flashed past his eyes, but it went as quickly as it came, and Elspeth nearly thought that she had been mistaken.”Let’s go, Yelena.”Elspeth was still unwilling to believe it. Either way, she had already taught Emma a lesson, so she considered it her victory. She then turned around and left.After shooting a glare at Callum, Yelena followed suit.Behind them, the director desperately apologized to his benefactors, nearly going down on his knees and kowtowing to beg for their forgiveness.Emma scoffed.
“Okay, okay. On behalf of your sincerity, I guess I’ll continue filming.”At this, the director finally smiled.
“Yes, thank you, Miss Walker!”Callum ignored what was happening near him. Instead, his eyes were fixed on Elspeth’s decisively retreating back, his thoughts complicated.”What are you thinking, Callum? It can’t be about Elspeth, right?”
Emma asked pretentiously, putting on a caring act.
“Look, she doesn’t even care about you anymore. Why don’t you just break up with her already? It’ll be relieving for her too.”Callum didn’t even spare her a single glance.
“It has nothing to do with you.”In fact, Emma had everything to do with it. She had been waiting all this time to claim the title of Mrs. Winthrop for herself. Still, even though she was angry, Callum had been fulfilling her every wish recently, making her feel as if she were on cloud nine.”Callum, you should go back to the hotel. I have to continue filming, so I can’t stay with you.”Callum hummed indifferently in response.After he left, Emma watched his retreating figure with a triumphant smile. Callum will definitely belong to me!Meanwhile, Elspeth and Yelena returned to their filming site, where Aiden had been waiting for Yelena to resume filming. After Yelena was called away to shoot a scene with Blake, Elspeth sat alone in her seat, spacing out.As their manager, Timothy had been silently standing by their side. Upon seeing that Elspeth was distracted, he asked,
“What’s wrong? You look like you’re in a bad mood.”Elspeth shook her head with a bitter smile.
“Not at all.””Clearly not, I can tell.”
Timothy said knowingly,
“I’ve been your age before, so I understand. You’re having relationship problems, aren’t you?”She rolled her eyes.
“It’s all over the news for everyone to see, all right?”Now, Callum and Emma were constantly together, and Emma was a public figure, so nothing could remain hidden. Everyone assumed that Callum and Elspeth’s breakup was just short of an official announcement, and they might have already cut ties in private.Timothy laughed awkwardly.
“I’m just comforting you. Let me tell you, there are plenty more fish in the sea. Besides, you have amazing conditions, and it’s not like men who are better than Callum don’t exist. You don’t have to waste your tears over a jerk.”Of course, Elspeth knew that as well, but she was still hell-bent on her instincts and needed Callum to give her an explanation.”Okay now. Go and read some books, listen to some songs, and go for a walk. You’ll eventually let him go.”He could only comfort her this much; nobody could save Elspeth except herself.Elspeth nodded at his words, her eyes still staring into the distance.Timothy shook his head with a sigh. Taking out his phone, he was about to scroll through Twitter as a way to pass time when a piece of news that was gradually taking its place on the trending topics caught his eye.He swiveled around, his expression turning somber as he asked,
“Elspeth, did you meet Emma earlier?”
Elspeth was startled for a moment. The next instant, she unlocked her phone and searched for the news article. Its title read, ‘Callum Winthrop bristled at Elspeth Lynwood’s daring provocation on set while defending Emma Walker.’ What an ironic news title, she thought to herself.The photo attached to the news article showed Elspeth alone confronting Callum and Emma in an apparent standoff. In fact, it was pretty well taken; Emma looked all submissive and aggrieved in it as if Elspeth had really bullied her.At this moment, Yelena came over for a short break while having a drink. Noticing that Elspeth looked kind of surly, she leaned over to read the news article as well.
“What’s the matter?”
she asked. Then, seeing the article’s headline, she instantly let loose a torrent of abuse.
“This has got to be that Emma woman’s idea with the purpose of undermining you! How dare it say that you provoked Emma? It was that woman who came up asking for trouble in the first place!”Elspeth tugged at her sleeve.
“It’s okay, just let them say whatever they want. What the article says isn’t true, anyway.””You’re so big- hearted. I’d never put up with that if I were you,”
Yelena said before pointing at Callum in the photo with visible disgust in her eyes.
“Callum was snubbing you on purpose by defending Emma in front of so many people, no? What the hell was he doing?!”She was ready to explode when she saw Callum like this, but it pained and exasperated her to see Elspeth looking like she didn’t mind this at all.
“What about we post a statement first, saying that you and Callum have broken up? That’s better than being mocked by netizens asking whether you’ve been dumped.”
How unmanly of Callum to avoid taking on responsibility for this!Elspeth shook her head.
“That’s not necessary.”Yelena asked,
“Then how are you gonna handle this? Surely you can’t let everyone get the wrong idea that you provoked Emma on purpose?”
She was boiling with rage at the thought that Emma must be gloating over this from a safe distance at this moment.Elspeth’s eyes narrowed.
“I already have an idea.”
There’s no surveillance camera on the set of filming, so it’s certainly impractical to look for surveillance footage. Suddenly, she seemed to recall something, and a smile spread on her lips.
“Yelena, do you still remember the few people who were standing beside you at the time?”Yelena thought about it for a moment.
“I think I do. There was one next to me who looked super ugly with very heavy makeup on. The instant she saw you act, she got awestruck and even took out her phone to take pictures…”
she replied before suddenly realizing what Elspeth was up to. She exclaimed with a smile of surprise,
“You’re so smart, Elspeth!”Elspeth stood up and stretched.
“Alright, don’t worry about this. Just focus on your acting. I’m going out and will be back in about half an hour if nothing crops up.”Confident in her friend’s resourcefulness, Yelena immediately nodded before going back with a spring in her step.No one other than Yelena knew where Elspeth had gone. In the afternoon, however, a video was uploaded to the internet, showing Elspeth in that particular scene in ultra-high definition.No sooner had the video been uploaded than it caused a huge stir in the entire entertainment industry. It was watched by an endless stream of netizens, many of whom left their comments.A netizen commented, ‘How can such great acting by Elspeth be called provocation? It should be called outshining, no?’Another commented, ‘I’ve watched Emma Walker’s performance before, and her acting was mediocre. So what if Elspeth was provoking her?!’The third commented, ‘I’m one of the crew members on set. Elspeth is not only pretty but also a skilled actor; even the lead actor had difficulty keeping up with her.’Some even revealed Elspeth’s identity right away. One commented, ‘You know what? Elspeth is Professor Payton Schwartz’s only prot?g?. No wonder she’s so skilled in acting!’Another commented, ‘Payton Schwartz is a rare bigwig in the industry, and his prot?g? has to be at least a master at acting. There should be nothing wrong with Elspeth advising on Emma’s acting, no?’ A third netizen commented, ‘How affected of Emma Walker to look all hurt like a phony goody-two-shoes at being criticized.’Seeing how the tide immediately turned against Emma on the internet, Yelena laughed and tapped away at the keyboard, following the crowd in tearing Emma apart.Timothy’s lips twitched at the sight of this.
“Let’s not get involved in this, alright? You’re a public figure, after all.”Yelena gave him a disdainful look.
“How boring! Who told you that public figures don’t like engaging in gossip? I have four other alt accounts, any of which I can switch to if this account gets banned. I have to avenge Elspeth!”Both Timothy and Blake were rendered lost for words by her reply.Elspeth came back soon after that. Seeing how the two men froze in stupefaction while Yelena tapped away at the keyboard in high spirits, she couldn’t help but smile in amusement.
“What are you all doing?”Yelena replied,
“You’ve got no idea, Elspeth. Emma has really shot herself in the foot. So many people are criticizing her now!”
Having gotten the anger and resentment off her chest, she was filled with pride and exaltation.Elspeth replied,
“We’re all slaves of opinion, so you can’t be too careful. We have to be even more careful from now on, especially you. Once you become an object of hatred, your reputation will be finished.”Yelena was already sick of hearing the same thing countless times.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Say, Elspeth, what do you think Emma is doing at the moment?”Elspeth didn’t even frown at the mention of the woman.
“I don’t know.”Meanwhile, in the hotel room…Emma had hatred written all over her face. After dialing Callum’s number, she poured out all her grievances, saying,
“Callum, Elspeth bullied me again-“Callum replied,
“She wouldn’t have done so if you hadn’t messed with her in the first place.”
He knew Elspeth very well. She was the kind of person who would never offend anyone unless she got offended, in which case she would root out the person who had offended her.”But I really didn’t do anything this time. I’m being targeted for no reason. Now the internet is full of news articles lambasting me. I dare not even go out anymore…”Callum only felt his head throbbing as Emma expressively poured out her grievances.
“Alright, I got it. I’ll come up with a solution.”After hanging up the phone, Emma clenched her fists and gnashed her teeth in hatred. Elspeth and Yelena, that buffoon… I won’t let off anyone who tries to undermine me! At the end of her thoughts, a sinister smile suddenly appeared on her face.In the end, the incident didn’t bubble for long before it got overshadowed by other news articles and caused its headline to be pulled out of the list of trending topics.Yelena looked displeased.
“I seriously don’t understand why someone could be so meddlesome as to pull this out of the list of trending topics on purpose. Say, could it be Callum’s doing?”Elspeth fanned herself with the fan in her hand without even looking up.
“It’s got to be him.””I’ve got to hand it to him. Just hurry and break up with him instead of letting him keep you dangling, will you?”Elspeth knew Yelena was saying that for her own good. She was also particularly disappointed with Callum, but there had to be a reason for his sudden about-face. If she were to break up with him hastily without finding out the reason, she would definitely regret it.
“Alright, that’s enough. There’s no way to bring Emma down for the time being, anyway, so why don’t you concentrate on your acting instead of worrying about this? Your show and Emma’s will probably be aired at the same time. If you end up embarrassing yourself, you won’t be able to do anything about it.”The instant Yelena heard this, she couldn’t help having a look of frustration.
“You’ve got no idea how pure and innocent Blake is. He said this would be his first time filming a kissing scene. We’re talking about his very first on-screen kiss, you know? And it’s gonna be spoiled by me, so he’s really reluctant to do it. The director told me to break through his psychological barrier and get the scene done in two days.”
“Can’t you two use some creative positioning instead?”
Elspeth asked in puzzlement. Yelena rolled her eyes.
“I wish we could, but Blake wouldn’t do it no matter what, saying he would easily reject me if we got too close.”Blake is so chaste, huh… Wait a minute, is he really that chaste? Elspeth suddenly recalled the warm and passionate kiss Blake had planted on her forehead at his concert last time, which surprised her inwardly.Yelena blinked her eyes with a groveling expression.
“Elspeth, can you help me talk him into doing it? You and Blake are close, after all.””I got it. I’ll go to him in a moment.”Keeping her promise, Elspeth went to Blake shortly after that.Blake was sitting by the lake to keep his mind off things. When he saw Elspeth come over, his face turned red.
“What’s the matter?””I heard you’re gonna do a kissing scene with Yelena?”Blake nodded.
“Yeah, but I don’t feel like doing it.”Elspeth didn’t know how to persuade the man into doing it either. After all, anyone would feel nervous and ill at ease at having to kiss a stranger whom they didn’t know very well. She said,
“Blake, such a day will come sooner or later. You’re an actor, you know.”Blake hung his head.
“But I don’t feel like doing it for the time being.”
He still had a complex that he had yet to overcome. The smiling young lady with wavy hair was still standing in his memory, making him unable to make up his mind no matter what.”Can you tell me the reason for that?”Blake stared at Elspeth’s face. His lips parted, and he almost blurted out what was on his mind; he wanted to tell her the truth. However, before he could say anything, Timothy suddenly ran toward them in a great hurry. Seeing that both of them were present, he heaved a sigh of relief, but he still sounded anxious.
“Bad news, Elspeth! Someone just came down with food poisoning!””What?!”
Elspeth’s brows furrowed at once.Timothy took Elspeth and Blake to the scene of the incident.Elspeth glanced at the floor, the person lying on which was an actress playing a relatively important supporting role whose part in the show was almost as big as that of the lead supporting actress.Seeing that Yelena was safe and sound despite her pale face, Elspeth was glad that she didn’t get poisoned.The next second, however, what Yelena said instantly left her with her heart in her mouth.
“Elspeth, I really have no idea what happened. She took a bite of my snack and suddenly collapsed to the floor. They say that she got poisoned and that I poisoned her on purpose for fear that she’d upstage me, but I-I didn’t…”Elspeth knew Yelena’s character; she wasn’t jealous of anyone, nor would she poison anyone on a whim. From her explanation, it sounded like she had just taken a snack out of her bag and was about to eat it when the female costar came over and took a bite of it. The next instant, the female costar felt unwell and passed out soon afterward with her lips turning black and her face turning pale as if she had been poisoned.Aiden was standing aside while looking all worried.
“What should we do now? Don’t tell me the filming has to be postponed again after all the trouble it took to get it started?”