I Miss You
This extra chapter is dedicated to Desirae_Atherton/Smokey_kitty . Thank you for the review! (Also, the review glitch is making me insane. Webnovel better fix them bugs or I'll squish them like a bug myself.)
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Today was the first day the show would be aired, and Ashton was in high spirits. He and Henry finally moved out of Ms. Daisy's cramped apartment and now have a condo unit with a 52 inch flat screen TV and everything. And if 'More Than Frenemies' becomes more of a success than they expected, he could earn even more money!
"Come on, Henry! It's showing! It's showing!" He jumped up and down excitedly like a little kid on the large couch. "Stop painting and come watch!"
"Alright, alright." 'Henry' took off his plastic gloves. He has a huge separate studio now, by the large balcony overlooking the beautiful Californian sky. Nowadays, his subject is no longer Ashton, but the sunset, skyscrapers, and other scenic backgrounds from that balcony.
Ashton picked the remote and turned on the TV. "You don't know the plot yet, do you?"
"No. Rom-com's not really my thing." 'Henry' sat beside him, his arm stretched on the back of the couch behind Ashton. "What's it about?"
"I don't want to spoil much, but it's about this girl and this boy who's family is fighting..."
'Henry' listened attentively to everything, despite knowing already the entire plot as part of the productions painter after all.
"So this is about art too, huh? That does sound interesting." Was his only take-away with a smile. "How was the filming? You barely went home those past three months."
"It was really fun! And I..." Ashton blushed. "I've met someone there, and.... We've been talking....."
'Henry' hid the disdain on his face well, only appearing for a few milliseconds. " Oh? And who is this?"
"You'll see her soon enough. We've already met back in Fangs of Eros." Ashton shyly scratched his head like a lovesick teen. "She's really amazing. She can completely become her character once the camera starts rolling. She taught me so many things---"
"Are you two dating?"
This caught him in surprise, since he never expected Henry to be so interested in this. He just brought up the topic to pass the time before the show starts. "No..... We'll, I don't think so? We're just hanging out....."
"But do you like her?"
"I..... I guess?" Ashton said, holding his chest. 'Whenever I see her act, and we become not Ashton or Sidney, but Byron and Luna, or Ronnie and Julie.... It makes my heart pound so loud I can heart it in my head. The feeling is just so exciting and I feel like I could never meet anyone like her..... That's why I'm so happy when I learned we'll be together in this series again."
"I feel so lucky, like the stars smiling down on me, kind of cheesy happy..." Ashton turned to him with a giddy smile. "Have you ever met someone that made you feel that way, Henry?"
"I have." 'Henry' answered, adjusting his glasses.
"Ohh! Really!?" Ashton leaned on him with much curiosity. "Who is she? How come you've never told me about this?"
"I....." 'Henry' gave a meaningful smile. "I dare not speak the name."
This made Ashton frown, wondering and racking his brain on who it could possibly be. But just then, 'More Than Frenemies' already started, and he excitedly paid attention back to the screen.
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AnonymouslyYours:[That's him, right?]
Shuchuanleaf: [Bro, no way!]
CloneNo2: [Base from my analysis of the facial structure, it's likely 97% him.]
LetMeInUrRabbitHole: [Duh, the resemblance is uncanny!]
JeTaiMe:[But I thought he was gay? What's he doing with a chick?]
Shuchuanleaf: [Why would you assume someone's gay just because his friend painted him? We don't even know what his relationship with Henry_Basildon is, he could have just been a model?]
BaphietheHESlayer: [Maybe it's unrequited love.]
Shuaigege: [Agreed. And that's delicious.]
People continued on theorizing online until eventually, the topic #RonnieistheMostBeautifulManMeme reached #1 tag on Twitter. The following of 'More Than Frenemies' increased into 100,000 just from the release of the pilot episode, and continue exploding the charts every day.
About six months have passed, and Ashton and his painting are all the people had been talking about.
What really made it famous is the fan wars, unexpectedly.
[I really need to know more about this Ashton Florice, I need to confirm my ship is real! Has anyone put up a Wikipedia page yet?]
[I heard he and Sidney Lane knew each other from a movie before that got canceled. What fate!]
[Just look at their chemistry in the interviews, it's true love!]
[I'm so jealous kyahhhhhh!!!!!]
The more episodes of 'More Than Frenemies' aired, the fewer people sided with the theory of the painter liking Ashton Florice, and focused on this new love team.
A second season was confirmed, and Ashton was gaining more calls day and night from agents. Everyone in Hollywood wanted a piece of him. Sci-fi, dram, fantasy, mystery, you name it! They want Florice to star in it!
He became the most famous young actor overnight, earning almost 700,000 dollars per month just from the copyright of using his face alone in advertisements and from TV interviews.
"Oh, Henry... What have you done? This.... This is crazy!" Ashton hugged his friend with so much excitement. "I can barely get a wink of sleep from all the role offers calling me even at night. And look at all these fan messages! I didn't expect painted Ashton to blow up, were you aware of this.?"
"No." 'Henry' calmly replied, making strokes with no care for the world.
"They're all calling me the 'Most Beautiful Man'... I mean, it's flattering, but quite an exaggeration. I mean look at me." He gestured to himself wearing blue pajamas with a frog pattern. "Does this look like the most beautiful man to you?"
"Yes." 'Henry' answered plainly again.
Ashton blinked, not expecting his friend's straightforwardness. But then again, he won't be 'Henry' if he ain't straightforward.
"I just..... I'm so overwhelmed." Ashton smiled. "I'll be shooting with Sidney again, and I can't wait another second to see her great performance. Our managers are telling us to make it official."
"But it's not real?"
"Yeah....." Ashton said. "Just for publicity. But there's a part of me hoping that... You know.... Sidney's not bad to be around and---"
"Ashton." 'Henry' put down his brush. "Are you sure that what you like is truly her..... and not her persona on-screen?"
This isn't part of Henry's dialogue in Painted Lies.
This suddenly changed Ashton's bright aura, like the rain clouds had just come over his face.
Zhe Chouhen thought so that he would react like this. In the original Picture of Dorian Gray, he only ever liked Sybil Vane because of who she was on-stage. This must also be the case for Ashton.
He suddenly felt being electrocuted, a sign that he was acting OOC.
Henry never directly went against Ashton's admiration for Sidney Lane, he kept his feelings down, only scheming backstage. Making Ashton aware of this so early would counter Henry's controlling nature. Since he deleted Daoist Panda, the OOC warnings came this way, these sudden electrifying shocks.
But who cares? He doesn't want the same thing that happened to the book to happen here.
Because once Ashton and Sidney get together, they'll be pressured by the fans constantly until Ms. Lane fall for him eventually. But not the on-screen him, the real him. She would soon propose that the two of them to get out of the suffocating showbizness and the prying eyes of paparazzi to settle down together, not as actors, but just as a normal couple.
And this would cause Ashton's first turning into the evil side, just like Dorian Gray.
Being an actor is his dream, so he would coldly reject her. Then like the book, he would see his painting changing a bit, instead of a kind smile..... it will be a cold sneer.
And after rejecting Sidney Lane and breaking up with her, like the original Sybil Vane.... she will be found dead, frothing on the mouth after drinking poison.
(Sorry, Daoist Panda. But I can't let that happen. I would rather risk getting Negative Satisfaction than have Ashton be the cause of an innocent girl's death.) Zhe Chouhen resolved to himself that he would stop this turning as much as possible.
"What..... What are you saying, Henry?" Ashton chuckled nervously.
Zhe Chouhen would like to go further to explain his point.... When he blacked out. He can't remember what he was going to say. It's like his mind was wiped like a clean slate.
"Oh.... Uh...." 'Henry' shrugged. "Nothing, I suppose. I've been muttering nonsense lately, must be the coffee."
(Wait, why did I say that?) Zhe Chouhen thought to himself, and took more sips of his ice coffee.
"Haha, I see! You should really be careful with caffeine, it's not good for you." Ashton said, then his phone rang. "Oh, sorry. I have to take this. Be right back."
"Yes...." Henry continued painting the sunset by the balcony, his mind a little foggy.
He blinked.... once.... twice. But he still couldn't think clearly. He's slowly dissociating from what's happening a bit.
It's like a part of him is singing him a lullaby to sleep, making him feel drowsy. That's weird. He's making himself sleepy.
He should just finish painting. Dinner is coming soon. No matter what it was, it could wait.
He checked his phone. There was a new application there, called 'Meter Reminder', with a skull of an unknown animal as the icon.
"Daoist panda?" His eyes brightened up at the thought of seeing the chubby 2D panda again to lessen his confusion...
But there's nothing there. Just the three bars showing the Scum Meter, Love Meter, and Satisfaction Meter setting.
(Huh? This must be the third party's way of keeping us apart while also making me aware of the meters in accordance with the rules, but that just confirms their existence. That's not so wise of them, I must have put them into a spot. Checkmate!) He grinned, patting himself on the back.
But...
He knows he shouldn't think of such dangerous thoughts, in case this unknown entity could hear him, yet he couldn't help it.
"I still miss Daoist Panda though..."
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"Haha, you hear him? He says he misses you!"
Long, delicate fingers waved away the image in front of him that dissolve like water. He approached the cage in front of him.
The muzzled animal in it just growled at him.
"It's adorable, really. How we can tie up the other side with not just one, but two red strings. And he suspects nothing. thinking it was your fault! Haha!"
He bent down to the animal's eye level. "We will succeed this time, I can feel it. So why don't you turn back to my arms, dear child? Why betray your kin, your family?"
"Grrr..." Was all its response.
The animal is not a panda.
It is a gruesome creature of death, red eyes glowing, frost-white fur, with its head looking like the skeleton of a cat, yet the body of a bear. It was rabid, large claws trying to break free of the bars. If not for the glowing enchantment on it, it would have long escaped and tear apart a hundred humans to shreds. Its long tail can knock down buildings and collapse mountains.
"Xiong Mao." The Teacher placed his hand on its face. "Did you forget what the other side has done to us? To me?"
"Don't be foolish. Would he accept you knowing that the purpose of your existence was to decimate him?"
His mask looks exactly like the head of Xiong Mao.
He nuzzled its head. "Come back to your brothers. We shall not speak of this again once victory is ours. You are our youngest, and the young easily makes mistakes, so I will forgive you. Alright?"
He took off the muzzle.....
And the animal bit his hand off!
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