Chapter 9: Something Happened to Joy Lyle

"Let me down."

Elliana Lyle turned her face away, lightly coughing; Norman Bennett gently set her down and naturally held her hand as they walked outside.

The whole way to the CEO's office, Elliana didn't say a word, her mind in a turmoil. Would Norman think she was...

Coincidentally, Norman also hadn't said a word. As they entered the office, she pointed to several bags on the sofa and said, "Norman, I bought you some gifts. Do you want to take a look?"

"Sure."

Elliana brought out all the items. They weren't really valuable, not even enough to match the price of Norman's cufflinks.

Those were creations by a famous French designer, and compared to what she bought, she felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Help me change them." Norman's tone was light, with a hint of a command.

Elliana was momentarily stunned, then she removed all of Norman's suit accessories and replaced them with the ones she had bought.

Watching Elliana seriously help him with the cufflinks, Norman was somewhat dazed. She had really changed a lot; he couldn't believe such a transformation could happen overnight.

"There! What do you think?" Elliana asked, looking up at him with a hopeful smile, hoping for his approval.

"Excellent."

The response was neither too cold nor too warm, and Elliana sighed in relief, fearing that Norman might not like it.

Then she said, "Norman, thank you for sending money to my cousin. Otherwise, I definitely would have forgotten."

Norman glanced down, fixing his gaze on the cufflinks. His eyes, cold and indifferent, seemed somewhat disappointed. He said, "So, you're thanking me?"

"Yes～well…not entirely. I just wanted to give you a gift," Elliana said cautiously, worried that Norman might overthink.

Their eyes met, Norman reached out to gently smooth the stray hair on her forehead, and said, "If you're tired, go inside and rest for a bit. Later, I'll take you home."

Norman glanced at the resting room, gesturing for her to go.

"Okay."

――― Evening.

The drowsy person suddenly woke up from the big bed, noticing it was exactly 6 o'clock. What was Norman doing right now?

Out of curiosity, she tiptoed barefoot toward the door. She hadn't locked the door when she came in, so with a slight push, she could leave a gap.

Then the sound from the office drifted in.

This door has surprisingly good soundproofing!

"CEO, besides that, I've also found that on the 20th, at exactly 9 o'clock, George Lyle along with two men who collided with Mrs. Lyle were driving against traffic on the South Gate Bridge," Raymond Wood reported.

"Continue."

"Yes." Raymond continued, "And it's just that day Miss Lyle and Mr. Lyle were walking to the company together, so... could it be that Miss Lyle knows something?"

There was a long silence, yet Elliana was shocked. Was Norman also investigating this matter? Could it be that because she had looked at George Lyle strangely that day, Norman noticed it!

"Have someone closely monitor George Lyle," Norman instructed.

"Yes."

Then she heard footsteps and the sound of a door closing, probably Raymond leaving the office.

Norman was helping her monitor George Lyle; did this mean she could focus on other things?

The person seated on the office chair looked toward the resting room, then got up and slowly walked over. At the moment the door opened, Elliana hadn't reacted yet.

Then.

"Ah!!"

"Wear shoes." Saying nothing else, Norman picked her up, his long legs stepping inside, gently placing her by the bed.

And he patiently helped her put on her sneakers, each movement extremely gentle.

"Let's go, time to go home."

―――

It was a night.

Elliana was curled up on the bed scrolling through Weibo. As drowsiness started to set in, a piece of news shocked her awake, leaving her wide awake!

"Actress Joy Lyle to play the lead role in 'South Wind Song,' but due to the pure actress Eleanor Llyod displeasing investors, they pulled out their investment!"

This was just the headline, but Elliana knew, Eleanor was definitely up to her tricks again!

In the previous life, Joy hadn't faced such problems, and the lead in 'South Wind Song' was Eleanor!

Clicking on the headline, the content inside indeed supported Eleanor!

There was also a video of Eleanor speaking.

In the video, Eleanor said: I just didn't want to see Sister Joy get involved in casting couch issues, that's why I offended the investors. Now, I just hope Sister Joy doesn't blame me.

That pitiful look, Elliana felt disgusted after just one glance.

The comments below were even more infuriating!

Netizen "Spring Snow": Asking to change the lead, Eleanor is more fit for the role, this Joy is just garbage, blaming my dear Ellie.

Netizen "Brother Mu will always love me": I think Eleanor may not be that innocent, looks like such a schemer, but of course, Joy isn't a good thing either, if she likes being taken advantage of so much, why not just become a whore?

...

The more Elliana read, the angrier she got, eager to start arguing with these people. She quickly checked Joy's Weibo.

Just as expected, there were curses everywhere! Yet, Joy hadn't posted anything.

Not knowing how her sister was doing now, she hurried to ask.

Cat: Sis, how are you? Are you okay?

Half an hour later, no reply, and no one answered the call.

Lacking investors caused shooting to halt. After thinking about it, Elliana decided to become an investor herself and decisively called Mr. Lyle.

After hearing everything Elliana had to say, Mr. Lyle immediately rejected, "Elliana, you know your grandmother won't let us help Joy, your dad has also never been involved in the entertainment industry."

"Oh～" Elliana replied, feeling a bit disappointed.

She knew Mr. Lyle listened to her grandmother the most, and her grandmother disliked Joy, saying she was a disgrace to the Lyle family. Even Mr. Lyle felt that way.

"Elliana, don't get involved in those messy things, just stay put, understand?" came the voice of Mr. Lyle advising from the other end of the phone.

"Got it." Elliana hung up, leaning against the headboard, feeling a bit sad.

Why couldn't they care a bit? She was family too.

She remembered the year Joy debuted, her monthly salary was only over three thousand, with the high cost of living in North City, and no shows to act in. The agency didn't care about her, and without acting gigs, naturally, there was no money.

Ultimately, Joy was found nearly starving under a bridge, taken to the hospital, and her family was contacted for medical expenses, but not a single Lyle family member reached out, leaving Elliana to use her pocket money for assistance.

Over the years, it was Elliana secretly supporting her cousin, providing money, and Joy worked hard, rising to become a top star. Of course, part of it was also due to Mr. Lyle's silent blessing.

Thinking of this, Elliana felt her father was quite good, just pressured by her grandmother.

Now Joy must be having a hard time, and Roland belonged to Shane Southwell's family, who would definitely support Eleanor more.

"So frustrating!" Elliana couldn't help scratching her head. She felt she should just find a job, but there was still a year until she graduated from university.

Buzz buzz.

Sis: I'm fine, just that the company issued a mandate, the lead in 'South Wind Song' has been given to Eleanor.

That was fast, Elliana couldn't help but think about Eleanor's maneuvering.

Cat: Sis, what's really going on?

Elliana wanted to know the truth, she simply couldn't believe what was online. How much truth is there in online stories?

Sis: Indeed, the investors wanted to make advances, but I'm the one who refused and offended them, not sure how it became Eleanor later on, I can't be bothered to explain.

Elliana pursed her lips, unable to swallow this insult. How could someone like Eleanor become the lead?