Only One Point Left

"She gave up a long time ago. She just couldn't let go. She and Royce had been together for so many years. The boy who once had eyes only for her suddenly changed. How could she be willing to accept that?"

"So, even though her heart had died, she kept telling herself to wait a little longer. She hadn't lost all her points yet."

Alistair watched the girl across from him suddenly burst into tears, and he felt a tightening in his chest.

"Aria..."

"Don't say anything yet. Just let me finish."

Aria covered her face with her hands, refusing to look at him or let him see her.

"I don't have Lily's strength. I still love you, but I have my dignity. Even if I don't care about myself, I have to think of my family. They love me, and I can't make them worry about me every day."

"So, I learned from Lily and imprisoned my love in a journal. I don't have Lily's strong heart, so my full score is only ten points."

"You have only one point left now."

Aria didn't touch her coffee, took the coffee she had packed for Lily, and left. Alistair didn't get up for a long time.

The water had gone cold, and he stayed there holding the cup. The chill seeped into his palm, spreading through his body and freezing him in place.

Aria's final words kept replaying in his mind.

"You said you're a non-marriage type. I didn't dare to hope. When I heard you needed a fiancée, I begged my grandfather to help. It was only by the river that you told me you had just said it to appease your family. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"Even though there's still one point left, don't worry. I decided to give up on you completely the night I agreed to break off our engagement."

"Your family has always disagreed with ending the engagement. I actually have a way, but I didn't tell you. You want to know why? Because I was unwilling to let go. Because I truly loved you for too long."

"This one point is my unwillingness. It's easy to deduct. Selena probably won't cooperate today. Go to the studio and stand up for her like you did earlier, and let me finish deducting this one point."

"When the ten points are all gone, my unwillingness and obsession with you will be gone. I'll talk to your parents and find a way to end our engagement."

"Alistair, the ending of Lily and Royce is our ending too."

"Our ending is estrangement."

---

Selena was willing to give Aria and Lily a chance partly because she wanted to mess with them, and partly because she had no expectations of Lily.

She was just going through the motions, giving Alistair face, letting Lily take a few shots, then pointing out her flaws, and finally, "Win" would switch photographers.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Chen Jia was brought by her agent to witness Lily's incompetence.

They had thought of the process before coming. So, Selena changed her clothes and went to the shooting area but didn't cooperate much during the shoot.

She debuted at fifteen and had faced countless cameras.

She knew exactly what expressions and actions would please the photographer, and when the photographer would get angry.

She had made up her mind to make Lily lose her temper and leave. So, in Lily's lens, she deliberately acted like a soulless model.

A good photographer can capture the soul of the person in front of the lens. If the soul isn't captured, it means the photographer isn't good, not the model.

---

Lily could sense Selena's deliberate uncooperativeness, so after a few shots, she signaled for a pause.

She let everyone else take a break, packed up her things, and went to find Selena.

Selena's agent quickly pulled Deputy Editor-in-Chief Chen Jia over to stop her, but Lily spoke first.

"Do you think I made that call in the makeup room for nothing? The main audience for that call was you two."

She looked at Deputy Editor-in-Chief Chen Jia first.

"I insulted Alistair to his face, yet he was still polite to me. What does that tell you?"

Then she looked at Selena's agent.

"It tells you that my status is not low. Even Alistair treats me with respect. Do you really want to mess with someone who even Alistair is polite to?"

A minute later, Lily smoothly entered Selena's lounge.

Selena thought Lily was there to threaten her and had already prepared her retorts. But Lily sat next to her, eating her fruit, and started chatting.

"Selena did a cover shoot for 'Win' a few years ago. The theme was protecting wildlife, calling on everyone to pay attention to endangered species. You know about that, right?"

Of course, Selena knew about it.

The cover shoot of the popular actress Selena was noticed by a famous director in the film industry, who then offered her a lead role. The topic trended for days and caused a sensation.

Why the sensation? Because the country's most prestigious film director had a habit of not using plastic surgery faces or top streamers for lead roles.

Selena didn't have plastic surgery, but she was a top streamer.

There was no chance of them working together until the director suddenly tagged Selena on Weibo with a picture of her "Win" magazine cover, saying he really liked those photos.

The photos were indeed excellent. Selena had even bought the magazine.

The shoot took place in the wilderness, with Selena alongside wild animals. The photographer was incredibly talented, capturing not only Selena's soul but also the animals' spirits. The images were grand and majestic.

Just one photo, one glance, could tell an entire story.

The director invited Selena to star in his next film, saying he would write a script just for her.

This caused a huge sensation, and later, the director did tailor a script for Selena. She finished her previous TV drama in May and went straight into the new film. She's currently filming that movie.

Many people benefited from this event.

Selena, "Win," and everyone involved in that project at the magazine.

Except for the photographer.

Many stars flocked to "Win" afterwards, but the results were not satisfactory.

"Win's" explanation was that the photographer was a freelance enthusiast who didn't want to reveal his name and didn't want to work with them a second time.

Selena wondered why Lily suddenly brought this up, then saw Lily pointing at herself.

"I was that amazing photographer."

"I was that amazing photographer."

Selena thought Lily might have been too tired, and her mind wasn't clear.

She knew they had arrived at five in the morning and had been setting up ever since. After setting up, they waited, and Lily, with her hot temper, had already lost her temper in front of Alistair, showing her considerable anger.

Then she had been completely uncooperative.

Now, Lily must be quite angry.

But she couldn't let it out because Aria's sister-in-law, Qiu Lan, had pledged her career. If today's shoot didn't go well, Qiu Lan would have to resign.

So, no matter how angry Lily was, she had to hold it in.

Lily could have asked Edmond for help. If she had, Selena would have just sneered.

But to get the shoot to go smoothly, she was claiming credit for a senior's achievements.

Shameless!

---

Selena knew why Lily dared.

Because that shoot for Selena was entirely handled by Qiu Lan. It was said that the original photographer for the magazine couldn't make it at the last minute.

In the nick of time, no one knew where Qiu Lan found a photographer who saved the day. The rescue photographer never appeared in "Win," going directly to the wilderness for the shoot.

The focus was on Selena, and since she was satisfied with the shoot, the magazine didn't delve into the photographer's identity. After all, Qiu Lan, the chief editor, took responsibility.

Until Selena was chosen by the famous director because of that magazine, that photographer became incredibly famous, with a high level of discussion.

But no one came forward to claim this honor.

"Win" responded through Qiu Lan, saying the photographer was a friend who preferred to stay anonymous, signing a confidentiality agreement, and couldn't be revealed.

According to Deputy Editor-in-Chief Chen Jia, the reason "Win's" higher-ups agreed to let Qiu Lan use Lily, a newcomer, was that Qiu Lan's previous gamble had created a miracle.

As for why Qiu Lan had to pledge her career, it was mainly because the higher-ups wanted to pressure her, with Chen Jia's mischief contributing.

If Lily wasn't up to the task, having pledged her career, Qiu Lan would have to find the previous photographer.

Lily was Qiu Lan's responsibility. They were in this together. If Lily insisted she was the master photographer, Qiu Lan would likely support her.