Chapter 23: Is That For Me?

Hearing that, Dave couldn’t help but smile warmly at her.

“With your talent, you’ll definitely make it,” he reassured her.

Bianca beamed back at him, and her eyes sparkled like stars, radiating brightness that seemed to outshine everything around her.

After chatting for a bit, Dave got a call and had to leave.

Bianca happily walked back to her dorm, humming a tune.

Seeing her cheerfulness, her roommate, Diana, teased her, “Why so happy? Did you have a romantic encounter?”

Rolling her eyes, Bianca replied, “No way! I’m just feeling good, that’s all!”

Diana teased her again, “Feeling good because you met a cute guy?”

“Seriously? There are plenty of reasons to be happy that don’t involve guys,” Bianca retorted, shaking her head at Diana’s teasing.

Diana was a sweet girl, but she loved socializing and often switched boyfriends.

“What’s more important than money and cute guys?” Diana said, applying lipstick in front of the mirror. “Okay, I’m off to a party. Catch you later!”

Bianca shook her head in disbelief and sat on the bed. She turned on her laptop and saw an email waiting for her.

Her heart raced when she saw it was from the HR Department of Phoenix Entertainment!

Bianca thought she’d have to wait a while to hear from Phoenix Entertainment, so she was shocked when they contacted her so soon. She eagerly opened the email and saw one word at the top: “Congratulations!”

She was so thrilled that she leaped out of bed, eager to share the good news with someone.

Bianca hesitated to bother her best friend Diana, who might have been busy flirting with a guy. So, she decided to call Dave instead.

“Mr. Evans, guess what?” she exclaimed as soon as he picked up. “I passed the interview!”

Dave was sitting in Justin’s office, staring at his computer screen, which displayed the email he had just sent. When Bianca shared her good news, he responded with a genuine smile.

“Congratulations!” he said warmly.

Bianca chuckled. “Mr. Evans, you’re my lucky charm. Ever since I met you, everything seems to be going my way!”

Dave teased, “Well, then we should hang out more often. Even if you don’t want to admit we’re engaged, we’re still friends, right?”

Bianca blushed bright red. “Uh, yeah,” she replied shyly.

Justin, who was seated across from Dave, looked completely stunned.

Justin’s thoughts raced silently. ‘Dave looked so... What was the right word? Gentle? Tender? No, those words couldn’t possibly describe the cold, formidable Dave.’

“Dave, you just smiled three times in a row. That’s more than the total number of times you’ve smiled since I met you years ago!” As soon as the call ended, Justin couldn’t help but blurt out his thoughts.

Dave simply shot him a cold glance, returning to his usual aloof and distant self the moment he put the phone down.

“Once Bianca starts working here, look after her and report to me if anything happens.”

“Why do you care so much about her?” Justin asked suspiciously.

Leaning back in his chair, Dave answered casually, “Because I want to find out her real purpose.”

“Then just tie her up and force her to confess. Why go through all this effort?” Justin squinted at Dave with a knowing smile.

“You seem to have all kinds of ideas in that small brain of yours,” Dave commented, his eyes piercing right through Justin like a knife.

Frightened, the latter immediately shut his mouth.

Soon after the interview, Bianca started working for Phoenix Entertainment as an intern. Only after graduation could she go through the proper hiring formalities.

On her first day of work, her supervisor sent her to pick someone up at the airport.

The person she was going to pick up was a newly signed female artist, whose stage name was Jasmine. There was little information about this person.

Bianca made it to the airport very early in the morning. She came prepared, holding up a sign with Jasmine’s name on it, even going so far as to bring a cup of iced coffee for the artist.

After waiting for a long time, Bianca saw a woman with long black hair, black sunglasses, and a fashionable dress walking toward her. Somehow, even from afar, she felt that this figure looked so familiar.

The woman came to a stop right in front of Bianca. As soon as she took off her sunglasses, a pair of cunning eyes glared at her.

“Bianca, what are you doing here?”

If it weren’t for that familiar shrill voice, Bianca wouldn’t have recognized Ashley, Stacey’s daughter.

Ashley became part of the Scott family when Stacey married Peter. She was around Bianca’s age. After high school, she moved to another city for college. Now, she was graduating, just like Bianca.

When Ashley lived with the Scott family, she and Bianca always competed. They fought over everything from food to attention from their father.

Bianca realized Ashley was a lot like her mother, Stacey. Both were charming on the outside but had ulterior motives.

“I’m waiting for someone,” Bianca replied shortly. She didn’t want to engage with Ashley and focused on holding up the sign for Jasmine.

Ashley suddenly noticed the name on the sign and burst into laughter.

“Wait, they sent you to pick up Jasmine? No way!”

Bianca couldn’t shake off a bad feeling as she examined her step-sister closely.

Ashley seemed to have changed a lot during her time in college. She was much prettier now, with a more defined nose and an oval-shaped face. There was something different about her eyes, too.

It didn’t take long for Bianca to realize that Ashley must have had some cosmetic procedures done.

“Yeah, I’m here to pick up Jasmine. Why? Is there a problem?” Bianca asked, feeling uneasy.

With confirmation, Ashley laughed even louder and more arrogantly. “Surprise, surprise. I’m Jasmine.”

Bianca sighed. It seemed her streak of good luck had finally come to an end.

She scrutinized Ashley’s new face, which resembled those of many other celebrities who had undergone cosmetic procedures. How would Ashley stand out from the crowd? Bianca couldn’t understand why their company had chosen to sign someone as generic as Ashley.

However, since Bianca had no control over the company’s decisions regarding artists, she could only accept it. She tucked away the sign and glanced at the iced coffee she had brought, instantly regretting purchasing it.

“Is that for me?” Ashley asked, eyeing the drink.

Bianca’s eyes widened in shock as Ashley snatched the iced coffee from her hand, causing it to spill all over her pink dress.

“Bianca! What did I do to you? Why would you pour coffee all over my dress?!” Ashley exclaimed angrily.