Chapter 42: Blocked
[Chapter 42: Blocked]
"Hello."
"Ryan, you're not upset, are you?" Elizabeth Olsen asked from the other end of the phone.
"Not at all. Social media management isn't a crucial position; anyone can do it. There's no need for you to apologize. We still have opportunities to collaborate in the future," Ryan replied politely.
"That's actually why I'm calling. Several chapters want to film their own versions of the Harlem Shake. What's your budget this time?" Elizabeth Olsen inquired.
"Zero. You don't need to contact the chapters anymore," Ryan said with a smile.
The Harlem Shake had already made it to The Daily Show, spreading like wildfire. The sorority had fulfilled its mission, and even without sponsored filming, people on college campuses would still be filming the Harlem Shake. Ryan wasn't going to spend a penny more than necessary.
"Alright, then. That's it?" Elizabeth suddenly hesitated.
"Goodbye."
Ryan hung up the phone decisively. Social media management indeed wasn't a critical role. The recruitment notice he had just posted had already garnered responses from over a dozen people. Ryan noticed someone with a scooter avatar, which he remembered from his YouTube video comments, passionately explaining the Harlem Shake to others. It seemed like this person was a "fan."
However, Ryan didn't fully trust these internet strangers and didn't make a decision immediately.
...
Noticing that it was almost evening, Ryan shut down his computer and prepared to head out. Just as he reached the door, he ran into Trey returning home.
She looked exhausted, likely having spent the day filming in some remote location.
"Where are you going?" Trey asked Ryan as he was about to leave.
"On a date!" Ryan replied without turning back.
"Will you be back tonight?"
Ryan finally turned around, squinting his eyes.
"Remember to take safety precautions," Trey waved her hand.
As the door closed, Trey muttered, "Can't even spare some time for me. After all I've done for you."
...
Arriving at the date spot, an AMC theater near Music Street, Ryan saw Abigail stepping out of the passenger seat with someone in tow.
"She insisted on coming, saying she wanted to watch a movie," Abigail explained, clearly annoyed that Taylor Swift had decided to be a third wheel.
"You have a man to keep you company, but I'm all alone. How could you abandon me?" Taylor clung to Abigail's arm, resting her head on Abigail's shoulder.
Ryan didn't say much as the three of them entered the theater. Taylor, as usual, was fully disguised with a baseball cap.
"I want to watch Paranormal Activity!" Taylor pointed at the poster as soon as they walked in.
"I want to watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I want to see a romantic movie," Abigail chimed in.
Both of them turned to Ryan.
"I don't like either of those movies," Ryan shook his head, holding up three movie tickets.
...
"Boom..." On the big screen, Robert Downey Jr., dressed in a suit, stumbled as the shockwave from a missile explosion sent a cloud of dust his way.
The audience laughed.
Among the three, Abigail sat in the middle, with Ryan and Taylor on either side.
"Don't look at your phone in the theater. Who are you texting?" Abigail craned her neck.
"Who's Elizabeth?" Abigail's voice suddenly rose.
Ryan quickly turned off his phone and focused on the movie. As Abigail's voice grew louder, disturbing others, he leaned in to explain in a low voice.
"A fan? You're so nice to your female fans, texting them during a movie," Abigail sneered.
Elizabeth Debicki had just woken up and sent Ryan a reply — nothing more.
Abigail then turned to the other side, where Taylor was smiling at her, as if saying, "Don't say I didn't warn you."
...
Halfway through the movie, Abigail got up to use the restroom, and Taylor immediately moved next to Ryan.
"It's time," Taylor whispered to Ryan.
"Time for what?" Ryan noticed that Taylor had been acting strangely these past few days, often saying cryptic things.
"Set off the bomb! Leak the song! We'll be all over the entertainment magazines!" Taylor blurted out what she had been holding back for so long.
Her previous hints were just that — hints. She shouldn't have been the one to bring it up, but with the Harlem Shake's current popularity, it was the perfect window to "ignite some gossip."
"What song?" Ryan genuinely didn't understand.
"Stop pretending!" Taylor grabbed Ryan's arm, then quickly let go when she noticed Abigail returning, moving back to her seat.
...
"What were you two talking about?" Abigail asked Taylor.
"About a new song."
"I didn't understand that last scene."
Taylor and Ryan spoke at the same time, saying completely different things.
"I don't want to watch anymore. Ryan, let's go," Abigail said, clearly unable to sit still.
...
Late at night, Ryan quietly got up, making sure not to wake Abigail, and slipped into the bathroom.
"Don't call me anymore. I don't want Abigail to misunderstand," Ryan frowned.
"Then when are you going to leak that song?" Taylor asked over the phone.
"What song are you talking about?"
"The one I wrote for you, Hot Day Afternoon!"
Ryan's head buzzed, and suddenly many things became clear.
The reason Taylor had given him the song in the first place was for this moment!
For the sake of "creating buzz," Taylor had been scheming for a long time, putting in so much effort.
Was it worth it?
Perhaps it was. The "celebrity" market was already saturated, with most new artists fading into obscurity. Only a lucky few managed to stay relevant for a while before being forgotten.
To achieve long-term fame, timing, opportunity, and talent were all essential. A little extra manipulation wasn't out of the question. Considering some people would release private videos just to get famous, Taylor's actions were relatively mild.
"In other words, you already had a plan, and I just happened to show up that day, right?" Ryan chuckled, countering.
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"I... never mind that. When are you going to leak the song?" Taylor pressed.
"Maybe in the next life. I deleted that song a long time ago," Ryan said with a relieved smile.
"Deleted? Wait..."
Ryan hung up the phone, looked at himself in the mirror, and shook his head.
He had been worried that leaking the song would harm Taylor's reputation, so he had deleted it.
"So this is the entertainment industry?" Ryan scoffed.
He quietly returned to Abigail's side and lay down without a sound. Abigail was facing away, and Ryan didn't notice that she had been awake the entire time...
...
"Deleted?" Taylor put down her phone, momentarily stunned.
She sent Ryan another text, but it failed to deliver. When she called, the call was immediately dropped. Clearly, her number had been blocked.
"Blocked me?" For a moment, Taylor felt a sense of embarrassment, her face flushing.
"How dare you block me?!" The next moment, she was seething, her jaw clenched, veins bulging on her forehead, fists clenched, and arms swinging as if she wanted to punch something.
Memories of the past month with Ryan flashed through her mind.
His threats, his charge during the football game, the brief look of surprise when he heard her new song, his cheeky grin, his awkwardness and nervousness at her house, the fleeting look of shock when he heard the new song, the deleted song...
"Actually, I really admire your songwriting skills..."
Ryan's words echoed in her mind.
But perhaps she had misused that talent. Taylor let out a bitter laugh, then burst into loud sobs, the noise so loud that her parents and brother rushed into the room.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Taylor's mother, Andrea, hurried to her side.
"Wahhh..." Taylor buried her face in her mother's chest.
He had countless opportunities to release that song, but he never did. Instead, he deleted it.
Glancing at the Billboard magazine on her desk, Taylor grabbed it, rolled it up, and threw it into the trash...
*****
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