Chapter 4: Rumors

The next morning, the entertainment world stirred like a pot about to boil over.

Lianna sat at her tiny kitchen table, sipping warm soy milk and munching on a piece of toast, when her phone buzzed non-stop.

First it was TeaChat, then Webbo, then messages from unknown numbers flooding her inbox.

She tapped open one of them—and nearly choked on her toast.

#SongLiweiMysteryMan was trending.

Dozens of photos from the restaurant were now circulating online, all focused on her conversation with her uncle. In some, she looked serious; in others, she was smiling faintly.

One headline screamed:

"Rising Starlet Song Liwei Spotted with Aurora's Business Tycoon!"

Atheron's voice pinged in her head like a smug notification. "Look at you, already creating buzz! Though… not quite the romantic kind."

Lianna groaned, rubbing her temples. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

Still, curiosity won out. She scrolled through the comments.

"Who is that man??"

"She's definitely more than just a struggling actress."

"Could this be the start of a chicken to phoenix arc"

"If she's backed by the Hua family, no wonder she debuted so fast."

She sighed.

At least they didn't paint her in a scandalous light. Yet.

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At Starlight Entertainment, Jiang Mian was waiting for her at the front doors, arms crossed, phone glued to her ear.

"I told you not to draw attention!" she said the moment she saw her. "One lunch meeting and now we have media crawling through the archives of your life like rats."

Lianna bowed slightly. "Sorry. I didn't know there would be photographers."

Jiang Mian softened at her earnest expression. "It's not your fault. Just… lay low for a bit, okay? No interviews. No comments. Let the buzz die down on its own."

Lianna nodded, but before they could head upstairs, someone dropped a thick binder full of scripts near the lobby couch.

A flustered intern scrambled to gather them, papers scattering across the floor.

Without hesitation, Lianna bent down and helped pick up the mess, aligning the pages carefully.

"Th-thank you!" the girl squeaked, cheeks red.

"No problem," Lianna said with a smile, handing her the last few sheets.

Atheron's voice appeared again, this time with a little sparkle. "Ding! +2 Good Karma points for humility and kindness in public. You're shining, Host!"

Lianna smiled to herself.

Just being decent earns me points? Is there some bug or something? When I donated in charity there was no points, what is this now?

----------

Later that afternoon, she headed to the practice room to review her lines when someone opened the door from the inside.

She stepped back instinctively.

And there he was again.

Xu Minze.

Wearing a sleek black training outfit, a towel around his neck, and earphones around his neck, he blinked when he saw her.

"Sorry," he said, stepping aside gently.

His voice was calm, deep, but polite. Like water flowing over smooth stone.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I—I didn't know someone was here."

Their eyes held for a moment. Not long but enough.

Then the female lead—Qin Yue—appeared behind him, laughing at something on her phone. She barely glanced at Lianna before walking past.

Xu Minze gave her a polite nod again, then followed.

Lianna watched them disappear down the hallway.

No words exchanged. No fateful music playing in the background. But her heart drummed nonetheless.

Atheron sighed dramatically in her mind. "Ugh. If this were a drama, that would've been the perfect scene for a slow-motion moment."

"Life doesn't work that way," she murmured under her breath, walking into the now-empty room.

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That evening, as she sat on a bench outside the company building, stretching her legs after practice, she saw the same intern from earlier struggling to carry coffee trays.

One slipped.

Lianna caught it just in time.

"Be careful," she said gently, steadying the tray. "Do you want help?"

The intern hesitated, eyes wide.

"You're not supposed to—you're an artist."

Lianna chuckled. "So what? I have hands too."

Together they walked the trays upstairs. It wasn't much. But when the staff looked at her with more warmth than before, when she heard a quiet "thank you" from someone in the hall, she knew she had made a ripple.

Another ding from Atheron confirmed it.

"+1 Good Karma points. Kindness is contagious, Host."

That night, as she lay in bed staring at the ceiling of her tiny apartment, she thought about the tiny shifts that had started to form around her.