“Sister Hao, is there a reason why we are not going inside?” Qiao Qiao asked. She eyed the entrance of the W Magazine building. She knitted her brows at the people outside the building shouting for Lily to come out. “Sister Hao, I think its best that we explain this matter to the media.”
“I told you they won’t do anything. They will just let this pass and wait for it to die down.” Cindy chimed in as she played on her phone. She then glanced at Manager Hao’s grim face. “Why are we still here? I thought I have another photo shoot with Qiao Qiao after this?”
“Lily is still inside.” Silence descended inside the car after Manager Hao spoke. Her eyes were still on her phone as she added. “She wanted to have her photo shoot inside on the same studio as you.”
“But — I thought she left? Why would she stay? I thought she’s supposed to be in a temple somewhere?”
“They encountered some problems so the Editor In Chief decided that she do it in the studio instead.” Manager Hao explained. She stared at her sister. ‘Now… I want you to be careful. Once we go inside and see Lily, you should immediately apologize.”
“Why do I have to apologize?” Cindy asked. Seeing her sister’s expression, she immediately pursed her lips and nodded. “Alright. I’m sorry. I will listen to you from now on.” Cindy grew up in her sister’s care. She might be a little stupid, but she is not a fool. She already made a mistake with that broken heart emoji. She would not want to do it again.
This time, Cindy decided to listen to her sister.
“But Sister Hao…” Qiao Qiao hesitated. “You know what kind of woman that Lily is. What if… “
“Do you think she will waste her time scheming against us?” Manager Hao asked before sighing. “Let’s just… avoid her at all costs.”
Qiao Qiao bit her lips in response. She lowered her gaze and hide the anger in her eyes. “Alright. We should do that.” She nodded.
“Then… let’s go?” Cindy asked.
“Let’s go.”
When the trio and their assistants arrived in the studio, everyone thought that chaos will ensue. The wife and the mistress in one room. This spells trouble!
Well… they were wrong.
The moment Cindy apologized to Lily, the latter immediately asked her to sit down with her as they do their make up together. While Manager Hao and Qiao Qiao insisted that they go to another room for their make up, Cindy disagreed.
“Miss Lily… I think it is best if my sister will do her makeup in the next room. After all, you will have your photo shoot first. She also needs some rest from all that traveling that we did yesterday.” Manager Hao said, a respectful smile was on her face.
“Is that so?”
“No. I think it’s okay. I can stay here.” Cindy shook her head. “Sister… Miss Lily said that I could borrow some of her jewelry for the photo shoot. Remember the L series that I mentioned before? Miss Lily has it in her collection!” Cindy beamed at her sister. “I would really like to wear the butterfly necklace as well as the crown.” She pouted. “I tried to reserve and even asked CEO Yu to ask his contact to get this for me but I was too late. GC Jewels only made five sets of this jewelry. I am very lucky to see it here.”
“My friend actually gifted the set to me,” Lily smiled, her eyes darted towards Qiao Qiao who was standing behind Manager Hao’s back. “I also have the gowns that come with this set… if you want…”
“Really?” Cindy’s eyes sparkled as she interrupted Lily. “May I see?” She stood from her seat and froze when she realized that her sister is still with them. “Sister… This is a onetime opportunity for me. Is it alright if… I do my makeup here?”
Seeing her sister’s enthusiastic expression, Manager Hao nodded as she sighed inwardly. Who would have thought that her sister is so dense? She had repeatedly told her to stay away, and yet a simple jewelry would make her forget everything. “Alright. I will ask your make-up artist to come here.”
“Thank you!” Cindy said before she followed Yang Mi to see the gowns that Lily was talking about.
“Miss Lily, my sister is still young. I hope you will forgive her actions.” Manager Hao met Lily’s eyes. She swallowed her nonexistent saliva and tried to maintain eye contact.
“How old is she?” Lily asked.
“She just turned twenty-two this year.” She answered. “She is still naive. I really hope that— “
“I don’t mind.” Lily smiled. She then eyed Cindy and Yang Mi who was standing a couple of feet away from them. “Your sister is lucky to have you.” She uttered as an unfathomable gleam flashed in her eyes. “You should… make sure that she avoids scandals like this. After all… She is the front runner in the best actress award this year, right?” She smiled.
“Yes, she is. She won the best newcomer awards this year and a lot of people wanted her to win this year’s best actress award!” While her sister is actually really spoiled, Manager Hao was truly proud of her. Both women grew up without their parents. For years, both of them relied on each other to grow and live.
“Good. So…” Lily eyed Qiao Qiao. “I heard that Miss Qiao is another front runner award too?”
“Yes!” Manager Hao beamed. It was as if she had forgotten that she was actually talking to Lily. “I am lucky to handle to bright and amazing actresses.”
“That’s good. You are indeed lucky.” The smile on Lily’s face did not vanish. “So… if Miss Hao is eliminated in this award. Who will take the first place?” Lily’s question seemed innocent at first. However, it did not take long for Manager Hao to realize that there is something wrong with her smile.
“I — I don’t know. There is really no way to predict who will win the awards as it was of popular voting and the people from the film industry will casts their votes too.” Of course, this was a lie. She knew exactly who will win if her sister gets eliminated.
She stared at Lily’s smile as an icy chill crept up on her spine. If her sister gets eliminated because of this scandal, then the only one capable of winning is none other than Qiao Qiao.
