The day after the scandal spread, there was no scheduled shooting because the whole crew was invited to a reality show.Selena Tang"s debut work in China was getting so much attention. While it helped that the series being broadcasted by the other major TV station was a flop, one which people disliked watching due to the reputation of the male lead and another major character there, it still could not be denied that Selena Tang managed to bring nice twists and surprises in her story.
The plot was a typical historical war and palace story with a romantic subplot. But she brought more flavor and natural cohesiveness that made it appear so captivating to the point where Jiang Li"s blue hair could be pardoned.
Naturally, it became the favorite of so many people. The viewers.h.i.+p was high. So the crew of the whole drama rose in popularity and got invited to a few reality shows.
The ones always in the limelight that day was the director, the scriptwriter, the leads, and the major supporting characters.
Jiang Li was even made to sing live and impromptu since the host whimsically decided to make him sing on the spot, acapella. Well, at least, it was an easy request so he didn"t grumble much internally.
An hour swiftly pa.s.sed, and the show ended, but not before the latest controversies were brought up. Of course, he did not partic.i.p.ate in it even though he was supposed to be one of the most important people involved there.
"If not for our dramas popularity and the people"s curiosity towards the weirdo of our crew and the pretty scriptwriter, probably, the seats vacant in that thousand seater studio would have been not only ten or so, but more than a hundred," sighed the young man who played the second male lead.
"We"re quite unlucky. People"s attention is more drawn to the adulterous scandal between Mo Fang and Liu De." Disgust was on the pretty actress who played the role of the main heroine.
"Yeah. Well, what can we do? Dramas are everywhere, but sometimes what people want are real dramas, scandals, conspiracies."
"Speaking of scandals, I suddenly felt pity for Ms. Mo Fang"s ex-husband."
"He"s somebody who beats his own wife. That"s a true sc.u.m as well."
"No. Wait. Think about it. Don"t you think what happened more than half a year ago is really, really weird?" The pretty actress asked, widening her expressive and large eyes. "Trust in my guts, okay. Coz I"m a woman. I have a feeling that Mo Fang has long been having an adulterous relations.h.i.+p with Liu De so to get out of wedlock, she framed her husband!"
"Hey, it could also be that she started to feel for another man because her husband is always subjecting her to domestic violence."
"Hmm. Possible."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I don"t think we should discuss something as sensitive like that anymore. Let"s disperse and meet tomorrow at the same place."
The cast members listened to their director and went their own ways. The majority would most likely return home to catch some sleep or eat at a very expensive restaurant to treat themselves.
"Are we also heading home? To the Tang Mansion? Or the townhouse?"
Selena heard her short-haired a.s.sistant asked.
To which she replied, "Neither. You can take a break or day off today. I"ll bring my bodyguards and roam the city or go to the spa."
The girl looked at her for a long while before confirming whether she was truly letting her go home already. "Miss, are you sure? Even though it is not 10 in the morning yet?"
Selena nodded. That was all that was needed before her personal a.s.sistant happily left.
The woman who stayed behind waited by the lounge near the exit of the first floor. On-standby from different locations were the people given to her by her grandfather a week ago.
She sat there for more than five minutes, flipped through three fas.h.i.+on magazines and watched seventeen commercials before a tall shadow obscure her sight, rendering her to put down the materials she was reading.
The person she was waiting for appeared, emerging from one of the elevators. When he saw her, he gave her a happy grin, the type which did not show his teeth, probably as to emphasize the unusual glow in his eyes.
"The pest-like liar is here," she muttered to herself.
Selena"s eyes narrowed at him. She felt herself, but there was really no speeding of the heartbeat or any physiological cue. Why did she again warn Mo Fang to go away from him and say that it would be her spending a lifetime with him?
It was just too weird.
Maybe she was not being herself at those times, including when she asked her favorite bodyguard before to investigate him.
"Hey, it seems like you"re a loner today, Miss Tang. Would you like to have another aimless tour with me? Perhaps outside the capital?"
"Men are beasts so I should be cautious… No, maybe I should check the reason for my abnormality myself. If he attempts anything bad, I can just take that opportunity to make him suffer under my bodyguards" attacks."
A corner of her lips went up. But even though a decision was already reached, it was not her style to accept a condition or invitation without giving comments about it.
So she sarcastically said, "As usual, you"re a serious case of myopia, forgetting I am never alone."
"I said a loner, not alone," he shook his head and stood before her without erasing the annoying warm smile on his face. "Anyways, since they"re with you, you should not be worried that I will kidnap you for real."
"Why would I be worried?" She looked away indifferently while fetching the bag she placed earlier on the couch next to hers. "You look like somebody with no guts to kidnap someone."
Selena stood up and trotted towards the door. It was closed. But she did not have to raise her hand because somebody pushed it for her. That person leaned forward slightly and whispered, "You seem to be forgetting I kidnapped you once? But well. Since you said so, does it mean you"re going?"
She did not speak and only turned left where the vehicles could be seen parked.
Yet to her surprise, a hand grabbed her left one and pulled her back. "Let"s not go by car. "
"Huh?" Selena almost blurted out. Wait. Did she agree to him? Was he too optimistic when reading between lines? But even if she did agree, what the heck did he mean they wouldn"t take a car?
The man pulled her free hand that was not ensuring her bag"s sole strap wouldn"t slip down her shoulder. A frown momentarily surfaced in her face since she felt like this guy was too used to grabbing girls" hands and pulling them wherever he wanted. While she felt no repulsion to it, she just couldn"t help but disliked the idea.
"What do you plan to do? The ones tailing me this time are from the military." She said, annoyed.
What she got as a reply was a wink that made him want to punch him in the face. "Thanks for informing me, Miss. Don"t worry, I a.s.sure you we"re simply going on a trip. And to make it a bit different, we will be taking public transport. It should be a good experience for you, Rich Miss."
"... This fool probably did not know I"m basically a normal person before I was brought to the Tang Mansion," she disdainfully thought, a.s.suming the guy wanted her to suffer from..., or rather, experience riding a bus or a pedicab.