My unrequited love story became a viral hit, selling its film rights. Adrian Sterling, the award-winning actor who had retired years ago, suddenly dropped into Twitter, announcing he would play the male lead. The internet exploded. Netizens dug up that Adrian had a "white moonlight"—a first love he could never forget—during high school. And the new rising star cast as the female lead also happened to graduate from Westwood High. For a moment, shippers went crazy, and the whole internet was expecting the broken mirror reunion plot from the novel to reflect reality. At the press conference, a reporter deliberately asked: "Please choose a word like 'moonlight' or 'jasmine' to describe the female lead." Adrian suddenly looked up at me and said coldly: "Liar." "What?" The reporter was stunned. Adrian calmly withdrew his gaze. "I said, she is just a liar." 1 Script reading. "In the original novel, they clearly loved each other very much. Why did it end badly?" Someone whispered. Adrian's fingertips heavily scratched across the page, speaking coldly: "I am also very curious about this question." I looked up in astonishment, then quickly lowered my head. Adrian didn't pursue it further, his gaze falling back on the script. I moved towards the corner, holding my phone, looking at my nose, nose looking at my heart. Trying to minimize my presence. Twitter trending topics exploded. Under the tags #AdrianSterlingComeback and #BrokenMirrorReunionCasting, a blurry graduation photo was being reposted frantically. In the photo, seventeen-year-old Adrian ignored the camera, his gaze fixed on a certain spot. And in the blurred corner of the lens was clearly the slender back of a girl. "This is definitely not a coincidence. Actor Sterling and our Bella White both graduated from Westwood High!" "I remember Bella had short hair in high school! This girl must be Bella." "The novel reflects reality, boohoo, shipping them so hard." The assistant director next to me nudged me with her elbow, blinking gossipy eyes. "Do you also ship 'Sterling-White'?" "No, just happened to scroll past..." "Hey, I suddenly remember you also went to Westwood High. Tell me quickly, did the actor really have a girl he liked in high school?" I silently turned off my screen and looked up. "Adrian Sterling and I are not close." At this moment, the director yelled cut, and Adrian lifted his eyelids. He looked at me across the crowd. The director hesitated to speak. "Mr. Sterling, your state is not right. This is a reunion scene. Your look at the female lead should be a mix of love and hate... June, am I right?" I hurriedly looked away and responded. "Yes." "Ms. Bennett, but I feel the emotion in this part is wrong." Adrian hooked his lips, but his eyes were cold. "Why don't you teach me?" Everyone's gaze smashed over. The director chimed in: "Ms. White's flight is delayed and hasn't arrived yet." "June, just right for you to stand in for the scene." "This isn't appropriate, I don't know how to act." I waved my hand, smiling forcedly. Adrian said indifferently: "I have an interview tonight, I'm in a hurry." The director hurriedly pushed my shoulder, urging me with his eyes. I was forced to stand up, and Adrian had already stepped closer. The script clearly wrote that the male lead grabs the female lead's wrist. He directly clasped the back of my neck, whispering in my ear: "When you dumped me back then, it wasn't this expression, right?" "I remember, you should be laughing." My breath hitched, and the script in my hand fell to the ground with a snap. Maybe the indoor air conditioning was too low; I only felt my whole body trembling. "Why did you leave back then?" He pulled away, but his lines completely deviated from the script. "Speak!" Adrian pressed me against the wall, hands supporting himself on either side of me, knuckles turning white from force. His chest heaved violently, as if a fire was burning inside. My heart skipped a beat, eyelashes trembling. "Sorry..." Adrian's Adam's apple rolled, swallowing those emotions that were about to burst out of his chest. "I only ask you one thing." "Did you ever love me?" His eyes reddened, gritting his teeth. Everyone held their breath. The director shouted from outside: "That's the state, Mr. Sterling, hold it." I opened my mouth, my voice dry. "I..." The monitor suddenly lit up red, and Bella White pushed the door open with her assistant. The words I had gathered courage to say were interrupted. "Sorry, I'm late." "I'm treating everyone to milk tea today." The director took off his headphones. "Let's stop here for now." "That take was simply perfect!" Everyone cheered and gathered around. I was still frozen in place, my heart feeling terribly empty. Adrian suddenly smiled, his thumb inadvertently brushing the small red mole on the side of my neck artery. In high school, he always said that even in the next life, he would find me by this mark. At this moment, his breath sprayed on the same spot. "Screenwriter Bennett." "Acting like this is more realistic, isn't it?" I came back to my senses and stepped back half a step slowly. "You? Look familiar." Bella White's gaze stopped the moment it swept over me. "Have we met before?" I looked at her. "We met a long time ago." "Oh, I'm really sorry, I might have forgotten." Bella shrugged and didn't care anymore. "Want milk tea? It's hot." She casually picked up a cup and handed it to me. I subconsciously shrank my neck, my face turning pale. "Are you not feeling well?" "I'm fine, maybe stood too long." "Then you should rest well. If you need medicine, you can ask my assistant. I have it all in my RV." She turned around and took out a thermal bag separately, walking towards Adrian with a smile. "Your coffee. Same old, cold brew, no ice." A few short sentences, full of intimacy. "Thanks." The moment Adrian stepped back, I saw the diamond ring on Bella's ring finger. It was exactly the same style as in the paparazzi photos of #AdrianSterlingPrivateTripToJewelryStore# online a few days ago. The assistant director leaned over and let out a suppressed gasp, shaking my shoulder excitedly. "This coffee shop is in the city center, far away. Usually, the line starts at two hours. Boohoo, flight delayed but didn't forget the actor doesn't like milk tea and specifically went to buy coffee for him." "June! I knew the CP I shipped is real." "Tell me honestly, is the prototype of the story them? At the press conference that day, the actor claimed the male lead was himself, don't keep us in suspense." I lowered my eyes and whispered. "If I say the prototype of the female lead is myself, do you believe it?" The assistant director let out an "Ah—". "June, didn't expect you to be a delulu fan of the actor." "No wonder you don't ship them at all." I looked at the matching backs of the two under the spotlight, suddenly glad those words were not spoken out of impulse just now. The gap was too big; even the truth seemed like a joke. "Then you can count as successfully chasing a star. Hey, by the way, what did the actor mean by 'liar' at the press conference that day? To hype up the heat?" I took a deep breath, covering the trembling in my voice. "He didn't lie." Ten years ago, I lied to him first. 2 Bella White wanted to reshoot a scene falling into water. "Stunt double?" The director frowned. "This is the highlight of the female lead being bullied..." Bella's agent immediately changed her expression. "Director, our Bella's period is coming soon. Going into the water now will hurt to death in two days." "But mainly we didn't prepare a stunt double. Finding one now might delay the schedule." Bella held her assistant's hand and turned to the director. "Director, Sister Judy is just too worried about me, her words are a bit harsh. Don't take offense." "How about this, I'll endure the close-ups." Bella looked me up and down. "For those long shots falling into the water, let Screenwriter Bennett stand in for me. It seems only she has a figure most similar to mine here." The agent spoke abruptly. "Director, Adrian Sterling came for our Bella in this drama. If something happens then, can you be responsible?" The two played good cop, bad cop. The director was a bit troubled. "We have to ask June's opinion." Bella looked at me with a smile. "Screenwriter Bennett, please, please." "And I heard you helped Mr. Sterling rehearse a few days ago. Why won't you help me? Boohoo, Screenwriter Bennett wouldn't want to isolate me, right?" "Sorry, I'm not a professional. It definitely won't be appropriate if I really appear on camera." "It's okay, just long shots. I'll teach you." Bella got up from the recliner. She approached smilingly and suddenly pushed me. Caught off guard, I lost my balance and fell straight into the water. The late autumn pool water was like thousands of needles. The moment I sank into the water, my memory overlapped with the time I was pushed into the deep end of the swimming pool at seventeen. Fear swept over me. I struggled desperately, but my limbs seemed bound by invisible ropes, unable to move. Water surged from all directions, pouring into my nose, ears, and throat. Bella's pleasant laughter gradually became blurry. The director realized something was wrong and signaled the lifeguard to come forward, but was stopped by Bella. "Wow, Screenwriter Bennett is acting too well." "It's just like real." The world in front of me became blurred. The light penetrating the water surface swayed before my eyes, like a broken mirror. On the verge of suffocation. Bella grabbed my hair and lifted me out of the water. She leaned in and whispered in my ear, smiling. "Don't think I don't know what you sluts have in mind." "Stay away from Adrian Sterling." "Or next time, I will really kill you." My lungs burned. I coughed violently, unable to say a word. "June, are you okay?" Bella pushed me into the water again, giggling. "Director, don't yell cut. It affects Screenwriter Bennett's performance so much. Come on, let's keep one more take." I took a breath, grabbed her wrists with both hands, and yanked her down violently. "Help—" Bella wanted to scream, but only spat out a string of bubbles. "Quick, lifebuoy!" "Ms. White can't swim!" "Help! Ms. White is drowning." The shore was instantly in chaos. I hugged Bella tightly and wouldn't let go. Amidst the noisy footsteps, I heard the field manager's surprised voice: "Why did Mr. Sterling suddenly change his schedule and come back..." "Hey hey hey, teacher, you can't jump." Bella kicked me hard. "Adrian, I'm here—" The high heel dug into my abdomen, a piercing pain. I sank downwards, consciousness gradually fading. 3 The smell of disinfectant seeped into my nose. When I opened my eyes, my vision was filled with the champagne gold curtains in Adrian's dressing room. "Awake?" He came to check my forehead immediately. "Fever hasn't gone down yet. I'll ask the doctor to come again." "No trouble." I tried to get up, but found his other hand holding my right hand which was receiving IV fluids—there was an old burn scar there, left by a cigarette butt Bella extinguished on me. "The doctor said you are covered in old injuries, not just this one." He spoke suddenly. "What exactly happened back then?" Breathing stopped. Memory rewound to that sultry and humid afternoon. In the iron locker of the swimming pool changing room, I curled up counting the light spots in the gap of the locker door, listening to Bella and her sisters discussing giving me an "eye-opener" in the deep end. And the day after tomorrow was the day Adrian took his art exam, so I finally chose to hide the soaked uniform at the bottom of my schoolbag. "You're overthinking it." I heard my voice trembling. The air froze instantly. Adrian grabbed my chin fiercely, with such force as if to crush the bones. Dark tides surged in his eyes, those gentle and restrained appearances shattering at this moment. "June Bennett, what exactly do you take me for?" I looked at the brand-new ring mark on his ring finger and suddenly laughed out loud. Laughing and laughing, saltiness poured into the corner of my mouth: "In what position is Mr. Sterling questioning me now? Ex-boyfriend? Someone else's fiancé? Or an actor giving charity sympathy?" His pupils shrank abruptly. "What are you saying?" The moment he let go, the dressing room door was barged open. "Adrian!" Bella rushed in wrapped in a soft blanket, pitiful teardrops still hanging on her eyelashes. "I almost thought I would never see you again..." The diamond ring reflected cold light under the lamp, stinging my retina. "Why did Screenwriter Bennett drag me into the water?" She revealed bruises on her skin. "Did I do something wrong to upset Screenwriter Bennett..." "Surveillance." I interrupted her crying complaint. "The set has 24-hour surveillance." Bella's sobbing stopped abruptly. She looked at me for a few seconds, then grabbed a fruit knife and held it against her wrist, looking at Adrian with teary eyes. "The surveillance in that place broke long ago. Screenwriter Bennett dared to attack me knowing this." "Adrian, if you believe her words, I will prove my innocence with death right now!" "Enough." Adrian snatched the knife, voice deep. He turned to look at me: "Starting tomorrow, you quit the crew." Tinnitus exploded. I clutched the bed sheet, nails digging into my palms: "Why?" "This is my work." "Just because I am the biggest investor." He turned his back, voice cold. "I will compensate your payment without a penny less." Bella raised an eyebrow at me, mouthing silently: You lose. Heart ached. I stumbled out of bed, the medical wristband knocking over the photo frame on the nightstand. Amidst the sound of shattering glass, seventeen-year-old Adrian stared at somewhere in the graduation photo, and the blurry silhouette in the corner was not Bella at all. That was me. My back, deliberately cropped out. He really hated me. Otherwise he wouldn't deliberately take my play and kick me out to revenge on me. I rubbed my eyes, softly. "I understand." "Wait." Bella suddenly stopped me. She chuckled in my ear, breath carrying the腥sweetness of a snake: "June Bennett." "I remember now, you were that pathetic worm hiding in the changing room crying back then." My blood froze. After so long, I still feared her approach. Ridiculously, she only remembered now. The depth of memory is always opposite. The perpetrator shakes it off like dust, but the victim carves it into bone and blood. She stroked the diamond ring, as if stroking a trophy. "The way you roll out of the crew now is exactly the same as when you ran away holding your schoolbag back then." She smiled like a flower. "This time there's no chance to transfer schools." "Bella White." I heard my numb voice. "Do you know how long it takes for a person to die from carotid artery blood loss?" She froze. "Three minutes." I picked up a piece of broken glass. "Want to try?" Bella stumbled back. Adrian stared at me tightly. "June, calm down." The broken glass dug into my palm, pain sobering me, warm blood winding down my wrist like a river. I stepped back half a step, letting blood beads from my palm fall to the ground. "What's the panic." I looked up at Adrian and twitched the corner of my mouth. Clearly decided to accept reality long ago, but why does my heart still hurt like hell. "Just scaring her." I lifted my steps to walk out. At the door, I turned to look at Bella. "But next time, maybe not." 4 Going downstairs, I heard suppressed sobbing from the stairwell. I hesitated, then went forward. A small girl was crying while applying medicine to the bruises on her arm. Eyes and nose were red from crying. I knew her. Bella's little assistant. My eyelashes trembled, and I softened my tone. "Need help?" She jumped, hiding her hand behind her back subconsciously. I sighed and reached out to her. "It will hurt a lot if you apply it like that." "Let me." She hesitated again and again, speaking timidly. "Ms. Bennett, sorry to trouble you." I took the cotton swab. "I used an ointment before that was very good for removing scars, I'll send it to you later." "Mm..." "Did Ms. Bennett also... accidentally hurt herself before?" "Are you sure you did this injury yourself?" "Yes, I was careless." I smiled, didn't expose her. "But I wasn't, I was bullied." "Ah?" She was a bit surprised, sympathy welling up in her eyes. "Do you know what's the fastest way to heal?" I turned my face, cupped her hand, lowered my head and blew gently. Her ear tips turned red. "What is it?" I blinked at her. "Beat back." Her tightly knitted brows relaxed, eyes watery. "Ms. Bennett, thank you." I patted the top of her head. "By the way, my studio is short of hands." "I remember you graduated from the English literature department, right? Do you want to come help me tomorrow?" "But Ms. White's side..." "I can go talk to the director." Her eyes lit up immediately. "I'm willing!" "Then see you tomorrow." "See you tomorrow, Ms. Bennett."
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