My livestream got yanked. Again. And again. And again. My agent, Brenda, let out a long sigh over the phone. She told me not to worry about the stream for now, said she’d booked me a spot on a reality show. Oh, and Jessica Miller was going to be on it too. Brenda reminded me our statuses were worlds apart now and basically told me not to cause any trouble for her. Jessica Miller? You mean my dear “best friend” who stole my senior thesis project, flipped the script to frame me for plagiarism, and single-handedly nuked my acting career? Heh. How exactly should I act to make this long-overdue reunion truly memorable? 2 "Rural Roots" was the country's first big "slow-living" reality show. The main goal was to showcase country life and boost the local economy. The meeting spot was the entrance to Harmony Creek village. I was the last one to arrive. As I got closer, I heard Jessica’s sickeningly sweet voice drifting over. "Please don't be upset, sir," she was cooing to someone. "Maya probably lives far away; I'm sure she didn't mean to keep us all waiting." There it was. That familiar tone. God, brings back memories. Before the other person could even respond, I beat her to the punch. "The call time set by the production team was 8:50 AM. It's currently 8:25 AM. I arrived at the designated meeting point within the specified time. What exactly did I do wrong?" I paused, then added, "And 'Maya'? Ms. Miller, are we pretending we're close now?" Jessica choked on her words. She was so used to the usual Hollywood dance of fake niceties and backstabbing, she clearly didn't expect me to just call her out directly. But, true to form, the professional two-face switched tactics instantly. She sidled up to me, eyes glistening like she was about to cry. "Maya, are you still mad at me? I… I just cared so much about my work back then, I couldn't control myself, I just had to tell the truth…" She even tried to grab my hand, but I snatched it away. Beside her, some other male guest, Kevin something, shot me a dirty look. "Jessica, don't blame yourself. It's not like she has any right to be mad after plagiarizing." Jessica kept up her act, pretending to "defend" me. I was about to let him have it when I saw my assistant behind the camera making a frantic throat-slitting gesture at me. Right. Keep it together for the cameras. Just then, a cool voice cut in. "When do we start filming in the village?" Someone nearby immediately scrambled. "Right away, right away." A guy got out of a black SUV. Even with a baseball cap pulled low, you could tell he was seriously good-looking. He gave a curt nod to the group, a general greeting, and then just headed straight into the village. The camera operator assigned to him hurried to follow. I remembered my assistant briefing me last night – there was supposed to be a newly famous, award-winning actor on this shoot who wasn’t exactly Mr. Congeniality. Ethan Shi. That must've been him. 3 The first segment of the show was called "Honest Work." Everyone had seen the production notes, but when we got to the actual location, we all just stood there, stunned. Before us stretched what looked like an ocean of green, endless fields of cornstalks reaching as far as the eye could see. Nothing but corn. Someone let out a groan. "Don't tell me we have to harvest all this." Instant drama for the cameras, perfect. While everyone else was taking in the "scenic view," I turned to Jessica, lowered my voice, and smirked. "Dare you?" Jessica glared back at me. "Who's afraid of who!" Before she could even process it, I grabbed her arm and dragged her right in front of the main camera. "Ms. Miller just challenged me to a corn-husking contest!" I announced brightly. "We need you all to be witnesses! We agreed that whoever loses has to wear pig ears and a nose for everyone to see. So please, keep us honest, folks!" Jessica finally realized she’d been played. The smile on her face nearly cracked, but she managed to keep her voice soft. "Maya, stop messing around." She tried to pull her arm away, putting some force into it. Nice try. Like I’d let you break free after all those years of Taekwondo practice. The production team, loving the potential for drama and content, was more than happy to let us have our little competition. They even marked off two separate sections just for us. Normally, on these kinds of shows, the guests don't have to do much real labor once the crew gets enough footage. Now, suddenly forced into this contest, Jessica didn't show anything on camera, but behind the scenes, she shot me a few venomous looks. Pfft. Like looks could actually hurt me. The competition started mid-afternoon. We were decked out in full sun gear, heading into the cornfield under the blazing sun. Jessica quickly fell behind. Before long, I heard a cry from behind me. I turned just in time to witness Jessica's dramatic collapse, like a delicate flower wilting to the ground. Everyone rushed over, and she was quickly whisked away to a local clinic or hospital. Suddenly, the filming location was almost empty, just a few scattered crew members left. I glanced towards the far end of the field. The A-list actor, Ethan, was either deaf or just completely unfazed. He was still husking corn, working away like a diligent old workhorse. The assistant director eventually said they had enough footage. I dusted myself off, waiting for the slightly-delayed movie star. We both ended up climbing onto an old farm truck. The thing clattered and banged down the dirt road for maybe fifty yards before sputtering to a stop. Out of gas. Of course. Resigned, Ethan and I hopped off the truck and started walking back towards the village, him slightly ahead, me trailing behind. I had no intention of striking up a conversation. But then he spoke first. "I really liked the princess." "What?" I asked, confused. He paused for a few seconds. "The little princess from the fallen kingdom." I froze. He was talking about the very first movie I ever did. I still remember the headlines after that film came out. "The most soulful young actress of the century." "A natural talent blessed by the gods." … But all of that vanished after the plagiarism scandal, like a drop of water falling into the ocean, gone without a trace. I leaned in closer to him, whispering, "You're a huge star, Mr. Shi. We don't really need to do the whole fake 'mutual admiration' thing, do we?" My sudden closeness must have startled him; he stumbled back. Instinctively, I grabbed his arm to steady him, but somehow, my momentum carried us both sideways, and we ended up stumbling right into a muddy patch beside the road. Seriously??? On the walk back, neither of us bothered bringing up our earlier topic. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I could have sworn I detected a flicker of something like disappointment in Ethan’s expression. What did he have to be disappointed about? When we finally trudged back into the village, covered in mud, there was Jessica. Dressed in some kind of flowy, vaguely traditional-looking dress, sitting serenely in a little gazebo in the middle of the courtyard, sipping tea. Looking for all the world like a picture of perfect tranquility. Drinking tea, the little snake. Tsk tsk. "Ethan, did you fall?" Jessica gasped, immediately grabbing a towel from nearby and rushing over, intending to wipe the mud off him. Ethan sidestepped her smoothly. "No need. Give the towel to Maya." And with that, he went straight into the house assigned to him. Jessica's hand, holding the towel, hung awkwardly in mid-air for a few seconds before she remembered the cameras. She turned towards me, forcing a smile that was pure venom underneath. "You wouldn't actually try to give me your towel, would you?" I muttered, keeping my voice low. Jessica leaned in close, her smile fixed, but her voice was ice. "A Z-list streamer who belongs to doing thirst traps online, now trying to climb the ladder on a reality show? Don't tell me you're actually thinking you can hook up with Ethan Shi and get back into acting? Let me warn you, Maya. Stay away from him! I ruined your reputation once, and I can make sure you rot in the gutter for good!" She finished her threat, then swept away, proud as a peacock. And there I stood, covered in mud, feeling like I was right back in that period after the thesis disaster. She had secretly deleted all the files related to my project from my computer, changing the dates. During rehearsals, she'd said she wanted to 'surprise' me. Then, the day before the final presentation, she claimed she was too nervous and asked if we could switch places, letting her go first. I agreed to everything. So, when the curtain rose on her performance, there were audible gasps from the audience. And Jessica, wearing an identical costume to mine, sat in the audience, wearing the exact same expression she had just now. Smug. Self-satisfied. Gloating. The department head was furious. My agency demanded to know why I was so stupid – plagiarism was one thing, but a direct copy-paste? Once the reporters published their stories, my career was effectively over. Nobody believed me. … If I wanted to actually hurt her, really do some damage, I couldn't keep playing these harmless little pranks. I lifted my head and glanced towards the second floor of the main house. That was— Ethan Shi's room. Stay away from him, she said? Heh. 4 I have trouble sleeping in strange beds. I woke up before dawn. Two nights in a row with bad sleep left me feeling completely drained and out of it. I peeked out the window. Nobody around. I snuck into the kitchen, found a small bag of oats, lit the wood stove, and filled a pot with water. Soon, the comforting smell of cooking oatmeal started to fill the air. I sat on the stool in front of the stove, letting out a satisfied yawn. A little while later, Ethan floated out like a ghost, sporting impressive bedhead and holding a bowl. "Mind if I grab some?" His look was a far cry from the cool, aloof movie star of yesterday. I smiled. "Of course." We sat in silence for a bit. Just the sound of the oatmeal bubbling away. Ostensibly, I was watching the pot, but my peripheral vision was locked on the doorway. Right on cue, Jessica emerged, walking with that practiced gentle grace. When she saw Ethan and me sitting together by the stove, her composure almost slipped. "Oh, that smells wonderful!" she chirped, sliding smoothly into the space between us like she belonged there. "Can I have some too?" "No." The blunt refusal came from Ethan. Jessica faltered, visibly surprised, and glanced at him. Ethan didn't even look at her. After his one-word reply, his gaze was fixed intently on the oatmeal. Nicely done! Maybe this was what they meant by karma? Serves her right. 5 The first filming block ended at noon today. During the lull after breakfast, when everyone was just hanging around, I casually brought up the matter of the pig face punishment. Every pore on Jessica’s body screamed resistance. Her entire brand was built on being pure and beautiful. If footage of her looking ridiculous like that got out, who knew how many fans she’d lose. "But I fainted yesterday," she protested weakly. "That doesn't really count, does it?" "Fine by me," I shrugged. "We can just go by the scores before you conveniently passed out. Doesn't matter to me." Kevin, the guy who'd defended her earlier, glared at me. "Maya, don't push it." I glared right back. "A bet's a bet. You accept the challenge, you face the consequences. Simple as that." Seeing that neither side was backing down, the production team, having gotten plenty of dramatic footage, decided to stir the pot further. "Alright, since there's a disagreement, let's settle this with an anonymous vote. We'll see what everyone thinks." Jessica gritted her teeth, clearly furious. She cast a pleading, doe-eyed look around at the male guests and crew members, the implication obvious. The final result showed that all her batting her eyes had been for nothing. 6 Everyone except Jessica voted for the pig face punishment. Kevin, the guy who’d just confronted me, had the grace to look embarrassed, scratching his head. "Uh, I thought about it… might be a funny contrast, you know?" Yeah, right. Funny contrast my ass. Jessica shot him daggers before storming off to the makeup trailer. She emerged nearly an hour and a half later. The moment she appeared, everyone burst out laughing. There she was, still in her flowy dress, her eye makeup impeccable, but sporting a huge prosthetic pig nose and floppy pig ears. Her cheeks were also padded out, making her face look round and puffy. You could still tell it was Jessica Miller. But simultaneously, she looked absolutely ridiculous. I guessed this final look was the result of some negotiation between Jessica and the makeup artist. She probably never dreamed the outcome would be this bad. … Once the segment wrapped, people started packing up and leaving in their assigned vehicles. My assistant had called last night; he got temporarily reassigned and would be late picking me up. Jessica was just about to get into her car when she saw me standing alone. Leaning against the open door, she said sweetly, "Maya, don't you have an assistant? Need a ride back to the city? It's really hard to get a cab out here." Her eyes, however, were filled with pure, unadulterated glee at my apparent predicament. "She's with me." Ethan appeared seemingly out of nowhere, grabbed my suitcase from the courtyard, tossed it into the back of his SUV, and turned to me. "What are you waiting for? Didn't you say you had something urgent back home?" I practically skipped over to Ethan’s SUV, leaned against the open passenger door, and beamed at Jessica. "Sorry, Ms. Miller, looks like I already have plans!" I deliberately made it sound suggestive and intriguing, then slammed the door shut. I immediately peeked back through the tinted window, watching Jessica's reaction. Seeing her face twist with rage was deeply satisfying. I finally settled back into my seat. Only then did I remember the person sitting next to me. Ethan had clearly witnessed the entire exchange but didn't call me out on my little performance. The car was already moving. He leaned back against the seat, holding a book with only a few pages left. The spine showed two words in elegant script: The Painted Veil He was sitting slightly turned, sunlight streaming through the window, catching the lines of his face, making him look almost ethereal. God, he had one of those unfairly handsome faces. "You like Maugham too?" I asked. Ethan nodded. He looked at me then, his gaze steady. "The line, 'I knew you were second-rate, but I loved you.' That one stuck with me." It was only then I noticed that Ethan's eyes were actually amber-colored. They had a strange, captivating quality. For a fleeting moment, I had the bizarre feeling that I was the 'second-rate' person he was talking about, and the 'you' in 'I loved you' was also me. Thankfully, he quickly looked back down at his book, missing the weird look that must have crossed my face. "Have you ever been in love?" he asked, not looking up. Uh. "I guess you could say that…" "'Guess'?" I gave an awkward laugh. "Well, I'm not totally sure if it counts as 'love.' My deskmate back in middle school, this really sweet, kind of chubby kid. He used to bring me snacks every single day, all sorts of things. And each snack always had a little handwritten note with it – sometimes encouragement, sometimes math formulas. I'd never met a boy so genuinely kind. But then he transferred schools really suddenly… Anyway, first crushes, right? They usually fizzle out. It's normal." Just as I was talking, Ethan’s phone rang. He murmured an apology and answered it. Sounded like he was discussing AI voice simulation technology and audio conversion? Very technical terms I didn't quite follow. Conveniently, my apartment building was just up ahead. I asked the driver to pull over. After thanking Ethan, I quickly got out and headed inside. …
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