After I was Bullied, They All Got Their Comeuppance

　　It wasn't long after we finished filming a scene when the hashtag #Lily&Joshua started trending at the top of social media.

　　The reason was Joshua's comment in Lily's post about her milk tea, where he left what seemed like a normal encouraging message.

　　[The youngsters are formidable; keep up the good work.]

　　Although Joshua was enthusiastic, he didn't often interact with fans on social media, so his comment created a bit of a flirty atmosphere in the current context.

　　The fans of the couple quickly picked up on this, even trying to elevate this pairing within the drama, calling for Lily to be made the female lead.

　　The public discourse escalated, forcing the director to call us for a small meeting.

　　As soon as Lily arrived, her face turned awkward, and she quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Mr. Smith. I just wanted to thank Joshua; I didn't expect it to get so... chaotic."

　　Mr. Smith seemed to think of her as a newcomer who didn't quite understand the implications of public opinion, so he didn't say anything harsh, only gestured for her to take a seat.

　　Then Joshua shrugged and added, "Netizens really have wild imaginations these days. I'm sorry for the trouble; we're already busy with filming, and now we have to deal with this."

　　While Joshua's comment about netizens' overthinking might have been convincing coming from a newcomer, he was an award-winning actor who had seen all kinds of storms. He surely knew the impact of his words.

　　Knowing he shouldn't, yet doing it anyway, meant Joshua wanted to support Lily.

　　As for why he was doing so, I simply couldn't figure it out.

　　When I snapped back to reality, I realized that everyone's gaze was fixed on me. I suddenly remembered that I was the main victim in this whole situation.

　　I forced a laugh and tried to sound casual, saying, "I'll do my best to act well and aim to give the audience a female lead they're completely satisfied with when the show airs."

　　The others laughed in agreement and began discussing ways to manage the public opinion.

　　Eventually, we decided that the official account would post a joint photo of Joshua and me, aiming to ride the wave of the official couple's popularity and turn the tide back in our favor.

　　With that, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

　　At least I wouldn't be trampled down at such a critical moment in my career.

　　Filming quickly returned to normal, with a dedicated team responsible for maintaining order on set.

　　Mr. Smith also issued orders for the actors not to post anything on social media before the show aired, and Lily quieted down online.

　　However, thanks to the earlier wave of popularity, her status seemed to rise significantly. She often took leave for other engagements, whether it was for commercial shoots or variety show recordings.

　　I didn't have many scenes with her in the early stages, so I didn't feel much of an impact.

　　But it was tough for the second male lead, Lewis. To accommodate Lily's schedule, he often had to film during the day and then stay up late to make up for lost time with her. In less than half a month, he had visibly lost weight.

　　I privately asked Andrea if there was any way to coordinate my scenes with Lewis, so he could get more rest, but I was quickly stopped.

　　"Don't be too kind-hearted; you might end up being seen as a thorn in their side. Besides, when it comes time for you to film with Lily, you'll have your hands full."

　　I knew this industry was all about building someone up just to bring them down, but Lily was just a newcomer—how had she suddenly received so many resources? Even her blatant schedule conflicts were hard to ignore

　　Andrea leaned close to my ear and whispered, "I've heard that Lily's resources are all thanks to Joshua."

　　I glanced over at him a short distance away.

　　In the sunlight, Joshua was intently reviewing the script for the next scene. As if sensing my gaze, he looked up and smiled warmly at me.

　　Joshua was already good-looking, but when he smiled, his charm became almost mesmerizing—non-threatening and trustworthy.

　　But right now, I found him a bit hard to read.