An Intriguing Encounter with the Movie King

At the premiere of "Hidden Winter", I missed a step and ended up pulling down the pants of the Best Actor, Emilio Warren, as I fell.

There was a round of gasps, along with clicks of camera shutters.

I looked up in a daze and saw a piece of pink fabric on his round, firm backside.

Staring right back at me was the snout of GGBond.

The premiere was immediately canceled.

Although the organizers quickly coordinated efforts to delete the photos and videos, some still slipped through the cracks.

That night, Twitter exploded with hashtags like Emilio's Pants Pulled Down, GGBond Underwear, and Emilio & Aileen.

These hashtags trended everywhere.

In the underground parking lot, I shakily logged out of Twitter.

I gripped my agent's hand with teary eyes.

"Tia, what do we do now?" I said.

Emilio was a rising star in the entertainment industry, a top-tier actor, and a big shot in showbiz.

He was handsome, talented, and had strong connections.

But he was notorious for his bad temper.

Rumor had it that a director who once offended him ended up bedridden for days after a "talk" with him.

Whatever Emilio did that night terrified the poor man.

And here I was, a nobody in the industry.

I had no backing or connections.

He could crush me with a finger.

And now, I had humiliated him in public by pulling down his pants.

My life was hanging by a thread.

My agent, sitting beside me, looked as pale as a wall.

She murmured, "We were hoping this big production would turn your career around.

"Now it's all over."

She popped a heart pill into her mouth with trembling hands.

She said, "Getting blacklisted would be the least of our worries; we just need to stay alive.

"We should run and lay low for a while."

That night, we booked tickets to go abroad, planning to hide out for a bit.

But just as I finished packing and stepped out of the apartment complex, my legs nearly gave out in fear.

A line of black cars blocked the entrance to the complex.

It was something straight out of a movie.

A black-suited bodyguard circled the car and respectfully opened the back door.

Not long after, a tall, imposing man stepped out.

Even with his hat and mask on, I recognized him immediately.

The watch on his wrist reflected a cold, silver light.

He approached me, like the Grim Reaper with a scythe.

Fear gripped my heart.

I turned and scrambled back inside.

But within seconds, someone grabbed my collar.

A chilling voice whispered in my ear, "You think you can run after offending me?"

Inside the villa, my face was streaked with tears and snot.

Emilio sat calmly on the sofa in front of me.

"Where's Tia?" I asked.

He sneered, "You still have the energy to worry about others?"

With a burst of courage, I gritted my teeth and said, "I'm going to die anyway, so if you have a problem, take it out on me. Don't hurt innocent people."

Emilio suddenly laughed, leaning in close. "Alright, you've got guts.

"Take her away."

I was shocked.

The Best Actor, with no pity whatsoever, was going to have me dragged out.

Two burly bodyguards approached.

I immediately clung to his leg.

I pleaded, "Mr. Warren, I'm sorry.

"I didn't mean to pull down your pants. Please, for the sake of us being in the same movie, forgive me!"

Emilio's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth.

He snapped, "You have the nerve to mention that? You did it and tried to run?"

I cried, sniffling, "I was scared! If I didn't run, would you have forgiven me?"

He almost laughed in anger. "You're quite the idiot, aren't you?"

I said, "How about I publicly apologize or compensate you for emotional distress?

"Whatever you want, just spare me this time."

I looked at him pitifully.

Emilio stared at me with deep, contemplative eyes.

He asked, "Anything I want?"

I quickly shielded my chest and stammered, "Not that!"

His gaze turned disdainful. "Who gave you the audacity to think you could seduce me?"

I was stunned, and he continued, "I'm not interested in a public apology, and I don't need money."

He signaled to the bodyguard beside him. "What positions do we have open?"

"Sadie went back to her hometown yesterday and won't be back for two weeks. We haven't hired a new housekeeper yet."

Emilio looked at me lazily.

He said, "You have two choices. Pay me two million dollars in damages and emotional distress.

"Or you replace Sadie as the housekeeper for two weeks. If you do a good job, we'll call it even."

I glared at him, furious. "You can kill me, but you can't insult me. I choose the second option."

I couldn't even scrape together half of two million dollars, even if I sold everything I owned.

So, with gritted teeth, I signed the labor contract.

I went from a D-list actress to Emilio's housekeeper.

I worked at his place for two days.

I discovered Emilio's obsession with GGBond.

One room on the second floor was filled with various GGBond toys.

When I opened the door, countless pig eyes stared back at me.

I stood there in silence for a moment.

I took a few steps back and closed the door.

I was now seriously doubting whether he had a drawer with Piggy's underpants.

As I was pondering this, I turned around and suddenly bumped into Emilio, who I didn't realize was standing behind me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

I held up the rag in my hand and said matter-of-factly, "Cleaning."

Emilio just stood there silently, his face tense.

A certain memorable scene suddenly popped into my mind again.

I suppressed the urge to laugh.

I said seriously, "You know, everyone has their preferences. I liked GGBond when I was little, so Mr. Warren, you don't need to worry about it too much."

Under his piercing gaze, my smile froze on my face.

I added, "Uh, I just remember I need to water the flowers, so I'll be going now."

I escaped his line of sight and heaved a sigh of relief.

After watering the flowers, I sat down in a chair and snuck in a quick rest.

I opened Twitter and saw many comments from my fans.

[Aileen, where are you?]

[Aileen, are you okay?]

[Babe, don't scare me, come out.]

There were also quite a few gloating comments.

[No news for days, does that mean she's done for?]

[Heh, she must be in hot water after pissing off Emilio.]

[Serves her right. Can't blame anyone else.]

I quickly posted an update to let my fans know I was alright.

My phone soon buzzed as a message came from my agent.

Tia said the drama I had previously signed onto suddenly needed me on set that afternoon.

She asked if I could work things out with Emilio.

...

Back in the living room, Emilio was sitting on the couch reading the script.

I brought over a plate of sliced fruit and set it on the table.

He didn't even look up from the script.

I said, "Mr. Warren, I have something I need to talk to you about."

He put down the script and looked at me.

I continued, "Well, I have a drama that's starting filming this afternoon. Can I get some time off?"

Desperate for him to agree, I quickly added, "Don't worry, my scenes aren't that many. I can finish it in a day."

Emilio tossed the script aside and raised an eyebrow at me. "If you run off again like last time, how am I supposed to find you?"

I reassured him, "Don't worry, I absolutely won't run off again, I swear.

"If you still don't trust me, how about I leave my ID card with you? Would that work?"

I dug out my ID card and placed it on the table.

I looked at him expectantly. "Can I?"

Emilio averted his gaze and said flatly, "Just go."

Overjoyed, I didn't even care about his curt tone as I headed for the door.

But before I could touch the doorknob, hurried footsteps sounded behind me.

The next second, I was pressed against the door by Emilio.

He was gripping my hand tightly, his breathing ragged and uneven.

He asked. "Your real name is Tracy James?"

I was thoroughly confused. "Yeah, so what?"

His lips trembled as he took a step back.

He muttered, "No, it can't be. He was supposed to be a man."

"Mr. Warren, are you alright?" I asked.

Seeing his lost, bewildered expression, I was having trouble wrapping my head around what was happening.

My phone buzzed. It was probably a nagging message from Tia.

I said, "Mr. Warren, I'm going to head out now. We can talk about this when I get back."

Seeing no response from Emilio, I pushed down my lingering doubts and left.

Arriving on set, I dressed up and sat in the corner flipping through the script.

"Well, if it isn't our big star Aileen," came a sneering voice.

I immediately recognized who it was.

Amber Petty was a popular young actress who skyrocketed to fame this year thanks to a web drama.

We were from the same agency, and the rivalry and competition between us were no secret.

I didn't bother responding, just running through my scenes for the day in my head.

Amber stood in front of me, tapping her high heels.

She said, "I thought you might not even show up today."

I looked up at her and gave a slight smile. "Looks like you're disappointed."

She said, "Aileen, we're both from Joy Entertainment after all. Seeing you struggling so much, even offending Emilio, I can introduce you to a few directors. If you keep them company at night, maybe someone will be willing to take you under their wing."

I said, "Don't trouble yourself with my affairs."

I stood up, meeting her gaze. "After all, not everyone is like you, able to get cozy with every director."

"Aileen, what are you implying?" Her face darkened.

I said, "Take it as you will. What, can't even understand plain speech now?"

The tension between us was palpable.

Her assistant came over timidly. "Amber, the director is calling for you."

Amber said, "Aileen, don't get too cocky."

She regained her cool and sneered, "Just wait and see, your good days are numbered."

It wasn't until she had slapped me a few times during filming that I realized what she meant.

She was taking revenge.

She said, "Sorry, director, I felt my performance just now was lacking in emotion. Could we do another take?"

I gritted my teeth, my face tingling from her slaps.

She was talking nonsense.

She was this close to ripping my head off.

The director glanced at me and asked, "Aileen, are you okay?"

I swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva and nodded.

After touching up my makeup, I closed my eyes to get back into character.

"Okay, Scene 10, take 4," the assistant director announced.

Just then, a deep voice interrupted.

I turned my head and met Emilio's eyes, dark as the night sky.