As a Rising Star

2

My tone turned cold.

"Rosalind Quinn, we're stepsisters. I have no obligation to share my private life with you."

"Oh, and by the way, don't just show up at my set anymore. I care more about my work than your pride."

With that, I hung up and focused on memorizing my lines.

Rosalind Quinn bombarded my chat with messages. I glanced at them and put her on mute.

Thanks to my maneuvering, the promotional materials that were released were completely unrelated to the "scoop" Rosalind Quinn had leaked.

Her plan to use this to generate more buzz completely fell through.

She's always been brazen, constantly tearing down other gossip bloggers on her livestream to build herself up. Plenty of people couldn't stand her already.

When this incident blew up, she was roasted by everyone online.

[Some "only connection in the entertainment industry." She's just hyping herself up. How dare she try to leech off Vivian Lennox's buzz!]

[Vivian Lennox never even acknowledged her. It's all for the money, duh.]

From having a perfect track record to being utterly disgraced, the smug look Rosalind Quinn always wore on her livestreams had finally come back like a boomerang to hit her.

But she refused to give up. Instead, she tried to ride the wave of infamy to stage a comeback, forcing a smile as she started a new livestream.

"Hey, fam! So, about last time... I was just a little backstabbed, that's all. But that kind of thing won't ever happen again, I promise."

"Just like I said, Rosie is here this time with some really juicy gossip for all of you~"

"It's about my bestie, Vivian Lennox! I know you all care so much about her love life. Well, there's going to be some good news very soon... Like, tonight!"

In my last life, Rosalind Quinn had used the same vague, teasing words on her livestream to hint to the media that something was going to happen between me and the newly award-winning Lucas Shaw.

And so, the scene of me confessing my feelings to Lucas Shaw only to be rejected was captured by every major reporter and spread like wildfire across social media.

Since I was the one who confessed, I was immediately labeled a clout-chaser and a shameless hussy, and the backlash sent me straight to the top of the trending charts.

But the most ridiculous part was yet to come.

Lucas Shaw approached me, saying he actually admired me and wanted to give us a try.

I fell for it and walked right into their trap.

Unfortunately for her, while Rosalind Quinn may want to pull the same old trick this time around—even deliberately fanning the flames of public opinion—I won't fall for it twice.

Not only that, I'm going to use this stage she's set to put on a damn good show for them.

Everything was ready. I just needed a sufficiently grand backdrop.

Just as I was wondering who I could use as a pawn, a message suddenly popped up on my phone.

[Julian Hawthorne: I'm back. Want to hang out sometime?]