As a Rising Star

: The Backer

3

Seeing the familiar contact name, I couldn't help but smile.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Julian Hawthorne was a childhood friend of mine. But more importantly, he was the famous Capital's Crown Prince, a well-known cash cow and backer in the entertainment industry.

However, he kept a low profile. He preferred pulling the strings behind the scenes to being flamboyant in the spotlight and rarely got involved in all the messy drama himself.

Rosalind Quinn had tried to get in touch with Julian Hawthorne many times, even sparing no expense to dig up some information on him. But all her scheming only ended with her getting snubbed.

I could just imagine: if this powerhouse were my backer, Rosalind Quinn would be positively livid.

In my last life, I was completely preoccupied with planning my confession for that evening. I was utterly lost in the sweet trap Lucas Shaw had laid for me, so of course I had no mind for anything else. That's how I ended up missing this message.

I replied without hesitation.

"Seven o'clock tonight at the movie premiere. Would you mind coming to pick me up?"

An affirmative reply came back quickly.

I put my phone down, a satisfied smile on my face.

"Vivi, my Agent told me you're also coming to the premiere tonight. Is that right?"

"I'm really looking forward to seeing you, and I have a surprise for you."

The two messages popped up with their special notification tone, its cheerful tune feeling like a sharp slap across my face.

Ugh, what a jinx. I immediately turned off his special notifications and moved his contact into my "psychos" group.

In my last life, Lucas Shaw used these same two lines to hook me so completely my brain shut down. I actually thought he was into me, fantasizing about a future where our feelings were mutual, and I eagerly threw myself at him.

Only later did I find out that Lucas Shaw and Rosalind Quinn had gotten together long before. From the moment he started deliberately flirting with me, the two of them had already been plotting to carve up my family's fortune.

I rolled my eyes, suppressing the urge to curse him out, and replied in my old tone.

"Of course! I'll make sure to get there early!"

"A surprise? I can't wait~ I have a gift for you, too!"

In my last life, right after rejecting me, Lucas Shaw immediately gave an interview to the media.

The entertainment reporters swarmed him like sharks that had smelled blood, refusing to miss any opportunity to dig up a juicy scoop. They desperately shoved their microphones in Lucas Shaw's face, asking him what he thought of me.

Lucas Shaw, ever the actor, played the part of the distant and indifferent man to perfection.

"Vivian Lennox and I are just colleagues. We aren't particularly close. Perhaps something I did gave her the wrong impression, but we are not in that kind of relationship."

With that one sentence, I was branded as a woman who throws herself at men, and my career opportunities plummeted.

I begged him multiple times to help clarify the situation, but Lucas Shaw just kept putting it off.

Just when I had lost all hope, things took an unexpected turn.