Chapter 2 · The Day A Stranger Saved My Reputation

Chapter 2

The next day, we had to split into teams and cook for the show.

Jason and I ended up together, while Emily was teamed up with another guy, Alex Scott.

It was all part of the script, meant to stir up some drama.

On camera, I tied on a cute apron and clumsily started washing veggies, splashing water everywhere.

I "accidentally" dropped a tomato, and it rolled right over to Jason's feet.

"Oh, Jason," I gave him my best puppy eyes.

Jason bent down, picked up the tomato, and without a word, tossed it straight into the trash.

Then he walked over to me and grabbed a fresh tomato.

"Let me do it," he said, sounding a bit helpless.

I immediately gave him my best smile. "Jason, you're so sweet."

The live chat was a total warzone again.

[I'm gonna puke. Can she stay away from Jason?]

[What a schemer, trying to get close to him on purpose.]

[Jason, run. Don't let this woman bewitch you.]

Meanwhile, Emily and Alex were having a peaceful time in their kitchen.

Emily's knife skills were on point. She was clearly a pro in the kitchen.

Before long, they had a whole table of mouthwatering dishes ready to go.

Meanwhile, on our side, Jason was the only one actually working.

My job was just to mess around next to him and look at him with adoring eyes the whole time.

In the end, Jason expressionlessly brought out a plate of omelets with tomatoes and green peppers.

They didn't look all that great.

At mealtime, everyone couldn't stop praising Emily's cooking.

I took a bite of the scrambled eggs with tomatoes, my eyes blissfully half-closed. "Jason, your food is the tastiest in the world."

The mood at the table instantly froze.

Alex nearly spat out his food, and Emily's smile went a bit stiff.

Only Jason looked up at me, his gaze deep and impossible to read.

The live chat was going wild.

My Twitter followers shot up by 200,000 in just one day. Every single one of them was there to roast me.

Later that night, Selena called me again, her voice full of anxiety. "Lily, you're trending, and people are dragging you so hard. The brands are complaining, saying your image is way too negative."

I was in my room, using the toolkit to fix a lamp with a loose connection.

"Yeah, I know," I replied absentmindedly, my hands never stopping. With quick, practiced movements, I snapped the parts together, connected the wires, and tightened everything up.

The lamp flickered and then lit up.

"Are you even listening to me?" Selena's voice rose.

"I'm listening," I said, putting the tools back where they belonged. "Selena, this is my job. I play the 'scheming girl' everyone hates online, and I get triple the pay for it. Honestly, I'm pretty happy with how things are turning out."

Guess that meant I was pretty good at my job.

There was another long silence on the other end. After a while, Selena finally said, "The production team wants you to tone it down a bit tomorrow. They're worried you might get cyberbullied so badly that something could happen."

I let out a soft laugh. "Don't worry, I've got nerves of steel."

After hanging up, I checked my bank account balance again. The smile on my face grew even wider.

It's just cyberbullying. It's not like I'm losing anything for real.

*****

The third day was pretty chill.

I toned it down a bit, just like the production team asked.

When everyone was playing games, I quietly handed Jason a bottle of water. When he took a break, I peeled an orange for him.

The live chat was still roasting me, but the hate had definitely died down a lot.

On the fourth day, the production team planned an outdoor shoot at a beautiful lakeside park.

We were all supposed to pitch tents and get ready for a picnic together.

Pitching tents was a real workout.

Jason and Alex were busy up front, while Emily was helping out, handing them tools.

According to the script, I just lounged to the side under a fancy sun umbrella.

"Jason, you guys are working so hard. I got you some chilled juice," I said, my voice sugary sweet.

Jason ignored me. Alex glanced back at me, looking conflicted.

The live chat was roasting me with sarcasm.

[Here comes the princess. Everyone, bow!]

[Everyone else is working, and she's just posing for the camera. Unbelievable.]

[Can someone just photoshop her out? She's ruining the view.]

I couldn't care less, so I just shifted into an even comfier position.

Right then, a commotion broke out just outside the set.

A middle-aged woman in a delivery uniform came running over, totally out of breath. She looked like she was trying to push past the barricade the crew had set up.

A couple of security guards stopped her. "Sorry, we're filming here. You can't come in."

"I just need to find someone and say one thing," the woman called out, her voice shaky and desperate.

Frederick frowned and shot a look at one of the crew, signaling him to handle it. The livestream quickly cut away.

But the woman wouldn't give up. She got up on her tiptoes and yelled, "Hey, Miss, the one in the yellow dress."

Today, I happened to be wearing a pale yellow dress. Everyone immediately turned to look at me.

I froze. I had no idea who she was.

When the woman saw me looking her way, she got even more agitated. She shoved past the off-guard security guards and charged right at me.

The whole place instantly descended into chaos.

Frederick's face turned stormy as he shouted, "Cut. Stop filming."

But since the livestream was real-time, there was no way to shut it down in time.

The chat was full of question marks.

[What's going on??]

[Who's that woman?]

[Is she looking for Lily? Did Lily mess up again?]

The woman ran straight up to me, right in front of all the guests and cameras. She grabbed my hand, crying her eyes out.

She was so emotional, her voice shaky with gratitude. "Girl, I finally found you!

"Last time at the west side intersection, my tricycle broke down, and you fixed it for me! I never got the chance to thank you properly."

The whole place went dead silent. Everyone was stunned.

Frederick forgot to call cut. Jason froze mid-motion while setting up the tent. Emily and Alex both stared at me in disbelief.

The live chat went dead for three whole seconds. Then, it was instantly flooded with comments and question marks.

The crew helped the woman off the set.

Filming resumed, but the vibe was totally different now.

Everyone was looking at me, deep in thought.

Finally, Jason broke the silence. He looked at me with a hint of curiosity in his eyes and asked the question everyone was thinking. "You know how to fix tricycles?"

Chapter 2

The next day, we had to split into teams and cook for the show.

Jason and I ended up together, while Emily was teamed up with another guy, Alex Scott.

It was all part of the script, meant to stir up some drama.

On camera, I tied on a cute apron and clumsily started washing veggies, splashing water everywhere.

I "accidentally" dropped a tomato, and it rolled right over to Jason's feet.

"Oh, Jason," I gave him my best puppy eyes.

Jason bent down, picked up the tomato, and without a word, tossed it straight into the trash.

Then he walked over to me and grabbed a fresh tomato.

"Let me do it," he said, sounding a bit helpless.

I immediately gave him my best smile. "Jason, you're so sweet."

The live chat was a total warzone again.

[I'm gonna puke. Can she stay away from Jason?]

[What a schemer, trying to get close to him on purpose.]

[Jason, run. Don't let this woman bewitch you.]

Meanwhile, Emily and Alex were having a peaceful time in their kitchen.

Emily's knife skills were on point. She was clearly a pro in the kitchen.

Before long, they had a whole table of mouthwatering dishes ready to go.

Meanwhile, on our side, Jason was the only one actually working.

My job was just to mess around next to him and look at him with adoring eyes the whole time.

In the end, Jason expressionlessly brought out a plate of omelets with tomatoes and green peppers.

They didn't look all that great.

At mealtime, everyone couldn't stop praising Emily's cooking.

I took a bite of the scrambled eggs with tomatoes, my eyes blissfully half-closed. "Jason, your food is the tastiest in the world."

The mood at the table instantly froze.

Alex nearly spat out his food, and Emily's smile went a bit stiff.

Only Jason looked up at me, his gaze deep and impossible to read.

The live chat was going wild.

My Twitter followers shot up by 200,000 in just one day. Every single one of them was there to roast me.

Later that night, Selena called me again, her voice full of anxiety. "Lily, you're trending, and people are dragging you so hard. The brands are complaining, saying your image is way too negative."

I was in my room, using the toolkit to fix a lamp with a loose connection.

"Yeah, I know," I replied absentmindedly, my hands never stopping. With quick, practiced movements, I snapped the parts together, connected the wires, and tightened everything up.

The lamp flickered and then lit up.

"Are you even listening to me?" Selena's voice rose.

Guess that meant I was pretty good at my job.

I let out a soft laugh. "Don't worry, I've got nerves of steel."

After hanging up, I checked my bank account balance again. The smile on my face grew even wider.

It's just cyberbullying. It's not like I'm losing anything for real.

*****

The third day was pretty chill.

I toned it down a bit, just like the production team asked.

When everyone was playing games, I quietly handed Jason a bottle of water. When he took a break, I peeled an orange for him.

The live chat was still roasting me, but the hate had definitely died down a lot.

On the fourth day, the production team planned an outdoor shoot at a beautiful lakeside park.

We were all supposed to pitch tents and get ready for a picnic together.

Pitching tents was a real workout.

Jason and Alex were busy up front, while Emily was helping out, handing them tools.

According to the script, I just lounged to the side under a fancy sun umbrella.

"Jason, you guys are working so hard. I got you some chilled juice," I said, my voice sugary sweet.

Jason ignored me. Alex glanced back at me, looking conflicted.

The live chat was roasting me with sarcasm.

[Here comes the princess. Everyone, bow!]

[Everyone else is working, and she's just posing for the camera. Unbelievable.]

[Can someone just photoshop her out? She's ruining the view.]

I couldn't care less, so I just shifted into an even comfier position.

Right then, a commotion broke out just outside the set.

A middle-aged woman in a delivery uniform came running over, totally out of breath. She looked like she was trying to push past the barricade the crew had set up.

A couple of security guards stopped her. "Sorry, we're filming here. You can't come in."

"I just need to find someone and say one thing," the woman called out, her voice shaky and desperate.

Frederick frowned and shot a look at one of the crew, signaling him to handle it. The livestream quickly cut away.

But the woman wouldn't give up. She got up on her tiptoes and yelled, "Hey, Miss, the one in the yellow dress."

Today, I happened to be wearing a pale yellow dress. Everyone immediately turned to look at me.

I froze. I had no idea who she was.

When the woman saw me looking her way, she got even more agitated. She shoved past the off-guard security guards and charged right at me.

The whole place instantly descended into chaos.

Frederick's face turned stormy as he shouted, "Cut. Stop filming."

But since the livestream was real-time, there was no way to shut it down in time.

The chat was full of question marks.

[What's going on??]

[Who's that woman?]

[Is she looking for Lily? Did Lily mess up again?]

The woman ran straight up to me, right in front of all the guests and cameras. She grabbed my hand, crying her eyes out.

She was so emotional, her voice shaky with gratitude. "Girl, I finally found you!

"Last time at the west side intersection, my tricycle broke down, and you fixed it for me! I never got the chance to thank you properly."

The whole place went dead silent. Everyone was stunned.

Frederick forgot to call cut. Jason froze mid-motion while setting up the tent. Emily and Alex both stared at me in disbelief.

The live chat went dead for three whole seconds. Then, it was instantly flooded with comments and question marks.

The crew helped the woman off the set.

Filming resumed, but the vibe was totally different now.

Everyone was looking at me, deep in thought.

Finally, Jason broke the silence. He looked at me with a hint of curiosity in his eyes and asked the question everyone was thinking. "You know how to fix tricycles?"