Huang Xiao Gao was scrolling through the news on her phone while she was in bed. She refreshed the page and a new headline popped up: "Producer A is Rumoured to be Dating Actress X." Attached to the article was a blurred image of the said couple kissing in a dark alleyway.
'Oh, this is juicy!' she got up from her bed and opened her laptop. She opened the article and downloaded the image. She clicked on a computer program to scan and analyze the image. While waiting for the program to analyze the photo, she made her way to the kitchen to make herself a cup of milk tea. She heard a ding from her computer notifying her that the program had finished decoding the photo and made her way back to her desk.
*Clash*
Her cup shattered on the floor. On her computer screen was the uncensored photo of the news article. She instantly recognized the two people in the photo: it was the lead actress and producer of the movie she was participating in.
'This can't be true...This must be photoshopped.' She opened a different program on her computer to analyze the photo. The next few seconds passed by like hours as the program analyzed the photo. Suddenly, a message popped up reading: The result shows that this photo is unaltered.
'This must be a misunderstanding... Maybe it's the angle of the shot.' She then proceeded to open other programs on her laptop to analyze the time and location of when the photo was taken. Her fingers danced across the keyboard with high speed for the next few minutes. She was about to hack into the nearby CCTVs when she froze on the spot.
'I'm being crazy... This is all crazy.' She rubbed the side of her forehead with the inside of her palm. She vowed to never use her skills for personal reasons. She trusted everyone close to her and didn't want to overstep their boundaries. 'I'll just call him to confirm.'
**Ring Ring**
Feng Shin shuffled in his bed and felt for his phone on his nightstand without opening his eyes and dismissed the call. Two seconds later, the phone started ringing again. He grunted and answered the call.
"Hello?" He grumbled.
"Babe? Are you awake? Did you see the news article? Where are you now?" Xiao Gao panicky shouted on the other end.
"Babe it's the middle of the night. I was sleeping."
"Oh..." Xiao Gao looked at the time on her laptop only to see that it was 3:03 am. She's a night owl and lost track of time after she saw the news article. "Sorry, I'll call you tomorrow."
"Hmm."
As he hung up, the side of his bed stirred a little. "Who was that?" a female voice asked.
"Nothing important, sorry for waking you up. Let's go back to sleep," Feng Shin replied as he wrapped his arm around her and found a comfy position to go back to sleep.
After the call, Xiao Gao was walking back and forth in her apartment, digesting all the information. From her research, the photo was taken last Tuesday at 9:57 pm. She remembered shooting that morning and leaving early as she didn't have any other scenes for the day. She debated on whether to continue her investigation or wait until the morning. She decided on the latter but tossed sleeplessly on her bed until sleep caught up to her hours later.
The next morning, her phone blew up with messages and multiple missed calls. She clicked on the first group chat.
Wolf:
Sloth: Send me his location, I'm gonna come over and beat him up.
Wolf: I've got all the papers ready. Let me know what you want to sue him for. Infidelity? Defamation? Just let me know and I'll add on the charges.
Xiao Gao hesitated before clicking on the article. Sure enough, it was an official statement from SG Entertainment confirming the rumoured couple. She rubbed her eyes and pinched herself, hoping to wake herself from this nightmare but nothing changed. She stayed where she was in bed with the article opened on her phone. Suddenly, she received a call. She hesitated but eventually took the call after a couple of rings.
"Babe, you're finally awake. I have a couple of minutes in between the scenes and just wanted to let you know that the statement isn't true. It's just a publicity stunt. The article blew up this morning and this was the best way to deal with it." Feng Shin explained on the other end only to be met with silence.
"Babe, please... I have to get back to the set, but I'll explain everything to you tonight." Feng Shin said before hanging up.