The next day, I accompanied Lily Ling to the hotel where she could meet the director, Royston Tan. Howard Hotel, if I remembered correctly. Not that it made a difference. They were all the same to me, if you asked me.
But nobody asked me.
"Behave yourself," Lily reprimanded me when she saw the bored expression on my face. I shot her an apologetic look.
"Sorry."
"Sorry no cure."
"What am I supposed to do then?" I asked wearily. Looking around, I saw that everyone else had a conversation partner at least. Well-dressed men and women in branded suits or expensive designer dresses or gowns had gathered in groups to converse.
They were all celebrities, mostly actors and actresses from all over the entertainment industry. As oblivious as I was, I recognized absolutely none of them. I thought I caught sight of a blond actor whose movie I had watched once or twice, but other than that…nope.
If there were martial arts movie stars such as Donnie Yen or Jackie Chan or Jet Li or Sammo Hung, I would have recognized them. Whoops, wrong century. They existed over a century ago, starring in old, classic HK movies that nobody today recognized. Oh, well…it was a pity they didn't have sci-fi movies back then. Well, they had a few Wei Si Li movies, but since those didn't have giant robots, that didn't appeal to me.
I had to admit, I liked Sammo Hung's The Avenging Fist and Jet Li's Black Mask (and the sequel starring Andy On, Black Mask 2: City of Masks). There weren't much giant robots in them, but they were still cool sci-fi films with awesome devices and genetically engineered super-soldiers. Given my penchant for consuming military sci-fi, yeah…of course they would appeal to me.
Unfortunately, none of those martial arts actors were around for me to say hi to. Oh well.
Not recognizing any of the celebrities – who mostly did love dramas or historical romances or weird cultivation movies set in an ancient period (often featuring extravagant classical clothing and robes) that featured backgrounds entirely fabricated by computer generated images, I was left out. It was little wonder I was bored.
"Um…go have some food and sit down. Relax. Don't worry about trying to socialize. I know this isn't your clique." Lily turned toward the direction where a group of directors and actors had gathered. I suspected they were directors because of how old they looked. "Arnold and I will go over and say hi."
"Oh, okay." I caught sight of Arnold, dressed as flashily as ever, waving Lily over. Then something struck me. "Couldn't you have asked Arnold to be your escort? Why even bring me along?"
"Because I would rather not have Arnold escort me." Lily made a face. "Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but did you see how he's dressed? He looks completely out of place. Honestly, I would rather stay away from him when others are looking."
"That's going a bit too far, isn't it?" I couldn't help but glance at Arnold Ang, who clearly didn't overhear her. He was sashaying along the corridor, whistling and batting his eyelashes at the male actors, who looked a little disturbed. For the female actresses, he winked and waved, charming them and causing them to giggle. "You'll hurt his feelings."
"Ugh…he's just too showy. Like I said, I love him, and I wouldn't take anyone else as my agent. Not even Victoria Lai." Then Lily straightened up. "But sometimes I'm embarrassed to be seen beside him. Also, just look at him."
"I think he's fabulous."
"Also…I thought you would be jealous if I ask another man to escort me." Lily sighed and shook her head, tossing her long, blond hair back. "Seems like I needn't have worried. I forgot that you aren't some overbearing, exaggeratedly possessive, excessively paranoid and easily jealous CEO. You're a normal person."
"You should avoid relationships with such people," I advised. "They are usually terrible people and you'll end up in a very toxic relationship."
"I know, right? No sane person does that in reality. I mean, there are women who get embroiled in toxic relationships, and watching them, it's not healthy at all. Yet all these CEO novels parade them like something to indulge in, something to celebrate. Apparently all the suffering is worth it because they will fall in love in the end. Except that the happy ending never comes because the author drags the drama out for thousands of chapters just to milk the series and suck money from fans. Reading those stories where the overbearing CEOs abuse, bully and torment the female lead gives me high blood pressure. Ugh. I don't understand why people read those."
Lily then flinched and shook her head. Especially when Arnold called out to her.
"Sorry, I've to go. Anyway, behave yourself, okay? Don't get into trouble."
"Usually trouble is the one that finds me," I grumbled under my breath before watching Lily depart to meet up with Arnold. The two of them then approached handsome man in his thirties who I assumed was the director, Royston Tan. The trio began conversing animatedly, with Royston Tan laughing heartily at something Arnold said.
Hmm…I didn't expect Royston Tan to look like a celebrity. Oh, right, I read up on him and learned that he was also an actor. He acted in the films he directed himself. I wasn't sure if it was because he was trying to save on budget or he was a narcissist who wanted to self-insert himself into a story he wrote and act out the role of the protagonist.
Whoops. I shouldn't be so judgmental. Wasn't I doing the exact same thing myself, by penning my autobiography? Never mind.
I headed toward the far side of the wall and scooped lots of food from the table. The hosts had provided a huge buffet dinner for the guests, with delicacies ranging from seafood and sashimi to curry, vegetables, meat and fried rice to exotic looking dishes. It was an international buffet, so it wasn't just oriental food but also a few Mediterranean and French cuisine thrown into the mix as well.
Being a big fan of seafood, I helped myself to a large helping of crab, some fish, and then grabbed as much fresh salmon sashimi as possible. That was my favorite. I also grabbed a bunch of sushi because…well, sushi. Need I say more?
Damn, my plate was getting too full. I had to balance it with the amount of food I had gathered, along with my utensils. Grimacing at the vast quantity I had heaped onto my plate, I snuck to a corner and took a seat. I began devouring the food with gusto, while keeping an eye on Lily and the others. Several actors and actresses joined in the conversation, but they mostly came and went, probably because while they were impressed with Royston Tan's achievements, he was still an upcoming director. He showed a lot of promise and won an award, but he wasn't as established or reputable as the other older and more experienced directors in the hotel lobby.
While slowly eating, I got curious. Checking my smartphone, I saw that Royston Tan was also a CEO of his own studio. Director, actor, and CEO. What the fuck? Was he some sort of Mary Sue male lead who existed only in CEO novels? Since when did such multi-talented, almost perfect people exist? I hoped it didn't turn out to be a cliché story where he drew the attention of the female lead, who then got murdered later tonight, only to be reborn in another person's body and then attempted to take revenge on Royston Tan (the male lead) because she suspected that he was the murderer…only to find out that the new body she was reborn in was married to him in secret.
…yeah, that would never happen. Only CEO stories could come up with such farfetched, unrealistic scenarios.
Then I noticed one of the ladies drawing close to Lily. Even though I didn't recognize her, I suddenly remembered a photo that Lily showed me as a warning. That person approaching her was none other than Yvonne Yang. I watched their exchange closely, narrowing my eyes behind my glasses. Arnold and Lily stiffened slightly, but they didn't react hostilely or chase Yvonne away.
As expected, Yvonne Yang tried to ingratiate herself with an unimpressed Royston Tan, leaning close to him and trying to initiate intimate physical contact. Royston Tan moved away from her, looking uncomfortable, and avoided her. Even from this distance, I could see that he was speaking to her in a glacial, indifferent tone.
Yvonne Yang was getting increasingly frustrated, but for some reason she was glaring at Lily instead, as if blaming her for her own failure. Wow…typical CEO novel villainess attitude. Somehow it was always the female lead's fault. Of course it wasn't her fault, it must be that "bitch" who was seducing her target away from her!
I only had one word to describe that. Delusional.
When it was clear that Royston Tan didn't want to talk to her, Yvonne Yang slinked away bitterly. She then leaned over to a waitress who was carrying a tray of drinks and whispered some directions. Slipping a hand into her purse, she produced a pill before dropping it into one of the glasses and dissolving it. Essentially spiking the drink. She whispered a few more instructions to the waitress, gave her some money, and then stalked off.
The waitress stared at the wad of cash in her hands with huge eyes, and then scampered toward Lily, offering her a drink. Before I could stop her, Lily drank from the glass.
Fuck.
Well, this was just stupid and entirely predictable. I did have to question, though. Why the fuck was Yvonne Yang carrying around a pill with her in her purse? Was she always intending to spike someone? Like, seriously, who the fuck randomly carried around aphrodisiacs or sleeping pills in her purse when attending a banquet? How the hell did CEO novel villainesses always so conveniently have access to such drugs, and always had those on hand to sabotage the female lead?
I glanced at Yvonne Yang, who was hurrying away, disappearing into the corridor. I wanted to follow her, but I couldn't. I finished the rest of my food, put my plate away in the collection area, and hastened toward Lily's position. If she took the spiked drink, then there was only one outcome.
I could already see her swaying. I hurried over, trying to reach her in time before something bad happened. Fuck, this was really playing out like all those nonsensical CEO novels I had read. I hoped I wouldn't be too late.