Laila couldn't do anything about his stubborn appearance: "You don't care, but I care, okay? Say you're my boyfriend! Say our relationship is exposed! Now everyone on the streets knows, are you sure this is what you want to see?"
"What?" Zeni jumped off the bed in surprise: "You're saying the newspaper claims I'm your boyfriend?"
"That's right! I've been telling you about this for a while now!" Laila gritted her teeth.
"This is terrible!" Zeni grabbed his hair and jumped out of bed: "Quick, have your grandfather suppress this matter!"
"It was exposed by the New York Post. Do you think Murdoch cares about my grandfather's protest?" Laila knew very well that her grandfather wouldn't be bothered by such trivial matters. She wasn't married, she wasn't cheating—why should she try to hide news about her having a boyfriend?
Zeni frustratedly slouched: "What do we do then? If the whole world thinks I'm your boyfriend, how am I supposed to find a girlfriend in the future?"
Laila grabbed a pillow and threw it at him directly: "That's not the point!"
Zeni held the pillow and shrugged suddenly: "Oh well, I'm already heartbroken now, so it doesn't affect me. Let them say whatever they want."
"It might not affect you, but it affects me!" Laila angrily grabbed another pillow and hurled it at him.
Zeni grinned at her: "How does it affect you? Are you afraid your real boyfriend will misunderstand?"
"I don't even have a boyfriend!" Laila retorted, not in the best mood.
"Well, there you go. If neither of us has a partner, why bother about what others say? Especially in a place like this," Zeni spread his hands, giving her a look that said, "You're still naive": "Remember where you are. This is Hollywood, the center of attention worldwide. You're a young director who consistently creates blockbuster hits. Can you justify your Hollywood director status without a bit of news and entertainment to keep everyone interested?"
Laila found herself speechless at his argument: "You just said that I'm a director, not a celebrity. Directors are supposed to stay behind the camera, so why do I have to be at the forefront, getting pointed at by everyone?"
"What's the harm?" Zeni felt she was getting fixated on the issue: "Do you care about all that?"
"Shouldn't I care?" Laila countered.
"If you cared about the media, you wouldn't have done all those things before. Whether it's the publicity stunts for your movies or..." Zeni was about to give another example but realized that, apart from when she promoted her films, she didn't usually appear in the media. He burst into laughter.
"So you're annoyed because you didn't gain anything from it!"
"Nonsense! Am I that kind of person?" Laila instinctively opposed it, but upon reflection, she realized she might indeed be that kind of person...
After his provocation, she started to calm down. Looking at the newspaper reports, she realized there was no need to overthink it. With a supportive grandfather, her knack for creating headlines in Hollywood, and the fact that she wasn't married or involved in any scandals, was there a reason to hide her relationship news?
But did it even matter to her?
She didn't care how outsiders saw her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have ignored the critics' reviews of her films. Whether they praised or criticized her, why should she care?
So why had she been so angry when she first heard about the expose?
After pondering for a while, she attributed it to her severe lack of sleep, causing her mind to be muddled. That's probably why she had subconsciously regarded it as a major event, just like Demi's frantic reaction.
"Stupid," she tapped her forehead. "There's no trouble in the world, only troublemakers."
She voiced the latter part of the saying in Chinese, leaving Zeni puzzled.
"I told you not to speak in Eastern languages in front of me. Are you trying to make fun of my inability to learn?" It was strange that despite being a highly educated scholar, he struggled with Chinese.
"Never mind, I just figured some things out. Go back to sleep." Laila stood up and left the room.
Zeni watched the door close, chuckled to himself, and went back to sleep with the covers over his head. No matter how much the media stirred, what did it have to do with a forensic doctor like him? He could focus on it when a reporter ended up on his autopsy table.
Outside the door, Claire gazed at Laila's departing figure, somewhat bewildered. How did she manage to calm down so quickly after leaving the room in such a huff? What had the person inside the room done to make her regain her composure so swiftly? A certain possibility crossed her mind, and her heart skipped a beat. Could it be that between them...
Laila didn't mind preparing for some rest, but others couldn't remain as indifferent. She initially thought she could ignore the whole thing and move on, but she soon found herself bombarded by phone calls, big and small. Janet, her grandfather, Louise, and others who normally had a good relationship with her—all of them took the excuse of "concern" to ask gossipy questions over the phone.
Her mother was relatively easy to handle, aside from continuous congratulations, she merely inquired about the type of wedding gown Laila liked...
Her grandfather had more to say. He first subtly reminded her about the negative consequences of getting into a relationship too early and used her mother, Janet, as an example of what not to do.
Then he strongly emphasized Zeni's unsuitable personality, labeling him as smooth-talking and a bad influence on her. In short, he brought up various points that made it clear he didn't approve, hoping she would grow up a bit more and not be lured into the mist of love due to deceit.
As for the other gossipmongers, she couldn't be bothered to deal with them.
Despite Laila's repeated explanations that it was all a misunderstanding, the incessant phone bombardment left her exasperated. She couldn't fathom why a mere announcement of having a boyfriend had caused such a frenzy as if the whole world revolved around her alone.
However, she forgot that with her current status, even trivial matters would garner attention. This was closely related to Oswald's protection. Being beyond the reach of paparazzi and journalists, many people were interested in Laila—a scion of a prestigious family-turned-rising Hollywood director. The more something was unattainable, the more people desired it. Wasn't the concept of "scarcity marketing" built upon this principle?
If she were like some socialites, who constantly talked about relationships and scandals, the media and readers wouldn't care as much. But Laila didn't party, she didn't provoke controversies, and she was generally a well-behaved figure who occasionally joined her mother in charity work and earnestly worked on her movies and photography. She was just so likable and healthy-looking!
So, when such a well-behaved young woman announced she had a boyfriend, it was only natural for the people who cared about her to be surprised.
And in the end, why did it even matter?