Regardless, Mi Shan couldn't believe that Lily, a spoiled rich girl, was the mysterious master photographer, even if she were beaten to death. Such skills would be possessed by someone at least over thirty; how could it be Lily? Most importantly, that person was her idol. There were magazines more famous than Win, but she chose Win for her comeback just to meet her idol.
She had approached Qiu Lan beforehand, but Qiu Lan maintained the stance that she couldn't disclose any information due to a confidentiality agreement. Angry, Mi Shan turned to Qiu Lan's rival, Chen Jia. She brought Chen Jia along today to deliberately provoke Qiu Lan.
Before Mi Shan could start with her sarcastic remarks, Lily handed her an iPad to watch a video.
The video Lily showed Mi Shan was recorded by Aria. Aria knew Mi Shan was a fan of Selena, so she secretly recorded Lily photographing Selena's cover shoot as a keepsake. The confidentiality agreement was at Lily's request. Selena was a popular star, and her magazine covers always attracted significant attention. At that time, Lily couldn't openly confront Malika as she hadn't completely let go of Royce, so she had to keep a low profile.
The confidentiality agreement stated that her identity could not be revealed unless she agreed. Aria had initially approached her sister-in-law, and Lily wanted her identity to be made public to help her sister-in-law out of a difficult situation. But Aria disagreed.
"Sis-in-law said if we revealed it now, Chen Jia would surely cause trouble knowing we have such a powerful card. So, we need to surprise her."
"Chen Jia likely led the current negative sentiment against you. Many people don't believe in you and criticize you. Mi Shan's fans have even started cursing you on Weibo. I manage your Weibo, and while you've gained more followers recently, they are mostly haters."
"We have to bear it for now. Once the shoot is done and the promotion starts, revealing your identity then will have a much greater impact. You'll become an instant sensation."
"Those venomous comments from Mi Shan's fans will backfire."
Mi Shan was pulled back to the shooting area by Lily. Surprisingly, she cooperated fully, following Lily's every instruction without the slightest resistance. If Lily asked her to lie on the ground, she did so without even waiting for the staff to clean up. For a full hour, she did not complain at all, astonishing everyone.
When the last set was finally done, Lily gave an OK gesture and showed Mi Shan a few selected shots. Mi Shan looked at her with a complex expression.
"You decide," she said.
This operation not only stunned Mi Shan's agent and Deputy Editor Chen Jia but also Aria, who quickly linked arms with Lily, pulling her aside.
"What happened? Why was Mi Shan so cooperative? It was like she was possessed. What did you say to her?"
Lily didn't look up, her eyes on the camera. "I revealed my identity. She knows now that I was the one who took Selena's pictures."
Aria was stunned and panicked. "Hey, didn't we agree to wait until the promotion to reveal your identity? If she spills the beans, won't it ruin the surprise?"
"She wouldn't dare," Lily replied, scrolling through the photos on her camera. "I told her if she didn't keep it a secret, I'd photograph her competitors instead."
Even without saying it, Mi Shan would have kept the secret. She was more experienced than Lily in the industry and understood the value of timing and surprise. Mi Shan was smarter than Lily had expected, and they both stood to gain from this.
After reviewing the photos, Lily packed up the camera, finally ending a successful day. She didn't want to talk about Mi Shan anymore, took a sip of the coffee Aria handed her, and remembered something.
"By the way, where's Alistair? Wasn't he supposed to visit the set today? Why didn't he show up during the shoot?"
At the mention of Alistair, Aria fell silent, unsure what to think. She couldn't understand him. They had agreed that if he showed up and defended Mi Shan in front of her, he'd score zero points with her, and she'd let go of her grudges and completely cut ties. But he never returned.
Lily had called Alistair multiple times during the break, but he didn't answer. She even called his secretary, who had no idea of his whereabouts. In other words, Alistair had fled.
After wrapping up, Lily went straight home to sleep, waking up around eight in the evening, famished. Aunt Fang had made chicken soup for her.
Edmond had been in a neighboring city for a meeting since the morning and only returned around eleven at night. When he walked in, Lily was watching TV in the living room.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Edmond took off his coat and sat beside her, seeing her tense face. He gently rubbed her head with his palm.
"What's wrong?"
They had gotten up together in the morning, had breakfast together, she went to the studio, and he went to his meeting. He had been busy all day and hadn't had the chance to contact her. He knew she was shooting Mi Shan today.
"Was the process unpleasant?" he asked.
Lily, feeling down, shook her head. "No, it went smoothly. The results are good."
The TV was still on, but neither of them was watching it. Seeing her expression, Edmond guessed she might have been wronged and thought he needed to speed up the process of acquiring Win. That way, Lily wouldn't have to be afraid of anyone.
Lily was thinking about Aria and Alistair. It was infuriating! Alistair had bailed at such a crucial moment! She was fuming! Aunt Fang and the others, sensing the tension, quietly retreated to their rooms, leaving the living room silent. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out on the TV, and they instinctively looked at the screen.
It was from a drama Lily had been following recently, a modern suspense series starring Selena. Tonight was the finale. She had started watching it late, around nine, after a hectic day. Now it was the final scene.
The female lead was shot, collapsing in a pool of blood. Edmond hadn't watched the series but knew about it because Lily and Aunt Fang had been discussing it during breakfast. He remembered Lily mentioning that she was a fan of the female lead and had missed an opportunity to get an autograph. He had been interrupted by a phone call and didn't get a chance to tell her.
"Do you still want her autograph?" he asked, knowing he could get it for her easily.
"Huh?"
It took Lily a moment to realize he was talking about Selena. "Yes, I do. I'm a fan of hers."
Selena was a rising star who had been in the industry for almost a decade, becoming famous five years ago with a palace drama. She had consistently climbed the ladder, winning numerous awards, and had over a billion followers on Weibo. Known for her excellent reputation, she had no scandals, and she dedicated herself to her career.
Lily wasn't into idolizing celebrities but genuinely liked Selena. She had agreed to help Aria's sister-in-law partly because she wanted to meet the star. Unfortunately, she missed the chance to get an autograph or a photo because Selena's annoying manager had dragged her away.
That manager had been a real nuisance, causing a lot of trouble during the shoot. Lily had even argued with her.
"Can you really get me her autograph?"
The core industries of Jingxiu Group were real estate, finance, tourism, retail chains, and luxury hotels. She hadn't heard of them being involved in the entertainment industry. But for someone like Edmond, getting a celebrity's autograph should be easy.
"If you want, I'll have Octavian make a call."
He reached for his phone, but Lily stopped him. "It's too late now. The autograph can wait. I have something to ask you."
Aria's issue was her priority; fangirling could come later.
Edmond put down his phone. "What is it?"
Lily was curious. "Alistair said there was nothing between him and Mi Shan, so why is he always so good to her? Did Mi Shan save his life too?"
Edmond did know the answer to that. "Alistair doesn't owe her a life debt, but he does owe her something else."
When Lily asked what it was, Edmond pulled her into his arms, apologizing, "Sorry, it's Alistair's secret. I promised to keep it."
Lily didn't press further, just sighed. "I used to pray when I went to the mountains and visited the Buddha, hoping that Alistair liked Aria too. I wanted Aria to get what she wished for. Now I'm so relieved that he doesn't like her. It's really for the best."