Zhang Liu
The video on the large screen continued to play nonstop. I was frozen at the moment and couldn't fathom a word to defend myself.
Whoever did this must have planned so well to watch me get humiliated in public.
I clenched the award in my hand and turned to face the audience.
"Please, none of what you are seeing is true. I would never do such a..." I trailed off as someone from the audience area splashed a bottle of water on me.
"Liar! Get her off the stage."
"What a disgrace!"
"Who would believe that a rookie out of nowhere would win a Daesang award without doing something shady!"
The crowd roared with anger, throwing hateful insults and items on me.
My manager quickly rushed me out of the stage and we left the hall, following the back door to prevent the paparazzi and fans from attacking me.
Once we were on a clear road, my manager, Lily stopped by the side. We had used the company's van to slip away from the raging crowd.
I couldn't say a word or even look at Lily because all my hard work had gone down the drain just with a false scandal.
Lily sighed at intervals and when she could no longer endure the silence, she turned to me.
"Xiao Liu, please say something. This matter is a grave one. If the company..." She trailed off when her phone rang.
"It's Mr. Ling. Xiao Liu, what should I say to him? How are we going to explain this situation?" She asked anxiously.
There was nothing I could say to her. My reputation was already ruin in front of a large crowd both near and far.
My phone buzzed with news notifications, my ex-fiance's calls, my parents calls and Mr. Ling, the CEO of entertainment company I was signed under.
"Lily, let's just ignore every call. You know there is no use trying to clear things. By tomorrow, I will leave the company and the world can finally be at rest." I said, pretending to be nonchalant about the whole situation.
Deep down in my heart, I wanted to burst out crying. But I couldn't, I needed to stay strong in front of Lily. She was still new to the industry and I didn't want her to suffer because of me even after she quits being my manager.
"No, we can do something about this. How can someone cook up something so obnoxious like this? They don't even know you to use such a tactic to ruin your career. Today was the day I was supposed to boast to my manager friends about your award," she whined, banging her hands on the steering wheel.
"You don't have to go down with me, you know. There are plenty of opportunities out there for you to fulfill your dream." I told her, ready to let go of her hand.
"No, not without you. I decided to be a manager because of you. If I am not with you, there is no way I can progress in this cruel industry," she sniffled, breaking down in tears on my behalf.
Seeing her cry like this, softened my heart. At least, she was loyal to me.
"If you say so then we have a lot to do. We won't go down without a proper fight," I firmly said, eager to find a solution to the problem at hand.
We drove back to her apartment since mine was already condemned by those disgusting fools. Plus, I won't be able to have easy access to it since the paparazzi already knew I lived there.
Lily welcomed me to her home. It was a small apartment unit compared to mine. But it was cozy and warm. Her space was colorful and full with hello kitty items.
"Please, don't be disappointed of my surrounding..."
"Why would I be disappointed, Lily? You should know by now that I like casual spaces that are more homey than extravagant spaces." I cut her off and she flashed a shy smile.
"Alright, please make yourself at home. I will go cook up something nice for you," she muttered before going into a room which I guess was her kitchen.
I took my time to explore her living room then stopped to peep through an open door by the left.
It was her room and at the right side of the wall where her bed was at, I was stunned to see that half of her room was covered with every photoshoot I had taken.
Seeing this made me feel better. Lily must have been a die hard fan of mine before she became my manager.
I left her room, giving her some privacy.
Shortly after I came back to the living room, my phone rang and the caller was my father.
I had missed seventeen calls from my Mom because I knew what her words would be. After my phone rang for the third time, I decided to answer my father's call.
"You stupid insolent child! Why didn't you pick your calls? Do you know how many times your mother called you? What kind of trash have you turned yourself into?!" He barked at me as if he was in the slightest concerned about my welfare.
And just for a moment, I wished he would say some kind words to me, comfort me from the issue I was facing or even tell me to come home that he would welcome me with open arms.
But never has he or my mother ever tried to be kind to me. Instead they would insult me, lay accusing fingers at me while they give all their support to my younger sister.
I wondered why they hated me so much. But even at that, I still tried to understand them.
"Did you hear what I said?" He yelled.
"Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts." I replied.
"I said, tomorrow bring the engagement ring Lao Yung gave to you. Your sister needs to wear it for her pre-wedding photo shoot tomorrow." He repeated and my chest squeezed with anger. 'How dare them?'