Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

"AHHHH, Jojo!! What kind of insane luck did we stumble into?! Do you know who our new boss is?!!"

Julie’s soprano voice was as powerful as ever. Joanna Kennedy held the phone a little further away and, playing along, asked, "Who is it?"

"Sean Grant!! The big boss of Fullstar Entertainment Company! Fullstar, it’s Fullstar!"

Fullstar, the undisputed leader among entertainment companies. Nowadays, 80% of the famous A-list and B-list actresses, as well as mid-career and rising actors, came from Fullstar. Last year’s Best Actor and Best Actress award winners were also from Fullstar.

At the same time, Fullstar was also great at creating top-tier celebrities. The currently trending male star, Brian Lynch, was single-handedly built up by Fullstar.

Joanna Kennedy was also a little surprised. A trace of doubt flickered in her mind, especially after hearing that only her manager had been replaced. This suspicion skyrocketed.

’There are plenty of artists in the company more famous than I am. Why, of all people, was I given such a great manager?’

However, she really wasn’t familiar with the name Sean Grant, nor had she heard anyone around her mention it.

Walter Young truly lived up to his reputation as a manager famous for being protective of his talents. On the very first day they met, he took Joanna Kennedy to see a famous director. She performed a scene and was immediately signed for the second female lead role, set to join the cast in a month.

He didn’t let her stay idle during that time either. He had her make an appearance on a variety show to get more exposure, putting her on a highly popular acting-themed program.

Joanna Kennedy was a natural-born actress—charismatic, quick to learn, and with her years of acting experience from before, she handled the show with ease, showing none of the awkwardness or anxiety of a newcomer.

She was also beautiful and had very distinctive features. Her peach blossom eyes looked pure and innocent when she wasn’t smiling, but when she did, they shimmered with seductive charm, making her look just like a little vixen.

Netizens exclaimed: "This newcomer is pretty good! She has the skills and the looks. I’m a fan, I’m a fan~"

"That face, WAHHH, Mama, I’m in love again! Pretty sister, let’s cuddle! Can’t you just relax the gender requirements a little..."

"What has the pretty sister acted in? Bring it out, quick! I need to go watch!"

Soon enough, the all-powerful netizens dug up the historical idol drama Joanna Kennedy had just finished filming. In the cast photo, she was standing off to the side, while the two main leads were in the center.

"Damn, the third female lead? Her looks totally crush the female lead’s, okay?"

"Exactly! Who the hell is backing Teresa Summers? She’s the female lead in every drama, her acting is mediocre, and now her looks can’t even compare to the third female lead. Tsk tsk tsk, they should just let this newcomer play the lead. I’d watch that."

"Seconded."

Once comments like these appeared, all hell broke loose. On a certain app, Teresa Summers’s anti-fans seized the opportunity to stir up trouble, tearing one down to praise the other.

Teresa Summers’s fans were instantly displeased. They felt that Joanna Kennedy was just trying to ride their idol’s coattails, a newcomer so desperate to get famous that she’d resort to such low-handed tactics! 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

They all went to dig up dirt on Joanna Kennedy, unearthing that she was once the daughter of a wealthy family whose company went bankrupt in high school, after which she dropped out. For a moment, the buzz surged even higher.

Teresa Summers’s fans jeered, "A semi-illiterate who didn’t even go to college dares to compare herself to our Teresa? Our Teresa is a proper graduate from a professional acting academy."

However, more comments were along the lines of: "WAHHH, the fallen heiress fighting her way through the entertainment industry. This is like something out of an inspirational novel."

"A down-on-her-luck heiress is still an heiress. No wonder her aura is so good."

"Now I feel even more protective of her. The poor thing. She was so affected by her family’s problems that she couldn’t even finish school."

In the Fullstar office, Sean Grant was slouched improperly in his office chair, speaking to the person on the other end of the phone, "I told you so! My company’s marketing tactics are awesome, right? See? We raised her profile and even turned the comments around!"

On the other end, Jack Warren, who was hiding in the bathroom to call him, said, "Who told you to use Joanna Kennedy’s family background and her dropping out of school for marketing?"

Jack Warren gritted his teeth. "You better pray for yourself. I can’t save you."

"Hey, wait, what do you mean?" Sean Grant sat up straight. "I specifically had people erase any trace of Simon. No one knows Joanna Kennedy was in a relationship with him back in school. Didn’t I do a good job?"

"Good. You did a fantastic job."

Jack Warren was simply speechless with this one-track-minded idiot.

’What normal person would want to climb up by stepping on their own painful past? To let others know about their tragic history and have it discussed freely online?’

’Sympathy and pity are often more humiliating than direct ridicule.’

’Although Simon Lockwood doesn’t say anything, I can tell that he cares about this ’ex-girlfriend’.’

’Even though I don’t know what happened between them in the past, Simon Lockwood will definitely not be happy about Joanna Kennedy trending.’

Sure enough, within just half an hour, the trending topic about Joanna Kennedy’s family background was suppressed.

On the other end of the line, Sean Grant was wailing, "AHHH, what do I do? Simon Lockwood said he’ll never help me solve the company’s problems again! He’s washing his hands of me! What do I do, what do I—"

Jack Warren decisively hung up the phone. Finally, some peace and quiet.

’You reap what you sow.’

Joanna Kennedy was completely unaware of everything that had happened online. She had just finished recording the variety show, where she had played the part of a female general on horseback.

She had practiced for so long that the insides of her thighs were chafed red. Walking sent a sharp, grating pain through them. Her young assistant bought her some ointment to reduce the swelling and pain.

Joanna Kennedy returned to the hotel and applied it. The cool, refreshing sensation made her feel much better.

She opened her phone and saw the trending topic had already been suppressed, but she still learned about the whole farce from her young assistant.

"It shot straight to the number one trending spot. I was shocked, but I didn’t dare tell you. I was afraid it would affect your filming..." Julie said.

Joanna Kennedy lowered her gaze and said nothing, the suspicion in her heart quietly solidifying.

[It was Simon Lockwood who had the topic suppressed, wasn’t it?] Joanna Kennedy’s tone was certain.

’Who else has that kind of power and would silently do these things for me behind the scenes?’

remained silent, tacitly agreeing.

[Why did he do that?]

finally spoke: [He was probably bored.]

Joanna Kennedy: [.........]

’Of course Simon Lockwood couldn’t have just been bored. So why did he do it? Doesn’t he hate me now?’

Joanna Kennedy felt a little lost.

There was a sky garden on the top floor of the hotel. Joanna Kennedy hadn’t planned on going, intending to rest instead, but Julie was dying to go and begged her to come along.

To get to The Sky Garden, you had to take the express elevator from the lobby. Just as Joanna Kennedy walked into the lobby, she saw a group of men, all uniformly dressed in suits, enter through the hotel’s revolving door.

The middle-aged man in the lead was walking and talking, "Mr. Lockwood, you see, this is the layout for The Sky Garden. We’re planning to build a teahouse or a coffee shop next to it, so guests can enjoy the scenery while they have a drink..."

Simon Lockwood stood a head taller than everyone around him, surrounded like the moon amidst stars. He wore only a white shirt with the cuffs slightly rolled up. His figure was tall and slender, and his gold-rimmed glasses gave him a refined, ascetic look, yet his entire demeanor was cold and indifferent.