Tammy’s temper was fiery as ever. Seeing me so calm only made her both anxious and protective; she quickly offered me an idea. “Why don’t we announce it first, that you and Aiden already broke up? Better that than letting people online say you got dumped.” I shook my head. “No need.” “Raelyn, then how do you plan to handle this? You can’t just let everyone believe you deliberately went after Geraldine,” Tammy pressed, fuming on my behalf. I smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, I already have a plan.” She blinked at me, puzzled. “What plan?” “Tammy, do you remember the people standing near you just now?” She scratched her head, trying to recall. “I think so… there was one girl with heavy makeup. She was staring at you while you acted, totally dazed; then she even pulled out her phone to record…” Halfway through, Tammy suddenly caught on. A delighted grin spread across her face. “Right! Someone must’ve recorded your performance! Raelyn, you’re planning to use that to shut down the rumors, aren’t you? You’re brilliant!” I nodded, stood, and stretched my limbs. “Exactly. I’ll step out for a bit; if nothing comes up, I’ll be back in half an hour. Focus on your scenes—you don’t need to worry about this.” Tammy nodded eagerly and hopped back to set. She was right; I went to track down the video. The set didn’t have surveillance, but when I’d been performing, I had noticed someone recording. If I could get that clip and release it online, then the rumor about me bullying Geraldine would collapse on its own. It didn’t take long before I found that crew member. The moment I offered to pay, she agreed without hesitation. Soon after, the video of my performance went live. The footage was crystal clear; the moment it hit the internet, the entire entertainment circle erupted. Spectators swarmed in; after watching, many couldn’t help but comment: “With acting this good, Raelyn wasn’t provoking—she was dominating.” “I’ve seen Geraldine’s acting. Honestly? Pretty mediocre. So what if Raelyn overshadowed her?”“I was on set—Raelyn’s gorgeous and her acting blew everyone away. Even the male lead couldn’t keep up with her.” Then, crew members began revealing my background. “Did you know? Raelyn is Professor Reese’s only student. No wonder her acting’s on another level!” “Reese is a legend in this industry; if he trained her, she’s at least master-level. Honestly, giving Geraldine some pointers should be no problem.” “Geraldine’s so fragile—she acts like a victim over just a few words, putting on a whole performance..” By the time I returned to set, I found Tammy slouched in a folding chair, both hands glued to her phone, furiously tapping away. “What are you doing?” I asked curiously. “Raelyn, your counterattack was so satisfying! I’m online roasting Geraldine too!” Simon pulled at the corner of his mouth. “You’re a public figure; maybe don’t get mixed up in this?” Tammy shot him a glare. “Old-fashioned! Who says public figures can’t gossip? I’ve got four burner accounts; if one gets banned, I’ll switch to another. I’m definitely standing up for Raelyn!” Simon gave me a look and continued to caution, “Public opinion is ruthless. Better to play it safe; we need to be more careful from here on out—especially you. Once the crowd turns against you, they’ll never stop.” Tammy waved him off impatiently. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. But Raelyn—what do you think Geraldine’s doing right now?” My expression didn’t flicker. “Don’t care.” “Huh?” Tammy suddenly let out a startled cry. “What the—my comments just disappeared?” I walked over to check her phone. Not only were her comments gone, but the video I’d posted—and even the earlier story about Geraldine playing the victim—had all vanished too. It was as if none of it had ever existed; in their place were unrelated news stories. Tammy stuck out her tongue, stunned. “The trending topics got wiped? That costs a fortune. You don’t think… Aiden did this, do you?” I said flatly, “Of course it was him.”A pang of sadness hit me. For Geraldine, he really was willing to spend everything. “Unbelievable. Just break up with him already—don’t let him string you along any longer,” Tammy huffed. I knew she meant well, and I was angry too. But Aiden’s sudden change of heart had to have a reason; I needed to find out what it was. “Alright. Geraldine won’t topple us overnight. Focus on your acting instead—stop wasting energy on this. Your drama and hers will probably air around the same time; if your performance falls flat, there’ll be no saving face.” I gave Tammy a pointed look, trying to steer her back. The moment she heard that, her face fell into a miserable pout. “You don’t even know… Adam’s such a prude. He said this is his first-ever kissing scene—his screen first kiss! And now it’s being wasted on me. He really doesn’t want to do it. The director told me I have two days to break down Adam’s walls and get this scene shot.”