I followed Shannon's teasing gaze and almost became blinded by the sparkling diamonds on my finger. Last night seemed to pass by in a blur, and I realized in hindsight that I forgot to ask Dominic how he knew that I liked this ring. I held my hand slightly further away and admired the dazzling ring under the sun. I love it the more I look at it. Suddenly, I burst into laughter as a thought crossed my mind. He couldn't have planned this from the start, right? Engrossed in my thoughts, I was caught unawares when Shannon rapped me on the head. “Ow!” I rubbed my head and frowned at her. “Hey, watch your strength. It's not your head, you know.” Shannon's getting more and more violent. “You're right; I've got to watch my strength so I can knock you out of your daydream! Just look at how dazed and giggly you are. What did Dominic do last night? Go down on one knee?” She grabbed my ring-adorned hand and shook it for good measure. I pulled my hand out of her grip as a giggle escaped me. “He did, but I didn't agree.” That seemed to silence Shannon. She spoke up a few moments later. “Wait, so he proposed? Why didn't you say yes, then? You don't want to marry him?” Shannon and I continued walking at a slow pace. I could not help but notice that she grew progressively louder as she became more agitated. “Keep your voice down. Are you trying to tell the whole world about this?” Shannon merely hooked her arm through my elbow and interrogated me about last night. I roughly summarized everything that happened. Shannon expressed her support, though she was worried that I would fall victim to Dominic's complicated love life. Getting a divorce was a messier affair than simply breaking up. I would be entering my second marriage. Even if I had no qualms about divorcing Dominic later on, my parents would be devastated, and God only knew what people would be saying about me then. Shannon patted my shoulder comfortingly after hearing my concerns. She said somberly, “At least you aren't blinded by love. Marriage and dating are gulfs apart. Dominic's family is a headache; oh, and don't forget the clingy Camille. They're all a bunch of ticking time bombs. Worst of all, you'll be the one crying on my shoulder even if Dominic messes up your marriage. Stupid men and this stupid patriarchal society.” I grabbed Shannon's elbow and smiled at her. “Got it. I'm not dumb, you know. I'll spend some time thinking things through. If I do decide to marry him, you'll be the first to know.” Shannon lifted her chin proudly and said playfully, “Of course. By the way, I've booked myself as your bridesmaid. You better get me a hot groomsman to escort me down the aisle. Who knows, I might get lucky myself.” I wanted to laugh at her far-fetched imagination. Still, I could not help but sigh at how lucky I was to have Shannon as a friend. She's forever worrying her head off over my comics or my love life. She's the best and only friend I'll ever need. Shannon's joy reminded me of her unpleasant run-in with the mad lady yesterday, though I decided against ruining her mood with questions about it. She'll tell me about it when the time comes. We should enjoy ourselves for now. The group of us were all about the same age, and we got along splendidly during this trip. James' sponsored yacht was the pinnacle of luxury. It had anything and everything we could dream of, and we partied the day away, only returning to shore as sunset approached.We spent the night exploring Jadeborough. The next day, we flew back to Lightspring, leaving Louis behind, who had to prepare for his final exams. On the third day of our return to Lightspring, Shannon and I headed to the offices of Galaxy Corporation for a casting session arranged by James. Once we arrived at Galaxy Corporation, James arranged for someone to bring us to a massive conference room. Someone had placed a long table and several chairs against a wall, leaving a space in the center of the room. We were seated near the end of the table. Curious, I peeked at the three placards on the table. Director. Assistant director. Producer. Five people entered the room a few minutes later, including James and Dominic. I was surprised to see Dominic at the casting. He's not a director or an employee of Galaxy Corporation. What is he doing here? Being a busybody?Satisfying my curiosity would have to wait. James was excitedly introducing Shannon and me to our future collaborators. While I did not know who the assistant director and producer were, I had heard of the director, Emille Anderson. I've seen him on TV! I can't believe I'm meeting him in person! James must have spent a fortune on this project. We settled in our seats, and I found myself sitting between Dominic and Shannon. I asked him softly, “Aren't you preparing for a fashion show in spring? Why did you come today? You must be drowning in work.” Dominic merely leaned against his chair lazily and replied, “It's good to catch my breath once in a while.” His attitude killed my curiosity. I could not help but sigh at how quickly he had reverted to his old, annoying self after putting on a romantic display on the night of his proposal. We did not have much time to continue chatting anyway; the auditionees had begun entering the room. Today's casting served as a preliminary shortlist, and we would not be assigning any fixed roles until later in the production schedule. I found myself gawking at the gorgeous actors and actresses who had arrived for the casting. I suddenly felt like I had been thrust into a position of great power. Shannon was no better, with stars in her eyes. Her brazen ogling was disturbing. Having had no experience in casting sessions, I did not know how to evaluate the auditionees on their acting skills. Eventually, Emille told me to trust my gut instinct. After all, there would be several more rounds of selections beyond this casting session. Shannon and I spent the whole session whispering furiously to one another. Our excitement peaked when an auditionee we had had our eyes on took his turn, and we immediately gave him our stamp of approval. Someone snatched the auditionees' name list out of my hand just as Shannon and I were engaged in an enthusiastic discussion. I turned around and realized that it was Dominic. He was scrutinizing my name list. Eager to share my excitement, I pointed at the names I had circled on the sheet. “What do you think? They're all quite handsome and popular these days. Absolute eye candies! I- Hey, why are you crossing them out?” I watched on in horror as Dominic grabbed a marker and crossed out the names of the auditionees I had selected. “You can't pick them.” Furious, I snatched the name list back and glared at him. “Why not? I want these people! They're all knockouts. You're not making any sense.” I had subconsciously grown quieter as I neared the end of my indignant rant, thanks to Dominic's rapidly-darkening expression.