Miles Yates instinctively bent down to pick up Wendy Aldridge's skirt hem, raising his hand in a gentlemanly gesture to let her walk ahead of him.
Wendy's face showed apology, but more so was filled with pink bubbles; after thanking him, she walked in front, moving toward the candlelight and camera, star-like and sparkling.
At this moment, viewers in front of their screens felt that, even if Wendy didn't have Renee Morgan's superior features, she was much more camera-friendly? More star-like?
Feeling all eyes on her, Wendy knew she had achieved her goal. She was well aware that, at the beginning of entering the show, without a fan base or any popularity, she had to leverage Miles Yates and Zara Chapman's fame, or else it would be difficult to stand out. The facts proved her approach was correct.
Wendy blushed, shyly taking the roses from her assistant, seemingly to avoid too much attention, deliberately shrinking into the crowd, lining up to present her flowers to Miles.
After the girls finished presenting roses during the song, everyone finally congratulated Miles Yates together, wishing him a happy birthday.
Zara Chapman arrived fashionably late, bringing Miles a bouquet, explaining the delay was because she had been waiting for the flowers to arrive.
Miles didn't mind, and everyone praised Zara for her thoughtfulness, commenting that because everything was so last-minute, none of them had managed to prepare gifts.
Right then, Wendy sat down beside Miles, shyly saying, "I also didn't have time to prepare a gift, but I know Mr. Yates likes folk music, especially Chloe Callahan's songs. I happen to have a handwritten lyric sheet by Chloe Callahan, so I'll give it to Mr. Yates."
She took out a notebook from her bag, full of hand-drawn musical notes, messy yet still recognizable as some songs, showing how rare it was.
Miles Yates's fondness for Chloe Callahan was no secret; plenty of interviews hinted at it.
"Ah, none of us prepared gifts—Wendy, how do you have Chloe's handwritten lyrics?" Lynn Miller was truly surprised. Chloe was the hottest female singer in indie folk right now—not everyone was a fan, but everyone had heard at least a few of her songs.
Wendy tilted her head, smiling sweetly: "I'm her fan, too—I've collected lots of Chloe-related memorabilia."
Chloe had a habit of asking fans for lyrics contributions. Once, Wendy impulsively wrote her a set of lyrics, which surprisingly Chloe used. As a trade, Wendy requested a sheet of her handwritten lyrics; Chloe agreed, and mailed the lyric sheet to her.
"..."
After Wendy's explanation, everyone suddenly understood, looking at her with admiration in their eyes.
Viewers in front of the screen were gossiping, curious about the lyrics Wendy had written, even more so praising her talent, showering her with compliments.
[...]
Miles Yates, his gaze cool, lingered a little longer on Wendy: "Can I see the lyrics you wrote?"
Wendy smiled bashfully: "Of course, though I still haven't heard her release this song."
She took out the original lyrics from her bag.
The PD was very discreet, only giving a corner of the lyric sheet to the camera.
Miles looked at the lyrics, amazement flashing in his eyes: "Did you really write this?"
Wendy felt a momentary pang of guilt. The story was true, but she hadn't actually written the lyrics—the lyric sheet was something she snatched. But that person wouldn't speak up; Chloe, even if she saw the episode, wouldn't deny it, since she didn't know them anyway—although Wendy really did have a similar trade with a fan online.
"Yeah, it was just a spur of the moment thing. So much time has passed, I wonder if Chloe will ever use it?" Wendy faced the cameras, urging her idol across the internet to release the song, making everyone laugh.
From the moment Miles came onto the show, he'd always held himself aloof—after all, he and Zara Chapman were the show's biggest stars. But now, even Miles couldn't help giving Wendy a hug: "Thank you for your gift. I really like it."
Thunderous applause broke out.
Wendy's heart raced. Her eyes darted swiftly to Renee Morgan, her voice crisp: "When we were driving over today, Renee kept talking about Mr. Yates's birthday. So, what gift have you prepared for him?"
The assistant behind Miles showed a surprised look—how did Renee know in advance that today was Miles's lunar birthday?
You know, if not for today's live broadcast, even the fans wouldn't have known.
Everyone's gaze fell on Renee Morgan.
If Renee explained now that she hadn't talked about such things, it would make Miles Yates look bad. But if she didn't explain, she really had no gift to give.
This line was a blatant trap.
In the dream, Renee was caught in this trap and left stuck, unable to advance or retreat.
Wendy also used this opportunity to forge a closer bond with Miles Yates, getting along with everyone, and her popularity soared. In the entertainment industry, connections are key—without someone backing you, unless your work is exceptionally strong, it's almost impossible to break out.
Renee had already anticipated it, but couldn't help admiring Wendy's cunning. Renee only saw through things thanks to the hints in her dream. Wendy was just a fresh graduate, but with this level of scheming, she would easily stand out in any circle—only, anyone she targeted was unlucky.
Wendy waited for Renee to deny it. Miles Yates was a rich second-generation star, with a mysterious and powerful background. If Renee offended him now, any hope of breaking out on the show would be crushed.
"Yeah…" Renee was suddenly called out, first showing a lost and uncertain smile, not explaining how she knew today was Miles's lunar birthday: "I just found out it was Mr. Yates's birthday today."
She didn't deny Wendy's words, but body language doesn't lie—she really had just learned about Miles's birthday.
Everyone looked at Wendy with ambiguous expressions—why did she seem oddly eager?
Sharp viewers noticed too, typing their confusion: [Nobody knew today was Miles Yates's lunar birthday. How did Renee know?]
[??? Did I just watch a fake livestream all day? I remember Renee spent the whole ride sleeping, when did she mention Miles's birthday? If she really talked about it, the internet would've exploded long ago—there'd be no need for the assistant to announce it!]
Some viewers went straight for it: [Wendy is lying—Renee never talked about Miles's birthday. Wendy said that because she knew Renee wouldn't have time to prepare a gift, deliberately putting her on the spot.]
In fact, judging from the assistant calling everyone over to the lawn, nobody had time to prepare gifts. Even Zara Chapman's bouquet was delayed, and didn't the assistant say beforehand that the birthday wouldn't accept any gifts?
Wendy knew exactly what she was doing, making things difficult for Renee. If it was unintentional, that would be one thing—but if she did it on purpose, it's really hard to like her.