Reborn Rich: Prices Dropped, My Savings Didn't

Lily Sterling’s usual impression on set was that she was meek and mild, like a well-behaved little lamb.

No matter who spoke to her or what they asked, her response was always, "Okay," "Sure," or "No problem." No one had ever seen her look displeased or refuse anyone.

So when Lily Sterling didn’t immediately agree, and even asked if this was Andrew Sutton’s idea, Drake was a little surprised.

’He thought Lily Sterling would agree without the slightest hesitation.’

’After all, girls are usually more concerned about things like kiss scenes.’

Drake snapped out of it and gave an awkward smile. He licked his lips before speaking. "It’s a decision from our team. You know Andrew has a lot of ’girlfriend fans,’ and they can be very possessive. We’re not just thinking about Andrew, either. We’re worried you’ll get dragged into it and take a lot of heat online."

Lily rarely refused people and had never really learned how to say "no." She was willing to compromise on other things, but never on her performance.

So, as difficult as it was, she forced herself to speak. "Drake, you don’t need to use the ’it’s for your own good’ excuse. When I found out we were filming this kiss scene today, I was incredibly nervous and spent all day preparing for it. But not once did I consider faking the kiss."

"This scene is incredibly important for both Flora and Evan. It’s a major turning point where their feelings for each other intensify. If we have to fake the kiss, then I can’t believe in the characters, and the audience won’t either."

As she spoke, Lily picked up a nearby script and continued, "Besides, the keywords highlighted in red for this scene are ’passionate,’ ’heartfelt,’ and ’emotional release.’ That tells me it’s a long take shot from multiple angles. There’s simply no way to fake that."

Drake said, "Well, couldn’t we just shoot a piece from each angle and then edit them together? Isn’t that a multi-angle long take?"

Lily was starting to get angry, her voice rising. "And what about the emotion? How are the characters’ feelings supposed to connect in a kiss scene that’s been pieced together from separate shots in post-production? You might as well just give me a block of wood to hug and kiss and then photoshop Andrew Sutton’s face on it later."

Seemingly caught off guard by how assertive Lily was on this matter, the normally glib Drake was suddenly tongue-tied, unsure how to respond.

Seeing this, Yuna stepped forward, her expression displeased. "Drake, why don’t you go back and discuss this with your team. Our Lily has her principles when it comes to her craft. She won’t accept this."

Drake nodded at her words and left without saying anything else.

Only then did Yuna scoff in disdain. "What a freak. If you don’t want to film kiss scenes, why even be an actor?"

Drake returned to Andrew Sutton’s dressing room to find the rest of the team laughing and chatting. No one noticed his dark expression. An assistant named Lynn smiled and asked, "Drake, did you give their team a heads-up?"

’Being rebuffed like that felt awful, especially coming from Lily Sterling. The more he thought about it, the more pathetic he felt.’

He snorted irritably. "Hmph. She refused. Insists on doing a real kiss!"

"What?!"

The smiles instantly vanished from the team members’ faces, replaced by looks of surprise.

Lynn walked over to Drake, her brow furrowed. "Did you speak with Lily Sterling herself? Or one of her assistants?"

"Lily Sterling rejected me personally. Said she wants to be a ’good actor’ and needs to ’get into character.’ Hah. A complete rookie, and she’s trying to lecture me about professional integrity."

Drake’s tone was dripping with disdain, and the others’ expressions soured as well.

One of them complained, "She signs with Connie and suddenly thinks she’s a big shot? Doesn’t she have any idea how much of her online buzz is from being paired with Andrew?"

"Maybe she just wants an excuse to kiss Andrew."

"I bet that’s it. Andrew’s been in so many shows and has never had his on-screen first kiss. If Lily Sterling gets it, that’s guaranteed to create another huge buzz. This is probably Connie’s idea; she’s a master at marketing her talent."

In their anger, their voices had unconsciously risen. The actors’ dressing rooms on set were temporary structures with poor soundproofing.

So, as Andrew Sutton reached the door, he happened to overhear his team badmouthing Lily Sterling.

He threw the door open, startling everyone inside.

Before anyone could speak, he cut in, his expression grim. "What were you just saying?"

Andrew Sutton was known for being even-tempered. He was introverted by nature but treated his team exceptionally well, and it was rare to see him lose his cool.

So now, faced with Andrew Sutton’s frigid aura, everyone grew tense. All eyes turned to Drake.

With Iris gone, Drake, as the lead assistant, was the highest-ranking person present.

"Andrew, don’t be angry. Everyone was just indignant on your behalf," Drake said, standing up and trying to placate him.

Andrew Sutton’s brow furrowed as he stared at him, asking coldly, "Indignant on my behalf? What injustice have I suffered that requires all of you to stand here humiliating Lily Sterling? Do you have any idea how horrible those things you said were? To say that about a woman?"

Seeing that Andrew Sutton was genuinely angry, Drake quickly backpedaled. "Yes, yes, you’re right. We spoke out of turn. We were wrong."

The others also chimed in, nodding and admitting their fault. It was hard to tell if they were sincere, but they at least put on a repentant air.

Andrew Sutton’s gaze swept over each of their faces before finally landing back on Drake. "What exactly is going on!"

Drake struggled to find the words, hemming and hawing for a long moment. Andrew had no idea about the plan to fake the kiss; it had been a unilateral decision made by the team.

Of course, their intentions were to look out for Andrew Sutton; they had just failed to consult him.

When he didn’t speak, Andrew Sutton didn’t move either, simply continuing to stare him down.

Drake couldn’t withstand the immense pressure of that stare and finally confessed the truth. Though he intentionally left out some details, he couldn’t avoid the main point.

Andrew Sutton’s eyes went wide as he listened. He felt a white-hot rage shoot straight to the top of his head.

"You... you all..."

His lips trembled with anger, and it took a long moment for him to get the words out. "So all those times before... in the other shows... when you said the other actresses requested to fake the kiss scenes, that was all a lie, wasn’t it? It was you who went to their teams and made the request, right?"

Drake nodded with a pained smile and tried to explain, "Andrew, we were doing it for your own good. Your on-screen first kiss is a big deal. Your career is on the rise, you’re just one step away from the A-list. We can’t risk a fan backlash right now."

"A big deal my ass!"

Andrew Sutton was so furious he actually swore. His face was flushed red with anger as he glared at everyone in the room and snarled, "I’m an actor! If I wasn’t willing to do a kiss scene, why would I have accepted this role? Did you not know there was a kiss scene when you vetted the script? You accept the job, then you try to stop me from actually doing it? What does that make me look like to everyone else? And you call that for my own good?"