Reborn Rich: Prices Dropped, My Savings Didn't

"A g-girlfriend?"

"Whose girlfriend?"

"Saul Thorne’s girlfriend?"

The old master, shocked and confused, fired off a series of rapid-fire questions.

Jane Sterling adopted a casual tone and replied into the phone, "That’s right, Grandpa. Don’t you worry about it. I just got back to the country, so what I need most is to make friends. We can talk about boyfriends and all that later. I’m hanging up now!"

Before the old master could say another word, Jane Sterling had already hung up, then pouted helplessly.

Saul Thorne was handsome, sure, but she liked Cecilia Sterling more.

After all, Cecilia Sterling had given the purse to her; she was a beautiful and kind-hearted fairy, just like herself.

However, Jane Sterling wasn’t in a hurry to clarify to Cecilia Sterling that she’d had a run-in with Saul Thorne. It was best to let things like that unfold naturally. There was no need to go out of her way to explain, since the start of their friendship had nothing to do with Saul Thorne anyway.

Soon, Estelle Goodman and Blair also arrived late, their foreheads beaded with sweat and their hands full of shopping bags.

"Sorry, darling, we’re late." Estelle Goodman appeared with a rueful apology. "It was impossible to get a cab over there today. They said some celebrity was making an appearance, so they closed off several roads. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone."

Jane Sterling looked at the speaking Estelle Goodman. She was a bright and beautiful young woman.

Then she looked at Blair behind her. With her striking figure and cool, composed aura, she clearly had a strong personality.

’They’re all gorgeous!’

"Let me introduce you. This is Jane, a friend I just met."

"These two are my good friends and university roommates, Estelle and Blair."

Jane Sterling couldn’t wait to greet them. "Hi there!"

"Hi, hi." Estelle Goodman was naturally enthusiastic, while Blair just gave a slight nod in response.

Once they were all seated, Cecilia Sterling took the initiative and recounted what had just happened at the LV store, telling it like a short story.

"Oh my god, how could there be such a disgusting man?" Estelle Goodman’s face crumpled after hearing the story. She turned to Blair and said, "If only you were there. You would’ve beaten him to a pulp."

"So you two really just met?"

Jane Sterling nodded excitedly. "That’s right! We just met within the last hour."

Blair didn’t say anything, but her micro-expressions betrayed a faint shock. ’What an enviable speed for making friends,’ she thought.

Throughout the meal, Jane Sterling and Estelle Goodman’s mouths never stopped moving. Both had the personalities of chatterboxes. They talked about everything from domestic to international affairs, from luxury goods to cosmetic procedures. Their souls seemed to be a perfect match.

Cecilia Sterling only chimed in with a few words occasionally, while Blair remained completely silent, just listening and focusing on her food.

The four of them had a rare sense of harmony. One more talkative person would have made it noisy; the atmosphere was just right as it was.

As they were eating, Cecilia Sterling’s phone buzzed with a WhatsApp message from James Lockwood.

"Miss Sterling, there’s a dinner party tonight. A film project with a lot of potential will be discussed. I was wondering if you might be interested?"

Ever since the incident with her sister, she and James Lockwood hadn’t been in private contact, save for occasionally liking each other’s social media posts.

So, she wasn’t particularly surprised that he was now proactively inviting her to a dinner with investors.

From the very beginning, when Goldman Golding wanted to sign Lily, Cecilia Sterling had said that James Lockwood wanted to use the contract with Lily to rope her in as well, hoping she would invest more in Goldman Golding’s future projects.

Cecilia Sterling wasn’t against it. Investing in film and television was, for her, the most effortless way to make money. Regardless of how much she earned, at least it didn’t require much of her personal attention.

And even if she lost money, she could afford it.

Cecilia Sterling replied, "I’m not interested in small-scale projects."

This wasn’t arrogance on Cecilia Sterling’s part; it was the simple truth.

She truly had no interest in projects where one might invest a few hundred or maybe one to two thousand, just to earn a few thousand in profit.

"Rest assured, Miss Sterling. Would I really organize a special dinner for a small project? This is definitely a project that matches your scale. Just by coming, you’d be doing me a great honor. Even if you’re not interested in the project, you can still meet some new friends."

At this kind of dinner party, networking was also a key objective. After all, pretty much everyone at the table represented capital.

"Alright. Send me the address. I’ll be there."

Soon, James Lockwood sent the detailed time and address to Cecilia Sterling, making sure to add that the dress code was casual—everyone was just getting together for a simple meal and a chat.

Cecilia Sterling was naturally unfamiliar with this type of dinner party, but she wasn’t intimidated. Since it was a gathering of capital, her money was her confidence.

*

Meanwhile, Lily Sterling had used her downtime from filming over the past few days to finish reading the Campus Life script.

Overall, the script was decent, but the market had a lot of restrictions for this genre, so the plot was rather conservative and cliché. It was the kind of script where you could guess the ending after reading the beginning.

To be honest, Lily Sterling didn’t particularly like it. The female lead wasn’t a very compelling character; in fact, the male lead’s character was more well-developed.

Perhaps that was why Andrew Sutton had accepted the role.

"Does Connie want me to take it?"

Lily Sterling asked Finn as soon as she finished reading.

Finn replied seriously, "Connie said it’s up to you. If you’re willing to take it, she’ll go talk to them. If you don’t want it, she’ll turn them down."

"You don’t want to take it, Lily?" Yuna asked in a low voice when she saw the look on her face.

Lily Sterling didn’t hesitate, nodding directly. "I don’t want it. I don’t like the script or the character."

Yuna raised an eyebrow, but Finn thought it was a bit of a shame. "It’s the female lead. Are you sure you won’t take it?"

To land a leading role right after debuting was an opportunity countless actresses begged for. And yet, the company was prioritizing Lily Sterling’s opinion.

If this were any other company, who would care if you were willing or not? When the opportunity for a lead role falls into your lap, turning it down would be seen as ungrateful.

In truth, Lily Sterling was a little worried that being too picky about scripts would displease Connie, but she didn’t want to compromise when it came to acting. Since Connie had said it was her decision, she might as well be honest.

"I’ll talk to Connie myself," Lily Sterling said.

"What about Andrew Sutton?" Yuna asked tentatively. "How about I go talk to him for you? After all, he’s the one who recommended you. You should at least let him know."

Of course, Lily Sterling wouldn’t ignore Andrew Sutton’s kind gesture. "I’ll talk to him myself and apologize."

After all, they had been on set together for two months and had filmed many kissing scenes. Their relationship could be considered quite familiar.

After a moment’s thought, she stood up decisively. "I’ll go now. I don’t want to delay them from choosing someone else."

Seeing this, Yuna quickly stood up too. "I’ll go with you."

When they arrived at Andrew Sutton’s dressing room, he was also studying a script. Seeing Lily Sterling, a visible joy filled his eyes as he stood up to greet her. "Lily, you’re here."

Lily Sterling nodded with a smile and said softly and directly, "I came to apologize. The show you recommended me for to the production team... I personally don’t really want to do it. So, I’m sorry."