Chapter 129: Goddess, You’re Drooling
"I have severe allergies, and it’s absolute agony! I completely understand what Melody’s going through. Sometimes, just stepping outside is a trial!" a member of the production crew spoke up first.
"And to give her that gift knowing she has such bad allergies... I just don’t get it," another person chimed in.
"Melody is so professional and diligent, and her acting is incredible. She’s always catching hate for no reason!"
"There’s no such thing as ’hate for no reason.’ It’s always secretly orchestrated."
"Goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover. They say the human eye has 576 megapixels, but sometimes it still can’t see the truth."
"Forget the truth—you can’t see into a person’s heart."
Listening to their chatter, Raymond Ford clenched her fists again. "I really didn’t know Melody has allergies! She insists that I knew, which gives everyone a preconceived notion! But I honestly had no idea!"
"So you’re saying Melody deliberately triggered her own allergic reaction just to frame you?" the crew member who had mentioned her own allergies shot back. Before Raymond could answer, she pressed on, "Do you have any idea how serious an allergic reaction can be? It can be life-threatening! You think Melody would risk her own safety just to frame you?"
Raymond was rendered speechless.
’At this point, the more I say, the more mistakes I’ll make. If I keep trying to defend myself, I’m afraid I’ll ruin all the goodwill I’ve built up here.’
Facing the crowd of onlookers, Raymond stopped talking and turned back toward her personal lounge.
The onlookers dispersed, each returning to their own business.
Leah Young sat across from Raymond, wanting to comfort her but not daring to speak.
"That Melody is a ruthless bitch!" The words were squeezed through Raymond’s clenched teeth.
"Raymond, don’t be angry. We need to figure out our next steps, and quickly. I don’t think Melody will just let this go. She’s definitely got something else planned."
"Her next move will just be to use this incident to strike back at me. But I have to be careful around Rose Shaw, and so does Melody."
Leah Young nodded. "Besides, Melody’s fanbase is nowhere near as big as yours. Even if this gets out online, it’ll just turn into a fan war."
"Where did you go just now? When that assistant of Melody’s was tearing into me, where were you?"
"I... I was stunned. I couldn’t think of what to do," Leah Young explained hastily.
Raymond took a deep breath, composing herself.
’My persona collapsing on set isn’t a big deal. The truly terrifying thing would be for it to collapse in front of my fans.’
’If our fanbases go to war, Melody doesn’t stand a chance!’
...
Melody was lying in a hospital bed with an IV drip in her arm. Her condition had stabilized and wasn’t getting any worse.
’Allergic reactions are the absolute worst!’
"Just look at the state of you!" Talia Mercer said, looking at Melody with a mixture of anger and heartache.
"Den jus don’ wook at me," Melody retorted, then suddenly realized her tongue felt thick and clumsy in her mouth!
Seeing Melody’s pitiful state, Talia Mercer couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
"And you’re... waffing!" She tried her best to speak clearly, but she couldn’t control the pronunciation at all. ’My tongue feels twice its normal size!’
"My goddess, you’re drooling!" Talia Mercer quickly handed her a tissue. "You really are something else! Earlier, I really wanted to walk right up and slap Raymond Ford, but I held back. Now that I see you like this, I regret it. I shouldn’t have restrained myself!"
Melody covered her mouth, deciding not to speak, and gave Talia Mercer a thumbs-up.
’Talia Mercer, you little spitfire!’
"Do you want to see what you look like right now?"
Melody shook her head frantically! ’No way! If I take one look, I’ll probably remember it for the rest of my life.’
"If Rose saw you looking like this, she’d drop you for sure!"