Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Ultimate Manservant
Huh?
The smiles on their faces froze. Their expressions were surprisingly identical—a mixture of confusion and disbelief.
"What did you say?"
Suzanne Sawyer’s brow furrowed as she processed it, looking as if she’d misheard.
Seeing this, Hannah Warner scoffed from the side. "Lily Sterling is getting paid eight yuan an episode. Did you hear that clearly?"
"Impossible! Don’t try to fool me!" Suspicion filled Suzanne Sawyer’s eyes. Even with Hannah Warner’s firm confirmation, she refused to believe it.
’A new actress in a minor role, paid by the episode? And eight yuan per episode at that?’
’That’s absolutely impossible.’
But as she looked at Lily Sterling’s calm face, she subconsciously felt that Lily wouldn’t tell such a childish lie. A lie like that was too fragile and could be exposed at any moment.
Unless...
Suzanne Sawyer’s heart sank. She pressed, "Who exactly are you playing?"
’If it’s really eight yuan an episode, wouldn’t her total pay for the whole series be over four hundred yuan? A role with that kind of pay is definitely not a minor one!’
Lily Sterling said flatly, "Filming starts in two days. You’ll find out then."
This Suzanne Sawyer had shown a baffling hostility toward her from the very beginning, so Lily deliberately kept her in suspense, wanting to make her anxious.
Sure enough, frustration flooded Suzanne Sawyer’s face. She demanded repeatedly, "Just tell me! You have to tell me right now!"
Seeing this, Anna Sanders and Nina Zimmer simultaneously reached out and pulled Lily Sterling behind them. Hannah Warner added with a cold sneer, "What’s your hurry? You’ll find out on the first day of filming. Don’t worry, I guarantee it’ll be a pleasant surprise for you!"
She had gone to great lengths, making her family spend five hundred yuan to snatch the role of the second young miss’s handmaid. But Lily, through a blessing in disguise, had landed the role of the second young miss herself. The thought of Suzanne Sawyer having to serve tea, bow, and kowtow to Lily on set was immensely satisfying to them.
One could only imagine how priceless Suzanne’s reaction would be then.
"Lily, ignore her. Let’s go."
The girls shot Suzanne Sawyer a disdainful glare, then walked into the shop with Lily protected in their midst.
No matter how unreasonable Suzanne Sawyer was, she wouldn’t do anything too drastic right now. She could only watch as Lily left, the anxiety she had just managed to suppress now surging back with a vengeance.
’If Lily’s role is more important than mine, doesn’t that make the role I paid for a complete joke?’
The thought made Suzanne Sawyer even more anxious and agitated.
"I’m dying! The look on Suzanne Sawyer’s face was more colorful than a painter’s palette. Seeing her so frustrated is so satisfying."
Hannah Warner couldn’t help but laugh out loud as soon as they entered the private room.
Anna Sanders looked at Lily admiringly. "It’s rare to see you be so blunt, Lily. It was just one sentence, but it was enough to make Suzanne Sawyer question her whole existence."
Hannah Warner nodded with a laugh. "Totally! When she heard Lily say she was getting ’eight yuan an episode,’ her eyes nearly popped out of her head. It was hilarious."
Their praise made Lily Sterling a little embarrassed. Growing up, she had rarely gone out of her way to make things difficult for others. But Suzanne Sawyer had provoked her again and again, so she couldn’t stop herself from firing back that one remark.
Now, in hindsight, her heart was pounding even faster than it had been during the confrontation.
’I’m really not good at this sort of thing. Nothing even happened, and I’ve already scared myself half to death.’
Only Nina Zimmer remained level-headed. Noticing Lily’s silence, she couldn’t help but remind her, "Lily, once you’re on set, try to avoid any direct confrontations with Suzanne Sawyer. Her father is an investor, more or less. Offending her won’t do you any good."
Lily Sterling looked at Nina Zimmer and nodded. "I understand. I’ll just focus on my acting and avoid interacting with her too much."
Just then, a waiter brought over the menus. The girls instantly pushed all thoughts of Suzanne Sawyer to the back of their minds and huddled together to order.
After dealing with the school administrators’ requests for group photos, Cecilia Sterling started walking back to her dorm while searching for a flight back to Veridia for that day on her phone.
"Ce-Cecilia Sterling."
A timid voice stopped her as she reached the bottom of her dormitory building.
Cecilia looked up in surprise. She paused for a moment upon seeing who it was, then broke into a smile and greeted him, "Charles Jennings."
Charles Jennings smiled back faintly. His fair face still had a touch of boyishness, and his smile was endearingly earnest.
He was carrying a shopping bag filled with various items. Seeing him here, outside the girls’ dormitory, Cecilia guessed he was here to deliver things to Estelle Goodman again.
"Should I call her down for you, or should I take it up for you?" Cecilia asked politely.
Charles quickly replied, "If it’s not too much trouble, could you just take it up? Just tell her I stopped by."
Cecilia nodded and took the shopping bag. She glanced inside instinctively, and her eyes widened in slight surprise.
She didn’t pay much attention to the other items, but the "sanitary pads" on top were particularly eye-catching.
"You even bring her these? Did you go buy them?" Cecilia asked, looking at Charles.
In Cecilia’s experience, most guys were too embarrassed to buy feminine hygiene products for girls.
Charles didn’t seem to mind at all, nodding with a perfectly normal expression. "She’s very forgetful and doesn’t keep track of things. Once, she ran out and didn’t buy more in time, which almost led to an embarrassing situation. So ever since then, I’ve kept track of her cycle for her. I make sure to buy them and bring them over two days in advance."
Hearing this, Cecilia’s expression turned to one of utter astonishment.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Charles Jennings, you’re like the ultimate butler!" Cecilia exclaimed in amazement. "You’re the most considerate guy I’ve ever met."
Charles gave an embarrassed smile at her words, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. He adjusted his glasses and said, "Well, I’ll be going then. Goodbye, Cecilia."
’He’s so earnest even when saying goodbye. How cute.’
Back in the dorm, Estelle Goodman was in front of her computer, learning the latest girl group dance from a video. She was putting all her effort into it, twisting her waist, thrusting her hips, and flipping her hair.
When she saw Cecilia return, she swayed her way over, slung an arm around Cecilia’s neck, and started dancing sensually against her. "Darling, am I hot or what?"
"So hot, so hot," Cecilia nodded along. Seeing that Estelle was about to do the splits, she quickly raised a hand to stop her. "Hold on, Charles Jennings brought you something."
She handed the shopping bag to Estelle, who glanced at it casually and tossed it aside as if this were completely normal.
Seeing this, Cecilia couldn’t help but ask, "That little butler of yours is pretty attentive, remembering even what time of the month it is for you."
Estelle Goodman pouted. "My dad has paid for his tuition ever since we were kids, so I guess it’s only right that he does these things."
"Huh?" Cecilia was taken aback. "Don’t his parents pay his tuition? Working as a driver for your family should pay pretty well, right?"
Estelle explained, "He’s attended private school with me since we were little, and the tuition isn’t cheap for Mr. Jennings’s family. My dad thinks he’s sensible and insisted he go to school with me, but really it was so he could look after me."
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