Bab 19: Chapter 19: Could She Handle It Well?
But things didn't always unfold that smoothly.
Julian Johnson glanced at the spot from whence Cliff Benjamin had emerged. The person he was expecting was still absent. Unconsciously, he frowned.
Although Lord Ethan had recommended Kylie Finch, she still didn't have much of an outstanding resume.
On the one hand, she was late for the opening ceremony, which would simply provoke more cruel questions from the media sources. Could she handle it well?
And on the other hand, the opponent company had chosen to hold an opening ceremony at the same time and location, for the mere purpose of comparison. Their big fish had arrived, but ours...
The media had the same thought as Director Johnson, realizing that the lead actress wouldn't appear soon, some of the cameramen and journalists returned to Garcia Entertainment for interviews.
Khloe Finch raised her eyebrow, with pride and contempt. She knew without a doubt that she was the main focus tonight.
Kylie Finch's lateness would not only upset the Best Actor, but the director and the reporters would feel snubbed as well. Those reporters, whose pens were sharper than knife blades, would never let Kylie Finch get away with this.
While Khloe continues to bask in her success, a familiar figure appears on the set of Tea House. At first, nobody noticed a person walking across the stage, but Best Actor Cliff Benjamin gained all the reporters' attention by saying: "A walking white and blue porcelain."
It was Kylie Finch, slowly walking towards center stage. She was wearing a cheongsam with a blue and white porcelain pattern. Her neck was accentuated and long because of the collar. Kylie's charming curves were made apparent by the wavy bottom of the dress, which dragged along the steps.
Cheongsam had extremely strict standards for a woman's body shape. Even the slightest incompetence would make a person's bosom look too small, hips too big, or legs too stocky. Additionally, any normal person couldn't do justice to the elegant quality of the cheongsam, and neither could the beautiful Best Actress from In the Mood for Love.
Yet Kylie Finch could pull off the cheongsam; she had an attractive mixture of a young girl's cuteness and a mature woman's allure. She walked in a pleasant, confident, and graceful manner. This dress had been a gift from Lord Ethan, bestowed upon her by Nate Bass.
Kylie's first reaction had been confusion. She had believed that a billionaire would send something like a gown as a gift, or a pair of crystal shoes...Ha, she laughed, novels were truly fiction.
At first, Kylie Finch had been very reluctant to wear this dress. Only once she had stepped off the helicopter had she realized that she was dressed in loungewear! Jesus, how could she be so miserable!
Against her initial will, Kylie had changed into the cheongsam. And when she had walked backstage, a strange woman had pulled her aside to put some makeup on her, without explanation.
Afterward, even Kylie could barely recognize herself, with all that makeup. But she was still a little nervous about facing all those cameras.
Kylie had never walked down a red carpet, though for years she had watched others on TV doing it, and imagined herself in their shoes. But when her chance finally arrived, she was completely anxious and thought she might have a panic attack.
Fortunately, Kylie was a good actress. No matter how insecure she felt on the inside, she could pretend she was calm and slowly walk towards Director Julian Johnson.
But, beyond anyone's predictions, Kylie suddenly slipped and nearly fell over when she was a mere meter away from Julian Johnson!
Khloe Finch, who was standing to the other side of the stage, encountered a gamut of emotions.
At first, she had alternated between disdain and surprise when she had first seen Kylie walking out, wearing the cheongsam that she had once seen in a master's clothing exhibition. That master had been highly unusual because all of his items were similar, and he often sold his clothes out of affection for the buyer. If he didn't like you, you couldn't buy a single piece, no matter how much money you offered.
So, the exhibition was full of photos of his clothes but never showcased any of the actual materials. If a piece of clothing already had an owner, there would be a star sign under the appropriate photo. Khloe had fallen in love with that cheongsam at first sight.
Khloe had no other hobbies besides buying luxuries. As for luxuries, the most expensive pieces were the best, especially those with such limited production, that they would certainly accentuate her high social status.
Thus, she had asked Laurence Finch to contact someone who knew the master, to buy the cheongsam at a high price. But the master had unexpectedly rejected their offer. Now the cheongsam was on Kylie's body—nothing was more shameful to Khloe than witnessing that!
Feelings of jealousy soon turned into coldness, followed by anger. How could Kylie Finch have bought that dress, given how low her income was? The money she had earned acting as an extra or a corpse could barely get her a second-hand Alto.
Khloe decided that the dress Kylie was wearing, was simply a high-quality knockoff, produced in some small factory in the middle of nowhere. It simply looked similar.
"You are what you wear," she mumbled to herself. Tim Kerry, who was standing beside her, was dazed for an instant and then turned to look at Kylie Finch. He and Kylie were from the same agency, and he knew well enough about her status quo. He decided to mock along. "Outsider," he said.
The discussion between the two was briefly overheard by a reporter who was standing nearby. She turned to Khloe Finch. "What did you say, please?"
Khloe wore a secret smile and said: "We were just talking about how only Kylie can wear that cheongsam so well. It looks so gorgeous and fits her so perfectly."
Khloe had been kind on purpose. She pretended to think highly of Kylie and waited to witness how hard Kylie would fall once the fraud was uncovered. Soon enough, it would be known that Kylie's dress was a knockoff.
"What's your opinion on Kylie's involvement in Tea House then?" the reporter followed.
"Actually, Garcia Entertainment has many excellent actors who lack opportunities to represent themselves. Kylie deserves to win the lead role this time. I honestly give her my best wishes, and hope she can be widely popular because of Tea House."
No jealousy, no disdain. Khloe's generosity and heartfelt wishes for an actor from her family's company increased the positivity surrounding her image, in the eyes of the media and her fans.
"So, from your perspective, Tea House or Blossom—which one is more popular?" The reporter's aim was quite obvious: she wants Khloe to reveal whether she thought Kylie, or herself, was the better actress.
A normal person would claim that they were the best one, but Khloe unexpectedly responded: "I think Blossom has an outstanding director and producer, and a wonderful cast. Everyone is spectacular. We just need to do our best, and that's enough."
"And you..." Just as the reporter for about to follow up with more questions, there was an accident on the opposite stage. The female star had fallen on the red carpet! It was so astonishing.
The reporters who had been surrounding Khloe Finch now surged towards the other side. That's when Khloe discovered that Kylie was in trouble.
Khloe snorted, and heavily cursed Kylie's face-plant. But unexpectedly, Kylie's body slid so that all of her strength landed in her legs, which allowed her to stabilize her body. Not only did Kylie not actually fall over, but she also maintained a perfect smile.
It seemed like she had simply been playing around with the media reporters.
Kylie, in that final picture, appeared lively and polite, sexy, and a little bit naughty. Everyone present applauded.
Hadiah
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