Possessed No More: The True Star Returns to Claim Her Throne-Chapter 17: Samuel Hughes

Riley Perry was surprised. Rhona wasn’t usually like this; why was she so feisty today? ’But she looks so cute being all protective of me!’

Before she could even finish her thought, Chloe Sterling chimed in, "That’s right. That was incredibly rude!"

Riley Perry: ’...’ ’But still, ladies, you’re going to get yourselves beat up acting so aggressive.’

"Alrigh—" Before Riley Perry could even finish the word, the man across from them, holding a bag, proactively apologized. "Yes, yes, you’re right. That was my fault. I really didn’t mean to, I just couldn’t help myself!"

’He’d never seen an agent roast their own celebrity like that. And the celebrity herself wasn’t even mad—she just openly admitted it.’

Rhona brandished a small fist. "Good, you know what’s good for you."

Seeing that the man had apologized, Chloe Sterling didn’t say anything else. All three of them stepped into the elevator.

Riley Perry stood in a corner of the elevator, her gaze drifting over to the man in the black suit. His hair was dark and soft, with a few strands falling across his forehead. He stood ramrod straight, and the black suit looked incredibly stylish on him. She could just imagine how strong and powerful the long legs under those suit pants must be.

The man seemed to sense her gaze and turned his head for a second. Unafraid of being caught, Riley Perry gifted him a devastatingly sweet smile, a faint dimple appearing on her cheek.

’...’

’After the three of them entered, a faint, sweet fragrance filled the elevator. He was certain it wasn’t any brand of perfume, but someone’s natural scent.’

His gaze swept imperceptibly over the three young women before he looked away.

The elevator descended to the second-floor restaurant. The three women stepped out, and the elevator continued its descent.

Chloe Sterling, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. "You know, that guy who was all bundled up looked kind of familiar."

Rhona’s eyes widened. "He was covered from head to toe! How could he possibly look familiar?"

Chloe Sterling said, "Don’t you think he looks a lot like Best Actor Hughes? I know he was completely covered up, but his hands... they looked just like his!"

Riley Perry was amazed. ’What kind of special skill is that? Recognizing people by their hands!’

"I’m serious! I’ve been a fan of Best Actor Hughes for five years. He has the most beautiful hands I’ve ever seen. All ten of his fingers are especially long, but not bony. Plus, he has this little habit: when his hands are hanging naturally at his sides, his index finger subconsciously curls, like this."

As she spoke, she demonstrated by curling her own index finger. "I’m sure that was Best Actor Hughes."

Riley Perry thought back. She had noticed the man’s hands, too. His fingers were long and his knuckles well-defined, and his skin was incredibly smooth. And his index finger had indeed been curled.

’You can’t always tell if someone lives a life of luxury by looking at their face, but their hands are a dead giveaway.’

’The owner of those hands couldn’t be over thirty, and he definitely came from a wealthy family.’

"Then it must have been him," Riley said. "But Best Actor Hughes was so thoroughly disguised, he obviously didn’t want to be recognized. We should all just pretend we didn’t see anything."

Chloe Sterling nodded. "Of course I won’t say anything. The last thing I want to do is cause trouble for my idol."

...

Meanwhile, down in the underground garage, Samuel Hughes would never have guessed that he’d been recognized by a fan despite his disguise. After getting into the car, he couldn’t help but ask Leon Chenning, "Did you recognize those three women in the elevator?"

Samuel Hughes was a triple-crown Best Actor award winner and had even won Best Actor at Cannes. Any of his co-stars could be considered A-listers. As for D-list starlets like Chloe Sterling and Riley Perry, countless like them appeared in the entertainment industry each year. Many would have a fleeting moment of fame before fading into obscurity. It was perfectly normal for him not to recognize them.

Leon Chenning, known as the entertainment industry’s walking encyclopedia, was not about to be stumped by his boss’s question. "I do, I do. The prettiest one is Riley Perry, hailed as the industry’s ’Most Beautiful Vase.’ It’s a shame, really. She only ever played a campus belle, had a brief flash of popularity, and then fizzled out."

"The other one is the eldest daughter of the Sterling Group. She’s also a D-lister, just in the industry for fun, with no notable roles to her name. Now, the one with the round face is the real heavy-hitter. Sir, do you remember that female secretary who was standing next to the CEO of Constant Company when you were discussing business with him last year?"

Samuel Hughes thought for a moment. Fortunately, his memory was quite good, and he soon recalled. "She’s Franklin Lee’s daughter!"

"That’s right."

Leon Chenning thought to himself, ’I have no idea what goes through the minds of these rich kids. They give up their cushy lives to squeeze into the entertainment industry, calling it ’gaining life experience’ to make it sound nice.’

’Someone like his own boss was one thing; he’d earned both money and fame, and his company was doing better than ever.’

’But someone like Miss Lee, working as an assistant for a D-list celebrity, doing all the grunt work like packing clothes and cleaning up... that he really couldn’t wrap his head around.’

Samuel Hughes didn’t know what his assistant was thinking. His mind was focused on just one name: Riley Perry.

’Her eyes were truly beautiful, especially when she smiled. They seemed to sparkle with a brilliant light.’

...

Unaware that she had made such an impression, Riley Perry had already entered the restaurant. The hotel had all sorts of delicious food. Investors were always lining up for Director Quinn’s projects, so the budget was more than sufficient. He never skimped on food or lodging for his cast and crew, and the hotel he’d booked was top-notch. After the three young women enjoyed a hearty meal on the second floor, Chloe Sterling pestered Riley Perry into adding her on WeChat. Then, she sent Rhona off to get some rest before finally returning to her own room.

Riley Perry took out her teapot, brewing a pot with her Spiritual Tea and spiritual water. Then she opened her laptop and got to work.

The phone on her desk lit up with a push notification: *Popular Young Star Vernon Jacobs’s Late-Night Rendezvous Sparks Relationship Rumors.*

That scumbag was also filming nearby at the studio lot. Last night, after he wrapped for the day, paparazzi snapped photos of him entering a hotel with a beautiful woman. The two shared a room, and the woman didn’t leave until this morning.

Riley Perry glanced at the article. The photo quality was terrible; you wouldn’t be able to recognize anyone in it unless you knew them personally. ’Vernon Jacobs and Gigi Walsh are probably not far from making an official announcement,’ she thought.

At seven o’clock, a message from the director popped up in the crew’s group chat: the crew bus would take the cast to the shooting location at 7:30 tomorrow morning for costume photos. Filming would officially begin in the afternoon. The schedule was already out, and Riley Perry had a scene in the afternoon.

She casually sent a message to her sponsor: *Mr. Sinclair, have you had dinner?*

He replied quickly this time, but with just a single word: *Mm.*

Riley Perry tsked, tossed her phone aside, and paid it no more mind.

’Her sponsor’s cold demeanor was a world away from his passion in bed. But then again, she liked his coldness.’

Her laptop chimed with another notification. It was a message from Jack of Spades: *LE, heard you took Tuo’s job?*

Before she could reply, another message followed: *The whole hacker world is buzzing, LE!*

Jack of Spades: *Bitan’s been wanted for years, and today Tuo caught him in his own safe house!*

Riley Perry hadn’t had a chance to check the news on the site yet. Hearing this, she opened her chat window with Tuo and sent a two-word message: *Pay up.*