Possessed No More: The True Star Returns to Claim Her Throne-Chapter 98: Happy Cooperation

Then, the two of them entered the woods together. Silas King said with a laugh, "If we’re going to waste this much time on every meal from now on, it’ll probably be hard to complete our tasks."

With that, he wiped the sweat from his face and raised his arm. His tracksuit shifted with the movement, revealing a glimpse of his abs.

In their livestream chat, Silas King’s fans were going wild. "Did you see that? When Best Actor King wiped away his sweat, we got a little peek at his abs!"

"I want to dance on his abs so bad."

"I feel like Silas King and Roxanne Fulton actually look good together."

"Old King is at that age where it’s normal for him to be dating. But Roxanne Fulton is only 26. Isn’t that a little inappropriate?"

"What’s inappropriate about it? It’s just robbing the cradle, at worst. But our Best Actor King takes such good care of himself, you can’t even tell he’s thirty-six and pushing forty, okay?"

Silas King was a veteran Best Actor, and most of his fans were around his age. They weren’t the type to forbid their idol from dating, so the atmosphere in the livestream chat was especially harmonious.

In the control room, the assistant director placed a data sheet in front of Director Warren. "As of now, the viewer count for Livestream 2 has surpassed the other two groups. Also, right after #RileyPerryQinggong, the hashtag #RileyPerryHeartClaritySpell is trending."

That was right. Victoria Koenig, that chatterbox, hadn’t forgotten to remind Riley Perry to talk more even while they were cooking. Riley had replied helplessly, "I don’t really know what to say. How about... I recite a Heart Clarity Spell for everyone?"

Seriously, a move like that was unprecedented in the history of domestic variety shows. And just like that, she was trending again.

Director Warren’s jaw dropped so wide you could have fit a goose egg in it. "What? Chanting a spell?" He’d only looked away to check on Livestreams 1 and 3 and eat his boxed lunch. How had that girl suddenly started chanting?

He immediately looked at Livestream 2. Sure enough, Riley Perry was still chanting:

"Form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is no other than form... 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

All dharmas are empty of characteristics; they are not produced, not destroyed,

Not defiled, not pure; not increasing, not decreasing...

There is no old age and death, nor extinction of old age and death..."

The assistant director continued his report. "Look, the donations for Livestream 2 have already hit 430,000, with over six hundred donors."

Director Warren: ’...This works too?’

He glanced at the other two livestreams. Before Livestream 1 was suspended, it had received over 300,000 in donations. The fans of both celebrities felt sorry for their idols; after all, one had injured his foot, and the other’s fans felt their idol was being dragged down.

Livestream 3 had only a little over 230,000. He truly never expected that a show like this could rack up over 400,000 in donations because of a Heart Clarity Spell.

Just then, on screen, Riley Perry, who had already been reciting the Heart Clarity Spell for a full twenty minutes, began reciting from *The Analects*. "The Master said: ’To learn, and then have occasion to practice what you have learned—is this not a pleasure? To have friends come from afar—is this not a joy? To remain unsoured even when you are not understood—is this not the mark of a gentleman?’

..."

The live comments:

"..."

"This Riley Perry is something else."

"That’s *The Analects*, right? Why is she reciting this stuff?"

"Wait, do you guys memorize everything you read? I forget it as soon as I finish."

"Other than the required excerpts from our textbooks, I’ve pretty much never read the rest."

"This morning, people were saying she was faking a scholarly persona, and some didn’t believe it. Isn’t she just showing off now?

She must have specifically memorized this at home. I’d like to see just how much she can recite."

"This woman has a sugar daddy and is a known homewrecker. I really don’t get how someone like her can still get on variety shows."

"Yeah, yeah, exactly! I even have pictures of her flirting with guys at a bar!"

"She’s a total Z-lister and still acts like a diva. If you don’t believe me, go look it up. It’s all over the internet."

"I really don’t get why you all like her. It’s shattering my worldview, okay?"

Director Warren ran a hand over his thinning hair. "Hurry, go see if Miles Ford has gotten himself together. Just forget about any luggage that can’t be recovered."

Over on Miles Ford’s side, it took both his cameraman and Ethan Shaw to finally scare away the harassing monkey. Old Ford’s face was ashen.

He had been utterly humiliated today. Having his underwear pulled off by a monkey was one thing, but the real problem was that the audience had gotten a full view of his bare ass!

How was he supposed to survive in the industry after this?

"Mr. Ford, I have a spare set of clothes here. Your luggage can’t be retrieved for now, so just wear mine."

Miles Ford nodded, but his eyes were glazed over. After changing, the two continued on their way, only now Miles Ford had completely withdrawn. He no longer babbled at the camera.

Ethan Shaw was filled with regret all over again. ’Damn my big mouth,’ he thought. ’Why on earth did I ever agree to Miles Ford’s invitation?’

...

「Stellaris Studio.」

The moment people started digging up dirt on Riley Perry, Justin Locke immediately dialed Joanna’s number.

"This is Justin Locke."

Joanna, who had been napping in Thomas Lynch’s arms, was wide awake in an instant. "Justin Locke? As in, Justin Locke, the number one paparazzi?"

"That’s me."

Joanna shot up in bed, not even noticing that her elbow had dug into Thomas Lynch’s chest. "What do I say now?" she whispered.

Justin Locke couldn’t help but chuckle, but business came first. He quickly stopped. "Agent Joyce, a lot of people are posting dirt on Riley Perry again. I’m hoping your agency can release a statement to clear her name."

Thomas Lynch clutched his chest, rubbing it a couple of times. The next second, he took the phone from Joanna’s hand. "This is Thomas Lynch from Stardust. Mr. Locke, may I ask why you’re doing this? If I recall correctly, Stellaris Studio’s hired trolls have slandered Riley Perry in the past. And you had a hand in yesterday’s trending topic incident as well."

Justin Locke thought, ’Thomas Lynch? The president of Starlight?’

Thinking about the question, he rubbed his nose guiltily. "Previously, when Riley Perry was at the studio filming *Starfire*, she saved my life."

This answer stunned the two of them on the bed. It was completely unexpected. "So, Mr. Locke, you’re repaying a debt to Riley Perry? Was yesterday’s trending topic also your doing?" After all, even though Riley Perry was being slandered, anyone could see that she was the one who ultimately benefited.

"You could see it that way."

Thomas Lynch glanced at the excited Joanna, signaling for her to calm down. "You’re going to clear her name," he stated.

Justin Locke replied, "She was innocent to begin with."

Thomas Lynch was left speechless. ’Weren’t you gossip bloggers the ones slinging mud at Riley Perry in the first place?’

"Alright, I’ll have the company issue a statement immediately. And I’ll get the PR department to steer public opinion and blow this whole thing up."

"Leave guiding the narrative and attracting attention to us. Once we’ve released all the evidence, your agency just needs to be ready to issue another statement."

Thomas Lynch raised an eyebrow. ’What kind of insane luck did Riley Perry have? Not only does she have an agent who would do anything for her, but she also managed to save the most powerful paparazzi in the business. From now on, won’t she be able to do whatever she wants in the entertainment industry?’

"In that case... a pleasure working with you?"

Justin Locke replied, "...A pleasure."