“Aera, your expression is too stiff. It looks artificial!” The director shouted from his chair. 

The girl in roller skates hurried to apologize with a sunny smiling face. After the last reprimand, the photographer in charge of the poster image said, “Alright. Nice one!” 

Aera laughed heartily and waited for her assistants to help her off the skates. As one of the hottest newcomers in the entertainment industry, Aera’s management team had put a higher importance on her blooming career within a couple of years of her joining. And this ad is the manifestation of how they are very hopeful for her. This girl is a golden goose that will lay golden eggs (money) in the future! 

A few meters away, Sena flipped her hair and stretched her limbs. She kicked her feet and skated smoothly towards the side where April is waiting. 

“Sena!” 

She crushed the green candy between her teeth as she heard the director’s call. Today they are on the beachside shooting the final scene for the ad of a popular cosmetic brand Fleur together with the beauty titlist Aera Shin. The pictorials for the posters are just finished, after this, they will proceed to film. As brand ambassador of Fleur, she came to work as the image model for its new products, the two new tones of lipsticks and a mascara. 

“Is everything okay?” The forbidden rose colour on her mouth remained as she chewed the surface of the hard candy and finally got into the middle part where the bubblegum is. 

“No, I just wanted to thank you for agreeing to do the night scene the other day. I know you don’t like places like clubs but you still allowed us to shoot you.”

“It’s part of the job and everyone is a professional.” 

The director laughed. “Yes, yes.” 

For three days, she did most of her parts without delay. The day before yesterday this girl was still exploring the rich nightlife of Capital City for the mascara shoot. He thought she would be most aversive of the sexy adult-style imagery, after all, they needed her to wear skimpy party clothes and interact with a male model. 

Speaking of it, the male model they hired for the back and side view did not make it because of a leg injury but Sena called someone else as an emergency replacement. Surprisingly, the act went smoothly. The next day after that shoot, she was then sent walking in the alleys, crossing the heavy traffic streets while wearing a bold vampire red shade and six inches heels. 

“Girl, you really did great and saved me!” the director gushed. 

Sena tapped his shoulder familiarly, “Most of the credit is still on you, director. We’ve worked with each other for two years and you managed to make me look great on cam every time. Brand sales are up, this won’t happen without your dedicated guidance.” 

The director was quite flattered by the compliment. It’s a pity that she became a victim of cyberbullying and nasty gossip. Sena has the mildest temper he has worked with. But no matter how good, she could still not escape criticism. Earlier, he heard the staff whispering about Aera’s encounter with her. Apparently, Sena ignored the former when she initiated to offer a greeting. But then again, he could not fault her if she didn’t engage Aera for a brief conversation, the other is just a newcomer after all. 

“The last scenes are between you and Aera racing from two opposite directions across the palm boulevard. You will have a short moment to observe each other when you meet at the fountain. Imagine a scene when two opposite styles meet each other, one is a girl with vibrant and intense colours, the other is innocent and bubbly. It’s up to you to add your own interpretation. After a brief appreciation, the girls will then separate.” 

“Alright.” Sena played over the scenario in her mind a few times. 

And, we’re back here again. She smiled ironically. 

Fate is such a funny thing. Just when you thought you dodged the bullet it will suddenly create another environment where you are sure to get hit. 

Sena nodded indicating she understood and walked towards her seat to rest. No extra movements making everyone wonder where the big temper went. The infamous muse is so easy to get along with? 

It wasn’t supposed to go smoothly like this. Sena knew what she did wrong before and endeavoured to make amends. At her formal debut at Kalliste’s fashion show, she rapidly gained fame. Over the years, she has played in several big ads and received awards one after another. She is quite popular in the fashion industry and has become more and more temperamental.  

In a world where it's common to have huge backing, her career went smoothly without suffering as many hardships as those who started from below. It was also common to turn down offers at the last moment whenever she felt like it. However, Sena has strong appeal and compatibility with the lens, she also has a influential mother behind her so they can only grit their teeth in dismay. Capitalists behind the brands were optimistic about her and this is one of the biggest reasons why she can continue to work and play around in the circle. She could have gone on like this for years and still maintain her career if she had been smarter with her acquaintances and vigilant of their intentions.

Her co-star for this ad is Aera Shin who got discovered after she won a beauty pageant abroad and transitioned as a social media fashion and makeup guru. She adapted this rich girl's sweet and graceful image and had a lot of contradictions with Sena. Originally, the careers of the two had no intersections and there was not much reason for conflict as Sena does not take the initiative to approach strangers. 

Sena took this ad because she values her friendship with the brand and since she knew her worth she got used to getting her way which gave the director some headaches. But aside from stubbornly refusing to do some scenes, she hadn’t done anything to disturb the set. When the filming ends, she resumes her normal routine. Nothing more nothing less. It should have been that easy. But while they are shooting, Aera deliberately sticks to her a little too close, taking advantage of her bratty character, intentionally stimulating her to lose her temper. 

Sena didn’t know at that time where Aera got the information that she was under the influence of the Bacchus pill. Her movements successfully irritated her and although Sena did not actually touch Aera there were several incidents of her being nervous when Sena was around, losing momentum during a critical moment in the shoot, slipping on her skates and having her eyes swollen from crying. People observed there might be something going on underneath. The situation between the two caused the atmosphere to become awkward.

One is a well-known model while the other is a fresh star. It was easy to side with the weak. 

But Sena, oblivious to it all, continued as she saw fit until a bullying scandal broke out insinuating her throwing her weight around and doesn’t like others taking away her spotlight. So-called evidence was also taken out that not only vilified her character but also painted Aera as a tragic little newcomer enduring an evil senior’s harsh treatment. 

With this, she benefited a lot from these scandals receiving new resources, gaining popularity in variety shows and signing contracts with series and movies. In one interview Aera Shin revealed what happened during the Fleur shoot saying that she had a terrible experience with the person she most looked up to. Her fans who felt sorry for their idol looked for Sena at once to avenge her. They cruelly dug up several ‘evidence’ of her misbehaviour, throwing every kind of insult and verbal abuse.

Sena was caught in the eye of a terrible storm. 

During the critical moment, Cassandra Liu also spoke up about her injustice gaining a new wave of sympathy. Her waning career rose again but Sena is drowning in all the ugly rumours about her. She couldn’t argue at all. As malice poured in, the friends she thought she had secretly sold her information to those who are interested in knowing her life. As people closest to her, naturally, they pack more credibility and netizens will buy their story whether it was true or not. 

Sena leaned on the aluminium lounge chair drinking warm coffee. 

She knew that the cameras were still rolling, secretly taking all behind the scenes to be used for an interview later on. She was not afraid of it, this time she made changes for the better as compensation for what she did before. Although Sophie, Asha and Zhang Min were already out of her life, the gears of fate continue to grind. Aera is still aiming for her. Cassandra Liu thought she hid it well, but Sena knew she was the older sister of Zhang Min and one of those who benefited from her ‘goodwill’. 

“I can’t believe she managed to finish her parts in three days!” the director said elatedly. 

Sena inwardly laughed, before the director almost tore out his hair begging her to behave. Shoots like this for a major brand where it requires a lot of costumes, location and props typically go on for two weeks as they are usually critical of their concept. 

Sena is very cooperative with the team, she did as told and even made impromptu acts to highlight the product more. Everyone observed that she was as meticulous as they are on how her image would appear. It was rare for a model to be so easy to work with, she did everything in one to two takes before changing to other clothes and makeup without a word of complaint. The director couldn’t be any happier because it saved him plenty of time for post-editing. 

A few meters away, Aera asked the professional makeup artist to retouch her makeup. 

“I was just hired last week, I never thought Sena Erde was Fleur's brand ambassador!”

“She’s been doing Fleur’s ad for two years now.” 

People gave collective ‘ohhs’.

“The staff in charge of her end of the ad said she finished her part in just two days. As expected of a professional.”

Aera blinked her eyes, “She’s Kalliste’s face, isn’t she? But I haven’t heard of her a lot.”

“Really?” a staff member asked dubiously. “If you follow people in the fashion industry it’s impossible to miss her. It’s not just Kalliste, she has achieved a lot in the circle at a very young age. She walked runway shows, did commercials and editorial modelling.” 

Aera’s harmless smile turned sour then she turned her eyes away. A fashion model is not as highly recognized as an actress. They don’t have such glamorous life underneath either and were even satirical referred to as walking hangers. It was an environment plagued by various negative allegations and notoriously fickle. A cutthroat industry where you can lose your position when someone more beautiful and much younger comes along. Aera hated the fact that she was not the main lead of the campaign despite being chosen to pose for it. Fleur is a multinational cosmetics, personal care, fragrance company based in the US, when she first signed the endorsement contract her joy that shot through the roof was quickly dampened when she saw who will be the main model and muse. 

These days, most people curious about entertainment gossip are no strangers to Sena Erde. A young entrepreneur of her calibre with quite an enigmatic background. She tried getting close to her when they were doing the pictorials earlier to test the waters but the other seemed to have another set of eyes on the back of her head and she would immediately turn to a different direction avoiding the encounter entirely. 

Aera thought that she might have felt threatened by her presence and doesn’t want to be outshined. So what if she was chosen as a muse? She can still crush her with her acting skills later. 

The opportunity in the final shoot arrived.

The sun was shining brightly today but the weather was chilly. Sena checked her white skates, tapping them on the ground and made several turns a few times.

“How is it?” She asked April playfully. 

“It’s beautiful but are you okay with these?”

“I’ve received professional training and been skating since I was nine with my playmates so there is no problem.” Sena spun around her laughingly.

“You don’t happen to study ballet as well, do you?”

Damn rich children! April cried inwardly. 

“Let’s go.” 

Sena wore knee-length white socks with red stripes, tight-fitting shorts, a white tank top with a large S print and a red bomber jacket. The evil capitalist thought it was fun shooting a summer-themed ad during the cold season, she inwardly cursed the person who drew up this scene to be hit by bird poop when he goes out. Her scene next is to come out of the bright yellow car after putting on the lipstick but instead of simply opening the doors, she mixed a bit of variation to the script. 

She pulled down the sun visor mirror, jiving with the upbeat music, put on the forbidden rose lipstick then extended a shapely leg and using her right foot she pushed open the doors. A girl with silver blond hair broke into the breezy afternoon of the beachside under tall palm fronds. 

The director was stunned and felt that this has more appeal than the original so he didn’t call for a halt. Once the editing in slow motion and jump-cut was added, he could imagine how fantastic it would turn out. The camera keeps up with her recording every move. On Aera’s side, she has to walk away from an ice cream cart holding a cone. She needed to take a bite of the rainbow-coloured ice cream while pushing her way toward the fountain. 

With a white tennis skirt in green stripes fluttering and her belly button showing, the sweet-looking girl skated towards the ice cream truck. Aera pulled a tube of lipstick from her back pocket, put it on and took the ice cream. 

In the middle of a busy crowd, the two girls will have to weave their way through. Skating was not a huge problem for them, it shouldn’t have been originally but Aera has other plans making her a little nervous when seeing Sena getting close. 

“Aera!” the director called out, making her cringe inwardly. 

Did he find out?

“You’re skating on the wrong side!”

“I’m sorry director, I strayed a bit.” She gave everyone an apologetic smile and ran back. 

“Move a little!”

It took her five takes to polish her movements and expressions. At last, the much-awaited meeting at the fountain was finally here. 

Aera wanted to look like she was being bullied, so naturally, she couldn’t take the initiative to approach Sena. The scene only needs them to be at least a foot away, her every move was perfectly timed and should quickly achieve a strong bump in the shoulder. Sena skated smoothly, coming closer and closer to her, a faint smile on her lips which highlighted the free and adventurous spirit of youth, but the actual brush did not hit Aera. 

Sena stopped for a second, seemingly curious about the girl in front then continued to skate forward. As the seconds came to a close, she spun around making her hair whip into an arc and winked back to the camera. 

The onlookers were amazed at the spontaneous delivery of actions. It only took a few seconds to take! They turned to the director who was still reviewing the scene in slow motion. Aera was stunned speechless. What just happened?  

“Your part was done well, Sena. The camera behind is considered to be the audience chasing you.” the director said openly. Then he frowned when he faced Aera. “You need to add more enthusiasm and wonder in your expression when meeting the other girl.”

Blushing with shame, Aera nodded her head. The director could only apologize to Sena and redo the fountain scene after a short break. 

“It’s all about her, Sena this. Sena that!” Aera fumed inside her van. She was supposed to be the highlight today. Her fans were outside waving signboards to cheer on her but she couldn't find the motivation to pick herself. 

She even thought the director was being biased. Obviously, they worked well before, how could he suddenly turn his face? What’s wrong with her? She won a beauty pageant and has millions of followers compared to Sena Erde. 

How can someone like her be their brand ambassador? 

She hatefully browsed through SNS in search of the other’s profile and was dumbfounded. Twenty-five million followers? Then why didn’t she become an actress and receive more offers?! 

She suddenly remembered Cassandra Liu. Didn't they have a holiday some time ago?

Aera was partially calm when she returned outside. Anyway, her fans are watching, she can make use of this. 

“Ready?” 

“Yes, director,” Aera replied with a smile. 

“I hope she does it well now.” A staff member murmured. “Everyone is tired and cold.” 

Everyone understood who did a good job among the two casts. Her heart tightened again, she was expecting to dominate today’s act but what happened had taken a blow to her pride and affected her performance. Twice she fell on her butt in the most embarrassing poses. In the first one she tried to imitate Sena’s movements and awkwardly lost her balance. In the second one she was stimulated by Sena’s faint smile and deliberately aimed to bump into her but Sena moved slightly away from the line of fire causing her to hit the extra blowing bubbles on the side. 

Her fans turned silent. 

“Director she—” 

She was about to point at Sena when the director stood up. “Your angle was wrong! Did you intend to collide with her?” 

Aera shut her mouth. She couldn’t understand it, her attempt failed multiple times. She wanted to cry in frustration but if she did the director would surely yell at her so she had no choice but to suck back her tears and honestly played her part. The moment the director said cut, Sena puffed her cheeks and plopped down at the side of the fountain taking off her skates. When she pulled down her socks, everyone saw her red and swollen feet. 

“My goodness, what happened?” the director frowned. He checked the skates and not only found out that the leather was too stiff that it marked on her skin, but the wheels were also smaller for outdoor use. “Who the hell prepared Sena’s skates? Do you want to kill your model?!”    

The crew was startled by the director’s shout. They put down all their work and lined up, the leader of the props team hurried over sweating bullets despite the cold air. He explained in a fluster that he personally handled the props and checked them one by one. The director was furious and sent someone to investigate immediately. This is the newest campaign for Fleur, they do not want unwanted issues mixing up from behind the scenes. What happened was intentional and thinking that someone bravely did this kind of trick within the crew is quite terrifying. 

Aera looked over concealing the gloating in her eyes while drinking water. Her personal assistant was unusually quiet and dared not make eye contact with anyone. 

“Check the cameras, CCTVs or anything. I’m not letting this go since it happened in my crew!” 

It looks like she didn’t have to lend a hand. Sena is a hundred percent sure that they will soon find the culprit. 

“Director, I still have some work to attend to so I will excuse myself first.” She stood up, limping on her injured foot. 

“Wait. Wait, dear, we need to send you to the hospital to check for injuries.”

Sena refused saying she will get her feet checked when they get home and later wait for the result of the investigation. 

“I booked a restaurant at the nearby hotel, the crew and everyone else can go there and relax after.” She said 

“You’re not joining us?” 

“I’m sorry, perhaps next time.” 

They know how busy she is so they let her go. As soon as the shooting concluded, she dragged April away to fly back home to recharge and later go to Country R for an important mission. As for Aera, she can do anything she wants but she will not be getting anything from her to use for hype. She keenly remembered Aera also booked a restaurant but a food poisoning incident occurred, she paid compensation for damage and apologized tearfully so no one blamed her. 

The restaurant closed down but it was later revealed in a gossip column that the owner had some conflict with Aera. The two were former college classmates and liked the same guy but it was the classmate who ended up marrying him. If you are familiar with so many dramas you might begin to see that the food poisoning incident must have been planned earlier. 

Aera used the big production crew as a knife to kill her rival's career.