On the way to mail the express, my phone kept ringing with messages.

[Una, are there any Liam's new merch?]

[Can I have the original photos?]

[Una, has the merch I ordered been mailed out?]

...

After I left the entertainment circle, to make a living, I ran an online store that sold autographed photos of Liam Shirl, the best actor Oscar winner.

There was a dedicated group chat for Liam's fans. Those fans added me to it and shared Liam's latest news from time to time.

I opened my Instagram and browsed Liam's posts as usual.

He often posted photos about his daily life.

There were half-naked selfies in the gym mirror that showed off his muscles, some high-quality selfies from every angle in suits and school uniforms, and even photos from the set...

I liked his posts and finally stayed on one.

Many fans in the group constantly urged me to post something about Liam's current situation.

I thought about it and decided that I should tell Liam that I used his Instagram photos.

I opened the chat box, edited something, but deleted it in the end.

After passing three traffic lights, my chat box was still empty.

Forget it, Liam has probably forgotten about me, an old classmate with no achievements.

I was about to quit, but accidentally I clicked on the screen.

Then my message was sent out!

I quickly retracted it when the traffic light turned green.

Then I delivered the merch to the mail station by my scooter.

An hour later, I returned home.

I opened my phone and found Liam sent me a "?".

For a moment, I was distracted.

[Sorry, I clicked the wrong button.]

Seeing [typing] under his name, I started picking at my nails incessantly, my heart almost jumping out of my throat.

I added.

[Congratulations on winning an Oscar.]

Liam replied. [Thank you.]

The conversation came to an awkward end.

I turned off my phone, as if I could isolate my feelings this way.

Liam was prospering in his career, but my life was a mess.

How could he remember a classmate who did so poorly?

I felt asleep in a daze.

At high school break.

I was in the corridor outside the classroom, surrounded by a group of girls.

I held up Liam's freshly printed photos and shouted loudly to his admirers:

"The same eraser used by Liam Shirl, one dollar each!

"Freshly taken ID photos of Liam Shirl, two dollars each!"

"Give me!"

"I'll take it!"

...

Girls scrambled to get them, and the photos were quickly emptied.

I sat back in my seat, satisfied with the money I had earned.

In the classroom, Liam was sitting quietly at his desk, solving problems. The sunlight shone on his profile, making his features particularly clear.

The clean school uniform fit him perfectly. A gust of wind blew, carrying the pleasant scent of lavender laundry detergent.

His pen tip brushed against the paper. After finishing the last geometry problem, he turned to me.

I was dazzled for a moment, then smiled at him.

"Finished?"

He closed his pen and took out the answer. "Yes."

I waited quietly for him to finish checking the answers.

Not a single solution was wrong.

"How much did you sell them for?"

He spoke slowly without looking up. If it weren't for the fact that there was only me, I would have thought he was talking to someone else.

I quickly took out my stack of banknotes and coins.

"I sold a lot. It's enough for us to buy a lot of exercise books."

Liam raised his eyes and chuckled. "You can keep them all to buy exercise books for yourself. I'll ask for mine later."

"Okay. Everyone knows that Liam Shirl is the top scorer and good-looking. Who would remember me, the second place?"

Liam's eyes flickered.

I was awakened by messages in the group chat.

When I opened my phone, I found out that my online store had been reported.

When I tried to log in again, the website became a 404 error page.

Liam's fans wailed in the group and mentioned me like crazy.

[Una, what am I going to do without you, Una?]

[We're students. We can't afford expensive merch. You're our hope, Una.]

I was also frustrated.

Misfortunes never came singly.

Just when the group chat was in a mess, someone opened a new topic, exposing my doing and my Instagram account.

[This washed-up actress steals private photos from the circle. No wonder she and her shop ends up this way.]

The long Instagram post accused me of my immoral behavior, criticizing me from civil, social, and moral perspectives.

I received much attention.

I became popular with negative report.

There was a lot of criticism in the comment section.

But what I soon face was the huge compensation proposed by this Instagram influencer.

His team contacted me.

"Is this Ms. Una Benoite? We would like to talk to you about your online store."

After hanging up the phone, my former manager, Daphne Mikaela, contacted me proactively.

The company attached great importance to it. Even though I have already left the entertainment industry, I used to be their artist.

Daphne didn't scold me and brainstormed with me to find a solution.

"Una, when you were in the industry, I've never seen you so popular. Now, with the exposure of your illegal dealing, you are so famous.

"I have some connections with Liam's manager, so we can minimize the impact. You must show your sincerity."

I nodded, "Do I just need to communicate with his manager?"

"Yes."

Daphne made someone send me to Liam's company.

To my surprise, no one bothered me along the way.

Liam's manager sat on the sofa opposite me, holding a pile of information about my online store.

Liam sat next to me with a mask and a cap. He looked down at the screenshots of my online store, where his personal photos abounded.

I didn't expect I would meet Liam this way after so many years.

My legs trembled involuntarily, and my nails almost peeled off a layer of skin from my finger.

"Miss Benoite, do you know that this is a violation of Liam's portrait rights?

"We can sue you for using his image for profit."

I lowered my head almost to my knees.

Suddenly, Liam spoke with a deep voice,

"How much did you earn?"

"Ah?" I suddenly looked up and happened to find Liam looking at me.

His eyes were very captivating.

My tongue tied up and I became stuttering. "A-Around 2 thousand."

The manager sneered. "Is Liam only worth this much?"

I whispered, "The current market is not good..."

Liam took off his mask and turned to look at me.

Sensing his gaze, I buried my head almost close to my chest.

I dared not look him in the eye now.

"Una, in high school you sold my photos for two dollars each, now you sell my merchandise photos for 20 dollars each.

"Are you so short of money?

"Look up, you are ugly with your head down."

I slowly lifted my head and saw Liam's face.

Compared to high school, his features were more distinct without his callowness.

He looked even thinner than in the photos.

"I'm sorry."

I really needed money, but I didn't expect what I did to have such a big impact.

Liam tapped the sofa with his finger, looked at me with a clenched fist, and raised his gaze: "Then why did you quit the industry?"

I really didn't want to tell him about these terrible happenings, so I summarized it in one sentence. "Personal reasons."

We fell into a momentary silence.

The manager was the first to break the dead silence.

"If you need money, our team has a job that you can try.

"It would be helpful since you have been popular recently."

Why should Liam's manager help me?

"Thank you, but please let me think about it.

"As for the compensation, I will find a way to raise it and not cause you trouble."

The manager suddenly laughed. "Did I say you have to compensate?"

She closed all the materials and looked at me meaningfully. Her eyes changed from seriousness to gentleness.

"Liam is good-hearted. Besides, we don't lack this money.

"Don't care about what people say online. In theory, you helped to promote Liam, so we should thank you.

"However, it seems that your shop have to be closed for the time being."

I stood up and bowed to her, saying, "Thank you."

Then I walked downstairs to take a taxi.

Suddenly, Liam called out to me from behind.

"Let me take you back."

He seemed to realize that it was inappropriate and added, "It's on the way."

A black SUV stopped at the company entrance.

Liam opened the car door for me.

Just as I was about to get in, someone called me from the right side.

Noah ran towards me, looking a bit pale.

I suddenly had a bad premonition for no reason.

"Noah, what's wrong?"

He should be taking care of grandmother in the hospital. Why would he come here?

"I called you many times but you didn't answer."

I immediately took out my phone. It was dead and the screen was black.

"I told you to get a new phone. Your phone's battery won't last long even if it's fully charged."

Noah noticed Liam, who was standing beside me, and gave him a wary glance.

"Liam Shirl? It's because of you that Una got criticized!"

He threw a punch towards Liam, but I took a step forward and stood in front of him.

"Noah, this was my fault in the first place. Do you also want to make headlines tomorrow?"

Noah snorted coldly, but ultimately didn't make a move.

He pulled me to his side and lowered his voice.

"Grandmother is not well. We need to go there quickly."

Grandmother...

"Liam, thank you. Noah is here to pick me up. I'll go first."

Noah threw a helmet at me.

I followed Noah onto his motorcycle, not paying attention to Liam's expression.

Noah and I rushed to the hospital.

Grandmother has been saved.

"Your grandmother's condition is not good. She is counting her last days."

Grandmother's cancer had recently worsened and the cancer cells spread very quickly.

"Now it's starting to compress the cranial nerves. You should be prepared.

"First settle the expenses for this time."

Noah held my hand tightly. "I'll go pay. You stay outside and accompany grandma."

"Noah, thank you."

Noah said nonchalantly as usual. "Don't thank me. We're family."

Sitting by grandma's bedside, I calculated all the money in my bank cards.

No matter how I calculated, I couldn't come up with enough money for the next surgery.

Noah's salary was not high either. His previous savings had been used up.

There seemed to be no way except borrowing money.

"Una."

Grandma woke up and reached out for me. Her rough fingertips relieved me.

"Grandma, are you uncomfortable?"

Grandma smiled.

"Una, you must have spent much money this time. Don't treat me anymore. Save some money for yourself."

Tears uncontrollably streamed down my face as I buried myself in grandma's arms.

"Grandma, it doesn't matter how much money I have to pay. I just hope you are well.

"Don't worry about money, I'm in the entertainment industry. I can earn a lot of money!"

Grandma smiled even more happily when she heard that.

"Una, you're beautiful and talented. You achieved good grades in school since you were a child and now you earn a lot.

"I'm so happy for you."

At this time, Noah came back.

"What happy thing are you talking about? Share with me."