Bailey Avery.

Even before her official debut, Bailey already carried herself like a superstar. Her manager led the way, with two assistants trailing behind her like eager puppies.

And Bailey? She strutted along, wearing a pair of sunglasses, exuding confidence.

Emily had just stepped out of the restroom when she spotted Bailey. Instantly, she retreated inside, not wanting to run into her here.

Seeing Bailey surrounded by her entourage made many aspiring actors waiting for their auditions envious.

"Hey, have you heard? Bailey Avery is the future Mrs. Edwards of A&B International. This audition is just a formality for her. But she's only auditioning for the second female lead, so it doesn't affect us."

"Thank goodness she's not competing with us. Otherwise, we'd be here for nothing!"

"Yeah, exactly. With Mr. Edwards backing her, she's bound to become a huge star. Guess it proves that talent doesn't matter when you can just marry rich!"

Hearing them gossip left a bitter taste in Julia's mouth.

If time could go back a year, all of this might have been hers, and she wouldn't still be here now, still fighting for a chance in an audition.

Julia glanced in a mirror, touched up her makeup, and regained her usual calm composure.

The roles of the first and second female leads were both crucial to the show, so their auditions were being held in a separate location from the other characters, which gave Julia a sense of relief. This way, she wouldn't have to run into Bailey.

Although Bailey was her half-sister, every time she saw her, Julia's mind was flooded with the image of Harry Edwards and Bailey tangled together in bed. It just made her utterly nauseous.

Over thirty actresses were waiting in the lounge for the audition for the third female lead. Some were carefully reading the character profiles provided by the crew, and some chatted in small groups.

Julia stood in a corner, deep in thought.

...

In another lounge.

This lounge was reserved for the first and second female leads. The seats were luxurious sofas, and there were only a few people present. Bailey looked around and saw only unfamiliar faces.

Even well-known stars in the industry needed to audition, but their busy schedules meant they had to arrange separate times with the director.

Although Bailey had the backing of Harry Edwards, she was still a newcomer with no notable works and no other commitments. Thus, she was scheduled to audition with everyone else.

Her assistant, Celeste, approached cautiously and whispered in Bailey's ear, "Miss Bailey, I just saw Emily Avery."

Bailey frowned, "What's she doing here?"

"She's here for the audition. I checked; she's going for the third female lead, so there's no conflict with you."

A look of disdain crossed Bailey's face. "Of course, there's no conflict. She doesn't even have an agent, so she can't possibly land a good role. But..."

Bailey beckoned Celeste closer with a crook of her finger. Celeste immediately leaned in to listen, and the two whispered for a moment.

"Miss Bailey, is this really necessary? I mean, setting aside whether she can even get the part, even if she does, she's just the third female lead. There's no way she could steal your spotlight. The second female lead has almost as much screen time as the first."

"What do you know? Emily Avery is not so simple. If she rises, she'll be my biggest rival. Just do as I say!"

Celeste nodded.

In the waiting room, Emily was still preparing herself. One by one, actresses went in for their auditions and came out looking dejected, which only made her more nervous.

The audition for the third female lead was being conducted by two assistant directors, not even Director Blithe yet, and it was already so strict. It was said that even if you passed the assistant directors, you still had to get through Director Blithe.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and everyone looked up to see who was standing there.

It was someone in work attire. There were quite a few staff members on site today to keep things organized with so many people auditioning.

"Who is Emily Avery?"

Emily Avery frowned but stood up. "I am."

"Come with me for a moment."

Emily followed the staff member out, feeling a bit suspicious. The staff member pulled her aside and looked her up and down. "So, you're Emily Avery?"

"Yes, is there something wrong?"

"Oh, it's like this. Director Blithe just reviewed your file, and he's quite interested. He'd like to meet with you privately," the staff member said with a smile.

Julia was quite surprised. "But... there's nothing on my resume. Why would he care about me?"

When it comes to looks, which actress in this business wasn't drop-dead gorgeous? And even if you weren't born that way, wasn't that what plastic surgery was for?

And as for her experience, she had only ever done bit parts. She had no significant role in her name. "That's exactly why Director Blithe is interested in you! I'm sure you've heard about his preferences. He loves a blank slate in an actor. There's more room for them to grow and be molded. So many other people fake their resumes, but yours is the cleanest of them all. That's what piqued his interest."

"But..."

What the person said was true. Director Blithe was famous in the industry for favoring newcomers, but Emily still felt uneasy.

Wasn't this a little too good to be true?

"But what? Are you really going to throw away such a great opportunity? Let me tell you something: today's auditions are just a formality. Many roles have already been decided. If you don't go, you'll have wasted your trip here."

Emily bit her lip. Although the industry was messy and full of hidden rules, what harm could come from just going to the meeting?

If he really does try to pull something, it's not like he can actually force me, she reasoned. I'll just say no then and there.

With that thought, Emily nodded. "Alright, I'll go."

"Good, follow me."

The staff led Emily away.

Emily wasn't familiar with the studio, so she had to follow the staff closely. They twisted and turned through so many corridors that she lost track of the way. Still, they hadn't arrived.

She couldn't help but feel suspicious.

"Excuse me, could you tell me which room Director Blithe is in? Why haven't we arrived yet?"

"Why do you ask so many questions, girl?

Director Blithe is a big shot. Do you think he would just use any room? Of course, it has to be a private one."

"Oh..."

Emily didn't think much of it and continued to follow the staff.

After a series of twists and turns, Emily completely lost track of the way they had come, only knowing that they had descended to the basement level.

It wasn't unusual for a recording studio to have a basement; some of the larger ones even had multiple underground levels.

This area was unlit and pitch dark, making Emily feel uneasy as she glanced around nervously.

They arrived at a large red double door, and the staff pointed towards it.

"Alright, we're here. You can go in."

"Aren't you coming with me?" Emily asked. "I'm not the one auditioning. I have other things to do. You go ahead." He opened the door.

Emily hesitated and slowly approached the door. As soon as she peeked her head in, she felt a push from behind and fell straight to the ground.

"Ahhh..." Emily screamed as she heard the door slam shut behind her with a loud "bang"!

She was pushed to the ground, landing face-first in a rather undignified manner.

When she managed to get up and return to the door, she found it wouldn't budge no matter how hard she pulled.

She banged on the door several times and shouted "Help!" but all she heard was her own echo.

When she had followed that so-called staff member here, she already felt the place was too secluded. At first, she could still see people around, but soon, there was no one in sight.

It was clear now-she had been set up.

The person who had arranged this had planned it all out perfectly. They knew this was a place where no one would ever come, and that was precisely why they had brought her here.

Emily turned around to inspect the place. It was pitch dark, with only a faint light coming from what seemed like a ventilation grate.

She turned on her phone's flashlight function and realized she was in a conference room. But since there were no meetings scheduled, the room was naturally unused, meaning no one would have any reason to come here.

She walked around and discovered there were two doors: the main door she had entered through and a back door. But the back door was also sealed shut.

What should she do now?

It was only then that Emily noticed her phone had no signal!

Of course it doesn't, she realized with a groan. This is a basement level. Unless they've installed a signal booster, how could there possibly be any reception here?

"Darn it!" Emily couldn't help but curse.

She had always known that this industry was a complicated mess, but she never expected to be schemed against before even setting foot into it!

With no way out, she could only call for help. But her phone had no signal.

Holding her phone, she took a slow, careful lap around the room. Suddenly, she stopped. Right in this spot, a single, weak bar of signal had appeared.

Emily looked up and saw that it was near the ventilation grate.

Just as she was about to make a call, that faint bar disappeared!

It flickered, there one moment and gone the next.

Emily glanced up at the ventilation grate again. It seemed like she would have to climb up there to get a stronger signal.

She dragged a chair over, placed it underneath the vent, and climbed up. The space was so cramped that she had to keep her head low. If it weren't for her flexibility, she wouldn't have managed to balance up there.

But once she got up there, she realized, who should she call?

The police?

What say what?

That she was trapped in an underground conference room because someone set her up? They'd probably think she was crazy.

But scrolling through her contacts, she realized there was no one she could call to rescue her. She had a husband, but she had never even seen his face, let alone had his phone number.

Emily opened her call history. The most recent calls were from Oliver and-

That man from the other night.

Just the thought of him made her heart beat faster.

Should she call him?

Would he come?

Her finger hovered over the unsaved phone number. Suddenly, her hand slipped, her finger tapped the screen, and the call went through.

She ignored the phone for a second to change her position; staying in one posture for too long was exhausting.

It was in that exact moment that the call connected.

"Hello-" Even though they had only met twice, Emily was very familiar with his voice.

"Hi, I... I'm trapped. Can you come rescue me?"

"What? Where are you now? Your signal is terrible. Move somewhere else, there's too much static!"

"This is the best signal I can get here." Emily quickly told him her location, but just as she finished, the call dropped.

She didn't know if he had hung up or if the call had dropped due to the poor cell signal.

She also didn't know if he had heard her address clearly, or if he would come.

Emily couldn't hold the position any longer and finally climbed down. She decided she had to rely on herself after all. She needed to find a possible way out.

About an hour passed. She tried everything she could think of, even attempting to crawl through the ventilation grate, but it was utterly impossible.

The place was stuffy and hot, and all the effort had drained her energy. Emily sat down, drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

If no one found her trapped here, would she suffocate to death? She was already starting to feel short of breath.

"Emily Avery-" a voice called from the doorway.

Emily immediately propped herself up and moved toward the door. "I'm here..."

"Over here, open the door," the man's voice instructed.

The door was quickly opened, and a beam of flashlight light shone in, causing Emily to close her eyes and turn her head away. After being in the pitch-black space for so long, she wasn't used to such bright light.

"It's okay now," Kenneth said, waving off the staff who had opened the door. The staff left immediately.

He turned to look at Emily. "Hey, you can come out now! Didn't get enough of the place?"

Emilyshuffled out. The moment she stepped out, her knees buckled, and she started to fall. Royce was quick, though, and caught her before she hit the floor.

"What are you doing? Trying to pull a fast one on me?"

"Dizzy," Emily replied weakly, her eyes still closed.

Kenneth pulled Emily into his arms. "It's too stuffy in here. Let's get out of here."

Emily took a few deep breaths to steady herself and then wriggled out of Kenneth's embrace. She looked up at him. "Okay."

Kenneth led Emily through a labyrinth of twists and turns until they reached the ground floor. He found a place with chairs where they could rest for a bit.

Suddenly, Emily slapped her thigh. "Oh no!"

"What's with the freak-out?" Kenneth frowned.

"I'm here for an audition today! I need to get there now!" Julia shot to her feet and hurriedly ran towards the audition room she had been to earlier.

When she arrived, the waiting room was already empty, with staff cleaning up.

"Excuse me, is the audition for the third female lead over?"

"It's all over. Why are you just getting here?" one of the staff asked offhandedly. Everyone is breaking their necks to become a star these days, and yet here's someone who actually shows up late!

Emily quickly dashed to the next room, which was the actual audition room.

Inside, two assistant directors were sorting through stacks of papers while chatting.

"Directors, I haven't had my audition yet!"

Both assistant directors looked up at her, one of them clearly annoyed. "Kid, rule number one in this industry is you follow the rules. Punctuality is basic. If you can't get that right, you're not cut out for this. Maybe next time."

"Yeah, it's been over for half an hour," the other director chimed in.

"But, Director, please give me a chance, won't you? I really need this opportunity!" Emily Avery pleaded.

If she wasn't chosen because of her skills, she could accept that. But being sabotaged and arriving late? That was something she couldn't swallow!

"Young lady, look around. Who here doesn't need this opportunity?" one of the directors said dismissively, tapping the stack of papers in his hand.

"Young lady, consider this a lesson about the rules of this industry.

Learn from it, and your trip won't be in vain." Without even looking up, the director exchanged a glance with another director, and both stood up with their papers.

"Director, please, I really..."

The two directors ignored her, not even sparing her a glance as they walked past. As assistant directors, they had seen countless girls like her.

Emily Avery could only watch helplessly as the two assistant directors left.

Just then, Kenneth Butler walked over and noticed the disappointment in Emily's eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Emily shook her head. "The audition is over. I missed my chance. Let's go."

Kenneth frowned. "Where's the restroom around here?"

Emily pointed to the left. "Just keep walking straight, then turn left at the end."

"Alright, wait here for me. Don't run off! I saved you today, and if you ditch me, that'd be heartless!" With that, Kenneth walked off in the direction Emily had pointed.

Emily sighed. She had no intention of running off. Even though she knew Kenneth wasn't exactly a good guy, he had saved her today. She understood the importance of gratitude. Besides, he still had those compromising photos of her.

She found a chair and sat down, quietly waiting for Emily Butler to return.

Who knew what the man was doing in the bathroom for twenty minutes? Emily was beginning to wonder if he had left when he finally reappeared in her sight.

"I thought you fell into the toilet! Took you long enough!" she exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'm too big to fall in!" Kenneth Butler replied with a grin.

"Let's go."

As they were about to leave together, a staff member approached them. "Are you Emily Avery?"

Emily nodded.

"Here's the thing, the role of the third female lead hasn't been filled yet.

After discussing it with the director team and hearing from the assistant director about you, we've decided to give you a chance."

Emily was taken aback. The last time she was offered an "extra opportunity," it turned out to be a trap, and she was a bit wary.

"Is this another trap?"

"What are you afraid of? I'll go with you!" Kenneth placed a reassuring hand on Emily's shoulder.

Emily quickly shrugged off his hand. "Alright then."

The staff member led Emily and Kenneth upstairs. They stopped in front of a room, and the staff member said, "Miss Avery, please go in. The directors are waiting for you."

Emily instinctively looked at Kenneth.

"It's okay! I'll be right here at the door. If anything happens, just scream for help, and I'll come rushing in."

Emily Avery nodded. They were on the third floor, and the sun was shining brightly outside. There shouldn't be any trouble, especially with the man standing guard outside.

She pushed the door open and walked in, immediately spotting Director Blithe sitting in the center, discussing something with the two assistant directors she had seen earlier.

Oh my god, Director Blithe himself was going to audition her!

Julia's heart leaped into her throat.

The assistant next to Director Blithe noticed Emily's entrance and quickly walked over to her, handing her a piece of paper. "These are your lines. Take a look. You have three minutes to prepare."

Emily took the paper, her hands trembling.

Seeing her nervousness, the assistant shook his head. If she couldn't even handle this, she probably wouldn't make it.

Emily took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and started memorizing the lines on the paper.

The lines were short and lacked any scene descriptions, leaving her to infer the context from the dialogue alone.

Three minutes flew by quickly.

The assistant reminded Director Blithe, who then paused his discussion with the assistant directors.

"Alright, you can start now. Don't be nervous, just go with the flow," Director Blithe said.

Emily nodded and stepped into the center of the room.

No costumes, no music, no scene descriptions—just a few lines of dialogue.

For any actor, this was a huge challenge but also an opportunity. After all, it allowed for a lot of creative freedom.

The two assistant directors, who had just spoken rudely to Emily Avery, also looked up.

Just as everyone was waiting for Emily's performance, she suddenly collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

Not only were the two assistant directors startled, but even Director Blithe was taken aback, unsure of what was happening.

After falling to the ground, Emily Avery's body trembled slightly. She then slowly got up, her arms barely supporting her shaky frame, as if she might collapse again at any moment.

"I grew up with Miles. We were childhood sweethearts, inseparable. He was always so kind to me, always giving in to me. I love him, I love him so much, and only him..."

Tears glistened in Emily Avery's eyes, but they didn't fall, making her eyes especially captivating and giving her gaze a stubborn quality. As she delivered her lines, she bit her lip tightly.

After finishing her lines, she closed her eyes in pain, and only then did the tears slowly start to flow.

Director Blithe looked at the girl. Her hair was a bit messy, and she seemed to have some wounds on her body, which made the scene even more poignant in light of her lines.

Though the performance lasted only two minutes, the three directors were left in a daze, as if their emotions had been swept away by her portrayal.

Emily Avery wiped her face and stood up.

"Director, I've finished my performance."

Director Blithe stroked his beard. "Your performance was quite unique. Some people delivered these lines with great joy, and others with pitiful tears. You chose a middle path."

Emily Avery smiled. "Director, to be honest, Imight have taken a shortcut. I read the novel this script is based on, and when I saw these lines, I remembered the part where Tiffany gets beaten. That's why I performed it this way."

This historical drama was adapted from a novel, so Emily Avery had stayed up all night to finish reading it.

"That novel is over two million words long. You read the whole thing?" Director Blithe asked, astonished.

Emily Avery nodded. "Yes, I've read it all."

"Then tell me your understanding of this character."

"Tiffany is the male lead, Miles's, first love and childhood friend. Her humble background makes her somewhat insecure. In the novel, she often comes across as gentle and fragile, but in reality, she has a quiet strength and a stubborn streak. I think

the author named her Tiffany to hint at her hidden sharpness."