Ding—
The elevator doors slid open—they'd reached the top floor.
Yara Song quickly smoothed out her expression, replacing it with a bright, flawless smile.
"Hi, Yara!"
"Ah, I've heard Yara was coming—didn't expect to bump into you the moment you arrived. What a coincidence!"
"Yara, long time no see! Want to come over and sit with us for a bit?"
Just as she stepped out of the elevator—
People immediately crowded around, most wearing smiles as they looked at Yara with extra warmth.
Whenever they spoke to Yara, their tone was downright deferential.
It was a stark contrast to how they'd just treated Leon Yuan.
"Mm."
Yara smiled and nodded, exchanging a few polite words. She acted easygoing, but in truth, she didn't actually care about any of these people.
Most of the celebrities crowding around Yara weren't on her level; they just wanted to ride her wave and grab a bit more attention.
It's like small fish circling a big fish—totally normal in this industry.
"Let's head over there. If I'm right, Director Kaiyuan Yu should already be here."
Victor Wu glanced to the side and led Yara that way.
As Yara's agent, Victor was also surrounded by people eager to cozy up to him.
Victor was used to this kind of thing.
Still, seeing all these shiny, semi-famous stars greet him so enthusiastically gave Victor a bit of an ego boost.
"Excuse me, coming through."
Victor walked ahead, clearing a path, while Yara occasionally greeted a few celebrities she actually liked.
Everyone knew how deep the waters ran here. It wasn't rare to see a star ride another's fame, grab some popularity, then step on them to get famous—only to burn the bridge afterward.
It happened all the time.
So Yara's aloofness didn't really bother anyone.
After all, her status spoke for itself.
Unless someone with even more clout—like Serena Tong—showed up, no one else here could make Yara bother to get close.
Victor led the way up front.
Yara followed right behind him.
As they rounded a corner—
"Ah!"
Lost in thought, Yara suddenly let out a startled cry.
She felt someone bump into her.
"What happened?"
Victor, walking ahead, was startled by the noise and quickly turned around—only to see that Yara's carefully chosen dress now had a bit of cake smeared on it.
Her dress was stained.
Yara had nearly stumbled too.
"Sorry, sorry—I turned around and didn't see you. My bad."
Leon Yuan, carrying several desserts meant for Evan Lin, looked genuinely apologetic.
He'd been standing here picking up food, and there was nobody behind him. With a long table in front and a corner behind, anyone coming from that direction just had to watch where they were going to avoid bumping into him.
But Yara hadn't been paying attention—and ended up running right into him.
The collision left Yara's dress stained, and her startled cry instantly drew a lot of attention.
"Leon Yuan, huh? Looks like he messed up again," someone said, chuckling quietly.
"Man, this guy's unlucky. First his own protégé screwed him over, and now, before the festival even starts, he's offended Yara Song. No wonder he's faded—he's got it coming," another person shook his head, face full of mockery.
"Think Yara will blacklist him?"
Someone suddenly tossed out the question.
Blacklisted.
That would be a pretty serious outcome.
Even though Leon's career had faded, as long as he was willing to swallow his pride, he could still book some gigs with second- or third-rate brands.
The pay was low, and yeah, it was a bit humiliating.
But if he got blacklisted, Leon might not be able to land any jobs at all.
If that happened, even his livelihood would be in trouble.
Unless he left the industry and found a new path.
"That... probably won't happen, right?" someone said hesitantly. "Yara Song isn't that ruthless."
"Yara's not ruthless, but her agent is," another chimed in.
"With Yara's status right now, blacklisting a big-name celebrity would be tough, but for someone like Leon Yuan, who's already faded? She could do it with a single word."
"And get this—a minor star once offended Yara just a little, and her agent had them blacklisted right away."
"Yara's at her peak now. Nobody would risk crossing her for Leon Yuan."
A few people whispered among themselves.
Their looks at Leon Yuan grew a bit more sympathetic.
"Let me wipe that off for you. Sorry about this."
Leon quickly set down his tray and grabbed a towel from the nearby table.
"Don't. Just leave it."
Yara frowned and took a step back, but Leon was a bit faster—he'd already reached out with the towel, trying to wipe the cake off her dress.
"I told you, don't touch me! Stay away!"
Yara's face darkened, her tone sharpening with anger. She slapped the towel right out of Leon's hand and onto the floor.
"If you wipe with that towel, it'll just get even dirtier!"
Yara kept her face cold, while Leon just stood there, awkward and embarrassed.
"Seriously, Leon Yuan, what's wrong with you?"
Victor strode over and pulled Leon aside.
He glanced at Yara's slightly stained dress, then frowned at Leon. "Leon, do you have zero sense of social awareness or what?"
"Didn't you see anyone? Just crashed right in—are you trying to pull some scam or what?"
Victor pointed at Leon, his tone even harsher and more aggressive.
"I really didn't see you. I'm so sorry."
Leon bowed his head, admitting fault. Being called out by Victor in front of everyone was humiliating, but he couldn't say a word back.
"Didn't see? What are your eyes for, huh? How can you even say that?"
Victor kept pressing, his voice vicious. "Weren't you pretty popular before? How'd you end up like this?"
"You're already washed up, and you still keep making trouble for yourself. Are you stupid or what?"
"And you eat so much by yourself? What are you, a pig?"
Victor glanced at the tray piled with cake and sneered coldly.