The roles were completely reversed. Douglas felt his face burning.

  But Grace wasn't deliberately targeting him. Every word she'd spoken was her honest truth.

  She had long lost the ability to feel romantic attraction toward men. The only reason a man might make her eyes linger for an extra second was simple: if he was handsome.

  Yes, she still liked handsome men. She'd never denied it.

  She'd said what needed to be said, made her position unmistakably clear. Even though Douglas's stunned expression still hadn't fully faded, Grace simply smiled warmly and turned away, heading back inside.

  Scarlett, watching from the window, had no idea what transpired. She only saw her brother standing there like a frostbitten eggplant, utterly deflated. As Grace returned, Scarlett rushed over. "Sweetie, what happened? Did you yell at him?"

  Grace chuckled, looking puzzled. "Why would I yell at him?"

  "Then why does he look like that?"

  It was shock mixed with a hint of sadness, plus something else—complicated.

  Grace sighed and told her honestly, "As you wished. I drew a clear boundary. We can be friends, but nothing more."

  Scarlett's hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide as saucers. "You... you really said that?"

  Grace nodded seriously. "What's with that reaction? Isn't this what you wanted?"

  Scarlett's expression was even more complicated than Douglas's had been. Excitement seemed tangled with conflict, plus barely contained surprise.

  After a moment, she suddenly laughed. "He's always been the one rejecting others. Finally, he gets a taste of his own medicine. Grace, you're amazing."

  Grace wanted to laugh but ended up shaking her head in amused resignation.

  She genuinely hadn't meant to humiliate Douglas. She just believed in being direct. Since she had no intention of giving him a chance, there was no point in leaving him with unnecessary false hope.

  After a kissing scene, some people could shake off the characters quickly once filming ended.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Others... found themselves lost in lingering intoxication, the feeling extending into vivid dreams at night, leaving a damp trace in their underwear.

  When Bryan woke up, he was frustrated and ashamed. He headed straight for the shower.

  He'd just finished drying his hair when his door was pounded urgently.

  "Bryan! Bryan!"

  Marcus was shouting his name from the hallway. Bryan set down the hairdryer, quickly grabbed fresh underwear, pulled on pants, and opened the door.

  "What's wrong?"

  Marcus was panicked. "Disaster! You filmed that kissing scene yesterday, and today fans are already camped outside the hotel. It's chaos downstairs. We'll have to leave through the back today."

  Bryan's expression darkened at Marcus's words. Without hesitation, he said, "Why use the back door? What if they can't corner me here and go cause trouble at the studio instead?"

  "But you can't just walk down there, can you? What if they confront you?"

  Bryan returned to the room, pulling on clothes as he spoke. "They don't need to confront me. The kissing scene is done—it's an indisputable fact. Why would I be afraid to admit it?"

  When Marcus heard Bryan intended to admit it openly, he nearly burst into tears.

  "Bryan, don't scare me! If Faye finds out, she'll kill me!"

  Bryan turned to look at Marcus. "Did Faye ever tell you I'm not allowed to film kissing scenes?"

  Marcus blinked, then quickly shook his head. "No, but she told me to manage your fans! If the fans blow up on social media, the whole team gets penalized!"

  Marcus wasn't exaggerating. Any time an artist trended, good or bad, the team faced rewards or penalties accordingly. Effective promotional buzz earned bonuses.

  Negative trends meant the team got punished.

  Bryan thought for a moment, then decided to handle this head-on, like a man. "Running away won't help. Don't be scared. A kissing scene isn't negative publicity—it's basic professional conduct for an actor. I believe aside from a few extreme fans, most people will support me."

  Marcus's expression was worse than tears, but Bryan's words made sense. With Faye absent and Marcus lacking crisis management experience, they had to trust Bryan's judgment.

  Since Bryan wanted to face this directly, Marcus would go all in. Whatever happened, it was Bryan's decision. If things went south, Bryan wouldn't abandon them.

  "Fine!" Marcus gritted his teeth and nodded.

  Outside the hotel, the shuttle van waiting to transport actors to the set was already parked. The fans were clever—they didn't block the elevators or cause scenes in the lobby. They simply waited by the van.

  Elevators went up and down, mostly disgorging hotel guests. Until one elevator reached the ground floor and opened to reveal Chloe's team, completely unaware of the chaos outside.

  Chloe's team had always been just three people: herself, Taylor, and Edward.

  Edward, the only guy, wasn't the tall, imposing type—just half a head taller than the two girls.

  The moment they appeared, Bryan's lurking fans recognized Chloe instantly.

  "It's Chloe!"

  "Chloe! Did you film a kissing scene with Bryan?"

  "Did you really kiss? Answer us!"

  The swarm descended instantly, surrounding Chloe and her team. Chloe had never experienced anything like this. Her mind went blank; she had no idea what was happening.

  Taylor and Edward did their best to shield her, terrified these extreme fans might hurt her.

  Edward, comparatively calmer, saw they were completely surrounded with no way out. "Chloe, let's go back inside! Retreat for now!"

  Taylor shouted at the crowd, "Go ask Bryan! What does this have to do with Chloe?"

  "Of course it has to do with her! They're a couple in the drama!"

  "Exactly! They have over a million followers in their shipper community, and now they don't care about us loyal fans?"

  "Bryan's done so many dramas—he always used fake shots before. He's never really kissed anyone. Why did he actually kiss Chloe this time?"

  "She must have seduced him!"

  "Yeah! Exactly!"

  These female fans went absolutely crazy. Relying on their numbers, they surrounded them completely, leaving the group trapped with no way forward or back.

  Some even started swinging, trying to hit Chloe. Taylor and Edward, vastly outnumbered, couldn't fully protect her. Taylor was already in tears, doing everything possible just to shield Chloe's face.

  Then, from the back of the crowd where hands couldn't reach, a fan without hesitation hurled a stainless steel thermos directly at Chloe's head. The bottle was as thick as an arm—even if it didn't draw blood, it would hurt like hell.

  But just as the thermos arced through the air, someone suddenly burst through the crowd, arm raised, and swatted it away.

  A tense voice immediately sounded above Chloe's head.

  "Chloe, are you okay?"