Ignoring the news, Stella Lockwood tossed the tablet aside, jumped out of bed, and rushed into the bathroom, coming face-to-face with the reflection of a face brimming with collagen.
Six years ago, she was twenty-two and still had a thick air of naivete about her. She had a delicate oval face and exquisitely fine features, yet they were all-natural, without any embellishment. She was, without a doubt, a true beauty.
'That's right. I had a nickname given to me by my haters: Vase Beauty—because aside from my good looks, my acting was truly nothing special.'
'The only reason I later became an award-winning actress was a stroke of incredible luck—and it was that very same luck that led my life down a path to ruin.'
"Stella Lockwood, you still have the nerve to look in the mirror?"
Just as she was lost in thought, Serena Lockwood came over, grabbed her by the ear, and dragged her back to the room.
"Ow, ow, ow…"
'My third sister was a total brute. In fact, she'd studied kung fu and was an amazing fighter. She could have been a martial arts instructor, but she'd become a manager instead—all because of me.'
"So you *can* feel pain," Serena Lockwood snapped. "I told you to stay far, far away from that Julian Bell! Why don't you ever listen? Just look! See what the entire internet is saying about you now? You started as a child star; you had some goodwill with the public. Are you determined to completely destroy what's left of your 'Nation's Daughter' image? Will you only be satisfied once it's all gone?"
Stella Lockwood ignored the talk of popularity. Instead, she stared right at her sister and suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. "Sis, let me hug you, please… I just have to give you a proper hug…"
'In my past life, I never had a good relationship with my second sister. And even though my third sister, Serena, was my manager, I was always causing trouble and leaving messes for her to clean up. Her tragic marriage, her inability to have children… although they weren't directly my fault, she had indeed married a monster in human form just to better help me. He raped her, and when she got pregnant, he forced her to have an abortion that left her infertile for life. But that horrible beast still wouldn't let her go. He even murdered the younger man she later fell in love with. And so, Serena took her own life.'
'But the sister before me now was so alive, so full of ferocious energy. Even though her fuming glare was fierce, it was overflowing with sisterly love.'
'This sister truly doted on me, but my past self had been so consumed by the grief from the violent deaths of our father and older brother that I'd completely ignored everything she did for me.'
'Even later, after I'd finally secured my place in the entertainment world—relying on the acting skills I had painstakingly polished with her help—I heartlessly believed it was all due to my own efforts, completely blind to the sacrifices she had made for me.'
'In short, my past self was nothing but a simple-minded, self-righteous fool.'
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Let go… Are you nuts?"
Serena Lockwood froze. 'This little sister of hers was timid, conflict-averse, and naive, yet also deeply obsessive. She was stunningly beautiful and used to be a lively and cheerful girl. But six years ago, their adoptive father and older brother had died in an accident, and Stella had witnessed it firsthand. She had been trapped in that tragedy ever since, unable to move on, and had even developed depression. For years, she had lived in her own little world, unskilled at communicating with anyone. Acting was her only passion. That was why Serena had become her manager—to better discover her talent and help her achieve her life's potential.'
'And because Serena scolded her so often, the girl was terrified of her and was always looking for any excuse to avoid her.'
"I'm so happy… It's so, so good to see you…"
Stella hugged her tightly, her heart pounding wildly. 'In her past life, her sisters had all met tragic ends, and her grandfather had died from rage. She had made a fortune and lived in a mansion, but none of it brought her the happiness she'd felt when the four of them were all squeezed into one tiny house.'
"Well, *I'm* not." Serena Lockwood was clearly displeased. "Right now, we need to deal with this huge mess of yours… Get off…" she snapped.
"Yes, Ma'am…" Stella Lockwood grinned and gave Serena a quick kiss on the cheek, as happy as a child.
Serena Lockwood: "…"
'Did she go crazy?'
'She used to hate physical contact and never smiled—or rather, ever since their father and brother died, she'd lost her smile. Only when she was acting, if a role was a perfect fit, would that brilliant childhood smile of hers return. Otherwise, her performance would just be cringeworthy. In short, her acting was… a mixed bag. Sometimes she was brilliant, and other times you couldn't tell what she was even trying to portray.'
Stella Lockwood sat back down on the bed and picked up the tablet. A new scandal about her had broken online today:
"Third-rate starlet Stella Lockwood, dead drunk in the middle of the night, was spotted dancing intimately with playboy Julian Bell. The pair then returned to Mr. Bell's residence, and Lockwood didn't emerge until 3 a.m. To land the lead role in *Three Lives of Pear Blossoms*, Stella Lockwood is willing to sell her body… Her public image is in shambles. The 'Nation's Daughter' is now nothing but trash…"
'Tch, what a load of crap.'
"Sis, there's nothing going on between me and Julian Bell. Last night, he was upset because he'd broken up with his girlfriend and asked me out for a couple of drinks. You know we get along pretty well, so I couldn't say no and went. But then he pulled me into a dance. After that, he got drunk, so I took him home. Then he threw up all over me, so I had to wash my clothes and wait for them to dry before I could leave…"
'The old Stella would never have bothered to explain. She couldn't have cared less about a PR crisis; she lived in her own little world. But now, she had to explain things to her sister. She knew how hard it was for Serena to be her manager.'
"What damn good is telling me all this?" Serena yelled. "If you don't fix this, the agency will shelve you for sure. Tell me, do you even want to be an actress or not? If you don't, then just switch careers! The money you're making now isn't even enough for the two of us to get by… I'm still having to supplement your income with my own money…"
Stella Lockwood nodded, her voice firm and clear. "I do. I have to act. Actually, this is easy to solve. Just watch…"
As she spoke, she fished her phone out of the messy pile of blankets and immediately called Julian Bell, putting him on speaker. "Mr. Bell, it's Stella…"
"What? It's the crack of dawn. Don't interrupt a man's beauty sleep…" Mr. Bell grumbled on the other end.
"Hmph, 'what'?" Stella snapped back. "How about I come over there and beat your face into a pulp, you believe that? The paparazzi are all over me because of you!"
"Like I give a damn… I'm nursing a broken heart here, leave me alone…"
"Bell, are you trying to ruin me? You listen up. If you don't make this right, I'm going to post that video of you on your knees, begging your girlfriend to take you back, for the entire world to see."
"Whoa, easy there, my little queen! Don't play with me! If that video gets out, my grandfather will literally break my legs…" Mr. Bell was suddenly wide awake.
"Then get online right now and clear things up between us. You have five minutes. If I don't see a public clarification trending in five minutes, I'll personally make *you* the top trend…"
With that, Stella Lockwood hung up, a cool, beautiful confidence about her. Her eyes sparkled, and her entire being radiated fighting spirit.
'In this life, she, Stella Lockwood, would no longer be a pushover. From this day forward, she would live her life on her own terms.'