Chapter 212: Malice

Chapter 212: Chapter 212: Malice

Determined to protect Britney and completely cut off Justin Timberlake’s path of hype, Irene immediately walked to the quiet window and dialed her assistant Vera’s number.

"Vera, please help me privately gather information on all of Justin Timberlake’s recent schedules, collaborations, social interactions, and private words and deeds.

The more detailed, the better. Pay special attention to whether he has any dirt regarding breach of contract, moral misconduct, violations, or crossing industry red lines."

"Hand this matter to Chen Shiyu to assist you. The two of you must work together to dig up solid evidence that can force him to retire from the industry directly, leaving no room for negotiation."

This was the first time Vera had seen Irene make such a request, but she understood that her boss was not someone who liked to meddle in other people’s business. Her mind turned to the previous love triangle scandal between Justin, Britney, and Edward, and she immediately replied:

"Understood. Chen Shiyu and I will start immediately, maintaining full confidentiality and not leaking any word of the message."

After hanging up with her assistant, Irene had just returned to her workstation when a new email notification popped up. It was the movie script and complete project proposal sent by Britney.

She quickly flipped through it. Although the plot had slight differences in details from the youth road movie in her memory, the core narrative, character settings, and story direction were basically consistent. It was truly the work she remembered.

Irene didn’t dwell on it too much and directly forwarded the script and project proposal to Shelly:

"I’ve read the script. The plot is too simple, the female lead’s character design is unlikable, and Britney’s acting talent is limited. Her acting skills cannot support her in carrying a movie as the lead. Whether to accept it, how to politely decline, or how to mitigate risks, handle it as a professional agent."

Having given her instructions, she didn’t ask any more questions. An agent has an agent’s professional discretion. She only needed to state her key judgment, and the rest could be left to Shelly.

After dealing with this sudden episode, Irene took a deep breath and cast all distracting thoughts to the back of her mind.

She sat back down at the editing console. Before her were the rough cut footage and storyboard drafts of Pirates of the Caribbean, and in her ears was the grand and stirring first draft of the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer’s team, with the special effects sketches from Industrial Light & Magic and the soundtrack demo neatly stacked to the side.

There were no scandals to trouble her, no trivial matters to tie her down, and no human schemes to worry about.

She once again immersed herself heart and soul into the world of film post-production. The lens rhythm, special effects transitions, soundtrack placement, and narrative tension—all her attention was firmly pinned on the work itself.

Outside the window, the night in Los Angeles deepened, but the lights in the editing room remained bright.

After Shelly finished a series of official duties, including Oscar red carpet coordination, artist schedule alignment, and post-production promotion, Shelly finally found time to open the movie project proposal and complete script sent by Irene.

Shelly leaned back in the office leather chair and flipped through it page by page, the gaze sharp and calm. After only roughly scanning half the plot, a conclusion was already reached.

Honestly, there were at least eighty if not a hundred youth road movies in Hollywood about chasing dreams, escaping small towns, and heading to Hollywood.

The subject matter was stale, the tropes were obvious, and it had neither artistic breakthroughs nor the potential to be a commercial blockbuster. It wouldn’t even make a splash on the market.

But Shelly also saw through the fundamental reason why Britney would be tempted at a glance. The female lead’s family of origin, growth dilemmas, and inner struggles in the script were almost written based on Britney’s own real-life experiences.

Every emotion and detail precisely poked her soft spots, allowing her to see her own shadow in the story and generating a strong resonance.

Shelly gave a soft snort and closed the file.

The screenwriter had clearly put a lot of thought into it, even secretly collecting a large amount of private information about Britney, specifically tailoring such a script for her with the sole purpose of luring her into the trap.

But once the essence was seen through, it was clear: from beginning to end, this movie was merely exploiting Britney’s popularity, exploiting her experiences, and exploiting her emotions. It added nothing to her music career and was even less beneficial to her public image. If she accepted it, it would only waste her most precious peak period in vain.

On this point, Shelly’s judgment coincided with Irene’s.

Shelly picked up the desk phone and dialed the private number of Britney’s assistant, Bella.

After a few simple exchanges, Shelly became even more certain of the situation. Bella confessed that Britney had spoken to her more than once recently about the idea of crossing over into film acting. It wasn’t just a whim, but something she was truly and seriously considering.

In this way, the matter became somewhat delicate.

A direct, hard refusal would only provoke Britney’s rebellious psychology. A hasty brush-off would make her feel unvalued. But if she were allowed to accept this script, which was clearly just a cash grab, it would only drag down her reputation and career path in the future.

How to make Britney willingly and convincedly give up this project required finding a reason that was reasonable enough, decent enough, and convincing enough for her.

Hard tactics wouldn’t work, and blind opposition would be even worse.

Shelly rubbed his temples, fingertips tapping lightly on the cover of the script, a trace of an agent’s unique, calm, and comprehensive consideration flashing in his eyes.

Shelly needed a perfect excuse, a foolproof plan that could protect Britney, avoid offending her, and simultaneously take the opportunity to plan a better career path for her.

While Shelly was still considering the most appropriate rhetoric, attempting to decently and securely persuade Britney to give up the road movie, the situation exceeded everyone’s expectations ahead of time. The news that Britney had been invited to star in a movie was quietly leaked by someone, and overnight, it became known to everyone within Jive Records.

Rumors spread quietly like vines. Some people were curious, some were envious, and others were full of anticipation to see a joke.

The next day, Britney went to the company for a meeting as usual. Just as she walked into the office corridor, a voice, deliberately raised and carrying a sour, mocking laugh, blocked her way.

It was that female singer in the company who had always been in open and secret conflict with her, competing for resources at every turn.

The other woman crossed her arms, her makeup exquisite, but her eyes could not hide the spite and malice. She took a step closer in her high heels, her tone sugary yet venomous:

"Oh my, Britney, congratulations! Such big good news, why keep it so hidden? Are we colleagues not even worthy of knowing?"

She paused deliberately, her eyes sweeping over the colleagues who were secretly looking over. Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone to hear clearly:

"I also heard that your amazing director bestie doesn’t seem to support you in making movies? No way, could it be that she’s afraid that once you step into the film industry, your acting will be stunning, overshadowing her, and you’ll steal her path in the future?"

In one sentence, she both mocked Britney for overestimating her own capabilities and subtly smeared Irene for being narrow-minded and jealous of her close friend.

Sowing discord, kicking someone while they were down—the overflowing malice was almost palpable.

The surroundings instantly quieted down a bit, and several gazes fell on Britney, carrying the probing intent of watching a spectacle.

But Britney just lifted her eyes coldly, her face without even a ripple of emotion.

Since her debut, she had seen too much of this kind of snide provocation and backstabbing hidden in smiles.

The more the other party wanted to provoke her, the less she could be bothered to give even a hint of a reaction.

The audience, the conflict, the loss of composure that the other party wanted—she simply wouldn’t give it to them.

Britney couldn’t even be bothered to spare another glance. A faint, almost indifferent curve appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she turned and walked straight toward the conference room, her silhouette decisive and crisp, without a moment’s hesitation.