Chapter 743 - 739: Annoyingly Many

Lily Sterling walked to the food area and casually picked out a few dishes.

A pretty girl next to her snuck a few glances at her. Sensing the other person’s gaze, Lily Sterling couldn’t help but look over instinctively.

The girl pursed her lips shyly, but still took the initiative to greet Lily Sterling. "Hello, Teacher Sterling."

"Oh, it’s you. I remember you." Lily Sterling recognized her, but she couldn’t recall her name at the moment.

During Director Alan’s auditions, this girl’s agent had secretly asked the producer if her name could be billed before Lily’s.

She also remembered complimenting the girl’s beauty to Connie the first time they met, and Connie had also said she had great potential.

"My name is Zora Warner. I can’t believe you still remember me, Teacher."

"You don’t have to call me ’Teacher’. Just call me Lily Sterling." Lily Sterling didn’t like being called ’Teacher’; it felt awkward.

Hearing this, Zora Warner nodded quickly. "Okay, then I’ll call you Lily Sterling."

Lily Sterling smiled, her lips curving, and returned to her seat after getting some soup.

This was a coming-of-age film, so the cast was mostly young actors, with an almost even split between men and women. Lily Sterling was considered the most famous among them.

The girls were all very pretty, but Zora Warner was particularly striking. Many of the new male actors didn’t dare to act overly familiar with a famous actress like Lily Sterling when they barely knew each other, so they all focused their attention on Zora Warner.

Guys are always like this when they get together, immediately sizing up which girl has a good figure, which one has fair skin, and which one is prettier.

Even if they weren’t overt about it, they were basically all checking the girls out from the corners of their eyes.

"Lily Sterling, can I sit here?"

Zora Warner appeared beside Lily Sterling, holding her tray with an uneasy expression. She said nervously, "I... I don’t really know anyone here. I’m feeling a little socially anxious."

Lily Sterling, who was still chewing, nodded to indicate that she could sit.

Zora Warner immediately gave a grateful smile. After sitting down, she didn’t forget to nod at Yuri Tucker, who was sitting opposite them.

"Did you come to the set by yourself?" Lily Sterling asked her.

Zora Warner blinked her lively, big eyes and then shook her head. "With my uncle. He’s my agent."

"Your agent is your uncle?" Lily Sterling was a little surprised. "Is he the one from last time?" she asked, uncertain.

Zora Warner clearly remembered what had happened last time as well. While Connie and Lily Sterling hadn’t arrived yet, her uncle had secretly asked the producer to have her name billed before Lily Sterling’s, only for someone to overhear him on the spot.

Unable to hide her momentary embarrassment, Zora Warner forced a smile and nodded.

"I’m so sorry about what happened last time. My uncle, he..."

"It’s fine. I understand." Lily Sterling cut through her awkwardness with a smile. "Agents are all like that. They always have to look out for their own artists."

Zora Warner looked at Lily Sterling, a hint of emotion in her eyes. ’Lily Sterling is so kind,’ she thought.

Just then, Chloe Hale walked into the cafeteria. She wasn’t alone; she appeared at the same time as the assistant director, Tom Miller.

The so-called assistant director was actually just a director’s assistant on set, a title glorified to sound more important.

A title like that was enough to intimidate the average new actor, but it clearly didn’t hold much weight in front of veteran or famous actors.

As it happened, though, this cast was mostly new actors. Furthermore, the assistant director, Tom Miller, had been present during the auditions, so everyone knew him.

Paired with the fact that Chloe Hale was a relatively senior actress in the cast, their appearance together made the young actors jump up one after another to greet them, like startled birds or recruits at boot camp.

"Hello, Tommy! Hello, Teacher Chloe."

"Hello, Tommy! Hello, Chloe."

Tom Miller raised a hand. "Everyone, sit down and eat. No need to be so formal."

As for Chloe Hale, her vanity was written all over her face. She looked at Tom Miller without any reservation and said, "Go get some food for me. I can’t be bothered to move. You know what I like."

Tom Miller nodded and turned to get a tray.

It was so blatant that everyone immediately realized their relationship was unusual. The more innocent-minded might think they were just friends, but for those with less pure thoughts, the relationship could be imagined as something much more complicated.

Lily Sterling watched without a word, but she now had an inkling as to why Chloe Hale’s agent was able to raise a huge fuss today and still secure a suite for her.

’The staff member wasn’t afraid of Chloe Hale, but of Tom Miller.’

"Lily, want to go for a walk tonight? I heard there’s a really famous plaza nearby. It’s supposed to be bustling and beautiful," Yuri Tucker suddenly asked, looking at Lily Sterling.

Lily Sterling shook her head. "Let’s skip it today. We should rest up so we’re in good shape for the production start tomorrow. We can go some other day when we wrap early."

"That works too. We’ll be here for a month or two anyway, so there’ll be plenty of chances."

After getting the food, Tom Miller returned to his seat. He subconsciously glanced around before his gaze landed on Lily Sterling’s table.

Of all the actresses in the cast, the two who left the deepest impression on him were Lily Sterling and Zora Warner. Lily Sterling was a given, but as for Zora Warner, Director Alan had cast her on the spot after seeing a clip that was less than twenty seconds long.

She really was stunningly beautiful—the kind of beauty with distinctive features and elegant bone structure.

"What are you looking at?"

Chloe Hale noticed his gaze and glared at him, annoyed. "No matter how pretty Lily Sterling is, you can’t just stare at her so openly."

Tom Miller pulled his gaze back and grinned. "Look at you. Can’t I even take a look?"

"I’m sitting right here!" Chloe Hale shot him a look. "If you want to look, do it when I’m not around."

"I wasn’t looking at Lily Sterling." Tom Miller jutted his chin toward Zora Warner. "You haven’t seen that young lady before, have you? I have a feeling she’s going to be big. Director Alan picked her out at a glance. Her potential is just outstanding; she doesn’t lose out at all, even next to Lily Sterling."

Chloe Hale watched for a few seconds, a wave of irritation instantly washing over her.

She wasn’t that old—only twenty-five this year. But she couldn’t stand how the newcomers popping up in the entertainment industry were younger and prettier than the last. Twenty-year-olds were one thing, but there were even sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds starting to make a name for themselves.

"There are so many pretty faces. It’s infuriating!" Chloe Hale grumbled angrily.

Tom Miller placed some food into her bowl, his voice laced with a smile as he soothed her. "You’re very pretty too."

The two of them were sitting far away, so to others, their interaction just looked like playful flirting. No one knew what they were saying.

But just as everyone was eating, the lights in the bright cafeteria suddenly flickered and plunged the room into darkness.

The sudden incident made many of the girls who were afraid of the dark cry out in alarm. The abrupt switch from light to dark was especially disorienting, their eyes unable to adjust. It was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

"What the hell? Is there a power outage?"

"Did a breaker trip?"

"Everyone stay where you are and don’t move! Be careful!"