The disguised Lin Ruiying walked through the Shilin District of Taipei in the cloak of the night sky. She wore a black cap, a face mask, and a simple inconspicuous outfit. The only thing that could possibly make her stand out was the small brown birthmark underneath her right eye. The bright and colorful lights of stores welcoming tourists and those seeking a variety of nighttime activities shined on Ruiying's deep-dark blue eyes, furrowed eyebrows, and disgusted look. 

She took off her glasses and massaged her knitted eyebrows. She pressed her fingers down her clear face, almost accidentally removing her face mask, and sighed. She still had a string of hope that her fans would oppose her new series so that her no-good company would replace Qin Yueyan with someone else or even just replace Ruiying herself with a different actor.

However, she was blessed with loyal fans all over the globe who supported her through her endeavors. It was only because she loved her fans that she could not curse them out for shipping her with the one person in the world she despised more than anything.

Ruiying sighed again but this time it carried more defeat than distaste. As she turned off her phone to put it in her pocket, it vibrated and a pop-up notification was shone brightly on the screen.

[Haoxuan: Don't come by today. Unexpected visitors.]

Another sigh escaped Ruiying as she called for a cab and returned to her apartment.

'Damn it, everything is a mess'

If she had known that her previous series, Fragile Heart, involved working with the trashy Yueyan, she would not have signed that contract!

"It's that writer's fault" she mumbled as she removed her shoes and entered her spotless apartment.

If only the writer wrote a plothole-filled series, then she wouldn't have to worry about excited fans, much less excited IvyLuna fans. Just remembering such people existed sent a cold shiver down her spine. It was too late to regret the past, so Ruiying let it go. She instead decided to keep her mind off it by playing solitaire, she masterfully shuffled the deck so that one might mistake her for a Las Vegas croupier. She boiled some water for her lemon balm tea and began her game. Just as she was debating whether to risk moving her king of hearts to the singular free space, her phone rang. 

[Xu Jiashu. 23. Manager]

"What a pity, I can't ignore this one."

As the phone continued to ring, she began collecting her cards and tidying up her table. Once she finished, just at the last ring, she pressed the little emerald button.

[RuiRui!]

"Good night, Jiashu"

[Hey! I know it's night, but I also know you don't sleep until 10:30 pm on the dot.]

"Well then you know you have got 10 minutes"

[Ugh, why do I even bother with you? Anyway, RuiRui what is this damn article? Are you insane?]

"Article?" for a moment a pang of fear washed over Ruiying. She had done her part, no malicious articles should have been released.

[Don't act dumb. The whole internet has gone crazy over it like piranhas. Today was your day off, what are you doing?]

"..."

[RuiRui... do you actually have no idea?]

"I will if you tell me what they are about."

[Damn this shitty rotten company. You can go to court over this, I will personally contact the best lawyer in the nation, even worldwide.]

"Court? What did they say that will ruin me enough to be penalized for it?"

[Huh? Did they also release negative press? Why didn't you tell me RuiRui? Am I not your closest friend?]

"Wait, they didn't release any negative attention about me?"

[No, not as far as my searches show.]

"Then why are you bringing up the court?"

[The company falsified an article with your name. They are most likely trying to corner you into accepting the contract. It was bad enough that they forced you to break your first rule, now they are trying to screw you over with the second one.]

"Are you talking about ReTry?"

[You know about it? Why were you acting like you didn't? And why didn't you contact me as soon as you saw it? This is clearly a breach of the contract you made with them, and this one can be proven under the court of law. What are you waiting for RuiRui, this is your time to escape?]

"Jiashu, I signed the ReTry contract. It is not fake news, I will begin filming for it later next month."

[You did what! Are you fucking crazy? Ugh, damn it RuiRui. Putting that aside, this is still a breach of your contract with the company itself. Let's sue them and then I'll pay the contract termination fee of ReTry.]

"I can't sue them."

[I have a copy of the contract, it is clearly stated in clauses. Rui-]

"The company terminated the contract and I signed a new one without those clauses or agreements."

[What?]

"It's 10:25, good night Jiashu."

[He-]

In that one instance with only the dim light of her phone shining onto her face in her dark room, could anyone capture the reddening eyes of someone who willingly signed their freedom away.

Only in that fleeting moment could anyone see Ruiying falter. 

Of course, no one would because Ruiying was alone.

She turned off her phone entered her sheets and closed her eyes when the clock struck 10:30.