Regardless of its authenticity, at least the scene would appear very warm and cozy.

Everyone clustered together in animated discussion, with Hannah seated at the end of the table, still holding the same book from earlier in the morning. She occasionally chimed into the conversation, but overall, she still seemed somewhat aloof.

May Hoffman sneaked several glances at her, seemingly wanting to say something but not sure how to start.

Lucy Taylor naturally noticed Hannah’s behavior as well. Mentally, she sneered. She thought to herself, once the behind-the-scenes footage was released, people would for sure criticize Hannah Winter for not being team-oriented.

Of course, there’s also the possibility that they might be blamed for isolating their roommate.

No matter what, netizens and fans nowadays love making a mountain out of a molehill. Having had her cell phone confiscated, Lucy wouldn’t even have the means to clarify things online when the time comes.

With that thought in mind, despite her discomfort, Lucy Taylor took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Hannah, "Hannah, I heard from May that both of you are film students?"

The moment her words landed, May, who had been snacking, paused, subconsciously looking towards Hannah. As expected, she found Hannah gazing back at her with a smile.

However, this smile didn’t reach her eyes, instead it carried more curiosity.

May awkwardly curved the corners of her mouth upward, placing the snack she was holding in front of Hannah, a sign of appeasement.

Hannah accepted the snack, shifted her gaze to Lucy across the table, and nodded affirmatively, "That’s right, we’re both film students."

After her sentence, she gave a slight smile. Suddenly, the sound of her pulling apart the snack bag was unforeseeably loud.

Locking eyes with Hannah, Lucy Taylor felt her face tensing up, but a girl from their shared company stepped forward, with an envious tone, "How great it is that you guys got to go to college. For us, we joined the company as trainees at a very young age. It’s such a shame that we haven’t made any significant progress after all these years."

The girl sounded somewhat disheartened.

After saying that, she seemed to have realized something and nervously glanced at Lucy.

From anyone’s perspective, her words seemed to be taking a jab at Lucy Taylor. After all, she joined the company a year earlier than Lucy, yet her career had not taken off the way Lucy’s had.

"Lucy, I didn’t mean it like that..." The girl quickly tried to explain, looking rather anxious, as though she was fearful of something.

Lucy Taylor flashed a brilliant smile, affectionately pulled the girl nearer and reassured her word by word, "Sunny, how can you think like that, you’re really great, okay? Have a little more faith in yourself."

Having said that, she gently shook Sunny’s arm.

Sunny bit her lip, nodded, and fell silent.

Only then did Lucy Taylor release her hold, straightened herself in the seat, and continued, her voice light but poignant, "In fact, many of us trainees, including me and Sunny, didn’t attend college. I even went overseas to become a trainee at a very early age. It was three exhausting years, yet I was really happy to chase my dreams."

Pausing for a moment, she turned her attention to Hannah, "actually, I’m quite envious of you, Hannah. You can still stay in the beautiful campus and must have been very well protected. Unlike us, we’ve already experienced the trials and tribulations of the society at such a young age."

Her voice carried an undertone of sadness, in a bid to gain sympathy.

The others quickly consoled Lucy Taylor, and seeing her eyes welling up, they even handed her tissues.

Hannah rested her head on her hand, her pale and slender fingers rhythmically tapping on the table. As she watched people fussing over Lucy Taylor’s tears, she felt like an outsider.