After Rebirth, I Accept The Arranged Marriage-Chapter 175: Something Is Fishy

Jessie Sterling had already discovered the other night that Wendy Lawson had a great personality.

Victor Morgan had work on weekdays, so it was impossible for him to accompany her to the shows every single day.

There was a menswear show in a couple of days, so it would be even better to have a friend to go with.

Victor Morgan could accompany her shopping for clothes, but when it came to menswear, she doubted he would be very interested.

So, meeting Wendy Lawson felt like a matter of "right time, right place."

"...Besides, I have plans for the second half of the year," Jessie Sterling said to Victor Morgan, her tone half-complaint, half-explanation. "The books at Apex Films don’t look great. Revenue from our core business is still too low. The office staff have too much downtime, so I’m planning to expand beyond TV series and open up a new track."

Victor Morgan couldn’t help but glance at Jessie Sterling again.

Six months ago, he never would have imagined Jessie Sterling would be so ambitious. He had originally just wanted her to have something to pass the time, but who would have thought that not only would she get Apex Films back on track, but she was now even looking to expand its business channels.

Victor Morgan chuckled softly.

"What?" His chuckle made Jessie Sterling raise an eyebrow. From the look on her face, if Victor Morgan said a single thing she didn’t like, she was ready to show her little kitten claws and teach the man a lesson.

As if Victor Morgan would dare to say a single bad thing about her.

"Should I start calling you ’Director Sterling Jr.’ from now on?" Victor Morgan teased.

Jessie Sterling was the director of Apex Films, but since her father, Mr. Sterling, hadn’t yet retired from his own position in Southaven, didn’t that make her "Director Sterling Jr."?

Jessie Sterling shot Victor Morgan a look and huffed softly. She didn’t say a word, but with that adorably haughty expression, how could anyone not know what she was thinking?

"I’m just being ambitious," Jessie Sterling said.

Victor Morgan nodded. "In the future, half the entertainment industry will probably be taking orders from Director Sterling Jr. You’re so impressive, Director Sterling Jr. Maybe one day I’ll even have to come to you for help."

This time, Jessie Sterling couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

’I’ve never seen Victor Morgan suck up to anyone before. I thought he was completely incapable of dishing out compliments.’

’But listening to him now, apparently that’s not the case!’

’This constant stream of compliments was making her absolutely ecstatic, okay?’

"So what new track are you thinking of adding in the second half of the year?" Victor Morgan asked.

Jessie: "Variety shows, probably. They’re the most profitable, and their ratings are even higher than TV dramas. The costs are also relatively easy to control, so I want to give it a shot." She told Victor Morgan about her company’s recent plans. "Someone in our planning department has great relationships with the heads of several streaming platforms. The platforms also have extensive experience producing variety shows. If we provide the talent and the funding, they’ll naturally be happy to partner with us."

Victor Morgan nodded. He didn’t know much about that side of the business, but this was Jessie’s venture. As long as Jessie Sterling didn’t ask him for help, all he needed to do was cheer for her from the sidelines.

Victor Morgan accompanied Jessie Sterling to the womenswear shows for two days. On the third day, however, he really couldn’t get away and could only drop her off at the entrance.

Jessie Sterling didn’t mind. After all, she had a "buddy" now.

Since Victor wasn’t coming, Jessie had Wendy Lawson sit right next to her.

Every seat had a nameplate, so people couldn’t just sit wherever they wanted.

Wendy Lawson had sent Jessie Sterling a lot of photos over the past two days. It wasn’t just because she had promised to take pictures for her. It was more because the cocktail dresses Jessie had been wearing were absolutely beautiful. As someone who appreciated beauty, Wendy Lawson couldn’t stop herself from madly snapping photos.

Even if the photos didn’t have an "haute couture" artistic feel, they were perfectly in line with mainstream aesthetic tastes.

After the show ended for the day, Wendy Lawson asked Jessie Sterling if she wanted to grab dinner together.

"It’s just a few people who came over from our country for the shows," Wendy said. "No one has anything planned for today, and most people finished their shopping over the last couple of days. Someone suggested it around noon, so it’s a last-minute thing."

Jessie didn’t have any plans, so she readily agreed and sent a message to Victor Morgan.

Quite a few people showed up that evening. Hardly anyone there knew Jessie Sterling, but since she was with Wendy Lawson, several people came over to make small talk.

When they later found out Jessie wasn’t planning on entering the social media influencer space, the number of people trying to talk to her dwindled significantly.

Jessie was more than happy to be left alone. The restaurant they’d chosen was quite nice, and while everyone else was networking, she was the only one diligently focused on her food. It was a rather comical sight.

At first, Wendy felt a little bad about it, but she soon realized that Jessie genuinely enjoyed being by herself in the lively atmosphere, so she stopped trying to pull her into conversations.

Just as Jessie was happily eating, a figure suddenly sat down beside her.

She glanced over, saw it was someone she didn’t recognize, and immediately went back to wrestling with the lemongrass pork ribs on her plate.

Liam Lawson had noticed Jessie the moment she walked in with Wendy Lawson.

He was a fairly well-known influencer, famous for his good looks. He was quite tall and his whole brand was built around the "younger man pursuing an older woman" dynamic.

He had finally found his chance. When he was sure no one was paying attention to him, he walked over and sat down next to Jessie.

But to his surprise, Jessie only gave him a single glance and showed no intention of even saying hello.

Liam Lawson rubbed his nose awkwardly and took the initiative. "Hi!"

Jessie tilted her head in confusion. "Hello." She gave a polite nod, considering it a sufficient greeting.

Before they arrived, Wendy had explained that tonight’s gathering was really just a bunch of young people hanging out. It wasn’t as if they were all close friends.

’Fair-weather friends,’ Jessie had thought, nodding in understanding.

So now, Liam Lawson failed to capture any of Jessie’s attention.

"Were you also invited out for the shows?" Liam Lawson asked. "I don’t think I’ve seen you there before."

As he spoke, he thoughtfully poured Jessie a drink.

Jessie watched him with a hint of suspicion. She had been willing to befriend Wendy Lawson because Wendy hadn’t intentionally sicced netizens on her last year to dig up her personal information. Plus, their chance meeting in Paris had been a genuine coincidence.

But this guy? Jessie didn’t know him from Adam. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Mm." Jessie didn’t touch the drink. Even at this sort of gathering, she rarely accepted drinks from strangers. "Is there something else?" she asked bluntly.

’I didn’t come here to make friends anyway,’ she thought. ’My standoffishness should be obvious enough. Everyone here is sharp, so who would be thoughtless enough to keep pushing?’