Possessed No More: The True Star Returns to Claim Her Throne-Chapter 75: Another Vicious Scheme

Attached was a schedule. The secretary had been incredibly thoughtful, even circling numerous time slots in red. They had marked the duration for each one, with notes like: "Two hours free," "Ninety minutes free," and on which days he had social engagements and when he would likely be home.

The implication was clear: Don’t try to squeeze in a visit on such a tight schedule next time.

Joanna rubbed her nose, then unabashedly saved the one-week schedule.

Just then, the class was dismissed.

Joanna called Riley Perry out. "I have a magazine shoot with *Elegance Resonance* for you. The pay isn’t great, but their sales figures are solid. If things go well, it should only take half a day. I just scheduled it with them for tomorrow. Rhona isn’t around, so should I get you another assistant?"

’She figured Rhona was probably going to quit. Other celebrities had two or three assistants, but her artist only had one. She had to choose carefully and find someone competent and sharp.’

"I’ve already found an assistant myself. He’s pretty sharp, but I’m not sure if he can be officially hired by our company. If not, I’ll just pay his salary out of my own pocket."

’She was, of course, talking about Rocco. He had been ordered back to Dragonspire when she returned anyway. In that case, she might as well get him hired as an official employee at Stardust. It was for no other reason than to let Rocco draw an extra paycheck.’

"That’s easy enough. Just have him come to the office this afternoon to check in. I’ll let HR know."

Riley Perry said, "Alright, I’ll tell him to come this afternoon."

Rocco, upon receiving the text from Riley Perry: ...

Justin Locke’s studio was also in Dragonspire. He had returned after he recovered. After all, he was a business owner, and even though he could manage things remotely, there was still plenty at the studio that required his personal attention.

"Boss, am I really going to check in at Stardust this afternoon?"

Justin Locke looked up from his phone. "Go on. We’ll keep your position here at the studio open for you. As for what you need to do... you get it, right?"

Rocco said, "Got it, got it! Don’t worry, Boss. If anything happens with Ria, I’ll let you know right away."

That afternoon, Rocco went to Stardust and completed his onboarding paperwork.

「Inside a luxurious room at the Valentine Family’s estate in Dragonspire.」

An exceptionally beautiful woman sat on the sofa. She had long, straight black hair that cascaded to her hips, classic phoenix eyes, a high-bridged nose, and thin yet shapely lips. All ten of her fingernails were adorned with intricate designs. Even while alone in her room, she was dressed in an expensive designer outfit, her face flawlessly made up, and her posture perfectly prim.

Yet, despite being the only person in the room, she would speak a few words out loud from time to time.

"She’s been back for two days. She must know by now that I had her blacklisted, so why isn’t her resentment value increasing at all? Is there something wrong with this piece-of-shit system of yours?"

’She couldn’t even exchange her resentment value for another high-grade Beauty Enhancement Pill.’

System: It, too, was beginning to suspect something was wrong with itself, because the female lead’s fortune had risen significantly again.

[Please wait two minutes, Host. I need to run a full self-diagnostic.]

The woman’s expression darkened. "You imbecile! Get on with it."

’An actress gets blacklisted and can’t land a single job—how could she possibly not feel any resentment? And not only is she not resentful, her fortune has actually *increased*? Is this some kind of joke?’

The system, having been called an imbecile: [...]

’This infuriating host! It was a perfectly standard, top-of-the-line system, yet its host despised it completely. It was starting to think it had been activated incorrectly, or maybe it had just bound to the wrong host. Otherwise, how could its life be this pathetic?’

When the two minutes were up, the system finished its self-diagnostic. It hadn’t found any issues.

It checked on the female lead again and finally pinpointed the problem. [Host, the female lead’s lack of resentment is likely related to the fact that she just came into a large sum of money. Furthermore, not only did she just sign on for a variety show, but her agent also landed her a magazine shoot. In short, her financial prospects are looking up, which is why she isn’t bothered by being blacklisted.]

"A large sum of money?"

System: [The specific amount is 124,200,000.]

"That much? Where did that money come from?" ’Even *I* can’t make that much money in one go. No, strictly speaking, in her entire life as the young lady of the Valentine Family, she’d never had that much money at her disposal!’

System: [I can only determine that it came from Sheng Yan.]

"Sheng Yan?"

[Querying the specific details will require resentment value.]

The woman said, "And what good would that do? With that much money in her account and a job offer on top of being blacklisted, why would she be angry?"

’Besides, she barely had any resentment value left. She couldn’t afford to waste it.’

"No, I can’t wait around any longer. I can’t just sit here and watch her fortune continue to grow. I need to find a way to utterly destroy her reputation."

’The host was determined to walk this path of self-destruction to its bitter end. She was beyond persuasion, completely unreachable.’ The system decided to just pretend it had gone offline.

The next day, Rocco dutifully drove Riley Perry to the headquarters of *Elegance Resonance* magazine in his own SUV.

Living up to his title as the all-around assistant, Rocco stayed by her side the entire time, only stepping away when she had to change. The photoshoot took the entire day to complete. Just as Riley Perry finished, changed her clothes, and was about to leave, she received a call from an unknown number. "Is this Miss Riley Perry? I’d like to discuss an advertising contract with you." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Riley Perry glanced at the number again before hitting the record button. "Hello, who is this, please?"

"My name is Hubert Hughes, head of the advertising department at Morgan Cosmetics. You can call me Minister Hughes. Your image is a great fit for our products, Miss Perry. I was wondering if you might be interested in becoming our spokesperson?"

Riley Perry: "Minister Hughes, shouldn’t you be contacting my agent about something like this? Why are you calling me directly?"

"Before we approach your agent, we’d like to invite you for a makeup trial," Minister Hughes said with a chuckle. "If it’s a good fit, we can contact her afterward. It’s not too late. Would you happen to be free right now, Miss Perry?"

Riley Perry: "I just finished a photoshoot, actually, so I’m free now. Where should we meet?"

The person on the other end gave an address and hung up. Rocco immediately said, "Ria, you can’t go. This is fishy."

Riley Perry gave him a reassuring look. "If we don’t go, all their careful planning will be for naught, won’t it? Besides, I’ve got nothing else on my schedule today. Let’s just consider it a bit of fun."

Rocco: ’Are you sure *we’re* not the ones who are about to be their entertainment?’

"Quick, get your gear out. We’re going to do a livestream of our own."

Rocco: ...

Half an hour later, Rocco drove Riley Perry to the designated hotel. Riley Perry adjusted the brooch on her dress and, once she was sure it was secure, walked into the hotel with Rocco in tow.

At the same time, Riley Perry quietly started her livestream.

Without any prior announcement, viewers who trickled in were all drawn by her title: *Exposing a Scammer’s Trap with Your Favorite Streamer*.