Possessed No More: The True Star Returns to Claim Her Throne-Chapter 108: Director Warren Is a Scammer
It wasn’t that Roxanne Fulton only cared about food. For various reasons, she didn’t have many friends in the industry. She hadn’t expected to hit it off with Riley Perry on this show, so she was naturally happy to get together with her more often.
"Then it’s a deal. You better not back out."
Riley Perry replied with a laugh, "I promise I won’t. As long as you don’t get tired of me."
"Hey now, ladies. We all filmed this show together. Can’t you invite us too?"
"I’d love to! I just didn’t dare suggest it. I was afraid your fans would accuse me of trying to ride your coattails. But since Best Actor King was the one to bring it up, it doesn’t count as me freeloading."
Best Actor King laughed heartily. "My fans aren’t that unreasonable. Don’t worry, they won’t say things like that."
[Exactly. Our Best Actor King is almost forty. Does he need us fans to manage his friendships? He can eat with whoever he wants. We won’t say a thing.] 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
[What do you mean, almost forty? Old King is only thirty-six! He’s still got a long way to go!]
[I used to be misled by all the false rumors online and definitely misunderstood Riley Perry. But after watching this show, I see that’s not her at all. Riley is clearly a warm, sincere, and incredibly capable hidden gem. She’s the kind of person you’d feel most comfortable being friends with.]
[I’m already a convert. Hater-turned-fan right here.]
"Alright, the rabbit’s cooked. Let’s eat." Best Actor King was the first to act, giving Riley Perry a large rabbit leg.
"Thank you, Best Actor King."
"Don’t be so formal. Just call me Mr. King. I’m more than ten years older than you all; I’ve earned it."
Riley Perry didn’t hesitate, readily changing her form of address. "Mr. King."
’The entertainment industry is a small world. You can’t get far on your own, so making friends is a must. Of course, I have my own set of principles for making friends. And what are those principles?’
’Simple: if I get a good feeling about them.’
’And these three in front of me all seem pretty decent. If they’re willing to get closer, then I shouldn’t be reserved. I’ll just go with the flow.’
Silas King answered happily. He hadn’t expected that agreeing to do a variety show for Director Warren out of boredom would lead to meeting a few youngsters he could really talk to. It was a pleasant surprise.
Without pausing, he gave the other two rabbit legs to Roxanne Fulton and Victoria Koenig, keeping the rest for himself. A bite of porridge, a bite of meat—this was so much better than their last two meals.
Riley Perry quickly finished her rabbit leg, then raked through the embers to retrieve the two Beggar’s Chickens, which had been wrapped in bamboo leaves and caked in mud. When she cracked open the hardened clay, a cloud of fragrant steam billowed out.
Roxanne Fulton exclaimed excitedly, "It smells incredible! Now *this* is a real, authentic Beggar’s Chicken. I even helped mix the mud!"
Riley Perry laughed. "Don’t just stand there smelling it, dig in! It’s best when it’s hot. The texture won’t be as good once it cools." With that, she tore off a chicken wing for herself.
"Why not take a leg?" Victoria Koenig was tempted to just tear one off for her. ’Two chickens, four legs—that’s one for each of us.’
"I like wings. Besides, it’s not like we’re short on meat." ’You don’t have to insist I take a leg.’
Roxanne Fulton wanted to cry. They were supposed to be surviving in the wilderness! She hadn’t been able to get a single bite of meat on her own, yet Riley could casually say they weren’t short on it. "Mr. King, how about we kidnap Riley and make her our dedicated meat-procurement specialist?"
Best Actor King burst out laughing. "I’m in! To be honest, I’m really sick of this not-knowing-where-our-next-meal-is-coming-from life."
Victoria Koenig put on a woeful expression. "Hey, if you’re really going to kidnap Riley, can you kidnap me too? This poor girl is all alone, have some pity!"
At that, the other two women burst out laughing as well.
The atmosphere in the live comments was just as harmonious. [The vibe between these four is so good. There’s no scheming or passive-aggressive remarks, it’s just so wholesome and fun to watch. This is what a reality show should be.]
Director Warren was overjoyed when he saw that comment. This was exactly his goal in creating the show. Now that the audience was recognizing it, he was so moved he nearly wept—even though he wasn’t that old yet.
After a fairly lavish lunch, the four were about to go their separate ways when their watches beeped in unison: [Today’s mission has been issued: Find where the wind blows golden robes, that which is half maple and half lotus.]
The other three all said in unison, "What’s that supposed to be?"
"Are they making us guess a riddle?"
Riley Perry crooked a finger at her camera operator, who quickly stepped closer. "It’s not enough that Director Warren tortures us," she said to the camera, "now you’re setting traps for us too, huh? ’Where the wind blows golden robes, that which is half maple and half lotus.’ That’s referring to the Half Maple. It’s because it belongs to the witch-hazel family, which is also known as the golden-thread family, giving it the other name, Golden-thread Half Maple.
The Half Maple is an evergreen tree with long, ovoid buds that are slightly pubescent. It typically grows in subtropical low to mid-elevation mountains. Its roots are used in medicine to treat rheumatism, traumatic injuries, swelling from blood stasis, postpartum paralysis, and so on.
And none of that is useful right now."
The other three and the viewers in the livestream chat: ...
She took a breath and looked at the camera again. "The Half Maple is a Class II nationally protected species. It’s also very rare, so there’s no telling if we can even find one. And if we do get lucky enough to find it and then dig it up... well, that would be an actual crime.
So, Director Warren, isn’t it about time you sent the second message?"
The words were barely out of her mouth when their wristwatches beeped again. The four of them checked the new message: [Find it and take a picture. Reward: one lavish dinner.]
Roxanne Fulton pouted. "Even though I have no idea what a Half Maple is, Director Warren is just plain mean."
She didn’t care about the reward at all, because she was certain she wouldn’t be able to complete this mission.
Director Warren’s thoughts: ’Of course I wouldn’t let the contestants actually pick a Half Maple. I just wanted to see what Riley was really made of. I can’t believe she even knew it was a protected species. I’m completely won over!’
The camera operator stifled a laugh. ’Director Warren is on a roll, trying to offend every single contestant. I’d love to see them all riot and gang up on him.’
After denouncing Director Warren, Riley Perry described the appearance of the Half Maple to Best Actor King and Victoria. Once she was sure they understood, she mounted the sika deer and set off again.
Along the way, Victoria Koenig’s eyes constantly scanned the green plants by the roadside, hoping she’d get lucky and spot a Half Maple. Riley was amused, but she didn’t stop her. She would even patiently explain any plant Victoria asked about, acting as a walking botanical encyclopedia. When Victoria looked at Riley, her eyes were practically screaming with admiration and awe.
However, the haters in the livestream chat were going into a frenzy. They had been trying and failing to find some dirt on Riley, and today seemed like the perfect opportunity. They simply couldn’t believe some D-list nobody could possibly recognize so many plants, let alone remember all their medicinal properties and functions.
So, every time Riley introduced a new plant, they would scramble to look it up online and meticulously compare the information. After hours of this, the haters finally gave up.
[You guys probably won’t believe this, but I’m one of Riley Perry’s haters. I’ve been glued to her stream for hours today, originally trying to find a mistake so I could flame her. But after all this time, my eyes are killing me, and I’ve only come to one conclusion: everything she says is correct.
I just can’t bring myself to hate on her anymore. Screw it, I’m switching sides. After all, I’ve never seen a female celebrity this brilliant. Doesn’t seem like a bad deal to become a fan.]
