The Trending Topic Herself: The Villainess is the Superstar!-Chapter 182: Strange Gifts

Maya clutched her chest, pretending to be heartbroken, and said, "I didn’t expect you’d see me like this, Ryan..."

Ryan Spencer, unmoved by Maya’s feigned frailty, replied, "Then tell me, what kind of story is ’Mirror’ about?"

"Of course I know, ’Mirror’... isn’t it just a love story?"

"Love? The essence of ’Mirror’ extends far beyond that. Is love all you see? Is there nothing else?" Ryan continued to guide her step by step.

Maya replied without batting an eye, "I’m just a romantic at heart, with no grand ambitions and no keen insight. I can only see the love."

"Pfft." Ryan couldn’t help but laugh.

"Your definition of love is too broad. Tell me about something else."

"Hmm... it’s quite moving. I felt a lot after finishing it. Even someone like me, who doesn’t like reading scripts, got drawn in. I quite like the female protagonist’s personality. If I met her in real life, I think we might become friends."

She delivered her speech all in one go, with almost no pause.

Though it sounded thoughtful, on closer listen, it was all broad, meaningless talk with no specific information at all.

Ryan nodded seemingly with satisfaction, casually asking, "I didn’t expect you to like the character ’Jeanne’ so much."

Maya sharply noticed a flicker in Ryan’s eyes, "The female lead isn’t called that, right."

"Oh? Then what’s the name of the female lead?" Ryan narrowed his eyes slightly, looking like a cunning old fox.

"My memory isn’t very good; I only remember the rough plot, but I really can’t recall the character names..."

Scott slightly opened his mouth in disbelief, witnessing Maya and Ryan’s argument taking on a new twist, as if instantly transported into a "massive palace intrigue scene."

Maya, however, had long grown accustomed to this model.

Ryan’s daily suspicion, and her daily defense.

"I’ll review it again when I get back, and tell you about it in a couple of days."

Maya truly hadn’t read that damn script, but luckily she had a good memory, and going back to skim and memorize the gist shouldn’t be a problem.

That gave her words an unusual confidence.

Her confidence caused Ryan to doubt himself.

"...Alright, I’ll be waiting for you."

*

Today, Maya signed a collaboration contract at the company. Ryan mentioned treating her to lunch, so she stayed.

"Megan, these are gifts from fans. There are quite a few pieces, and I’ve kept them all here for you."

Scott staggered in, carrying dozens of gift boxes, his body swaying.

Maya sprang up from the sofa.

After opening numerous small cakes and cookies, Maya could no longer remain calm in the face of gifts from fans.

Maya reached out and picked several exquisite boxes that seemed to contain snacks.

"Why are so many people recently giving me food?"

"It’s because Megan, you’ve become popular. When fans like you, they send you gifts."

"Really?" Maya remarked nonchalantly.

"Of course! Our Megan is a shining new star, destined to shine brightly on the international stage one day."

International—the battlefield many stars aspire to conquer.

But shortly after, Maya thought of something else.

Even without being particularly likable, she received so many delicious treats. Kiki Monroe, who’s a darling of the masses, must be getting cakes until her hands are tired every day.

Just this thought sparked a twinge of envy in Maya’s heart.

Though her own snacks were enough to eat, who wouldn’t want more snacks? The more, the better!

Maya unwrapped several gift boxes, setting aside the small accessories. Next to her were already unwrapped cakes and cookies baked by fans.

"Being liked feels really nice..."

The yellow packaging box bore cute designs, with a greeting card inside. Maya glanced at it and chuckled softly, "Well written."

She then opened a small box encased within a big box—it was handmade chocolates, wrapped in a light, fancy package surrounding each piece of chocolate.

Maya tore open the wrapper and popped a piece into her mouth, soon frowning deeply, "Too bitter, I don’t like it."

Maya handed the box to Scott, "You keep this to eat!"

"Megan, isn’t chocolate supposed to be bitter? It’s the bitterness that gives it flavor."

"I don’t like it."

Maya grabbed a glass of water from the table and downed a mouthful, still feeling the bitterness overwhelming her taste buds.

Scott also unwrapped a piece, contentedly savoring it, "Megan, you’re so kind to me."

Maya picked up another pink box to continue unwrapping. This box had a big heart drawn on it and was covered in cute stickers, brimming with girlish charm.

She had just weighed the box—quite heavy.

Layer by layer, she unwound the ribbon and opened the box.

"Aaaaaaaah!!"

Simultaneously, Scott’s shriek pierced the air.

The chocolate fell from his hands to the floor, and Scott pointed at the box, shouting in a frenzy, "What is this?! What are all these disgusting things?!"

Maya’s gaze halted at the box.

Two silk scarves, one seemingly stained with blood, the other, white but also speckled with red. And several horrifying props, like eyeballs and such. Who would have imagined such girlish packaging contained these...

Maya disdainfully clicked her tongue, "I thought it was something amazing, turns out it’s a kid’s trick to scare people!"

Scott trembled, "This this this..."

Maya laughed, "What’s there to be afraid of? That’s red dye. The props on set are far more realistic than these."

"That that that... thing..." He couldn’t utter those words at all.

Maya calmly re-secured the lid, slowly removing a handkerchief to wipe her fingers still marked with a few drops of red dye.

"Made from silicone, just meant to scare people."

With a loud clang, Maya tossed the large box into the trash can.

"No need to be so scared, it’s all just little gimmicks."

Close to the trash can, Scott shuffled towards Maya’s direction, "But, but it really looks scary!" He grumbled angrily, "Who could concoct such a sinister method, how can such people exist in this world?! This is way too vicious!!"

Scott had just glimpsed some words written in red on a white paper, hinting at terms like "death" and "ruined." One could easily guess they were some very unpleasant phrases.

"The world is full of people..."

Maya turned her head, teasing Scott, "Again and again... I’ve become a target, seems like I’ll have to keep my head down and watch my back."

She ended with a smile escaping her lips once more.

"Megan, are you serious?"

"No, I’m kidding."

"Then why..."

"If he dared stand before me, I’d beat him to a pulp..."

She spoke leisurely, but a fierce light glimmered in her eyes.