"This is a complimentary phone from the brand. If you don't mind, Ms. Lockhart, feel free to take it. We have other matters to attend to, so we won't keep you any longer."
'What he really means is: *We have no use for this phone, so it's just junk. Now that we've taken out the trash, I can get lost.*'
Amelia Lockhart swallowed her refusal. Besides, her phone screen really was broken, and a free replacement wasn't a bad deal at all.
Amelia Lockhart swiftly got out of the car, gift box in hand. Once she was out, she raised a hand and knocked on the driver's side window.
The window rolled down, and Silas Linden looked at her with a smile. "Is there anything else, Ms. Lockhart?"
Amelia Lockhart studied him for a few seconds before saying something completely baffling. "My sister's Peach Blossom Wine is ready."
Silas Linden hesitated for a moment, then his smile returned. "What wine? Ms. Lockhart, I know of your sister. The editor-in-chief of a magazine, right?"
'So... it's not him?'
Amelia Lockhart smiled. "I was just rambling. I'm surprised you know my sister. Mr. Linden truly is well-connected."
"You flatter me. It's just a coincidence. But don't worry, Ms. Lockhart, I'll be discreet."
Only after the elevator doors closed did the white car slowly pull away.
"She has a sister?"
At Ethan Quinn's question, Silas Linden's smile deepened. "Yes. As it happens, her family and the Linden Family have had some business dealings recently, so I've heard a few things."
Ethan Quinn didn't ask any further. A cold stillness settled in his dark eyes.
'To have business dealings with the Linden Family, Amelia's family couldn't be insignificant. Yet she's struggling like this... She must not be relying on her family's support.'
'But still... *My sister's Peach Blossom Wine is ready*? What did she mean by that?'
Back home, Amelia Lockhart opened the black gift box. A brand new, solid black phone lay nestled inside.
It was a phone from the brand, alright—and the top-of-the-line model, no less. Amelia Lockhart instantly forgot all about her recent troubles.
'This piece of trash was a pretty good find.'
It was still surprising that Silas Linden wasn't the Lord of Fate. But then again, it made sense. Since the Lord of Fate had already sent her here to repay a debt of gratitude, he certainly wouldn't have come along himself.
There were probably just people in the Mortal Realm with personalities similar to the Lord of Fate's. She was overthinking things.
Just then, a topic shot to the top of Weibo's trending list.
[Amelia Lockhart Publicly Stops Ethan Quinn's Car]
The post was from the same influential account as before. Only this time, it wasn't just baseless speculation—they had photos as proof.
Fans immediately recognized the vehicle in the photo as their idol's private car. Moreover, the picture clearly captured three faces.
Amelia Lockhart, Ethan Quinn, and Silas Linden.
In the first photo, Amelia Lockhart was standing outside the car, seemingly in conversation with Silas Linden.
The last photo showed Amelia Lockhart getting into the car.
There were three photos in total. The cleverness was in the candid nature of the shots, which managed to capture a moment where Silas Linden was expressionless. Paired with a dramatic caption, it was easy for people to jump to conclusions.
"Silas Linden is never expressionless. He's a notorious 'smiling tiger.' This proves even he is fed up with Amelia Lockhart."
"Does she have to keep leeching off our idol's fame? He must have had the worst luck in his past eight lives to get targeted by her!"
"I watched the whole livestream, and my opinion of the super-strong girl was starting to change for the better. But why is she still pestering our idol after the broadcast ended? He's a known germaphobe! Did she really have to bum a ride? Doesn't she have her own agent?"
The influencer's post blew up. The top comments were filled with indignant fans. Some, unable to contain their outrage, flooded Amelia Lockhart's own Weibo page, demanding she stay away from their idol and get out of the entertainment industry.
Amelia Lockhart only realized what was happening when she saw the number of comments on her Weibo page visibly skyrocketing. After looking at the influencer's post, she couldn't help but marvel at the photographer's skill.
"These people are truly something else," Amelia Lockhart mused. "They managed to catch that exact moment and spin it into this whole drama." She couldn't help but sigh. She was just a C-list actress, yet someone was willing to go to such great lengths to slander her.
'She wasn't sure if they were overestimating her or underestimating themselves.'
A certain person suddenly came to Amelia's mind. She examined the photos again. The angle they were taken from... it was exactly where Ruby Sawyer had been standing.
'So, because I didn't give up the car, she decided to hold a grudge?'
'What a petty thing to get worked up about. Should I thank her for making me a trending topic?'
This wasn't the first time Amelia Lockhart had been the target of a smear campaign, so she hadn't paid it much mind. By evening, however, she realized the situation was more serious than she'd thought.
The post featuring her and Ethan Quinn now had the lowest number of likes! Many fans, declaring they didn't want her mooching off their idol's popularity, had gone back and un-liked it!
And there were less than three hours left before the deadline.
She was losing her chance to film a video with Ethan Quinn!
Amelia Lockhart slumped onto the sofa, feeling utterly defeated.
Just then, her phone rang.
This time, Amelia Lockhart checked the caller ID. Seeing Yardley's name, she answered. "Yardley..."
"I know about the situation on Weibo. Don't pay it any mind. Since it involves Ethan Quinn, Silas Linden just contacted me. They're going to handle the PR, and they want us to present a united front. He said you should be ready to repost something from Linden Lore Studio's Weibo." Holly Yardley was already aware of the matter, as Amelia had previously told her that they had offered to take her home.
Amelia Lockhart wouldn't lie about something like that.
So this was clearly a case of deliberate mud-slinging. But since it involved Ethan Quinn and himself, Silas Linden had decided to handle the public relations.
Silas Linden's approach to PR was simple and direct.
He sent a cease and desist letter directly to the influencer's account and posted a public statement: "Ms. Lockhart's agent's car broke down. I happened to run into her while picking up Ethan Quinn and offered her a ride. I believe it was the gentlemanly thing to do—a simple, courteous gesture."
The studio's statement allowed the fans to see the truth, and they swarmed the influencer's page to denounce them.
Amelia Lockhart quickly reposted the studio's message, adding her own comment: "Thanks again for the kind gesture! Otherwise, I might have been sleeping on the streets that night."
Since it was an official statement from Silas Linden, many people flocked to Amelia Lockhart's Weibo page to offer apologies and words of comfort.
But then, someone noticed. "Wait, I just realized Amelia Lockhart's phone model is different! Isn't that the exact one our idol signed an endorsement deal for last week?"
Ethan Quinn's fans instantly liked that comment to the top, and the replies underneath it quickly started piling up.
"Suddenly, I'm thinking... maybe Amelia Lockhart is actually really serious about our idol? She even switched phones for him?"
"I watched the livestream! She really took great care of our idol!"
"But maybe it's just a coincidence? I remember she dropped her phone during the livestream. Maybe it broke and that's why she replaced it."
In an instant, the comments under Amelia Lockhart's newest post were all about her sudden change in phone model.
Amelia Lockhart was exasperated. With the deadline for the post likes looming, she couldn't help but reply to the top comment:
"Darlings, if you've got time to discuss this, how about using those lucky little fingers to go like the post on the official Fated Love account?"