Chapter 6 Drinking With Men

• Then, she straightened Declan’s clothes and uttered to him in all seriousness, “No, you’re incredibly handsome!”
• “Really?” Declan was very excited, scratching his head in embarrassment. This was the first time that he had received such a compliment. This was unlike before when girls would walk away from him with disgust apparent on their faces.
• “Yes, really!” Noelle wasn’t lying. Although the man wasn’t normal like the rest of them, his face was undeniably handsome.
• “Would you like to eat some ice cream?” Noelle felt a little troubled, upon seeing that the man didn’t have any family members accompanying him. Thus, she quickly deduced that he must have gotten lost. Hence, she had to find a way to help him get back to his family.
• She smiled sweetly when the man swallowed hard while staring eagerly at the ice cream in her hand. After tearing open the wrapper, she brought the ice cream to his lips.
• Declan opened his mouth and took a bite out of it. It was his favorite flavor, vanilla. A smile stretched across his lips as he exclaimed in wonder, “It tastes so good, Angel. You should have some, too!”
• With that, he lifted the ice cream to Noelle’s cherry lips.
• Noelle was taken aback. She hadn’t shared food so intimately with anyone in a very long time. She recalled that she had also fed her parents ice cream like this when she was young. Her parents would often take small bites before they praised her for being a good girl. Their family of three once lived in harmony; they were happy.
• Noelle’s eyes turned misty and she couldn’t bear to disappoint Declan. Hence, she opened her mouth and bit off the corner of the ice cream.
• “Hmm, yummy!” She beamed and Declan soon replicated her smile. The pair looked as though they were two happy kids.
• “Dom!” Declan’s eyes lit up immediately when he spotted a Maybach not too far away from them. Without hesitation, he ran toward it while waving the ice cream in his hand.
• The car’s window was rolled down halfway. Noelle wasn’t wearing her glasses and could only vaguely make out an angular face that looked similar to the man whom she had just rescued.
• I guess that his family has found him! Noelle’s brows relaxed and she turned to leave.
• “Dom, you’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for you all afternoon!” Declan licked the ice cream and chirped happily.
• “You were waiting for me? Sorry for making you wait!” Dominic smiled wryly. Having found his little brother, he was overwhelmed with a mixture of relief and frustration. He took out a tissue as he wiped off the melted ice cream from his brother’s shirt.
• “Does the ice cream taste good?” Due to his brother’s poor health, their family strictly controlled his food intake. By right, he wasn’t supposed to eat cold things such as ice cream.
• “Yes! A pretty angel bought it for me. Try some, Dom!” Declan brought the ice cream to Dominic’s lips.
• After holding it out for a while, the ice cream had started to melt slightly. Dominic stared at the corner that was bitten off, imagining the lingering taste of the girl’s cherry lips. A scorching heat instantly spread below his abdomen. The next moment, a clean freak like him had actually opened his mouth to take a bite from the same place that the girl had eaten from.
• So sweet!
• A ghost of a smile appeared on Dominic’s usually frosty face, resembling a flower that was blooming in the coldest winter.
• He involuntarily looked out of the window again to catch a glimpse of the girl’s beautiful figure, but of course, Noelle was nowhere to be seen.
• “Where’s my Angel? Where did she go?” Declan had also realized that Noelle was gone. He pushed Dominic aside as he leaned out of the car window, casting his gaze all around the area. Unfortunately, his search was fruitless.
• “I’m going to find her!” Declan was so anxious that tears pricked at his eyes. He was about to open the car door and get down but was he was held back by Dominic.
• “Let’s go home first, Declan. Mom and Dad are worried sick!”
• “No! Angel is a good person. I must find her!”
• “I’ll find her for you!”
• “No!”
• “I’ll bring her to see you!”
• “No!”
• “She could be busy. Do you want her to get in trouble with her boss?”
• Upon hearing this, Declan finally quieted down. He sat obediently in his seat as he glanced meekly at Dominic. “Dom, will you truly bring her to see me?”
• “Mm!”
• Dominic nodded, but his mind was already elsewhere.
• Upon spotting his brother earlier, he had been scared to death by the pickup truck that was gunning straight for him.
• As if straight from the gates of heaven, the girl swooped in and rescued his brother. She also led him toward safety after that.
• In just a few short minutes, Dominic had gone to hell and back. As he witnessed her go from angry to stern, then to cracking a beautiful smile, a warm current spread in his chest.
• “Declan, we thought that we’d lost you! Mr. Pierce was about to turn the entire J City upside-down to find you!” Clinton, who had just rushed over from the opposite direction, sighed in relief upon seeing that Declan was sitting safe and sound in the backseat. He was suddenly filled with the strong urge to give him a bear hug.
• “You found Angel? Where is she?” Declan glanced excitedly around Clinton. When he didn’t see Noelle, his face immediately fell. “You lied, Clinton!”
• Upon being misunderstood, Clinton innocently tried to explain himself. “What Angel? I meant...” However, when Dominic shook his head at him, he stopped mid-sentence and shrugged helplessly. “Oh, by the way, I think I saw Ms. Hooper earlier...”
• “Clinton!”
• “I know, I know. I’m not supposed to talk about work now. There won’t be a next time, Mr. Pierce!” Clinton gulped, cursing at his poor memory.
• “C’mon, let’s go home!” Dominic helped his little brother fasten his seat belt before he turned the steering wheel and headed home.
• “Noelle, wait.” Noelle had only just entered the office when she was stopped by an artist, Jojo Fenner.
• “Yes?”
• Jojo was a newcomer signed by the company only recently. Her acting was mediocre at best and she often relied on her youth and looks. She was quick the stuck-up, so Noelle couldn’t be bothered with her on most days.
• However, the more Noelle remained indifferent to her, the more Jojo wanted to provoke her.
• “Are you planning to attend Mr. Miller’s party dressed like this?”
• Even though the lilac-colored maxi dress that Noelle was wearing looked elegant and exquisite on her, one glance was enough to know that it wasn’t of a luxury brand.
• The entertainment circle was all about vanity and putting on airs, so judging others based on their attire was a normal occurrence. Noelle used to be showered with praises for her beauty, but ever since she had fallen from grace, even a mere dress could be used as an excuse to mock her. Noelle was indeed speechless.
• “What do you mean?”
• “Stop pretending! Didn’t Sophia arrange for you to accompany Steven Miller for drinks? You know what? I think that this is perfect for you. Your reputation is already so rotten. No matter how much you struggle, you won’t be able to make a comeback. In spite of that, Shining Entertainment can’t pay you for free either. Drinking with men and establishing some connections is a good way to earn your keep, lest you fight for resources with us newcomers… although it’s not like you’ll succeed.”
• Jojo sized Noelle up while throwing insults at her.
• Steven Miller? Noelle frowned, recalling the man who had possessed this name. He had invested in several movies and television dramas and he was known to be a lecherous man. He got off on toying with female artists and he was especially perverted.
• Sophia arranged for me to drink with him? That’s impossible. She knows that this is my bottom line.
• “Since you’ve got so much time on your hands, you should go memorize your lines, Ms. Gibberish. If you still don’t rise up the ranks after you’re done filming “Escape,” you might not even be given the chance to establish connections, as you’d put it,” Noelle countered with a smirk.
• More than a few senior artists had complained that Jojo had always forgotten her lines and spoke gibberish whenever that happened. Hence, she had been nicknamed Ms. Gibberish.
• “You... What does it matter whether I memorize my lines or not? I know that you’re simply jealous of me, Noelle...”
• “Pfft!” Noelle looked at her like she was nothing but a joke before she swiveled around and headed toward the elevator.
• The moment the elevator doors opened, she was overwhelmed with the strong urge to turn tail and flee as far as possible.