Chapter 117：The Traitor (1)

"Joann, thank you for coming on such short notice!" A male voice called out when the elevator door opened and Joann stepped out from it. Joann turned towards the source and smiled generously at the director before adding, "Mr. Director, there is no need for thanks. After all, attending press conferences like this for the upcoming movie is part of my job."

"Either way, I am so sorry for springing this on you so suddenly. The sponsors have suddenly decided to call for a press conference, I don't know why," The director explained.

"It's fine, I understand this is not something you can control, Mr. Director." Joann continued to smile and added, "By the way, have the other people arrived?"

They were standing at the space that was behind the hall which was used as the location for the press conference. The director pointed at a nearby door and said, "They are already seated and the press is already in there. The conference will start once we're ready."

"Alright then, let's not keep them waiting." Joann urged.

Internally, she lamented the lack of time. If she had arrived earlier, she would have the chance to interrogate Lee Mu about his relationship between he and Qing Qing. If they were really an item, how could they hide such a secret from her, the person who practically pulled them together? It was basic decency to thank your match-maker!

Joann and the director hurried through the door. The hall was much smaller than Joann anticipated.

There was a long table draped with white tablecloth at the front of the room. Her co-stars were seated at this table and everyone had their individual microphone placed before them. Two seats that were reserved for herself and the director were the only ones that were empty.

While Joann was looking down the row, she caught Lee Mu's eyes. Joann smiled at him but instead of smiling back like he normally would, her male co-star quickly turned his head away like he was a thief being caught red-handed.

The reporters from various press filled up the rest of the room. There was a small gap between the table and the first row of reporters. There were two guards standing on each other just in case the situation got too physical.

Joann thought the organizer was being too careful, this was only a routine press conference. It should be finished without fanfare. The chance of things escalating to a state where security was needed was practically zero. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Joann continued to look around the room and she frowned when she saw Lee Mu's agent, Zao Ming standing near one of the exits. This was unusual because Zao Ming normally would be waiting in Lee Mu's shadows but this time he was standing quite a distance away. It looked as if he was standing guard over that particular exit. Joann wondered why was that.

The director soon took his seat and Joann quickly shuffled to hers.

As she sat down, the press conference began officially.

"Mr. Director, what is your goal for the sequel? Do you have any expectation?"

"In your opinion, do you think it can surpass the sale and review of the first film?"

"Miss Joann, what prompted you to take on a challenge as big as a nude scene in the movie? What was the reasoning behind it and what do you think of its reception?"

"Are there any memorable moments from working on the movie and is there any scene you would have preferred to redo?"

The initial questions were quite easy and routine. The cast and director of the movie answered them readily.

After some time, as more questions were picked and answered, a pattern started to surface. It was quite obvious that whenever it was Joann's turn to pick the reporter to ask the question, she would purposely avoid picking the reporters from a particular paper. These people that she made a point of avoiding were from XX Tabloid, the party that wrote that horrible, slanderous piece on her.

The rest of the cast caught onto what Joann was doing quickly. They understood why she was doing this and they were more than willing to support Joann. Joann shared a good relationship with the rest of her cast and they were glad to take her side. They too started to skirt around the representatives from XX Tabloid. The people from XX Tabloid raised their hands up in the air but the cast pretended to not have seen them.

Even Qing Qing put on a united front... not because she was that supportive of Joann but she never did like dirtying her own hands. She preferred manipulating others into doing her nefarious bidding.

All the chess pieces were slowly falling into place and Qing Qing smiled in satisfaction. On the surface, it merely looked like she was enjoying herself, no one knew the depth of the evil scheme she was concocting in her heart.

She pointed at a random reporter and the man stood up to direct her question at Lee Mu, "Mr. Lee Mu, you also have quite a few challenging scenes in the movie. What kind of preparation or rehearsal you have done for them?"

Lee Mu didn't answer. It appeared like the man was fully spaced-out. The man stood awkwardly, waiting for Lee Mu to respond. The silence stretched on for a full awkward-filled minute.

Just as the man tried to repeat the question, the director who sat next to Lee Mu nudged the man silently using his feet.

Lee Mu jumped as if being given a shock. This confused almost everyone in the room. Lee Mu looked around at the gauntlet of eyes that stared at him with befuddlement and he smiled apologetically.