Chapter 120：The Traitor (4)

It was thus that Joann was hustled out of the conference hall by the director without having a real idea what had happened. She was still under quite a serious case of shock. Did Lee Mu really hate her that much? Joann did not think that was the case.

They had always been close friends and admittedly while Lee Mu was a talented actor, Joann did not think the man could act in the capacity of her friend for that long if their friendship was not genuine. In other words, if Lee Mu really hate her that much, they would not have been friends for so many years.

Joann was sure there was another reason behind his sudden complaints towards her but for the life of her, Joann could not figure out why. There was no reason Lee Mu would turn against her like this, at least none that Joann could think of.

The easiest way to get an answer was to ask the man himself but Lee Mu had already been ferried away by his agent. Furthermore, getting to him meant going through the hall of reporters again. Even Joann knew that would be an unwise thing to do.

The director left her at the elevator while he returned to salvage the situation to the best of his ability.

After he was gone, Joann took out her phone to call Lee Mu. There was no answer. After several failed attempts, Joann gave up and called Zao Ming instead. Similarly, there was no answer.

Joann sighed.

...

Back in the hall, Qing Qing tried to get the reporters' attention. "I'm sure Brother Lee Mu didn't mean what he said. Even though I didn't share that much scenes with Sister Joann and Brother Lee Mu, they seem friendly enough on set.

"You have to believe me because nothing is more trustworthy than firsthand account, right?"

It might sound like Qing Qing was trying to clear Joann's name but in reality, she was doing the complete opposite. Her argument was incredibly weak, a high schooler could come up with a better debate. However, that did not matter because that was not her intention to begin with.

Her words instead were meant to pull the reporters' impression down a certain direction. It was as she said, there was no more convincing evidence than firsthand account, so they had no reason not to believe Lee Mu, right? After all, he was the party involved and thus he had to know what he was talking about. Furthermore, what benefit did he stand to gain? Therefore, he had to be telling the truth.

Qing Qing continued to sway the reporters' opinion with her words and insinuations until the director returned to the hall. She then left the proceeding to him.

...

After leaving the hall, Zao Ming volunteered to drive Lee Mu home. The latter accepted with a shrug.

"Why the long face? You know you have done the right thing," Zao Ming said when he turned his head and saw the deep frown that was etched between Lee Mu's brows.

Lee Mu chuckled mirthlessly. "Is that so? How come i don't feel that way?"

Zao Ming turned back to the road and he sighed with not a small hint of exasperation in his voice, "Haven't we been through this? You were given an ultimatum. The choice could not have been easier."

"That's easy for you to say..." Lee Mu grumbled under his breath.

Zao Ming pretended not to have heard Lee Mu because he didn't want to get into yet another argument over this. They had been through this before many times already.

However Lee Mu refused to let this slide. He added, "You don't need to betray your close friend of many years..."

Lee Mu certainly knew how to get under Zao Ming's skin because the man whipped his head around to challenge snarkily, "Does this mean you prefer to lose your own career?!"

Lee Mu was not going to back down so easily. "Yes, it is my career to lose, so why are you so bothered over it? Stop trying to control my life. Who gave you the right to make all these decisions for me when I'm the one who has to live with the consequences?!"

Zao Ming bit on the end of his teeth. He wanted to shoot back, 'Because I'm your f*cking agent and I care about you!' but he held his tongue. He knew Lee Mu well enough to not challenge the man when he was acting unreasonable like this.

Lee Mu was an incredibly private person. He had a masterful control of his image and emotions, especially in public. This meant that he was a perfect celebrity because the chance of a public slip-up was very low.

However, this also meant that it was very hard to get close to the man because he kept everything bottled up within himself. He rarely exploded in rage and he would only show his real temper around people that he was truly close with. This small circle of people included Zao Ming.

Since Lee Mu's moments of anger happened so rarely, when it did, the man could turn into quite an unreasonable person. It was as if all the pressure from his everyday life was unleashed in that one concentrated moment.

Therefore Zao Ming knew better than to take on the man at a time like this. The best possible solution was to leave the man be and let him stew for some time before attempting further communication.

Silence stretched in the car for about five minutes. Zao Ming turned the corner and feeling enough time had passed, he said, "I did what I did only because I care about you. I don't want you to get hurt and I will do everything in my power to fight for you, to give you the best the world has to offer..." Zao Ming added after a beat or two, "Even if that meant we have make some unavoidable sacrifices and impossible decisions along the way."