A Little Trick

Ryan was chased from the living room to the study by her, and in a panic, he had no choice but to lock the study door.

"If you've got the guts, stay in there forever and never come out!" Trey knocked on the door to no avail, then stormed off after dropping that line.

It's just a piece of your tofu, is it really that serious?

Ryan turned on his computer. Today, he wasn't making music, but observing the online reception of the Harlem Shake versions already released.

The results were pretty decent. Most people were just watching for the fun of it, with replies full of "Lol," "Lul," "Lmao," "Lmfao," and hardly any critics.

Ryan then opened his email and saw that Elizabeth Olsen had sent him another message. It mentioned three other versions of the Harlem Shake filmed by New York University students, in a girls' dorm, a classroom, and a cafeteria.

Besides that, the email also mentioned that five other universities had already decided to allow filming of their own versions.

Pi Beta Phi has so many chapters across the country. The Vice President helped Ryan make connections, and with Ryan sending gifts or cash, a few chapters were bound to agree. As a key part of Greek life on campus, sororities often have ties to student representatives in the school's PR department, which ultimately let Ryan's "Harlem Shake" appear on the schools' official YouTube accounts.

Worst case scenario, the "Harlem Shake" itself was already spreading like wildfire across the US to the point where even stray dogs on the street were sick of it. All Ryan did was speed things up by a few years.

As for Elizabeth Olsen, she had practically become Ryan's liaison with the sororities. The Vice President just took gifts and met with Piero, while Elizabeth did all the work.

After these few days of contact, Ryan increasingly felt that this college girl with a wealthy sister was pretty decent.

After some thought, Ryan wrote back: "Are you interested in managing my social media?"

The staff member from Big Machine that Taylor recommended was asking for way too much, and Ryan couldn't quite afford it yet. Now that a college intern had come knocking, why not use her?

Then Ryan habitually opened Facebook. Unfortunately, this "Leg Girl" hadn't posted any new personal updates in the last two days.

The reason Ryan called her Leg Girl was, of course, her ridiculously long legs. In Florida, Ryan estimated she was about 1.9 meters, but in her personal info, she wrote six feet (182 cm)—probably because she felt she was a bit too tall. Plus, her skin tone was that cool, pale white that looked blinding under lights. Her face was square-shaped, and her temperament seemed even more reserved than Elizabeth Olsen's, making her perfect for those quiet, artistic photos.

If there was a downside, it was that she had the same flat chest as Taylor, though she was still a bit better off than Taylor.

This time, Ryan didn't think long and sent her a message directly.

[Calling LEG GIRL]

Ryan immediately felt like every second was an eternity, and a few minutes later, he got a reply.

[?]

[That's how you address me?]

[I don't know your name.]

[I'm in class right now.]

[Then go to class first.] Ryan figured since he had a favor to ask, he should wait until she was free.

[If you have something to say, just say it now.]

[Then, show me your legs.]

[...]

She actually sent him a photo of her legs taken from above while sitting, but today she was wearing loose wide-leg pants, nothing special to look at.

[I was just joking. Actually, I wanted to ask you and your classmates to film a music video.] Ryan revealed his intention, then explained the video content.

This time, she waited a few more minutes before replying.

[No problem. Anything else?] She often posted selfies on Facebook herself, so she wasn't opposed to this kind of thing.

[Can you wear a pair of hot pants in the video? Please.]

[You're crazy, it's autumn here!]

[Then forget it.]

[Elizabeth.] She replied again.

[What?]

[You can call me Elizabeth.]

Ryan felt like he'd heard that line somewhere before.

[You'd better tell me your last name.]

[Elizabeth Debicki]

With Elizabeth Debicki handled, plus Joel and Deadmau5 that he'd contacted earlier today, only one person among Ryan's circle hadn't been mobilized yet.

Ryan saved the hardest for last. He dialed her number, and this time, it wasn't voicemail.

"Calling me this late? Chatting with Abigail that long?"

Ryan wanted to deny it, but changed his mind at the last second: "Of course I had to talk to her. She's right here now. Want me to put her on?"

"I'm going to sleep!!" Taylor snapped angrily.

Getting worked up that fast? Ryan sneered.

"I want to ask you for a favor. Have you listened to my new song?" Ryan asked.

"It's amazing! You're going to blow up tomorrow!" Taylor turned into a hype man.

Ryan didn't bicker with her and stated his purpose.

"Now you think of me? Didn't you go to Trey?" Taylor chuckled lightly.

"Trey already got in touch with Miley for me."

"Miley Cyrus?" Taylor's voice changed pitch.

"That's right. She's been into filming videos for the internet lately, hanging out with her friends, doing something called 'The Miley and Mandy Show.'"

"You've already found Miley, so why come to me? I'm just a small country singer, can't compare to her." Taylor's tone went cold, dripping with sourness.

And impatience.

"One more won't hurt," Ryan said.

"What do you mean 'one more won't hurt'? So I'm the extra one, is that it?" Taylor's pitch shot up.

"How could that be? I've already reached out to everyone I can. You're the last one, which means I value you the most. As for Miley, she's just a bonus surprise—I don't even know her." Ryan quickly backtracked.

"That's more like it. In that case, don't let Miley film," Taylor said lightly.

"No can do." Ryan shot it down immediately.

"Her or me. You can only pick one." Taylor wouldn't budge this time.

"Pick what? A marriage partner?" Ryan thought she was overreacting.

"Ryan, you need to understand—we don't just represent ourselves, we represent the people who support us. If I do this, her fans will say I'm copying her. How can that work? I don't care about it myself, but I don't want my fans to feel wronged," Taylor explained.

You teen idols sure have a lot of drama.

"In that case... I'll pick Miley. She's more famous." Ryan made his choice decisively.

"No way! You have to pick me!" Taylor shouted.

"Alright, how about this... you let me film first, and I'll upload it right away. That way, it won't be me copying Miley—it'll be Miley copying me! And you'll get the most benefit out of it. Not a bad plan, huh?"

You're quite the little schemer.

"Didn't you say you were going to make a cameo in the Hannah Montana movie Good Girl is a Big Star? Why bother with all these little tricks?"

"I'm acting in a Disney movie, dealing with Disney. What does that have to do with her? What does it have to do with you? Mind your own business?" Taylor fired back immediately.

Clearly, Ryan had hit a nerve again.

"No time to prepare. Come straight to my place tomorrow morning—the sooner we upload, the better!" Taylor hung up.