Pimping

Francis and George stood in the crowd that had naturally parted, holding flowers as they waited for Irene. Behind them stood Reese and the other lead actors, all eyes fixed on Irene, encouraging her wrap-up with applause and anticipating her future with smiles.

If she had felt hesitant or lost before filming this movie, then from this moment on, her heart was set on moving forward without looking back.

Her father and The Godfather had organized a wrap party for her. A group of young people cheered amidst the music, and for a fleeting moment, Irene thought she heard the voice of Britney, though she dismissed it as impossible.

But as the surroundings gradually quieted down, Britney emerged from behind a curtain, pushing a cake while wearing a birthday hat and singing "Happy Birthday." At that moment, Irene could no longer control her emotions and rushed over to her.

"Ah, why didn't they tell me you were coming today!"

"Because I wanted to give you a surprise!"

Irene saw the hat on the other girl's head and suddenly remembered something. "Ah, your birthday! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot. I didn't even celebrate your debut with you."

"Baby, I didn't have time to celebrate for you either, so I came today to celebrate both of our birthdays."

Irene looked deeply at her, feeling a wave of warmth in her heart. "Right, let's celebrate both of our birthdays, and let's also celebrate both of our careers."

Britney pulled an identical birthday hat from under the cart and placed it on Irene's head. Together, they pushed the cake into the middle of the crowd, where everyone celebrated the birthdays of the two young sisters.

At first, everyone was just offering polite well-wishes, but it was unclear who started it—someone smeared cake on Irene's face, and the scene immediately spiraled out of control, erupting into a full-blown cake fight.

The sweet scent of cake floated in the air, and a gentle breeze brushed against Irene's cheeks. She stood under the night sky, watching the group of people playing and laughing ahead. Her slightly sore calves were aching, but that couldn't dampen her good mood. Isn't the whole point of life to enjoy these moments of happiness right in front of you?

Seeing Irene standing alone to the side, Britney stepped out of the fray and quietly walked up behind her, covering her eyes with her hands.

"Guess who I am."

"Do I even need to guess, Brit?"

Britney laughed and stood beside Irene, turning her head to ask, "What's wrong? The movie is finished, and I heard from Francis that you did a great job. You should be happy, so why do you still look like you have something on your mind?"

"Maybe it's just that I suddenly reached my goal and don't know what to do next. Never mind me, what about you? I heard your album is selling like crazy. How does it feel to be an overnight sensation?" Irene couldn't quite articulate her own emotions, but she didn't want to affect others with her mood.

"It feels really great, hahaha! I just walked over and a bunch of people came up to greet me, as if the whole world knows who I am. It feels so magical."

Seeing Britney, who still looked so innocent, Irene thought about how the paparazzi would later use every possible means to dig up news about her, and how the pressure under such fame would eventually crush her.

"As long as you're happy. If you have any problems, you must tell me."

"I know, I know." Britney nodded in agreement. Even though she was only a few days younger than Irene, she was always the one being lectured.

"By the way, I saw you came with Shelly, right?"

"Yeah, he's my manager now."

Being signed under Shelly was fine; with her watching over him, Britney wouldn't be exploited too severely.

"Shelly is alright. He's efficient and gets things done. Although he has a bunch of little flaws, at least he fulfills his duties well. But you don't have to trust him completely, you know?" There were many reasons for the tragedy of Britney's past life, but generally speaking, it was inseparable from her mental state, family exploitation, and social prejudice.

Because of her own presence, Britney shouldn't fall into a state of having no one to confide in regarding her mental health.

As for family control, she had long since persuaded Britney to move out and be independent, so she wouldn't be held hostage by the cheap "family affection" of her parents. Plus, with Shelly now in the picture, there was a better way to handle matters that were inconvenient for Britney to deal with personally.

As for social prejudice, there was no better way to solve that for the time being. Even someone as powerful as Michael Jackson couldn't escape the malicious media fabricating news at will, let alone Britney.

Thinking of this, Irene suddenly remembered another factor that contributed to Britney's tragedy, and the culprit behind her early image destruction.

"You haven't started dating anyone recently, have you?" Irene asked Britney point-blank.

"Huh?" Britney didn't react for a moment. Once she realized what her friend was asking, her eyes flickered as she tried to avoid answering.

"I just debuted, how could I possibly be dating? You're overthinking it!"

Although Britney was a teen idol loved by fans all over the world, she was equally eager to be loved and to have a normal, long-term romantic relationship. Irene had always known this.

But because she had been training at the company and was kept under tight watch before her debut, she hadn't been able to find anyone to date, so she was still single for now.

Irene clearly didn't miss the evasion in her eyes, but she didn't want to lecture Britney immediately. At her age, it was called being young, or less kindly, the rebellious phase. Besides, she and that scumbag probably hadn't officially started dating yet.

"I'll introduce you to a friend, an actor from our crew. He's really handsome." She decided to nip the problem in the bud by introducing Britney to Edward Nelson.

She had strictly vetted him; he had a good upbringing, was wealthy, and clearly didn't come from an ordinary background. Although his personality was a bit flighty, he currently seemed like a sunny and positive young man. Compared to the scumbag who would toy with Britney's feelings, he was ten thousand times better.

Irene pulled Britney over to Edward.

Edward was busy frantically wiping cake stains off his face with a tissue. As soon as he caught a glimpse of Irene walking over, he immediately sped up his movements and mumbled, "Boss, looking for me? Give me three seconds, I'll clean up this cake traitor immediately!"

"It's fine. I want to introduce you to someone. This is my good sister, Britney Spears. This is our crew's 'acting powerhouse,' Edward Nelson."

"Wow! Isn't that the singer who made me wait in a long line to buy her album?! Her songs are so good, and she's even prettier in person!" Edward said while enthusiastically reaching out his hand. If there was one thing he could boast about, it was his two greatest skills: being handsome and being ready to provide top-tier emotional support at any moment. He didn't believe he couldn't outcompete that scumbag ex.

Britney was a bit shy, but she still gently shook his hand. "Thank you for liking my songs. If there's a chance, I'd really love to invite you all to hear me perform live."

"That's a deal! I can tell you're definitely on the path to becoming a huge star. When that happens, I can brag everywhere: the big star Britney personally invited me to hear her live!"

Britney was amused and laughed even more sweetly, quickly waving her hand to say she didn't deserve such praise.

Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was good, Irene immediately decided to retire gracefully. "I need to go find Francis to talk about the editing. You two chat. Edward, take good care of my sister, understand?"

"Yes, Boss! I guarantee I'll complete the mission with extra credit!"

As Irene turned to leave, she vaguely heard Britney ask in her signature sweet voice, "Why do you call her 'Boss'?"

But Edward's answer was already quietly hidden in the wind, impossible to hear.

If you like this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.