The Famous Actor Spreads the Rumor

I was on set filming a scene with Melvin Harding, the famous actor.

We were in the middle of a dramatic moment where the male lead was gravely ill, and the female lead was by his bedside.

Melvin lay on the bed in a white shirt, his furrowed brow and pale complexion perfectly conveying his exhaustion.

I sat beside him, holding his hand as tears streamed down my face. "You can't leave me alone..."

"Cut!" The director's voice interrupted my crying.

I immediately let go of Melvin's hand and prepared to stand up.

But Melvin suddenly tightened his grip on my hand, looking at me with intense eyes. "Phoebe, your performance was amazing. For a moment, I thought you liked me."

I smiled at him. "Your acting is good. I am just moved by your acting."

The director approached us, chuckling. "You two were so convincing that anyone would think you're together."

Melvin and I exchanged a knowing smile. "It's just acting."

After the TV series aired, the number of fans who passionately supported the idea of Melvin and me being a couple grew rapidly.

Initially, fans watched ambiguous clips from the trailers and teasers repeatedly, creating various videos with emotional captions.

Now, whenever Melvin and I attended events together, some fans would show up with banners and photos of us, chanting, "Be together! Be together!"

I didn't expect many fans to want Melvin and me to be together.

After all, we had only collaborated on a few commercials before, and they were all ordinary ads without any romantic undertones.

At first, I didn't pay much attention.

I knew that most celebrity pairings in the entertainment industry were just fleeting trends. Once the hype died down, the fans would disperse.

But to my surprise, the fans who passionately supported the idea of Melvin and me being a couple became increasingly fervent.

They started to believe that Melvin and I were a real couple.

There were even people who swore that they had seen Melvin and I walking hand in hand, looking intimate, and we looked like lovers.

I didn't know how to respond.

Melvin and I walking hand in hand?

How could that be possible?

Although we had worked together, we had no personal interactions outside of work.

He was at the top of the entertainment industry, while I was just a lesser-known actress, not even qualified to stand beside him, let alone date him.

I regretted it.

I shouldn't have agreed to the manufactured romantic pairing for publicity with Melvin.

Now, with fans misunderstanding, if we were to "break up" later, they might withdraw their support and criticize us.

I started to keep my distance from Melvin.

During filming, I no longer engaged deeply in scenes with him but quickly recited my lines and went to rest.

Melvin noticed something.

He looked at me, confused, and asked, "Phoebe, what's wrong? Did I do something to upset you?"

I smiled. "No, you act very well. Every time I work with you, we can finish it in one take. I don't think we need to waste your time rehearsing scenes."

Melvin nodded, saying nothing more.

But I could tell he was visibly disappointed.

After filming, I immediately returned to my hotel room.

I didn't dare linger, fearing fans might see us and misunderstand further.

Olivia asked me, "Phoebe, aren't you going to have a late-night snack?"

I shook my head. "No, you go ahead."

Olivia sighed. "Phoebe, you're working too hard. You don't even dare to eat."

I forced a bitter smile.

I had no choice.

After all, I was just a lesser-known actress.

02

I thought things would be over soon.

But unexpectedly, it escalated beyond my expectations.

A friend messaged me, saying, "Phoebe, the situation with you and Melvin has blown up."

I quickly checked my phone.

Sure enough, the internet was flooded with news about the rumored romance between Melvin and me.

Some even fabricated a love story, claiming that Melvin and I knew each other when we just debuted and were interning at the same company. We fell in love with each other because we spent so much time together. Later, for the sake of career development, we chose to hide our relationship.

We had achieved some success, so we wanted to make our relationship public.

I was dumbfounded.

This was pure fabrication, completely made up.

I was so angry my hands trembled. "This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

I forced myself to calm down.

The most crucial thing now was to find a way to resolve the problem.

I asked Olivia to investigate who was behind this.

Olivia was efficient.

Soon, she replied, "Phoebe, I found out. The news was spread from Melvin's alternate account."

I was stunned.

Melvin?

How could this be?

Why would he do such a thing?

I looked at Olivia in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

Olivia nodded. "I'm very sure. I had professionals check it out, and it indeed originated from Melvin's alternate account."

I nearly lost my balance.