There's room to wait

Episode 8

When she has work, Elaine habitually wakes up early to allow half an hour for makeup and some other preparations. Because she hoped to have the chance to have breakfast with Sibley the next morning, she set her alarm clock even earlier than usual.

The alarm rang as scheduled, but Elaine was still in deep sleep. Due to going to bed late and not sleeping well, her mind felt groggy when she woke up. She mumbled in protest, her body resisting the idea of getting up. But as she closed her eyes, the name Sibley dropped like a stone into a calm lake, silently rippling across the water.

Elaine's thoughts immediately cleared, and she sat up abruptly, rolling out of bed.

She casually threw on a jacket and went to the bathroom to wash up. After a quick grooming, she eagerly opened the door and stepped out.

The outside of the room was quiet. Sarah was reclining on the couch with her eyes closed, resting. Through the curtains of the window, one could see it was still early, with faint morning light and a gentle breeze.

Hearing the noise, Sarah looked towards Elaine and greeted her with a smile. "Miss Chasey, you're up early. Did you not sleep well?"

Elaine unconsciously frowned and walked closer, lowering her voice. "Keep it down; don't disturb Miss Reyes."

Sibley playfully stuck out her tongue and replied with a smile, "I know, but Miss Reyes has already gone out."

Elaine stiffened, instinctively looking towards Sibley's room—the door was tightly closed, showing no sign of whether anyone was inside. The light in her eyes gradually dimmed as she murmured, "This early?"

"Yes, she was leaving as I was coming up. I was surprised too. Miss Reyes said she hasn't adjusted to the time difference yet and went to the gym for a run as morning exercise. It's been a while now." Sarah finished, then picked up some clothes next to her and asked Elaine, "Miss Ray prepared these clothes for me to bring up last night. Can you take a look, Miss Chasey?"

Back when she was with Top, Elaine only had one assistant, and the rest of the staff was shared with other actors and actresses. After signing with DigiDream, Blanche generously provided her with a complete team, including stylists and makeup artists. In her previous life, she had worked with this team for three years with great mutual benefit. Coincidentally, in this life, she signed a year earlier, and the team Blanche assigned to her was exactly the same. At this time, the stylist and hairdresser, Miss Ray, was not yet well-known, and it's unclear where Blanche found this hidden gem.

Elaine briefly regained her focus, glanced at the clothes, and nodded in agreement.

“Since you're awake, Miss Chasey, I'll go down and check on the dishes, and then inform the hotel to bring up the breakfast,” Sarah said, placing the clothes on Elaine's bed. Seeing the empty kettle, she casually filled it with water to boil and added, “Miss Brown can also get ready.” Miss Brown is her makeup artist.

Elaine responded with a soft “Hmm,” her gaze lingering on the rising steam from the kettle, slightly distracted.

Why go out for a workout when there's a gym in the suite? Is it because, after last night's encounter, she doesn’t want to meet me again?

As the water in the kettle began to boil, making a lively bubbling sound, Elaine’s heart went colder with each beat, recalling Sibley's firm "no" from the night before.

Shouldn't she have some self-awareness as an ex? A proper ex behaves like they're dead.

Yet she always remembered that dream-like past life, Sibley’s sorrowful, affectionate kiss on her ice-cold coffin at the funeral hall, as if it could scorch her soul.

No, it seemed Sibley wasn’t very happy with her death either. Elaine looked at herself in the mirror, biting her lower lip, and managed a forced smile to encourage herself.

Elaine had nearly finished her breakfast when Sibley returned with Sophie.

Elaine hurried out of the dining room upon hearing the sound of the door opening, but still only saw Sibley’s retreating figure closing her room door and Sophie’s awkward smile.

She waited but didn’t see Sibley come out to join her for the practice. Sarah reminded her that it was time to go to the makeup room, so Elaine had to leave.

Sarah went ahead to press the elevator button, while Elaine followed behind.

Before leaving, Elaine turned back, hesitantly taking a business card from her bag and handing it to Sophie, saying helplessly yet tenderly, “Miss Reyes has an old injury, and I’m a bit worried. If there’s anything amiss during the rehearsal, could you please let me know?”

Sophie, surprised by Elaine’s unexpected approach, stared at her in astonishment. After seeing the genuine concern and tenderness in Elaine’s eyes, Sophie adjusted her glasses, sighed heavily in her heart, and accepted Elaine’s business card.

No matter how much Elaine has changed over the years, Sophie still believes that she is different from others—her concern and affection towards Sibley are genuine. However, life is full of unexpected twists and unavoidable circumstances.

"Don't worry, I'll be attentive," Sophie cautiously replied. She neither committed to informing nor said she wouldn’t.

Elaine understood Sophie's predicament and accepted her bit of kindness, responding with a smile. "I know, actually..." Her smile was tinged with melancholy, and her words were generous and sincere. "Actually, you've always been better than me at taking care of her. I just... can't reassure myself without saying something."

"Is it too much, maybe?" she said self-deprecatingly.

Elaine spoke openly and generously, leaving Sophie fiddling with the business card in her fingers, unsure of how to respond appropriately. Seeing the sorrow hidden beneath Elaine's smiling facade, Sophie licked her lips and couldn't help but divert the conversation: "Miss Chasey, you must have slept late last night, right? Miss Reyes specifically went out to exercise because she was afraid of waking you up."

Elaine, who was about to turn away, froze in place.

"Is that so?" After a silent two seconds, her voice, almost soft as a whisper, softly arose.

Her tone was calm, but Sophie saw Elaine’s face and turned slightly away, her lips curving up uncontrollably.

Anyone could tell which of her smiles was genuinely happy.

"Miss Chasey, I didn't see you, and the elevator went down... again." Sarah, having waited a long time for Elaine to appear, had come back. Seeing Elaine’s rare, truly radiant smile, Sarah stuttered a bit.

"What happened? Miss Chasey, you seem so happy."

Elaine flicked her curly hair near her ear and looked down to hide her smile, exuding a bit of charm. She quickly turned to Sophie and cheerfully said, "Sarah, in the future, you should learn more from your Miss Frazier."

"Hurh?" Sarah was confused.

Elaine nodded towards Sophie, saying, "Sophie, thank you. I’ll be going now."

Sophie, feeling a bit embarrassed, touched her nose and nodded.

Elaine turned and walked away, one hand in her pocket, the other patting Sarah’s shoulder, teasing her as she left, "Learn from your Miss Frazier on how to view issues from different perspectives and consider all angles."

Sarah, watching Elaine’s departing figure and closing the door, looked back at Sophie with a face full of confusion: "???" What kind of riddle is this?

Sophie, looking at their backs, sighed. She wondered if she had said too much.

The rehearsal rooms for the four mentors are separate, one for each person, arranged in sequence along the corridor from the elevator. The entire floor is divided into many small rooms, convenient for later use as practice rooms for the students, allowing for additional practice after returning to the dormitory.

When Elaine arrives, the rehearsal room is already waiting with a guidance teacher, several staff members, and a female star acting with her—Isabella Sarratt, a popular young actress who entered the industry two or three years ago.

The opening show for the mentor that the director arranged for her is the role she played for the first time many years ago in a movie. The background is the entertainment industry, where, as a beautiful, talented, and poor leading lady, she initially dismisses and mocks the pretentiousness of the supporting actress, defending her dreams with sharp wit.

Even though several years had passed, when Elaine saw the script yesterday, she remembered her past performance and couldn't help but shiver, getting goosebumps all over.

That year, all the main roles in the drama were played by newcomers from Top, handsome men and beautiful women, with a plot that was both shocking and witty. It caught the public's attention unexpectedly after it was aired and made her popular, marking her path towards stardom. But years later, on an interview show, the host made her revisit her journey, showing a clip of her on-screen crying scene, making Elaine blush and squirm uncomfortably.

She wonders whether to thank the director for giving her a chance to prove how much she has changed. With her current acting skills, redoing this segment is easy and effortless.

Thus, for the rehearsal, Elaine is more than capable. Aside from refining her own performance, she also considerately tones down her presence and occasionally offers advice to the less experienced Isabella.

Compared to her light role, Sibley’s script is much more challenging.

She performs an action scene from "Empire," wielding a long spear and fighting another actor, then proudly addressing her defeated opponents, delivering the classic line: “Who says this world is only for men to fight over? Since none of you object, remember from now on that what a man can do, a woman can do too!”

Although the live performance focuses more on overall portrayal and not as much on precise martial arts movements, the difficulty is obviously much greater than others.

Moreover, Sibley has old injuries on her back and hands...

During a few minutes of rest, Elaine’s thoughts are continuously on Sibley, filled with worry for her.

She fears about Sibley's stubbornness, saying that even if she feels discomfort during rehearsal, she will just endure it silently. She is even more worried that if there are any forced movements, the martial arts instructor and Sophie might not notice in time to call a halt.

As she worries needlessly, suddenly there's a loud noise of chairs overturning from outside.

Elaine's heart skips a beat at once.

The next second, the sound she fears the most still happens: "Miss Reyes!" It’s a series of alarmed shouts.

Isabella also hears the noise. She puts down the mineral water she was drinking, thinking of asking Elaine if they should check out what happened, but when she turns around, she finds that Elaine is no longer beside her.

“Miss... Chasey?” Her voice trails off, drowned out by Elaine's hurried footsteps and the loud sound of a door opening.