Meanwhile, Sebastian made use of the reporters around to update that the advertisement went a little nasty cause he was probably too tired and had spilled milk earlier. He made the update so nonchalant to his fans that news was spreading on social media, asking him to rest and directing their curses at Cao Tung agency.
As their job was done, Sam and Sebastian rushed off with the help of Lucky Clover guards. Only then were they updated that Violet was brought to the emergency ward. She was running a high fever by the time the doctor and nurses attended to her.
The news created hype among Sebastian's fans checking on her too. He was smitten by his fans' support for her. He was grateful for her smart self that night as he posted a selfie of him standing by her bedside with her resting on the hospital bed in the background.
He added a caption: My poor assistant is resting from a fever. Rest assured, she will be well tomorrow to greet you all again.
Overwhelmed responses from the fans came instantly, wishing her well as Sam monitored the crowd from the window panel with even more hatred against Cao Tung's villain.
Sebastian went up to him and gently patted his shoulder. "Sorry, bro… I tried my best to keep her warm."
"Not your fault. They dare to mess with her, meaning they are messing with me. Lucky Clover is involved this time. I'm sure they will send us a lawyer's letter soon." Sam alerted Sebastian, who took a deep breath and nodded.
"Bring it on… We have the money and fans on our side. What can they do? Soon, the fans will ask about the advertisement. What advertisement did we do?" Sebastian prompted as they both shared a smile, knowing it was an opportunity for Lucky Clover.
"I will cover the deal tomorrow. Chew Long definitely wouldn't settle for you to do it under them. I will have you on board, but I will demand to edit the videos. That way, we would delay till you're off their hook." Sam suggested as the boys smirked at their plans, but Sam could tell Sebastian was worried for Violet.
"She's stronger than you think." Sam reminded Sebastian, who smiled, recalling their fun times in the warehouse, and nodded.
For the whole of Sunday, Cao Tung had no time to deal with Sebastian. Instead, Sam went rogue with Chew Long on the offer.
Sam went back to the warehouse and came up with a plan with Chew Long's sister, Sze Min, instead. Instead of cleaning up the mess, he offered to shoot the advertisement with the messy condition of the factory that they were in, and will be edited to figuratively represent the mixing of the ingredients in a mixing bowl before baking.
It would require Sebastian to come in shortly for his brief parts of hitting each ingredient before the crew members work on taking more footage and editing. Sze Min, different from her brother's brutal nature, actually loved the idea and refused to listen to Chew Long to not get involved. She was on the winning hand and struck a deal with Sam at a reasonable market price fee but Sam requested at least a 15% commission for the first three months of her sales and later 5% for a duration of 9 months. It was rough, but Sze Min knew that, in the long run, her brand presence would still be remembered. So, she agreed to it.
Sebastian was scheduled for the advertisement on Monday after his film since it was going to take a maximum of three hours.
That way, it saved Cao Tung from the dispute with the media that there were no advertisements, and it was a win-win situation for Lucky Clover being freely marketed in the explanation statement by then. At the very least, it was solving several matters for Chew Long, though he was furious at the messy trap he was in. He had no choice but to let Sebastian rest and not provoke Violet, who was now in the fans' vicinity.
Meanwhile, Sebastian had been actively posting about Violet's progress and that she was able to discharge on Sunday. They started to pack to shift to the filming site for the last bit of the drama he was filming. Fans were worried but supportive of them both as they left well wishes on Sebastian's post.
Violet was still recovering from her muscles aching when the agency picked her and Sebastian up. She was sleeping along the way, giving Sebastian some time to do the same while intermittently checking on her. By the time they arrived, Penny and Wayne were waiting for them.
That was when Violet was reminded that it was her new but familiar friend, Penny, waiting and not Pei Li. For a moment, she realised she missed Pei Li, but she wondered how Penny was. Since they were to share rooms according to gender, as usual for show, and the rooms were interlinked, both couples would always swap discreetly inside.
"Penny?" Violet asked to be sure as she smiled and nodded before reaching out to give her a hug.
"We have seen the news… You're still so pale." Penny commented worriedly as Violet nodded weakly. "Happy to see you again…" Violet greeted softly.
"Yes… I have heard and read so much about you. I'm sorry we didn't have much time spent previously…" Penny apologised as Violet shook her head with a smile.
"We survived an ordeal. There's nothing they could do to him today. He at least could sit and rehearse his script with you since there will be lots of fighting shots for the last part." Violet directed her last part to Wayne, who nodded.
"Don't worry… You should rest more. Penny's herbal tea works magic!" Wayne praised, as Violet smiled before heading to the pantry with Penny, who served her the herbal tea, leaving the men to themselves with their scripts.
Violet watched Penny preparing. She was indeed different from Pei Li. She wondered to herself every time how someone could have the same look but act and think differently. It was still amazing to Violet. She would never forget that she got to have two friendships from just one person.
"Here…" Penny offered in a polite voice as Violet nodded with a smile.
"Would you like to watch an episode of the new drama just released?" Violet asked, remembering the drama Pei Li and she were watching recently, featuring their favourite eye candy actor, Martin Pilatis, an actor who has mixed blood from Phut Bi but more prominent Chinese genes.
"Oh… you do that with Pei Li, don't you? Sure…" Penny smiled, agreeing to try out what Pei Li does, which made Violet forget for a moment that it was Penny.
"Sorry, I got too used to her…" Violet apologised as she turned on their favourite drama site and continued the episode they both stopped previously.
"Probably we shouldn't. I can wait for her…" Violet suggested politely as Penny smiled.
"Don't worry, I will tell her all about it. Let's try. Come on…" Penny urged as her interest piqued too.
After about 45 minutes, the girls found themselves giggling together. "I can understand Pei Li's joy now…" Penny confessed as Violet smiled.
"Thank you…" Violet sighed in relief.
"No, thank you. You made me realise the same joy. You know, with the recent scare about who this mysterious person is, I'm glad Pei Li and I weren't alone like we were before this. I was always so harsh because I knew she fully depended on me, and I fully wanted to protect her…" Penny averted her gaze with a sad smile as Violet held her hands in hers.
"We will stick together to fight our enemies…" Violet promised her.
"Do you miss Pei Li?" Penny asked as Violet smiled.
"Yes, but I'm glad to have another friend whom she knows too," Violet explained.
"Isn't it strange for you?" Penny tested.
"It is. Why wouldn't it be?" Violet was brutally honest, which took Penny by surprise.
"Then…" Penny questioned for an explanation.
"It's still strange, and I'm trying to get to know you. Trying to not mix you up with Pei Li, whom I had known very well. I could understand and not judge cause it's, after all, Wayne and your life. That's not something you should be worried about." Violet assured her as Penny smiled, half satisfied by Violet's answers.
"I have heard about you and Sebastian…" Penny raised an eyebrow with a knowing smile as Violet nodded quietly, indicating that they were dating.
"It's not easy, right? I have always thought about the reasons Wayne wanted to keep the marriage a secret. At first I really thought it was unfair to Pei Li, who had suffered so much since young, but now, I'm beginning to understand, and I enjoyed the quietness, especially when Wayne knows how to bring himself around female co-workers. I'm also glad that he is very close to Sebastian. Unfortunately, he has signed a long-term contract with his current agency, Lova. Otherwise, he should probably join Sebastian elsewhere when he leaves…" Penny lamented as Violet smiled.
"Get Wayne to speak with Sebastian about it. Sebastian can sort things out for him without issues, but Lova is treating him well too, though. It's not a bad agency." Violet praised, as Penny nodded.
"It's true. They were not very intrusive but supportive and glad that I was his assistant, which meant it wasn't an extra cost." Penny pointed out.
"That's good… Have you heard Pei Li's recording recently for the original soundtrack?" Violet asked, which got Penny excited while shaking her head.
"I read about it! She must be so nervous!" Penny excitedly told Violet, who was preparing to turn the recording on for Penny. They both listened to it till the end with tears welling. Though it was short, it was already a haunting, melancholic melodic piece of song. The lyrics cut through even worse, as Penny, of all people, knew where Pei Li drew the emotions from.
If I could conquer the world,
I would give my world to you, my love.
The last two lines of the lyrics lingered in Penny's mind as she hugged Violet for comfort.
"It's going to be a hit…" Penny mumbled as Violet nodded with an encouraging smile, missing Pei Li even more.