Although the video quality was grainy, Clive’s arrogant demeanor was unmistakable.
"I really don't know how he became a star," one comment read. "Someone with this kind of character actually has fans? Can his fans please have better taste?"
Inside Clive’s apartment, his agent, Luke, slammed the door open, his face a mask of grim frustration. "Clive, I really can't save you this time. The entire internet is digging up your dirt."
Clive was slumped on the sofa, clutching a half-empty bottle of whiskey, his eyes bloodshot. "...I know. Did Lyndon buy another smear campaign against me?"
Lyndon was Clive’s industry rival; as idols who debuted around the same time, they were constantly compared and pitted against each other.
Previously, Luke had used news of Lyndon’s secret late-night dates to suppress negative press about Clive. Now, the tables had turned. Clive had fallen, and naturally, Lyndon wouldn't miss the chance to kick him while he was down.
Luke gave Clive a long, deep look before delivering the helpless news. "It's not just Lyndon anymore. That video of you bullying a girl at the mall four years ago has been dug up. They've identified her—it was Leilani. The netizens are even digging into your history with your family!"
Given the immoral things the Sloan family had done to Leilani, it wouldn't take much for the public to find the truth. Leilani and Tamara had only recently faded from the headlines, so it wasn't a coincidence that sharp-eyed netizens recognized her. Once the public fully uncovered the extent of the Sloan family's mistreatment of Leilani, both the family and Clive would be up a creek without a paddle—there would be no coming back.
Clive’s fingers stiffened, and the whiskey bottle clattered to the floor. The mall? The passerby? Was it possible that Leilani was adding fuel to the fire behind the scenes?
Clive frantically grabbed his phone and clicked on the trending video. In the grainy surveillance footage, Leilani looked as she did four years ago—just after being acknowledged by the Sloan family, with a tender face and timid eyes. She was clutching a stack of flyers, hurrying through the mall corridor.

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