Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Acting

Jessie Sterling had long known that Cheryl Stuart intended to terminate her contract with Thorne Pictures, but she hadn’t expected Cheryl to put on such a show on her way out.

Before the news of the contract termination broke, Cheryl Stuart held a live stream online.

There had been rumors online that Cheryl Stuart had secured the role for the modern romance drama *Scorching Sun*.

*Scorching Sun* was a major IP, selected as one of last year’s top ten most popular web novels.

The book’s author had hundreds of thousands of fans online, with an influence comparable to internet celebrities with one or two million followers.

The book’s plot revolved around a romance between a top-tier female celebrity and her younger, “boy-next-door” neighbor.

When Thorne Pictures had previously acquired the film and television rights for *Scorching Sun*, they had already started generating buzz for Cheryl Stuart.

After all, while at Thorne Pictures, Cheryl Stuart’s public persona had always been that of a rich girl. In the script, the A-list actress also came from a well-off family, and the boy next door wasn’t just some ordinary person, but the heir to a publicly listed company.

One look at this character profile, and wasn’t it practically tailor-made for Cheryl Stuart?

Barring any surprises, the role was expected to land in Cheryl Stuart’s lap.

But this year, Nina Walsh had entered the picture, leaving Arya Thorne hesitant. After all, giving a great script to Cheryl Stuart could boost her career to new heights, but if she was planning to terminate her contract anyway, wouldn’t that be a double loss?

Cheryl Stuart was no longer the naive newcomer she was when she first entered the industry. Of course she wasn’t going to just sit back and wait for the higher-ups to make a decision.

That would be far too passive.

Coincidentally, she had privately received another script on par with *Scorching Sun*, which gave her the confidence to turn it down.

During this live stream, someone in the bullet-comment section asked about the *Scorching Sun* role.

After all, Cheryl Stuart hadn’t been on a set in a while, so it seemed perfectly normal for her career-focused fans to ask about her work.

However, it was unclear whether this “career-focused fan” was a genuine supporter or a staff member planted by Cheryl Stuart herself.

In any case, the outcome was exactly what Cheryl Stuart wanted. Although she never explicitly said she was out of the running for the female lead in *Scorching Sun*, her words, her tone, and her forced smile were more than enough to let her fans fill in the blanks.

With paid commenters joining the fray, rumors naturally began to spread that Nina Walsh had snatched the leading role that was originally meant for Cheryl Stuart.

Suddenly, Cheryl Stuart became the wronged party, the one who had been slighted.

Thorne Pictures was being unscrupulous. To promote a newcomer, they were willing to step all over a major contributor like Cheryl Stuart.

Cheryl Stuart immediately had her justification for not renewing her contract. The resources Thorne Pictures had given her over the years were no longer important. What mattered was that Thorne Pictures had acted unscrupulously, making it only natural for her to leave.

This masterful use of subtle manipulation immediately swayed public opinion to her side, leaving Jessie Sterling clicking her tongue in awe and marveling at the move.

With things having reached this point, if Arya Thorne still tried to hold Cheryl Stuart to her contract and refused to let her go, she would likely incite public outrage.

Not only would the company’s reputation be damaged, but even trying to introduce Nina Walsh to the public would become fraught with difficulties.

Audience appeal is a mysterious thing. If Nina Walsh already had a bad reputation before she was even formally introduced to the public, her appeal would surely take a major hit.

In the conference room, Jessie Sterling listened to her subordinate’s report. Cheryl Stuart had already quickly set up her own studio, and their collaboration would soon be on the agenda.

“This current wave of public opinion has certainly given Cheryl Stuart a great start.”

Public opinion is its own form of traffic, and Cheryl Stuart likely knew how to use it.

“Thorne Pictures is probably furious,” another department head chimed in.

That wasn’t wrong. Right now, in Arya Thorne’s office, Arya Thorne was fuming.

If she didn’t understand by now that Cheryl Stuart’s live stream was all a setup for her recent contract termination, then she really was an idiot.

But the moment she thought about being manipulated by Cheryl Stuart, Arya Thorne’s expression turned exceptionally grim.

She had indeed intended to give the lead role in *Scorching Sun* to Nina Walsh, but making that choice herself and being forced into it were two completely different things.

Even if the outcome was the same, Cheryl Stuart’s methods infuriated Arya Thorne.

Just then, Nina Walsh burst into her office.

Nina Walsh had been seething with anger lately. She was already not on good terms with Rachel Ford on set, and on top of that, she was a newcomer. Back with the Lynch family, she had lived a pampered life. Once she got to the film set, she discovered that acting wasn’t so easy.

Without any formal training and not being one of those rare, prodigiously talented actors, Nina Walsh’s filming progress was painfully slow.

At first, the director could be patient with Nina Walsh because of Arya Thorne’s instructions. But faced with an actress who just couldn’t seem to get it, how could the director remain composed in the long run?

Nina Walsh was reprimanded on set several times, and this public loss of face left her fuming inwardly.

Then, the news about Cheryl Stuart’s contract termination blew up, and she became an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.

She had only just entered the industry and hadn’t yet developed a thick skin before she ran into Cheryl Stuart’s army of ferocious fans.

Nina Walsh was furious. This was an issue between Arya Thorne and Cheryl Stuart, so why was she the one getting burned?

Nina Walsh completely ignored the people outside trying to stop her and stormed directly into Arya Thorne’s office, slamming her designer handbag onto the desk.

“What is the meaning of this!” Nina Walsh’s face was grim. “This is between you and Cheryl Stuart, so why am I being dragged into it? Arya Thorne, you owe me an explanation for this!”

She had never really looked up to Arya Thorne. Whenever there was a gathering in their social circle, Arya would always find a way to get someone to bring her along to expand her network.

In Nina Walsh’s eyes, Arya Thorne was just a social-climbing, mercenary businesswoman, completely lacking in dignity.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had the nerve to barge into Arya Thorne’s office like this.

Arya Thorne was already in a bad mood because of Cheryl Stuart. Now, Nina Walsh had barged into her office, showing her zero respect. She was, at the very least, the nominal boss of Thorne Pictures, while Nina was just a contracted artist. It was far too disrespectful.

Looking at the group of staff members who had chased after Nina Walsh, now hovering at the door, wanting to enter but not daring to, Arya Thorne felt her temples throbbing.

She suppressed her anger, waved for the people at the door to leave, and then closed the door herself.

Even if they were going to have a fight, she couldn’t let the company’s employees watch them make a scene.

“What explanation am I supposed to give you? How was I supposed to know Cheryl Stuart was going to pull a fast one on me before she left? Besides, what she said wasn’t wrong. I really did want to give you the lead role in *Scorching Sun*,” Arya Thorne said.

In reality, she had only been considering it, but given the current situation, she had to placate Nina Walsh first.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep