CHAPTER 235: CHAPTER 235: NOT TOO BRIGHT, BUT SINCERE ENOUGH

Vera Hansen held the contract, her smile deepening.

This really is a great deal.

On one side, Vera Hansen was beaming, while on the other, Serena Sterling had already descended to the first floor.

Silas Hawthorne’s car was parked to the side. He saw her and honked, then opened the door and stepped out.

Seeing Serena was unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?" Silas Hawthorne asked, opening the car door to let her in.

"I’m fine." Serena replied, handing him the supplementary agreement as he settled into the driver’s seat, "It’s just been shortened."

Silas glanced at it, nodded, and started the car.

"What are your plans next?" Silas asked while driving.

If relying solely on the new product, the time wouldn’t be sufficient.

Serena smiled, leaned in closer, and said something to him.

Silas raised an eyebrow, "You were prepared beforehand?"

Serena nodded, "Yeah, the process was already underway, but the timeline needs adjustment."

"Take me to Ford Entertainment." Serena looked up, gazing at the road ahead.

Silas turned the car around, heading in a different direction.

"Last night, I asked Ian to discuss cooperation with Jasper Ford. Does this bother you?" Silas opened the conversation.

"No." She understood Silas’s intentions and said, "Brother Jasper is very perceptive, he’ll take on business when there’s profit."

Silas laughed, nodding, "Indeed, Ian said Jasper Ford even mentioned ’not making money is foolish’."

Serena laughed too.

That was distinctly Jasper Ford’s style.

Silas first took Serena to breakfast, and then delivered her to Ford Entertainment.

While Serena was discussing relevant matters with Jasper Ford at Ford Entertainment, Vera Hansen started streaming.

This was her first response since yesterday’s interruption of the live stream and the revelation of her unauthorized entry into The Hillside Villa.

The moment the stream started, a throng of people rushed into the live room.

Everyone was flooding the chat demanding an explanation.

"Why did you live stream Serena’s privacy yesterday?"

"Vera Hansen, you’re despicable; you’d do anything to win!"

"I really misjudged you, always thought you were kind, guess I was blind!"

...

The next moment, Vera appeared on screen, looking even paler than before.

She coughed twice, using her bandaged hand to wipe with a tissue.

Then she lowered her hand.

"I’m sorry, I got slightly sick yesterday, went to see a doctor, so I didn’t respond timely."

Vera smiled sorrowfully, looking at the camera, constantly nodding, seeming to read the commenters’ messages.

"I’ve seen what everyone is saying." She said, with red-rimmed eyes, "I apologize, I handled this matter poorly."

"Firstly, I admit, I did live stream from The Hillside Villa without permission."

Vera stood up and bowed deeply to the camera.

The comments refreshed even faster, with viewers confirming—she admitted it, undeniably true!

Shameless!

"However, there was a sudden reason for this." Vera explained, "Although saying these now seems weak, I still need to clarify."

"The location I initially announced suddenly had a water pipe burst on that day, making streaming impossible. Not wanting to leave a void, I went to another location instead..."

Vera explained while having her assistant bring over a tablet, showing footage of the situation at Ian Yates’ villa that day.

The background audio was filled with voices asking "What to do about the burst pipes" and shots of water everywhere.

"It was actually an emergency that I mishandled." Vera said, bowing and apologizing again.

"Brother Julian was out of town on business that day, and I couldn’t reach him. Coincidentally, I knew the villa’s passcode, so..."

Her explanation led some to understand, only criticizing her poor handling, saying she wasn’t thinking straight.

Another part continued persistently—

"Does that justify harming Serena? You knew streaming that content would lead to negative opinions about her, but you went for it anyway!"

Vera seemed helpless.

"That wasn’t my intention, I...wasn’t thinking straight at the time, I was overwhelmed."

"I don’t know how to explain."

"If I truly must offer a solution, then..."

Vera addressed the camera, "I will pause the luxury villa floristry series. This pathway is cut off, as an apology resolution to Serena and for this incident."

"My match with Serena was simply for winning, for holding a wedding with Brother Julian. Now, I’m sacrificing one project, displaying sincerity."

Vera spoke, coughing again.

Coughing violently, even retching.

Hands immediately reached out to support her, accompanied by offscreen voices.

"Miss Hansen, I’ve reminded you, your time is limited, yet you’re still overworking. It’s possible you won’t even make it four months at this rate!"

But Vera just waved, stopping the person from saying more.

The comments began filling with sentiments.

While praising her sincerity for cutting off a project, simultaneously acknowledging her mistakes, and expressing sympathy over her impending demise.

After such maneuvering, although differing opinions persisted, her reputation largely recovered.

#Thinking inept, but truly sincere#

This phrase quickly climbed the trending charts.

Along with it, news broke out that "Micro Love" had successfully transitioned to theaters and was set to release soon.

Vera subsequently posted updates, promoting "Micro Love."

At Ford Entertainment, seeing this news angered Jasper Ford immensely.

"Isn’t that supposed to describe me! How did it become part of her image?" Jasper Ford exclaimed furiously.

Jasper, who felt his persona was stolen, was deeply unhappy.

Serena smiled, "You finally admitted your thinking isn’t sharp."

"You!" Jasper Ford was even more furious.

He appeared about to burst in anger.

Serena quickly comforted him, saying she was joking, that he was actually very smart, just shrewd and wisely naive, making others think he was foolish.

"Now that’s more like it." With his intelligence being praised, Jasper felt happy and sat down, saying, "I truly think she’s shameless. I know Ian Yates too, heard him complaining non-stop in the industry yesterday, satirically saying someone purposely caused his home’s pipes to burst."

"Vera Hansen did it deliberately; she intended to stream from there from the start. Now she’s finding various excuses as if she’s compromising to you, when you are the victim, but it seems like you forced her!"

"I’ve never seen such an audacious person!"

Serena sneered, indeed.

They just watched the stream, from beginning to end it was all —

"Yes, yes, I was wrong, I apologized, is that enough?"

That was the point.

"What are we going to do now?" Jasper asked after his tirade.

"I need a concert." Serena said while tapping the table.

Jasper nodded understandingly; they discussed the application process earlier.

They had previously planned for collaborations with the Hawthorne Group, and Serena’s concert, selling songs concurrently, progressing on multiple fronts.

"Now we need to apply to change the time." Serena said, taking out the supplementary agreement.

"Also, there’s the matter with Julian." Serena’s eyes turned cold.

Serena looked at the tablet displaying the new promotional updates from Vera about "Micro Love."

Even now, Vera was adamant about pushing "Micro Love" online.

If that’s the case, she wouldn’t hold back.

"It’s time to settle many things one by one."