Early Sunday morning, when Zoe struggled to open her eyes after the alarm rang for the third time, the haggard face reflected in the mirror gave her a start.
Dark circles, heavier than ever before, and thick bags hung heavily under her eyes.
She slapped the washstand in frustration. The cold touch woke her up slightly, but it couldn't dispel the bone-deep exhaustion and a hint of restlessness.
She couldn't understand why, when she booked the hotel yesterday, she had once again inexplicably booked the room next door to Landon, that "scumbag boss."
She clearly knew exactly what kind of person Landon was.
After filming ended last night, when Lil Jon enthusiastically invited Landon and the lead actress, Eliza Dushku, to a nearby bar to relax, she knew things wouldn't be peaceful when the two returned; she knew her boss's charm all too well.
Nevertheless, she still held the room key in her hand and walked into the door that was separated from Landon's suite by only a single wall.
The excuse she found for herself was: as Landon's assistant, she needed to be on standby at all times to handle any potential emergencies.
This reason sounded perfectly reasonable.
Zoe would never admit that deep down, there was a hint of curiosity and a hint of anticipation. It must be that, she told herself firmly, splashing her cheeks vigorously with cold water.
Last night, she and Tracy returned to the hotel together. Because Tracy needed to handle some follow-up contract details and confirm tomorrow's shoot with the crew and the people from Def Jam, they returned to the hotel much later than Landon's group, who had gone off to the bar.
The two of them also had a simple dinner together in the hotel restaurant. Tracy seemed to be in a good mood, talking about the rough cut of the MV and market expectations.
After going upstairs, Zoe returned to her room. She saw Tracy swipe her card and go straight into Landon's room—this wasn't strange; as his agent, she often needed to discuss matters with Landon privately.
Zoe didn't think much of it and started washing up on her own.
By the time she came out wrapped in a bathrobe and watched the local news absentmindedly for a while, she heard the sound of the door next door opening again, followed by some messy footsteps and slight bumping sounds; it seemed there was more than one person.
As if possessed, she reached out and muted the television. The room instantly fell into a tense silence. She even involuntarily stood up, walked softly to the wall adjacent to Landon's room, and leaned in to listen.
At first, there was some blurred talking and laughing, followed by a clear exclamation from Eliza Dushku, filled with shock and excitement: "Oh, my God!" That voice pierced through the wall, carrying an unmistakable meaning.
Zoe felt her cheeks instantly heat up.
Over the next while, intermittent soft sounds drifted over, mixed with tones of praise and encouragement in sentences that were hard to make out.
Zoe felt a familiar heat rise from her lower abdomen, and she tightly gripped the belt of her bathrobe.
But then, a thought that made her scalp tingle arose: Wait, wasn't Tracy in there too?
This realization instantly jolted her out of her shameful excitement.
She knew things were heading in a completely unpredictable direction.
Landon was definitely going to have his hands full!
She could almost imagine what kind of fury would explode when Tracy found out Landon had brought Alyssa back.
She even started calculating in her head whether she should brace herself and go over to break up the fight if a violent argument broke out next door in a little while.
However, Zoe was completely wrong.
She underestimated Landon, she underestimated Tracy, and she even underestimated the sweet and healthy Alyssa.
After a brief, suffocating silence, Zoe clearly heard Tracy let out a high-pitched "Ah—!" scream. The tremor mixed into that scream left Zoe stunned.
Zoe's brain almost stopped functioning.
The development of events was completely beyond her scope of understanding.
At first, Zoe covered her ears, but then she couldn't help but let go; she took two steps back, but was soon drawn back to the wall.
A sense of excitement, stronger and more foreign than ever before, swept over her.
The duration of the movement was also far beyond her imagination, as if it would never end.
It wasn't until the end, when all the noise gradually subsided, that Zoe realized a long time had passed, and she herself had already slumped onto the thick carpet in exhaustion, back against the cold wall, so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.
The final result she vaguely heard seemed to be that Landon had "won"?
With this absurd thought and her physical depletion, she fell asleep on the carpet in a daze, not even having the strength to crawl into bed.
The next morning, when she was startled awake by the alarm, Zoe found she had only slept for a little over three hours.
She forced herself to get up, looked at the pale woman in the mirror, and had to once again use thick concealer and dark eyeshadow to try and cover those severe dark circles.
What made her feel indignant was meeting Tracy and Eliza Dushku in the restaurant at breakfast.
These two women!
They looked radiant!
Their skin was tight and delicate, their eyes were clear and moist, and their faces glowed with a full luster.
What was even more unbelievable to Zoe was that there seemed to be no discord between them; they even walked into the restaurant hand-in-hand, carrying relaxed and happy smiles as they talked in low voices, their relationship as close as biological sisters.
It formed a mocking contrast with her own image, which required heavy makeup to hide.
It's so unfair!
Zoe's resentment toward Landon reached a new peak in her heart.
Eliza herself actually felt it was quite miraculous.
After the absurdity ended at over three in the morning, in her final consciousness before falling into a deep sleep, was she still worried about the next day's shoot? Still worried about what to do about dark circles?
However, when she was woken up by Landon in the morning, she was still a bit dazed as she walked into the bathroom.
When the cold water splashed on her face, the icy touch made her completely awake.
She looked up, saw herself in the mirror, and was instantly stunned.
The woman in the mirror had bright eyes, and her skin condition was incredibly good—delicate and smooth, without a trace of having stayed up late, even more radiant than after her usual makeup application.
She couldn't help but touch her cheek; it felt warm and moist to the touch.
So extreme pleasure really had such a miraculous effect?
This realization made her heart race.
When she walked out of the bathroom and looked at Landon, her eyes had already turned into a pool of spring water.
So, it was understandable when Zoe saw Eliza and Tracy acting like sisters.
Landon's group arrived at the underground bar filming location once again.
After last night, the atmosphere was slightly different.
Seeing Alyssa's radiance, the looks Lil Jon and Ludacris gave Landon were filled with a bit more amazement and admiration!