Chapter 21 An Old Friend
"Who did this to you?" Consuela asked as she held Julia's hand. "Was it Terence or Jean?"
"I'm fine. It's just a scrape. I'll recover soon." Julia awkwardly withdrew her hand from Consuela's grip.
However, the more Consuela thought about Julia getting hurt, the angrier she got. Rolling her eyes, Consuela mumbled, "If I had known this happened, I would have taught him a lesson already."
"What did you say?" Julia turned to face Consuela; she hadn't heard what she had just said.
"Nothing." Still angry, Consuela snapped, "You've only been divorced for a few days. But you've already been in the hospital twice. Stop making me worry about you."
"I won't do that again." Julia sheepishly smiled, hoping that it would convince her.
"You got injured at this time." Consuela rebuked with anger. "How are you going to attend the party?
All the other actresses will be drop-dead gorgeous. But look at you—a wounded woman. I'm sure you'll be laughed at by the rest of the crowd."
"Party? What party?" Julia was stunned. She wasn't aware that there was a party taking place.
Consuela sighed in annoyance. "Didn't you ask me to arrange as much work for you as possible? Tonight's party will be attended by the biggest names in the entertainment industry. Other than the most famous celebrities, the most successful directors, hot-shot producers, and keen investors will be there as well. In summary, going to the party tonight will provide your career more opportunities. I just didn't expect that you would be injured on the day of the event.
Do you know how much effort I've spent to get you this invitation?"
"Consuela..." Julia said, her voice cracking. She reach out and held her agent's hand. "From now on, I will listen to you. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west. Satisfied?"
"You naughty girl..." Consuela sighed in defeat. "If you had listened to me earlier, then things wouldn't have gone this far."
Since there were only a few hours left, Consuela didn't want to waste time bickering with Julia. They immediately went to the beauty salon, so that Julia could get a facial and a nice hairdo for the party.
Beside them, there were two ladies chattering as they got their hair done. For a while, Julia was minding her own business, but suddenly heard them mention Terence's name. Her heart immediately started to tremble and she forced herself to calm down.
'We are divorced now. I have nothing to do with Terence anymore,' she thought to herself.
After leaving the salon, Consuela took Julia to a boutique to buy a beautiful dress. In the entertainment business, there was never a lack of beautiful female stars. If they wanted to survive and maintain their career, they had to fight their way through it.
"Tonight, Director Zhang will be in attendance. He's shooting a new movie. Although the heroine has already been decided, they are still looking for a supporting actress. Your job is to make an impression on him. I will do the rest once you have done that," Consuela ordered, smoothing Julia's hair.
"Aren't you going?" Julia looked at her agent, arching an eyebrow. Her instinct told her that something was wrong.
"Do you think it's that easy to get an invitation?" Consuela hissed. "It took me a lot of effort to get this invitation. Don't let me down. Do you understand?"
"But you won't be there..." Julia grimaced; she was afraid something would go wrong.
Consuela's face sof
tened and she gently patted Julia on the shoulder. "You have to learn how to face these situations. I can't always be with you, you know?"
"I got it." Julia nodded, implying that she understood. She could only rely on herself.
The reception was scheduled to start at eight o'clock. Julia's car arrived at the location just in time to make a casual entrance.
The party was very lively and glamorous. From outside her car window, she could see the press flocking and aiming their lights at the red carpet.
This made Julia become more anxious and nervous at Consuela's absence. She was always used to having her by her side.
However, she had to do this for herself. Taking a deep breath, she silently gave herself some encouragement. "Come on, Julia. You can do it."
With a deep breath, she opened the door and elegantly exited the vehicle.
As the flashes of light fell on her, a grim expression was plastered on her face. Although she had been in the industry for a while, she only knew a few people.
As she walked, she calmed herself down, giving the press a sweet smile.
Walking along the red carpet, Julia internally panicked, wondering whether she would be tonight's laughingstock. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Julia! Wait for me!"
Turning around, she saw a familiar figure. It was Samuel He.
It seemed like tonight wouldn't be so bad after all. She was relieved that she finally found someone she knew.
Samuel He was a well-known actor that she had worked with. At that time, Julia wasn't as well known, so she didn't have as much screen time as Samuel He, who was already very famous.
Julia didn't expect that he was so friendly. Almost every single day they were shooting, he always greeted her, asking her out for a drink. Because of that, they grew closer and became good friends.
Consuela scolded Julia for her ignorance, because Julia never used Samuel He for resources.
If she had told him that she needed his resources, she would have become famous. But Julia refused, not wanting to take advantage of her friend.
She always believed that Samuel He was one of her good friends. She didn't want their relationship to be complicated. If she wanted to have gain a stronghold in the entertainment industry, she must depend on herself.
"Samuel." Julia stopped in her tracks and smiled at the man approaching.
In response, Samuel He smiled and held her hand. "Why are you here?"
"Consuela worked hard to get me an invitation. She said it wasn't easy to get one, so I came here alone. Luckily, you arrived. I was afraid that I would be laughed at by the rest tomorrow," Julia replied in a low voice.
People usually came here with their partners, rather than attending it on their own.
It was a good thing Samuel He was here; it made her more confident.
"Why didn't you call me earlier? It's easy for me to get the invitation." Although he was talking to her, Samuel He greeted the media with a smile. He then tilted his head to look at her.
Without saying anything, Julia just smiled in response.
It took a long while before they got inside the venue. Julia breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally! That was so hard."
Looking at Julia with a doting smile, Samuel He reached out and gently rubbed her hair. "Tell me then, what task did Jelly Belly give you?"
He had fastened a nickname upon Consuela, and he would call her that nickname whenever she was not around.