Why the Movie Star is Humbly Chasing Online

"Lost, lost! Elena, truth or dare?"

In the live stream room of "Heartbeat Reality Show," the atmosphere reached its peak. For traffic, the program team specially arranged an interactive game session.

Elena Vance looked at the red card representing failure on the table and sighed helplessly. Her slender fingers tucked a stray hair behind her ear, revealing a clear and dusty face. Although she was only a third-tier small actress, this face was recognized as a "divine face" in the entertainment industry.

"Dare," Elena spoke softly, her voice pleasant as a wind chime.

"Good! Straightforward enough!" The host drew a punishment card with a wicked smile, "Dare content: Post a status on social media—'I regret it, can you come back to me?'. And, the first person to call within five minutes must be answered on speakerphone, no matter who the other party is, you must talk for three minutes!"

The whole audience cheered, and the live stream bullet comments instantly flooded the screen: [Wow, the program team is so bold! What if the ex-boyfriend calls?] [A cold beauty like Elena, her social media must be very exciting.] [I bet a spicy strip, the one calling must be her manager.]

Elena's heart skipped a beat. She looked at those words, the cold light of the phone screen reflecting in her pupils, stirring up a layer of fine ripples.

Her slender fingers tapped on the screen a few times, edited, and sent.

At that moment, social media was terrifyingly quiet. Only Elena knew that in that list open only to specific labels, lay a name she had personally pushed away three years ago.

Time passed second by second.

One minute. Two minutes.

Just when everyone thought five minutes were about to pass and this punishment would end in a cold scene, the phone in Elena's hand suddenly vibrated violently.

There was no remark on the screen, only a string of numbers that were familiar to the core.

Elena's fingers froze.

"Answer it! Elena!" The guests gathered around excitedly.

Elena took a deep breath, tremblingly pressed the answer button, and turned on the speakerphone.

"Hello..."

There was a silence for three seconds on the other end of the phone, and then, a low, hoarse voice with extremely suppressed emotions spread throughout the recording site.

"Elena, that status you just posted... is it true?"

At that moment, the originally noisy live stream room was dead silent.

Because this voice, few people in the country couldn't recognize it. It was the one who just won the three-time Movie Star last year and was known as the "head of the abstinent series in the entertainment industry"—Julian Sterling.

Julian Sterling's voice was like a depth charge, instantly blowing the live stream room out of shape.

The thermos in the hand of the director, who was originally sitting and watching the show, fell to the ground with a "clank." The guests were all dumbfounded, and the bullet comments in the live stream room, after a three-second pause, rolled frantically to a speed indistinguishable to the naked eye.

[Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Julian Sterling?!] [That's Movie Star Sterling, right? I didn't hear it wrong, right? This low bubble sound is unique in the whole entertainment industry!] [Elena Vance and Julian Sterling? What kind of dimension-breaking combination is this?] [Regretted? Come back to me? Is Movie Star Sterling the one who was dumped?!]

Elena's hand holding the phone was trembling slightly. She looked at the screen, her throat feeling like it was blocked by something, unable to make a sound.

"Speak." The voice on the other end of the phone became deeper, even carrying a hint of urgency, "Elena, speak. You regret pushing me away? Where are you now, I'll go find you."

Elena closed her eyes, trying to make her voice sound a bit calmer, but that tremor still betrayed her: "Mr. Sterling... I'm recording a show."

The other side was obviously stunned.

Another few seconds of dead silence.

"Recording a show?" Julian's voice suddenly cooled a few points, carrying a trace of a self-deprecating smile, "So, that status was also the program team's requirement? Truth or dare?"

Elena bit her teeth and said in a low voice: "I'm sorry, Mr. Sterling, for disturbing you."

"Heh." Julian let out a cold laugh. That laugh penetrated the screen, making the viewers in the live stream room feel an unknown chill and... heartache? "Elena, you were like this three years ago, dismissing me with a joke. Now you're playing this trick again, do you think it's very interesting?"

Elena's tears were already welling up in her eyes, and she tightly pursed her lips.

"Three minutes aren't up yet." Julian seemed to hear the noise around him. He slowed down his tone, actually carrying a hint of humble pleading, "Don't hang up. If you're just for the show's effect, then tell me, in these three years... have you really not had a single moment, even for just a second, regretted leaving me?"

The whole audience held their breath.

This question had exceeded the scope of truth or dare.

Elena looked at the camera, at that lens representing traffic and career, finally closed her eyes, and spat out three words: "Never have."

"Beep—beep—"

The call was abruptly cut off from the other side.

Elena stood blankly in the circle of light. At that moment, she felt the defense line she had finally built completely collapsed in Julian's self-deprecating cold laugh.

The live stream was forced to interrupt.

Elena's manager, Sarah, rushed into the studio, pulling Elena out while cursing in a low voice: "Elena! Are you crazy? You actually sent it to Julian Sterling? Hasn't that thing between you two three years ago rotted in your stomach yet?"

Elena lowered her head, letting Sarah pull her.

Three years ago, Elena was just a newly debuted college student, while Julian Sterling was already a favored son of heaven standing on the altar. They met in a play and fell in love through it.

The love at that time was intense and secret. He secretly held her hand in the cold snow of the film set, he kissed her until she was out of breath in the RV late at night, and he was even ready to make an official announcement at his peak.

But on that day, Julian's mother found Elena. There was no melodramatic check-throwing, only a physical examination report—Julian's stomach disease at that time was on the verge of needing surgery, and his future, because of this unpromising relationship, was suffering an unprecedented PR crisis.

Julian's mother said: "Miss Vance, if you really love him, don't become his stumbling block. To spend your birthday with you, he pushed away the most important audition. He's playing with his life to accompany you."

So, Elena disappeared. She sent a cold and ruthless text message, saying she was tired of playing, saying she had taken a fancy to a richer boss.

From then on, she was Julian Sterling's forbidden wound.

And today, this wound was ruthlessly torn open by the program team.

The trending searches exploded.

The whole internet was attacking Elena. Saying she was deep-scheming, saying she used the Movie Star for hype, and some even dug up her resources over the years, mocking her "as expected, still has to rely on men."

Late at night, Elena curled up in her rented room, turning off all the lights.

The phone suddenly lit up, it was a WeChat message.

Julian Sterling: [Open the door. I'm downstairs.]

Elena's heart suddenly lifted. This was an old and small apartment, how could someone of Julian Sterling's status appear here?

She ran to the window and looked down. A black, low-profile SUV was quietly parked under the street lamp. The window was halfway down, and the sparks of tobacco flickered in the night.

He actually really came.

Elena Vance did not open the door.

She stood behind the curtains all night, and the SUV downstairs also parked all night.

Not until early morning, when the first ray of sunlight hit the roof of the car, did the car slowly start and leave the old alley.

Elena thought this matter would slowly subside, but unexpectedly, a bigger storm was behind.

The next day, the program team notified her that because the first live stream effect exploded, the second episode would invite a "heavyweight guest" to join.

When Elena stood at the recording site again and saw the figure coming down from the nanny car, she felt the whole world was mystical.

Julian Sterling wore a simple black T-shirt and cargo pants, wearing sunglasses. Even so, that sharp and domineering aura still made all the staff present hold their breath.

"Mr... Mr. Sterling?" The director stuttered and went up to meet him, "How did you really come?"

Julian took off his sunglasses, his long and deep eyes falling straight on Elena at the end of the crowd.

"I heard the games on this show are very interesting." Julian's tone was calm, but carried a trace of imperceptible teeth-gritting, "I also want to come and try the truth."

The subsequent recording became Elena's nightmare.

No matter where Elena went, Julian would "happen" to appear within two meters of her.

During the relay race, he naturally took the baton from Elena's hand, and by the way, during the handover, he lightly brushed her palm with his fingertips, causing a burst of numbness.

During the outdoor picnic, Elena wanted to pick a fruit. Julian took a step with his long legs and directly gripped the tree trunk with one hand, circling Elena between his arms and the tree trunk.

"Mr. Sterling, please behave yourself." Elena was pressed in the shadow, her breathing rapid.

"Behave myself?" Julian leaned down, his breath hitting the tip of her nose, "Elena, when you said 'no regret' on the phone yesterday, why was your heartbeat so fast? I could hear it through the phone."

"That was being scared by you, Mr. Sterling." Elena turned her head away.

"Is that so?" Julian reached out, firmly pinching her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, "What about now? Being so close to me, what is your heartbeat for?"

The camera was not far away. Elena looked at the lens, almost about to cry: "Julian, what exactly do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do?" Julian's eyes were dark, his voice low enough that only the two of them could hear, "I want to catch that cruel woman from three years ago back, lock her up, and ask clearly bit by bit... what exactly did she treat my heart as."

Julian Sterling's joining made this dating reality show completely turn into "the Movie Star's large-scale double-standard scene."

In the grouping session, Julian was originally drawn to be in a group with the popular actress Vanessa, but he directly threw the lot away and coldly said to the director: "I get motion sickness, I can only be in the group with Elena Vance. Her group walks more."

Director: ? (Do you want to walk? You want to get close to her heart!)

So, Elena became the public enemy of girls on the whole internet.

The task was to find hidden treasures in the mountains. Because Elena was unwell, she fell behind at the end of the team.

Julian, who was originally walking at the front, suddenly stopped, turned around, and in front of all the cameras, walked back to Elena's side with large strides.

"Can't walk anymore?" he asked.

"No, I can persist." Elena walked forward stubbornly, but because her ankle went soft, she almost fell.

Julian didn't give her another chance to speak, directly bent down, and with a clean and neat horizontal carry, picked Elena up steadily.

"Julian! Put me down! It's recording!" Elena exclaimed.

"Let them record." Julian let out a cold snort, carrying her steadily, "When you disappeared three years ago, I searched the whole of New York. What's wrong with holding you for a bit now?"

Now even the bullet comments went crazy: [Is Movie Star Sterling... completely crazy?] [This is too pampering! That's Elena Vance, the woman who dumped him!] [Although I want to scold Elena, I really can with this Movie Star's boyfriend power!]

In the evening, everyone chatted by the campfire at the camp.

Vanessa deliberately asked Julian: "Mr. Sterling, what is your criteria for choosing a partner?"

Julian looked at the firelight, then looked at Elena who was curled up in the corner drinking hot water, and said flatly: "Beautiful, cruel-hearted, and surnamed Vance."

The whole audience burst into laughter, and Vanessa's face instantly froze.

Elena lowered her head, but her heart felt like it was pricked by a needle. He was still blaming her, using this way to retaliate against her.

Late at night, Elena couldn't sleep because of stomach pain and walked out of the tent to find some medicine.

Under the moonlight, she saw Julian sitting on a rock with his back to her, smoking. That back was so lonely it made one's heart ache.

"Stomach pain?" Julian didn't turn his head, but accurately detected her movement.

He stubbed out the cigarette and walked over, holding a box of stomach medicine and a bottle of warm water in his hand.

"The medicine you left three years ago hasn't expired yet." Julian's tone was eerily calm, "I've been carrying it with me, thinking that if I met you one day, you'd still be that idiot who doesn't like to eat breakfast and only hides and cries when her stomach hurts."

Elena froze in place.

That box of medicine, the packaging was already worn out beyond recognition. He had actually carried it for three years.

The recording of the reality show entered its final stage. It should have been a relaxed farewell dinner, but it changed because of an anonymously uploaded video online.

It was a recording clip of Elena Vance talking with Julian's mother in the hospital corridor on the eve of her leaving Julian three years ago.

The video was deliberately edited. In the picture, Elena took a check, and the background sound was her cold voice: "As long as this ten million arrives, I guarantee Julian Sterling will never see me again in this life."

For a time, there was a public outcry. Elena went from "ex-boyfriend" to "extortionist," and the malice of the whole internet surged toward her like a tsunami.

"Elena, what else do you have to explain?" Vanessa mocked in the lounge, "The stomach medicine Mr. Sterling carried for three years was actually for a liar who sold him for money."

Elena's face was pale, and she bit her lip hard. That ten million, she indeed took it. It was the life-saving money Julian's mother gave for her grandmother's kidney transplant. She couldn't refute it, nor could she explain that it was a "transaction" she exchanged with her dignity and Julian's future.

When Julian pushed the door and entered, the air in the lounge instantly solidified.

He held that camera that had been recording in his hand, his eyes deep and frightening. He walked straight to Elena, his voice low and hoarse, with a slight tremor: "What the video said... is it true?"

Elena didn't dare look up at him, just stiffly nodded: "Yes. The money, I took it."

Julian let out a self-deprecating laugh, the most desolate laugh Elena had ever heard. He suddenly smashed his fist on the locker next to him, the huge sound startling everyone back.

"Elena, I'd rather you told me back then that you didn't love me anymore than see you sell me for a mere ten million." Julian's eyes were bloodshot. He leaned down and whispered almost desperately in Elena's ear, "Am I only worth ten million?"

After saying that, he left the recording site without looking back.

That night, Elena locked herself in her room. She thought it was truly and completely over this time. All the love and hate turned to ashes in front of this so-called truth.

But she didn't know that after Julian left, he didn't return to the hotel, but drove overnight to Elena's hometown—that remote mountain village where even navigation often failed, to find the truth he had never set foot in three years ago.

Julian Sterling sat at the gate of the nursing home where Elena's grandmother lived all night.

He met the director of the nursing home and went through the payment records from three years ago. Every payment clearly stated "Donor: Elena Vance."

He also met Julian's mother's attending physician at that time. The doctor told him that when he was hospitalized for stomach bleeding three years ago, a girl stayed outside the ward until early morning every day, but never dared to enter, only leaving a box of peeled pomegranates at the door, because Julian loved pomegranates but was too lazy to peel them.

Julian looked at those pieces of evidence, his heart feeling like a hole was being cut open, bleeding.

It turned out that his so-called peak was paved for him by her stepping on broken glass shards.

When Julian appeared in front of Elena again, it was on the day Elena was preparing to quit the circle and move.

He blocked the door, looking disheveled, his suit wrinkled, and dark circles under his eyes. That high-and-mighty Movie Star now looked like a child who had made a mistake, not even daring to reach out and pull her sleeve.

"Elena..." He spoke, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible, "I'm sorry."

Elena pulled her suitcase, her expression so calm it was heartbreaking: "Mr. Sterling, I will slowly pay back the money to your mother. Between us, it's already clear."

"It's not clear!" Julian suddenly lost control and hugged her, the strength so great it felt like he wanted to rub her into his bones and blood, "Ten million is not enough, take me too, Elena, please, take me too."

He buried his head in Elena's shoulder hollow, his voice carrying broken sobs: "I know, I know everything. For saving your grandmother, for my future... how could you be so cruel, letting me be a blind person on the altar for three years alone?"

Elena's tears could no longer be controlled, falling pitter-patter on his back.

"Elena, I don't want anything now. Reputation, Movie Star, future... if you still think it's not enough, then dump me again, lie to me again, as long as you don't go."

Julian took a step back, and actually in front of the paparazzi cameras that hadn't had time to withdraw, in front of the withered leaves in the garden, humbly knelt on one knee.

"Elena, I'll cut open my heart for you to see. Please, take me in one more time, okay?"

On that once cold and abstinent face, it was written with all-or-nothing pleading. The whole internet witnessed this scene through live stream, and everyone fell silent at this moment.

Movie Star Sterling's "kneeling for reconciliation" became a spectacle rarely seen in a century in the entertainment industry.

Julian's mother, under pressure from public opinion and Julian's tough attitude, publicly admitted to the intervention back then and apologized to Elena. And those anti-fans who once cursed Elena, after learning the truth, turned into the number one fans of the "Deep Affection CP."

But Elena did not agree immediately.

She went to the seaside and stayed alone for a month. Not until that day did she receive a photo from Julian.

In the photo, he sat on a simple small stool, in front of Elena's grandmother's old house, clumsily peeling a basket of pomegranates.

His hands were stained red by pomegranate juice, but his gaze was as focused as if he were carving a piece of art.

The caption was: [Peeled, can you come back to eat?]

Elena laughed. The man who once humbly asked "is it true" on the phone finally learned to love her in the clumsiest way.

Three months later, their century wedding was held at the original site of the film set where Elena first met Julian.

No media were invited, only friends within the circle.

Julian held Elena's hand and walked onto the red carpet, his gaze never leaving her.

"Elena, I've been thinking, what if the person who called in the reality show that day wasn't me, what would you have done?" Julian suddenly asked in a low voice before exchanging rings.

Elena winked playfully: "Actually, when I posted that status for the dare, I only opened visibility to one person."

Julian was stunned.

"So, that call was destined to be only from you." Elena looked up, her eyebrows curved, "Mr. Sterling, you didn't really think you stumbled upon the romance by luck, did you? That was my long-planned return date."

Julian was first shocked, then showed the most brilliant and relieved smile of these three years.

He suddenly gripped the back of her head and, amidst the falling red maples, gave her a kiss so intense it was almost suffocating.

"Since it's a long-planned seduction, then pay with your whole life."

That night, Julian updated that Weibo post that had been pinned for three years.

The previous copy was: [Looking for a lost little star.] The current copy is:

"The little star is back. For the rest of my life, you are my only cure. @ElenaVance"

The whole internet boiled over. Their story, after being misplaced for three years, finally wrote the most complete ending.

(The End)