Chapter 11 - 10: Just a Small Scene, No Need to Panic

Elliana Lyle searched through her contacts for ages and realized she had no one to reach out to, except for Norman Bennett and relatives. There was just one account marked as Nancy, which hadn’t heard from in years. It’s her fault for not making friends before. Feeling restless, she opened Weibo again and saw the announcement from the South Wind Song crew. Upon clicking in, the details indicated they’d secured new investors, just one could match several from before who withdrew, and there was an actor replacement issue—Eleanor Llyod would become the new female lead. "Miss Lyle, it’s Lana, are you awake?" Lana’s voice came from outside the door, but she didn’t knock. "No, come in. I didn’t lock the door," Elliana sat up halfway, addressing the doorway. Click~ Lana pushed the door open with one hand, holding a cup of hot milk in the other. She walked to Elliana’s bedside with a smile, explaining: "I noticed Miss Lyle, you hadn’t turned off the lights, so I warmed some milk to help you sleep." Saying this, Lana placed the hot milk on the bedside table. "Thank you." Just as Elliana was about to drink it, she suddenly remembered something she’d seen in the South Wind Song crew’s announcement earlier! A bit in disbelief, she returned to Weibo to check. Sure enough, it was Melody Harmony under White Goose Studios. "Shane... Shane Southwell! You can’t invest in Eleanor Llyod~" Elliana began shouting while still in the room, quickly pulling off the covers, hastily put on shoes, and ran out regardless. Lana found it odd, but quickly followed out, watching Elliana run towards the third floor, deciding not to follow. "Shane Southwell, Shane Southwell." Elliana ran and shouted, Shane Southwell lived on the third floor, but Elliana didn’t know which room. With a click, a door opened, but Elliana had already run to the other side. Hearing the door behind, she quickly turned back. But... "Sorry!" Elliana covered her eyes immediately, but still peeked through her fingers. Norman Bennett wore only a towel around his waist, his head wet with glistening droplets falling from his hair tips, streaming down his sculpted jaw, past his collarbone, and... Um... Gulp! She swallowed, having never seen such a scene before. It was truly unexpected. Norman Bennett’s physique was so good—slim in clothes, muscular out of them. Especially those abs, simply perfect. Norman Bennett had been showering when he heard Elliana’s anxious calls. Thinking something had happened, he rushed out. "What’s wrong?" Norman Bennett finally asked, feeling it was inappropriate, but worried Elliana might have a real urgent matter. Cough, cough! Elliana cleared her throat, lowering the hand that wasn’t covering her eyes. She pretended not to see anything, walked towards Norman Bennett. No big deal, stay calm! The closer she got, the more fixated her gaze became. It seemed not much was wrong—just the way she was staring? Norman Bennett couldn’t help but feel helpless, saying: "Wait a moment." After speaking, he closed the door. Elliana couldn’t see anything anymore, the corridor lights dim at night made everything fuzzy and indistinct. Finally closer, but all she could do was stare at the door. Tch~ I don’t want to look at all, Elliana thought to herself. Norman Bennett didn’t have her wait long. In half a minute, the door opened again, Norman Bennett wearing gray silk pajamas, white faux pockets adorning his chest. His hair dried but still somewhat unruly, his handsome yet cold face showed concern. "Tell me, what’s up?" Norman Bennett asked, pulling Elliana into the room. Norman Bennett’s room was simple—white lights, luxury gray bedding, black furniture, and at the far end the bathroom glass with water droplets. Sitting on the bed, Elliana took out her phone, showing the South Wind Song crew’s Weibo post. Complaining: "The lead’s Eleanor Llyod, and you invested!" "You don’t like her?" Norman Bennett took it more as a question again, from Joy Lyle’s matter, Eleanor Llyod clearly wasn’t a good person. "Yes! Don’t like her. Letting her play the lead, I’d rather play it myself." Elliana grumbled. Norman Bennett only glanced briefly at the screen; his gaze never left his little girl. Hearing her speak like this, he said: "Okay." "Ah?" Elliana was momentarily stunned by his words, then shook her head, saying: "I can’t. I was joking." "I could stop Eleanor Llyod from playing the lead, but that wouldn’t be worth it." "Why?" Elliana asked curiously. Meeting Norman Bennett’s meaningful gaze, she seemed to suddenly understand, pondering over the phone screen. Norman Bennett made sense; now that the announcement was out, stopping Eleanor Llyod would bring enormous pressure on Joy Lyle, which really wasn’t worth it. Seeing her silent for long, Norman Bennett had to reassure: "Joy Lyle is in the spotlight now, can’t add on the stress. Also, I’m going to North City for a business trip at the end of the month." "I know, but I still..." Elliana hadn’t finished speaking when her eyes suddenly lit up. She looked excitedly at Norman Bennett, gripping his arm, eyes seemingly sparkling. Before Elliana could speak, Norman Bennett perceived her thoughts, agreeing: "Okay." "Really? Can I visit the crew? I want to see my sister." Elliana asked, fearing Norman Bennett wouldn’t agree, quickly shaking his arm. "Sure, as long as you want, nothing’s impossible," Norman Bennett agreed without hesitation, then added: "South Wind Song lacks a second female role. Let Raymond Wood arrange it; if it surpasses the opponent’s strength, better than conditions." Elliana listened intently, having already planned out. She understood Eleanor Llyod, she wanted to help Joy Lyle, also resolving her own grievances. "Hmm~ Norman Bennett, you’re the best~" The little girl leaned forward slightly, pecking him on the cheek swiftly, like a fleeting blossom. The person who stirred his heartstrings had already run to the door, wishing him goodnight. "Hmm, goodnight." Norman Bennett sat for a while before standing to close the door. Back in her room, Elliana had a plan. Going to North City would show Shane Southwell she was genuinely helping him raise funds. She wasn’t a police officer nor a detective; since evidence wasn’t easy to find, her goal was to bring Shane Southwell down. Elliana didn’t believe Shane Southwell only committed one crime in his life; Roland evaded taxes long overdue to collapse! Suddenly, Elliana’s heart sank. She remembered early in her third year married to Shane Southwell, a case shocked the whole nation. Many less-known actresses missing for a while were found by police, but what was found were damaged and battered corpus! Coincidentally, most actresses were once Roland artists, some still under contract! At that time, Roland was jokingly referred to as a hell company by netizens, some clamoring for a thorough investigation of Roland Group, yet it remained unrelated to Roland. Could it be... Thinking of this, Elliana shivered, gulping down the now-cold milk, her heart chilled further—pure fear and shock! But without evidence, she couldn’t just speculate wildly. The dumping location was an unknown island! Specific location... she didn’t pay attention back then; if searching now could many still be alive? But where to start searching?