It was late at night when Faye Vaughn finished work and returned to her hotel.
Her costume had been thin, and she'd already caught a chill during the day, making her sneeze constantly.
She filled the bathtub with cold water and submerged herself in it.
'This should make it worse...'
She murmured to herself.
'I can't forget my mission.'
She had to return to her own world, where her parents were.
After soaking in the cold bath for half an hour, Faye Vaughn's head felt dizzy.
She took her temperature with a thermometer. It read 38.5 degrees. She had a fever.
She wrapped herself in the hotel's bathrobe, threw a down jacket on over it, and went downstairs to find a pharmacy.
The early winter wind was biting. Dazed, she took out her phone and called Wyatt Hawthorne.
It rang a few times.
Finally, a man's deep voice, tinged with indifference, came from the other end. "What is it?"
Faye Vaughn sniffled, sneezed, and said in a stuffy voice, "I don't know where the pharmacy is."
Her words were abrupt and out of context.
Wyatt Hawthorne was silent for a few seconds. "Where are you now?"
Faye Vaughn looked around, her voice lost. "I don't know either. I walked out of the hotel, turned right, and saw a convenience store. I thought there would be a pharmacy..."
Wyatt Hawthorne said in a low voice, "Wait at the convenience store."
"Okay," Faye Vaughn answered obediently.
The cold wind made her feel even worse. She huddled by the convenience store entrance, shivering as she waited.
When Wyatt Hawthorne arrived, he saw her huddled by the entrance, a small figure with the hood of her down jacket pulled up, looking like an abandoned little animal.
"Are you an idiot?"
Wyatt Hawthorne pulled her to her feet. "Couldn't you have waited inside the store?"
Faye Vaughn looked up, her cheeks flushed a feverish red, and gave a dazed, innocent smile. "I was afraid you wouldn't see me."
Wyatt Hawthorne frowned and reached out to feel her forehead.
It was burning hot to the touch.
'She's delirious from the fever.'
Wyatt Hawthorne swept her up in his arms. "You need to go to the hospital."
Faye Vaughn fell asleep in the car.
Her whole body was burning up. Her long eyelashes rested listlessly on her cheeks, making her look exhausted and pitiable.
When they reached the hospital, she forced herself to wake up for the blood test and examination.
"Thank you, Mr. Hawthorne."
She thanked him in a small voice. "I shouldn't have bothered you..."
Wyatt Hawthorne looked at her coldly. "For three years, I pampered you and gave you a life of luxury, but you insisted on going out to suffer on your own."
Sitting on a cold hospital chair, Faye Vaughn flinched and said in a soft, quiet voice, "That's right, you took care of me for three years. That's why I want to earn money, so I can take care of you in the future..."
'Take care of him?'
A corner of Wyatt Hawthorne's mouth lifted. "And how do you plan on taking care of me?"
Faye Vaughn lifted her hazy, watery eyes. Her consciousness was muddled as she gave a silly smile. "I heard that famous actresses in the entertainment industry can make a lot of money. Once I make enough, it'll be my turn to take care of you."
She pouted aggrievedly. "Then you won't have to get married for an alliance."
Listening to her fever-induced nonsense, Wyatt Hawthorne found it amusing.
'How much could she possibly earn? What she makes in several years might not even be enough for me to buy a single car.'
After the blood test results came back and they'd picked up the medicine, Wyatt Hawthorne took Faye Vaughn back to the hotel.
"Are you leaving?"
Faye Vaughn lay down on the large bed in the hotel room and reached out a hand to gently tug on the hem of his clothes.
She hadn't done that in a long time.
Wyatt Hawthorne looked at her coolly. "Didn't you say we were breaking up?"
Faye Vaughn's eyes reddened, and she slowly pulled her hand back. "Mm..."
"Stop acting."
Wyatt Hawthorne's tone was forceful, leaving no room for negotiation. "I can pretend this little tantrum of yours never happened."
Her eyes shimmering with tears, Faye Vaughn shook her head stubbornly. "No. I told you, I'm going to make you respect me."
Wyatt Hawthorne's expression turned cold, and he turned and left.
Faye Vaughn looked at the favorability rating above his head. It hadn't dropped; it was still at 32%.
...
When Faye Vaughn woke up the next day, her fever had broken.
After breakfast, she went back to the film set and continued to film with dedication.
The production's official Weibo account posted a behind-the-scenes clip: a scene between Faye Vaughn and the male lead.
At that moment, Third Young Master Finn Hawthorne was playing games at an internet cafe. When a news notification popped up in the corner of his screen, he clicked on it casually.
After watching it, he clicked his tongue. "I never knew the little rabbit could act."
She usually seemed so timid and weak, but on screen, she was captivating and alluring.
Finn Hawthorne lit a cigarette and blew a malicious puff of smoke at Faye Vaughn's image on the screen.
He stood up lazily. He hadn't seen the little rabbit in days, not since she'd moved out of the Hawthorne family home.
Faye Vaughn returned from the filming location to her hotel room.
Suddenly, she gasped, "Third Young Master?!"
"How did you get in here?"
Finn Hawthorne was sitting on the sofa, his long legs crossed with a devil-may-care attitude. He said brazenly, "I climbed over from the balcony next door."
Faye Vaughn was speechless.
'That's something Finn Hawthorne would do.'
'He really has no fear of death. This is the eighth floor.'
"What do you want?"
Faye Vaughn's expression grew wary. "Sneaking into my room in the middle of the night is not something a good person would do."
Finn Hawthorne let out a scornful laugh. "Don't be scared. I was never a good person to begin with."
He stood up from the sofa and advanced on Faye Vaughn.
Faye Vaughn retreated step by step until he had her cornered against a wall.
He raised a long arm, trapping her between his chest and the wall.
"Don't you dare try anything!"
Faye Vaughn's face flushed with anger as she glanced at the space above his head.
The favorability rating was still stuck at 10% from last time.
'What's gotten into him tonight?'
"What do you mean, 'try anything'?"
Using his height advantage, Finn Hawthorne held her captive in the corner and looked down at her. "You and my older brother have already broken up. I'm pursuing you now."
Faye Vaughn was speechless.
'This is more like a home invasion.'
'This doesn't seem like he's 'pursuing' me at all.'
'The Hawthorne brothers are all sick in the head.'
"Little rabbit, how about you date me?"
Finn Hawthorne pinched her chin, tilting her face up, and asked in the tone of an overbearing CEO.
An idea flashed through Faye Vaughn's mind, and she blurted out, "You're not trying to copy your older brother, are you?"
Finn Hawthorne's expression stiffened, and his ears turned a little red.
He flew into a rage from embarrassment. "What's there to learn from an old man like my brother? Faye Vaughn, don't be ungrateful. It's not like you're the only one for me!"
Faye Vaughn let out a soft "Oh."
She lowered her long, dark eyelashes in disappointment. "You're right. I've never been irreplaceable. Just a disposable little plaything."
A flash of panic crossed Finn Hawthorne's eyes. That wasn't what he meant.
She looked like she was about to cry.
'The fact that my brother is marrying someone else must have been a huge blow to her.'
"If you become my canary, I won't abandon you."
Finn Hawthorne wanted to comfort her, but the words that came out of his mouth were harsh. "Even if you're a plaything, I'll make you the one and only."
Faye Vaughn looked up at him, her eyes gradually turning red. "So I don't even deserve to be treated like a person, is that it?"
Finn Hawthorne watched as her eyes grew redder, welling with tears that coalesced into droplets and fell one by one.
One drop landed on the back of his hand, searing hot.
The heat made his heart tremble. He cursed in a rough voice, "Don't you fucking cry! I'm pursuing you, not bullying you."
"You're not pursuing me, you just want to humiliate me."
Faye Vaughn retorted, her voice thick with tears, "I know you all look down on me. Your older brother does, and so do you! I will get back on my feet by myself. I won't be a pet for any of you!"
Finn Hawthorne froze.
The girl before him had cried until her nose was red. Her tear-filled eyes were hazy, making her look both pitiful and adorable.
But her gaze was serious, revealing a resilient and unyielding spirit.
This Faye Vaughn was a little different from the one in his memory.
"Leave. I don't want to see you."
Faye Vaughn reached out a hand to press against his chest, stopping his advance.
Just then, the doorbell rang, followed by a familiar deep voice from outside.
"Faye Vaughn, open the door."
It was Wyatt Hawthorne.