Novel Square
Chapter 887: Better Than Last Time
Chapter 887: Better Than Last Time
Chapter 887: Better Than Last Time
After ending the call with Anthony, Sandy replied to Brandon's message, letting him know she
understood. She then changed into a more neutral outfit, making her look like an eighteen or nineteen-
year-old boy this time, appearing even more youthful than before.
As Sandy stepped out of the bedroom, Stella happened to enter from outside the door. "Where are you
going?"
"I made plans to go shopping with Jones and will be back soon. She's coming to pick me up," Sandy
lied to Stella, not wanting her to know she was going out with a man and be restricted from leaving the
house.
Stella didn't think much of it and said, "Be careful when you're out with Jones, both of you need to
watch out and not get too caught up in browsing without paying attention."
Speaking of which, Stella glanced at Sandy. "Why are you dressed like this when going out with
Jones?"
"It's just the two of us, and I don't want to risk being recognized. This way, it's a little safer," Sandy
replied.
Stella looked at Sandy's face and commented, "Your eye makeup looks like that of a girl."
"Otherwise, who would recognize me as the famous star Sandy?" Sandy quipped.
Stella playfully pinched Sandy's face and said, "Go on now. If you're late later, I'll come to pick you up.
I'm going to the store in a bit to pick up some things and can bring you back."
Sandy responded with an "Okay" and changed her shoes at the entrance. "I'm heading out now. I'll call
you when we're done shopping."
Stella acknowledged with a hum, "Be careful."
"I will."
As Sandy descended the stairs, Anthony's car happened to be parked downstairs.
"Sandy, over here," Anthony called out softly from inside the car when he saw Sandy coming out of the
building.
Hiruma, sitting in the driver's seat, glanced at Anthony upon hearing his words. "Anthony, where's Miss
Thompson?"
Although Hiruma had seen Sandy on television and in major news headlines, he hadn't actually
encountered her in real life. Tonight, when he heard that Anthony would be with Sandy, Hiruma had
tagged along out of curiosity, wanting to witness her beauty in person.
Anthony raised an eyebrow at Hiruma's question. "Isn't she right there?"
Hiruma looked back at Sandy and exclaimed in disbelief, "That young boy?"
Hiruma's tone clearly displayed his incredulity.
Ignoring Hiruma, Anthony opened the car door, got out, and went around to open the door on the
passenger side. "You look even better today than last time, though you do appear underage."
Upon hearing Anthony's words, Sandy chuckled softly. "Really? I was actually planning to change, but
all my clothes are at the other place, so I just made do with this."
Anthony nodded. "It looks good. Get in the car."
Sandy responded with an "Okay" and bent down to enter the car.
Hiruma stared at Sandy, dumbfounded, for a while before finally speaking up to greet her. "Hello, I-I'm
Hiruma, Anthony's... not younger brother, but childhood friend, Hiruma."
Sandy smiled openly at Hiruma. "I'm Sandy."
As Anthony got into the car, he saw Hiruma's lingering gaze on Sandy and playfully tapped him. "What
are you looking at? Drive!"
Hiruma responded, "Right, right," and started the car. "Anthony, should we go straight to the suburban
area or grab something to eat first?"
Anthony didn't answer Hiruma right away but looked at Sandy instead. "Have you had dinner yet?"
Sandy turned to Anthony and asked, "Isn't it dinner time now?"
"It's already past five," Anthony replied. "I didn't realize the time either. I thought it was still early."
Upon hearing this, Sandy said, "It must be dinner time then. Let's grab something to eat first. The light
show doesn't start until seven."
Hiruma nodded. "It's best to go eat first. The beginning of the light show isn't as impressive; it gets
better in the middle."
Anthony said, "Let's go eat then."
After making the decision, Anthony turned to Sandy and asked, "What do you feel like eating?"
Sandy responded, "I'm not familiar with Manches City, so you can decide. I'm not picky; anything will
do."
"Let's go to the private kitchen we went to last time," Anthony said to Hiruma.
Hiruma agreed, "Alright."
That particular private kitchen required a reservation made in advance to secure a spot.
Hiruma made a call and reserved a private room.
When the three of them arrived, someone was already waiting at the entrance and escorted them in.
"There are quite a few people here, and usually, it's reservation-only, and they're all regulars, so no
need to worry," Anthony whispered as they walked in.
Sandy asked in a low voice, "Do you know the owner?"
"I know them, but we're not close," Anthony replied.
Sandy added, "I've been here once before with some artists from my company. The food was good, but
I heard they changed chefs, so I'm not sure about the quality now."
"It's still good. I came here with Hiruma last time," Anthony assured her.
Sandy nodded. "I remember there's no restroom in the private rooms, right?"
As they reached the elevator doors, Sandy suddenly asked Anthony in a hushed voice.
Anthony looked at Hiruma. "Is that true?" RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
Hiruma shook his head. "I didn't notice last time; I always used the one outside."
Sandy glanced at Anthony and said with a light cough, "Well, you know, I've been drinking a lot of water
at home."
Anthony glanced at the lobby. "I'll take you there."
Sandy responded with an "Okay" and followed Anthony in the direction of the restroom.
Hiruma had initially planned to go up by himself, but afraid that Anthony and Sandy might have trouble
finding him, he reluctantly followed them upstairs.
When they reached the restroom door, Anthony looked at Hiruma. "Put the 'Out of Order' sign from the
area under maintenance in front of the women's restroom."
Hiruma turned to Anthony. "But what if there's someone inside?"
Anthony frowned. "Do you want to go in and check?"
Hiruma's eyes widened upon hearing Anthony's suggestion. "Bro, are you kidding me? I'm a real man!
Is it appropriate for me to go into the women's restroom?"
At that moment, Hiruma looked at Sandy. "Miss Thompson, how about you go and check?"
Sandy glanced down at her attire. "I don't think it's appropriate for me to go in like this."
Just then, a girl came out of the women's restroom. Sandy turned to the girl and asked softly, "Excuse
me, are there still people inside?"
The girl's eyes lit up when she saw Sandy and shyly shook her head. "N-No one is inside."
Sandy acknowledged with an "Oh, thank you. I'm looking for my sister."
The girl looked at Sandy and asked, "How old is your sister? Should I help you find her?"
Sandy shook her head. "No, it's okay. I thought she was in the restroom. We'll look for her ourselves."
The girl nodded and turned away.
"Hiruma, go and put it up," Anthony instructed.
Hiruma turned around and fetched the maintenance sign, placing it in front of the women's restroom
door. "Done."
Chapter 888: Just let others gossip
Sandy glanced around and then looked at Anthony. "I'll be quick."
With that, Sandy swiftly rushed into the women's restroom.
When Sandy came out and saw the person standing next to Anthony, she couldn't help but pause.
"Done?" Anthony spotted Sandy first and greeted her.
Sandy nodded. "Yes."
Aaron looked at the person who came out of the women's restroom and furrowed his brow slightly.
"You... You look familiar."
Sandy smiled. "Do I? Have we met before?"
Anthony was originally going to introduce them, but seeing Sandy pretend not to recognize Aaron, he
didn't casually speak up and even gave Hiruma a warning look.
Hiruma understood Anthony's gaze and nodded, indicating that he wouldn't say much.
Aaron, hearing this, didn't say anything further and instead turned to Anthony, whispering, "Bro, do you
have time to go home for a while? Uncle and Aunt haven't seen you in a long time, and Aunt really
misses you."
Anthony nodded. "I know."
Aaron nodded. "Then I'll go first."
Anthony replied, "Okay, take care."
As Aaron was about to leave, he glanced at Sandy's face again and asked, "Do you know her, Sandy?"
Sandy turned to Aaron and answered straightforwardly, "Of course, she's the popular female celebrity
now. We must know each other."
Aaron heard this response and didn't say anything more. He nodded at Anthony and then turned to
leave.
"Do you two not know each other?" Hiruma's voice came right after Aaron left. "Aren't you both in the
same circle? You should know each other, right?"
Anthony also looked at Sandy. "Was Aaron behind the rumors between you two?"
Sandy didn't answer Anthony's question directly but instead asked in return, "Do you know each other?
Are you brothers? Blood-related?"
Anthony nodded. "He's my cousin."
Sandy nodded. "So you're all family. No wonder I felt like you resembled him. I didn't want to ask you
before."
After saying that, Sandy looked at Anthony. "Let's go."
Anthony gestured for Hiruma to remove the sign and then turned to follow Sandy's steps. "You didn't
answer my question earlier. Was Aaron responsible for the rumors between you two last time?"
Sandy shook her head. "Yes and no. But it's all in the past, so let's not bring it up."
Sandy had almost forgotten about the previous incident. In the entertainment industry, rumors can
circulate between anyone. Good or bad, they all happen. It's a matter of getting used to it. If you can't
handle it and let it affect you, it only shows a weak mindset.
Sandy entered this industry with the belief that, besides acting skills, having a strong mindset was
crucial. In most cases, she wouldn't be affected even if others were crumbling.
However, it still depended on the situation and the person.
Regarding the incident with Aaron last time, Sandy did take it personally. After all, it was deliberate, and
Aaron was just a pawn.
Seeing that Sandy didn't want to elaborate, Anthony didn't ask further.
It was already around 6:30 pm when they finished dinner. The three of them drove to the outskirts for
the light show.
"The show has just started. Anthony, you go in first, and I'll join you after parking the car," Hiruma
suggested.
Hiruma parked the car at the entrance and gestured for Anthony and Sandy to get out first. He would
find them once he parked the car.
Anthony agreed and opened the door, stepping out of the car. Then he reached out and helped Sandy
out. "You can find us at our spot later."
Hiruma acknowledged and, after Anthony closed the door, he accelerated and drove away.
Once Hiruma left, Anthony looked at Sandy and whispered, "Let's go."
Sandy didn't move and looked down at Anthony's hand that was holding hers.
As Anthony realized Sandy's gaze, he quickly released her hand. "I'm sorry."
Sandy shook her head. "It's fine. Let's go."
There were quite a lot of people gathered to watch the light show, and it was crowded.
As they made their way inside, Sandy couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If she had known it would
be this crowded, she probably wouldn't have come. But now that they were here, she could only push
through with determination.
"Give me your hand." After walking inside for a while, Anthony reached out his hand to Sandy.
Sandy looked at Anthony's outstretched hand and hesitated before extending her own hand.
With Anthony pulling her along, Sandy felt the crowd wasn't as overwhelming anymore.
Anthony did his best to shield her from the crowd and protect her.
After walking through the crowd for a while, they finally reached the best viewing spot at the center.
Anthony pulled Sandy up and, while standing guard, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I'm
sorry, I didn't expect so many people to come tonight."
"It's okay."
Anthony looked at Sandy's cheeks and the tips of her ears, which had turned slightly red from the
previous congestion. His Adam's apple involuntarily bobbed, and he forced himself to look away.
But his peripheral vision still caught a glimpse of Sandy's profile.
The lights in front shone on Sandy's face, making her even more enchanting.
When Sandy sensed someone looking at her, she turned her head to see.
Anthony naturally leaned in closer to Sandy. "Is it beautiful?"
Sandy paused for a moment and nodded. "Not bad. I came here once before with my sister, but the
light show wasn't as impressive back then."
Anthony remarked, "With advanced technology nowadays, many things have become highly
sophisticated."
Just as they were talking, there was a sudden shout from the crowd.
Anthony and Sandy turned their gaze simultaneously.
The large screen on one side suddenly displayed hearts and then proceeded to show individual photos,
each taken from a different angle.
There was a live camera set up in front of the screen.
When Anthony saw the photos on the screen, he turned to look at Sandy. "Your fans are this crazy?"
Sandy hadn't expected to encounter this situation here and felt somewhat bewildered.
Discussions arose from the surrounding crowd.
"Isn't that Sandy, the rising female artist?"
"I heard she switched from Simsang Entertainment to Gotrend Entertainment because of some hidden
rules!"
"Is it true? But I have to say that the CEO of Gotrend Entertainment is a bit more handsome than the
CEO of Simsang Entertainment! If it were up to me, I would also choose Mr. Hughs from Gotrend
Entertainment!"
"Really? But the CEO of Simsang Entertainment, Mr. He, is also handsome, you know?"
"Well, different people have different preferences. Sandy just likes someone like Mr. Hughs from
Gotrend Entertainment!"
"But in the end, they're all sleeping around. As long as it's a handsome guy, it's all good!"
The comments behind them sounded rather cold. Anthony's expression turned cold, and he was about
to refute when Sandy reached out and stopped him. "Words come out of other people's mouths, and
you can't control that."
"But what they said..."
"Mr. Austi, you might not be familiar with the rules of the entertainment industry. Many times, things are
not what you've done, but what others can convincingly claim you've done. Even you would start
believing it yourself."