Chapter 264. The Fake Photo

Chapter 264. The Fake Photo
The moment Jacintha stepped out of the car, she saw Carol standing at the entrance.

Carol waved enthusiastically. “Jacintha!”

Surprised to see Carol there, Jacintha hurried over and let Carol pull her into a hug.

“Carol, what are you doing here?”

Carol smiled mysteriously. “Surprised, right? I was just as surprised to find out you’re the female lead in the adaptation of my comic.”

Jacintha’s eyes widened. “What a coincidence.”

Carol nodded, her smile growing even brighter. “From what I knew at first, the female lead was supposed to be a foreign actress. I only found out today that she’d been replaced by you. This is the first time we’ve worked on the same project together. I’m so excited.”

“Jacintha, you look gorgeous today.” Suddenly, Carol pulled back and looked her up and down. “I can’t tell whether you came here to film or to kill someone.”

Jacintha laughed. “Who could I possibly kill?”

“All the men in this studio, obviously.”

Jacintha burst out laughing. “You still talk nonsense like always.”

“I’m not talking nonsense.” Carol lowered her voice and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “Lucien has already asked me three times when you were getting here.”

Jacintha arched a brow. “Why’s he in such a hurry?”

“How should I know? But he does seem pretty interested in you, doesn’t he?”

Seeing the excitement on Carol’s face, Jacintha felt nothing but a headache coming on. It was a good thing Carol didn’t run into Raphael very often. Otherwise, with Carol’s habit of trying to pair her up with other people, Raphael would probably have been jealous enough to explode.

Just then, a deep male voice rang out. “Looks like I arrived at exactly the right time.”

She turned around.

The man standing a few steps away from her was tall. He was dressed in a white shirt and a gray jacket, his face bright and full of life. But what drew the eye most was the way his eyes always seemed to be smiling, giving him an unmistakably warm and approachable air.

Lucien took the initiative and held out his hand. “Hello, Jacintha. We meet again.”

Jacintha shook his hand. “Hello, Mr. Jones.”

“Don’t be so formal. We’ve already shared a meal, so that makes us friends, doesn’t it? Just call me Lucien.”

Looking into Lucien’s sincere, welcoming eyes, and out of simple courtesy, Jacintha gave a small nod. “All right. Lucien.”

“Haha, hearing my name come from those pretty lips of yours makes it sound strangely sweet.”

Carol immediately coughed beside them. “Lucien, you should remember you’re talking to a married woman. Don’t flirt so casually.”

“I was only complimenting her.” Lucien shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

Jacintha wasn’t bothered by that kind of teasing. Lucien spoke with an easy naturalness, without sounding like he was deliberately trying to charm her, so the atmosphere quickly became lighter. As they walked inside, he introduced her to the filming area, the script-reading room, the costume-fitting schedule, and along the way told a few amusing stories about the crew that made Jacintha laugh more than once.

At one point, Lucien turned to her and said, “I honestly thought working with a globally famous star would be a headache. I didn’t expect you to be easier to talk to than most of my screenwriters.”

“That’s because you haven’t seen her when she’s angry yet,” Carol cut in at once.

“I’d love the chance to see that.” Lucien smiled. “The prettier someone is, the more interesting they usually are when they’re mad.”

Jacintha shot him a glance. “So you’re saying you want to see me angry all the time?”

“No, no, no... I’m just trying to build a good relationship with my leading lady.”

The three of them chatted as they walked, and before long they reached the lighting test room.

There were quite a lot of people inside. Lucien led her around once, then stopped in front of a large screen to explain a few scenes. He spoke with focus, and everything he said was clear and to the point. In less than half an hour, Jacintha had already understood why someone as young as he was could still manage to take control of such a major entertainment company.

As the discussion was nearing its end, a staff member hurried over and said that one of the pins on Jacintha’s collar had come loose.

Lucien glanced over, then smiled. “Let me fix that for you.”

Before Jacintha could react, he had already stepped closer. The distance between them instantly narrowed. Lucien lowered his head and reached out to adjust the collar pin for her. His movements didn’t touch her much, but because he was standing so close, from an outside angle it looked as though they were kissing.

Once he finished fixing it, Lucien deliberately lowered his voice and murmured one more sentence.

“I just hope Raphael doesn’t have me killed over this.”

Jacintha laughed. “You’re overthinking it.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

The moment he finished speaking, the faint click of a camera shutter came from a hidden corner outside the door. Jacintha didn’t hear it, but Lucien heard it very clearly.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, then the expression was gone in an instant.

The session ended close to noon. Jacintha had only just gotten into the car to rest for a moment when her phone began vibrating nonstop.

Lucas had sent her several messages.

The first was a link to a post. The second was a screenshot. The third contained only a single line: I’ll deal with the online uproar, so don’t say anything at all for now.

When Jacintha opened it, she saw that the post contained a candid photo taken in secret.

The photo had been taken with unsettling skill. From that angle, Lucien looked as though he were bowing his head and leaning in close to her neck, while she smiled with easy warmth. It was only an ordinary moment, yet in someone else’s hands, it had been turned into something else entirely.

The comments below were even harder to stomach.

“So after disappearing for a year, Jacintha is finally making a comeback with a new film project?”

“She’s barely come back and she’s already caught up in scandal.”

“Who’s the man in the photo with Jacintha? Is he a new actor? He looks so charming and handsome! Honestly, they look perfect together.”

“You were cursing Sharon before for cheating while she was dating Raphael, but now Jacintha is cheating with another man and suddenly you think they look good together?”