Maria stood by Kim’s side, looking up at him with a hint of guilt. After all, she had promised him impulsively.
As if sensing Maria’s gaze, Kim turned his head and their eyes met in that instant.
In his clear pupils, Maria saw herself reflected entirely. She hesitated for a moment as subtle emotions surged within her.
The surrounding reporters quickly snapped photos of the scene, eager to get back and fight for the headline.
Soon after, Maria’s agent came over at Jane’s signal and ended the interview immediately after instructing the media to ask some questions about her new drama again.
Just as Maria breathed a sigh of relief, someone quietly pinched her palm from behind. She looked up and saw Kim smiling at her.
“I’m glad you agreed,” he said carefully holding onto Maria’s hand while struggling to suppress his smile. This was a scene he had dreamed about countless times before but it had actually come true today!
Seeing such joy on Kim’s face for the first time made Maria feel somewhat strange. After all these days knowing him as calm and indifferent; now he seemed nervous and fidgety around her.
“You’re hurting me,” she said helplessly looking down at their hands clasped together.
“Oh… sorry.” Only then did Kim realize what he’d done wrong and quickly let go of Maria’s hand in panic.
“Isn’t it said that doctors have good psychological qualities? I’ve never seen you like this before,” teased Maria with a smile.
“Not for the first time.”
Kim’s gaze softened gradually. “The first time I saw you, the first time I spoke to you, the first time I asked you to dinner-anything related to you makes me nervous.”
The former Kim didn’t believe in love at first sight, and he thought that emotions were highly complex, requiring prolonged exploration.
He could flawlessly perform continuous surgeries throughout the night, effortlessly operate precision instruments, and even give lectures to tens of thousands of people without any issue.
Yet, every time he saw Maria, he felt his heart racing, unsure of himself.
Certain things, once associated with the name Maria, became entirely different for him.
Caught off guard by Kim’s affectionate demeanor, Maria didn’t know how to respond.
She curved her lips into a slight smile, thankfully choosing to remain silent.
Not long after the opening ceremony concluded, Maria’s name once again appeared on the hot search, along with Kim’s.
Then, netizens dug into Kim’s family background, creating an online uproar in an instant.
A wealthy second-generation, a graduate of a prestigious school, and even handsome. Combined with interviews from the opening ceremony circulating online, discussions on the internet went into chaos.
“I-I-I! I’ve met Dr. Ragsdill; I’ve been treated at their hospital. He really is handsome and incredibly gentle! But him being with Maria is truly surreal.”
“A graduate of a prestigious school and also wealthy… Could this person be behind Maria?”
“She’s been trending recently, no wonder she can afford to buy her way into the trends. She definitely found herself a rich boyfriend.”
“Don’t you think Maria doesn’t look happy in those photos?”
“I’m unfollowing Maria now. Just when her career was taking off, she decides to start dating? Laughable. She must not care about her work anymore since she has a rich boyfriend now.”
As they read through all these comments on social media, Maria’s agent felt an intense headache coming on as she rubbed her temples while looking at Maria who was also scrolling through her phone.
“You are really impulsive. How come I never heard you mention this before? Didn’t I tell you, dating is a big deal…”
Although Maria’s agent had been teasing her before, she actually understood Maria’s personality. However, she never expected Maria to give her such a big surprise.
Moreover, Maria seemed quite ordinary when facing Kim.
Maria lowered her gaze, not saying a word. Seeing this, her agent couldn’t help but reach out and pat her shoulder.
“Now we need to figure out how to appease the fans. If their emotions become too intense, it might affect ‘My Youth, My Choice.'”
Maria’s fans seemed quite easygoing before, but with today’s incident, her agent finally realized the terrifying side of fans.
“I…” Maria moved her lips, but all the words got stuck in her throat.
She leaned back in her chair, and her mind was in chaos. However, things had turned into the current situation due to her impulsiveness, and Maria couldn’t anticipate what would happen next.
At that moment, the director came to announce the gathering, and Maria slapped her cheeks, getting up to join the crew on set.
On the way, Maria received a lot of attention, and many crew members even sent their blessings, leaving Maria somewhat bemused.
It was the first formal meeting for the cast. The director didn’t provide much time for greetings and directly selected a few key scenes for the actors to practice the blocking.
Since Corey Woods was more accustomed to filming movies, some of his habits carried over to shooting TV dramas. However, Maria felt that this method of getting to know each other was not bad. At least, it would help her concentrate.
“Well done. We officially start shooting tomorrow. Everyone, go back and adjust your state.” Corey clapped his hands, and the others greeted and prepared to leave.
However, Maria also heard some discussions about herself.
She had no intention of paying attention, looking down at the message from Kim about to pick her up. Just as she hesitated about how to respond, Jane called out, “Maria.”
Jane glanced at her screen and immediately revealed a smile. “I didn’t expect this from you; you hid it well.”
“Ah… well, sorry. This should have caused quite a bit of trouble for the company.”
Maria forced a slight smile and, while sliding her phone screen, saw an exploding Twitter feed and numerous news notifications.
“You don’t need to worry about these things. Do what you need to do.” Seeing Maria’s reaction, Jane comforted her, rubbing Maria’s hair and softly saying, “The company won’t interfere with an artist’s private life. Pursue your happiness, and leave the handling of matters to the company.”
Pursue happiness…
Maria whispered to herself, just about to say something, but when she looked up, she saw Osborn.
“So, you’re here.” The first words Osborn said as he approached were directed at Jane, and his gaze remained on her face.
Maria looked on, her lips slightly pursed.