The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

EVERYONE was patiently waiting outside the two holographic rooms.  Looking at the two doors from time to time to see if the acting points would appear, signaling the end of this ridiculous 'bet'. 

"What was the movie they were acting on?" a voice suddenly asked, breaking the silence.  Everyone once again looked at the woman.  "What?  Did I ask something that I shouldn't have?" she added, amusedly.

Every time she spoke, these group of people would always look at her as if they didn't expect her to talk at all.  What an interesting bunch. 

The assistant, who picked the movie, cleared his throat.  "It's [Dreams Lost]."

This time, it was the assistant's turn to receive the others gazes.  Well, except from Reas.  Which was probably only because he wasn't familiar with the said movie.

"Why did you pick this movie?" Chris asked.

It was a classic movie that was released 30 years ago.  It had many emotional scenes that many artists today used to practice and hone their acting skills.  Not many could even pass the score of 90 whenever they used this movie to practice. 

The assistant scratched his cheek.  "Well, I just thought that if I picked that movie, young master Blair wouldn't be able to complain even if he lost."

"What scene did you pick?" Chris asked again with a little helpless tone. 

"It's the scene where the male lead first killed someone."

Lauren gave a thumbs up.  "Good choice."

When things were pretty evident, even Blair would have to accept that Astrid had defeated him.  Although with that unreasonable character of his, he might make a fuss first before accepting the result.

Ellis looked interestingly at these people.  Based on their reaction, she could tell that they were already expecting for this 'Astrid' to win.  But from the conversation she had heard, this person was only someone who Lauren brought here.  And yet they believed that Grant's brother would lose. 

She was also not familiar with Grant's brother.  But Grant had mentioned before that this brother of his had already ventured in the entertainment industry.  And he's been giving him a headache.  That was already a few years ago.  It meant that the other was not a newcomer and at least had filming experience. 

Supposed that Astrid was a newcomer, then Blair would still have the advantage.  And yet this newcomer, challenged the other into this 'bet'.  Ellis found this situation very interesting.  That's why she asked to come along.  Because her gut was telling her that she might find something unexpected at the end of it.

Looking at the reaction of these people, it seemed that her gut feel didn't disappoint her.

Then the small monitor beside the door of the two holographic rooms suddenly lighted up and the acting points appeared.  Seeing the bright '90' points on the door to the right, an almost imperceptible smile appeared on her lips.

Well, it seemed that she just found a treasure.

The door to the left then opened and a voice full of disbelief followed;

"No-- how could that be?!"

Blair couldn't believe what he was seeing.  90 points?  How could that guy get 90 points?  That's impossible!  Did he cheat?

"Before you started accusing anyone of cheating and the likes, I want to remind you that a holographic room literally has an anti-cheat system.  So, it's impossible for someone to manipulate the acting points they would get.  If you're still not satisfied, you can ask for the record of this holographic room and check Astrid's performance yourself," Lauren said, before the other could start his rant.

Hearing this familiar irritating voice, Blair quickly flared up and glared at Lauren.  He wanted to refute him.  Tell him that there's no way that fling of his could get that score.  But as much as he wanted to do that, he couldn't.  Because he would only make a fool of himself. 

Just like what Lauren said, it's impossible to manipulate the acting points that one would get in a holographic room.  So, was this the truth then?

Before he could even come to terms with that fact, the door of the other holographic room opened and Lauren's fling walked out.  The other blinked, as if surprised seeing the additional people outside.  Then, he looked at the score on Blair's holographic room before turning to look at his own score.

The other turned and smiled at him.  "It looks like I won the bet, young master."

Blair gritted his teeth.  Even though the other's smile appeared gentle, in his eyes, it's only full of mockery and condescension.  But he had to admit that he really had lost.  If he continued to make excuses, he would only make a fool of himself.

But that didn't mean he could just accept this result.  He clenched his fists.  He would do what that jerk Lauren said earlier – check the records to see just how he lost to this person.  He took a deep breath, calming himself, and trying his best not to shout and tell the other that he didn't believe that he lost.

He raised his chin and said, "I apologized for the way I acted."

After saying that, he turned around and walked away.  He didn't want to stay here with these people.

Astrid raised one of his brows while watching the back of the other.  He was actually expecting him to complain and shout at him, telling him that he cheated.  What he didn't expect was this overly peaceful outcome.  Well, it seemed that this young master wasn't really that much of a cannon-fodder material.

"What kind of apology was that?" Lauren mumbled before turning to Astrid.  "That's an amazing score, Astrid!  Do you know how hard it was to get 90 points in this movie?  Even I could only get about 87 points.  Oh, and sorry if that guy, Blair, troubled you.  He and I are not really in good terms, so, he probably did that because he thought you have some connection with me."

Astrid chuckled.  He almost couldn't keep up with how fast the other was talking.  "It's fine.  All's well that ends well."

Reas glanced sideways at his brother and he could only shake his head.  He was again reminded how good the other was in calculating situations that would ultimately end in his advantage. 

Ellis, who was a bit shaken when he saw Astrid's appearance, finally showed the first genuine smile she had for weeks.