The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

"DON'T worry about this Jesse Norris business anymore," Ellis said. "This time, I'd do it without any mistakes."

"Sister Ellis, it's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. We couldn't have predicted Jesse Norris to be this, well, crazy," Astrid said. "I'm sure he wouldn't try anything after this."

He might think of it, but if there was at least one sensible adult around him, then they would definitely stop him from doing anything crazy again. Surely, they could see how bad it would be for Jesse if he continued this kind of actions.

Ellis nodded. Although she still felt that she was negligent that's why something like this happened. She really needed to up her game.

"We'll continue to sue him and add this latest transgression," she said. "Do you want him to go to jail? What he did would probably enough to send him to prison."

"Nah. His family would bail him out anyway. They would definitely try to make a deal with you. So, Sister Ellis should make sure to rack in as much money as you could. And also, make a signed statement that Jesse wouldn't go near me or try anything that could hurt myself or my reputation in the next five years. If he does, then, the agreement will be null and void."

The plan at first was to sue him and let him learn his lesson. But since that didn't work, they might as well earn some money while making sure that Jesse wouldn't be able to do the same thing again. Why five years? Because Astrid was sure that he would be so big by then that someone like Jesse wouldn't even dare to touch him.

"That's a good plan," Ellis nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to get a good deal."

"I'm sure you will."

"By the way, the result of [The Great War] audition will be sent tomorrow. Once I received the confirmation that you get the role, I will immediately call you," Ellis said, finally changing the subject.

Astrid nodded.

They talked for a bit more before Ellis said goodbye and left. He was preparing to sleep when he received a video call from his parents. He didn't think much and just answered it.

"Aster, are you alright? Who is that bastard Jesse Norris that tried to do that evil thing to you? Don't be afraid and tell your dad. I will definitely make him pay!" his father said, face fuming with anger.

Emmy suddenly slapped her husband's arm. "Can you please stop talking like you're some sort of assassin or something? You'll scared our son." Then, she turned to Astrid. "If that person hurt you in any way, your Uncle Leigh would be more than willing to send poison to him and ruin his face."

Astrid suddenly didn't know how to react. It's like he was bombarded from both sides and he became lightheaded. But one thing's for sure, if he said 'yes', his parents would definitely do what they just said.

"Ahm, please, calm down first," he said. "How did Mom and Dad know about this?"

"From one of our neighbors! They're really active in [Cyberspace]. When they found out that you're planning to be a star, they tried to look for any news about you. Then, he found this post today about you being bullied by someone named Jesse Norris. They also found out that you've been bullied online this past weekend," Emmy explained. Then, she gave her son a disapproving glance. "If we didn't find out about this today, are you not planning to tell us anything?"

Astrid didn't know what to say for a second. He felt guilty because what his mother said was true. He was indeed not planning to tell them anything. In his opinion, such an incident was truly not a cause for worry. Of course, his parents wouldn't think the same. But still.

That one second silence was enough for Emmy to know that her guess was right. She sighed. "Astrid, do you think we're incompetent that's why you refuse to tell us any problems that you encountered?"

"Of course not!" Astrid quickly denied. "I just don't want you to worry. Besides, everything is under control. My agent is doing a good job of protecting me the best she could. This only happened because we didn't expect that this Jesse Norris would dare to do something like this. And nothing really happened in the end. You know how strong my mental strength is. Before those men could even touch me, they had already fainted. I'm sorry if I didn't say anything. But I don't want you to worry unnecessarily."

"Worrying is our job as your parents," Emmy said. "No matter how strong you are, we would always want to protect you in our own way. So, please, if something like this happened again, tell us. I don't want to learn something like this again from one of our neighbors."

"Better yet, you should avoid things that could lead to such situations," Gage added.

"Avoiding such things from happening is almost impossible in that industry," Emmy said.

Especially with their son's appearance. If Astrid had a big family supporting him from behind, this might not be that much of an issue. But in the outside world, he was just from a normal family. It's times like this that she wondered if it would have been better if she stayed in touch with her family. Not for her, but for her children.

"I promise to be careful from now on," Astrid said. "And if a problem like this happened again, I will try to inform you. So, please, don't worry too much, okay, Mom, Dad?"

Emmy could feel that this son of hers wouldn't tell them much if a problem indeed arose like this one. Even if he did, he would probably tell them that he would solve it himself. Well, this was probably better than not telling them anything at all, at least.

"Is there still anything you're hiding from us?" she asked.

There was and there's a lot. Like accidentally meeting her mother's family when they arrived at the capital, Reas having trouble with a Lancaster during his training at the military academy, or him being friends with the Empire's prince. All of those could put his parent's worry through the roof.

He smiled, not showing anything. "There are some little things. But they're not a cause for worry."

Times like this, he was truly glad that he was an actor. Because if he wanted to, he could lie with ease.

His mother narrowed her eyes at him, as if scrutinizing whether he was telling the truth or not. But at the end, she could only sigh and let it be.

Astrid talked some more with his parents before they ended the call. He knew this really didn't put his parents' mind at ease. He was thinking that when the doorbell to his apartment rang.

Wondering who could it be, he stood up and walked to the door. When he saw the person on the monitor beside the door.

He quickly opened it and saw a man with white hair standing there with his golden eyes filled with worry.

"Wulf, what are you doing here?"