Chapter 21

“Anne, have you read the news? I was right when I said that a woman like Jean could never settle down and that she was pretentious. It turns out that everything is true.” Tara Banks, Anne’s manager, came in with excitement.

“Please don’t say that. Jean is my best friend. She might be frisky, but I don’t believe that she is that kind of person. She is a good woman.” Anne shook her head repeatedly, the gloom on her face disappearing. She had an innocent look on her face now.

Tara patted Anne on the head. “You are too naïve. I tell you what, stay away from Jean. She is no angel. But her scandal seems to benefit you, though. Do you know how many media outlets want to interview you? And we are in talks to work on several TV series already. It is your time to shine now.”

“No, I can’t do this, Tara. Jean is my friend—”

“How can Jean deserve to be your friend? You must not befriend a dirty thing like her. This is an opportunity that God has endowed upon you. You had better clean up quickly. We have to meet the media at our best. Otherwise, I will have to leave you alone.”

“Umm… alright…”

Anne hesitated, looking sad by lowering her head. But the corners of her mouth curled up in a smile, her eyes filled with delight.

But these were still not enough.

She sent Tara away and then made a call.

…

Jean had just stepped out of the house. She needed to find John. But after exhausting all her personal contacts, she still could not find him. John seemed to have vanished from this world. She received an anonymous message today, telling her that John was seen in the vicinity of her house. She was going to check it out.

Some reporters and former fans hurled insults, rotten eggs, and water bottles at her.

Jenny and two assistants tried their best to protect her.

But the crowd overwhelmed them. Jean’s hat was pulled off, along with several strands of hair. Cameras had recorded her most embarrassing moment.

“Move over!” A roar came like thunder.

Before everyone could know what happened, an unkempt, middle-aged woman, weighing probably 200 kilograms, pushed forward over like a bulldozer. Everyone looked like poor little chicks in front of her.

She stopped in front of Jean, her fleshy face filled with disdain. “Puke! Shameless woman! It was you who seduced my husband!”

Stinky sputum was spat on Jean’s face. Jean closed her eyes, and her hands clenched into fists.

Jenny’s face turned red from anger. “Who are you? Who seduced your husband?”

The middle-aged woman yelled with her arms akimbo. “I am John’s wife. You stay away from this. I am going to teach this woman a lesson today!”

It was John yet again.

How Jean wished she could tear that guy into pieces when she heard the name. She opened her eyes and glared at that middle-aged woman. “I am not blind, okay? John is a compulsive gambler, and only you treat him like a gem. I will not choose him even if men all over the world have died. Don’t get me started with his malicious slander. I—”

Before Jean could finish her sentence, the middle-aged woman rolled up her sleeves and lunged forward. She then grabbed Jean’s hair and slapped her in the face.

“How shameless! You failed to seduce him and slandered him. Do you think all men will revolve around you just because you have an extra pound of meat on your chest? You are shameless. Stop wearing clothes, will you? I am going to strip you naked today!”

Jean felt one side of her face numb, her ear ringing. She felt the world spinning around her.

Jenny and her two assistants were horrified. They tried to pull that middle-aged woman away from Jean. But they could not, as the middle-aged woman was too heavy for them.

“Call the police… hurry!” Jenny hugged Jean in her arms as she tried to stop the overweight, middle-aged woman’s assault.

When the police arrived, Jean’s clothes had been torn apart, exposing most of her shoulder. Some of her hair was ripped off, the corners of her lips cracked, face swollen, neck and cheeks bleeding, scratched by nails.

This was the most embarrassing moment in Jean’s life. When she was assaulted, the onlookers pointed their cameras at her and watched her getting beaten up.

No one sympathized with her. No one reached out to help her.

The video of Jean being assaulted went viral on the Internet. The worst part was, netizens were happy to see that.