Jax's 'private lessons' were seriouly working.
But what was even more significant, were the rumors swirling around the training facility.
"Hey, look, Jax is giving Charlotte special coaching again…"
"Oh my god, didn't she just fail to get with Leo? How is she already going after Jax?"
"Seriously, which guy can resist a face like that?"
Since that night, the hostility from the other trainees towards Charlotte had intensified, but Charlotte ignore it, as always.
That afternoon, Jax was drilling the S03 group on their moves.
His attitude towards Charlotte had shifted from disgust and yelling to a frustrated strictness — a desire to push her to realized her potential.
"Charlotte, your core! Where's the technique I showed you last night?"
Just as she was about to answer, Emily walked over, smiling, holding two cups of coffee. "Jax, Charlotte, you're working so hard. Have some coffee."
Emily handed one cup to Jax, then turned towards Charlotte.
"Charlotte, you look tired too…"
The moment Emily approached Charlotte, she accidentally twisted her ankle…
"Ah!"
A whole cup of scalding Americano coffee splashed, completely drenching Charlotte's sheet music and dance notes spread out on the floor.
It was the result of her coding efforts, recorded during several all-nighters!
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Charlotte! I really didn't mean to!" Emily apologized, her eyes instantly welling up with panicked tears.
Charlotte stared at the mess. Before she could even react, a furious shout solved the problem for her.
"Emily!"
Jax's face was frozen with anger. He pulled Charlotte behind him and unleashed a torrent of rage at Emily.
"Are you blind or what?!"
"Do you have any idea how important that score is to her? Does an apology fix this?"
Jax's reaction was even more intense than Charlotte's, the actual victim.
Emily burst into tears from the shouting. "Jax… I… I really didn't mean it… I just wanted to…"
"You just wanted to ruin her," Jax said coldly.
Just as the atmosphere in the practice room turned ice-cold, a cold voice came over the intercom throughout the entire building.
"Emily."
"Come to my office. Now."
The entire room fell into dead silence.
Only Jax looked up at the ceiling where the speaker was, muttering an annoyed "Tch."
When his eyes caught the trainees gawking, he roared, "What are you standing around for? Get back to practice!"
Emily's face became unreadable. Enduring the looks of both mockery and horror from the other trainees, she ran out of the practice room in humiliation.
As for Charlotte, she didn't even spare Emily a glance.
She squatted down, picked up the coffee-soaked, blurred scores, and went to the print room to print the backup she had on her phone.
On the way, she overheard several trainees quietly debating whether Leo's action was a rescue or a punishment.
She wasn't curious at all; the answer would come out naturally once the show aired.
However, barely two minutes later, Leo's stern warning and Emily's suppressed sobs came through the intercom again.
"Emily, Starlight is a commercial project worth half a billion. It's not a playground for you to play out your petty rivalries or indulge your jealousy."
"Emily, wake up. Charlotte returned with 67% support. She is now the most controversial contestant on the entire network with the highest potential for commercial gain."
"Her commercial value and risk far exceed yours. Your actions directly threatened a core assets of the project itself."
"Leo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just worried Charlotte was stressed and wanted to tell her to rest. The coffee… it was truly just an accident."
"Intentionally damaging another person's property and disrupting the recording order—per the contract, I can demand full compensation and terminate your contract immediately."
"If you have the skill, win against her on stage. But if your only move is a low-cost stunt like splashing coffee…"
"You'll only end up looking more petty than she is."
Charlotte shook her head, a little exasperated. This guy was truly ruthless and efficient, deliberately broadcasting their conversation without any concern for Emily's reputation.
After the conversation ended, she looked up, pinpointing the surveillance camera in the corner of the practice room.
She knew Leo was watching.
She mouthed two silent words to the camera: "Thank you."
In the monitoring room, Leo stared at the enlarged image of her face—a mix of defiance and gratitude. In his dark eyes, a sense of possessiveness which he hadn't yet recognized himself briefly flickered…
The set of the first official Starlight Girls promotional photo shoot was busy with people.
Charlotte, dressed in the uniform, stood off to the side.
Her eyes were locked on the man at the center of the studio: a genius photographer wearing a black utility vest, his long hair casually tied back, radiating a palpable 'do not approach' vibe.
Evan, the photography world's prodigy, the owner in name only of 'Eclipse Photography,' and 520's newest target.
The thought of seducing the man who was essentially the destroyer of the original Charlotte made her feel sick!
Currently, Evan was snapping photos of Emily, who was smiling sweetly for his lens. The two looked perfectly in sync.
"Hmph, what a picture-perfect couple," Charlotte scoffed inwardly.
She needed to get close to Evan to get his private contact information for the next phase of technical infiltration. But asking directly? Given the original Charlotte's current reputation, Evan would just tell her to scram.
It looked like she had to come up with a ploy.
When it was Charlotte's turn to shoot, she walked towards the center of the set. As she passed Evan, her high-heeled shoe 'accidentally' twisted.
"Ah!"
She stumbled and fell towards Evan.
Evan's brow furrowed sharply. His instinctive reaction wasn't to catch her, but to save his expensive camera.
"Thud!"
Charlotte fell hard at his feet, instantly scraping her knee.
"What are you doing?" Evan's voice was as cold as ice shards, his eyes filled with disgust. "Targeting the head director wasn't enough, now it's my turn?"
A ripple of mockery went through the onlookers.
Emily, standing nearby, gasped. "Charlotte, are you okay? Evan hates unprofessional behavior…"
Charlotte's eyes were reddened with 'pain,' and she looked up, her wide, doe eyes filled with 'panic.'
"I-I'm sorry, Evan… I didn't mean to… I'll pay for it!"
She fumbled in her pocket for her phone: "C-can I have your Zelle account, please… I'll transfer the money right away."
Evan was about to refuse impatiently, but looking at the blood on her knee and her overly innocent eyes, he paused for a moment, despite his better instincts.
"Here." He input his personal number coldly into her phone.
The moment Charlotte lowered her head, the 'panic' in her eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, victorious sneer.
"Evan," she stood up, her voice suddenly calm and deep, audible only to the two of them, "Do you… really hate me that much?"
Evan froze, and before he could process the sudden shift in her tone, she had already turned and walked towards the shooting area.