Chapter 221: Viral
Just a few hours ago, Cedrick was being called a lot of names, and the series itself was receiving criticism—even a threat of a boycott—had started. But now, fans were screaming their heads off, chanting Cedrick’s name like he was some kind of hero.
Manager Kang was worried. As he and Simon walked toward the hall where the reading would occur, he pulled out his phone to check. Just as he didn’t need to check how bad the news about Cedrick had been, the new trend was right there, ready to slap him in the face.
Manager Kang stopped dead in his tracks.
"What?" Simon asked quietly, glancing back as his manager fell a few paces behind him. "Manager Kang?"
Manager Kang didn’t move or react. He just stared at his phone, fixated on a new article with comments pouring in nonstop.
The article had only one title: [Behind the Scenes]
Inside, Cedrick had finally responded to criticism about him getting the part of Ryker in a very famous project: The Angel’s Revenge. Manager Kang barely skimmed through it, then clicked the link to Cedrick’s "response" to the criticism.
The moment he did, he was redirected to Cedrick’s social media account. It had been years since Cedrick had posted anything on his page, but now there were a few updates. The newest post, just minutes old, was a teaser promotional video of him with a boy-next-door theme.
The number of shares, likes, and comments had already jumped hundreds since Manager Kang clicked it.
The second post was just a photo—a close-up, black-and-white image of Cedrick that only highlighted his eyes. The shadow on the other half of his face was darker, showing two sides of him.
Then came the first post he had made: his audition clip.
"..." Manager Kang played the short clip, his mouth falling open before he swallowed hard. His phone trembled a little as he stared at Cedrick, who, at the end of the two-minute clip, looked into the camera as if to say: I know you are watching.
It was a short clip, but he couldn’t help but feel unsettled by it. Simon’s audition had already gone viral because of his acting, but this? Hundreds of people were sharing it every hour—perhaps thousands, considering the total number of shares in less than two hours.
He’s really good, Manager Kang thought, flinching when Simon spoke beside him.
"What is happening? People actually call this good?"
Slowly, Manager Kang turned to Simon, who was now holding his phone and stalking Cedrick. The manager might be the corrupt type, but he genuinely had an eye for talent.
Simon’s audition is good, and I knew he should’ve gotten the role, he thought. But now that I’ve seen Cedrick’s... even I have to admit this... this is Ryker.
Ryker, after all, never acted crazy. If anything, Ryker’s kind of crazy was the type that gaslighted and manipulated the entire world to see otherwise. That was why Cedrick’s audition clip wasn’t something people would applaud—it was something that left an unsettling feeling.
"What?" Simon gasped after a second, turning to Manager Kang. "Manager Kang, what is the meaning of this?"
"Huh?"
Simon then shoved his phone in his manager’s face. "This!"
Manager Kang crossed his eyes and drew his head back to see better. The moment he finally looked at the screen properly, his jaw literally dropped.
"What—what—how—" His breath hitched, making Simon clench his teeth as he retrieved his phone. "How could this happen? Why... why would Slater repost Cedrick’s post? They knew each other?!"
****
[Earlier in the Penthouse]
"Give me your phone." Lola opened her palm, smiling at Slater mischievously.
Slater narrowed his eyes. "Before I do that, will you promise not to delete your number?"
"Of course!" she intoned. "Wait. Why would you even think I would do that?"
"Everyone does that," he shrugged, raising his pinky. "Pinky promise?"
"What are you? A child?"
"Sis, unless you give me reassurance, I’m not letting you touch my phone."
Just look at this guy... Lola clicked her tongue. He doesn’t have a problem reading my messages, but he can’t even trust me with his phone.
"Fine!" she relented, raising her pinky and curling it around his. She sealed the promise with her thumb. "Happy now?"
"Yep!" he chuckled, and without a problem, he handed his phone to her.
Lola happily adjusted her position beside him while he squeezed himself onto her side.
"Don’t worry. I’m not touching anything else," he quipped, already opening his social media account. "I just need to share something to make it viral."
Slater blinked, watching Lola glance back at him briefly.
"That’s fine with you, right?" She chuckled before searching Cedrick’s username and checking the clips she had uploaded through that account.
"Oh, is that his audition clip?" Slater asked, and she hummed. "Wow. He’s good."
"Of course he is—he’s my artist, after all." Lola unhesitatingly clicked share, then looked up to consider the caption. "What should I say..."
"I will do it!" Slater raised a hand, facing her squarely. "It’s my account, so let me write something!"
Her brows rose slightly, reminded of the countless messages this guy could send. To be fair, if Slater were a stalker, he would be a scary one. After all, the number of messages he could send in a single day was close to harassment.
"Don’t write anything silly," she warned. "I need this to go viral... in a good way."
"Uh-huh."
When Slater got his phone back, he didn’t waste a second and started tapping out his message. In less than a minute, he hit the share button.
"Done!"
"What did you write?" she asked curiously, reaching out to get his phone, but he quickly lifted it away. "What the—hey, did you write something incriminating?"
"Sis, how can you accuse me like that so easily?!"
Lola bit her tongue and took her phone out to check what he wrote. When she finally saw the caption, she gave him a dead look.
"Seriously?"
He grinned. "You’re welcome, sis."
The caption read:
[Sharing this so you can judge, learn, and then realize you’ll never be this good. *Sunglass Emote*
Good job, my friend.]
And sure enough, within minutes, the post went viral. With Slater’s massive fanbase, it instantly reached the top of the trending chart.