Chapter 4

I don't know if Ethan was bad luck.

Soon after, I bumped into someone else.

When she finally saw my face,

She looked like she’d seen a ghost, screaming loudly.

“Elara, I’m sorry. Even though we’re rivals, it’s only professionally. Please don’t come looking for me in broad daylight!”

“I’m terrified of ghosts. I’ll go to the temple tomorrow to burn incense for you.”

Me: ...

After all that fuss, it was just a misunderstanding.

Seeing that I had a shadow while standing in the sun,

Chloe Foster finally calmed down, patting her chest.

“It’s not just me overreacting; everyone at the TV station thought you were dead.”

“Your dad showed up at the director’s office with your death certificate and black-and-white photo, causing a huge scene.”

“He claimed you fell into the sea by accident while interviewing fishermen and insisted that Tiffany take over your job, threatening to cause trouble every day if not.”

To prove I wasn't a ghost, Chloe dragged me to the station.

I hadn’t worked there long.

But I had a good education and strong work ethic, so my colleagues liked me.

Everyone was complaining about Tiffany.

“She can’t even edit a script in a day. When she messes up, all she does is cry, adding so much to our workload.”

“If it weren’t for your sake, and the fact that her fiancé brought in advertising, she would have been fired long ago.”

I couldn’t help but laugh wryly, buying my colleagues bubble tea.

My mood on the way home suddenly felt like I was going to a funeral.

As soon as I entered the house, a cup was suddenly thrown towards the doorway.

I narrowly dodged it.

Then I saw my dad, without even asking what happened, yelling at me.

“Elara, look at what you’ve done. You just had to go to the TV station and embarrass your cousin.”

My mom looked at me with displeasure, her tone full of disapproval and blame.

“Tiffany is pregnant and often takes time off, so her colleagues are already jealous. Now that they know you’re not dead, but she’s taken your position, the boss will definitely make things difficult for her.”

Tiffany’s eyes were red, looking so wronged she was about to cry.

“Elara, I didn’t mean to take over your job.”

“Uncle Richard said it’s best to keep opportunities within the family, and that a radio job is hard to get and brings Ethan prestige, so I agreed.”

My dad rushed to cancel my registration to clear the way for Tiffany.

I thought for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

“Tiffany, your grades were so bad, how could you possibly handle it? Be careful not to take on a role you're not qualified for. You might just bring trouble upon yourself.”

She looked anxious.

“How do you know my grades were bad? Did you remember something?”

“No! I saw your old test papers while packing. Your essays were always miles off-topic, and you couldn’t even get the basic literature questions right.”

My dad noticed her discomfort and was about to scold me again.

Tiffany, afraid I'd reveal more, quickly tried to appease him.

“Uncle Richard, Elara misunderstood; that’s all in the past.”

“Mr. Hayes from Zenith Corp rarely makes appearances; he’s a finance mogul the station has long wanted to interview.”

“Thanks to Ethan collaborating with him, we got in touch. I actually contacted him directly a few days ago.”

Her voice suddenly rose, and she glanced at me.

“I will prove to all of you that I won’t do any worse than anyone else.”

My dad looked relieved, and my mom was proud of her.

I listened, utterly bewildered.

Zenith Corp?

It sounded like a branch company under the Hayes Group.

Was the Mr. Hayes she spoke of Liam, or his distant cousin, Daniel, who was dealing with embezzlement issues?