Chapter 401: Chapter 401: Won’t Sit and Wait for Death
It was just that Noelle and her friends kept in mind that Owen Sinclair was present, and Ashley Shaw and her friends also took notice.
Of course, it wasn’t because they were afraid of making a bad impression in front of Owen, but rather they simply thought it would be very embarrassing to argue in front of him.
Owen treated them as young friends, so naturally, it wouldn’t be right for them to argue with others in front of an elder.
Thus, both parties tacitly suppressed any signs of discord.
Ashley even managed a smile as she accepted the bottle of mineral water Owen handed over.
"Thank you, Uncle Owen."
"What for? Hurry and take a sip of water. On the phone, your voice made me think you had been crying."
Ashley had indeed cried, but that was because Elder Prescott told her he was sad.
Yet it only lasted a minute before both she and Elder Prescott’s emotions returned to normal, though Owen had apparently caught onto it.
But Ashley, of course, wouldn’t mention this; she merely smiled and said, "My throat did indeed feel like it was burning earlier."
Owen immediately instructed the assistant beside him, "Find a time to buy a humidifier."
"Yes," the assistant replied.
Owen then turned to explain to Ashley, "The north isn’t like the south; the air is too dry. Put a humidifier in your rooms, and this won’t happen again."
Ashley quickly waved her hand, "No need to go through that trouble, we’ll be leaving the hotel soon anyway."
"You’ll find it useful in the dorms as well, no need to be polite with me."
Throughout the conversation, Ariana Grant had been keeping an eye on Noelle and the others’ expressions.
When she saw their faces look worse than if they’d eaten dirt, she realized that the important person they mentioned wanting to meet at the counter was Owen!
And Owen was meant to audition these three people.
Isn’t this a blatant face-slap?
The others thought they were "poor" and defenseless, so they could bully them at will.
Well, now they’re definitely in a panic!
Ariana couldn’t help but curl her lips, thinking: Ha! You didn’t expect that the "interviewer" you’re auditioning for actually knows us.
Naturally, Noelle understood what the expression on Ariana’s face meant, and bit her lip until it turned white in anger.
Damn it, just what exactly is the relationship between these two and Owen?
Looking at their modest outfits, how did they even meet Owen?
Especially with how concerned Owen seemed, even unscrewing the water bottle for them in advance.
But regardless of her grudge, once Owen turned his back, all three of them put on varying degrees of brilliant smiles.
Ariana marveled inwardly: Truly as expected from drama students.
Owen then said, "Well, that’s settled for now. I still need to go back and discuss the specifics of the result."
Even though he said "discuss the specifics," the three of them knew this was pretty much a done deal, as they’d been here yesterday too.
Originally, the three of them were very happy, but now...
Looking at Ashley and Ariana behind Owen, they inexplicably couldn’t quite bring themselves to be pleased.
"Well, you can go back now. Once there’s a result, I’ll have my assistant inform you."
"Thank you, Actor Sinclair."
All three of them thanked him in unison, then passed by Ashley and Ariana as if they were strangers.
Once outside the hotel doors, the red-haired woman immediately spoke, "Noelle, those two seem to have an unusual relationship with Actor Sinclair. Could it affect your signing?"
Of the three, only Noelle was offered a contract.
But neither of the other two were upset, as even today’s audition slots had been something Noelle managed to compete for them.
Clinging to Noelle, even if they couldn’t sign with Owen’s company, surely they’d sign with another, right?
So neither dared to be unhappy; rather, they were happy for Noelle.
Because only if Noelle was happy could they get a share of the pie.
They even feared that they would sign, but Noelle wouldn’t, so the current result was the best.
And when Noelle went downstairs, she was indeed very happy. She had already found out through her dad’s connections that being signed by Owen meant she could join a crew for a great movie.
Owen indeed saw potential in her appearance and acting skills.
Only, that happiness dissipated the moment Owen unscrewed the bottle cap for Ashley.
Upon hearing the red-haired woman’s comment, her face turned even more sour.
Noelle clenched her hands tightly, her voice icy, "If Owen doesn’t sign me because of this, I won’t sit idly by."
So what if Owen was "highly respected" in the entertainment circle?
Take away the star aura, and a celebrity is just a normal person.
But her family was involved in politics; how could ordinary people fight against her?
Still, she didn’t want to lose such a great opportunity because of mere nobodies.
She didn’t want to fall out with Owen unless absolutely necessary.
But she feared... what if Owen was also a dimwit?
The two girls beside her, noting her off tone, quickly coaxed her.
"Joining Owen’s company is lucky for him. I believe he won’t refuse good fortune."
"Exactly! Even at the worst, if you were an ordinary person, losing an artist as outstanding as you would still be his loss."
What they said truly resonated with Noelle, lifting her mood a bit.
"I need to go home today; you guys go ahead and hang out."
She planned to give her parents a heads-up to avoid them blaming her later on.
"Sure, we’ll also help you find out who these two girls really are."
Being friends with Noelle, they were naturally not ordinary people either.
They were all from the same circle, commonly known as the second-generation officals.
Just that their positions weren’t as high as Noelle’s family.
Knowing that often, their information was even more up to date than hers, Noelle nodded accordingly.
"Go investigate."
Meanwhile—
At the hotel.
Once Noelle and her friends left, Owen led the others back into the elevator, heading to the underground parking lot.
Once inside the car, Ariana could no longer hold back and asked Owen, "Hey idol, did you sign all three of them?"
Owen, assuming she was simply curious, answered with a smile, "I’m planning to inquire about the one in the black-and-white jacket at her school. If there are no conduct issues, I’ll sign her. As for the other two... their looks and acting didn’t quite suffice."
Although they looked fairly good, their faces displayed too much technological enhancement, which would be even more evident on screen due to the silicone effects.
They might just about pass for TV dramas, but not for films.
The big screen is the truest test of beauty.
Especially since those two’s acting was quite fake.
However, he was quite satisfied with Noelle.
Ariana immediately nodded, "I felt the same about those two, but the one you signed also..."
"Ariana." Ashley timely cut off Ariana, saying, "Since we’re heading to Uncle Owen’s for dinner, how about dropping your diet for tonight?"
At the mention of food, Ariana’s attention immediately shifted.
She was torn between her desire to eat and her wish to stick to her diet.
Owen had already discreetly observed their reactions.
Although in the hotel lobby earlier, all five young women appeared normal, drama students excel at observing, and even more so did he with his innate keen observation; he had a vague inkling that something was amiss.