Chapter 7: Mysterious Guest

Bianca sat in the seat in front of Aurora. The guests mentioned in the official announcement by the production team had all arrived, and the car slowly headed towards the villa.

During the drive, several guests chatted and laughed, while Aurora listened quietly, occasionally joining in the conversation. Compared to the others, she was relatively quiet.

Bianca, a natural social butterfly, had become the center of attention. She enjoyed the feeling of being admired and occasionally turned back to look at Aurora with a smug expression, which Aurora pretended not to notice.

This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened. Since she returned to the Johnson Villa, Bianca had been competing with her in everything. Aurora knew that Bianca joined the show just to overshadow her.

Aurora didn't bother with her; she had more important things to do.

Finn sat next to Bianca. Since getting in the car, he had noticed Aurora and wanted to greet her, but seeing her cold demeanor, he held back.

He felt somewhat guilty towards Aurora, so he tried to find topics to chat with her twice during the trip. However, every time their eyes met, she would look away before he could speak.

Aurora's cold demeanor made Finn feel a bit stifled and uncomfortable.

Since Aurora returned to the Johnson Villa over a year ago, she had been the closest to him compared to the rest of the Johnson family. Now, with things like this, he naturally felt that Aurora was being ungrateful and unreasonable.

Aurora didn't know what Finn was thinking; she just instinctively wanted to stay away from him. After all, her current situation of being isolated was ultimately caused by Finn.

The live stream audience noticed the awkwardness between Finn and Aurora and began to speculate.

"I feel like Finn is trying to please Aurora, always staring at her."

"No, Finn, don't be fooled by Aurora. Stay away from her!"

"I bet Aurora is secretly delighted. If she can latch onto Finn, a big star, she won't lack resources."

"I don't think so. Aurora doesn't seem to be acting; she genuinely seems to dislike Finn. Just my opinion."

After more than two hours of driving, the car finally stopped at the foot of the mountain. Another business car arrived almost simultaneously.

The guests stood outside the village as the door of the other car opened. Andrew, dressed in white casual wear, got out, exuding a calm aura.

The guests, except for Aurora and Bianca, were a bit surprised and greeted him with smiles. Andrew politely nodded in response.

Aurora wasn't surprised at all, and it seemed Bianca knew in advance that Andrew was the show's mysterious guest.

Bianca was the last to greet Andrew, pretending to be shy, which earned her more audience favor.

"Bianca blushed, so innocent."

"Don't overthink it. Bianca is just being humble because she's not familiar with Andrew."

"But they really look like they're in love. Andrew's gaze at Bianca is different. This must be love at first sight."

"They look so good together."

"Wait, doesn't anyone notice something strange between Aurora and Andrew?"

"Maybe Aurora is jealous because she can't get close to Andrew."

After greeting everyone, when it was Aurora's turn, she turned her head away, looking disdainful, clearly showing a "don't come near me" attitude.

This live broadcast had no rehearsals, it was a complete reality show, so she didn't need to pretend to be friendly.

They would be staying in the mountains for several days, and any pretense would eventually be seen through by the audience. It was better to be herself from the start.

Andrew didn't expect Aurora's open disdain, and his calm demeanor almost cracked, feeling a bit angry.

He had tried to contact her in the past two days, but every time the call connected, Aurora would hang up before he could say much, giving him no chance.

Already having issues with Aurora, seeing her like this made Andrew feel even worse.

Mia, who had always disliked Aurora, saw her embarrassing Andrew and immediately seized the opportunity to criticize her:

"Aurora, Dr. Anderson is a senior in the entertainment industry. How can you be so disrespectful? Didn't you say you two grew up together?"

After photos of Aurora and Andrew coming out of the airport together were exposed, Andrew didn't clarify, so she had to explain that they grew up together. Andrew neither confirmed nor denied it.

Fans were dissatisfied until Aurora provided photos to calm the public opinion.

"So what?"

Aurora raised an eyebrow at Mia. She had endured enough grievances in the Johnson family, and Mia's intentions were clear as soon as she spoke.

"Friends shouldn't have such deep grudges. You don't need to be so serious, right?"

Mia's words were suggestive, but Aurora didn't care and glanced at Andrew indifferently: "We're already done. Why can't we be?"

"Why?"

Mia asked without thinking, and Aurora, feeling impatient, was about to speak when Andrew interrupted coldly.

"Why do you care so much?"

Andrew's words made Mia's face stiffen, and after a moment, she awkwardly smiled: "I was just asking casually. Forget I said anything."

The live stream comments started rolling again, with Andrew's fans going wild.

"See, I knew it. Andrew wouldn't be interested in someone like Aurora."

"I really want to know what happened. I love gossip."

"I bet Aurora wanted exposure and got rejected by Andrew, so she's throwing a tantrum, playing hard to get."

"Poor Andrew, having to be friends with someone like her. I feel bad for him."

"No, it looks like Aurora doesn't want to deal with Andrew. Maybe Andrew did something wrong."

"Impossible. With Andrew's status, why would he do anything to a minor celebrity like Aurora?"

"Exactly, Andrew must be tired of Aurora. If it weren't for their friendship, he would have ignored her long ago."

As the live stream comments continued to roll, another man got out of the business car Andrew had arrived in.

He was dressed in biker gear, wearing sunglasses, taller than Andrew, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, giving off a rebellious vibe.

Aurora, having watched this show in her previous life, naturally knew who he was.

Leonard Brown, a big name in the entertainment industry, initially became famous for participating in a national programming competition. Later, he formed his own esports team due to his passion for gaming.

His team won the national championship for three consecutive years and even won a world championship. Unfortunately, due to an injury, he couldn't compete anymore, leading to the team's disbandment and his entry into the entertainment industry.

Leonard, like Andrew and Finn, had a massive fan base, even more solid due to his roots in the esports community.