"Who else is here?"
In a ward on the seventh floor of the medical school building, Britney's agent stood by the window, watching the reporters near the main entrance in a frenzy. "Who could make them this crazy?"
He was very puzzled. Britney didn't have many friends, and even fewer who could attract such attention from the media.
Then, the agent saw a young man break through the reporters' encirclement and, with the help of hospital security, rush through the main entrance and head towards the building.
As the young man got closer, the agent gradually recognized his face, and his eyebrows immediately furrowed into a frown. He cursed, "F@#k! What is that guy doing here!"
The person who came was clearly Matthew Horner, the male lead in the MV who was rumored to be dating Britney.
Wasn't his arrival at this moment just adding to the chaos?
"What's wrong?" Britney, who was half-lying and reading a magazine, asked curiously when she heard her agent suddenly curse. "Did the reporters clash with my fans?"
The agent shook his head. "No. Matthew Horner is here."
"Matthew is here?" Britney seemed to have known. "He called me last night and said he would come to see me in the next couple of days."
"You shouldn't see him right now," the agent reminded her. "Bubbles, don't forget the rumors about you two!"
Britney didn't listen. "Those are all fake, you know that."
She pouted. "Haven't reporters made up enough stories about me? Matthew helped me."
Seeing Britney's insistence, the agent thought for a moment and didn't continue to object. He hadn't been able to reach Matthew Horner's agent, so this was a good opportunity to talk to Matthew himself.
Taking the elevator to the seventh floor, Matthew arrived at Britney's ward door with the bouquet of flowers. The corridors on both sides of the door were filled with flowers, and he saw that the message cards on them were mostly from fans.
He bent his finger and gently knocked on the door.
The door was opened from inside, and Matthew saw Britney's agent.
"Hello." Matthew didn't know his name, so he politely asked, "is Bubbles here?"
"Hi, Matthew!"
Before the agent could speak, Britney's voice came from inside, "I'm here! Come on in!"
The agent frowned slightly, feeling that Britney did seem to have an unusual connection with this recently acquainted Matthew, but he still stepped aside from the doorway.
Matthew smiled and nodded at Britney's agent, then walked into the ward. He approached Britney's bed, placed the flowers on the bedside table, and asked, "Bubbles, are you feeling better?"
"Much better." Britney looked quite energetic. "The doctor said I can get up and walk normally in two more days, and I can go back to the set to continue filming the MV, as long as I don't dance."
Matthew looked concerned. "That's good, I've been worried about your leg."
Seeing Matthew standing, Britney pointed to a nearby chair. "Sit down, make yourself at home. If you want water, get it from the cabinet."
"Okay." Matthew nodded, as if they were very familiar. "I won't be polite with you."
He scratched his head and added, "Bubbles, I came here this time, partly to visit you, and partly to apologize."
"Why do you need to apologize to me?" Britney asked, puzzled.
Matthew looked apologetic. "In today's newspaper, a reporter said I... said I..." He scratched his head again. "They said I was dating you, and it must be because I carried you into the car yesterday."
"It's fine." Britney waved her hand dismissively. "Those people are talking nonsense, how can you be blamed?"
Matthew showed an embarrassed smile.
Britney, however, didn't mind at all. If that level of embrace counted as a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, then it was too ridiculous.
It was clearly the media deliberately using her to create hype.
"Are the reporters bothering you?" Britney asked.
Matthew sighed, looking annoyed. "I finished my acting class today and was blocked by them at the school gate. When I came here just now, I was surrounded again at the hospital entrance. If it weren't for security's help, I'd still be outside."
Britney nodded slightly. "They are really annoying. A few times I've wanted to smash their cars."
"Me too." Matthew bluffed. "The main thing is I don't know how to deal with them. The questions they ask..."
At this point, he suddenly stopped talking.
Britney looked curious. "What did they ask?"
Matthew smiled wryly but didn't speak.
"Come on, tell me, tell me." Britney became even more curious. "I want to hear it too."
Matthew had no choice but to say, "They asked when we were getting married. Isn't that just crazy?"
Britney wasn't angry; instead, she laughed. "A bunch of idiots."
The two were chatting happily and getting along very well. The agent had been observing, paying close attention to Matthew's words and actions, not missing a single detail.
After watching for a while, he felt that this guy wasn't particularly special; he seemed similar to Britney, both being people who saw things very simply.
The agent found it a bit strange: Perhaps only two simple-minded people could get along so well?
However, seeing Matthew and Britney still chatting and laughing, the agent felt that this wasn't ideal. He was also planning to talk to the young man, so he simply walked over.
"Excuse me, Mr. Horner." The agent interrupted Matthew and Britney. "The doctor instructed that Bubbles needs rest."
Britney's smile immediately vanished from her face. She said, "I'm not tired."
She had been so bored these past few days, and finally, someone with common interests had arrived.
"It's all my fault, I forgot the time." Matthew, however, stood up from the chair and said to Britney with a smile, "Bubbles, I'll come see you another day."
Britney nodded, instructing, "You must come, I'm so bored here alone."
Matthew made a calling gesture. "I'm on call."
He waved goodbye to Britney and walked towards the door. Britney's agent followed him out.
As soon as they stepped out of the ward, the agent called out to Matthew, "Mr. Horner, wait."
"Just call me Matthew." Matthew stopped and turned to look at Britney's agent, asking, "is something wrong?"
The agent didn't waste words and went straight to the point. "Can we talk privately for a few minutes?"
"Now?" Matthew didn't know what he wanted to do, guessing it might be related to the rumors. "Sure."
The corridor was spacious and empty, with no one else around, so the agent spoke there. "The media hype about you and Britney has caused a lot of trouble for Britney."
Matthew quickly nodded. "Yes, I know, that's why I specifically apologized to Bubbles in the ward."
The agent was satisfied with Matthew's attitude and said, "Actually, we should thank you for what happened yesterday."
"You're welcome." Matthew replied politely. "It's what I should do."
Seeing Matthew being so cooperative, the agent nodded. "There's something I need to discuss with you. The information I've gathered indicates that many media outlets are now preparing to sensationalize the relationship between you and Bubbles. To avoid unnecessary negative impacts on both you and Bubbles, we should clarify the situation to the media."
"Clarification is necessary." Matthew continued to cooperate. "Then those annoying guys won't keep hounding me."
The agent confirmed that Matthew's mind was similar to Britney's. "The sooner the better. I'll contact the media and the record company..."
"Sir!" Matthew then reminded him, "Don't forget to contact my agent."
"Helen Herman?" The agent thought of the unanswerable calls and the uncontactable woman, and his mood instantly soured. "Can't you inform her?"
Matthew shook his head. "I haven't been able to reach her since this morning. I called the agency, and they said she's on a business trip out of town and forgot her phone." He looked very troubled. "I still can't reach her."
The agent frowned deeply and said, "We'll gather the media for a clarification first. You can inform her when she gets back, and I'll also speak to her."
"That works."
Hearing this, just as the agent began to consider which media outlets to clarify with, Matthew's troubled voice spoke again, "No, that would violate my contract."
His brow was even more furrowed than the agent's. "My agency contract has a clause that states accepting media interviews without the agent's knowledge is a breach of contract."
Britney's agent suddenly felt an urge to curse, but couldn't say anything. He himself was an entertainment agent and knew that some companies would include similar clauses when signing contracts with potential clients, to prevent inexperienced clients from talking nonsense when facing the media.
"I'm sorry..." Matthew said very sincerely, "If my agent doesn't know, I can't cooperate with you. If I breach the contract, I'll be in a lot of trouble."
"Damn it!" Britney's agent cursed inwardly but couldn't force Matthew anymore. He had no choice but to say, "Alright, how about this: you and I both continue to contact Helen Herman, and if you reach her, immediately inform her about this matter."
Matthew nodded. "Okay, no problem."
The agent waved his hand at Matthew. "You can go."
Just as Matthew was about to leave, he reminded him again, "Don't say anything carelessly to the media."
The agent was uneasy; this young actor was as foolish as Britney. He simply said, "No matter what the media reporters ask you, don't say a word until we officially clarify, okay?"
This was what Matthew had been doing, so he quickly said, "Don't worry, I won't cause Bubbles any more trouble."
"Go." The agent waved again. "The hospital has a side entrance. Ask downstairs and leave from there; there are no reporters there."
Matthew politely said goodbye again, turned and walked to the elevator, took the elevator downstairs, asked a staff member for the location of the side entrance, and left the hospital through it.
After a day of fermentation, more and more media began to hype the non-existent relationship between Matthew and Britney.
The major newspapers were fine, focusing on Britney's injuries, but the tabloids didn't care as much. Naturally, they wrote whatever was most exaggerated and appealing.