Chapter 425: If Things Go Missing, Is the Production Team Responsible?

The interviewees were full of grievances.

After all, they had all come here full of passion, having stood out from a large pool of applicants.

Now, after only a minute-and-a-half self-introduction, they were being told to go home and await news. Naturally, no one was happy about it.

Chloe Sinclair understood how the candidates felt, but she sat up straight and asked earnestly, "Did you not write about your understanding of the company in your cover letters?"

The interviewees were taken aback.

They seemed to recall that they had.

Seeing this, Chloe Sinclair continued, "And what about your ideas for experimental research? Did you all write those down as well?"

A collective silence fell over the room.

Because everything Chloe Sinclair mentioned, they had already written in their cover letters.

In contrast to their silence, Chloe Sinclair let out a soft chuckle. "You see? Since you’ve all already put the two most important things in writing, why should I make you repeat them all over again here?"

Chloe Sinclair shrugged. "Of course, if there’s anyone who didn’t write about the things I just mentioned, you can tell me about them now."

Chloe Sinclair felt her interview process was quite simple.

Since these candidates had already made it to the final round, she believed their abilities were up to par.

And for that very reason, everyone fell into a long silence after hearing Chloe Sinclair’s words.

It seemed none of them could refute her logic.

And so, after the silence, the candidates all stood up and left the conference room one by one.

After everyone had gone, Aaron Archer couldn’t help but give Chloe Sinclair a thumbs-up.

"Boss, have you picked anyone?"

A total of ten candidates came today, so he figured Chloe Sinclair must have someone in mind.

Hearing this, Chloe Sinclair paused for a moment before asking, "Is that all the interviewees?"

"Yes. We’re a small company. Even with a prime location, a lot of people are still unwilling to come."

Aaron Archer was exaggerating a bit.

Ever since the job posting went up, they had been receiving countless calls every day.

It was just that Chloe Sinclair’s standards were very high. Even with many candidates interviewing each day, very few were selected.

Upon hearing this, Chloe Sinclair said, "Since there’s no one else, just hire all of them from today."

"Have them start as interns for a while. If they make no mistakes at work, they can become full-time. I’ll send you the paperwork later, you can handle it as you see fit."

Aaron Archer nodded.

"Thank you for your hard work."

And so, before the interviewees from earlier could even get home, they all received a call from Aaron Archer, asking them to come in to work after the New Year and sign their employment contracts.

「—」

With the recruitment period over, Chloe Sinclair began to prepare for the variety show with Gabriel Sinclair.

The show, *Country Life*, was a creation of Director Simon Lawson.

Having been on the air for five full years, *Country Life* had four regular cast members.

Every time a new season began, its popularity would surpass that of a TV drama.

As a result, many people were desperate to get on the show.

However, Simon Lawson was extremely protective of his reputation. Every time he invited guest stars, besides considering the entertainment value for the audience, he always chose low-drama guests.

Half a year ago, he had been observing Chloe Sinclair while watching a variety show and had decisively called Gabriel Sinclair.

What he hadn’t expected was for Gabriel Sinclair to refuse him flat-out without a second thought.

They hadn’t even discussed the appearance fee!

Being so bluntly rejected only made Simon Lawson pay more attention to the two siblings. This continued until a dinner party before the New Year, where Gabriel Sinclair ended up owing him a favor.

When he brought up the suggestion again, Gabriel Sinclair finally agreed to reconsider, looking as if he’d just eaten shit.

It wasn’t until the New Year that Gabriel Sinclair gave him a formal affirmative answer.

This time, the filming location was in a city in Yarrow Province, a place of beautiful scenery.

Chloe Sinclair, with her makeup done, arrived in Yarrow Province alone, dragging a suitcase behind her.

There were three guest stars this time. Besides her and Gabriel Sinclair, there was also Nina Sinclair.

The look on Nina Sinclair’s face when she saw Chloe Sinclair was clearly not good, but after glancing at the cameraman nearby, she managed to restrain herself.

Simon Lawson was waiting for them at the entrance to the village.

As they approached, Gabriel Sinclair started complaining, "Simon Lawson, why didn’t you tell me she was coming too? If I had known she was coming, Chloe and I wouldn’t have come."

The show was scheduled to film for a full twelve days.

The thought that he would have to spend the next twelve days with Nina Sinclair filled Gabriel Sinclair with utter displeasure.

As he spoke, he picked up the suitcase he had just set down and made a show of leaving.

Simon Lawson couldn’t stop him.

In the end, it was Chloe Sinclair who called out to Gabriel Sinclair. The young woman sounded a bit helpless. "Bro, we signed a contract. If we leave, we’ll have to pay a breach penalty. If Ms. Mayfield finds out, you’ll probably get an earful."

At that, Gabriel Sinclair stopped in his tracks, spun around with silky smoothness, and turned back without a hint of hesitation.

Veins popped on Simon Lawson’s forehead.

It wasn’t because of Gabriel Sinclair.

Although he wanted to create drama for the show, he also knew Gabriel Sinclair disliked Nina Sinclair, and he wouldn’t make Gabriel unhappy for a small ratings boost.

So he turned his gaze to the assistant director beside him.

The assistant director, with an expression of someone who had lost the will to live, explained in a low voice, "She was forced on us by the investors. What could I do?"

Simon Lawson grew anxious. "Then why didn’t you show me her file? What are we supposed to do in this situation? I think this young master might just tear me apart in the next second!"

Assistant Director: "I gave you the file a month ago, but you seemed too lazy to look at it and just tossed it under your desk."

Simon Lawson: "..."

The assistant director immediately gave him a look that said, ’Sorry, can’t help you.’

Helpless, Simon Lawson could only beckon to Gabriel Sinclair from a spot the cameras couldn’t see.

But Gabriel Sinclair wasn’t falling for it. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot. "What are you waving at me for? I don’t want to hear any explanations!"

Simon Lawson had no choice but to say, "Bro, this is a national livestream."

After saying that, he mouthed some more words: "Young Master, please be more charitable with your words."

’The whole country is watching!’

’If Gabriel Sinclair keeps this up, who knows how many fans he’ll lose.’

’He might even end up on the trending list for a few days.’

’He had already thought of the headline.’

’Just call it #TopStarOstracizesNewcomer, NewcomerShedsTearsOnTheSpot#’

Gabriel Sinclair froze for a second. He and Chloe Sinclair both instinctively glanced at the camera and took a deep breath.

Simon Lawson had thought the young master would behave himself, but in the next second, the young master opened his precious mouth and declared, "So what if it’s a national livestream? A national livestream doesn’t change the fact that I hate Nina Sinclair."

"Hmph!"

Simon Lawson nearly fainted on the spot.

’He really is a pampered young master, not caring one bit if his career is affected.’

At that moment, the comment section was flooded with "HAHAHA."

"Seriously, my brother is so real. He just says what he doesn’t like, not fake like other celebrities."

"Did you guys hear what Director Lawson was whispering just now? Can you guess what he said? I’m dying of laughter, he actually told Gabriel Sinclair to be more charitable with his words."

"That ’Hmph!’ was so tsundere."

"The quality of Gabriel Sinclair’s fans is really low. Your brother is being so disrespectful, why do you still think he’s right?"

"Heh, to put it bluntly, your brother just has no emotional intelligence!"

"Get lost, you fucking idiots above. So what if our brother is disrespectful? You have to consider whether the other person is even worthy of respect, don’t you?"

"Those last few posters must be Nina Sinclair’s fans, right? I’m speechless. Wasn’t Nina Sinclair canceled a while ago? You should be thinking harder about why she’s even able to be on this show, especially now that her parents are just ordinary people."

"As a neutral observer, what Gabriel Sinclair is doing seems excessive, but for a woman who once hurt his own sister, the fact that he hasn’t rolled up his sleeves and punched her is already commendable."

Simon Lawson glanced at the online comments and was somewhat surprised.

But he had to admit that the netizens had a point.

Seeing that the online sentiment was under control, Simon Lawson announced, "Welcome, our three guest stars, to the variety show *Country Life*! This episode will be presented to the audience via a 24/7 livestream. A corresponding cameraman will be assigned to each of you shortly. Next..."

A wicked grin suddenly appeared on Simon Lawson’s face as he spoke words that were like a bolt from the blue.

"Now, please take out all the cosmetics and snacks from your suitcases."

Gabriel Sinclair: "...Can you take the cosmetics but leave the snacks?"

He knew a thing or two about the production team’s usual tricks.

Without snacks, there was a high probability he’d be left with nothing but the northwest wind to eat.

Nina Sinclair bit her lip and looked pitifully at the director. "Can we not have our cosmetics confiscated?"

In response to both questions, Simon Lawson wore a broad smile, as if he were listening intently to their problems.

In the next moment, however, he told them both a cruel truth.

"Sorry, you can’t."

Gabriel Sinclair wanted to walk away right then and there, but the thought of facing his manager’s fury when he got back robbed him of the courage to even lift his suitcase.

’I’m the boss of the company, so why am I so afraid of my manager’s wrath!’

But reality was cruel, and in the end, Gabriel Sinclair could only open his suitcase with a pathetic look on his face.

Gabriel Sinclair’s suitcase was filled entirely with food. The box the production team had prepared was almost not big enough to hold it all.

The fans in the livestream chat didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this scene from their idol.

"Is this guy here to film a show or on vacation? That’s so many snacks!"

"I looked up the brands of the snacks, tsk tsk, I’m not worthy."

"@Ms. Mayfield, your artist is acting up again!"

Although Gabriel Sinclair had verbally expressed his unwillingness to cooperate, he ultimately handed over all the items forbidden by the show.

Nina Sinclair had originally planned to use Gabriel Sinclair as a human shield. If he didn’t hand his things over, then she wouldn’t have to hand over her cosmetics either.

But to her surprise, Gabriel Sinclair actually obeyed乖乖听话了!

For a moment, she was in a bind.

Just then, Simon Lawson walked over and said, "Open yours too. The production team needs to inspect it."

Nina Sinclair’s face darkened, and she couldn’t help but say, "You didn’t require inspections before, why the sudden rule change this time?"

"All of my cosmetics are luxury brands. If they go missing, will the production team be responsible?"