Chapter 423 - 419: With the Greatest Pleasure

「On the film set.」

In the dressing room, Lily Sterling was getting her makeup done when Yuna gently pushed the door open and peeked in. "Lily, Jared Keaton is here."

Lily, who was holding a script, looked up. "Bring him in."

Yuna pushed the door open and walked in, with Jared Keaton following right behind her.

This was Lily’s private dressing room. For a fan to have the opportunity to be here, to see Lily this close, was almost too much for Jared Keaton. He couldn’t hide his excitement; his handsome face grew warm, a happy blush spreading across it.

"Lily..."

Jared spoke softly, his entire presence feeling awkward. He clasped his hands in front of him, a gesture that looked almost comical given he was over six feet tall.

Lily looked at him through the dressing room mirror, smiled slightly, and asked, "Are there still a lot of people waiting outside?"

Jared nodded.

Lily sighed. She finally understood just how unrealistic her previous ideas had been—not wanting fans to visit the set, meet her at the airport, or pay excessive attention to her life outside of work.

Once you become famous, there are so many things you can’t control. It’s impossible to single-handedly influence the words and actions of that many people.

Especially when these people adored and supported her, pouring all their passion and effort into everything they did for her. If she pushed them away, she would be incredibly ungrateful.

So Lily felt conflicted. She couldn’t bring herself to completely cut ties with the fans who loved her.

Even though she’d once thought she could!

"Don’t worry about us, Lily. We’re all here because we want to be. As long as you come see us when you have a break, we’ll all feel it was worth it."

"Please don’t say that ’because we want to be’ stuff anymore," Lily said. "You may want to, but I can’t have a clear conscience about it. On a hot day like this, the thought of you all standing outside makes me feel terrible."

Jared’s eyes filled with emotion. "If they knew you felt this way, they’d be incredibly touched."

"Touched by that? I haven’t done anything. I just said a few words. What’s there to be touched about?"

"But that’s just how fans are. As long as you care about us, we’re willing to support you forever."

Lily fell silent. In her heart, she had already conceded. She couldn’t change the rules of the game. Even if she repeatedly tried to talk these fans out of it, new ones would always arrive to take their place.

That was why she’d asked Yuna to bring Jared here. There was something she wanted to discuss with him.

"How should I address you?" Lily suddenly asked.

Jared was startled for a moment, then quickly said, "You can call me Jared. We should be about the same age."

Lily nodded. "Jared, I asked Yuna to get you because there’s something I want to discuss. Of course, you can refuse if it’s too much to ask. It’s just that we’ve met a few times, so I feel I know you a little better than the others. That’s why I reached out to you."

"It’s no problem, Lily. You can ask me to do anything. I won’t refuse; I’ll do whatever you need." Jared was growing excited. He felt like Lily was placing her trust in him.

Lily smiled before speaking. "It’s about the fan club, actually. At first, I didn’t want any official fan organization at all. But given the current situation, it seems like having one would be for the best. At least it would allow everyone to participate in an organized and orderly way."

"I remember you created an ’Unofficial Lily Sterling Fan Club’ account, right? If you’re willing, could you make your account the official one? Would you be my fan club president?"

Jared’s eyes widened. "Me? Be your fan club president? Really?"

"Yes. It’s not just that I trust you—Yuna also thinks you’re very organized. You were the one helping to maintain order on the day of the production launch ceremony. I only learned about all that afterward."

Embarrassed by Lily’s praise, Jared scratched his head. "It was nothing, really. Everyone was very cooperative. I can’t take all the credit."

Watching his expression, Lily couldn’t help but smile. "So, are you willing?"

"Of course! I’d be more than happy to!"

Jared agreed readily and asked excitedly, "Then... Lily, if I’m the president of your official fan club, does that mean I’ll be able to contact you directly from now on?"

Yuna quickly explained, "Er, actually, most of the time you’ll be in contact with me. But ninety percent of the information I pass on to you will be from Lily."

"Oh, right..." Jared gave an awkward little laugh, feeling he’d gotten carried away.

Seeing his reaction, Lily said softly, "You already have my WhatsApp, don’t you? I’ll definitely need to message you in the future. I know running a fan club is a lot of messy, complicated work, and it’s bound to be a hassle. I hope we can keep ours as simple as possible."

Jared nodded seriously and listened as Lily continued, "First, the fan club will not allow any form of fundraising or chart-ranking campaigns. It’s a waste of time and energy. I know most of my fans are still students, so this is very important. I don’t care about those stats at all. You can tell everyone exactly what I said."

"Next, offline events. I know people will organize their own support events even without a fan club, but once we have one, I want you to be in charge. Keep the number of people small each time. Also, you’ll need to screen for minors. No minors are allowed at any offline events."

"For daily promotional photos and things like that, I’ll take more and have Yuna send them to you. You can then post them directly on the fan club’s account."

"This also applies to set visits. Don’t let people just show up randomly hoping to see me. When I have free time and can meet with everyone, I’ll have Yuna let you know. You can then tell them to come at a specific time. This guarantees they’ll actually get to see me and won’t have to go through the trouble of waiting outside."

Jared listened seriously to every point Lily made, committing them to memory. He realized that most of her rules were for the fans’ benefit, which was the real reason she had suddenly decided to establish a fan club.

Being organized would save everyone time and resources.

The only thing was, this would inevitably make Jared the one working the hardest.

"I’ll pay you a salary," Lily said finally. She couldn’t let Jared do all this hard work for free.

But Jared immediately objected. "I don’t want a salary, Lily. I’m your number one fan. I’m willing to do all this for you without asking for anything in return. Besides, I don’t need the money..."

"I know you don’t need the money, but that’s a different matter entirely. If you don’t agree, then everything we just discussed is off the table." Lily’s tone was firm.

Jared’s words caught in his throat. In the end, he nodded.

’There’s no way I’m letting such a great opportunity go to someone else.’