From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 63: Smile for the Cage

Chapter 63: Smile for the Cage

Back inside the room, Leo had lit a cigarette. The bright orange tip glowed briefly as he took a slow drag and exhaled with an air of detachment.

"Manager Hurt," Leo murmured, eyes narrowing. "What do you think?"

Hurt glanced toward the door.

"Useful. Her clothes and manners screamed money. Especially when big sister brought her."

"Umm...." Leo hummed, the smoke curling around his head like a haze.

"You got the money?"

"We are almost there," the manager replied. "Just a little more. Then you will be free."

Leo leaned back on the couch, cigarettes dangling from his fingers. "Good."

He stared at the ceiling, lost in thought, a faint smile on his lips.

But it wasn’t the same gentle kind. It was something else entirely. Calculated. Cold. Dangerous.

Leo shifted on the couch, stretching his legs out. The dull ache in his calves from hours of standing on the set hadn’t quite gone away, but it wasn’t what bothered him.

His thoughts kept circling back to that girl, the one he had just met.

There had been something unnerving about her gaze. The way she looked at him. It wasn’t admiration or the usual infatuation he got from people who were in love with him. No, this was something else. Her eyes had been calm, steady, strangely piercing. Like she could see through him.

Leo stood up and went to the bathroom. The reflection in the mirror didn’t comfort him. He barely recognised the man looking back. His carefully styled hair, the faint touch of make-up to conceal exhaustion, the gentle smile he had practised a hindered times, none of it felt real anymore. Beneath the surface, he was just a guy from a small suburb who wanted to act. To bring stories to life. To be someone worth remembering.

But that dream... it had gone down the drain.

He remembered it vividly. His debut. Bright lights. Applause. A roaring cloud. And betrayal.

His former manager, someone he had thought of as a friend, had handed him a folder just before the stage appearance. The man had been all smiles, practically buzzing with excitement. "Leo! We got the part! Quick sign here! Or you’ll miss the chance once the show is over!"

He, like a fool, had trusted him. Never even glanced at the contents, assuming it was the lead role contract for a new drama. Oh, how wrong he had been...

What he had actually signed was a sentence, his own signature sealing a twenty-year contract with an outrageous breach fee.

One moment, he was flying high under the stage lights, smiling like an idiot. The next, reality hit like an ice-cold bucket of water.

Eventually, the company claimed it was a misunderstanding. They fired the manager and threw the blame on him. But the damage had been done. He had become a slave to them.

Without a penny to himself and under pressure from the higher-ups, his only hope was his fans.

So, a bit of warmth and attention was not a huge price to pay for his freedom.

But now, years later, he was tired of it. "Maybe that’s why she saw the crack..." he mumbled and took off his clothes.

After showering, Leo dressed up in formal attire.

"Let’s go to the dinner," he said, brushing invisible lint from his sleeve as he walked toward the door.

His manager nodded silently and followed. The two moved through the corridor. Neither of them spoke, but Leo could feel Hurt glancing at him from the corner of his eye, worried. He ignored it.

The dinner venue was buzzing by the time they arrived. Soft laughter, clinking glasses, subtle transition as polite conversation. As soon as they stepped into the room, a bright voice called out. "Senior! You are finally here."

A blur of pink and perfume darted toward him. Clara Davis. His co-star. She clutched his arm lightly with one hand, her face tilted up in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Her acting was mediocre, but her sucking-up behaviour was on par with a movie queen.

Leo resisted the urge to yank his hand away.

"Ah, Miss Davis, we were held up in traffic," Manager Hurt explained smoothly.

Clara didn’t even acknowledge the manager. Her gaze was fixated on Leo’s cold profile. When she had first been cast opposite him, she had acted like a giddy fan who had won the lottery. But now...her infatuation had extinguished like a fire after rain.

This man was emotionless, incapable of feeling any sincerity...

Now, she just wanted to ride on his coattails and become famous. Especially after her new backer told her to go crazy and ruin Leo’s pure reputation.

There was an awkward silence between them. Until the director appeared with a mild frown. "What are you doing just standing here?"

"Director Chang." Leo nodded politely.

"Oh good, you are all here." said producer Moris, joining them with a grin. "Come, the investors are waiting."

They followed him to a grand table near the centre of the room. A middle-aged man with a heavyset build and calculating eyes sat in the place of honour.

"Boss Kane, let these juniors toast to you." producer Moris said, gesturing to Clara and Leo. "Come on, you two, fill up Boss Kane’s glass."

Clara hesitated, subtly shrinking behind Leo. Her expression twisted for just a moment in disgust before she masked it with a sweet smile.

Leo emotionlessly stepped forward and poured wine into the man’s glass with steady hands. Gesturing to the investor, he raised his own and drowned the wine in one gulp. The burn of alcohol barely registered. His fame remained unreadable.

All eyes turned to Clara.

She hesitantly stepped toward the table filled the glasses with trembling hands and forced a smile.

"I am the youngest here.... I should toast to both of you...." she threw a look at Leo.

Her words made the atmosphere freeze. Boss Kane’s expression darkened. Before he could speak, producer Moris laughed awkwardly.

"Silly Clara! I know you were just trying to break the ice, but there is a time and place for that. I am sorry boss Kane. Clearly, We didn’t educate our youngsters probably. Please don’t mind. Allow me to drink as punishment."

He snatched up his glass and tossed it back, his face flushing.

Boss Kane gave Leo a hard look, as if blaming him for Clara’s misstep, then nodded once to the producer.

Leo’s jaw clenched. He had seen it coming. Clara’s performance was deliberate, her innocence laced with venom. But what could he do? He was a mere puppet in the company.

Leo thought the night was done with surprises. But when the servers brought out a towering ten-layer cake and stacks of wrapped gifts, he knew he had fallen into a trap.

The arrival of investors and fans showering him with money... well that was clearly an insult thrown at the investor’s face. Your money was too little that fans had to provide these... his already desperate situation was about to take a turn for worse.

He looked at his manager, seeing the same surprise. He knew that someone had meddled. The fan never did this without notice.., it meant one of his people had betrayed him.

Before he could think of anything, heat rushed through Leo’s veins. His heart pounded in his chest, faster than it should have. His throat felt dry. His vision swam slightly.

He had been drugged. Leo’s finger curled into the tablecloths, his nails digging into the fabric as the edges of the room began to blur. A silent storm rose in his eyes.