novelbin Chapter 173: I’m Stingy and I’m Proud
Chapter 173: I’m Stingy and I’m Proud
Riley Perry: "You probably don’t know this, but I’m a notorious money-grubber. Once a single cent lands in my pocket, it’s never coming out—unless it can make babies!"
"How about this? You wire me another hundred thousand, and I’ll immediately wire your money back to you!"
The guests on set and the viewers in the livestream chat could practically feel the scammer’s breakdown.
Now *that’s* how you make money make money!
Most people at least use their own money to make more money. But you? You use other people’s money to do it. The best part is you don’t spend a dime of your own.
"Fine, fine, fine! You just wait!"
On the other end, Yates hung up and immediately put out a bounty to take care of Riley Perry. Five hundred thousand could get a lot done—including buying a life!
Meanwhile, the police had been monitoring the livestream. They quickly traced the caller’s location via the phone number. The local police were notified and acted swiftly, arresting the entire phone scam ring in just over ten minutes.
The livestream was still running, so tens of millions of viewers witnessed Riley Perry’s wild antics. "I’ve never seen anyone so audacious! Riley Perry, you’re really something else!"
"My forty-meter broadsword is drawn and can’t be sheathed. The commenter above is an ally, bury them with full honors."
"Hahaha, I bet the scammer is about to have an aneurysm."
"They’re not actually going to retaliate against Riley Perry, are they? She’s a public figure; it’s impossible to be on guard against everything."
"Today’s show is live, so it’s incredibly easy to find info on Riley Perry. I really hope nothing bad happens."
Too much had happened today. Director Warren was mentally exhausted and decided to just end the livestream.
Soon after, more than ten trending topics appeared online, all related to "Go on an adventure together."
#Exploring Riley Perry’s Big Floating Technique#
#Riley Perry Encounters Scammer During Filming#
#Scammer Melts Down After Encountering Riley Perry#
#HollySummersReputationCollapses#
#Holly Summers Claims She’s Never Dated#
#Would You Still Dare to Play Truth or Dare?#
#Miles Ford’s Divorce Confirmed!#
#Miles Ford Skips Child Support Payments#
And so on and so forth. The views, comments, shares, and likes for these trending topics all reached astonishing numbers.
As soon as the livestream ended, Director Warren confronted Riley Perry. "You brat, were you the one who leaked all that dirt on Holly Summers?"
Riley Perry took the phone Claire Lee brought back, turned it on, and said while checking her messages, "Director Warren, don’t wrongly accuse me. What does this have to do with me? I have no idea what’s been happening online!"
"But I bet the show’s viewership hit a new high, didn’t it?"
Hearing this, Director Warren’s face immediately broke into a grin. "The peak viewership was over forty-two million."
’The audience flooded into the livestream several times because of Riley Perry,’ he thought. ’This girl is about to get seriously famous!’
As soon as Riley Perry heard that, she freed one hand from her busy phone and rubbed her thumb and index finger together in front of Director Warren. "In that case, shouldn’t you show a little... appreciation?"
Director Warren’s expression changed in an instant. He slapped a hand over his pocket, only to realize after the fact, "You already robbed me of all the cash I had. There’s nothing left."
Riley Perry: "So, are you saying I don’t have to pay you back, then? You thought you could get rid of me with that paltry sum?"
Director Warren: "...You little brat, you really are obsessed with money!"
After their lighthearted banter, Riley Perry’s phone rang. This time, it was the police department. "The station just called me to come in and give a statement. The scammers were caught by the local police. I’m going to head out."
"You brat, be careful. Those scammers usually work in gangs. If any of them slipped through the cracks, you could be in danger. You should probably hire some more bodyguards."
"I’m not wasting my money on that! I hope they hurry up and come get their revenge. I’ll make them experience what it truly means for me to be their worst nightmare!"
"Suit yourself, you cheapskate!"
Riley Perry: ’What’s wrong with being stingy? It runs in the family. I’m cheap and I’m proud!’
She went back to her room to grab her luggage, met up with Samson Sinclair, and the two of them first went to the police station to give their statements. She turned over the money she had scammed from the scammers, collected a reward, and then took a flight back to Dragonspire that same night.
Hehe, she was in a rush to get home and see her family. Her heart was set on returning, like an arrow shot towards its target; she couldn’t stand to wait another minute.
But when she came out of the airport, things got interesting. There was only one flight back to Dragonspire that night, so a certain starlet who’d been kicked off the show was on the same plane. However, Riley Perry was in first class while Holly Summers was in economy, so they hadn’t crossed paths.
Riley Perry and Samson Sinclair came out through the VIP exit, while Holly Summers had to leave with the general crowd. The moment she emerged, she was swarmed by reporters.
"Holly Summers, on the show you claimed you’ve never been in a relationship, but you’ve been involved in group sex. So, at what age did you have your first love?"
Holly Summers thought to herself: ’The way you’re asking, do you really think I’m going to fucking tell you the truth?’
"Fourteen... fourteen."
The reporters’ eyes lit up. A female entertainment reporter lunged forward with her microphone. "Holly Summers, you pretended to be friends with Riley Perry, but behind her back, you hired an online mob to defame her and spread indecent rumors. Why did you do it?"
Holly Summers was panicking. She couldn’t control her mouth again. She tried to push her way out, dragging her luggage with one hand while clamping the other over her mouth. But the words tumbled out anyway, "Because slandering her gets me industry resources, and I get paid for it!"
Fuck! After saying that, she wanted to slap herself right across the face.
’How could I have just blurted out the truth?’
And she wasn’t done. "It’s her own fault for always hogging the spotlight, offending people without even knowing it!"
"I had to hire an online mob to attack her for the sake of my own career! It’s just a shame she’s only ever had that one boyfriend, so there’s not even much dirt to dig up on her!"
"Holly Summers, just how many boyfriends have you had?"
Holly Summers answered again, "Only four serious ones."
"And the casual ones?"
"I don’t know." She genuinely didn’t know the answer to that question. There were too many to count.
"How did you land the guest spot on ’Go on an adventure together’?"
Holly Summers’s eyes were wide with terror. "It was a resource my patron gave me. She told me to smear Riley on the show and ruin her reputation. I wanted to use the show to boost my own popularity and expose her true colors, so I accepted."
"She never said she knew kung fu before, and she definitely can’t cook! And how could those animals possibly listen to a person? Have you ever seen anyone catch fish with their bare hands? And she can fly!"
"Director Warren must have set it all up for her. It’s definitely all fake!"
Another male entertainment reporter squeezed in front of her, walking backward to keep up as he asked, "Holly Summers, are you jealous of Riley Perry?"
Holly Summers wanted to say, "How could I be jealous of her? We’re friends." But what came out was, "Jealous of her? Yes, I am jealous of her!"
"I’ve been insanely jealous of her ever since she joined Stardust. She got a higher-tier contract than me right off the bat just because of her pretty face. Even when her reputation was in the gutter, her agent protected her fiercely, and the company refused to terminate her contract. And now she’s making a huge comeback with this show! My only regret is that she found out about my plan to get her onto that producer’s bed. Otherwise, she would have already been forced to quit the industry over the scandal!"
"Who’s the producer you mentioned?"
And Holly Summers actually gave them a name. The reporters were ecstatic, each of them thinking to themselves, ’If only every star we interviewed was as cooperative as Holly Summers!’