Ava squinted her eyes, and as those footsteps rushed behind her, she abruptly turned around and directly twisted the hand reaching out to her. "Ah! Pain, pain, pain!" The sound of a shrill cry pierced the early dawn, jolting awake the dozing security guard at The Kestrel Apartments. Ava looked at the person in front of her and then frowned. A skinny face, a slender frame, black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, a tuft of beard on the chin, with a wrinkled T-shirt and casual shorts showing off splayed-out legs, and a pair of cheap flip-flops... This person looked like he had escaped from a mental hospital, resembling a crazy Rascal... Ava released the man’s hand, looked him up and down, then stared at his face: "Who are you?" Silas Donovan was shaking his hand, wincing in pain. Ava hadn’t exerted much force since her hand hadn’t fully healed, resulting in her strength being much weaker than before. But she used deft skill, causing the man’s hand not to be dislocated yet still twinging with pain. Upon hearing Ava’s blunt tone, Silas Donovan was momentarily stunned, forgot his pain, immediately adjusted his glasses, and looked at Ava with eyes lighting up: "Miss Sterling, hello, hello, I’m Silas Donovan." Silas Donovan, excitedly holding Ava’s hands in a self-introduction, was utterly thrilled. And after speaking, he suddenly remembered something, hurriedly pulled out a likewise crumpled business card from his wrinkled pocket, presenting it with both hands: "Silas Donovan, director." "Several major hit shows were directed by me." His height was modest, appearing only about one meter sixty something, dwarfed in front of Ava, who stood at one meter seventy-eight. Ava took the business card from him and, along with Silas Donovan’s words reaching her ears, also saw the personal introduction on the card. Silas Donovan, a famous domestic director, once directed "You Are My Moon," "Eastern Hometown," "Immortal," "Splendid Attire," "With You in the Underworld." Being a TV enthusiast, Ava had watched many TV dramas and movies, especially those blockbuster hits. And the TV dramas listed on the card were ones she had seen, involving city, fantasy, and historical genres, each of them hugely popular. Yet, Ava remained uninterested. She was fine with watching TV and being a viewer who shares feedback, but being an actress wasn’t appealing to her. Ava directly handed the card back to Silas Donovan, straightforward: "I don’t act." Silas Donovan didn’t take the card, wide-eyed and questioning: "Why?" Just like a child asking for candy when the adults refuse, he immediately inquired. Feeling a little drowsy with work awaiting at the company during the day, Ava couldn’t spare time for idle chatter with him here. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fire·net She turned and headed into the apartment: "Not acting means not acting, why all the reasons?" Silas Donovan couldn’t accept this reason, following Ava into the apartment: "Impossible!" "Unwillingness always comes with a reason!" "Tell me your reason, and I’ll help you." Silas Donovan tagged along seamlessly, quickly responding to each of Ava’s sentences, his reaction immensely swift. Ava frowned, help her? When had Ava ever needed someone’s help? Moreover, acting was something she never considered. Not wanting to speak further, Ava walked directly to her apartment building and pressed the upward button. The elevator soon opened, Ava went inside, and Silas Donovan immediately followed inside. Ava instinctively wanted to press the floor button, but seeing Silas Donovan following in, she stopped, frowned at the person trailing inside like a tail. "Why are you coming in?" Known for her fiery temper, Ava was especially irritated with those insisting she do what she didn’t want. Silas Donovan wasn’t afraid of Ava’s anger, shaking his head: "I won’t go out!" "I want to know the reason behind your refusal to act." Looking at the face of insistence, or more accurately, refusal to give up until reaching his goal, Ava’s eyes blinked slightly, then she said: "I got injured." "Two ribs are broken, the hand is broken too, just came out from the hospital." "I’ve been stalking you at your place, at your company, and the gym you go to, but haven’t heard anything about your injury!" Silas Donovan frankly recounted his endeavors over the period, leaving Ava squinting. Those places were ones she frequented, him knowing and staking out each without a word made Ava recall what Lauren Howell said to her before. A director was constantly bothering Eric, aiming to have her act. Lauren Howell said that this person was a nuisance. Now seeing, that’s truly the case. "That’s because I got injured abroad, not domestic, you should know since you’ve been staking out the places I frequent for some time and never caught me, right?" Silas Donovan promptly nodded: "That’s true, I haven’t even seen your shadow." "But! Persistence pays off, I finally found you!" He beamed a bright smile to Ava. "You’re lying, aren’t you? I tell you, I’m not easy to fool, my script is tailor-written for you, I absolutely want you as my heroine!" Silas Donovan stood firm, exuding determination. She despised troubles but wouldn’t resort to violence when faced with them, especially when the trouble at hand couldn’t be solved with a beating. Thinking quickly, Ava replied: "Fine, we can talk when my injury heals." "I just returned, feeling sleepy, let me have a nap first, and we’ll discuss once I wake up." Silas Donovan paused, apparently stunned by Ava’s sudden change of tone. Before he could respond, Ava pushed him out, took the crumpled card, saying: "I’ll keep the card and contact you after waking." Saying this, she quickly pressed the close button and then the floor button. However, when pressing the floor button, she intentionally pressed a different floor. Once the elevator stopped, she reentered and pressed the actual floor. This person being so persistent, she naturally won’t allow him to easily have control. Ava wasn’t the sort to do anything just because someone wanted her to. Standing outside the elevator, Silas Donovan watched as it closed rapidly, stupefied. He had prepared so many tactics, and now none were needed! The elevator accurately stopped at Ava’s floor, Ava yawning as she exited, heading toward her apartment door. However, as she turned the corner, still yawning, her gaze fell upon a figure.