Chapter 777 idental Injury


    "Finally! I''ve reached the eighteenth floor." After looking at the number eighteen that had been painted


    on the wall, Michelle sat on one of the steps to catch her breath. Her face was red, and sweat dripped


    from her forehead and cheeks.


    Her body was overheating because she had chosen to wear a high-neck sweater that day. Her


    undershirt was damp from sweat, and she was starting to feel sticky all over.


    She didn''t like exercising so she was out of shape.


    Both of her legs were sore so she tried massaging the pain away with her hands.


    "So tired," she murmured.


    She heard footsteps approaching, but when she looked up to see who it was, she was surprised to see


    that it was Randi.


    Shocked and confused, Michelle thought, ''Didn''t she say that she was too busy to apany me?


    Besides, the elevator doesn''t work.


    How did she get here before I did? She should havee up behind me if she also took the stairs.''


    Michelle blinked and asked, "How did you get to the eighteenth floor so quickly?"


    "I took the elevator. They repaired it just after we parted. You should hurry up though because


    everyone is waiting for you." Although the other woman looked exhausted, Randi pretended not to


    notice.


    Michelle shakily got to her feet, but she remained unsuspecting. Instead, she sounded really pleased


    as she replied, "So the elevator''s working again. That''s great. I thought that I had to take the stairs


    again after we wrap up the photo shoot."


    Randi frowned at her. She stopped and stared at Michelle for a while with aplicated expression.


    ''Is she really stupid or is she just pretending to be?


    And if she really is dumb, shouldn''t she still know that she should keep her distance from another


    woman''s fiance?''


    She decided to test the photographer first.


    "I have a question, Michelle." Randi was about to take a step closer, but when she noticed that the


    other woman reeked of sweat, her nose wrinkled and she kept her distance.


    Seeing her reaction, Michelle smiled apologetically. "Sorry. All that walking made me sweat a lot. What


    did you want to know?"


    Keeping her gaze steady, Randi asked, "Do you have someone you like?"


    "Huh?" It was normal to feel confused if a stranger suddenly asked such a personal question. "Why are


    you asking me that? I kind of expected a question about today''s photo shoot."


    "I was just curious." And Randi really wanted to know so she persisted. "So do you like someone or


    not?"


    "I do." Michelle visualized Leon''s handsome face and smiled sweetly.


    Randi continued to grill her, "Really? What''s your rtionship with him?"


    Michelle wanted to announce that they were in love, but she was aware that Valerie was around and


    that Randi was acquainted with the woman. If she told Randi about her rtionship with Leon,


    everyone would eventually know about it.


    She thought, ''If Valerie knew, the next person who''d hear about it would be Bryant.


    And then Wynn would know.


    And if Wynn learned about it, so would Nini. No, no, no. I can''t let Nini and others know about it.''


    Her rtionship with Leon wasn''t stable yet. If he broke up with her one day, everyone would feel bad


    for her and that would be embarrassing.


    So she was determined to keep their rtionship a secret for now.


    "We should go to the studio. I''ve kept them waiting long enough." Michelle was not a master at


    changing topics so she sounded really unnatural.


    Randi felt surer that the rtionship between Michelle and Leon wasn''t innocent.


    That had to be the reason why Michelle couldn''t own up to it.


    When she entered the dance studio, Michelle went around the room and apologized profusely to


    everyone before setting up her equipment.


    But her legs were still aching, and she felt a little weak. Because of that, she tripped over a wire and


    stumbled to the floor.


    With equipment that was worth tens of thousands dors in her hand, her first instinct was to protect


    her gear. She hit the floor with a bang.


    It was an ident


    so everyone else in the venue was stunned.


    For a moment, even Valerie didn''t know what kind of expression she should make.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Michelle gasped in pain, and her eyes filled with tears.


    The make-up artist, who had been standing closest to her, quickly came to her aid. "Are you okay?"


    "Thank you." When she was in so much pain, Michelle couldn''t bring herself to im that she was fine.


    Ever since she was a child, she disliked getting hurt. Now, she also felt embarrassed and wanted to


    cry.


    She clumsily tripped over a stray wire, and now, many people were staring at her. At the age of twenty-


    five, she didn''t cry so easily for fear of gettingughed at.


    She quickly checked her camera and was relieved to see that it hadn''t been affected by her fall.


    After her sigh of relief, she realized that the pain she was feeling came from her knees and ankles. She


    briefly wondered if she sprained her ankles.


    "Are you all right? Did you get hurt?" The general manager—a woman in her thirties—approached as


    well. She barely had any makeup on, and she wore a sunset-colored leather windbreaker.


    The heels of her ck boots clicked noisily as she crossed the room.


    With a poker face, she looked every bit the role of a shrewd female elite.


    Because the photographer had been half an hourte, she had started to be impatient. When the


    photographer finally appeared only to trip herself up, her expression looked quite severe.


    "Don''t you watch where you''re going?"


    Randi sidled over to Valerie and whispered, "Doesn''t she look pitiful, Valerie? God, I can''t even bear to


    look at her. This is her karma. She tripped over that wire herself."


    ''Yes, it absolutely is karma.'' Valerie agreed with all her heart.


    Only Michelle would trip over t floor. Valerie wondered why such a clumsy and useless person


    existed. ''How did Leone to like her?


    She looks banged up enough to get sent to the hospital.


    Humph. But I''ll make it so that she can''t go. Not immediately anyway.''


    With a sly smile, Valerie changed her expression into one of concern and walked towards Michelle.


    "Michelle, how are you feeling? Are you hurting somewhere?"


    Hearing Valerie express concern for her gave Michelle mixed feelings.


    On one hand, she felt angry on Leon''s behalf because Valerie was his ex-girlfriend, and she had


    abandoned the man twice before.


    But if Valerie hadn''t left, Leon wouldn''t be her boyfriend now.


    That thought made her both happy and sad.


    Nina had asked her to refuse this photo shoot because it was a request from Valerie. But without this


    gig, who knew when she would get another lucrative job?


    Because Valerie had asked about her injuries, Michelle thought that she was really kind.


    She smiled up at Valerie and admitted, "My knees hurt and I think I might have sprained my ankles."


    "Is it that serious?" Valerie was overjoyed in her heart. ''That''s great.''


    She bent over to help Michelle get off the floor and then said, "Sit down and roll up your pants so we


    can gauge how bad it is."


    "Thank you." Michelle limped to the nearest chair and did as she was told. One ankle was starting to


    swell and it hurt to touch. Her knees were red and bruised.


    It was troublesome when it was the joint that got injured.


    Even the slightest movement would hurt.


    With a concerned frown, Valerie asked, "Do you want to have it checked at a hospital? If you want, you


    can go now, but we''ll have to postpone the shoot. It will be troublesome though. We''re currently


    preparing for the Ballet Festival so everyone is very busy."


    She spoke casually, but the room was so silent that everyone heard her.


    Valerie''s words made light of the pain that Michelle was feeling and made it seem as if Michelle was


    causing them trouble.


    Randi came over, took a look and said, "It''s not bleeding so it can''t be that serious."


    Of course she could say that so easily because she wasn''t the one who had gotten hurt.


    Michelle was in so much pain that she didn''t want to move. It was taking her a lot of effort to sit upright.


    When she tried walking earlier, the pain was so bad that she broke out into a cold sweat.


    The general manager only had the interests of the troupe at heart. She spoke a little louder than usual


    as she dered, "If it''s not that serious, you should take the photos first. After that, you can go to the


    hospital."


    "Are you sure you''re okay?" Valerie asked Michelle.


    The staff waited for Michelle to answer. If she agreed to go to a hospital, she would have wasted the


    troupe''s time and would be bothering them in the future.


    Michelle didn''t want to be a bother so she gritted her teeth and said, "I''ll do the photo shoot.


    Unfortunately, I can''t move very well right now so this might take longer than expected."


    Because she wanted to dy Michelle''s trip to the hospital, Valerie smiled gently.


    "That doesn''t matter. We''ll cooperate as best as we can. We''d like it if we could finish this photo shoot


    as quickly as possible, but we expect the highest quality for our photos."


    "Okay." Michelle nodded.


    With great effort, she got up from her seat and started to take the troupe''s pictures.


    She endured even when she felt a stab of pain with every step that she took.