The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

Chapter 496 TIT FOR TAT

WULFRIC picked up the teacup in front of him. Because he felt a bit nervous by the question, he forgot that the tea he brewed didnʼt exactly taste great. So, when he drank it, the bitterness that filled his mouth almost choked him. Causing him to cough uncontrollably.

”Damn, that tastes like shit,” he blurted, almost wanting to throw the teacup to the wall. If it wasnʼt for the fact that this teacup was owned by Aster, he probably would have already done that.

Reas only looked at him as if saying, ʼI told you soʼ.

Wulfric cleared his throat. He should have shown a more dignified appearance. This was a very sensitive time period. After all, he was at the stage where he was still trying to get Aster to like him. Having his future brother-in-law approved of him would definitely be a must. But how could he do that if he only showed his lame side to the other?

Now, he even missed the perfect timing to answer Reasʼ question. He was planning to act all cool and honestly tell the other about his feelings for Aster. But saying that now, after he just almost choked on the tea he brewed, would only feel like a joke.

”Iʼm visiting him,” he could only say at the end.

Reas frowned, seemingly not liking his answer. ”The General must be busy with work. Did you go all the way here to the capital just to visit my brother, despite your busy schedule?”

Wulfric felt like what the other was really saying was ʼso, instead of doing your job properly, you came here running to my brother to disturb him?ʼ. Because of that, he suddenly felt like he should explain himself.

He cleared his throat once again before speaking. ”I just finished a very dangerous and highly classified mission. So, Iʼm on a break right now.”

In short, he just finished doing good deeds for the Empire, so he deserved this break.

”I see. But isnʼt there a better place to go on vacation than the capital?” Reas said with a hint of sarcasm. ”I mean, surely, the General could relax more on some recreational planet than in my brotherʼs small apartment, right?”

The otherʼs question was like him directly saying ʼwhy are you hanging here in my brotherʼs place instead?ʼ. Which would take them back to Reasʼ original question of what was he doing here.

If Wulfric didnʼt answer that now, their conversation would not go anywhere. This was probably the right moment to tell the other what he was planning to say earlier.

”Youʼre right. Iʼm not just here simply for vacation. The main reason why I travelled here to the capital was Aster. I wanted to see him. But when I got here, that simple reasoning had now evolved into something else. Something much deeper.”

Reas frowned, not really liking where this was going. But he didnʼt interrupt the general and just let the other speak.

”You see, your brother and I had a conversation. Which led to me having this life-changing realization. I discovered that...” Wulfric stopped, taking a deep breath inwardly, before he continued, ”Iʼm in love with him.”

Reas felt like there was a loud gong ringing directly beside him when he heard what the other had just said. It was ringing so loudly that he couldnʼt hear or see anything else. It made him unable to react. So, he could only sit there and let the other continue to talk.

”And Iʼm here to make Aster fall for me.”

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”Okay, cut!”

At the shout of the director, Astridʼs expression returned to his usual ʼbusiness faceʼ. Which was primarily just a gentle smile with a slight tilt at the corner of his lips.

”Good job, Astrid,” the director praised. ”I didnʼt think we would actually get everything in just one take.”

”No, itʼs because the director directed me well. Thatʼs why everything went smoothly,” Astrid said generously.

But deep inside, he just wanted to quickly go back home. Thatʼs why he did his best to finish this commercial shoot in one take. Thankfully, the director was not too fuzzy and let everything passed easily. The other changing the schedule at the last minute probably helped. He probably felt guilty doing that and didnʼt want to make things hard for Astrid.

Of course, this didnʼt mean that Astridʼs performance was not up to standard. Despite him wanting to finish this shoot as quickly as possible, he wouldnʼt just jeopardize his performance. A good actor should always know how to separate personal from professional matter.

”Iʼm sorry again for rescheduling like this,” the director apologized a second time. He apologized the first time when he arrived earlier.

”Itʼs alright, Director. I understand,” Astrid said.

After a few more conversations, the shoot officially ended.

Astrid and Ellis said goodbye to the staffs and walked directly to the parking lot.

”Since the shoot had been moved ahead of schedule, it would most likely air ahead of schedule as well,” Ellis said as they walked.

This commercial was for a new smart cookware set produced by a pretty famous brand known for being family-friendly and user-friendly. Once this commercial aired, Astrid would have an approachable image that could appeal to the general public. It would balance out the elegant and noble-like image he had that was propelled by his EMMA advertisement.

This would only be advantageous for Astridʼs overall image. Itʼs one of the reasons why Ellis chose this brandʼs product. Not only because of their good reputation but also because of how popular it was to the general public. Like at least seven out of 10 households had their cookware sets.

The fact that they chose Astrid to promote their new cookware set was a testament to his newly gained popularity.

Ellis was about to praise the other for another job well done, but before she could, she noticed that Astrid was no longer walking beside her. Confused, she looked ahead and saw the other was already numerous pace away from her.

He was walking, no, striding, as if an axe murderer was running after him.