CHAPTER 177: CHAPTER 177: NUMBING ONESELF WITH WORK

Mason Nightshade walked out of the private room, tiredly pinching the bridge of his nose. He had barely slept last night and used piles of work today to numb himself, trying not to think too much. Now, he felt like his headache was about to explode.

"Boss, are you okay?" Gustavo Yates saw Mason Nightshade come out and followed him out with concern.

Mason Nightshade looked back, "Everything okay inside?"

"They’re drinking inside. The things that needed discussing are done. Boss, you’ve been busy all day and drank so much. Go back and rest," Gustavo Yates advised.

"I’m fine." Mason Nightshade leaned against the window, lowered his head to light a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

The headache eased considerably.

Gustavo Yates saw Mason Nightshade like this, wanted to say something, opened his mouth, but swallowed the words back.

From the conference hall next door came a burst of noise. People were constantly going in and out.

Mason Nightshade looked up and asked Gustavo Yates, "What’s going on in there?"

"I heard it’s the ’You Are My Star’ crew auditioning actors."

You Are My Star... the name sounded very familiar.

Mason Nightshade thought carefully for a moment, and suddenly remembered where he had seen it.

Mason Nightshade recalled seeing Aurelia Shaw search for this name. Recently, she had been watching painting videos on her phone, preparing to compete for this role.

"The leading female character is a painter?" Mason Nightshade asked.

Gustavo Yates didn’t know much about the TV series, but fortunately, he had glanced at the exhibition board downstairs, thought for a moment, and replied, "Seems to be an autistic painter, who relied on her brother since childhood."

Mason Nightshade took a deep drag of his cigarette, extinguished the butt, tossed it into the trash, and stepped towards the conference hall, "Let’s go in and take a look."

Gustavo Yates was momentarily caught off guard, watched Mason Nightshade’s back walking in, then looked back at their private room, and still followed.

As soon as Mason Nightshade entered, it caused a small stir. Although he didn’t often appear in magazines or on TV, many had seen him in private, though only glimpsed him at social gatherings. Mason Nightshade’s appearance was too striking, too easy to remember.

The investor of ’You Are My Star’ immediately went over, extended a hand to Mason Nightshade, "Mr. Night, hello. What brings you here suddenly?"

"I was negotiating some business here, heard you were auditioning roles, came to take a look." Mason Nightshade’s voice was calm, his gestures exuded poise and elegance.

The investor hastily had a chair brought over and added it to the mentor’s seat.

The actors auditioning were mostly newcomers or those without a background. Seeing the investor being so courteous to this man, their hearts grew a bit more respectful towards him.

They performed more intensely.

But.

Mason Nightshade hadn’t spared a glance at the people on stage, his head lowered, flipping through the audition materials in his hand.

Matthew Xenos cautiously observed his behavior, secretly wondering: Is Mr. Night here to choose someone? Such matters are common in the upper circles; freshly debuted starlets are often seen as prey by many.

But soon, Matthew Xenos’s speculation was shattered.

Because he realized Mason Nightshade didn’t focus on these materials at all, he glanced at each one and flipped it over quickly, without a moment’s pause, seemingly uninterested in who was on the papers, looking more like he was searching for someone.

"Are all the audition materials here?" Mason Nightshade asked, his brow tightly furrowed.