Chapter 266 Is It Really You?
The sword dance scene was filmed when Mackenzie wasn't there. She only knew about the scene's existence but had no idea how Jessica performed it or what kind of dance it was.
She had known Jessica for so long, even knew about Danielle's existence, but never knew Jessica could dance, let alone dance so well!
Especially when comparing this dance to the one Trinity performed five years ago that won an award, there were so many similarities.
The flexibility and many of the movements were almost identical!
Then, the netizens started a heated discussion about whether the choreography and martial arts direction in "Charles II" had plagiarized the dance moves from the movie.
Deborah's fans jumped in, forcibly turning the trending topic into Jessica plagiarizing Trinity's dance, leading everyone to accuse Jessica of stealing dance moves.
Even though the online uproar had been deliberately stirred to this extent, and while the trending topic caused a huge commotion within Jessica's studio, Jessica seemed unperturbed and didn't explain a word on Facebook.
On the other hand, Trinity was anxious to find a way to remove the trending topic.
But Linda calmly reassured Trinity, saying that removing the trending topic now would be useless. Since the online narrative had already shifted to Jessica plagiarizing dance moves, they might as well go along with it and make Jessica the target. After all, it was something from five years ago. Trinity's dance back then was deeply memorable, and even if Jessica came out now claiming she performed that dance five years ago, who would believe her?
As long as the narrative was well-controlled and the negative topic was quickly and accurately addressed, even if this were a trap Jessica had set long ago, they wouldn't be afraid.
After all, the dance in the movie back then was performed behind a veil, and no one could see the face clearly. There were no witnesses or evidence. No matter how Jessica tried to stir things up, she had no proof. At most, it would make people suspicious, but before causing widespread doubt, they could conclude the matter of Jessica plagiarizing the dance moves, and the trouble wouldn't fall on them.
Jessica personally went to the studio, where Mackenzie had been waiting with her arms crossed for a long time.
"What’s the deal with that dance? I saw that scene was almost shot in one take, and the dance moves were very smooth without any pauses." Mackenzie looked at Jessica thoughtfully. "When I signed you in the M Country, your profile didn’t mention you could dance."
Jessica looked at Mackenzie and calmly stated the fact, "I studied dance professionally for about seven years."
Mackenzie looked at her in disbelief for a while. "Seven years? You know there aren’t many actresses in the industry who can really dance. Most of it is just hype. Why didn’t you tell me you had this skill?"
"I just abandoned some parts of my past. But to seek some justice for myself, I had to bring out some long-unused skills. If you don’t sharpen the knife, it will rust."
Mackenzie was confused. "I don’t understand."
Jessica just smiled faintly. "Didn’t you say that five years ago, Trinity’s dance in the movie "Red Cavalier" was particularly good? You liked it so much you almost became a fan."
Mackenzie was speechless.
Mackenzie looked at Jessica for a long time, then suddenly scrutinized her up and down.
"Wait! How did I just realize! Jessica, you and Trinity both have the last name Jenner," Mackenzie murmured, "Before I signed you, I only knew you didn’t have any parents or relatives around, but I didn’t investigate your past. Jessica, could it be that you and Trinity are..."
Jessica didn’t speak; she just gave her a very subtle look.
Mackenzie clutched her chest. "You’re family! You’re Trinity’s sister!"
Jessica asked with a strange expression, "Do I look that young? She’s half a year younger than me. Strictly speaking, I’m the older sister."
"You do look younger than her. If you’re sisters, how can you be only half a year apart?"
"Half-sisters." Jessica didn’t think it was necessary to mention whether they had the same father at this point, as it had nothing to do with what she needed to do now.
Mackenzie took a long time to digest this news, then asked with deep confusion, "What did you mean when you mentioned that dance earlier?"
Although she suddenly had a bold guess in her mind, she didn’t dare to speculate wildly.
But Jessica's gaze today seemed to convey everything.
Suddenly, Zoey opened the office door and came in. "The martial arts director of "Charles II" just posted a suggestive Facebook update. Now Jessica’s Facebook was flooded with thousands of comments accusing her of plagiarizing Trinity."
Mackenzie frowned sharply. "Why is the martial arts director speaking out now? What did he post on Facebook?"
Zoey said anxiously, "The martial arts director said on his personal Facebook that only the sword dance moves in Jessica’s scene were designed by them, but the dance moves were not. He hinted that even if it was plagiarism, it was Jessica’s personal behavior. Now, because the martial arts director suddenly stepped in to stir things up, the company’s PR team can’t release their statement, and they’re still observing. But Jessica is being scolded, and all the narrative and direction are pointing at her!"
"Is the martial arts director crazy? Did we offend him? At this time, all the crew members should keep quiet. Why is he stirring things up and directing all the negative comments towards Jessica?" Mackenzie picked up her phone and glanced at Facebook. "No, this is the peak of Jessica’s popularity. I’ll contact Star Entertainment’s PR team immediately. We can’t let them direct all the negative comments towards us. This is clearly intentional! How can the production team be so unreliable?"
"It’s not the production team’s fault. Someone bribed the martial arts director." Jessica didn’t seem flustered, resting her chin on one hand on Mackenzie’s desk. "No need to get the PR team involved. I started this, and I can handle it."
"How?" Mackenzie looked grim. "This show is too popular now, with so many people inside and outside the industry watching, hoping to find a reason to take it down or lower its reputation. How can you clear the plagiarism accusation?"
Seeing Jessica still calmly looking at her, not speaking, as if waiting for her to calm down.
Mackenzie looked at her for a while, then suddenly asked Zoey to leave, and then looked at Jessica.
"You said you started this, meaning you were prepared for this when you filmed that scene?"
"Jessica, this dance is very similar to the one Trinity did five years ago. There’s no way to clear the plagiarism accusation."
"Unless, you were the one who performed that dance five years ago."
Jessica leaned against the desk, her fingers lightly tapping the edge, tilting her head to look at her.
Mackenzie’s eyes widened. "Was it really you?"
