Chapter 472: I won’t block you anymore!

Penny knew she was in for a hell of a ride... and she was right.

When they arrived at the studio for Slater’s photoshoot, Penny had to carry multiple bags for her third brother. While Slater walked in with style, Penny was buried under all his stuff. Just when she thought she could rest after putting everything down, she was wrong.

During Slater’s makeup session, Penny had to run around, assisting with tasks that weren’t even her job. Some studio staff would ask her for favors, and while she could’ve easily declined, doing so would reflect poorly on Slater’s image.

So, while her prince of a third brother was getting all dolled up, Penny was slaving away.

Even when they were taking his photos, she had to stay alert and on her toes.

After that...

They headed straight to another studio — this time, a music studio. Slater had a rehearsal. Penny had always assumed music rehearsals took up an entire day, but she was wrong. Slater had to do a short recording session, which he used as a vocal warm-up for a mall show he was scheduled to perform at later. He was apparently a guest.

That was the last time Penny remembered having any sort of break. After that brief recording, which lasted only an hour and a half, they went to another video shoot, then another photoshoot, and finally, a quick music cover shoot.

It was hell.

Penny could barely keep track of how many places they had been to, and it wasn’t even afternoon yet!

Seated in the van on their way to the mall, Penny’s face was blank. Her eyes were vacant. She couldn’t even look at the food in front of her, still trying to process everything that had just happened.

"Penny?" Slater waved a hand in front of her, watching as she slowly turned her deadened face toward him. He flinched when he saw how gaunt she looked. "Penny, are you okay?"

Staring at her brother, Penny gasped in disbelief. "How can you still look handsome after all that?!" she accused, pointing at him, struck by the sheer unfairness of the world.

While she looked tired and haggard, Slater was still... beaming! She could even see him glitter!

Slater smiled charmingly. "Hehe. Thanks for the compliment, sister. I’m glad you’ve finally realized how blessed you are to have a brother like me."

"Well, I can’t blame you for only realizing this now," he shrugged nonchalantly. "But this is why I’m so popular."

"..." Penny shook her head. Running errands wasn’t the problem. She was used to that from managing her company. What exhausted her the most was the constant traveling, the traffic, and the never-ending stops from one place to another.

"Third Brother, do you do this every day?" she asked, sighing in relief when she saw him shake his head.

"Not every day, but at least a few times a week," he corrected. "Sometimes, it’s every other day."

Wasn’t that the same as every day?!

"Where’s your manager?" she asked, holding her head. ’I’m going to kill him right now. How can he work my brother to the bone?’

Seeing her reaction, Slater smiled in satisfaction. "Penny, you should eat. I warmed it up for you."

"You did?" she deadpanned. "When?"

"Earlier." He tilted his head slightly. "I always feed my people because I know you guys have it worse than me. So, eat! The food’s great!"

Penny glanced at his beaming face before looking at the packed food in front of her. Perhaps it was because she was still processing the fact that she had to ditch her work to become her brother’s assistant, that she hadn’t noticed Slater’s kind gestures.

Looking around the celebrity van, it almost felt like a small luxury home. Aside from the wide, comfortable seats that could recline into beds, they could walk around without ducking. Well, Slater still had to lower his head because of his height.

The van had plenty of space with its own bathroom, dressing room, a small kitchen, and a mini-fridge. Penny knew customized vans like this existed, but this was her first time riding in her brother’s celebrity van.

Snapping her attention back to Slater, she saw him talking on the phone. She didn’t need to guess who it was — likely the driver or one of Slater’s security guards. He was asking if they had already eaten and whether they should stop for food.

’I know he’s busy; he always comes home late. Sometimes, he leaves early and still comes home late,’ she thought, her eyes inevitably falling on the tablet beside her. Instead of eating, Penny felt compelled to check Slater’s schedule again.

Initially, she had only looked at his schedule for today. Now, she was curious about the upcoming days and the past ones. Although some days weren’t as packed as today, most were.

The more she checked, the deeper her frown grew.

"Penny, why haven’t you touched your food?" Slater asked when he noticed she wasn’t eating. She was just staring at his schedule, holding onto the tablet. "It’s okay if you don’t memorize my schedule. I’ve got it down. Just keep the tablet with you in case my brain overloads."

"Third Brother." Slowly, Penny raised her head and met his gaze. This time, her expression was filled with confusion. "Why do you come home every night?"

"Huh?"

She pointed at the tablet. "Here. Some days on your schedule could’ve been spent elsewhere — like this one. Your last stop was in that town. If you’d stayed the night, you could’ve gotten plenty of rest since your next show the following day was only thirty minutes away from there."

But Slater had come home that night.

In fact, since Penny returned from abroad, Slater hadn’t missed a single night at home.

Slater grinned. "Because I want to see you! Sure, I might save travel time if I didn’t come home and stayed in hotels instead, but then I wouldn’t get to see you. What’s the point of you coming home if I’m not there in case you need me?"

"..." Penny’s lips pressed into a frown, her eyes wide and watery. He said it all so casually, but it nearly moved her to tears.

Her heart quickly melted. Before she knew it, she blurted out, "Third Brother, I’m sorry! I won’t block you anymore!"