Sonya had always been a devoted fan of Didarose. Since childhood, she had watched every film and drama starring the actress. Back when she was twelve or thirteen, an age when her understanding of romance was hazy yet full of longing, Didarose was in the bloom of youth at eighteen or nineteen, starring in numerous romantic productions. The little village girl's view of love had gradually taken shape through those very stories.

Didarose was now a national star of the Starry Kingdom, yet even Sonya, her most loyal fan, had to admit that the romance dramas the actress starred in during her early years were mostly unpopular.

The Starry Kingdom audience favored romance stories filled with obsessive devotion or tangled love polygons. Every character would be hopelessly entangled, unable to part, living and dying for love as though it outweighed everything else. Sonya understood the appeal. It was precisely that kind of dramatic conflict that made such stories exciting.

Didarose rarely acted in those kinds of dramas. Most of her roles were in career-driven stories, detective series, or other works where romance took a backseat, usually featuring only a single female lead. When emotional subplots did exist, they served merely as breathing space between intense plot developments, moments that brought a knowing smile and a quiet sense of yearning.

On the rare occasions when a love polygon was involved, Didarose rarely played...