As an Outsider in Her Own Home Chapter 2

On the day of the first recording, I arrived at the studio as promised. Nora’s team was waiting for me at the entrance and led me to a private dressing room backstage.

The show was called The Other Side of the Job, and the theme was genuinely interesting. In today’s hyper-connected world, professional stereotypes have become more entrenched than ever. The show aimed to break those down by inviting celebrities and their family members from different professions to promote career equality.

Nora, a rising action star, was at the peak of her popularity. Her fight scenes were clean and powerful, and she never used a stunt double or complained about the grueling work. That grit had earned her a solid place in the industry. But it also fueled all sorts of speculation about her family background. Many people just assumed that for a girl to be that tough, she must have come from a difficult home that forced her to be that way.

I had just sat down in the dressing room when a young assistant handed me a tablet displaying the live comments from the stream.

【Nora’s mom is finally making an appearance? I’m so curious about her.】

【My guess? She’s from the countryside, probably favors sons over daughters, which is why Nora is so desperate to prove herself.】

【From the glimpse in the promo, she dresses pretty plainly. Probably just a housewife. Maybe she has a son to support too. Ugh, being the older sister is always the worst.】

【Stop making stuff up. But judging by Nora’s intensity, her family probably isn’t well-off.】

I read the comments with a small, amused smile. A son? One Nora the Fearless was more than enough to handle. Another one would probably tear this family apart.

I put the tablet aside. Before long, there was a knock on the door, and the other two sets of guests arrived. The producers had arranged a common lounge area for everyone to get acquainted.

The first pair to walk in was the popular singer-songwriter, Evan, and his girlfriend, Cobie. Cobie wrote the lyrics for almost all of Evan’s songs, and they were widely considered the industry’s golden couple. They certainly looked the part, whispering and smiling, their affection for each other impossible to hide.

The other pair was the award-winning actress, Maya, and her younger sister, Stella. Maya was a household name, known for her humility. She greeted us warmly, her smile genuine.

Nora responded politely. “Nora, it’s been a while! I saw your new movie. Your fighting was incredible,” Maya said with sincere admiration.

“You’re too kind, Maya,” Nora replied.

But the sister trailing behind her was a different story entirely. Stella’s chin was tilted high, her eyes scanning the room with undisguised disdain. She glanced at Evan and Cobie, a smirk playing on her lips. “A trashy songwriter, worthy of being on the same show as us?”

Evan and Cobie’s faces fell, but they were too well-mannered to say anything.

Then, Stella’s gaze shifted to Nora and me. She looked Nora’s casual, athletic wear up and down, her nose wrinkling in disgust. “You reek of sweat. So gross. All that fighting… you don’t look like a girl at all.”