He Wouldn't Claim Me — Another Man Did-Chapter 51 - 45: Love Rival

She was too far away for Isla Prescott to see the woman’s face clearly, but she could tell the woman had a graceful figure and was full of energy.

The woman beckoned to Shane Sterling. High atop his horse, Shane Sterling bent down, leaning in to hear what she was saying. The woman beamed, and after she finished speaking, she even reached out and caressed Shane Sterling’s face. And Shane Sterling didn’t even refuse.

One look was all it took to see they were close.

Isla stood frozen, her face expressionless, but her mind was suddenly in turmoil. She even forgot what she had come here to do.

"Isabelle! Isabelle!"

Annabelle Leighton’s voice came from somewhere, echoing across the wide-open equestrian field.

Shane Sterling, who was on the grass, also heard Annabelle Leighton’s call. He sat up straight and turned his head, searching for the source of the voice and for Isla.

Isla didn’t want him to see her, but of course, he spotted her the moment he turned his head. The instant he saw her, Shane Sterling leaped off his horse and strode in her direction.

"Isla, what are you doing here..."

Isla felt a tightness in her chest, and her first instinct was to get away. She ignored him, brushing right past him.

Shane Sterling froze, turning to grab her, but Isla clutched her tote bag tightly and broke into a light run.

"Hey..."

Shane Sterling watched her hurry away, a baffled look on his face.

’Did she forget who I was after I was away on business for a month?’

"Who was that?" Stella Hughes walked over, taking off her baseball cap and gazing in the direction Isla had run. "Your girlfriend?"

Shane Sterling let out a breath. "Not yet."

"’Not yet?’ The ’yet’ is telling. So, you’re pursuing her?" Stella Hughes had the look of someone who just got the latest gossip. "Is she the reason you did everything you could to get out of the engagement with the Quincy Family?"

Shane Sterling’s expression turned serious in an instant. "Watch your mouth."

Stella Hughes slapped Shane Sterling’s arm. "Is that any way to talk to your aunt? I’m your elder, you know."

"The matter with the Quincy Family is over. I don’t want to drag her into it."

"My, my, so protective." Stella Hughes gave him a sly, probing look. "So what’s on the little lady’s mind? I saw how fast she walked away just now without even a glance at you. Is your charm failing you? Does she not fancy you?"

Shane Sterling suddenly fell silent.

Stella Hughes caught the hesitation in his eyes and burst out laughing. "Well, this is a first. I’ve never seen you look so insecure, kiddo."

Shane didn’t reply, simply turning and walking back toward his horse.

Stella Hughes put her cap back on, followed him, and slung an arm around his shoulder. "Come on, you’re Shane Sterling. You’re this handsome and you don’t even know it? Take it from your aunt’s experience—I guarantee you, that girl is definitely into you too."

"Oh, really?" Shane’s interest was slightly piqued. "How can you tell?"

"We made eye contact for a second back there. The look she gave me wasn’t your average glance. It was like... she saw me as a rival for your affection."

"A rival?"

"What? Is that so impossible? I may be forty, but I’ve still got it, alright? Look at me..." Stella Hughes spread her arms and twirled. "With this face and this body, if you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, who’s going to know I’m a mother of three?"

Stella Hughes was a beauty connoisseur. The amount of money she’d spent on her face over the years could buy a villa in Meritopia. She loved looking good and was incredibly self-disciplined. Even after having three children, she had maintained a slender figure. At first glance, you really couldn’t tell her apart from a college student.

"If you don’t believe me, I can help you put on a little show sometime to reel her in. I guarantee she’ll get jealous and take the bait."

Shane Sterling refused flatly. "Thank you, but no thank you."

"Why won’t you listen to good advice? People are like that sometimes. When you’re in the thick of it, you can’t see your own feelings clearly. If you give her a little push, she’ll figure it out."

Shane Sterling still shook his head. "I don’t want her to get the wrong idea."

’I couldn’t bear for her to misunderstand.’

’Not for a single minute. I couldn’t stand it.’

--

After meeting up with Annabelle Leighton, Isla finally met the legendary influencer, "Meow Meow Doesn’t Eat Fish." The blogger was in her early thirties and had a very cheerful personality.

When she heard that Isla and Annabelle were there to learn about running a social media account, she just laughed.

"Honestly, when it comes to getting traffic, I’d say it’s thirty percent hard work and seventy percent luck. Whether you go viral or not is really up to fate."

Despite saying that, Meow Meow generously shared all the experience she thought would be useful with Annabelle Leighton and Isla Prescott, holding nothing back.

"First off, you need to find your niche. Once you’ve established your lane, you have to find your account’s ’irreplaceability.’ For example, when I first started doing food streams, everyone else was checking out trendy, viral restaurants. I focused on roadside food stalls at three in the morning."

"Second is content. When you’re creating content, you have to look for the logic that makes things go viral, instead of just making videos that you find touching yourself. I just watched one of your dance videos. It’s beautifully shot and very professional, but you can see videos like that on any TV station’s New Year’s gala, Mid-Autumn Festival show, or any other holiday special. What makes you different? Another important thing is your title. Don’t just make the title the name of the dance. You can create a bit of suspense, or even some conflict. The bottom line is, you have to grab the user’s attention in three seconds. And when you’re editing, pay close attention to the ’golden five seconds’—edit the most exciting part to be right at the beginning."

"Third is platform management. You have to precisely match the rules of the game for different platforms. That’s how you crack the code to getting traffic and monetizing it. When you’re out of ideas, you can also jump on trending topics. Use trending keywords related to your own field to generate content. For example, when Zibo barbecue was all the rage, I went and did a feature on it."

"Lastly, don’t be too sensitive. It’s normal for your stats to be bad for the first three months. For me, I was posting for a year and barely had any followers. Just when I was about to give up, the traffic suddenly hit. A lot of creators give up right before their big break. The philosophy of persistence and timing is brutal, because the dawn never gives you a heads-up."

"..."

At first, Isla was still distracted from seeing Shane Sterling’s intimate moment with another woman. But as she listened, she became completely absorbed and started taking notes nonstop.

"Meow Meow, everything you’ve said today has been so valuable to us. Thank you so, so much. We’d love to treat you to dinner sometime."

Both Annabelle Leighton and Isla Prescott felt that someone as kind and sincere as Meow Meow was a friend worth making.

"Sure! When I’m free, I’ll come hang out at your dance studio. I actually really like dancing, so maybe you can teach me a few things then."

"Of course. You’re welcome anytime."

Meow Meow had a riding lesson soon, so Isla and Annabelle didn’t dare take up too much of her time. Seeing that it was about time, they got up to leave.

As they walked out of the office, the two were still mulling over Meow Meow’s advice.

"This trip was so worth it," said Annabelle Leighton.

Isla nodded. If she hadn’t run into Shane Sterling and that woman, today would have definitely been the most valuable day she’d had all month.

The moment Shane Sterling’s name flashed through her mind, she saw him riding his horse toward her from the other side of the lawn.