“Revenge and Love” officially began filming, and Elisa got up early, dressed in comfortable casual clothes and a baseball cap, and headed out.
Compared to the exquisite makeup of other actresses, she blended in with the crowd in her casual outfit.
Asher intended to pick her up, but Elisa refused. It was better to keep a low profile at this time. The biggest controversy surrounding her was the rumor of sleeping with the director for roles. It was better to maintain some distance, especially for the sake of the entire production crew.
Elisa got in touch with Iris and, upon arriving at the set, handed over her cat bag, asking her to take care of it. Iris, her assistant, who usually helped her with things like fetching water and clothes, had little presence in the company. Although she was technically Elisa’s assistant, everyone could give her orders.
This time, Elisa used the recording in her hand to officially assign Iris to her. While her salary remained the same, the workload became much lighter. Elisa could handle her own affairs well, except for Mimi, whom she couldn’t leave behind. Mimi was very attached to her, and she couldn’t bear to leave it behind, so she decided to bring it to the set and have Iris look after it.
Iris knew her task was simply to look after a cat and had no objections, as she usually loved looking after small animals.
Upon seeing Elisa, Iris hurried over with the bag on her shoulder. The weather in Bankshire at the end of July was 38 degrees outside, unbearably hot and humid. Iris took out a parasol from her bag, intending to shade Elisa. Celebrities were particularly concerned about their skin, especially under strong UV rays, even if they had applied sunscreen, they still needed to use a parasol.
“No need for the umbrella, I’m wearing a hat. The most important thing for you right now is to take good care of it for me, and you don’t need to worry about anything else,” Elisa instructed.
Iris nodded repeatedly, realizing that she would need to be careful with the cat bag and that carrying the umbrella would be inconvenient. While she put the umbrella away in her bag, she examined the cat that Elisa had brought.
“Is this your cat, Elisa?” Iris asked.
“Yes,” Elisa replied, looking at Iris’s puzzled expression and casually asking, “What’s wrong?”
“I just feel like you’re not the kind of person who would keep a cat. After all, your salary is very low, and you seem like someone who avoids trouble,” Iris explained.
“I will never be troubled by keeping it,” Elisa replied. At this moment, all she hoped for was that Mimi could accompany her for a long time, even longer.
Iris felt that Elisa had changed, just as she had felt when she saw her at the audition last month. The previous “Elisa” wasn’t bad, but she was always submissive and reticent, preferring to stay in inconspicuous corners, her eyes devoid of any light, filled with unshakable sadness.
The present Elisa was more confident but lacked the warmth she used to have. Compared to before, Iris preferred this new Elisa, at least she would no longer allow herself to be bullied, living for herself.
Iris carefully took the cat bag and cradled it. “What breed of cat is this?” she asked.
“A Ragdoll cat,” Elisa replied.
Iris sneaked another glance at the cat; aside from its eyes, it was hard to believe that it was a Ragdoll cat. An adult Ragdoll cat normally weighs around ten pounds, but Mimi was probably only about five pounds, it was too light. Iris gently lifted the cat bag onto her back. “Elisa, let’s go ahead. The crew should be arriving soon.”
If they arrived late, it was highly likely that paparazzi would spread rumors and cause trouble. There were many fans supporting the production outside the set, with Lorelei’s fans being the most numerous.
When Elisa arrived at the location, it was exactly ten o’clock. She went in with the crew members, wearing a mask and a hat, with sunglasses hanging from her collar. As soon as she entered, she heard a click.
She had good hearing and turned towards the sound, finding a paparazzo behind a flowerbed. When he noticed her looking, he immediately took another picture.
Elisa still hadn’t gotten used to being photographed casually. She suppressed the urge to furrow her brow and then lowered her mask, giving the paparazzo a slight smile. The curve of her lips, combined with her confident and ordinary attire, made her delicate and beautiful face stand out even more.
The paparazzo had initially intended to capture photos of Lorelei, but since he couldn’t find her, he decided to take a few shots of Elisa, who was currently gaining attention and would make for good tabloid material. However, he hadn’t expected Elisa to suddenly look back at him.
She had a great voice, a good appearance, and a good temper. Even when being secretly photographed, she didn’t show any anger. The paparazzo blushed and discreetly ran off with his camera.
The staff next to Elisa only then noticed the paparazzo nearby and looked at Elisa with surprise. “You’re doing well. How did you spot him?”
“I have good hearing,” Elisa replied.
“I’ve seen many celebrities who despise paparazzi but dare not offend them, but you seem not to care,” the staff member remarked.
“It’s all part of the job. If I can’t control my emotions, won’t I be at their mercy?” Elisa replied.
“You have the right mindset. Don’t dwell on it, in the end, it’s your own emotions that will be wasted.”
After waiting for a while, Elisa finally saw Asher. He handed her a red envelope, on which were the four words “Good luck with the filming.”
When it was time to take photos on stage, as the secondary female lead, she stood next to the male lead. After the opening ceremony was over, it was already noon, and the crew invited everyone to have lunch. Elisa followed the crowd, hearing various cheers from the fans.
Elisa preferred peace and quiet, and the excessive noise made her feel out of place. She took out her phone and texted Iris, letting her know that she would be at the hotel soon.
Suddenly, a jarring cheer rang out from the crowd of fans.
“We understand everything about you, our love for you is as strong as ever! Welcome back, Elisa!”
The cheering was so loud that it broke through the surrounding noise and reached Elisa’s ears. Not only did Elisa hear it, but also the staff and actors walking ahead. It was as if someone had used a megaphone to shout it out.
Elisa felt a sudden pang in her chest. She resisted the urge to reach out and rub it. This inexplicable emotion did not stem from her, but from the original owner of the body, “Aoife,” who had continued to mourn even after her death.
Elisa licked her dry lips and followed the sound with her eyes, eventually spotting three girls in the last inconspicuous corner. They wore golden headbands with the words “Elisa” written on them.
When they noticed her gaze, the three girls became very excited and shouted in unison, “Elisa, you can do it!” Their voices were hoarse and almost hoarse from shouting.
“Elisa, I’m sorry!” After the last apology, one of the girls burst into tears.
A staff member next to Elisa reminded her, “They are your fans.”
Elisa nodded. Yes, they were her fans.
“Aren’t you going to say something?”
The place was bustling with noise, but Elisa disliked shouting. She fell silent for a moment, seemingly considering her next move. After a while, she stepped out of the crowd, took off her baseball cap, and bowed towards the three girls, her right hand pressed against her left chest in gratitude.
At that moment, the previously boisterous crowd fell silent, and all eyes converged on her. Elisa finished her bow, turned to them with a smile, then continued with the staff, leaving the place.
Elisa’s seat was arranged at the table with the director. She glanced at the people already seated. The lead actress Lorelei, the third actress Ariadne, and the actors Osvaldo and Amir, who played the first and second male leads, were all there. Everything seemed fine.
When Elisa arrived at the box, there was only one seat left. She sat down beside Ariadne. It was strange to see several actors who weren’t particularly close sitting together, acting as if they were long-lost friends. Elisa observed the lively atmosphere at the table and couldn’t help but sigh. “Truly a group of actors, acting is their work, and even outside of work, they are still acting.”
The waiter came to take their orders. After placing their orders, the waiter asked if anyone had dietary restrictions. Asher, wanting to look out for Elisa, spoke up, “Elisa, do you have any dietary restrictions or any specific preferences?”
“No,” she replied.
After Asher spoke, the others seemed to finally notice Elisa, and the assistant director said, “I recently watched your variety show, the Weekend Show. You were really good in it.”
Apart from not underestimating Elisa’s acting skills, there was also her approach. Initially targeted by Sebastian and Filippa, she managed to turn the tide with a recorded video.
But what puzzled people was where Elisa got the video. Did she always carry a recording device with her?
“Thank you, Mr. Beck.”
“Then let’s have a pleasant cooperation for the next six months.”
The assistant director raised his glass, and the others followed suit.
“Lorelei, you and Elisa are from the same company, right? What’s your relationship like usually?” It was Ariadne who asked. Everyone who knew the situation understood that the relationship between these two was very poor. Ariadne was deliberately trying to provoke the two as if she were pretending not to know.
“We have a good relationship. After all, there’s no competition between us,” Lorelei replied.
Elisa looked at Lorelei’s slightly stiff face and smiled without saying a word.
As the group ate and chatted, Asher remembered some good news and shared it. “There have been quite a few good news recently. Mr. Snearl and Mr. Burns from Burns Group have invested in our drama. The combined investment has now reached nearly four billion.”
“Four billion?” someone exclaimed.
Asher was very satisfied to see the surprised looks around the table. This four billion did not even include the actors’ salaries. Revenge and Love was a large-scale period drama, and Asher was someone who paid extreme attention to detail. The reason his previous film and television works received such high praise was not only because of the story and cinematography but also the meticulous details in the actors’ costumes and makeup. The embroidery on the clothes was all done stitch by stitch, and the most valuable one was the phoenix robe tailored for Elisa’s character, Zhao Jin, embroidered with golden thread, which could easily fetch a seven-figure amount at auction.
Chiwood had two Burns Group members, Finn and Hamish, who held considerable influence. Their relationship was not a secret, but nobody dared to openly talk about it.
The two were half-brothers, with Finn smoothly inheriting the property under Old Burns’ name, but his name had never been changed back to Burns, clearly indicating that he was an illegitimate child.
“I can understand Finn investing in film and television, but why is Hamish also joining in?”
“Finn initially invested forty million, then Hamish invested a hundred million, and later added another sixty million.”
Asher’s initial fundraising goal was two hundred million. After struggling for half a day, he hadn’t expected these two to immediately help him achieve that goal, raising the entire crew’s “dining” experience to a whole new level.
These two were truly generous when it came to spending money.
“Do we have someone they know in our crew?”
“I guess it must be Lorelei. Generally, big investors look at the lead actress; they wouldn’t invest in some inconspicuous supporting roles, right?”
“Yes, Lorelei is an award-winning actress, and with Mr. Kentala in our crew, they must have seen the potential for our drama to be a huge success before investing.”
“Lorelei, tell us, are these two investing because of you?” Ariadne asked curiously.
Lorelei held a glass of water, and as everyone shifted the conversation to her, she took a small sip, appearing both gracious and shy. “I don’t know, really. I’ve met them a few times, and a couple of weeks ago, the company did mention that someone would be investing in the crew, but I didn’t expect it to be them…”
“I told you it was because of Lorelei. She’s beautiful, talented, and has won numerous awards. If I had money to invest in a crew, I would definitely choose to invest in Lorelei,” someone chimed in.
“I never thought Chiwood’s two big shots would be putting up money for you. Mr. Kentala, you better treat Teacher White well in the future.”