His powerful arms trembled as if holding something fragile.
Elisa felt her heart trembling along with him, she slightly raised her head, her chin resting on Louis’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” she asked softly, her breath brushing against his ear, causing Louis’s ear to blush slightly.
Louis’s voice was hoarse as he murmured in response, “I’m afraid. Afraid that I arrived too late to see you hurt, afraid of not seeing you, afraid that something might happen to you, afraid of you leaving me, afraid of you being bullied where I can’t see, afraid that you might endure something secretly without telling me, Elisa… Can you tell me how to overcome this fear?”
“I’m fine, aren’t I?” Elisa paused for a moment, then hesitated before raising her hand to pat his back gently, soothingly saying, “Besides, I’m not enduring anything alone. I called you, I’m safe, I’m still here.”
Louis was like a comforted wolf, the warmth in his arms so comforting that he hesitated to let go. His empty heart, which had been lingering all along, was filled at that moment, as if injected with warm honey, sweet until it reached his mouth.
“I don’t want there to be a next time, but if a similar situation arises again, I still hope you’ll contact me first. As long as you’re willing to find me, I will always be there for you, Elisa, never put yourself in a difficult situation at any time.”
Elisa’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t want to have any extra emotions in her life, but the “emotions” in this world always came unexpectedly, catching her off guard.
Louis released his hands and took a small step back. Lowering his head, his dark eyes reflected Elisa’s figure like a clear water mirror.
Suddenly, Elisa remembered the words Louis had said during the interview.
“I knew you before the rumors, I believe in you.”
“Whether it’s mountains of knives and seas of fire or a long river of miles, I will go to her without hesitation.”
Elisa sighed softly, “I promise you, if anything happens in the future, I will contact you first. Speaking of which…” She paused, thinking of the farce today, Louis didn’t want her to get hurt, but wasn’t she already?
“Can you handle them?”
“I don’t know. I have an average relationship with them, never been in a fight, but I think I should be able to.” It wasn’t boasting on Louis’s part; he truly felt he had a talent in that area.
Like acting, he had filmed action scenes and military warfare, never using a stand-in. No matter how difficult the action, he always did it himself, quick reflexes, great strength, and agile movements. How fast? If a mouse darted out from an inconspicuous corner, he could see it and immediately cut off its head with a knife.
Louis didn’t know if he could win against Hamish and Finn if it came to a fight, but to protect Elisa, he was willing to risk his life.
…
After changing costumes, the crew had mostly dispersed. Elisa was worried that today’s events might cause trouble if they were exposed online. However, after browsing Twitter for a while, she didn’t find any information about her, showing that it had obviously been handled.
As for who resolved it, that was beyond her concern. But whoever could control the onlookers and the online narrative, that was obvious… whoever caused trouble was responsible for resolving it.
Elisa changed her clothes, took her bag, and walked out of the dressing room. The person waiting at the door had now become two people; Iris had also arrived, carrying Mimi on her back and holding a bag in her hand.
“Elisa.”
“You’re here?”
Iris nodded, her eyes sparkling, but those shining eyes were not looking at her, but at Louis.
Louis explained, “I called her to come.”
When Elisa messaged him, he was in the car, contacting people in the crew. Iris was the first person he contacted to inquire about Elisa’s situation. Unexpectedly, Iris was not at the set, but upon hearing that Elisa had gotten into trouble, she immediately rushed over with Mimi, just arriving.
Iris had many idols, and Louis was her favorite. She had never imagined that Louis would call her, nor did she expect that Louis and Elisa had such a good relationship, a relationship that didn’t seem like just ordinary friends.
Louis reached out, “Put Mimi down, I will carry her.”
A simple sentence startled Iris; how could she let the big movie star carry the cat?
“I’ll do it,” Elisa said.
Iris took care of the cat very carefully; in just two weeks, Mimi had visibly gained some weight, and the healthier Mimi was, the happier Elisa became. Mimi obediently curled up in the bag, quiet and calm. When Mimi saw Elisa, one of its ears would twitch, just like when it saw Louis.
Elisa directly opened the bag and took Mimi out. The bag had air holes, but it was still hot inside, especially in the thirty-six-degree outdoor temperature of the summer.
Elisa felt Mimi’s warmth as she carefully held it. Before she could say anything, Louis instinctively opened a bottle of water and fed Mimi.
As he watched Mimi drink, Louis gently touched the cat’s head.
Mimi used to be lively and affectionate, enjoying rubbing against people and scratching with its front paws. But now, due to its physical disability, it had become more self-conscious and was no longer fond of being close to humans. However, it didn’t reject being touched by the people around Elisa, especially Louis, who could even touch its belly without resistance.
After Louis finished feeding Mimi, he said, “Let’s go back to the car. It’ll be crowded later, and we can decide where to eat once we’re in the car. It’s already lunchtime.”
Elisa nodded and turned to Iris, asking, “Are you coming with us?”
Iris had a feeling that if she agreed, she might be killed by Louis’s gaze. She immediately made a decision and shook her head, “Elisa, you two go ahead. The crew is taking a break for two days, and I want to go home today to buy a train ticket.”
“Take care, and if you need anything, just let me know.”
“Thank you, Elisa.” Iris smiled sweetly, her eyes filled with gratitude. When she was an assistant, she was exhausted and only earned four and a half thousand, but now, following Elisa and taking care of Mimi, her salary had increased to six thousand.
Iris was easily contented. Her family situation was not good; her parents were divorced, and she had been living a hard life with her mother. Her biggest wish now was to earn more money to give her mother a better life, to buy a big house, and to take her to the places she had always wanted to go. Now, with the salary Elisa was giving her, she was at least fifteen hundred closer to her mother’s dream.
Iris handed the bag and the backpack to Louis. After hesitating for a while, she nervously asked, “Louis, can I have your autograph?”
“I don’t have a pen.”
Iris quickly found a pen; luckily, she always carried a notebook and pen with her. Louis took the pen from Iris and quickly signed the notebook, adding a brief message: “May all your wishes come true, stay healthy.”
Iris became even happier, standing in place, watching Elisa and Louis leave, pressing the notebook to her chest.
Elisa walked alongside Louis, carrying the cat, their shoulders brushing against each other. Neither of them noticed someone with ill intentions watching them.
…
Because they had a cat with them, many restaurants did not allow pets inside. Also, there were a lot of people eating at that time, and being public figures, it was easy for them to be recognized, causing a crowd to gather.
So they simply bought some groceries and went back to Elisa’s rented house nearby, taking Louis with them. Elisa was fine, but Louis looked nervous, his face flushed and heart racing, thinking about going to the home of someone he liked for the first time, yet he hadn’t prepared anything at all.
No, he had prepared one thing, which had been in the car all along, something he had intended to give in a couple of days.
“I left something in the car. I need to go back and get it.”
“What did you leave?” Elisa glanced at the bag he was carrying, which contained the just-purchased groceries, fruits, snacks, and a bag he had received from Iris, it was all clear. When she got out of the car, she even checked again, as if nothing had been missed.
“Wait for me here. I’ll be back very soon.” Louis said and then took the elevator down and ran towards the direction of the parking lot.
He opened the car door and after rummaging around in the drawer for a while, he found an exquisite box that looked like a piece of jewelry. Louis opened the box and, after making sure everything inside was intact, he smiled satisfactorily.
When he returned, Elisa was indeed waiting for him at the elevator. Just as the elevator went up, it came back down, and Elisa saw his figure, pressed the button, and when the door opened, she reached in to stop it from closing.
Louis had really good stamina. He had run the whole way, not even out of breath. “Okay, let’s go back.”
Even though it was his first time here, he acted as if he was familiar, as if this was his home, shuttling back and forth numerous times.
Elisa wasn’t used to staying in hotels. After finishing work every day, she would come back here, cook her own meals, and it was also convenient for taking care of Mimi.
“Since you’re a guest at my house today, I should be the one preparing the meal, so you can taste my cooking.”
“Can I really?” Louis looked pleasantly surprised, as if he had just been hit by a pie falling from the sky.
Elisa, with a smile in her eyes, teased him intentionally, “Are you looking so incredulous because you doubt my cooking? Maybe we should just order takeout.”
“Of course not! I’ll help you with the cooking and preparation.” Louis didn’t dare to ask too much, fearing that Elisa might actually order takeout.
Elisa put down Mimi, put on an apron, and casually tied her hair up into a bun.