Miss Hannah, now acting as Elisa’s agent, was more upset than anyone upon hearing the news.
“Miss Powell, should we release a statement?”
After reading, Elisa simply set down her phone, picked up the flower tea beside her, took a sip, and said, “Not for now. We should let others finish their drama, no need to waste emotions.”
Miss Hannah instantly understood, composed herself, and said, “I see.”
Elisa glanced at her and asked, “Have you prepared the things I asked you to prepare?”
“I have them ready.”
“Once they are ready, just wait.”
After Miss Hannah left, Elisa picked up her phone and sent a text to Louis.
“Come to my place tonight, I’ll cook.”
Receiving the message, Elisa smiled and tidied up before leaving work early.
Her newly bought mansion had been renovated; she had moved in three days ago, and had already unpacked all her belongings. The fridge was still empty, so Elisa drove to the supermarket, bought groceries, and also purchased a bouquet of flowers to place in the living room.
The living room had full-length windows, and with the day not yet dark, she could enjoy the entire night view of Bankshire, embracing its endless luxury and extravagance.
Preparing a homely meal, once the soup had simmered, the doorbell rang.
Elisa went to open the door. Louis, dressed in light-colored clothing, held a bunch of sunflowers. His smile was more radiant and captivating than the sunflowers he carried.
“You bought flowers,” Elisa said, somewhat surprised.
Louis, a hint of pride on his face, asked, “Do you like them?”
Elisa naturally responded, “Yes, I do.”
Sunflowers didn’t have much fragrance. Perhaps when Louis had seen Elisa buy sunflower seeds, he assumed she liked sunflowers.
Despite Louis’ casual appearance, his eyes sparkled like a puppy’s.
Elisa set the flowers aside and took Louis’s hand, leading him inside while locking the door. She whispered close to his reddening ear, “This place is also yours from now on. The code is…” Elisa leaned in, her voice low, “Your birthday.”
“From now on, just come in.”
Louis felt like he was stepping into thin air, his heart racing, and absentmindedly followed Elisa inside, noticing the vase of roses in the living room.
“You bought flowers too?”
“Yes, isn’t it a coincidence? It shows we’re getting more in sync now.” Elisa inserted the sunflowers into the vase, instantly elevating the roses, which now seemed overshadowed by the sunflowers.
Louis, with a nose as sensitive as a dog’s, immediately caught the aroma from the kitchen upon entering.
“Dinner will be ready soon. Could you open that bottle of wine on the table to breathe? I’ll go to the kitchen and stir-fry a few dishes.”
“Sure,” Louis said, eyeing the familiar bottle of wine on the table. “Isn’t this the bottle my dad gave you?”
“Yes, I’m drinking it today.” Elisa suddenly remembered, “I forgot, you can’t drink, can you?”
“I can, but I get drunk easily,” Louis said, feeling embarrassed as he recalled the night he got drunk.
Elisa, also recollecting, couldn’t help but laugh. She heated the wok and quickly stir-fried two homely dishes, skillfully flipping the food along the edges of the wok with a graceful arc, all in one smooth motion.
It was Louis’ first time seeing Elisa do this, and her skill far surpassed his. He couldn’t help but think back to the first time he brought Elisa to his home, deliberately showing off his clumsy stir-frying. At that time, he was confident he could impress her, but now he felt like a clown.
Louis had never learned to cook, but he could manage once in the kitchen. At first, he could only make a few simple dishes, but later, after watching videos and practicing, he became adept at stir-frying.
The skill Elisa had just displayed couldn’t have been achieved without four or five years of practice.
Louis had been to this place before during the renovation. The kitchen at Elisa’s home was very similar to his, with identical cabinet arrangements.
He stood behind Elisa, raised his hand to open the cabinet above her head, his tall figure enveloping her, as if enclosing her in an embrace.
Their bodies touched, their breaths intertwined, and by now, both were accustomed to it. After Louis put away the dishes, Elisa finished cooking, and once the food was ready, the wine had breathed.
One meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a soup were just right for the two of them; any more would have been wasteful.
Louis poured wine for Elisa, and as she raised the goblet, itsfragrance filled the air. She sniffed the wine, her eyes narrowing in satisfaction, like a cat contentedly closing its eyes.
“My dad is too stingy. He has a lot of good wine hidden in his wine cellar, yet he gave me only one bottle.”
“One bottle is already good; I don’t drink often, just occasionally to savor it.” Elisa looked at Louis’s empty glass and stood up. “Wait here.”
She went to the kitchen and took out a can of cola from the fridge, handing it to Louis. He looked slightly repulsed.
“Since you can’t handle alcohol.”
“I’ll just have the soup. Have you ever heard the saying, ‘When a man drinks too much cola…'”
Elisa raised an eyebrow, looking at him in puzzlement. She noticed Louis’s face turning slightly red, then gradually reddening at his neck.
Was drinking too much cola something to be embarrassed about? Men were truly difficult to understand.
Oh well, if she didn’t know, she didn’t know.
Louis opened the can of cola and poured it into the glass in front of him, clinking it with Elisa’s glass.
They didn’t discuss work at the dinner table. After the meal, Louis took the dishes to the kitchen to wash them, and Elisa brought him her apron to put on.
Louis had the typical physique that looked slim in clothes but had some muscle when unclothed. His waist seemed to be less than 60 cm, extremely slender, and due to regular exercise, his abdomen was tight. Elisa felt a sense of security wrapping her arms around his waist, not wanting to let go, like a koala clinging to a tree.
Louis’s hands paused for a moment as he washed the dishes, the temperature on his face not lower than the hot water he was using.”Have you run into trouble recently?”
“Trouble?” Elisa recalled the news Miss Hannah showed her earlier. “Not really, just a small matter. I can easily handle it with one finger. But regarding that brand, I want to teach them a lesson. Any ideas?”
After Elisa discussed the matter with Louis that day, he went online to look up the scandals and dirt on that brand. Sure enough, he dug up quite a bit, the most outrageous being that their chief endorser had publicly insulted the Numbat on a social platform a year ago. At the time, it had caused quite a stir, but the brand had enough money to suppress it, and after a while, it was forgotten.
The words posted by the endorser were still there, however, digging them out after so long was a bit of a hassle.
The luxury brand Elisa was collaborating with, abbreviated as Plinopis, had been presented with irrefutable evidence of their misconduct, but it was not enough to strike a blow to the brand.
“The Ghost” was receiving increasingly positive reactions abroad, and more and more people were reaching out to collaborate with Elisa and Louis. Recently, Louis had been in touch with another top-tier luxury brand, a direct competitor of Plinopis.
They could use this to undermine the brand and then use the scandals to force them out of the domestic market.
Louis summarized this for Elisa, who immediately understood that any collaboration Louis chose was undoubtedly carefully considered and confirmed to be problem-free before being proposed.
“Oh, by the way, I have good news for you today.”
Louis became interested. “What good news?”
“Come with me.”
Elisa led Louis to the study, where she opened her computer for him to sit down. She stood behind him, her left hand naturally resting on his shoulder, while her right hand operated the mouse to open a file. “Take a look at this.”
She leaned in close, the two of them standing very near, and as she spoke, her soft breath sprayed against his ear, causing Louis to involuntarily twitch, feeling as though feathers were brushing against his ear.
His ears were sensitive spots, acting almost like a switch; a slight touch would make them turn red. Elisa knew this and would occasionally tease him about it.
Louis forced himself to concentrate on the contents of the computer screen and tried to divert his attention. As he focused on the screen, Elisa tilted her head to look at him, noticing his eyes becoming brighter.
“What is this?”
“It’s a new movie I’m planning. What do you think?”
“Was this script also written by Aoife?”
“Hmm? You can tell?”
“The style is quite similar. She’s so talented in writing and scriptwriting; why did she choose to be an actress instead of a writer?”
“Her dream was to be a scriptwriter, but people are often not in control of their own destinies. She was a genius.” Aoife’s talent for scripting was indeed remarkable, but unfortunately, she had passed away. She had written several scripts, some finished and some left incomplete. “The Ghost” was written during her struggle with depression and was filled with ironic stories and a bleak conclusion.
On the other hand, “Starbound” was written when she was in school, with a vivid and imaginative storyline advocating for “heroes.” She had published it online, but very few people had viewed it, and it could be said that by the end, it had garnered little attention.
Such a script would be difficult to successfully adapt into a film in China; firstly, there isn’t a suitable team, and secondly, the special effects would be challenging to execute. Reading the descriptions in the script, it was evident that realizing these effects would not be a simple task, primarily due to the financial constraints.
“Have you found a suitable team?”
“I’ve already made contact. In a couple of days, we’ll sign the contract, and you’ll go then.”
“Who is it?”
“Dylan Cassidy.”
Louis’ eyes brightened even more upon hearing this. Dylan was a Chinese director who had been working abroad and had won several awards, primarily for his sci-fi series, including the “Heroes” series. Bringing him in would pose no problem at all. Louis was curious about how Elisa had managed to bring him on board.
“It’s actually quite simple. He wants to return home now, and the most effective way to establish himself in the domestic market as quickly as possible is through his work. So, the day I found out he was returning, I extended an olive branch to him. The script is good, and I can meet the conditions he put forward. Naturally, he agreed.”
Dylan had strict requirements for his films; he wanted to handle everything himself, and as for conditions, there weren’t many as long as the production company didn’t interfere. Additionally, the financial compensation needed to be substantial, and he would personally select his team. With Elisa’s enticing script and theappeal of Louis, who was the most influential actor domestically, Dylan’s return would undoubtedly lead to a greater understanding of the domestic market, especially in terms of renowned actors, with Louis being the most well-known.
Louis had watched countless films, but he had watched “The Ghost” the most. After the film’s release abroad, Dylan had personally watched it eight times and hadn’t expected Chinese films to be so refined and perfect. This realization had led him to make the decision to return to China.
Upon his return, Elisa had intercepted him and, using a good script and Louis’ presence, successfully signed him to the A. W Group.
“I plan to turn ‘Starbound’ into a series of films. It has many characters and a rich plot, making it suitable for a film series. The primary focus will be on the international market.” Currently, there were no film series in China, and Elisa wanted to be a trailblazer in this regard.
Louis listened to Elisa’s entire plan, her ambition to turn him into an international superstar, and he couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of being taken care of. It felt quite different from what he had originally envisioned. He had always thought he would be behind Elisa, protecting her and watching over her, ready to catch her if she ever stumbled. But now, it seemed as though Elisa was pushing him forward from behind.