When Director Beck arrived, the instructor was guiding Sarah, gently holding her arm as she demonstrated the moves and expressions, “When you lift your hand, look towards the tip of your fingers with a soft, seductive gaze-but not too soft. Add a hint of disdain. Your character is a princess, so when you look at anyone other than your brother, there should be a touch of arrogance.”
Sarah followed her instructions, nailing the movement on the first try.
The instructor was impressed. “Very good, not only is your movement precise, but your gaze is also spot on. You’ve captured the essence of the character. Sarah, have you studied dance before?”
Sarah nodded. “I learned a bit in the past.”
“But you still have some posture issues. When you walk, you don’t quite move like a woman from ancient times. Make sure you work on correcting that during this period.”
Watching their interaction, Director Beck felt very satisfied. This was exactly the kind of actor he had been looking for.
Nowadays, even a little receptionist kept by a rich heir thought she could demand to play a breathtaking beauty in his films.
In contrast, the more Director Beck watched Sarah, the more pleased he was.
Afterward, Director Beck had a chat with the instructor, who was also quite impressed with Sarah.
Recently, the instructor had been coaching another popular actress in a different crew. That actress, despite having no dance background, insisted on changing and cutting movements and even tried to dictate to the director how scenes should be done, demanding everything be done her way.
Compared to that, Sarah’s humble attitude was a delightful surprise.
After finishing her conversation with the director, the instructor left, but it was already late. She had some personal matters to attend to at home, so she headed to her car, where she overheard a few actors from the same crew gossiping.
“Just wait, that woman named Sarah is definitely going to drag the whole movie down.”
“Probably some investor’s pretty face.”
“She’s got a terrible attitude-looked down on the hotel staff yesterday.”
“…”
The instructor frowned, feeling a strong dislike for people who spread such baseless rumors. Though she hadn’t known Sarah for long, she trusted her judgment of character.
The moment the actors heard the car engine, they scattered like they’d seen a ghost.
******
At the Smith family home, the atmosphere was as cold and uninviting as ever.
Sarah’s presence had added a unique warmth to the lavish mansion, but once she left, everything reverted to its original state-it was still the same cold, distant Smith family.
Butler Ted was monitoring various updates. “Mr. Holden, Lady has joined Director Beck’s crew. Did you invest in this film?”
Holden held a glass of wine, his expression dark and indifferent.
Butler Ted continued, “Lady has no experience, and being in such a crew, she might get bullied.”
The entertainment industry has always been a place where people trample on the weak and flatter the powerful. Butler Ted didn’t know how Sarah had gotten in, but he knew that, as a newcomer, she was highly likely to be mistreated.
Butler Ted pondered for a moment. “If you made a call, it might help her out a lot.”
“No need,” Holden replied coolly. “If she runs into any trouble, she can come to me herself.”
Of course, she’d have to pay some sort of price.
Holden had never been a good man. He never did anything without getting something in return. There always had to be some kind of benefit.
******
When the training ended and it was time to start filming, Sarah felt like she was being isolated.
The director didn’t seem to have any particular issue with her. Director Beck, despite being a big-shot, treated all the actors in the same way. No matter how famous they were, if they didn’t perform well, he’d still scold them.
But for some reason, Director Beck had been in a foul mood these past couple of days, and he hadn’t shown a friendly face to anyone in the crew.
Sarah arrived on set early. She’d been watching some TV shows and variety programs lately, so she recognized a lot of faces. After arriving, she tried to greet some of the actors on set.
But…
Not a single one of them responded.
Oh well. Maybe this is just how it is for newcomers.
When Sarah was new in the real world, she was used to being ignored too. She hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, and since it wasn’t her turn to shoot, she quietly took her coffee and hamburger to a corner to eat.
Sigh. This world really sucks.
Little did Sarah know, things were about to get worse.
She scrolled through her Facebook Moments and noticed that Holden had posted something yesterday. He was back from a meeting abroad.
It had been a long time since she’d heard anything from Mr. Holden, so she quickly sent him a greeting.
[Hi, Mr. Holden.]
A moment later, Holden replied, [?]
Sarah awkwardly hinted, [So, um, it’s the beginning of the month again, huh.]
Holden replied, [Mm.]
Sarah sighed. Why didn’t he get her hint?
She decided to be more direct. [Boss, my salary…]
Her phone buzzed with a bank transfer notification.
Twenty million instantly hit her account.
Seeing all those zeros made Sarah feel like she was on cloud nine. She instantly forgot about her coworkers ignoring her earlier. [Thank you, thank you! Love you, love you!]
Holden replied, [There’s a charity gala tonight. Do you have time?]
Sarah quickly answered, [Yes, yes! I’m at your service, ready to fulfill my duties as Mrs. Holden perfectly.]
Holden replied, [Love me?]
Sarah joked, [I love you like I love my dad. From now on, you’re my dad.]
A sugar daddy is still a dad.
Compared to her real dad, who was awful and favored her stepmother and Viola, treating Sarah like trash, Holden, who gave her money, seemed so much kinder and more respectable.
For Sarah, money solved 99% of life’s problems.
Just like now-her worries vanished with that twenty million dollars.
As she enjoyed her hamburger, she started thinking about what kind of investments would bring good returns… Actually, maybe she should just spend half and save the other half in the bank to earn interest.
Just as she was basking in her happiness, a piece of news hit her like a bolt of lightning.
Director Beck had suddenly added a new character to the film.
Originally, the script only had Sarah’s character, a stunningly beautiful but wicked princess. She and the tyrant were supposed to be the highest beauty icons in the film, representing the decadence of a dying dynasty that the main characters were determined to overthrow.
But now, a new princess character had been added-a compassionate one who cared for the people and joined the main characters in their rebellion.
And yes, Elisa was cast to play that princess.