Lucas Lin stood off to the side, his eyes lowered.
He hadn't asked what happened yet, but he could guess—he wouldn't be able to spend time with Rona Muir anymore.
Judging by her expression, something serious must have happened.
As a sensible young man, he knew this wasn't the time to cause trouble.
After Rona Muir finished her call, Lucas Lin spoke up immediately: "Is there something urgent? Since we're done filming here, let me take you out!"
Rona Muir waved her hand. "No need, sorry for the poor hospitality. I have something urgent, so I'll head back first."
"It's fine, there will be plenty of chances in the future," Lucas Lin said considerately. "If you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask!"
"Okay." Rona Muir nodded distractedly. "I'll go now."
Without waiting for Lucas Lin to respond, Rona Muir hurried off with her assistant.
Watching Rona Muir's retreating figure, Lucas Lin couldn't hide his disappointment.
His agent approached. "Are you staying for the hot springs tonight?"
"Hot springs? No way, let's get back to filming," Lucas Lin said through gritted teeth. "Let's finish up as soon as possible."
The agent smiled and went off to make arrangements.
Lucas Lin quickly returned to the crew and threw himself into filming.
He dialed her number several times, but always gave up before calling.
He didn't have the right to call her now.
For some reason, he started feeling jealous of Jiro Hirayama.
At this moment, only Jiro Hirayama had the right to stand by her side, right?
He really couldn't accept it.
"Mr. Lin, your next scene is coming up. Please get ready," someone called from outside.
'Got it,' Lucas Lin replied, locking his phone and tossing it to his assistant before getting up and heading outside.
The director wasn't very optimistic about Lucas Lin at first, but since he was placed by the investors, the director couldn't say much.
So the director was prepared for countless retakes.
However, Lucas Lin's performance was a pleasant surprise.
Many scenes were completed in one take, only a few details needed reshooting. His efficiency was almost on par with veteran actors.
Later, the director learned that although Lucas Lin was young, he hadn't been in the industry for a short time.
He started out as an extra, so he was very comfortable in front of the camera and skilled at blocking.
As a result, everyone's progress sped up quite a bit, and they all gradually got to know each other better.
Wang Feifei, like Lucas Lin, was also an investor's connection.
However, her acting skills couldn't compare to Lucas Lin's.
Plus, she played Lucas Lin's love interest in the show, so whenever they had scenes together, Lucas knew the day's shooting wouldn't go quickly.
Sure enough, Wang Feifei messed up again and was harshly scolded by the director: 'Do you even know how to act? Where are your emotions? Did you eat them? If you can't act, get out!'
The director was truly furious.
This scene had already been shot back and forth for three hours.
If they couldn't get it done today, the schedule would be delayed.
Lucas Lin stood by, waited for the makeup artist to finish touching him up, then said to the director, 'Director, let's try one more take.'
The director pointed at Wang Feifei and said, 'If you can't get it right today, I'll replace you immediately!'
Wang Feifei, holding back her anger, walked to the side and kept slamming things in her hands. 'What the hell! How dare he scold me! I swear I'll... '
Before Wang Feifei could finish, she saw Lucas Lin walking toward her. She immediately put on a pitiful expression, looking like a fragile little flower.
'Here's my script. See if you need anything,' Lucas Lin handed Wang Feifei his script, densely annotated. 'The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest, right?'
'Thank you,' Wang Feifei took the script from Lucas Lin, her gaze lingering on his handsome face. 'Why don't you come to my room tonight? We can really go over the script together.'
'No need, I have other things to do,' Lucas Lin declined coolly. 'I don't have a habit of rehearsing with others at night.'
With that, Lucas Lin turned and walked away.
'Hey...' Wang Feifei started to speak, but saw Lucas Lin walk away and stomped her foot in anger. 'Like I'd want to rehearse with you!'
She wanted to throw the script on the ground, but stopped herself.
She didn't want to get yelled at by that old man again.
Whatever, the sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home.
She was really sick of this crappy place!
She opened the script; it was covered in notes.
The scenes between the two of them were especially marked.
As long as she followed Lucas Lin's notes, there would be no problem.
Wang Feifei's eyes lit up!
She hadn't expected that besides looks and physique, Lucas Lin was actually talented too.
Sure enough, with Lucas Lin's script, Wang Feifei's progress improved instantly.
Scenes that used to take seven or eight takes could now be done in three or four.
The progress picked up dramatically.
The director stopped yelling at people.
In the evening, Lucas Lin took the crew's bus back to the hotel. His agent was called away by the company for other arrangements.
Only a young assistant stayed with Lucas Lin, handling all his affairs.
Just now, the assistant suddenly remembered they'd forgotten to bring Lucas Lin's steam eye mask, so they took a cab to fetch it.
Lucas Lin took a shower alone, planning to read and study his script before going to bed.
The doorbell rang. Lucas Lin thought it was his assistant returning, so he opened the door without a second thought.
Unexpectedly, it was Wang Feifei, dressed to impress, standing outside.
Lucas Lin frowned and looked around warily; he didn't want to be shipped as a couple with Wang Feifei!
Lucas Lin instinctively tried to close the door, but Wang Feifei blocked it with her hand. 'Lucas, my agent just told me your company agreed to bind us as a couple for publicity.'
'I'm not interested,' Lucas Lin tried to close the door again. Wang Feifei got anxious: 'Let me in first! If someone sees us, it'll be even harder to explain.'
Lucas Lin thought it over and could only resign himself to letting Wang Feifei in first.
With so many people coming and going, if anyone saw them talking here, it would be hard to explain.
Wang Feifei happily entered the room and plopped herself onto the sofa. 'Don't tell me you didn't know about this?'
Lucas Lin pursed his lips and said nothing.
No wonder the company suddenly called his agent away.
So this was the reason!
In the entertainment industry, it's common to fake relationships for publicity.
The crew was happy to get easy publicity.
Lucas Lin didn't have much popularity before, so no one wanted to fake a relationship with him.
Some even worried he'd steal their popularity.
But now Lucas Lin was so popular!
This was free publicity—what a waste not to use it!
Besides, Lucas Lin was good-looking. Even if the fake relationship became real, so what?
Wang Feifei put her legs up on the coffee table, lazily saying, 'We're both investor connections. If we don't bind as a couple, who else would we bind with?'
'I said, I'm not interested.' Thinking of Rona Muir, Lucas Lin rejected her without hesitation.
He didn't want Rona Muir to misunderstand.
'Lucas Lin, are you serious?' Wang Feifei looked at him in surprise. 'How am I not good enough for you?'
Wang Feifei came from variety shows.
With her hot figure and bold reputation, she was quite prominent in variety shows.
She was also good-looking, so she had plenty of fans supporting her.
Her sponsor got her this acting gig. Although she was only a supporting actress, she had a lot of screen time.
Clearly, her sponsor doted on her.
The reason Wang Feifei was allowed to stir up rumors with Lucas Lin was because her sponsor knew Lucas was actually kept by Zhou Yi.
That's why they agreed to let Wang Feifei create buzz with Lucas Lin.
Unfortunately, Lucas Lin was still uninterested.
Seeing Lucas Lin's resistance, Wang Feifei got anxious. 'What do you mean? At this point, you're telling me you won't play along? Lucas, let me be honest: the paparazzi are already here. We just need to act and let them get photos of us in the same room. Of course, if you really want to do something, I'm game.'
Anyway, she wouldn't lose out.
'You should find someone else.' Before Lucas Lin could finish, his phone rang—it was his agent calling.
'Lucas, is Wang Feifei in your room?' The agent sighed. 'I've explained to the company that you don't want to bind with anyone, but they refused.'
Lucas Lin's forehead bulged with veins in anger; he was about to explode.
'Lucas, listen to me,' the agent said, knowing his temper. 'I've explained the pros and cons to the company. You're getting a lot of attention, and another wave of publicity isn't bad. But it could also burn through your popularity, especially since many of your fans are girlfriend fans. If there's a scandal, it'll have a big impact. I've told the company all this, but they're still set on their decision. There's a reason: someone got footage of you with Zhou Yi and plans to release it next Monday. The company decided to release your story with Wang Feifei early to shift attention! For an entertainer, dating is much better than being a kept man! Lucas, do you hear me? If you don't want people to know you've been kept by Zhou Yi for years, you have to cooperate with Wang Feifei. Understand? It's only temporary! Once filming is over, you can announce your breakup!'
Lucas Lin quickly calmed down, his voice cold: 'I don't want to bind with Wang Feifei. Anyone else is fine, but not her.'
Wang Feifei immediately stood up. 'What do you mean by that?'
Before Lucas Lin could answer, the room's window suddenly opened, and a fashionable girl jumped in from outside.