Chapter 224: Chapter 221: Mistake
"Tiana, it’s okay, you can do it." Elliana Lyle patted Tiana Harris on the shoulder and handed her an open bottle of mineral water.
Taking the water from her, Tiana thanked her but didn’t drink it, instead sitting dejectedly on the small stool.
Her hair, intentionally styled to look messy, only mirrored Tiana’s current mood.
The scene had been tested seven times, yet Tiana just couldn’t get into character. Director Gary Young, helpless, had no choice but to arrange to shoot other parts first.
This led Tiana to become utterly disheartened. Coupled with the snide remarks and laughter from some people on the set, Tiana seemed to have lost all her fighting spirit.
Seeing this, Elliana suggested, "Let’s practice the scene together. I believe you can do it."
"I can’t... I’m nothing..." Tiana looked up at the studio ceiling, her eyes brimming with tears.
She didn’t want to look at Elliana’s face, believing that Elliana must be laughing at her inside.
For some reason, she always felt nervous in front of the camera, whereas Elliana could enter the scene so effortlessly, forming a stark contrast.
The thought pushed her tears to the brink, and they fell, streaming down her cheeks.
Elliana: "..."
"No, you can do it. You have to believe in yourself." Tiana’s tendency to blame everything else left Elliana momentarily speechless.
To her, this was only a minor setback. Even while shooting South Wind Song, she had experienced times when she couldn’t get into character.
The right way to face this situation, she thought, was to calm down, slowly adjust her emotions, then reflect on the problem and how to improve.
As Elliana was at a loss with Tiana, Yates Zander approached them, wearing an astronaut suit, his gentle face carrying a faint smile:
"Elliana."
"Yates?" She was somewhat surprised that Yates had come over so quickly from the other set, suggesting that his shoot had gone smoothly.
Tiana immediately lowered her head, hastily wiping her tears before turning her face to the other side.
Noticing the off atmosphere, Yates quickly glanced at Tiana with his peripheral vision before turning his attention to Elliana.
Seeing her somewhat helpless expression, he gently asked, "Elliana, need some help?"
"No, you go ahead." She waved Yates off, thinking that in Tiana’s current emotional state, additional help wasn’t necessary.
Perhaps solitude would be better for her, but Elliana couldn’t just leave Tiana alone.
It seemed like Yates understood her intention. "Alright, Director Gary said they’ll resume in ten minutes. Elliana, you and Miss...—" he paused, seemingly forgetting Tiana’s name for a moment.
He corrected himself, "Elliana, you and Miss Harris should prepare."
"Okay, thank you."
After Yates left, Elliana again approached the silent, downcast Tiana, gently coaxing her, "Tiana, don’t be like this. I know you aren’t incapable, just a little nervous. We have ten minutes; how about we run through the scene?"
Tiana wiped the tears from her chin with her hand, choking up, "I... I embarrassed you, Elliana."
Earlier, many people had pointed at them, their words full of mockery.
What struck her the hardest was, "Is this the level of talent from Elliana’s studio? All looks, no substance."
The comment was a hard blow to her.
"No, it’s unavoidable as a newcomer; I’ve been in similar situations, too. You just need to slowly adapt." With Elliana’s persistent encouragement, Tiana’s spirits gradually lifted.
The two began to practice their lines.
Tiana gradually got into character, albeit with minor flaws, but it was a noticeable improvement from before.
...
――― 6 PM.
"Tiana, congratulations on wrapping up."
Although the director was satisfied in the end, Tiana couldn’t feel happy. In a ninety-minute film, she appeared for less than a minute.
And that less than a minute of screen time had taken an exhaustingly long time to shoot.
"Tiana?" Noticing Tiana was silent, lost in thought at something, Elliana waved a hand in front of her eyes.
Coming back to her senses, Tiana seemed flustered, instinctively adjusting the hair near her ear, her expression evasive, "Elliana, I’ll head back first then."
Elliana: "..." They had only driven over in one car, which she drove herself, bringing along Victor King and Tiana.
She didn’t like bringing along assistants, thinking it unnecessary.
So, she suggested, "Tiana, do you want to wait for me? We can head back together at 10 PM."
"I... I want to head back first."
Tiana hesitantly refused her offer, and Elliana didn’t press the issue.
She replied, "Alright then, here’s the car key. Just park it at the company later."
After all, the location was in the most remote outskirts of Horizon, and there weren’t many cars around.
...
Since Tiana drove the car away, Elliana decided to stay at a hotel arranged by the crew, making it easier as she didn’t have to travel back and forth, considering North City was quite far.
――― 8 PM, North City.
July Media dormitory.
"Hmm? Tiana, you’re back?" Bella, who was taking out the trash, bumped into the just-returned Tiana.
Tiana forced a smile, nodding, "I wrapped up, so I came back."
"Ah? So soon?" Bella seemed a little surprised.
The remark struck Tiana hard. She smiled bitterly, "Yeah, so soon."
Noticing the mood, Bella paused for a few seconds before comforting her, "Movies are only an hour or two long; it’s normal to finish quickly."
"Hmm." Bella’s explanation eased her feelings a bit. Suddenly remembering something, she casually asked, "Didn’t Elliana arrange a TV drama for you? You’ll have your hands full with it."
Bella chuckled, shrugging lightly, "It’s not too bad; I’ll only appear in about twenty episodes, out of seventy-plus total." Bella grinned.
When Bella mentioned appearing in "twenty" episodes, her smile froze instantly.
Bella, without any experience, was initially expected to only have one or two episodes. But Elliana had arranged so many scenes for Bella.
Her first supporting actress role was over before it began due to Elliana leaving, resulting in the disbandment of the whole crew, with no chance to start again.
Suddenly, she felt more resentment towards Elliana, her heart growing unbalanced.
"Tiana?"
"Ah?"
Bella frowned watching Tiana’s flustered demeanor, concerned, "What just happened? You seemed distracted."
"I..." Feeling guilty, she instinctively touched her earlobe, starting to regret her earlier resentment and jealousy.
Thinking quickly, she offered an excuse, "Maybe I’m a bit tired. So... I’m going to rest now."
"Then get some rest."
...
――― 10 PM.
Horizon, on the set of Interstellar Immigrants.
"That’s a wrap, everyone. You all worked hard. I’ll treat everyone to dinner at Huinan Hotel later," Director Gary Young jovially announced to the crew.
Gary Young was known as one of the most generous directors, and his crew was reputed to dine better than any other in the film industry.
Amidst the cheers and applause, Elliana suddenly rushed outside.
"Hey, what’s going on?"
Elliana’s abrupt action left everyone at the scene stunned, Director Gary Young included.