Chapter 298 - Final Dinner
Three days later, the filming at Magetan ended.
In the last few days, Lilia's life had been very comfortable and peaceful. Apart from filming, Harold followed Lilia wherever she went. The man kept nagging in her ear like a mother lecturing her child.
In addition, negative gossip about Lilia had been buried by various scandals from other crew mates. The woman was satisfied with the results of her request to Jean and Harold. She only asked them to distribute it on a small scale only.
This was because netizens would make their work easier by spreading it all over the internet. The aftermath of all the scandals had rocked cyberspace. There was even one agency that was forced to publish two clarifying announcements in one day.
Some crew members even made bold guesses that the artists had conspired to commit a crime. This was because they discovered that all the artists exposed to this scandal had personally abused someone before.
Well, the name was surely extraordinary news!
On the day that filming ended in Magetan, the entire crew had a closing dinner. There was still one more shooting location they needed to visit in Bekasi. Only then would Lilia's role be completely finished.
The banquet was held in the great hall of their hotel. On top of the nearly thousand square meter hall, crystal chandeliers decorated the ceiling. The thick carpet embroidered with the star pattern in the sky made the artists feel as if they were walking on the clouds.
During this period, the shooting schedule was very tight and made everyone exhausted. As if all the hustle and bustle weren't enough, they still had to deal with a kidnapped investor case and an actress's cell phone theft.
Everyone's moods were at their lowest. That's why Louis took the initiative to hold a festive dinner as well. He wanted to relieve everyone's stress and make them have fun tonight.
Lilia heard that there were many things that had to be prepared in Bekasi before the next shoot. That's why the actors and crew would leave tomorrow afternoon for their shooting location in Bekasi.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Lilia and Harold walked into the majestic hall. The two of them only wore casual clothes. Their appearance was not that different from everyone in the hall. Louis had indeed announced that they did not need to wear formal attire tonight.
As soon as they entered the hall, Lilia's gaze fell directly to the dining table. The food that filled the table looked very delicious and gave off a tantalizing aroma. Lilia had already started planning what dishes she would try.
Harold took two glasses of champagne and handed one to Lilia. They were only about to toast when someone's voice came from behind them.
"Brother Harold!" someone called Harold's name.
When the two of them turned around, they saw Shirley's manager, Melly, walking closer with a big smile on her face. Shirley was seen walking next to her with a deep frown on her cold face.
Lilia's gaze swept across the two of them in an instant, then she immediately lost interest. Shirley must have come here to pester her again. Lilia turned around and planned to go to the dining table, but Shirley was faster than her.
"Lilia, wait a minute!" she said in a loud voice. The actress's volume caught the attention of everyone near them and forced Lilia to stop.
Fortunately, Harold immediately took action to deal with this situation. He took a step forward, blocking Shirley's unfriendly gaze towards Lilia. "Miss Melly, looks like you need to re-discipline your artist. I think she has left her manners in Berlin!" Harold quipped.
Normally, no one would ever dare to talk to Melly, the manager of a film that way. But Harold was no ordinary manager. He was the number one manager at Aphrodite Agency which had raised a model to become a world-class supermodel. In addition, almost every artist he worked with managed to become famous. Harold's words had their own weight.
Hearing the sarcasm, Melly immediately grabbed Shirley's wrist. She shot the actress a warning look before turning her head back to Harold.
Melly put on a sweet smile while apologizing, "Brother Harold, I'm sorry for Shirley's rudeness."
However, the woman immediately changed the subject, as if she didn't really care about her apology.
"Brother Harold, do you have free time? Shall we drink something while chatting?" Melly offered.
*****
Ten minutes later, in the hotel lobby outside the hall, Harold and Melly sat opposite each other with a small table between them. On the table were a pair of teacups, but the two of them did not touch their cups at all.
Meanwhile, Lilia and Shirley were standing near the entrance to the hall. The two of them stood on either side of the door, as if trying to be as far away from each other as possible. Shirley's gaze was fixed on the figure of her manager, but Lilia was completely uninterested in their conversation.
The model was holding a plate of fruit that her assistant brought her. She bit down on a piece of green melon and slowly chewed it. Lilia repeatedly glanced at the dining table, trying to decide what food she would try next.
Shirley watched Lilia's calm and indifferent attitude angrily. She gritted her teeth and asked, "You exposed the news to the media, right?"
Recently, Shirley had never had any contact with other artists due to her busy filming. It was clear that she couldn't offend anyone... other than Lilia. She felt sure that this incident was Lilia's revenge to her.
Lilia leaned against the hall's door and cast a bored gaze at Shirley. Tonight, she was wearing a sheer, bright honey-colored dress that reached her knees. The wind that sometimes blew past blew her skirt, giving off a ripple effect like the surface of water.
She bit down on a piece of dragon fruit while keeping an eye on Shirley. Her pair of eyes that were as black as obsidian rock glistened as they hit the crystal light. Lilia raised her eyebrows with a relaxed expression.
"What news do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head. Her face showed confusion that looked genuine.
Shirley almost vomitted blood at Lilia's acting dumb. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to control her anger. The actress gritted her teeth and walked over to Lilia.
She lowered her voice and hissed a warning in Lilia's ear. "Don't think I'll be fooled by your cheap acting! You think I'll just believe it if you don't admit it?!"
But instead of being intimidated, the corner of Lilia's mouth actually lifted into a faint smile. She enjoyed Shirley's chaotic and out of control performance. Luckily, Shirley didn't notice the smile. If she knew that Lilia was smiling, the actress would not hesitate to use physical violence against her.
Shirley continued to speak with her poisonous mouth, "Lilia, your heart is completely black! What do these artists ever do to you?! They are all also struggling in the entertainment world! Wouldn't it be better if you left them some leeway?! But you just pushed them to their bottom!"
After grumbling at length, Shirley was silent for a moment and waited for Lilia's reaction. However, the actress only said 'oh' before busy licking the remains of the dragon fruit in her fork.. She didn't seem at all bothered by Shirley's accusation that her heart had turned completely black and had no mercy left.