Chapter 276 - 274: Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself

The director was stunned. He’d always known Lily Sterling to be dedicated, serious, and humble.

’What’s gotten into her today? It’s not like I blamed her for a bad take.’

Seeing that Jade Smithson was about to speak again, Titus Ashton quickly cut in, "That’s enough. Lily, why don’t you take a break? Your hands are already red from the cold."

He then instructed the crew to clear the set and head back to the village for the next scene.

As Jade Smithson was leaving, she shot Lily Sterling a fierce glare and muttered indignantly, "How ridiculous!"

Lily Sterling ignored her, walking over to a rock by the riverbank. She stood there, staring blankly at the quietly flowing water, completely ignoring the aching cold in her hands. All she felt was a profound sense of disappointment.

’That sudden burst of hostility... while partly because Jade Smithson had crossed my line about not using a stunt double, the truth is, I was mostly angry with myself.’

’The feeling of powerlessness that comes from performing in an area I’m not skilled in had made me restless and irritable today. And Jade Smithson was so tactless. In the past, I definitely wouldn’t have stooped to her level, but today, I didn’t control my emotions.’

"Lily!"

Just then, Yuri Tucker came running over from a short distance away. "Why haven’t you gone back? I saw the director and the others heading back!"

Lily Sterling snapped out of her daze, concealed the emotion in her eyes, and turned to say, "It’s nothing. I just wanted to cool down by myself for a bit."

He could tell something was off, so Yuri Tucker asked tentatively, "What’s wrong? Didn’t the take go well?"

Lily Sterling’s expression was pained as her lips twisted into a bitter smile. "It’s not that it didn’t go well. It’s that I don’t know how to act it at all."

Yuri Tucker knew Lily Sterling was filming a laundry scene by the river today. For someone who grew up in the city, she had probably never washed many clothes by hand, let alone scrubbed them on a stone slab by a river.

"Hey, no actor is omnipotent," Yuri Tucker said with a serious expression. "I’ve even seen a veteran actor with decades of experience break down and cry on set because they couldn’t find the right comedic timing!"

Lily Sterling was surprised by this. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Yuri Tucker nodded, leaned in, and whispered, "It was..."

Hearing the name, Lily Sterling’s eyes widened. "You saw her cry?"

"I saw all sorts of things like that back when I was an extra," Yuri Tucker said, taking the opportunity to comfort her. "So don’t be so hard on yourself or get too hung up on it. You’ve been in the industry for less than a year. How can you expect to be satisfied with your performance every single time?"

This method of comforting someone with a real-life example was truly effective. After hearing it, Lily Sterling felt much more relieved.

’It seems I’m always too stubborn when it comes to acting. But that’s not really my personality.’

And just then, a girl wearing a floral top and gray pants walked toward the river, carrying a basin of clothes.

Seeing Lily Sterling and Yuri Tucker from a distance, the little girl stared at them curiously as she made her way to a stone slab on the other side.

Everyone in the village knew that a film crew had come to shoot a movie. At first, some curious people would always go to watch the spectacle, but after a few days, the onlookers disappeared. After all, in the countryside, everyone from the elderly to the children has endless chores to do every day.

The girl looked to be about thirteen or fourteen. Her frame was very, very thin, yet the basin of clothes, piled high, seemed to weigh nothing in her hands.

Lily Sterling noticed the girl, her gaze subconsciously drawn to her. She watched as the girl skillfully picked up a black jacket, swished it in the water to get it wet, and then began to scrub it on the stone slab.

She washed with a great rhythm. With every scrub, you could hear the sound of the fabric scraping against the stone.

Then she applied soap and continued to scrub. The soap produced grayish-black foam as she worked. The girl then tossed the jacket back into the river to rinse it thoroughly. And just like that, one piece of clothing was quickly washed clean.

Lily Sterling became entranced as she watched. ’This is the effect I should have been portraying. Seeing it with my own eyes, I finally realize just how clumsy and unnatural my performance was.’

She instinctively started walking toward the little girl. Seeing this, Yuri Tucker quickly followed.

The little girl sensed someone approaching, stopped what she was doing, and looked back. Her childish, innocent face showed no fear, only curiosity. Looking at Lily Sterling, she asked in a clear voice, "Miss, do you need help?"

She didn’t know what the lady in front of her was going to do, but she figured that since the lady had come over to her, she probably needed her help with something.

Seeing this, Lily Sterling smiled slightly. She walked over and squatted down beside the girl. "I’d like to learn how to wash clothes from you, is that okay?"

"Wash clothes?" The little girl was a bit surprised and looked at Lily Sterling with a puzzled expression. "Do you need to learn how to wash clothes? All the girls in our village know how."

"Oh, I get it. In the city, you all use washing machines, right?"

Lily Sterling nodded. "Yes. So I don’t know how to wash clothes by hand on a stone slab. Can you teach me?"

"Of course! It’s actually very simple," the girl said, taking a piece of clothing from the wooden basin and handing it to Lily Sterling. "Miss, just do it with me. You’ll get the hang of it in no time!"

And so, Lily Sterling began learning how to wash clothes by the river with the little girl.

Meanwhile, Yuri Tucker, standing behind them, had taken out his phone at some point and recorded the entire scene.

Back in the village, Jade Smithson sat in the courtyard outside the male actors’ dressing room, wiping her tears. Her soft sobs made it seem as if she had suffered some terrible injustice.

Because of this, she quickly attracted the attention of several male actors. Whether they wanted to or not, they couldn’t just pretend not to see her crying in the courtyard. The men all went over to comfort her.

"Tell me, wasn’t I just trying to be nice? How could she be so unreasonable!"

"It was clearly her own fault for not performing well! What right does she have to take it out on me!"

"Besides, using a stunt double isn’t something to be ashamed of. If everyone were like her, then all the stunt actors might as well be unemployed!"

"Talk about having your kindness thrown back in your face. I only wanted to help her out because she’s young and inexperienced."

Jade Smithson complained as she cried, seeming to have a bellyful of grievances.

"Alright, Jade Smithson, Lily Sterling probably didn’t mean it. She’s just frustrated because her performance isn’t going well."

"Don’t cry, Jade Smithson. If she doesn’t appreciate it, then just don’t bother with her in the future."

"We’re all on the same cast; we still have to work together. Jade Smithson, don’t stoop to her level."

The male actors all gathered around her. A few who felt Jade Smithson was in the right also chimed in to console her, but some remained silent. These silent ones had, over their time with Jade Smithson, slowly seen through her personality.

Some men aren’t blind to a woman’s act; they just don’t want to be the one to call her out.

After a while, Jade Smithson wiped her tears dry and stood up. She said with an embarrassed look on her face, "I was just so disheartened. Normally, no matter how hard or difficult filming gets, I never shed a single tear. I really didn’t want to cry in front of you all today. This is so embarrassing."