Chapter 295 - 232: Beyond Reach (Part 2)

Chapter 295: Chapter 232: Beyond Reach (Part 2)

He was a nobleman of the Craig family, a brilliant talent of his generation in his youth. Now, he was being pitied by an ordinary, run-of-the-mill personal assistant.

He knew it wasn’t the assistant’s fault.

But he just couldn’t accept such pity.

Even though it was a fact that he was a quadriplegic and couldn’t care for himself, he still wanted to be treated like a normal person.

That was why he quite enjoyed spending time with Zog. Zog truly didn’t treat him like a disabled person.

In fact, he barely treated him like a human at all.

At the premiere celebration for *Feilin’s Best Songs*, Zog had insisted on pushing him into a game of dodgeball.

No one else had the heart to aim at him.

So Zog used him as cover, hiding behind his wheelchair and unleashing a volley of throws...

Thinking back on it now, it was actually quite fun. That day, he even used Mage’s Hand to catch a ball.

It had gotten to the point where he spent most of his time at the Zog Group or the studio, unwilling to return to that "lonely" mansion.

All the servants at home looked at him with caution and pity in their eyes, creating an invisible pressure that left him breathless.

’Maybe, just like in this script, finding a Tiefling nanny who doesn’t "respect" him would be a good choice.’

The first half of the script was indeed a comedy.

A street loafer who grew up poor and a nobleman raised in the lap of luxury—their different worldviews clashed, creating all sorts of comedic moments.

Sir Gordo laughed until he coughed when he read the part where the Tiefling, unable to understand why abstract paintings were so expensive when they looked like random scribbles, doodles one himself, only for the nobleman to successfully sell it for a high price.

To be honest, he didn’t understand the current craze for abstract art either.

He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

However, he did understand the art market. For a painting to sell at an unbelievably astronomical price, it wasn’t just about artistic value. There was a lot of shady business going on behind the scenes.

"Won’t Lady Furin be a little upset when she sees this scene?" Sir Gordo asked.

He knew that the biggest leader in the current abstract art trend was Lady Furin, who was hailed as the standard-bearer of modernism.

No matter how you looked at it, this scene was a ruthless mockery of the new trend.

"Tch, what good would her being upset do? If I say one, would she dare say two?" Zog said smugly.

Sir Gordo would bet that Zog only dared to speak like that because Lady Furin wasn’t present.

"Besides," Zog added, trying to walk it back a bit, "I’m just mocking the fact that those paintings are unreasonably expensive, not that the artists lack skill."

Zog knew very well that Furin and her followers had incredibly solid fundamentals. It was because traditional realism had already been pushed to its limits by their predecessors; to innovate, they were bound to venture into non-realistic territory.

Zog had even given them a little push in that direction.

It was hard to say which of these explorations was the right one.

For example, a recent offshoot aimed to shatter the notion that fine art must be beautiful, deliberately painting exaggerated, bizarre, and ugly pictures.

But they were actually capable of painting beautiful things, and quite easily. In fact, painting ugly was harder for them.

All you could say was that artists were, more or less, a little eccentric.

As for those with no fundamentals and no philosophy of their own who just scribbled randomly and insisted it was art—they were just plain nuts.

"This is a really good story."

Sir Gordo exclaimed after finishing the script.

The whole story was incredibly simple, without any major twists or turns; it just told of things that happen in life.

It was very different from traditional storytelling, which pursued great conflict, strife, and unexpected developments.

But this somewhat plain story had deeply moved Sir Gordo.

"When does filming begin?"

He couldn’t wait. He believed that countless audience members would be moved by this story, just as he was. If so, he would have taken part in something worth remembering.

"The sooner the better. The shooting schedule won’t be long—it should be done in a few dozen days. Then we’ll release it as soon as possible."

This Shadow of Evil would be the opening salvo in the plan to improve the public image of Tieflings. It was needed to test the public’s acceptance.

Zog wanted it finished as quickly as possible. To that end, he decided to personally take up the director’s megaphone again after more than a year.

Although he wasn’t a professional either, for the time being, he was still the best director on the Feilin Continent.

"Then what about the actor playing the Tiefling nanny?"

"We’ll start looking now."

"Choose from the actors at the Drama Guild?"

"Of course not. We’ll hire an actual Tiefling nanny. Since you’re playing yourself, the other protagonist has to as well."

"Huh?"

Sir Gordo hadn’t expected to be getting a real Tiefling nanny so soon.

He had only been thinking about it, but who knew Zog would move so fast.

As soon as Sir Gordo confirmed his participation, Zog immediately posted a job advertisement.

It was a genuine recruitment ad for a nanny, but with one restriction: the applicant had to be a Tiefling.

Given the current employment situation for Tieflings in Twin Tower City, they received a stack of resumes overnight.

Zog spent the night screening them, sent out notices the next morning, and started interviews in the afternoon.

The interview location was Sir Gordo’s mansion.

This would also be the filming location for the Shadow of Evil.

Filming had already begun during the interview stage. Cameras were set up in the grand hall, pointing from several different directions.

There were so many, covering all angles, it was just like the recording set for *Feilin’s Best Songs*.

Sir Gordo now understood what Zog meant by a "documentary with a plot."

’Aside from the plot, everything else is real.’

With a bunch of cameras pointed at him, Sir Gordo felt like a little white mouse in a laboratory.

"Don’t be nervous. You’re the one choosing the nanny. What are you so nervous for?" Zog said from the side.

"I’m not nervous about choosing a nanny. It’s all the cameras; I’m not used to them," Sir Gordo replied. He kept feeling as if his clothes were disheveled and that he’d be filmed in an unseemly state.

He was suddenly afraid of his paralyzed state being scrutinized by millions of viewers.

And then they would start pitying him, too.

"You’ve been on a show before."

"But they didn’t have to film me on that show!"

"It’s fine. You’ll get used to it after a while. The cameras will be following you constantly for the next few dozen days."

"Even when we’re not filming?"

"Yep. We might get some usable footage."

"Even when I’m bathing?" Sir Gordo asked in disbelief.

"If you want us to film that, it’s not out of the question."

"Who would want that filmed?!"

"Please send in the first interviewee," Zog said, deciding not to give Sir Gordo any time to adjust and jumping straight into filming.

The first interviewee walked into the hall on high heels, swaying her hips in a seductive catwalk.

Her figure was alluring, and her makeup was heavy and gaudy.

Standing in the center of the hall, she even shot Sir Gordo a flirtatious wink.

Zog’s brow furrowed. He had a feeling this wasn’t going to be simple.

"Your resume says you have extensive experience serving nobility?"

"Mhm, of course. I’ve served, what, at least a hundred nobles? Their feedback has always been excellent. I’m skilled at role-playing, so being a nanny is no problem at all."

"Wait, what the hell is this about role-playing? We’re hiring a proper nanny."

"If you like the proper type, I can do that too," the female Tiefling said, immediately adopting a stern, unsmiling expression. "Does the naughty boy want to be punished by Big Sis?"

"Are you nuts?!" Zog finally realized what kind of ’service’ she was talking about. "Does he look like he needs your services?"

"Maybe it’s for his spiritual needs. I’ve had clients who only look and don’t touch."

"Get out of here. Next!" Zog urged.

He had no idea how this Tiefling had interpreted the job ad.

"Tch, why pretend to be so proper? Who posts a job for a nanny and specifically requests a Tiefling if not to satisfy some little fetish? If you don’t like the price, just say so."

The female Tiefling sashayed away, not forgetting to leave a parting shot over her shoulder.

The interviews were not going well.

First, the resumes were full of fabrications.

Second, quite a few Tieflings had misunderstood the job as offering... ’special services’.

Zog had never even seen this many Tieflings in the city before.

"This isn’t working."

Zog sighed. The list of interviewees was almost finished, and he still hadn’t seen a single reliable candidate.

"Next, Morris."

As a burly figure walked in, Zog caught a familiar scent.

"Wait!" He stared at the Tiefling before him in shock. "You’re Xiaomo’s older brother?"