Chapter 299 - 234: Gordo’s Middle-aged Love 2

Chapter 299: Chapter 234: Gordo’s Middle-aged Love 2

He still remembered that distant afternoon when his mom discovered his ’handiwork’.

It was an embarrassment he never wanted to recall.

After adopting this new filming method, the rest of the work went smoothly.

To ensure the two non-professional leads could fully immerse themselves in their roles, Zog didn’t opt for a more efficient shooting schedule. Instead, he made sure to film every scene in the same order as the plot’s progression.

So, after a week and a half of filming, all the preliminary scenes requiring only Gordo and Morris were complete. The next scene was a birthday party.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t actually Gordo’s birthday.

The birthday party required a lot of extras. Zog also planned a crossover with the popular contestants from *Feilin’s Best Songs*, who would perform at the party.

It would take a few days to prepare, so Morris and Gordo got a rare break.

Lately, Morris had been juggling two jobs: caregiver and actor.

He had completely adapted to the omnipresent, yet impossible-to-find, cameras.

He had truly become one with his character.

Life is like a play, and a play is like life.

’He couldn’t separate them. He really couldn’t.’

That morning, Morris and Sir Gordo were eating breakfast.

Because Mage’s Hand had a limited duration each day, Gordo needed to save it for more critical tasks. This meant Morris still had to feed him during meals.

"Are you sure there’s no filming today?" Gordo asked.

"Who knows," Morris replied nonchalantly. "What’s the difference between filming and not filming at this point?"

He grumbled as he spooned cereal for Gordo.

Sir Gordo’s breakfast was simple: cereal, eggs, milk, and fruit. Sometimes he’d add a few slices of bacon, lightly cured and not too heavy.

He ate his cereal the plainest way—no sugar or any other fancy toppings, just plain flakes with milk.

Morris didn’t like it that way. He dumped a ton of sugar and nuts into his own bowl.

"That’s not healthy," Sir Gordo said.

"Healthy? I’m not rich enough to afford being healthy by eating plain food," Morris retorted dismissively.

He and his younger brother were poor kids from the Loman Empire. His brother was exceptionally gifted, and he was a small-town whiz kid who aced all his exams. Together, they had earned a fully-funded scholarship to study in Repin.

For a long stretch of their childhood, their family didn’t have enough to eat.

So for him, the most "unhealthy" thing was not gorging himself whenever he had the chance to eat good food.

In other words, he ate whatever was highest in calories, though the concept of food calories didn’t exist yet.

If it weren’t for his love of exercise and his youth, there was no telling how round he would have become.

"By the way, have you thought of anyone for the role of your female pen pal?" Morris asked.

In the script, Sir Gordo had a female pen pal with whom he’d been corresponding for several months. They got along wonderfully but had never met.

Although she only appeared a few times, it was still a relatively important role.

She was responsible for helping the character Gordo played find new meaning in life.

Therefore, Zog fully respected Gordo’s own opinion. If he had a potential romantic interest in mind, Zog guaranteed he’d bring her in for filming.

Zog was doing this mainly because the final scene was very difficult to act.

In the script, when Gordo meets his pen pal, his expression has to shift instantly from flustered to excited and full of hope, which is a real test of acting skill.

Romantic scenes are notoriously difficult to perform.

A stiff performance would make the audience extremely uncomfortable.

On the other hand, if handled well, it could create a huge following of shippers.

Even though shippers don’t have the best reputation among fans, they are genuinely loyal and also spend a ton of money.

Sir Gordo did not possess the acting skills to pull it off.

Adhering to the film’s guiding principle of "if we can do it for real, we do it for real," Zog decided to just find a real-life love interest.

Of course, there was a backup plan.

If they really couldn’t find anyone, they’d hire a Succubus and just use a Charm Technique.

That would also make his expression change instantly, but it probably wouldn’t convey any sense of hope. Instead, he’d just have a lecherous grin...

"No one," Gordo denied flatly.

The more firmly he denied it, the more suspicious Morris became.

After spending so much time together, he had figured out some of Sir Gordo’s behavioral patterns.

Nobles don’t usually deny things so easily. They tend to give ambiguous answers, playing a little guessing game.

’If they used such a firm denial, it was either a matter of principle—and nobles rarely had principles—or they were hiding the truth.’

"Heh, you’re getting defensive," Morris teased Sir Gordo.

"What do you mean, defensive? Just eat. We shouldn’t talk about this nonsense during a meal," Sir Gordo said, a rare flicker of panic on his face.

Seeing that reaction, Morris knew that Sir Gordo, nine times out of ten, really did have a romantic interest.

"Where’s your other phone?" he pressed.

Sir Gordo had two phones. Morris could use one of them freely; most of the time, he even had to send messages on Gordo’s behalf.

As for the other one, it was rarely taken out. Morris had discovered it by accident.

When Sir Gordo used that phone, he was usually typing furiously with his Mage’s Hand.

This was what he meant by a "critical task."

"What other phone? I don’t know what you’re talking about," Sir Gordo denied again.

"It’s in the inner right pocket of your clothes."

"Haha, what are you talking about?"

"You should be honest. So what if you have a love interest? You’re not married. Besides, even if you were, you’re a nobleman," Morris said with a wink.

Promiscuity was the stereotype everyone had of the nobility.

And, it had to be admitted, it was an accurate stereotype.

"I said I don’t, so I don’t."

"Alright, then you can’t blame me." Morris reached directly for the phone Gordo had hidden.

"Hey! That’s outside your job description."

Sir Gordo’s words were harsh, but he didn’t use his Mage’s Hand to stop him.

"You’ll thank me for this," Morris said with a cheeky grin. "Ha, here it is. I’ve found the ’treasure’!"

Morris looked as wild as Gollum after getting the Magic Ring.

"Let’s see... Oh, ’Lonely Performer,’ and she’s pinned to the top. So you’re chatting via text? Not much different from letters."

Morris opened the chat window as he spoke. "Whoa! Damn! Look at that huge streak. You two talk a lot."

A streak was a little feature on social apps. Both parties had to chat every day to maintain it.

"Well now, I didn’t expect you to be into such youthful games."

In Morris’s experience, most of the people who cared about maintaining streaks were teenagers.

"Whoa! And you’re each other’s number one chat buddy. That’s not easy. If this isn’t a crush, I don’t know what is," Morris said with feigned surprise.

"Have you met her?"

Sir Gordo hesitated for a moment before answering, "No."

"No?! That won’t do. What if she’s ugly and fat? I’m not trying to be discriminatory, but with your status, you should at least find someone easy on the eyes. You can call me shallow, but I don’t believe you’re any different. Look, I’ll help you ask for a picture."

"Wait!" Sir Gordo tried to stop him.

"Hey, what are you afraid of? Or we can be more subtle. Let’s ask for her height and weight."

"No, what if she wants to see a picture of me?" Sir Gordo revealed the reason for his hesitation.

"Then show her one! I’m telling you, I know a good way to judge the relationship. In your chat history, look at your share of the total messages sent. Then look at your share of the topics started. See how high that adds up. If it’s over fifty percent, you’ve got a real chance."

As he spoke, Morris started counting.

"You don’t have to."

"Ha, I only scrolled up a few pages and you’re already at eighty or ninety percent. This isn’t just ’a chance.’ I’d say you should just be direct with her."

"No, it’s not about that," Sir Gordo said, his voice a little downcast. "I’m afraid she’ll mind..."

"Mind what?" Morris shot back, pausing for a second before it hit him. "Mind your physical condition? Psh, I forget about it myself if you don’t bring it up."

"She’ll definitely mind."

"Your condition would be a problem for a poor family. With your net worth, it’s a ’distinguishing feature’."

"I’ll think about it."

"Suit yourself." Seeing Gordo’s repeated refusals, Morris didn’t press the issue.

"Read today’s paper," Sir Gordo said, changing the subject.

"Alright."

Reading the newspaper was a fixed part of their morning routine. Morris himself was more used to getting his news online.

Picking up the paper, Morris suddenly froze on the spot.

"What’s wrong?"

"****," Morris swore, a rare outburst, using an old Loman language that predated the common tongue.

His voice trembled as he said, "War has broken out. The Loman Empire, backing the Villain Kingdom, has declared war on Augustine City."