Chapter 44: Extremely Dangerous Creatures

It seemed everyone was eagerly waiting for the break. The night Murphy announced it, most people chose to leave the northern basin of San Fernando Valley. By the next morning, only Murphy, Carey Mulligan, James Franco, and a tutor were left in the house.

Murphy needed to adjust the shooting plan based on the issues encountered earlier. Carey Mulligan's guardian in Los Angeles, Julian Fellowes, was out of town for work, so she had nowhere to go and didn't plan to leave. The tutor needed to use the weekend to teach her. Since Carey didn't leave, James Franco had no reason to leave either.

On Saturday morning, Murphy got up, washed, and had a quick breakfast. Perhaps due to being overly busy and facing numerous difficulties recently, his headaches, which hadn't troubled him in a long time, returned. Though not as severe as when he first arrived, the pain was still quite bothersome. Unable to focus on work for even two hours, he decided to go for a walk.

Opening the door of the house, Murphy took a deep breath of fresh air. The breeze from the lake carried a peculiar fragrance, slightly lifting his spirits.

He gazed at the distant lake and the clear blue sky. Just as he was about to turn into the woods behind the house, the door opened from inside, and a middle-aged woman in professional attire came out first, followed by Carey Mulligan.

"Hello, Mrs. Morrison." Murphy greeted the woman and noticed her carrying a handbag. "Are you leaving?"

Before the tutor, who was hired for Carey Mulligan, could answer, Carey spoke up, "Yes, Murphy. Mrs. Morrison has some urgent business and needs to go back to Los Angeles."

"I see…" Murphy nodded and asked the woman, "Do you need a ride?"

"No, thank you." The middle-aged woman declined politely. "Someone will pick me up in town."

Watching the somewhat stern tutor leave, Murphy rubbed his forehead, preparing to head into the woods when Carey followed him and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

"Taking a break," Murphy said as he walked around the house, with Carey following. "Just a walk around here."

He suddenly remembered he hadn't visited the town in the small basin yet. "I might go to town later. Do you want to come?"

Carey shook her head. "Mrs. Morrison left me some homework, and I need to rehearse."

She pointed to the woods behind the house. "I can accompany you for a walk here."

Walking along the path in the woods, the two moved slowly, one behind the other. Most of the time, Carey appeared innocent, pretty, and cute, especially in front of Murphy, always hiding her rebellious side.

Murphy and Carey walked around the woods and returned to the back door of the house. Carey opened the rarely used back door and asked, "Want to come in?"

"You go ahead," Murphy shook his head and pointed in the direction Mrs. Morrison had left. "I'm going to town. Should I bring you lunch?"

Carey thought for a moment. "A veggie pizza, please."

With a sweet smile, she turned and walked into the house, closing the door behind her.

Murphy rubbed his head lightly, thinking about work as he walked along the path towards the road.

The filming had been progressing poorly. As a novice director, his inexperience was one issue, and the mediocrity of the other crew members was another. However, he hadn't fired anyone since finding competent and affordable talent in Hollywood wasn't easy.

Fortunately, Carey Mulligan and James Franco's performances were improving, proving his persistence was correct.

James Franco? Murphy suddenly stopped, realizing he had overlooked something important.

Originally, there were four people in the house: himself, the tutor, Carey Mulligan, and James Franco.

Now, he was going to town, and the tutor had already left. That meant only Carey Mulligan and James Franco were left in the house!

Without a second thought, Murphy turned around and quickly walked back.

Indeed, he sometimes used unscrupulous means to achieve his goals, like tricking Carey Mulligan and James Franco into being the leads. But that didn't mean he wanted to see an innocent girl harmed by someone with a dubious interest.

After spending time with them, Murphy knew James Franco had a quirky personality but was someone with boundaries. Still, it was hard to say if he might do something inappropriate. Men could sometimes be extremely dangerous creatures.

The ten-minute walk back took Murphy only three minutes. He reached the back door of the house and rushed in, not even closing the door behind him.

His soft-soled sneakers made little noise on the floor as he moved quickly. Murphy listened carefully and faintly heard Carey Mulligan's clear voice from the front. Her voice was calm and relaxed, interspersed with giggles.

Exhaling softly, Murphy calmed down and slowed his pace. As he approached the living room hallway, he saw James Franco and Carey Mulligan sitting in two opposite armchairs, holding their scripts, seemingly engrossed in rehearsing.

"Were those photos all taken here?" Carey asked with admiration, "They're amazing. How did you do it?"

James Franco's gaze remained on Carey Mulligan, fully in character as Jeff. "Want to know? Come with me."

He then magically pulled out a box of chocolates from behind him, offering it to Carey. "Look at this."

"Oh, wow!" Carey exclaimed excitedly, dropping her script to take the chocolates. "These are my favorite."

Murphy leaned against the wall, watching the scene unfold. He knew Carey had no good impression of James Franco. Her excitement was clearly an act.

Now that he was back, he wasn't worried about Franco doing anything but was curious about Carey's intentions in playing along.

"Want to try one?" James Franco suggested.

Carey put the chocolates down and picked up her script again. "Maybe after we finish rehearsing. Let's practice another scene."

"Which one?" Franco asked.

Carey gave a cute smile. "The one where Haley first overpowers Jeff."