Chapter 111: Relentless Pursuit

"Did you hit my car?" Vin Diesel asked with a displeased expression. "Did you?"

Matthew hadn't expected to encounter Diesel, whom the entire crew had been waiting for, right there and then. He was momentarily stunned before responding, "I'm very sorry, it wasn't intentional."

Despite Diesel's scowling face, Matthew had indeed punched the car, but fortunately, he hadn't used much force, leaving no mark on the vehicle.

Diesel, however, glared coldly at Matthew. "You woke me up!"

Acknowledging his mistake, Matthew didn't want to escalate the conflict and continued to apologize, "I'm very sorry, I didn't know you were here..."

"You didn't know?" Diesel suddenly erupted, pointing at the nanny van and saying sternly, "You didn't know this was my car? You dare to come over here and wake me up without knowing it's my car?"

He pointed a finger at Matthew. "You interrupted my sleep! What do you mean by this? Did you deliberately come here to wake me up? Once I'm awake, I would naturally go to the soundstage! Do you have any idea how precious my time is? Sleep time is even more precious! Now you've wasted a lot of my time..."

Matthew realized that, even though they had filmed together the day before, Diesel hadn't remembered him and seemed to treat him as a crew member, interrupting Diesel's tirade to say, "I'm sorry, Mr. Diesel! I wasn't here to wake you up. I was just passing by and accidentally bumped your car."

He apologized again, "I'm very sorry for disturbing you."

Normally, even someone with a bad temper would let it go after receiving such sincere apologies.

Unexpectedly, Diesel was unforgiving, "An apology? Can an apology bring back my sleep? You..."

Listening to Diesel's relentless barrage, Matthew was at a loss for words, suddenly finding Michelle Rodriguez's description of Diesel being difficult to deal with very apt.

Diesel continued his tirade, and Matthew, unsure if Diesel was just cranky from waking up or had other issues, didn't want to linger on the matter.

He interrupted Diesel, "Mr. Diesel, I sincerely apologize to you!"

His apology was heartfelt, but seeing Diesel still not letting it go and wanting to avoid conflict, he turned and walked away without looking back at Diesel.

Back at the soundstage, Matthew's expression was grim. Paul Walker noticed and asked, "Did you have a fight with your girlfriend?"

"No, I ran into Vin Diesel," Matthew briefly recounted the incident.

Paul Walker shook his head in disapproval. "Why is he like that? There's something wrong with his character. Luckily, the filming of this movie won't take long, and we won't have to deal with him afterward."

Matthew patted Walker's arm, saying, "The tough part is yet to come."

Diesel arrived near the shooting area, and Matthew clearly saw him glancing their way. Diesel's eyes, sharp as knives under his bald head, seemed to be scrutinizing him.

"Be careful," Walker warned, noticing Diesel's gaze, "He seems to have taken an interest in you."

Matthew nodded, his brows furrowed slightly. Was Diesel really going to make a big deal out of such a minor incident?

Unexpectedly, before Matthew encountered any trouble, Walker did.

Once filming started, Diesel expressed dissatisfaction with his and Walker's scene. Although Walker was supposed to dominate the scene, Diesel found various excuses to increase his own screen time. With director Rob Cohen's support, Walker was powerless to resist and ultimately had to compromise.

Initially, Walker's character was the lead of "Fast and Furious," but Matthew speculated that if things continued this way, maintaining a dual lead would be considered fortunate.

It was a pity for Walker.

He was a nice guy, but Matthew couldn't help him.

Due to the disruptions, only the scene between Walker and Diesel was shot in the morning, postponing the action scene between Matthew and Diesel to the afternoon.

After lunch, they returned to the same location and, following makeup, filming resumed.

This time, Diesel didn't dawdle like he did the previous day and arrived on time, seemingly enthusiastic about the shoot.

After makeup, Diesel entered the set, his eyes fixed on Matthew, who stood calmly as if Diesel's gaze didn't affect him.

Having apologized formally four times for such a minor issue, Matthew wondered how Diesel could still be so relentless.

Could a minor accidental punch to his car warrant such a prolonged apology?

Diesel continued to watch Matthew without saying anything, his sharp eyes constantly moving, clearly contemplating something.

The stunt coordinator came over and instructed them to warm up and loosen their joints.

Matthew, following the coordinator's lead, warmed up his wrists and ankles, aware that he didn't have a stunt double and needed to avoid injury as much as possible.

Diesel stood there, doing nothing.

Cohen came over and instructed, "This is a small-scale fight scene. Matthew Horner, you resist for a while and then get knocked down. Make sure to coordinate well!"

Since Diesel hadn't participated in previous training, Matthew hadn't practiced with him, and the stunt coordinator came over to give Diesel some pointers.

"No, no..." Diesel's voice was loud and clear, not only audible to Matthew in the shooting area but also to bystanders like Walker. He told the stunt coordinator and Cohen, "There's a problem with this choreography."

Pointing at the set, Diesel continued, "This garage is too big, and the set choreography doesn't showcase Dominic Toretto's capabilities!" He looked at Matthew, "His character is one of Dominic's henchmen, definitely capable. Since he's betrayed, when Dominic decides to deal with him, he will resist with all his might."

Cohen, already a supporter of Diesel, agreed, "You make a good point."

Seeing the director's agreement, the stunt coordinator had no reason to object, "We can consider redesigning."

No one asked for Matthew's opinion.

Matthew was alert, suspecting Diesel had something unpleasant planned but didn't voice any objections.

In his year-plus observation, Hollywood sets were never peaceful, filled with conflicts and struggles under the lure of fame and fortune. Many on the path to stardom capsized, never getting a second chance.

He didn't want to be among them.

"What is that guy up to?"

From the sidelines, Jordana Brewster asked Walker, "He's not plotting something bad, is he?"

Walker, arms crossed and brows furrowed, replied, "Possibly. Matthew is a good guy; he needs to be careful."

Diesel's voice remained loud. With over half of the investment in the project coming from his efforts, he had enough clout to demand respect from even producer Neil Moritz.

"I think we should scrap the choreographed routine..." Diesel proposed, "Let me and the other actor improvise. We could treat this as an experiment, and if it turns out well, we could apply it in future shoots."

Looking at his muscular physique, Diesel added, "The action scene should last a while."

Cohen considered for a moment. Filming action scenes this way wasn't uncommon in Hollywood and agreed, "Okay."

"Fine!" The stunt coordinator concurred, "Too much choreography can detract from the excitement of the action scene."

Then, turning to Matthew, he added, "The core plot of the scene remains! You've betrayed Dominic, feel guilty, and initially don't resist."

Matthew remained calm, though he sensed something amiss with Diesel's plans but didn't refuse, "I understand."

The script was designed that way to begin with.

Frankly, Diesel's behavior made him difficult to like.

He admitted to not being a good person, sometimes even acting terribly, but wouldn't cling to a minor issue like a mad dog after receiving multiple apologies.

Diesel wasn't done talking. He advised Cohen, "I'll be using a hands-on fighting style. Make sure the cinematographer pays attention."

Cohen, who used to command the entire shoot, now seemed to take a backseat in Diesel's presence.

The stunt coordinator approached Matthew and Diesel, asking, "Do you need to discuss the action sequence? I can offer suggestions."

Diesel appeared prepared, outlining basic movements to Matthew, "You've betrayed me, so I'll beat you hard. You'll resist, and I'll beat you even harder until you're completely down!"

Matthew simply nodded, uninterested in further discussion.

From the sidelines, Walker suddenly realized what Diesel intended, recalling the minor conflict Matthew had mentioned earlier.

"This isn't good..." he muttered, "Matthew might be at a disadvantage."

Injury during action scenes, especially impromptu ones, was common.

Brewster, realizing Diesel's advantage, commented, "Diesel has been in action movies before, reportedly trained with the stunt coordinator from 'Galactic Legends.' Matthew Horner..."

She shook her head.

Recalling Matthew's training, Walker added, "It might not be so bad. Matthew has been practicing boxing recently and said he could hold his own against a professional boxer for a while."

As they spoke, the set was ready for filming.

Matthew and Diesel stood over a meter apart, facing each other in the garage.

At the director's cue, both actors quickly got into character.

"Don't push me!" Matthew shouted.

Diesel, with his perpetually cool demeanor, began, "You dare to..."

He didn't finish his line, charging at Matthew without following the previously discussed choreography, grabbing Matthew by the neck, "Dare to betray me!"

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