Chapter 14

Eva faced a closed door; she was turned away by the British film master. The reason given was that she was too young, an insurmountable barrier of societal prejudice against youth. She felt a bit frustrated, not expecting to be defeated by such a mundane notion. However, this frustration did not last long, as she understood that Lynne must have given many young people a chance before, only to be let down by their empty promises. Thus, she chose not to trust young people anymore, just as Eva chose not to trust men. Society's distrust of the young often means that when young people succeed, they are deemed miracles. Regardless of Lynne's opinion, Eva's determination and dreams remained unchanged. While she was lost in thought, a car horn jolted her back to reality. She looked toward the street and saw a red Ford pull up in front of her, with Lynne inside.

Lynne said to her in surprise, "Why are you still wandering near my house? Didn't you return to your hotel? Let me give you a ride. Get in."

Eva declined initially, but Lynne insisted, so she got in the car.

As they drove, Lynne spoke, "Don't mind what I said earlier. I have nothing against you personally, just expressing a private opinion. You are very talented."

Eva looked silently ahead, "You were right. There's no need to apologize, Ms. Lynne."

Lynne smiled, but Eva continued, "I can't make you believe anything right now, but I believe in the future, you will see that I truly have this determination."

Lynne raised an eyebrow, glancing at Eva, "You?"

"Yes," Eva looked back at Lynne.

"Oh?" Lynne's smile held a mix of complex emotions, seemingly waiting in anticipation, "I really look forward to it then. I hope your future achievements will make me regret not taking you on as a student."

Later, Eva returned to her hotel. The night in London appeared especially bright. She aimed to develop her career here in the future, but the path seemed full of obstacles; even seeking a mentor had ended in rejection. But, the road must still be traveled!

That evening, she took a flight back to Dublin. At the airport, she seemed to run into a familiar face. Colin Farrell.

She remembered when she had just come back to life, this playboy had given her his card outside the Directors Guild, expressing interest in her, which Eva had thrown away.

Colin must have realized that Eva had not taken his card seriously since he had not heard from her. Naturally, he saw her as presumptuous and foolish. In the directing field, what counts most? It's connections. Typically, a commercial or TV director needs to spend about 20 years in the industry before possibly transitioning to film directing, unless they know someone who can provide them a shortcut. Colin Farrell could have been that shortcut. Many girls latched onto him for that shortcut, but not Eva. This girl was foolish to the extreme; let her slowly grind her way through the industry until she burned out. Many young girls nowadays indeed don't know their limits, Colin thought disdainfully.

As Colin and Eva passed each other at the airport, Eva suddenly looked up and noticed a gaze sweeping across her cheek. She turned around and realized it was Colin Farrell. Although he wore a baseball cap, his eyes momentarily locked on her face. Eva could feel the disdain and condescension in that gaze. He was accompanied by another blonde, seemingly having long dismissed Eva from his thoughts. However, Eva didn't mind; it didn't affect her. She had her own life principles. Her past experiences had taught her that humility is a virtue in society, and those like Colin, who overestimated themselves, would soon flop, which indeed was the case.

Later, she returned to Ireland. Upon her return, she discovered that Ireland had been bustling in recent days because the national treasure singer Sinéad was about to release a new single, and it would be released globally.

The promotional posters for the new single "Girl on the Ruins" were plastered all over Ireland, with countless die-hard fans eagerly waiting. Whether passing by the subway, walking down the streets, or looking at the skyscrapers' LED billboards, Sinéad's latest single's ads were constantly playing. This was a true testament to her national popularity. Although the single had not been officially released yet, many fans had already started studying all available information about it. Since Sinéad had not disclosed much, everything was still in the guessing stage, and no one had yet paid attention to the MTV director.

On the release day, long lines had already formed outside certain release locations, with countless fans waiting just to grab a DVD. Sinéad had been warming up for this album for a long time, even flying around the world for promotions.

When the time came, the release began, with numerous CDs and DVDs being sold one by one. Sinéad herself also attended the red carpet event at a release location, bringing along other collaborators, including Eva. This moment became a hot topic, as many netizens uploaded photos and discovered that the MTV director was a newcomer, and so young at that. Sinéad had always been unconventional, but her boldness this time was astonishing.

Many netizens began to discuss, "Who is that pretty girl?"

"She is the MTV director. I heard a lot of money was spent on this MTV."

"Really? That girl looks so young. How did she become Sinéad's MTV director?"

"I find it strange too, but it is true. PS: I think she's quite pretty."

However, the fans on-site were too busy buying discs to pay much attention to Eva. Most bought both the CD and DVD to take home.

As a 10-year loyal fan of Sinéad, Jack Mendes rushed home after buying five sets alone.

He put the CD into his player and started listening. From the first prelude, he felt incredibly refreshed; this was indeed a Sinéad song, always making him feel rejuvenated.

He sat on the sofa for a full five minutes, listening to the entire song. Afterward, he couldn't resist posting a thousand-word comment on IMDb, praising the single. After expressing his excitement, he decided to watch the MTV on the DVD.

Putting the DVD into the player, Jack recalled that the MTV was directed by a newcomer. What had Sinéad seen in this newcomer to entrust such an important task?

Soon, the screen flashed, and the MTV began.

Right from the start, Jack noticed the director's remarkable color coordination. Whether in camera movement or lighting, it seemed as if a veil had been placed over the screen, giving the vivid, imaginative colors a slightly dark hue. The color tones were very unique. It felt like creating a dream within a dream, constructing ruins within ruins, with a decadent yet extremely restrained quality.

It was dreamy, colorful, decadent, and gloomy.

If it were only the exquisite use of color, it wouldn't have been enough to thrill Jack. What truly impressed him was the director's design of the city's structure. A future dystopian metropolis. A mesmerizing, dark, technologically advanced, colorful future city. Beneath the surface glitz lay darkness, oppression, and narrowness.

Whether it was the anti-government gun battles in alleyways or the tank and airplane explosions, they all reflected a crumbling city and an empty Congress. This was the standard Hollywood-style apocalyptic flavor: bubble economy, government specialization, steampunk, apocalyptic themes, American violence, and rebirth.

Jack was curious about what this MTV wanted to convey. The lyrics repeatedly chanted about the world's destruction. What was it?

Soon, he seemed to understand.

Human civilization would destroy itself in the extreme advancement of technology. During the process of destruction, emotions and love would be the link between dehumanized humans and humanized machines. However, this balance would eventually be broken by human desires, leading to destruction and rebirth.

Additionally, humans created violence out of greed. When violence becomes the strongest constraint, who defines justice and evil? Would human desires ultimately destroy themselves?

Jack finally realized the most remarkable aspect of this MTV. It was its film-like philosophical thinking, with countless points for contemplation!

Movies are celebrated for their depth of thought, and "Girl on the Ruins" carried the same deep reflection. It could even be called a highly thought-provoking apocalyptic revelation!

He became curious about the MTV director. Who had Sinéad hired to create such a profound and thoughtful MTV?

He turned on his computer and searched for "Eva Cody" on various portal websites. The results were embarrassingly few, totaling less than ten.

Most of these results merely mentioned she had won some short film award.

It seemed she was indeed a complete newcomer. A total newcomer, yet she produced such a film-quality MTV; it was truly admirable.

He began to look at other netizens' reviews of the MTV. Many shared his astonishment, though their thoughts varied.

"Oh my god, Sinéad's MTV is just absurd, so pretentious and mentally disturbing."

"I think it's brilliant. To the one above, have you ever watched a movie? Sci-fi movies have this vibe."

"As someone in the film industry, I find this MTV fantastic. The director is really professional."

"Can anyone tell me who the director is? I couldn't find any information online."

"They say she's an 18-year-old new female director."

Reading this, Jack paused.

18?!

Damn, this director is only 18?!

How many directors who've been working for over a decade still making MTVs would feel ashamed?

And a female director, no less?!

Traditionally, female directors are thought to only make melodramatic romances or clear-headed indie films. But this female director made a sci-fi piece with such depth and thought?