Filming a Movie?

"Lord Astor, Lord Astor, please wake up! What's happened to you? Don't scare me like this!"

Magnus Astor was in a deep, peaceful sleep when suddenly, a voice as melodious as silver bells called out beside his ear.

At the same time, he felt a cool, smooth hand caressing his face and gently shaking his head. This was the first time Magnus had ever heard such a delightful voice or felt such a tender touch. The fragrant scent that wafted to his nose brought a blissful smile to his face.

"Ah... Lord Astor is smiling!"

"Yes, Lord Astor is smiling; he's not dead!"

"Oh, thank goodness, Lord Astor is alive!"

A chorus of surprised and joyful female voices filled the room. Magnus was puzzled. Why were there so many women's voices around him? His mind was still foggy.

As he wondered, the gentle, melodious voice spoke again, this time with a hint of excitement and joy. "Lord Astor, are you awake? Please don't scare Seraphina. If you're awake, open your eyes."

Then Magnus felt his head being shaken more vigorously, which somewhat cleared the fog in his brain. He groaned with effort and struggled to open his eyes.

As soon as Magnus opened his eyes, he was stunned. He couldn't believe what he saw and rubbed his eyes, only to open them wider and look up in awe.

"Wow... so beautiful..."

A low exclamation escaped his throat. The girl before him had eyes like almonds and was so beautiful! 

What astonished Magnus the most was the aura surrounding her, like an invisible radiance, exuding an ethereal, otherworldly charm, as if she were a celestial being from a painting.

Magnus swore this was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his eighteen years, surpassing any celebrity or model he had seen on TV. Compared to her, everyone else paled in significance.

She was like a goddess!

Magnus gazed at her for a long moment before he couldn't help but murmur, "Are you... a celestial maiden?" He couldn't believe that such a ravishing woman could exist in the real world.

"Lord Astor... what nonsense are you talking about? I'm your maid, Seraphina, not the celestial maiden."

Hearing Magnus call her a celestial maiden, the stunning girl's cheeks flushed slightly with pleasure, but then her expression turned to one of concern.

"Lord Astor...?"

Magnus was taken aback by her address. It was the 21st century; who still used the title 'Lord Astor'? 

He looked at her more closely and realized she was dressed in an ancient court gown, her hair styled in an updo with a gold hairpin, like a maiden from a bygone era.

"Dude, where am I? Is this some kind of historical drama set?" Magnus Astor wondered to himself. He propped himself up and looked around, searching for cameras or other filming equipment.

However, what he saw almost made his jaw drop in shock. He found himself lying on an exquisite redwood bed, painted a deep crimson and carved with dragon and phoenix motifs. The bed was crowned by four ornate redwood posts, each painted in gold and supporting high, pink curtains, now drawn to the sides.

Beyond the bed, apart from the stunningly beautiful woman who looked almost celestial beside him, there were ten more women. Each was strikingly gorgeous, dressed flamboyantly, standing there and gazing at him with eyes full of surprise.

But what really shocked Magnus was their attire – or lack thereof. Each woman was clad in just a small piece of fabric covering only the essential parts of their bodies, leaving their perfect, proud figures boldly on display. For Magnus, an eighteen-year-old college sophomore who had never even held a girl's hand, let alone anything more, this was overwhelmingly provocative. His eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Is this... is this... some kind of historical... adult movie?" Magnus stammered, audibly gulping.

"Lord Astor, what are you babbling about? I can't understand a word," said the beautiful woman beside the bed, her face showing a mix of confusion and concern. She subtly moved to block his view of the other women.

Seeing her genuine expression of confusion, Magnus inwardly sighed, "Man, I can't believe they find actresses this gorgeous and talented for these kinds of movies nowadays. What a crazy world."

He sighed to himself, still determined to figure out what was happening. "How did I end up on a movie set?"

Turning to the stunning woman, he asked, "Hey, no rush to get into character. Where am I exactly? How did I end up on your film set?"

"Film set?" The woman furrowed her brows, looking puzzled. "Lord Astor, what are you talking about? What's a 'film set'? This is the largest brothel in Silverwood City, 'The Velvet Chamber.' And, you know, it's your property."

"What? A brothel, The Velvet Chamber, my property?" Magnus Astor was taken aback upon hearing the woman's words. He then felt a bit annoyed, thinking, 'Are these people serious? Do they really think they can keep fooling me?'

"Alright, alright, what time is it now? I need to go to school. You guys keep playing if you like," he said as he got up from the bed, stealing glances at the ten women's graceful figures. He took several deep breaths to calm himself and began to dress with trembling hands.

"Lord Astor, what school are you talking about? Weren't you expelled from the National Academy?" the stunning woman asked, holding onto Magnus, while the other ten women looked on in surprise.

"Hey, what are you all talking about? Have you gone crazy from acting?" Magnus was getting fed up with the group of women. 'It's just a movie. Do they need to be this dedicated? Can't they break character unless the director yells cut?'

Ignoring the woman's grip, Magnus walked barefoot down from the bed and scanned the room, looking for crew members to ask what was going on.

However, as his gaze swept across the room, he found that although the chamber was spacious and decorated in an ancient style, there were no crew members or cameras in sight. He even looked up at the ceiling but found no filming equipment.

"Huh, this is really strange," Magnus muttered, puzzled. Then, a thought struck him, "Oh, I get it. These kinds of movies must use hidden cameras. There won't be any crew on set; they must all be outside!"

With that realization, he strode to the door, pushing it open and shouting, "Where's the director? Explain this to me. What's going on here? How did I..."

His words trailed off abruptly as the scene before him was nothing like he had expected.

In front of him was a curved red-lacquered railing. Looking down through the railing, he realized he was atop a hollow, round, high-rise building made primarily of wood. A colossal central pillar, thick and towering, supported the entire structure, like a giant circular tower.

"These are not the main points; what's more crucial is this," Magnus Astor thought as he looked around. The entire circular building, with each level ornately decorated, was a sight to behold. Around the red lacquered railings, scantily clad, alluring women with voluptuous figures were seductively smiling and casting coquettish glances at the passing men.

The men, in turn, seemed as if they had entered paradise, their faces bearing sleazy and excited grins. They drooled over these flirtatious women, stuffing wads of cash and gold ingots into their revealing necklines.

Everywhere he looked, there were sensual women and lascivious men. Easily a hundred people were intertwined above the high-rise, some eagerly entering the nearby rooms, while others were getting intimate right next to the wooden railings and stone pillars.

The scene was filled with women's sultry laughter and men's panting, all under the dizzying pink lights and overwhelming scent of perfume, making it even more spectacular than the red-light districts abroad.

"Good heavens!" Magnus exclaimed after being stunned for a full three minutes. The reality of the scene before him surpassed anything he had seen in movies depicting ancient brothels. The scale was immense, dwarfing the brothel scenes he had seen in films.

"My God, is this some major director's film set? Such an enormous scene for a historical epic?" Magnus thought as he regained his senses.

But as he observed the surroundings of the high-rise more closely, he saw that the building was teeming with people, easily a thousand, all dressed in ancient attire. Their expressions were so natural; the women and the clients were convincingly real, as if they were not acting at all.

The authenticity of the intimate interactions was astonishing; it didn't seem fake in the slightest. "The quality of these extras is just too high!" Magnus marveled silently. Such a grand scene should have some flaws, but as he looked around, he couldn't find anything remotely modern.

What shocked him even more was the lack of cameras or modern facilities. The lighting was provided by countless oil lamps, and not a single electrical wire was in sight on the floor.

"Is this... really a film shoot...?" A dreadful suspicion began to rise in Magnus's mind.

"Lord Astor, what's wrong?" At that moment, the stunning woman and the ten flamboyantly dressed ladies followed him out of the room.

But Magnus, without paying any attention to them, rushed back into the room and pushed open the window facing the street.

"Creak...!"

As the wooden window swung open, a bustling ancient marketplace unfolded before Magnus Astor's eyes. Rows of traditional tile-roofed houses, a lively and crowded street, vendors loudly hawking their wares, restaurants emitting the enticing aromas of food and wine, farmers carrying goods or pushing wheelbarrows, men and women in the street dressed in brocades or silk robes, wearing tall hats or styled hair, and walking in boots or straw sandals through the alleys...

It was like a vibrant and flourishing scene of ancient civilian life, a painting unfurled before Magnus's eyes!

As these vividly real scenes rushed into his vision, a massive influx of unfamiliar information began to flood into his mind, making his brain feel suddenly heavy. Then, he collapsed to the ground, his body going limp.

"Lord Astor...!" The last thing Magnus heard before losing consciousness were the alarmed and anxious voices of the women around him.