Chapter 163 - Just a Slip of the Tongue

If they hadn't treated her so coldly, if they could have used this opportunity to improve their relationship with her, then it would mean a high possibility of joining her crew in the future, right? The advantages a blockbuster movie could bring to their resume were too numerous!

But what had they done? They wasted a good opportunity just because they believed some rumors! Instead of gaining favor from the assistant director, they might have earned her disapproval! If one day she stood at the pinnacle as a director, just saying she didn't need them would probably leave no crew willing to hire them!

Realizing the foolishness of their actions, the members of the crew scattered with unpleasant expressions. It seemed like the assistant director didn't plan anything too harsh, hopefully giving them a chance to make amends.

"You were not like this before," Roy caught up with Laila's steps and stared at her as if she were an alien. "Did you eat something wrong in the morning?"

"Did you get hit in the head today?" Laila replied nonchalantly.

Was she saying he got hit so hard that he went stupid? Roy's face darkened. "You... you are something. How could you speak so softly to them?"

Knowing her well, he knew she wouldn't side with the bad guys, but she wouldn't be bothered with the good ones either. Saying those words, trying to smooth things over, didn't seem like something she would do. If she threatened those people and said she would teach them a lesson, he might not have been as surprised as he was now.

Laila maintained her smile and waved at passing actors who greeted her, then said in a cold tone, "It was just a slip of the tongue. After all, we won't meet again, so there's no need to make things too awkward."

"I knew it!" Roy waved his hand in frustration. He knew she wasn't the type to do that; she was just talking. It sounded nice, but it was all nonsense, leaving a group of people in a mix of emotions. Saying they won't meet again meant she wouldn't use them in the future?

The unfortunate guys on her blacklist, may God help them.

As Laila stopped in front of the car door, she patted Roy's shoulder while waiting for the bodyguard to open the car door. "Though they say silence is golden, sometimes saying a few words can solve many problems. Learn that; it will be beneficial for your future."

"Learn to be cunning like you? No, thanks!" Roy pushed her hand away, not realizing that she had accidentally touched his injured spot. He almost embarrassingly cried out in pain.

Recently, he had been learning martial arts from the martial artists on the crew, which resulted in more and more injuries. However, he seemed to feel some subtle changes happening in his body. It was as if his strength had increased, and he became more agile.

Laila noticed the stiffness in him when she touched him and guessed she had hit his wound.

"Don't injure your face, of all places. I still need it to make money for me," she said, not minding Roy's grimace. Then, she just sat in the car, under the protection of the bodyguard, and left.

"This woman!" Roy gritted his teeth. One day, he would make her taste defeat!

In fact, according to the shooting schedule, they could have finished filming several days ago, but they had delayed it to cooperate with Jia Xiaoming's plan.

As the director, it was simple for Laila to delay the schedule. She could shoot a scene a few more times under the pretext of it not being right, and a day would pass. Two days ago, she had finally received the news that everything was resolved, and that's why they wrapped up the filming.

According to the terms of their cooperation, Jia Xiaoming's people couldn't capture him while he was still on the crew. Even after the filming was over, if they wanted to arrest him, they had to do it quietly. If any rumors leaked outside, Laila wouldn't hesitate to cut herself and the crew out of it. She didn't care if she dragged Jia Xiaoming and his organization into this mess.

"Rush Hour" was her movie, and she wouldn't allow any uncontrolled situation to impact its box office. Whether it was external forces or force majeure, anyone who dared to leave a stain on her movie's box office, she would make sure their lives sink into a quagmire!

In the following days, she returned to the editing room and began the editing process for the footage they had shot.

As mentioned before, editing was a crucial part of a film. Why did so many directors want control over the editing process? Just imagine handing the cloth you cut to someone else and letting them sew it together based on their feelings—how would you feel?

One day, when Roy brought food into the editing room, he found Laila completely immersed in the movie footage.

"Why did you come?" Laila noticed another person behind her only when her work had a pause.

"It's not like your babysitter asked me to watch you eat," Roy tossed the food he was carrying to her. He didn't mention that he had volunteered to take over the task from Claire. He couldn't explain why he did this; perhaps it was because he felt guilty for causing her so much trouble during the fight a few days ago.

"It's not a babysitter. Claire is..." Laila wanted to explain, but she realized her duties were similar to that of a babysitter. The only difference was that she did everything a babysitter did and even things a babysitter couldn't do.

"Forget it," she opened the still-warm food box and started having her lunch. Due to her health issues, her food was specially prepared, healthier, more nutritious, and easier to digest than what could be bought outside. This was the reason Claire insisted on having someone bring food to her, no matter how busy she was.

While she was eating, Roy explored the surroundings.

"Is this what you use for editing?" He picked up a string of film strips, looking at the figures on it with amazement. "I used to think movies were just shot directly, then I found out the order was all mixed up."

"It's for saving time and effort. For example, we try to shoot everything we can in one scene to make it more cost-effective when renting a location," Laila explained.

"I see." Roy sat in her work chair and playfully asked while holding the film strips, "How do you edit all this?"

This question left Laila stumped, not because she didn't want to answer but because she didn't know how to explain it.

"First of all, when editing, you need to think about what kind of reaction you want to evoke from the audience. If you want them to feel cool, then edit towards the cool aspects. If you want them to feel sad, then edit in a way that makes them feel sad."

Roy scratched his head, feeling like he heard it but didn't understand the difference.

"What you said is purely a feeling, is there a simpler way?"