Dilemma

Scarlett's small eyes are always covered with a shallow halo, either straight or slanted, staring or peering, and the charm between movement and stillness is always unforgettable.

Looking at the corners of Scarlett's light eyes, looking up and down with lazy eyes like Persian cats, the smile on the corner of Renly's mouth deepened, not only did he not panic, but also leaned slightly to the side, leaning against the brick wall at the door, his body became more relaxed and casual, his right hand was still playing with the cigarette case, but he was silent.

Scarlett raised her eyebrows slightly, a little surprised by Renly's posture, unruly, and uninhibited, and his gestures had their own charisma.

This is just the first meeting between Scarlett and Renly, she doesn't know about Renly's personality, but judging from the impression of his appearance and the brief confrontation just now, Renly is more like a sharp and restrained gentleman, and the elegance and wisdom between the statements can often control the initiative unconsciously.

But now Renly seems to be outgoing and arrogant, and the arrogance and ruffian aura that swirls between the haze can't help but remind people of James Dean. This subtle contrast is a little puzzling.

"I know you have a good hand, but I also know you're bluffing right now." Scarlett's pupils shrank slightly, as if a cat had seen its prey. The corners of Renly's mouth pulled down, as if he was entertained by Scarlett's words, and his eyes were quite playful, "What do you think?"

"You know, there's a group of people who think they're special and unique, but ...," Scarlett dragged out, her eyes flashing with mischief, her rosy lips pursed into a line, "but in fact, they're just a nobody, nobodies that no one has ever heard of."

"Oops." Renly cried out in mock pain, but the smile on his face deepened, "Then this should be a good thing, it seems that you have determined that Ryan can definitely get the role?"

Renly's reaction made Scarlett a little uncertain, her white teeth biting the tip of her tongue slightly, and her eyes rolled, "You don't look like a loser who would simply surrender." The reason why Renly chose to stay is obviously not just standing here stupidly, so what is he seeking?

Renly's smile was still the same, "Should I take this as a compliment?"

This gesture made Scarlett make a decision, she shrugged her shoulders, revealing a look of complete indifference, "Who cares, you can take it as a compliment, this is your freedom. As for whether Ryan can make the audition successfully, that's his business, not something I should worry about."

Renly showed a surprised expression, "I thought that you came here with Ryan today, just with the attitude of support, like a harmonious couple. This is a good story in Hollywood."

Scarlett's left eye blinked slightly, and her shell-like teeth bit her lower lip, and a sly smile outlined it and finally turned into a graceful arc, "Haven't you heard of posing for photos? In the corner where you can't see, the paparazzi who have made a reservation are pressing the shutter." 

"Filming the scandal between the two of us?" Renly's smile had an extra touch of ridicule, and the scale of the light and frivolous words was properly grasped, not only did it not make people feel offensive, but it would make people's cheeks slightly hot.

"Huh." Scarlett's smile fully bloomed, and she chuckled, and took a step away from the doorway, turning her back to the direction of the lobby, facing Renly, "Sir, you overestimate yourself." The subtext is that with Renly's current reputation and popularity, he is not qualified to have an affair with her.

Renly spread out his hands to show his innocence.

Scarlett noticed a small detail, Renly's body left the brick wall and stood up straight, which can be understood as just wanting to speak more conveniently, after all, Scarlett is constantly retreating, and the distance between the two is widening, but it can also be understood as….

Scarlett looked back, just in time to see Rodrigo's gaze. At this time, Ryan was talking about something, but Rodrigo looked out the window, and the direction in which he could see was 

...Scarlett turned back again, Renly Hall.

The footsteps stopped, and the smile was slightly retracted, but then it bloomed again, and Scarlett looked at Renly seriously, "This gentleman, although I don't know what kind of magic trick you are playing, I am pretty sure that I have no interest in being involved. If I'm not mistaken, I'm from Team Reynolds."

Having his intentions detected, Renly felt a faint pang in his heart, but he maintained a composed exterior. "I thought you had absolute trust in Ryan's absolute prowess."

This statement prompted Scarlett to burst into unrestrained laughter, "This joke is truly remarkable." While Ryan was a decent actor, the description of "absolute prowess" was a far cry from reality. Scarlett's bold and straightforward critique spirit spared no one, not even Ryan.

Scarlett turned and walked into the lobby with graceful steps again, her back disappearing behind the heavy glass door. The courtyard fell silent again, and Renly was left alone.

Rodrigo's attention seems to be unfocused, and Ryan is still expressing his opinion on the script, his focus locked on the pacing of the story. For thriller horror movies, like most popcorn movies, control of climax and atmosphere creation are crucial, but to Rodrigo's ears, it's all nonsense.

Whether it's the rhythm or the atmosphere, these are the director's job, not the actors' job. Ryan's understanding of the character is clearly still stuck in the "first part", focusing on how to hold the audience's nervousness firmly in his hands, and how to drive the audience's emotions with unseen fear like Alfred Hitchcock... But Ryan doesn't have any views on the understanding of the character itself, about the sublimation of the connotation of the script.

This disappointed Rodrigo a bit.

There is no gap without comparison, and after watching Renly's performance, Ryan's performance seems simple and straightforward. Indeed, Ryan can accurately express emotions such as panic, fear, and despair, which coincides with the setting in Rodrigo's mind at the beginning, and there is no doubt that Ryan can do a good job, but Ryan's performance lacks depth and does not help to refine the story.

"Buried" has the potential to be an excellent one, but now it is regarded as a good work, no different from other horror movies and thriller movies.

Involuntarily, Rodrigo raised his head and glanced out the window, and then saw Renly and Scarlett who were talking. Across the courtyard, Rodrigo couldn't hear their conversation, but he could detect the subtle difference in Renly—he looked even more ... Uninhibited, rough and free-spirited, the demeanor seems to be at ease, and the graceful posture makes the gaze can't help but stop.

Rodrigo didn't have time to delve into Renly's true personality, and the image of Paul involuntarily resurfaced in his mind, not Paul trapped in a coffin, but Paul before he came to Iraq.

Funny, handsome and dashing, Paul always won the hearts of girls, was a member of the school basketball team in high school, and was a popular figure on campus, always enjoying life to the fullest, always squandering his youth until he met Linda, who later became his wife.

Marriage was always happy at first, they had their first child, they had their own house in the suburbs, and their lives gradually stabilized, but the real estate bubble of 2008 set off a financial tsunami, all their bank savings disappeared, and life suddenly fell into trouble, so the quarrel began, they began to become estranged, life began to become difficult and struggling.

Choosing to go to Iraq is a reluctant choice forced by life, and it is also a choice to give this marriage some space.

Before the kidnapping, Paul and Linda had an argument, and all the resentment and anger that had accumulated over the past few months exploded, the pressure of the mortgage, the urging of the bank, the hardships of distance, the children's education… The questions were one after another were asked, and the two people wanted to tear each other through the phone line, and finally hung up the phone fiercely after each put down the cruel words.

Rodrigo saw Paul's life in Renly's body, vivid and concrete, three-dimensional and vivid. The plot fragments in the script are beginning to become real, even if the story of "Buried" is confined to a coffin, but the world outside the coffin begins to extend infinitely, and the whole story begins to become full and profound.

Rodrigo's inner excitement began to jump little by little, almost uncontrollable, he had an impulse to immediately carry the camera, record Renly's every move, and even immediately plunge into the filming of the film, the enthusiasm for creation continued to blow out like a volcanic eruption.

"Rodrigo?" Ryan's voice called Rodrigo back to his senses, "What do you think? If we can, we can re-edit the script, re-plan these scenes, and then we can start shooting. I have enough time for the next month to finish this work." Ryan had a big smile on his face, ready to get to work.

Rodrigo looked at Ryan in front of him seriously, he did not forget that Ryan was his first choice, and he also wrote a letter of invitation by himself; he did not forget that Ryan's current fame is invaluable for "Buried", and it will be helpful in all aspects such as distribution, publicity, and release in the future; he also did not forget that Ryan personally rushed from Los Angeles to New York, and this sincerity and dedication showed his enthusiasm.

He had already made a decision in his mind.

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AN - If you guys felt that this translation was flawed, that's cause chatgpt was deleting whole paragraphs of text for some reason. So I had to translate this chapter using mtlnovel...