Chapter 73: Knock Knock Knock

With the release of "Run Lola Run," Simon found it increasingly difficult to stay with the "Night of the Blood Zombies" film crew these days.

As more and more media journalists began to appear in the small town of Coolidge.

It started with local reporters from Arizona, and soon media people from neighboring states like California, Nevada, and New Mexico began to flock in, surrounding the film crew either seeking interviews with Simon or directly following the crew.

Many times, when the crew was shooting at night, flashlights would suddenly light up around them, with predictable results.

Although there was no evidence, Simon was pretty sure that this was likely stirred up by the producer of "Night of the Blood Zombies," Edward Feldman. His motive was clear—to increase the exposure of the "Night of the Blood Zombies" crew. In the first few days, Edward Feldman was visibly excited about the reporters' presence and even took an interview with an "Arizona Daily Star" reporter.

During this period, news spread within the crew that Delaurentis Entertainment, the investor of "Night of the Blood Zombies," was facing continuous financial deterioration and was increasingly on the verge of bankruptcy.

Due to the sudden hit of "Run Lola Run," the higher-ups at Delaurentis Entertainment saw "Night of the Blood Zombies," which involved Simon, as a last straw to alleviate the company's financial woes. Thus, they leaked Simon's involvement in the crew.

Now, the name "Night of the Blood Zombies" began appearing frequently in many newspapers, riding the coattails of "Run Lola Run" and garnering considerable attention.

However, Edward Feldman had not anticipated that since most of "Night of the Blood Zombies" was shot on location, the crew simply didn't have enough staff to completely seal off the outdoor shooting sites. A large group of reporters surrounded the crew daily, making it impossible to continue filming.

In a parking lot on the west side of the town, it was also March 2nd, a Monday.

At 11 PM.

Today, they were shooting an explosive scene where the male lead, Caleb, drives a tanker truck towards a vampire, resulting in a massive explosion.

The crew had been preparing for this scene all weekend, and although Simon had planned to leave last Friday, he stayed to help Catherine set up this challenging shot.

In the parking lot, after checking the arrangements with Catherine, Simon gave her an encouraging look, gestured toward a spot not far away, and said with a smile, "You start, I'll watch from over there."

Catherine nodded and looked at Simon as he approached a group of media journalists cordoned off at the edge of the parking lot. As soon as someone raised a camera, he quickly gestured and said loudly, "Guys, this shot is worth at least $100,000. If it gets ruined by flash photography, the crew will have to send you a legal notice. So, could you please put down your cameras? I can hang out with you for a while."

Having been camped out in Coolidge for over a week, this young man, who had sparked nationwide discussion, had never directly interacted with the media before.

At Simon's offer to chat, although it was clear he was just watching over them to prevent interference with the upcoming shot, the reporters graciously put down their cameras and took out their recorders. A quick-witted reporter immediately asked loudly, "Simon, we heard you're only making $500 a week on this film, is that true?"

Simon, standing within the cordoned area, smiled and replied, "I'm just here to help out, the salary doesn't matter."

The reporter quickly followed up, "So, are you really pursuing Catherine Bigelow?"

Simon wasn't surprised by the question.

These days, more than one newspaper had speculated about Simon and Catherine's relationship. Simon could only shrug it off and said, "Of course not, I already have a girlfriend. You know, Catherine is the assistant director of 'Run Lola Run,' we agreed to help each other out, so I'm here."

Hearing Simon admit he already had a girlfriend, the reporters became even more excited.

Celebrity relationships were always a hot topic for gossip enthusiasts, and Simon's fame had already surpassed many major stars. His age and appearance guaranteed that many female readers would be interested.

Thus, nearly everyone began to clamor with questions.

"Simon, can you tell us who your girlfriend is?" "Simon, tell us about your girlfriend?" "Simon, is it Sandra Bullock?" "Simon..."

As Simon felt the buzz around him, he raised his hand to calm the crowd, then turned and looked toward the set.

Under many watchful eyes, there was a loud boom, and the extended tanker truck burst into a huge orange flame.

Although the explosion was impressive, Simon knew it was actually very safe. Standing about ten meters away from the tanker, he only felt a mild blast of air.

Carefully observing the

 pre-set camera positions, Simon made sure everyone was busy with their tasks before he felt relieved.

About ten minutes later, Catherine made an OK gesture from afar on the set.

There was only this scene scheduled for tonight, and since it went smoothly, Simon no longer felt the need to entertain the reporters behind him. He started walking toward the set.

The reporters, coming to their senses after the explosion, saw Simon leaving and loudly called out to him, with some even trying to follow, but they were stopped by the prepared crew members on the sidelines.

The ten minutes of shooting took three days to prepare and over two hours to wrap up. After everything was done, the crew headed back to the hotel. It was already March 3rd, around 2 AM.

After saying goodnight to everyone and going through his nightly routine, Catherine sat in her pajamas on the hotel room bed, feeling the silence around her but without any sleepiness.

She picked up her director's notebook and leaned back against the headboard to read.

The title page read: "Caleb's adventure, Mei's rebirth."

He had said that.

"Night of the Blood Zombies" had started filming in late January, and he hadn't joined the crew initially. She had started the first two weeks of shooting alone.

Although reluctant to admit it, she found herself far from as smooth as him. Despite her meticulous preparations, she still felt lost when the real shooting began.

During the first two weeks, she would think about how he would have shot a scene.

Then she realized she couldn't imitate him at all.

He knew exactly what he wanted and had the confidence to direct the crew straightforwardly. She had to discuss most details very carefully with the other creatives because she wasn't as proficient as him in cinematography, lighting, set design, editing, or music composition...

Beyond filmmaking, he seemed to understand a lot of other things too.

Almost like the illegitimate son of the goddess of wisdom.

Although she had somewhat insincerely said that it was fine if he didn't help, once he joined the crew, everything seemed to start going smoothly.

Sensing her confusion about the characters and the direction of the film, he helped her come up with the sentence on the title page of her notebook.

"Caleb's adventure, Mei's rebirth."

In his view, both the story and the characters of "Night of the Blood Zombies" should revolve tightly around these two points. With his guidance, she gradually sorted out many things.

She had only done some insignificant logistical work on the "Run Lola Run" crew. Here, he was like a patient teacher, personally holding a child's hand, teaching them to draw step by step.

Whenever there was a problem, he would suggest in an advisory tone, "Perhaps you could try this..."

Always patient.

She indeed learned a lot during this time.

But, she was very aware of his strong controlling desire. Perhaps, in his heart, he had thought countless times about kicking this stupid woman off the director's chair and taking over himself.

Little bastard.

Definitely thought that way.

Thinking somewhat unreasonably like this, she realized he was leaving tomorrow. The crew would soon return to normal daytime shooting, and with so many media reporters around, it was impossible to continue filming.

Sigh.

She sighed softly.

With "Run Lola Run's" success, he was now a top Hollywood director, no doubt. With an expected North American box office exceeding $150 million, no one could deny his ability and status.

The down-and-out young man she had met on the bus last year seemed to have quickly left everyone behind, forcing her to look up to him.

With these thoughts flashing through her mind, she suddenly wanted to talk to him.

He was just staying in the next room.

But even if she had no other intentions, thinking about those reporters immediately discouraged her.

Although it was already past 3 AM, she couldn't be sure those crazy journalists wouldn't still be staking out outside. The hotel had a very open U-shaped layout, with a dozen rooms directly facing a broad street, and anyone entering or exiting any room could easily be seen.

If discovered, she couldn't explain it at all.

During this time, the media had already started spreading gossip about her and Simon. She had seen a few articles and felt weird and worried about Jenny's reaction, although she had to act indifferent in front of others.

So she sighed again.

She was still not as good as Jenny.

Lazily, Jenny had captured the man she wanted, while she was only hesitating.

Thinking this, she suddenly felt a small impulse.

So she raised her hand.

And gently knocked on the wooden wall.

Knock knock knock.

Her heart also started to race.

But.

After waiting a moment.

There was no response from the other side.

Feeling somewhat disappointed, she couldn't help feeling a bit rebellious.

She raised her hand again.

Knock knock knock.

Finally, from the next room, a

 voice came through, clearly amused, "The night is long, and sleep eludes you, madam. Do you need me to break through the wall?"

The strangely poetic tone of the sentence, which sounded like a translation from somewhere, was teasing and instantly made her blush. Hearing him say he would break through the wall, her heart leaped, and she blurted out, "You dare!"

"Then go to sleep, it's late, and I thought it was a mouse making noise."

"You're the mouse."

"I've been holding back and haven't dug through yet, obviously a very gentlemanly mouse."

"Ugh."

"Alright, no more trouble, go to sleep."

So she lay down somewhat satisfied, pulled up the blanket, turned off the bedside lamp, and muttered softly as she thought of his voice, soothing like he was comforting a little girl, "Little bastard."