"Cut!"
"This take is done!"
At noon on the 18th, at the Los Angeles baseball field, the filming crew of "One Kiss" wrapped up Richard's final kissing scene, marking the end of his part in the movie.
"Richard, you did pretty well. It was a pleasure working with you," Drew said with a smile after the kissing scene was finished.
"Thank you, you're a great actor and producer too. I hope we get to work together again," Richard said, shaking her hand. Despite the rumors about Drew being wild, Richard had seen a different side of her during their collaboration. Drew was very professional in both acting and film production, perhaps indicating that she had turned over a new leaf.
"Richard, can I ask you something personal?" Drew asked with a dimpling smile.
"Sure!"
"Who made the first move between you and Gwen? It must have been that bitch who seduced you, right?" Drew snorted.
Richard smiled lightly. This girl, who had been quite serious, changed completely when talking about Gwen. He thought for a moment and said, "No, we were both passive."
"Both passive?"
Drew blinked and suddenly covered her mouth. "Did someone hold a gun to your heads and force you to do it? Wow, that's pretty intense to think about."
Richard snapped his fingers. "Can you be more innocent? What I meant was that during the filming of 'Murder Case,' Director Davis pointed to the bed and said, 'You two lie down.' So Gwen and I lay on the bed. It wasn't a gun that forced us; it was the camera."
Drew was stunned for a moment. "I was talking about the other kind of sleeping together."
"There wasn't any. We're just regular friends," Richard shrugged.
"Really?"
Drew blinked again.
"Maybe you can ask Gwen," Richard said with a light smile, turning and walking out of the set.
---
"Richard, congratulations on finishing your scenes."
In the stands of the baseball field, Jessica Alba walked over and said.
"Thank you. How many more scenes do you have left?"
"About ten. Most of my scenes are scattered, and I often have to be an extra in the background," Jessica shrugged.
Richard smiled lightly. "I heard that your background character is too pretty and tends to steal the scene, so they made you dress like this?"
"Probably," Jessica smiled slightly. She was wearing tacky clothes and had a very non-mainstream hairstyle, but her great figure, slim waist, long legs, and sweet smile still made her stand out.
After chatting for a bit, the crew began filming again. Jessica returned to being an extra in the background, while Richard said goodbye to the familiar faces in the crew and left the baseball field.
"Do you have any plans for the afternoon?" Richard asked, stretching as he got into the car.
"There are two movie auditions, 'Operation Assault' for the male lead, and 'Mystery Puzzle' for the fourth male role," Mike said.
"Alright, another busy day," Richard rubbed his face, took out a script from his bag, and started to read it.
As the year-end approached, auditions from various movie companies were more frequent. Richard had participated in several auditions recently, with mediocre results. Due to critical reviews, art films didn't dare to cast him, and action movies had high budgets, so his current fame wasn't enough to carry a major role.
Without suitable roles, he had to participate in more auditions, hoping to find a fitting character.
The afternoon auditions were for 'Operation Assault,' a war movie where he auditioned for the second male lead. The role wasn't substantial and wasn't as remarkable as his previous roles. The fourth male role in 'Mystery Puzzle' was a minor police officer role, also lacking appeal. With no suitable roles, he had to take whatever came his way.
After the auditions, Richard dragged his tired self back to the apartment. The apartment was a temporary rental next to BAA Company on West Hollywood Avenue. It wasn't large, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a simple training room.
At home, he ate two pieces of pizza and collapsed on the couch to recover.
Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~
As night fell, the doorbell rang.
He got up like a zombie and opened the door, his eyes lighting up when he saw who it was. "Haha, darling, what brings you here?"
Richard hugged the beautiful woman at the door.
"You seem very tired," Ms. Bundchen looked up from his arms.
"A bit. I spent half the day filming and then ran to two auditions. It's pretty tiring," Richard said, holding Bundchen as they walked into the room.
"Why are you so busy? We don't need the money," Ms. Bundchen said, holding his arm.
"Haha, I'm a man, I should be a bit tired. Darling, why didn't you call ahead? Are you here to catch me cheating?" Richard frowned at her.
Blushing, Ms. Bündchen replied, "No, I have a Christmas show at the Public Art Hall the day after tomorrow, so I came over."
"Why didn't you call me first? Hmph, Ms. Bündchen, you're lying!" Richard pinched her cheek.
"I am not, you jerk. Let go, it hurts," Ms. Bündchen said angrily, pushing him away.
"I couldn't bear to pinch you hard. How could it hurt?" Richard laughed, lying on the couch.
"This is my face. If I say it hurts, it hurts," Ms. Bündchen said, rubbing her cheek.
"Alright, alright, my bad. You're not here to catch me cheating? Then go check the bedroom. Maybe you'll find some long hair, underwear, or something. If you find anything, you'll get a big reward!" Richard slapped her on the butt, laughing.
"Really?" Ms. Bündchen smiled lightly. "You said it. I don't believe I can't find something."
"Go ahead," Richard shrugged.
Ms. Bündchen took off her hat, kicked off her high heels, put on his large slippers, and walked into the bedroom with a soft thud.
Richard smiled and turned on the TV with the remote.
Thud, thud~
After a while, Ms. Bündchen came out.
"Did you find anything?" Richard asked with a smile.
"Hmph, what's this?" Ms. Bündchen pulled out a long strand of hair from behind her.
Richard was shocked. "Impossible! No girls have ever been here. How could there be this?"
"Hmph, excuses. I found it under your pillow. What do you have to say?" Ms. Bündchen asked coldly.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible. I've never brought a woman back here. How could there be this? Wait~" Richard suddenly looked at her. He grabbed the hair, then looked at her hair, and got angry.
"Bündchen, do you want to get beaten?!"
"Haha, just kidding. You won't be mad, right?" Ms. Bündchen quickly stepped back, hiding behind the sofa, laughing.
"You joke about this?" Richard reached out to grab her, but Ms. Bündchen dodged nimbly. "Richard, you're a boxing champion. Can't you be less petty?"
"Hmph, and this is my fault?" Richard asked, his face dark.
"Of course, we agreed that in any argument, it's your fault no matter what. Were you lying to me all this time?" Ms. Bündchen said, crossing her arms.
Richard slapped his forehead and collapsed on the couch. "Fine, it's my fault, all my fault."
"Haha, I forgive you!" Ms. Bündchen jumped over and kissed him.
Richard smiled lightly, holding her waist. "Darling, I said there'd be a reward for finding hair. Congratulations, you won a big prize."
"What big prize?" Ms. Bündchen asked, leaning against him.
"Haha, the big prize is me," Richard said, rolling on top of her.
"Ah, you devil. I haven't showered yet."
"Haha, it's fine. We'll shower together later." Richard began to misbehave.
In the following days, Ms. Bündchen participated in two fashion shows in Los Angeles, while Richard continued auditioning for new roles. These included the lead role Obi-Wan in "Star Wars: Episode I," the villain Ambrose in Tom Cruise's new movie "Mission: Impossible 2," the lead Eddie in "Revenge Warrior," and the lead Nick in "Sky Raceway."
The first two were big productions, and without invitations for the auditions, Richard just tried his luck. Whether he got them or not, he figured it was worth a shot.
After a busy few days, Christmas arrived, and they planned to go back to New York for the holidays. Before leaving Los Angeles, they had a gathering with friends and visited little Ava. The little one had improved a lot after a few days in the incubator, looking pink and adorable.
"How do you feel after seeing the little one?" Richard asked, holding her hand as they walked out of the hospital.
"Very cute, like a Barbie doll. I want to hold her," Ms. Bündchen smiled softly.
"Do you have the urge to have one yourself?"
"Have a baby?" Ms. Bündchen shook her head. "No, not at all. I'm only eighteen. I haven't achieved my dreams yet. How can I have a baby now? Just thinking about staying at home all day with a baby terrifies me. Richard, can we consider having kids in a few years?"
"Of course. I just thought you work too hard. If you had a baby, you wouldn't have to work so much."
"I'm not tired. Working during the day, coming home to you, and thinking about you when you're not around feels great. It's the best I've ever felt," Ms. Bündchen said, holding his shoulder.
"Alright, I feel pretty good too," Richard said with a light smile, carrying her out of the hospital.
In the afternoon, they returned to New York and had a joyous and lively Christmas together.
After Christmas, Ms. Bündchen received a call from her family, asking if she remembered where home was, if her boyfriend was that important, if she still cared about her parents, and why she hadn't visited in almost two years.
Ms. Bündchen laughed awkwardly, promised to visit, and then went back home, leaving Richard alone.