Hitting a brick wall

Looking at the still bustling warehouse studio, Chris felt a bit out of place. So, he took a step towards the side door of the warehouse, intending to get some fresh air outside. Pushing open the iron door, he noticed someone standing there, smoking. Reflexively, he expressed his apology, "Sorry for the disturbance..."

However, the person didn't seem to mind. She raised her right hand, holding the cigarette, and waved it lightly. The wisps of smoke floated gracefully in the air, giving her an air of carefree nonchalance.

It was only then that Chris realized the person before him was not a man but a woman. Her neat short hair hung casually, slightly tousled by the strong wind. Sharp lines on her profile highlighted her distinctive personality. Long, smoky eye corners added a hint of wild charm to her otherwise fierce look. Red lips exhaled thin plumes of smoke, obscuring her features in a hazy veil. Her features appeared blurred, leaving only her icy temperament gently rippling in her eyes.

"Are you in lovestruck, or do you want to ask for a cigarette?" The woman's eyebrow quirked slightly as she spoke in a deep voice.

Chris was taken aback and awkwardly chuckled. He couldn't help but avert his gaze. "A cigarette, please, if you don't mind."

The other person didn't speak but deftly shook a cigarette out and handed it over. Chris, however, noticed another cigarette on the woman's ear. He had initially thought of saying, "There's an extra one here," but then considered it might sound too flirtatious and halted his words.

In that brief half-second pause, the woman's voice sounded again, "I'm not interested in indirect kisses." She pointed at the cigarette in her ear. Chris immediately withdrew his gaze. Clearly, she had noticed his stare. Then, the woman turned around, leaning against the iron railing in front of her, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "If you want a kiss, just ask directly. Indirect kissing is too gay. Or do you prefer men?"

"No, definitely not," Chris burst into laughter, waving his hands repeatedly. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed, and he couldn't stop laughing. But as he looked at the woman before him, her handsome posture and seductive gaze, he suddenly realized another possibility and choked on his words. "I have no issue with same-sex relationships; I just meant... I'm not into the same sex; I like the opposite sex, women, yes, that's it."

The woman didn't respond, merely tilting her head indifferently. This made all of Chris's explanations hang awkwardly in the air. A sense of amusement crept over him, and he caught the glimmer of a smile in the woman's eyes. Even her lips curved into a graceful arc. That's when he finally realized he had been played.

Chris stood there, rendered momentarily speechless, and then laughed. He took a cigarette from the woman's cigarette case and raised it after a brief pause to convey his gratitude. "Chris Evans," he introduced himself.

"Edith Hall," she replied, promptly retrieving a lighter from her cigarette case.

"You're the photographer for today, right?" Chris finally recognized her. She was the photographer who had just taken pictures of Renly. In Hollywood, most top photographers were men, so it wasn't easy for women to make a name for themselves. However, any female photographer who had risen to the top was undoubtedly the real deal.

Edith furrowed her brows slightly, glanced at Chris, lit her lighter, and handed it to him. "Are you ready? I'm not an easy person to work with. You'd better cooperate fully during the shoot, or I'll walk away."

"I know. I watched your work earlier, and I'm mentally prepared," Chris nodded. He glanced at the lighter before him, hesitated for a moment, and realized he wasn't quite used to having a woman light his cigarette. It felt a bit strange. However, when he looked at Edith, he stepped closer and lit his cigarette. "Unless you require candles and whips, I'm willing to cooperate with everything else."

There was a hint of innuendo in his playful remark, which seasoned veterans would understand. Chris then noticed Edith scrutinizing him from head to toe, her gaze filled with meaning. Initially, Chris intended to tease Edith a bit, to have some fun. However, he began to feel that something was off.

"Clearly," Edith replied, lightly tucking in her lower jaw, wearing an expression of understanding. "You should be the S&M type."

Chris almost choked on his cigarette at her fierceness, finding it a bit overwhelming. Yet, he didn't want to back down. "Have you tried this on Renly?" he asked.

Surprisingly, Edith wore a disdainful expression, and her look made Chris feel peculiar. He couldn't fathom why Edith seemed so repulsed. Wasn't Renly her type? But even so, did she need to be this disgusted?

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Chris felt like he was off his game today, both with Renly earlier and now with Edith. Things just weren't flowing smoothly. He felt a bit frustrated, attributing it to his recent insomnia affecting his performance. "From a man's perspective, I think Renly is a charming person, isn't he? I mean, purely from an appreciation standpoint."

"Do you know that sometimes the more you explain, the less clear it becomes?" Edith's teasing gaze left Chris feeling defeated. He could only laugh helplessly, and Edith's lips curled up again. "I thought you two should hate each other. I mean, his recent box office performance has been completely overshadowing yours."

She was frank, with no regard for Chris's feelings, openly discussing the poor situation of "Captain America". Chris believed that Edith knew he was the actor who portrayed Captain America; it wasn't vanity but an acknowledgment because Edith was the photographer for the day.

"Ha," Chris shook his head, his smile growing broader. Then, he self-deprecatingly said, "It's not as bad as you all imagine. As long as we don't have a date, I think we'll be fine." Chris had learned to be self-deprecating.

Edith took a deep drag from her cigarette, her brows slightly furrowed. "Wait a moment; let me visualize it." Her solemn expression made Chris laugh uncontrollably. Then, Edith looked at Chris with seriousness. "So, who's Romeo, and who's Juliet?"

"Ha-ha." Chris didn't know how to respond anymore. He just laughed heartily. In the past few days, the pressure from the box office had been weighing heavily on him. He hadn't relaxed like this in a long time, even if it was just during this short smoking break. Chris felt a bit attached to it, almost forgetting that there was work waiting for him in the warehouse studio.

Chris didn't remember, but Edith did. After finishing her cigarette, she extinguished it against the wall, stepped away from the railing, and stood upright. She looked at Chris, then raised her hand and patted his chest, nodding in approval. "Not bad. I'll see you inside for the shoot." After saying that, Edith opened the side door and walked in without any hesitation.

Chris hadn't quite grasped what had just happened. He watched Edith's right hand in puzzlement and then heard the compliment. Unexpectedly, his cheeks turned slightly warm in the spur of the moment. A mixture of speechlessness and absurdity painted a smile that stretched wide across his face.

The warehouse studio remained bustling as ever. After wrapping up the cover shoot with Renly, the next task was the inner pages of the "Captain America" team's shoot. In the midst of the lively summer season, every magazine issue was filled with content, and the workload was substantial. Chris had no idea when today's work would finally come to an end.

For Renly, his work for the day had already concluded. Simultaneously, the promotional period for "Fast 5" had finally come to an end.

In the blink of an eye, Renly had been in Hollywood for nearly two years. This was his first commercial film and also his first formal experience with promotion. It opened a door for Renly, allowing him to truly glimpse the world under the spotlight—a life like no other.

Whether willing or not, every detail and facet of life was exposed to the public, enjoying cheers but also bearing noise. There was novelty and there was exhaustion, there were surprises and there was irritability. But ultimately, it all came to an end.

Before stepping back into the limelight next time, he could finally enjoy some personal time.

After concluding the promotional activities, Renly took a good three days to rest and recuperate. After that, he returned to the recording studio, immersing himself once again in the album's recording. Compared to the intense and busy promotional period, the studio felt like heaven. It temporarily shut out all the hustle and bustle behind the thick soundproof walls. Everything was related to art, thoughts, and dreams.

Even though "50/50" had wrapped up less than three months ago, Renly began to miss his time on set. He missed the moments of freely performing in front of the camera, the moments spent delving into the script to develop his character, the moments of exchanging ideas and clashing with the director, screenwriter, and fellow actors, and the moments of wholeheartedly studying his performance.

When Andy received a call from Renly asking about when "Detachment" would start filming, he was utterly surprised. "Fast 5" had ended not too long ago, and recording work was still ongoing. Renly was already inquiring about when "Detachment" would commence. Upon further reflection, it seemed like "50/50" had only wrapped up last week.

So, was Renly a workaholic or a masochist?

Of course, for Andy, an actor who was diligent and dedicated to his craft like this was a dream come true. High productivity, regardless of the quality, at the very least meant increased income for both the agent and the actor.

Tony Kaye provided some good news. The "Detachment" production team had completed casting and secured locations. The crew was fully assembled, and they were currently trying to convince a high school in Brooklyn to lease the premises to the production team during the two months of summer vacation for on-site shooting.

As long as the school agreed, they could start filming at any time.