Chapter 173 - Non-Stop Rain

That afternoon, after the opening ceremony was over, the film crew and the cast immediately got ready to start shooting. The three main actors and a group of actors who would play the side characters gathered to practice their roles before filming.

The first scene of the film was shot when Edward, who played the emperor, was ambushed by enemies under heavy rain. The emperor who was injured and was waiting for reinforcements then met a simple woman played by Shirley. The main female character helped the emperor by bringing him into her house.

The woman turned out to be a commoner. She bandaged the emperor's wounds and took care of him with great tenderness and patience until the man's guards arrived at her home.

The location for the scene was set and a fire truck was out of camera reach. One of the crew gave a signal and the truck started spraying water upwards, creating the effect of heavy rain.

"Scene one, first take, start!" The crew exclaimed.

At that time, Lilia was waiting for her turn at the corner of the room. She watched Shirley and Edward's performance while she waited. Lilia watched the two actors carefully. Her eyes didn't miss a single detail, such as the way they walked, the look in their eyes, and the body language of the two.

Lilia had to admit that Shirley's acting skills were amazing. In just a few seconds, the woman had been able to live the role she played.

Even though Shirley and Edward were both veteran actors, filming this first scene still took a long time. Nearly three hours had passed and they still weren't done.

Lilia glanced at Louis, who was sitting in front of the monitor and surrounded by his film crew. The director repeatedly called his deputy director to discuss something. The atmosphere in this filming was much more serious and tense than when they were filming the music video.

They finally finished filming the first half of the scene at five in the afternoon. Lilia got up from her chair and started to prepare herself. Soon, it would be her turn to appear on the screen.

The female general that Lilia had been playing heard the news that the emperor had been ambushed and went looking for him. The female general followed the emperor's guards into the main woman's house. At that time, the weather in the film was still pouring rain.

As soon as Lilia put her foot into the range of the camera, the rainwater soaked her hair and shoulders. But her black eyes seemed to sparkle among the raindrops. Lilia's appearance looked even more heroic and dignified as she walked in the rain.

Lilia stopped at the door of the house and turned to the head of the guard who followed her from behind, "Are you sure His Majesty is in this house?" She asked sharply.

The head guard bowed deeply and replied respectfully, "We are sure, General! We've confirmed it before reporting to you!"

Raindrops wet Lilia's cheeks and slid down until they reached her chin. Her beautiful yet charismatic figure stood out among the men. The actors acting as guards unconsciously treated Lilia as if she was really a female general.

Lilia looked away from the head guard. She looked back at the door of the house, then stretched out her hand and pushed the door open. There was absolutely no doubt in her movements.

The crew who handled the camera immediately focused their lenses on Lilia's face. Even though they were focused for just a few seconds, they managed to catch Lilia's emotional expression. The worry and uneasiness that this woman showed seemed very real, as if the person she was currently looking for was Lilia's own lover.

Just as the door of the house swung open, there was a loud sound as a basin crashed into the floor.

"You... who are you?!" Shirley exclaimed with a panicked face. The woman had dropped the basin filled with water in her surprise.

Lilia felt that there was something strange about Shirley's acting, but she ignored it. She looked around the room, but did not find the emperor. Then Lilia's gaze fell on Shirley's figure.

Lilia waved and ordered the guards, "Come in and find Your Majesty!"

Before the guards could move, a voice shouted, "Cut!"

Everyone turned to the source of the voice. Louis gripped his megaphone so tightly that the veins bulged. His angry expression looked really scary.

Seconds later, the heavy artificial rain subsided when one of the crew turned off the truck. Lilia wiped the rainwater from her face while feeling relieved to be free from the artificial rain.

When Lilia lowered her arm, Louis had marched over to them. He pointed his megaphone at Shirley.

"What is this?! Shirley, what kind of performance is that?! Tell me, how would you react if a stranger suddenly bursts into your house?! You should look more panicked and scared!" Louis was angered by her acting, "Why are you looking at me like that?! If you have time to frown and sulk, then use that time to improve your acting!���

Lilia stepped back while correcting her assessment of Louis. She thought that the director was a friendly and sympathetic man. This was Lilia's first time seeing Louis's angry figure. She became aware that Louis was very critical of the performance of the cast.

In the scene just now, the performance of all the cast was already very good… except for Shirley. Her half-hearted acting destroyed the atmosphere of the entire scene.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Louis." Shirley bent over, "I didn't pay much attention to my expression. I'll be more careful next time."

Then Shirley turned to turn to Lilia.

"Sorry, I just lacked control over my expression. Let's do it one more time." She said apologetically.

Lilia met Shirley's gaze with cold eyes. Her stern and charismatic expression made Lilia really look like a war general. She could guess what this actress was planning. If they repeated the scene just now, Lilia would have to walk through the torrential rain once again.

Unfortunately, she had no other choice. Lilia gritted her teeth and nodded. She was determined to pay back this debt in the next scene.

But Lilia didn't think that they would have to repeat this scene four times in a row. She was forced to walk in the rain four times.

The night was getting late and the fire truck had to refill its tank twice before Louis was finally satisfied with their acting.

Lilia's entire body was drenched and she could barely feel her fingertips. She was shivering violently as she rubbed her hands together, but her wet horse suit stole all the warmth from her body.

Fortunately, her assistant was always ready to help her. Merry immediately ran towards Lilia carrying a pile of towels. She wrapped the model's body in a thick towel, then started drying Lilia's hair using another towel.

"Sis Lilia, are you okay?" Merry asked worriedly, her eyes burning with rage towards Shirley, "Come on, we must immediately change your wet clothes."

Merry led Lilia who was walking behind her with unsteady steps back to the changing room. Harold walked behind the two of them. The man's expression looked calm like the surface of the sea before the storm hit.

Harold stared at the figure of Lilia who was trembling from the cold and almost collapsed while clenching his hand into a fist. The model had to retake the same scene and drench herself with cold water for hours on end for something that wasn't her fault. Harold couldn't believe that Shirley was in such bad shape!

That woman deliberately tormented Lilia and Harold intended to get the actress to pay for her deeds!

Meanwhile, the crew was busy tidying up the filming location for today.

Edward, the male lead, was about to return to his dressing room when he happened to see Shirley in the corner. Edward walked over to the actress who was sipping a bottle of water while reading the script.

"Is your condition really that bad today?" Edward asked bluntly.

"Hm?" Shirley lowered her bottle while giving the man a confused look. A few seconds later, she understood Edward's question and hastily put on an apologetic expression, "You can say that."

"I see." Edward glared at the woman, "I hope you can fix it as soon as possible. No matter what your reasons are, you are still the film queen from Berlin. I don't want to be forced to repeat the same scene over and over again just because you don't like the other cast."

Shirley's face immediately turned bright red. But before she could defend himself, Edward had turned and walked away.. Shirley squeezed the water bottle in her hand as she gave the man a poisonous look.