Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Slapping Her Own Face Sore
But it was too late for regrets. Her father had invested the money, and she had signed the contract. She could only brace herself and act.
Suzanne Sawyer constantly repeated a mantra to herself: she was a professionally trained actress. She was "Jade," and Lily Sterling was "Flora." They were just characters in a drama.
Having a sense of conviction is a basic quality an actor must possess. After a moment of self-hypnosis, Suzanne Sawyer actually felt a bit more confident.
Half an hour later, the second scene began filming.
All the equipment was in position. The sound of the clapperboard, accompanied by a cry of "Action!", instantly silenced the set.
Suzanne Sawyer knelt with a THUD. Just as she was about to let her emotions out, she heard the director yell, "CUT!"
The assistant director, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, stood up and raged, "Didn’t we just block this scene? The opening shot is on ’Flora’! Who’s going to see you if you kneel now? You kneel when the camera moves to you!"
Growing up, no one had ever dared to speak to Suzanne Sawyer so loudly. But she understood that on set, the director was king, and as a newcomer, the last person she could afford to offend was the director.
So after being reprimanded, she just nodded obediently, looking docile and submissive. "I’m sorry, Director. I was too nervous."
They started the take over.
The opening shot focused on "Flora," shivering after having fallen into the water. On the small monitor in front of the director, Lily Sterling’s poignant beauty and perfectly captured inexperience were exceptionally captivating. The head director and the assistant director behind him couldn’t help but smile as they watched.
"This actress is good. A new face is already refreshing, and she acts well. The audience will love her." With his veteran industry eye, head director Aaron Cole recognized Lily Sterling’s potential at a glance.
The camera panned to "Jade." She fell to her knees with a THUD and, terrified, recited her line: "This servant deserves death! Please, Madam Bloom, Old Madam Bloom, calm your anger!"
Madam Bloom scowled and pointed at "Jade," scolding, "You useless, stupid thing! The Second Miss has been frail since childhood, and you still let her slip and fall into the water?"
Old Madam Bloom was even more direct, ordering in a deep voice, "Someone! Sell this useless good-for-nothing who failed to protect her master away immediately!"
"Madam, spare my life! Old Madam, spare my life! This servant knows she was wrong! This servant accepts her punishment! I beg you, Old Madam, please don’t sell me away!"
"Jade" cried and kowtowed, then got up and gave herself two sharp slaps. After that, she shuffled forward on her knees and turned to her own young miss. "Miss, I beg you, please say a word for this servant..."
"CUT!"
The call of "Cut!" sliced right through Suzanne Sawyer’s fully immersed emotional state. A fiery sting radiated from her cheeks, and her knees throbbed with pain.
The assistant director shot up, furious. Suzanne Sawyer thought she had made a mistake again and instinctively flinched. But the assistant director’s gaze went past her to an extra in the back. He cursed through gritted teeth, "You, the maid in the blue dress! What the hell is that on your wrist? Did they have watches in ancient times? It’s a continuity error, you get that?!"
The extra flinched and quickly took off her watch, hiding it away.
"Let’s go again from when Old Madam Bloom wants to sell Jade, and Jade kneels, kowtows, and slaps herself!"
And so, Suzanne Sawyer had to do it all over again.
A scene that would be five minutes at most on TV took the cast and crew nearly an hour to shoot. Combined with the hot weather, everyone was getting restless, and their performance worsened with each take.
Suzanne Sawyer’s face ached from slapping herself, and by the later takes, she no longer dared to use much force.
In the end, the director decided to use the first take after all!
"Lily Sterling!"
After the scene wrapped, Lily Sterling was heading back to her dressing room to get some water and rest when Suzanne Sawyer caught up and blocked her path.
The name "Lily Sterling" was posted on the dressing room door. Only private dressing rooms had the actor’s name on them. The sight was jarring to Suzanne Sawyer, and a wave of jealousy, stronger than any she’d felt before, washed over her.
"You did this on purpose, didn’t you? I stole your role, so you took the part of ’Flora’ just to spite me?" Suzanne Sawyer said with a vicious look.
Thinking about how pathetic she had just looked—kneeling, begging, and even slapping herself in front of Lily—filled her with humiliation. Even though she had been professional enough to complete the performance, she couldn’t shake the feeling of shame now that she was out of character.
"I don’t have that kind of power. I play whoever the production team and Director Sam Fletcher assign me to," Lily Sterling said softly.
Even though Lily Sterling spoke with conviction, Suzanne Sawyer didn’t believe a word of it.
This was a major IP with a huge online following, and "Flora" was a popular character from the original novel. So many A-list actresses were fighting tooth and nail for this role. ’How could it possibly fall into the hands of a complete unknown?’
’Just because she’s pretty?’
’But the entertainment industry is hardly lacking for beautiful women!’
Suzanne Sawyer gave Lily Sterling a meaningful look and sneered, "Stop pretending you’re so pure. To get a role like ’Flora,’ you must have used some underhanded methods."
"Lily Sterling, if you don’t want anyone to know, don’t do it. Don’t think denying it will hide the truth."
Her words were loaded with insinuation, which Lily Sterling could hear, but she didn’t get angry.
This wasn’t the first time Suzanne Sawyer had been hostile toward her. Although Lily found it all baffling, she wasn’t the type of person to get into confrontations.
’Besides, I still remember what Nina said. Suzanne Sawyer’s father is an investor in the production, so I have to avoid clashing with her on set.’
With this in mind, Lily Sterling said expressionlessly, "I don’t care whether you believe me or not. But I suggest you go ice your face as soon as possible. It’s starting to get a little red and swollen."
Hearing this, Suzanne Sawyer’s furious expression instantly turned to shock. She subconsciously touched her own face.
HISS—
’It hurts!’
Just then, the door to the adjacent dressing room suddenly opened. Jessica Reynolds, in full, magnificent costume and makeup, emerged with a grand entourage of four staff members.
She paused for a moment when she saw Lily Sterling, then her lips curved into a smile. "Well, hello there, little beauty. We meet again!"
Upon seeing Jessica Reynolds, both Lily Sterling and Suzanne Sawyer instantly dropped their expressions, replacing them with polite smiles as they greeted her, "Jessica."
Jessica Reynolds’s gaze swept over the two of them. When she saw Suzanne Sawyer’s bright red cheeks, she gasped and covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my god, little sis, don’t tell me your face got that red from filming just now?"
Suzanne Sawyer put on a pitiable expression and nodded, saying with feigned strength, "I’m fine, Jessica. It was for the sake of the shot."
"TSK TSK TSK, that must hurt, right? Who actually slaps their own face for real? Didn’t your teachers teach you how to fake a slap?" Jessica asked, her face full of pity and regret.
Suzanne Sawyer shook her head. She had joined the cast less than a month after starting school; she had barely attended any movement classes.
"You’re certainly earnest enough," Jessica Reynolds sighed, then turned to Mia. "Mia, hurry and get an ice pack from the mini-fridge in my room for this poor girl. If her face swells up, it’ll delay the rest of the shoot, and Director Cole will get angry again."
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