Crossover Dreams From Script to Reality Chapter 6

Owen Travis retracted his gaze, stared at the white water column washing over the back of his hand, and replied: "It's quite a coincidence."

Liam Harris bent down to wash his hands and said nothing more. There were only two sounds of water interweaving with each other.

He scrubbed the foam, rinsed it off, repeated twice, and dried it. He picked up a hand cream from the silver tray, applied it, adjusted his cuffs and collar, and pressed his neatly done hair in the mirror.

After finishing all this, Liam Harris noticed the sound of water beside him. He glanced sideways and saw Owen Travis's red hands, and asked: "Are you a germaphobe?"

Owen Travis is not a germaphobe and didn't pay any attention to it.

Liam Harris thought that if he washed again, he would probably lose a layer of skin. He looked at his watch and said, "The party has already started. Don't wait until you finish washing before it ends."

Owen Travis said impatiently: "Now that it has started, why don't you go back quickly?"

Liam Harris turned around and leaned against the edge of the table. He was playing Landlord in the cubicle before he came out. He was just scribbling to buy time: "Don't worry, I'll come out to relax."

The word "relax" touched Owen Travis's mind. He was also here to relax.

"Are you nervous?"

"A little bit, mostly a little annoying."

Liam Harris crossed his arms and said, "I will greet the actors later. I will laugh until my face is sore. I will call them teachers more often than I did in my four years of college."

Owen Travis didn't respond, but agreed in his heart.

Liam Harris said: "Not only that, the more annoying thing is coming. Those directors and supervisors are like the leaders of the crew. You have to act like a grandson when you greet them."

Owen Travis thought that this was true.

Liam Harris added: "And today a big guy is here, so we have to be more careful."

Owen Travis asked: "Boss?"

"Don't you know?" Liam Harris said word by word, "The screenwriter of this play, Owen Travis, has come to the crew to attend the opening banquet tonight. He is probably drinking in the box right now."

Owen Travis said calmly: "Oh."

Liam Harris continued, "Oh, what? It is said that Mr. Qu rarely follows the group. Maybe he came to see it because he participated in the investment. As for who he will see, I don't need to tell you, right?"

Owen Travis said: "You'd better speak frankly."

Liam Harris said: "Other things don't matter, but the soul of the whole play is indispensable."

Owen Travis was really confused: "What is the soul?"

Liam Harris replied: "The male lead."

Owen Travis finally withdrew his hand, and water drops fell from his skin, soaking the cuffs of his shirt. He ignored it and tilted his head to look at Liam Harris's profile: "You mean, Owen Travis came to the crew to see you?"

Liam Harris said, "What is your level of understanding? Can you pass the Chinese language test? People can look at whoever they want, but since you are here, you must look at me, right?"

For the first time in his life, Owen Travis was questioned about his comprehension ability and Chinese language performance. He paused and asked, "What if he regrets letting you play the leading role after watching you?"

"What do you mean?" Liam Harris frowned, a little aggrieved in his anger, "Hey, you ignored me last night, and now you say this again. Are you blaming me for getting in your Porsche by mistake? I got off the car. Or are you blaming me for drinking your Perrier? Just wait, I'll buy you a case tomorrow."

He didn't wait for Owen Travis to speak, and suddenly realized: "I understand, are you jealous of me?"

Owen Travis listened attentively: "Why am I jealous of you?"

Liam Harris said: "I'm jealous because I'm the leading man."

They met three times, and emphasized the "male lead" eight hundred times. Owen Travis remembered that Liam Harris asked him who he played. Since this young actor was determined to treat him as a colleague, he deliberately said: "What if I am a special guest?"

"Forget it." Liam Harrisrong was confident. "I looked at the actor's profile, you're not on it, and you're specially invited. It's okay to be a supporting actor, don't be embarrassed. Since you can ride in the director's Porsche, it means you have some background. I guess you don't need to be an 18th-tier actor for too long."

Owen Travis couldn't help it: "Actually---"

Liam Harris interrupted him: "Actually, since you didn't attend the script reading today, I guessed your role."

Owen Travis said: "The director invited me to participate, but I refused."

"You keep blowing."

Owen Travis hinted: "The purpose of the reading is to digest the script. I have completely digested it, so there is no need for me to participate."

Liam Harris laughed out loud: "I really admire you. Even the director doesn't dare to say that he has digested it. Have you digested it? What stomach do you have?"

"I---"

"You might as well just say you are Qu Da, the screenwriter."

Owen Travis's eyebrows moved slightly, he took out a tissue, and carefully wiped the water marks between his fingers: "Don't I look like a screenwriter?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Liam Harris turned around and faced him, taking a step closer to him until he was only two fists away. He smelled the perfume on Liam Harris, a fresh citrus note, but it was somewhat offset by the scent of hand cream.

Owen Travis turned his head, raised his face slightly, and caught the look Liam Harris gave him.

Liam Harris said to him seriously: "Do you think I look like a movie star?"

Owen Travis: ...

After that, Liam Harris looked away and glanced at Owen Travis's watch. Before he knew it, a quarter of an hour had passed. He returned to his seat and said, "We really should end this chat. Have you finished washing? Let's go together?"

Owen Travis said: "You go first, after all, you are the leading male role."

"That's right, I'll leave first then."

After Liam Harris left, the dressing room was completely quiet. Owen Travis picked up the hand cream that Liam Harris had used and squeezed a little.

He applied it slowly, feeling his heart beating steadily in his chest, and he inexplicably relaxed.

In the banquet hall, Liam Harris arrived late.

The huge hall was divided into small semi-open spaces by screens, half-covered and half-hidden. Under each gilded copper lamp was a table. There was a vase with delphiniums on the table, and underfoot was a scarlet carpet. The warm yellow light shone on the red patterns and blue petals, creating a rich atmosphere.

There is a row of daytime couches in front of the window. Actresses in trailing skirts and actors in suits are sitting on them in groups of three or four, arm in arm, with the city sky behind them at night.

Lucas Bennett was getting anxious waiting: "Grandfather, why did you take so long?"

Liam Harris took a glass of champagne from the waiter's tray, took a sip, and said, "I met someone and chatted for a while."

"Who is it?"

Liam Harris paused. He forgot to ask the man's name and said, "The one in the Porsche."

Lucas Bennett was surprised: "I thought he was noble and cold this morning, why are we chatting about him again?"

Liam Harris said with satisfaction: "I won this time."

Lucas Bennett said: "Then stop talking nonsense and say hello to the actors."

There are not too many roles in this play, and the most famous one is Teacher Tao Meifan, who plays Ye's mother in the play. She is 48 years old this year and has been in the entertainment industry for nearly 30 years. She has played a role in state-owned film studios and the National Theatre. She has won the Plum Blossom Award for Drama and the Golden Lion Award for Drama. When she was young, she played ladies and educated youth. After she got older, she didn't shoot many plays. She only appeared in the play when she encountered a story she liked.

The actor who plays the father is Mr. Yang Bin, a national first-class actor and director of the Actors Working Committee of the China Television Association. He was specially invited to perform as he does not have many roles.

The leading actress in the play is called Xianqi, a very special name, and she looks like a fairy. When Xianqi debuted, she was well known by the audience for her pure appearance. After that, she played some gentle roles, which had characteristics but also limitations.

Liam Harris greeted everyone in turn, but the only person he didn't see was the second male lead, Ruan Feng.

He didn't see her during the script reading, so he asked the production manager who passed by, "Is Ruan Feng not in the group yet?"

Jason Carter said: "Ruan Feng had an activity abroad two days ago. He could have joined the crew on time, but the flight was cancelled due to weather reasons and was postponed for one day."

Seeing that the actors were almost done, Liam Harris walked to the window and sat down on the daybed to catch his breath. He felt uncomfortable after drinking a few glasses of champagne on an empty stomach. He wanted to eat something, but he was afraid that he would stink the distinguished Qu editor.

The box was filled with the smell of alcohol.

There were seven or eight bottles of wine on the heavy round table, including Krug and Wuliangye, and half of them were empty. Around them were a circle of armchairs. The assistant director was toasting the producer, and Director Henry Adams was whispering to a representative of the co-producer. They all looked like they had had three rounds of drinks.

Ryan Foster was sitting on the main seat, on the right was Mr. Zhou of Haoyang Culture, and on the left was Owen Travis.

When no one toasted or talked to him, Owen Travis was silent. When he raised his head, a perfect smile appeared on his face, light, generous and natural.

The banquet lasted for forty minutes. One offered a glass of champagne, another offered a glass of white wine, but he refused to drink. No one dared to ask him to do the honor. But he drank one glass after another because alcohol made him relax.

The topics discussed at the dinner table ranged from small matters such as television, movies, and personal relationships with certain directors to big matters such as industry trends, policy changes, and the relationship between capital and art...

Owen Travis ignored it and thought of Liam Harris in a detached state. What Liam Harris said was so right. It was really annoying to face these people.

"What are you thinking about?" Ryan Foster came over.

Owen Travis replied: "Nothing, just thought of something stupid."

Ryan Foster asked again: "What do you mean by 250?"

Owen Travis added an adjective: "a flashy idiot."

In fact, what he thought of was "truth", no flattery, no overflowing respect, not even a smile. If Liam Harris knew his identity, what would happen to that truth?

The assistant director came around from the opposite side, bent down between Owen Travis and Ryan Foster, and said, "Director Ren, editor Qu, the actors in the group are very excited to know that editor Qu will attend the opening party, and wanted to come and say hello."

Ryan Foster asked directly: "Who did you promise?"

"How can I make the decision?" the assistant said, "All the agents have contacted me, and I promised to ask. Everything depends on Qu's opinion. If Qu is happy, I will arrange for them. Just give them a toast and don't waste too much time."

Ryan Foster waved his hand: "Forget it."

He put his arm around the back of Owen Travis's chair and said, "Brother, you understand this. Unless it is required for filming, if you don't like to interact with the actors, then it's no problem. Anyway, we will see them on the set tomorrow."

Owen Travis finally understood. Did Liam Harris, who had been vexed for so long, not know for sure whether he would meet the leaders? He had dressed up as a male peacock, but it turned out that he might not be able to spread his feathers?

Wouldn't an idiot be disappointed and end up with three hundred and sixty?

He was really tired of seeing all the people in this room, and he murmured: "Forget about everything else, let's just see the soul of the whole play."

Ryan Foster: "There is also this thing?"

Owen Travis stroked his cold watch, but said with a smile: "My surname is Lu, male number one."