Chen Shufen's laughter suddenly hitched mid-breath. A realization struck her—a far more significant one.
After all, this was Laila Moran they were talking about, a superstar director in Hollywood with an armful of prestigious awards. She had personally cultivated several Best Actor and Best Actress winners. If Leslie Cheung was working with her this time… didn't that mean he might be standing closer than ever to winning an Oscar for Best Actor—just like Leonardo once did?
Chen Shufen didn't dare think further. She was afraid that if she did, she'd get so excited she might faint.
"Leslie, no matter what, this time you must show the Western world your strength. Do you understand?"
Leslie Cheung didn't reply aloud, but his expression—shadowed yet intense—said it all. In the East, he had already reached a point few ever could. Now, he was finally setting out to climb a new, far more daunting peak.
—
On the other side of the globe, Laila had begun preparing for the new film. She tentatively set the shooting schedule for the second half of the following year. By then, little Eli would be a bit older, and with Claire and her mother helping with childcare, she could leave with more peace of mind.
Once Janet learned the filming location would be set at Golden Isle, she finally dropped her objections. At least it was familiar territory—an exclusive estate built by Union Pacific to host VIP guests. In terms of safety, it passed her standards.
With the biggest hurdle cleared, Laila immediately began coordinating preparations.
Though truthfully, a large part of the work fell on Louise. For example, casting supporting roles… well, there honestly weren't many of those this time. The entire film practically revolved around the two male leads—a game of emotional chess, tit-for-tat… or more accurately, a back-and-forth of love and rivalry.
Even so, there were still some minor roles at the beginning and end that needed filling, and it was Louise's job to track down suitable extras. But given how unimportant those roles were, there wasn't much special preparation needed. As long as she specified the criteria, the actor unions could easily provide hundreds or even thousands of candidates to choose from.
Not to mention the regular pool of extras—once word got out that this was Laila's new film, even long-established stars were more than willing to make a cameo.
Who could blame them? With a track record like hers, anything she touched turned to gold. Even Blood Diamond, which no one had faith in, ended up grossing over 400 million worldwide. Just thinking about how some people once predicted she'd flop and ruin the box office streak she'd built over ten years—it was laughable in hindsight.
Time was still plentiful, and Roy hadn't taken on any new projects. He spent most of his days by his fiancée and their child's side. Deep down, he had always wanted to officially marry Laila and give her the grand wedding she deserved. But when he brought it up, she regretfully turned him down.
"The baby's still too young… and aren't we doing just fine as we are?"
Having lived in the West for over a decade, Laila's mindset had gradually Westernized. In her eyes, marriage wasn't a necessity anymore. She already had a loving fiancé and a child—wasn't that everything? Compared to actual marriage, the only thing she lacked was a piece of paper.
She didn't care. But Roy did.
His childhood had made him yearn deeply for a real family—one recognized by law, bound more securely. Divorce might be easy, sure, but he wasn't thinking about ending anything. If he wanted to get married, then he was committing for life.
But even with his longing, Roy said nothing more.
He could tell Laila truly didn't care much for weddings. She had probably long forgotten her offhand promise to marry him the day she won the Oscar for Best Director. He would never pressure her for his own sake. If she wasn't ready, he would wait—wait until the day she said yes.
And honestly, he wasn't wrong. Laila had forgotten about that promise.
When she first made it, she was still quite a distance away from winning the Oscar. She hadn't imagined she'd earn that recognition so soon—she thought it would come after she turned thirty at the earliest.
So that half-joking vow got tossed to the back of her mind. When she remember it again? God only knew.
—
Time flew, and summer blockbuster season had arrived. The 2009 summer movie season was shaping up to be as fierce as ever. Dragon Soul Studios had two major releases lined up: Transformers 3 and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
To avoid cannibalizing their box office earnings, the two films were spaced out by more than a month—Transformers 3 premiered in June, while Harry Potter 4 would come at the end of July. Both franchises were now well-established, each boasting a massive fanbase and thriving merchandise lines.
With Laila personally vetting the scripts, the films had avoided the kind of conveyor-belt, slapdash storytelling seen in her previous life. Every installment had tightly controlled pacing and solid narratives, turning both series into massive hits without a single flop.
But other studios weren't so lucky.
In May, X-Men Origins: Wolverine suffered one of the most catastrophic leaks in film history. Even before it hit theaters, unfinished cuts and raw footage had already been leaked online, resulting in a devastating blow to its box office. The film barely scraped past $300 million globally and didn't even earn back its $150 million budget. And with so much material leaked, even DVD sales were unlikely to save it.
The incident served as a wake-up call for Laila. Her studio was growing fast. With more staff and multiple films released each year, a similar leak could be a disaster. Even if they caught the culprit, by then the damage would already be done.
So she hired top-tier professionals to overhaul the company's security systems and invested in cutting-edge equipment to ensure that production footage wouldn't be leaked easily.
That year's summer lineup didn't include any new films from Laila, leaving her fans feeling a bit unsatisfied. Blood Diamond premiered in April, but it didn't quite have the summer blockbuster energy. Fans who loved high-octane action felt like something was missing.
Laila, however, didn't share that sentiment. There were still plenty of summer releases she enjoyed. To make up for the regrets of her past life, she even dragged Roy to the cinema for several showings.
What she didn't expect was that even just watching a movie with Roy would land her back in the tabloids. She honestly felt so wrong—it wasn't like she was trying to steal the spotlight. It was just… one of those things that happened.
Note: In the original 2009 release schedule, it should have been Transformers 2 and Harry Potter 6. The timeline has been adjusted here to reflect the story's altered continuity. Also, X-Men Origins: Wolverine did suffer a massive leak back then—the FBI even got involved.