"Need a ride?" After the car pulled over to the side of the road, Laila rolled down the window and smiled at the umbrella-wielding girl.
The girl looked at Laila's extended Lincoln car, paused for a moment, and then looked somewhat embarrassed as she glanced at her rain-soaked clothes. "Thank you, but I'm wet, and I don't want to dirty your car."
Seeing the extended car model, she understood that it wasn't a cheap vehicle, and just the cleaning costs would likely be quite substantial. She didn't want to inconvenience anyone.
"It's fine. I like people from the East. At a time like this, it's hard to find a car. Are you planning to stand here with your friends?"
The girl turned to look at her friends behind her, then back at the car, and finally nodded. "Thank you, then."
Laila opened the car door with a smile, and the three girls awkwardly got into the car, drenched from the rain.
"Oh? You're not Asian?" As the girls were about to express their gratitude, they looked up and noticed Laila's icy blue eyes and fair skin.
Initially, they had been conversing in Mandarin, and combined with the relatively dim light inside the car, they assumed the occupant was another person from their region. Furthermore, seeing another girl, they were more willing to accept the offer.
"Thanks for your compliments. My Mandarin isn't bad, is it?" Laila chuckled, and Claire handed them towels from inside the car to dry off.
"We're grateful to you. Without you, we might have had to find a police officer." The girls thanked her repeatedly as they spoke.
From their chatter, Laila learned that they had encountered a thief who had stolen their wallets and phones. As a result, they couldn't even hail a taxi.
On a clear day, they might have been able to find someone willing to give them a ride, but with the sudden rain, the umbrella-wielding girl was left standing in the rain, hoping for a kind-hearted person to stop.
"Where are you headed?" Laila poured drinks from a small cooler inside the car for them.
The girl mentioned the name of a hotel.
As Laila instructed the driver to take them there, she engaged in casual conversation: "Are you visiting Hollywood for leisure?"
"We're here for work." The girl dried herself with a towel and looked at the dirty marks it picked up, feeling somewhat embarrassed. She held the soiled towel in her hand. "Once we're at the hotel, please allow us to buy you a new towel to replace this one."
"Hehe, no need to be so formal. I like people from the East. Can't you sense it from my fluent Mandarin?" Laila joked. Strangely, as she looked at the girl, a sense of familiarity washed over her. It was as if she had seen her somewhere before.
Wait a minute!
Laila remembered!
Isn't this Shu Qi?
Understandably, she didn't recognize her immediately; Shu Qi looked very young at the moment. Moreover, her bedraggled appearance from the rain had made it difficult to identify her. Under normal circumstances, Laila would have recognized her by her distinctive lips.
Shu Qi and her companions found her comment amusing: "Right if it weren't for your eyes, we'd have mistaken you for a real person from the East."
Laila had intentionally used a hint of an exotic accent in her Mandarin. However, since they were from Hong Kong where Cantonese was more commonly spoken, the sudden switch to standard Mandarin might have carried a subtle accent, which initially made them miss the difference.
But Shu Qi seemed to sense Laila's surprised gaze: "Is there something wrong with me?" She quickly lowered her head to inspect herself, thinking her rain-soaked clothes might be in disarray.
"No, not at all. I just feel like I've seen you somewhere before. You look familiar, like I've seen you somewhere." Laila pretended to ponder, then clapped her hands. "I remember now! I watched an awards ceremony, it was the Hong Kong Film Awards, right? You won Best Actress, didn't you?"
With a mischievous smile, Laila continued, "It's an honor to unexpectedly meet a big star like you in a situation like this."
Shu Qi appeared a bit bashful. "It was just a supporting role award. I can't be considered a big star."
Laila looked at her with a warm smile. She had admired Shu Qi in her previous life. Not only her movies but also her personality. Rising from the world of adult films, she understood the effort it took to achieve the later honors.
Her path to success had been arduous, step by step, fraught with controversies and scorn. People who emerged from similar backgrounds had married into affluent families, living enviable lives. Yet, Shu Qi seemed to remain locked within her castle.
Some claimed she couldn't let go of her past, but it wasn't easy for her back then. Coming from a difficult family background, with sick family members, she had shouldered the burden of earning money at just 16. She had been deceived into taking those compromising photos. As a result, she couldn't stay in Taiwan and had to move to Hong Kong.
Discovered by director Wong Jing, she starred in several Category III films before winning a Hong Kong Film Award for a supporting role in a Category III film. It was clear how challenging this journey had been. Laila, too, had struggled in her previous life, and she resonated deeply with Shu Qi's experiences.
She hadn't expected to meet her in person in this life after missing out on her previous one. Fate certainly had a way of weaving interesting stories.
During their chat, she learned that they had indeed come here for work, shooting scenes for a music video for a pop star.
Half an hour later, the car pulled up at the hotel Shu Qi had mentioned.
The three girls expressed their gratitude multiple times before stepping out of the car.
Looking at the carpet they had dirtied, Shu Qi apologized, "I'm truly sorry for this mess. Let me cover the cleaning costs."
"No need, carpets are meant to be stepped on, and a little dirt won't hurt." Laila smiled at her. "I look forward to seeing your future performances."
"Thank you." Shu Qi sincerely expressed her gratitude. She knew the money was inconsequential to the other party, but if not for her help, they might still be standing out in the rain. She couldn't let this kindness go unrewarded, or else she would feel uneasy.