The discussion about Laila and Roy in the outside world continued to be a hot topic. There was no avoiding it—people loved their stories, and they were willing to pay for information about them. So, it was no surprise that the media was eagerly following this topic, fueling the excitement.
However, at some point, the media started to take an unsettling turn.
First, the news of Keira's murder was revealed, and then people began speculating about the reasons behind her fate. Everyone knew that she had "framed" Roy, almost ruining his reputation. Now that Keira was dead, was it a coincidence, or was someone benefiting from it behind the scenes?
People also began to wonder why Keira was killed shortly after Laila returned to Hollywood. Did they have any connection between them?
Conspiracy theories started flooding in, especially on the internet, where people behind screens felt free to express any opinions they wanted. Newspapers and television, on the other hand, were more cautious. They refrained from making conclusions about whether Laila had any involvement in the matter and instead quoted statements from online commentators, adding disclaimers like "Author's personal opinion, this publication does not take any responsibility," to distance themselves from the speculations.
They certainly didn't want to risk being pursued by the Moran family for making baseless claims. While they didn't mind going to court against ordinary people, facing off against wealthy individuals in court meant losing a lot of money. No one wanted to throw away their fortune for the sake of a small gain.
Laila had been prepared for such comments ever since Anthony informed her about Keira's situation. Going up against her with an online army was like sending herself into Laila's trap. She hadn't forgotten that when her first movie was released, it was through spreading rumors on the internet that they had successfully generated buzz, in coordination with the newspapers.
With the help of her online supporters, who fought back fiercely, those who tried to tarnish her image quickly vanished. After all, Laila was on the right side, and Roy had already been proven innocent. So, what reason did she have to harm that woman and get herself into trouble?
When her offer of a reward for information about Keira became public, many people began to believe in her innocence even more. However, a small number of conspiracy theorists believed that she was aware that Keira was already dead and was only pretending to offer a reward because she knew the money would never be claimed.
However, these speculations were soon drowned out by the overwhelming mockery. Seriously, did they think Laila would risk making a fool of herself for a few hundred thousand dollars when she easily made millions from her movies?
Amidst the chaotic discussions, Laila was busy with her work. Special effects had always been an area she cared deeply about. The special effects in her previous movies were nothing more than minor elements. Pirates of the Caribbean was the film with the most special effects shots she had worked on so far.
In fact, she owned the rights to many excellent scripts, which had been proven to be successful in her past life. She had acquired the copyrights a long time ago, but she hadn't been confident enough to entrust them to others for production. That's why she had postponed working on them until now.
When she was shooting The Blair Witch, she went to Japan to buy the rights to several works, such as 'The Grudge' and 'The Ring'. Meanwhile, she continued acquiring copyrights in other places. Works like Harry Potter and Twilight were also under her control.
These acquisitions were done quite discreetly, as she didn't want to draw too much attention to adaptations of popular novels at this point. The works she acquired were often considered unimportant by outsiders. A children's story for kids, a cheesy vampire romance—there didn't seem to be anything noteworthy about them.
However, her acquisitions went beyond these, and she was still actively seeking rights to more high-profile works. What she needed most were talented directors, screenwriters, and filmmakers who could turn her treasure trove into blockbusters. This was one of the reasons she couldn't refuse Ovitz's proposal to collaborate.
According to her memories from her past life, Harry Potter was supposed to debut in 2001. Unfortunately, she had already acquired the rights long before that and had no immediate plans for production. So, when exactly would these adaptations come to life? Only God knew.
As time passed, the focus on Keira's case, Roy's job change, and rumors of their breakup gradually faded, replaced by other news stories.
As the days passed and the date of her commitment to the East drew near, Laila remembered that she had yet to fulfill a promise she made—to create a program for the Spring Festival Gala. To establish herself in the East, the Spring Festival Gala was undoubtedly the best opportunity. Originally, the Gala's director only expected her to say a few auspicious words in Chinese, given her exceptional language skills, to earn favor with the Eastern audience.
However, Laila had a different plan. Would a foreigner saying auspicious blessings in an authentic Eastern language leave a deep impression, or would it be more memorable if a foreigner performed a remarkable act on stage? The answer required no thinking; everyone knew it would be the latter.
To achieve her goal in the East, Laila had to go all out. She promised to perform a program on stage. The Gala's director was more than happy with the arrangement. While other artists had to fight for a spot on the Gala, people like Laila, who had connections, had it easy.
As for what program to perform, Laila found herself in a dilemma. Generally, the most attractive and straightforward choice was to sing a song—one that was uplifting, positive, and catchy. However, what could leave a more lasting impression was crosstalk or a skit, where the audience could take home memorable catchphrases. For instance, this year's Gala featured the phrase "I'll beat you to a point where you can't take care of yourself," from a skit performed by Guo Donglin and Feng Gong.
The problem was, Laila wasn't exactly the kind of person who could perform freely on stage, even with interesting content. Just thinking about it made her anxious.
Just when she was fretting over it, Demi entered the room with a stack of newspapers.
"BOSS, it seems like the public sentiment outside is turning against us," while Laila was busy with her work and had no time to read the newspapers, Demi acted as the one keeping an eye on the media's pulse.