How could Faaris not know what he was talking about? It's just that, by pressuring him like this, he simply couldn't swallow his pride.
Laila cared about what her opponent would think, but at this moment, she was enjoying a romantic and delicious dinner at a restaurant with Roy. They were celebrating Roy's nomination for Best Actor in a Musical Comedy for his role in "Pirates of the Caribbean" at the Golden Globe Awards.
Roy had already won several awards for his previous movies, like the Saturn Awards and MTV Awards, among others. However, in his eyes, those were relatively minor awards; the Golden Globes and the Oscars were the ones that really mattered.
Even though the Golden Globe's judging process received criticism, and the Oscars had a reputation for not favoring commercial films and sometimes being seen as "discriminating" against younger talents, nobody could deny the high prestige of both awards in the world. Roy's nomination this time was enough to keep him elated from yesterday to the present.
"Do you think I can win that award?" Roy had intended to discuss some romantic topics, but his excitement overwhelmed him, making it impossible for him to think of anything else.
Laila shook her head and honestly, but brutally, revealed the result, "Impossible."
"...Your serious delivery really hurts my feelings," Roy put down his utensils and downed the glass of red wine.
"Isn't it better to hear it now than receive bad news at the awards ceremony? At least now I can comfort you, but there won't be anyone to comfort you later," Laila reassured him sincerely, patting his hand.
Roy looked at her in surprise, "You're not going?"
"No," she replied firmly.
"Why? This is my first nomination, and you're my girlfriend. Are you really not considering being there with me? If you don't go, I might get nervous, and what if I embarrass you?" He couldn't recall her ever not attending any awards ceremonies. Did she not have an interest in events like the Golden Globe Awards?
Laila thought for a moment and replied, "It's alright; people will forget about it soon enough." No matter how big the news was, it wouldn't stay in the spotlight for very long. Even if he messed up at the awards ceremony, it would at most be a brief mention in the entertainment section, nothing serious.
"Ah," Roy sighed lightly. His girlfriend had always been so cool. If possible, could he become the cooler one between them?
Hearing his helpless sigh, Laila lowered her head and cut the veal steak, a smile flashing in her eyes.
"Okay, I'll go with you."
"This is it!" Roy, with a cheerful smile, had recovered from his earlier gloom and signaled the waiter to pour him another glass of wine.
This time, it left Laila speechless. She realized that the one who got deceived was herself, and she regretted having a boyfriend with such excellent acting skills. What if he cheats in the future? With his acting abilities, he could probably hide it perfectly in front of her.
"What are you thinking?" Roy, curious, asked when she remained silent and lost in thought for quite some time.
"I'm thinking that your acting is so good that I might not be able to catch you cheating," Laila said honestly.
Roy almost choked on the red wine he was drinking. "Cough, cough. When did I cheat?"
"See, the way you look now makes me believe you didn't," Laila said with a shrug. "Your acting is just too good."
Roy didn't know whether to be mad or laugh. "That's because I genuinely didn't cheat, okay?"
"Well, let's assume you're telling the truth. Anyway, even if you were lying, I wouldn't be able to tell," Laila sighed as she continued to struggle with her small steak.
Seeing that she was having trouble cutting it, Roy took it upon himself to help her. While he was cutting, he defended himself, saying, "Don't worry; I have the best girlfriend. I don't even notice other women."
Laila couldn't believe that she was experiencing something straight out of a romance novel she used to read. She watched him struggle with the steak while she had a playful, amused smile on her face. "You know, every time I read novels about the male protagonist helping the female protagonist cut her steak, I always thought that the female protagonist was too useless for not knowing how to use a knife."
Roy put the cut steak in front of her and said, "Then what?"
"And then?" Laila asked, smiling. "And then it's only when I experience it in real life that I realize how nice it feels."
"Look at you showing off your strength! Why do you need to do something so heavy? If something is too heavy, someone else can help you, but you insist on being the hero?" Roy couldn't help but scold her when he noticed her injury.
Laila smiled awkwardly, "It was just a reflex. I didn't have time to think."
The reason she couldn't cut the steak wasn't to pretend to be shy, but because her wrist was injured. Someone in the crew stumbled while carrying something, they inadvertently bumped into the prop Laila was holding. As a result, the heavy prop fell, and she reached out instinctively to support it, injuring her wrist. It wasn't a serious injury, but it did affect her hand's mobility.
Roy sighed, "Even if something heavy falls, how much money could it be worth? Next time, keep your distance no matter what falls."
"It's not about the money…" If something fell and caused a problem, it would affect the progress of the film. The shooting had already been delayed for several days because of Joseph's issues, and she didn't want to deal with more problems.
"No matter what the problem is, you're the most important one, you know?" Roy said.
"I know!" Laila raised her hands and made a "surrender" gesture. "I promise there won't be a next time."
Roy looked at her, noticing her sincerity, and changed the subject.
On the way home after dinner, he couldn't resist asking again, "Is there really no hope?"
Laila smiled, and she had been wondering how long it would take him to ask, suspecting that he would bring it up during dinner.
"Let me put it this way: the chance of you winning is 1%, and the remaining 99% is the chance of not winning."
Roy sighed, "Aren't I as good as the others in my acting? This is my first time being nominated for the Best Actor category, and if I win, it's enough for me to boast about it for a year."
"It's not about your skills; it's the genre of the film," Laila explained seriously. "First, your film is a commercial one, which almost rules out any chance of winning an award. Secondly, your age is an issue. Both the Golden Globes and the Oscars tend to favor middle-aged or older actors. By the time you're 30, I guarantee you can make a film that will win all the awards you desire. But for now, it's not the right time."
"That means it will be many years," Roy said dejectedly, increasing the speed of the car as he headed back home. He understood what she meant by not being able to win awards, but she was also losing to age, just like him.
Birds of a feather, that's probably the two of them, right?