The next day, Laila was awakened by the ringing of her phone.
She picked up her mobile and saw her mother's number on the screen. "Mom?"
"Did you just wake up? Sorry, I seem to have forgotten about the time difference." Janet realized, as Laila answered, that she was currently on the other side of the Earth.
"It's okay; I'm already awake." Laila sat up. "Is there something you need?"
"Nothing much just wanted to ask when you'll be back."
Laila raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I've just arrived, and probably won't be back before May."
"Ah? April Fools' Day is tomorrow; don't try to fool me today!" Janet sounded upset. "It's William's birthday; aren't you planning to come back early?"
Laila chuckled, "His birthday is still far away; why would I come back now? I built the theme park for William's birth, which starts promoting when the summer blockbuster hits the screens."
"Well, actually, I've been working on the costume design for 'The Lord of the Rings' recently, and I'm a bit stuck in some areas. I wanted to discuss it with you."
In the past, Janet was often inspired by Laila's words and phrases while designing costumes. So, when she encountered design challenges, she tended to seek advice from Laila.
She had designed costumes for Laila's films twice, and both times miraculously won the Oscar for Best Costume Design. This led to many film production companies and directors seeking renowned costume designers for their movies.
However, not every big-name designer could handle such tasks. It involved a question of suitability. Janet's strength lay in designing costumes based on the needs of the scenes and storyline. Whether other designers could achieve this was uncertain.
Perhaps it was due to helping Laila, or perhaps 'The Lord of the Rings' was particularly significant to her, Janet started this job after receiving Laila's task. This time, the workload was massive, with over 100 actors with lines and additional background characters and extras. Some main characters even required multiple costumes. The magnitude of this task could be imagined.
Knowing this, Laila delegated the costumes for some extras to her mother's subordinates, managed by other designers. Janet mainly focused on the costumes for the main characters, which was currently the source of her dilemma.
"Where's the problem? Let me know, and maybe I can help," Laila offered.
Janet could only resort to this method, so she shared her design dilemma with her daughter. "I feel that the costumes for each race should have their unique features. Do you think it should be entirely different styles, or is there a middle ground that can be common?"
Laila wasn't an expert in costume design, but she understood her mother's words.
"Mom, I think you should follow your instincts. When you read about these characters in the book, what did you envision at that moment? Just draw it as it appeared in your mind."
A thousand people have a thousand Hamlets in their hearts. Laila didn't deliberately cater to the preferences of a particular group; she aimed to create her own 'The Lord of the Rings'!
After soothing her mother's concerns, Laila let out a sigh of relief. She was about to end the call and bid her mother farewell when Janet mentioned, "By the way, tomorrow is April Fools' Day; don't easily get fooled."
Laila smiled and shook her head, "No worries, don't forget, April Fools' Day isn't a thing in the East."
After hanging up the phone, for some reason, she felt an empty sensation in her heart, as if she had forgotten something crucial. Although her mind couldn't recall what it was, her body seemed to remember.
What could it be?
Had her mother infected her with a sense of anxiety?
Just as she was pondering, a knock on the door sounded, and Roy walked in from outside.
"You always wake up early. Why did you sleep in today?" It was rare to see her laze around, and he was genuinely surprised.
Laila put on her coat, "Just now, Janet called me. Seems she's lacking inspiration again."
Roy chuckled, "Does she ever run out of inspiration? A two-time Oscar-winning costume designer claiming to lack inspiration? Who would believe that?"
Laila shrugged, "It's an April Fools' Day joke that's not yet due."
Before the words settled, her body suddenly stiffened, and her eyes widened, "Roy, what's the date today?"
"It's March 31, 2003." He walked up to Laila, touching her forehead. "Fever and confused?"
"Oh, dear!" She swatted his hand away, hastily grabbing her phone to dial Demi's number. "I need to go to Hong Kong, arrange the fastest way for me!"
"Boss, you're going to Hong Kong? Now?" Demi, glancing at the room's clock with a calendar, confirming it wasn't April Fools' Day, asked in confusion, "Weren't we supposed to enter Zhangjiajie's scenic area?"
"Those things are not important. I need to go to Hong Kong now, arrange the fastest way!" Laila anxiously paced around, her voice unusually urgent and serious.
Her sudden and unusual behavior was something Roy had never witnessed, making him unintentionally nervous. It was only after she hung up the phone that he asked, "Why do you suddenly need to go to Hong Kong?"
Laila looked at him, her complexion slightly pale. She didn't know how to say it, and even if she revealed the truth, no one would believe her. "I... I have a movie that I'm very interested in, and it's premiering tomorrow. So, I want to go and see it as soon as possible." This was the only excuse she could think of in her haste.
"A movie?" Demi, who had just entered, heard her words. She almost thought her ears were malfunctioning. How could she hear such a childish statement from her usually wise and powerful boss?
After spending a whole day on a train just to reach the destination, now she wanted to fly to Hong Kong specifically to watch a movie that badly? The cost of the plane ticket would be enough for many movie tickets!