Laila had reflected on her past behavior, feeling she might have been too indulgent with her boyfriend, and lacking responsibility. Yet, she also felt that everyone here was clamoring for privacy, and she didn't want the differences between her deep-seated Eastern traditions and his Western culture to negatively impact their relationship.
He wasn't the only one nurturing their relationship; she was equally treasuring it. Over these years, he had even surpassed Janet and her family in importance to her. She loved her family for their meticulous care, a kind of familial love. Her love for Roy, however, was a different kind of love, one she couldn't let go of.
Roy was very dependent on Laila; she had saved his life when he was at his lowest. Likewise, Laila had feelings for Roy that no one else could replace, a complexity beyond the superficial stories like Laila being his savior or having keen eyes for heroes, but a deeper, more intricate emotion.
Coming to this world, Janet and her family's love had made her feel a sense of responsibility. She knew their love was more for the little Laila who had disappeared than for her, the soul of an Easterner. Using the body of the old Laila, she had her life and took on the responsibility of caring for her family.
But Roy was different. From the start, he had loved the real her, the soul that belonged to this body, not the vanished Laila. This pure affection was what Laila cherished most, representing the first, perhaps only, love she received in this world, unadulterated by any impurities.
Such a feeling was irreplaceable. Roy had always believed that meeting Laila was the best thing that ever happened to him, and wasn't Laila thinking the same? Even though she had rejected this love for a while, it wasn't because she couldn't feel the sincerity of his affection, but because she was withdrawing.
However, this time, although Laila hadn't asked, Roy didn't intend to hide things from her for too long. He planned to tell her everything after he got the ring.
"Thanks for Xiao Ye's help this time. But how did he end up under you?" Roy was curious about this. He always felt that someone as capable as Xiao Ye shouldn't be mingling in the Hollywood circle, especially someone who repeatedly won Oscars for Best Makeup.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, this was already a remarkable achievement, but he always felt a sense of regret, as if Shaw's skills were better suited for a more dangerous (?) environment.
If it were a plot in a movie, with his skills, he would definitely be another James Bond.
Laila didn't hide anything from him and told him everything that had happened before, but she skipped over the part about Xiao Ye asking her to go to Saudi Arabia to rescue a few colleagues. If Roy knew that the incident where she almost died in the desert was related to Xiao Ye, their relationship would probably explode like a comet hitting the Earth.
Although Roy had been away for some time, losing contact for just over a week, now that he was back safely, after a moment of tenderness and a slight relief of lovesickness, things had returned to normal.
"Oh, yeah." He finally remembered the favor Leonardo had asked of him before. "Do you have any plans to film recently?"
"Not for anything special at the moment. And you know, I probably won't be able to make a film until my grandpa comes back." This was the first time since her rebirth that Laila had such a long break without touching films or anything related to them. While being heavily burdened with work didn't feel like much, being reminded of it made her feel empty inside.
It was like someone who loved meat hadn't touched it in a long time, even just hearing the word "meat" made their eyes shine red.
"You shouldn't have brought this up. I had finally forgotten about it." She bit him on the shoulder and then jumped out of his arms.
Roy pretended to be in pain, grimacing and rubbing the spot she had bitten. "My bad."
Laila glared at him. "Why suddenly bring this up?"
"Leo got a script, and he thinks it's really good. He wanted to ask if you're interested." He said, pulling out the script Leonardo had left for him from the backpack he had thrown on the ground.
Taking the script, Laila was immediately drawn to the two words on the cover: "Blood Diamond"?
"Yeah, Leo said he's interested in this script, and he even wants to invest in it himself."
Laila flipped through the script, and after reading a few pages, she knew it was indeed the movie she remembered, but wasn't it supposed to be released this year? Why hadn't it been filmed yet?
Roy squeezed next to her, sitting next to her, and with his long arms, he had already wrapped her in his arms. "Leo said the script was originally favored by Martin, but I don't know what happened later. It seems that the investors thought the movie would cost a lot of money but wouldn't be very profitable."
"Wait a minute, did you say Martin? Martin Scorsese?" Laila interrupted him, surprised.
Roy nodded. "Of course, Leo and Martin have always had a good collaboration, haven't they?"
Laila blinked, feeling confused! Everything was in chaos!
If she remembered correctly, "Blood Diamond" should have started filming in 2005 and was set to be released during the Christmas season in 2007. And the director wasn't supposed to be Martin Scorsese, but another very talented director, Edward Zwick.
Edward won the Oscar for Best Director in 1999 for "Shakespeare in Love" and received great reviews for "The Last Samurai," which he directed with Tom Cruise in 2003.
The movie "Blood Diamond," which was supposed to be directed by him, how could it become Martin's film?
Laila couldn't figure it out and could only guess that many people and things had changed due to this small butterfly flapping its wings. Since Roy, a nobody in his past life, could become globally famous under her influence, it was quite normal for other things to change.
"This movie..." Laila hesitated. Honestly, she was a bit interested. Not just because the original had received numerous Oscar nominations but also because the film itself was very charming. It could be said to be a type that Oscar judges and film critics liked.
Laila had filmed many commercial movies, pursuing explosiveness, excitement, stimulation, and box office success. Those films, with similar plots, had made her feel bored. Doing the same thing over and over again could become tedious, so despite having many superhero films she could film, she hadn't started yet. Even though those movies would bring her endless wealth.
Finishing "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy also temporarily reduced her interest in special effects films. After filming the three movies, similar types were no longer appealing to her. In this situation, "Blood Diamond," a new type of film, made her a little excited.