**May 15th afternoon, Brooklyn, Graffiti Alley.**
Luca had shot a promotional video here before, and today he was back to film the final scene.
In the movie, he played Michael, who, after firing Honey, found that the new choreographer was subpar and uncreative, nowhere near as good as Honey.
A Black singer refused to work with Michael and said they would only collaborate with Honey.
Michael's company was in decline, so he had no choice but to apologize to Honey in person, hoping she would come back as his choreographer, but she refused.
"Hey Honey, what have you been up to lately?"
**On set**, in front of a graffiti-covered wall, Michael got out of his sports car and stopped Honey, who was walking toward him, greeting her enthusiastically.
Honey glanced at him without any expression and walked past him coldly, fully embodying the phrase, "You ignored me before, now you can't even reach me."
"Wait, Honey, Honey, don't be like this!"
Michael quickly chased after her, explaining, "Honey, I came to apologize."
"I'm not interested."
Honey said as she walked, her expression icy.
"Can you give me a little time?"
Michael blocked her way, bowing his head and clasping his hands, pleading, "Honey, I beg you, come back as my choreographer. I've lined up three gigs for you."
"Good!"
**Behind the monitor**, director Billy couldn't help but applaud. "He's great. He deserves better roles. He could win an Oscar."
"Agreed," Blake nodded slightly. "But he's too handsome, and he's Brazilian. He's got an even harder path to Oscar than Leonardo."
Billy stroked his beard but didn't respond.
Blake wasn't wrong. To win an Oscar, one usually has to make sacrifices—get ugly, gain weight, do nudity, or play a character who's mentally ill or LGBTQ.
Would Luca, who's known for his vanity, be willing to make those sacrifices?
Billy grinned. He suddenly found himself looking forward to seeing what would happen.
The scene continued with the two actors performing.
"Honey, don't be like this. I know you need money. If you come back, I'll give you a lot of money and buy you a beautiful dance studio. How about that?"
Michael forced a smile as he spoke.
"No, I don't need your help. I'll get what I want on my own."
Honey flicked her hair and walked away.
In the busy street, Luca, playing Michael, helplessly watched her leave. *Fuck*, the price of pork has gone up; now I can't even afford her.
"CUT!"
**Billy** shouted through a megaphone, "I declare Michael's role officially wrapped!"
"Yeah!!"
"Luca, congratulations!"
Jessica walked over, smiling faintly.
Luca shrugged, "But this also means I'm leaving the crew. I feel... I don't know, a bit reluctant."
"Luca, that's the life of an actor. You'll get used to it," Jessica said with a slightly resigned smile.
"Hey, Luca, you can rest now. I'm so jealous!"
Blake, the assistant director, came over to congratulate him.
"Blake, you're really jealous of Luca? I can give you a break too," Billy said casually from behind.
"Haha, just kidding!" Blake made a silly face and went back to work.
"Luca, here's Mark's business card. When you go to Hollywood, reach out to him in advance. It'll help with auditions."
"Thanks, Billy!"
Luca took the card and gave Billy a shoulder hug.
"Don't make this so emotional," Billy patted him on the back. "You'll make people think this is sad."
Luca smiled. "Billy, I've got a great script—another musical. How about we chat after you wrap up?"
"You write scripts?" Billy asked in surprise.
Jessica's eyes widened too.
Luca raised his chin, looking a little smug. "Didn't you know? I'm also a screenwriter."
"Haha!"
"No, really. I've already sold three scripts. One of them has even been greenlit. Walt Disney is prepping it—it's called *Goal!*. If you're curious, you can check the writer credits. My name's in the second column."
"Is that true?" Jessica looked at him closely, her expression turning a little strange.
This guy was not only a former soccer star, supermodel, and talented actor, but also a hidden screenwriting genius? But then, thinking of his sister being a famous author, she silently accepted it.
"Jessica, don't look at me like that. The last person to give me that look ended up falling for me."
Luca tugged at his collar, cracking a joke.
Jessica rolled her eyes at him and walked off, hips swaying.
"Goal!?"
Billy rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "I think I've heard of it. A 20 million dollar production, supported by Adidas and FIFA. Didn't expect you to be the screenwriter."
"That's right, Billy. My new script was inspired during this shoot. It's a high school musical... But the leads are both white. Are you interested?"
Billy gave him a side-eye. "You make it sound like I'm racist against white people."
"Aren't you?"
"Hmph!"
Billy turned away, dismissively waving his hand. "Finish your shoot and get out of here. Don't hold us up."
"Okay, okay!"
Luca shrugged and said his goodbyes to the crew—the screenwriters, cinematographers, makeup artists—before leaving the set.
On the street, the sunlight glimmered through the treetops, adding a fresh green hue to the elm trees as the shadows deepened.
Under the big elm tree, **Ed** leaned against the car door, flashing a bright smile.
"Feeling sentimental?"
Ed grinned, showing his pearly whites.
"A little."
Luca shrugged and got into the car.
"Missing the crew or Jessica?"
Ed teased.
"Ed, don't you have enough work to keep you busy?"
"Haha, you seemed down. I was just trying to lighten the mood."
"Please don't, it's a little awkward."
Luca yawned and lazily stretched out on the back seat.
"Ed, what's next on the schedule?"
"Nothing major this week. Oh, you're still set to be a backup dancer for Britney, right?"
Ed started the car.
"Yeah."
Luca rubbed his forehead and sighed. Dancing in tights and a miniskirt—just thinking about it made him blush.
"If all goes well, we should finish shooting the MV by the end of the week."
Ed nodded slightly. "You focus on the dancing. Next week, we'll start shooting the CK summer underwear ad and then head to LA for auditions."
"Got it."
After a while, the car arrived at the apartment on 76th Street, and Luca got out.
"*Sex and the City* premieres tonight. You should watch it—it's your first appearance in showbiz," Ed called out from the car window.
"Got it, Ed."
(End of Chapter)