Chapter 203
Naturally, Emma refused to admit that she was bad at acting and said, “You’re just all talk. Come and do it yourself if you can!”Soon, the director was notified of this matter. Unwilling to admit that the actress he handpicked was incompetent, he said with a cold expression, “Since you know so much, Miss Lynwood, why don’t you give us all a demonstration and let us have a look?”Elspeth had never acted, and it was impressive enough for her to have some insight. However, making her act was a deliberate attempt to embarrass her.Emma was certain that Elspeth couldn’t act as well, and she lifted her chin with a gleeful expression. Let’s see how she’ll turn the tables this time!Yelena knew that Elspeth had no experience in acting and immediately stood in front of her. “You’re just being a bully now. Elspeth is an outsider. How would she know how to act?”The director’s expression soured as he said, “I thought Miss Lynwood was here to start trouble by the way she talks, but I didn’t think she was just a cowardly chicken.”Elspeth let out a small laugh. “I’m mostly afraid that the male lead wouldn’t be able to keep up.”“The male lead is an award-winning actor whom I personally handpicked. The one who wouldn’t be able to keep up is you, isn’t it?” the director refuted, thinking that Elspeth was being too full of herself.“All right, then. Let’s give it a go.”Immediately, the director got to work and brought over a costume for Elspeth to put on.However, she shook her head. “I don’t need a costume.”“Without a costume, the male lead won’t be able to get into his role. I was just giving you a chance by giving you a costume, but you don’t even know what’s good for you.”Feeling as if his good intentions had been looked down upon, the director grew upset.Upon hearing the dispute between the two, the male lead walked over and looked at Elspeth with a gentle smile. The girl in front of him emitted an air of confidence, and it was much more reassuring than Emma’s pomposity. In fact, he was rather looking forward to Elspeth’s performance.“Hello. I’m the male lead of this drama, Atlas White.”Elspeth recognized him; he was an up-and-coming award-winning actor who was on par with Blake.“Let’s start, then.” She reached out and took the script, flipping a page before she decided on a scene.“Let’s do this part where the soldier is about to leave on a mission, and the female lead bids him farewell.”Emma chortled. “Of course, you’re so confident. You chose the easiest part.”Elspeth smiled without replying. Instead, she walked toward Atlas and asked with a soft voice, “Can we start now?”Although they were the same person, Atlas had a feeling that she had already entered her role at the moment, and even her voice was filled with the meekness of a girl from the ancient past. With that in mind, he nodded in agreement.Elspeth stared at him, her face filled with expectation as she asked, “Cassius, when will you return?”Atlas furrowed his brow and lowered his head, his thoughts unreadable as he explained, “Deidre, you know that a soldier must protect his country…”“Deidre knows that the country is more important to you than Deidre is, but Deidre can’t bear to let you go.”As she spoke, tears began to roll down Elspeth’s face, wetting her shirt. Her tears coupled with her beauty made her a pitiful sight to behold.Atlas immediately panicked. Upon seeing her tears, he felt his heart ache. “Apologies, Deidre. I…”Before he could finish, a thin hand sealed his lips.“Please don’t forget about Deidre.”At that, Elspeth dropped into a bow with red eyes.“Deidre asks for nothing except three things. One, for you to have a long life; two, for your name to spread across lands; and three, that Cassius won’t forget about Deidre, that we will one day meet again.” These words and Elspeth’s tear-ridden face made Atlas step forward and wrap his arms around her waist immediately. “I won’t leave anymore. I’ll stay, even if I have to give up my name!”Elspeth slowly pushed him away, her expression returning to normal and even carrying a hint of a smile as she said, “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. White.”The sight was a feast for the eyes, and none of them was able to extract themselves from the farewell they had just witnessed.“Cut!” The director was the first to return to his senses and called for a halt.As if awakening from a long slumber, Atlas realized what he had just said and done, and he immediately flushed red.“Atlas, what’s wrong with you? Your lines were supposed to be ‘I understand. Await my return, and I shall make you my wife then.’ What the heck did you say just now?” The director was unhappy with Atlas’ mistake and frowned.“I’m sorry, director. Miss Lynwood’s acting was so good that I couldn’t hold myself back.” Knowing that his skills were not a match for hers, Atlas rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly.“Please don’t say that. You’re great at acting too, Mr. White.”However, her intention was not to exchange praises with Atlas. She looked at Emma behind her, whose eyes were wide with disbelief.How could it be? How could Elspeth be so good at acting? She refused to believe it!Clearly seeing Emma’s doubts, Elspeth smiled and said, “Although I have not undergone any professional training, I know how to express my feelings with my actions. Once you’ve mastered the true essence of acting, as long as you can memorize the script and aren’t afraid of the stage, it’s impossible not to act well.”At her speech, Emma was at a loss for words. As a trained professional, being criticized by a mere layman made her head heavy with shame.Upon seeing Emma’s defiant look, Elspeth smiled and said, “By the way, I’m not completely clueless to professional knowledge. When I was living abroad, I met someone called Payton Schwartz, who took me in as his apprentice and taught me much of what I know.”Elspeth had not wanted to learn acting either. And to be honest, she was not interested in acting at all. However, Payton was Sonny’s brother, and when he saw that she was studying medicine, he was unhappy with her for being biased and insisted that she learned to act, so she was forced to learn a lot about acting.Payton Schwartz?Hearing that, the director perked up and abandoned the furious Emma to ask, “Are you talking about the acting professor from Konig University, Payton Schwartz?”Payton only accepted five students a year, and those who were able to receive his guidance were mostly outstanding actors or at least movie stars. Payton had only one apprentice in his life, who was so well protected that no one knew who that lucky person was. He had never thought that it would be the girl in front of him.Immediately thinking that he had greatly misjudged her, the director asked with a flattering grin, “Miss Lynwood, are you interested in this show? I’ll give you the role of the second female lead. What do you think?”Elspeth shook her head pridefully. “I don’t want it.”“Then… The female lead! I’ll let you be the female lead!”The director couldn’t resist inviting Elspeth into the cast. After all, if she agreed to take part, they wouldn’t have to do much to promote the show. All they had to do was say that Elspeth was Payton’s apprentice, and thousands of people would be there to watch the show. This was the greatest benefit to him.Instantly, Emma grew upset. Looking at the director’s shameless attitude, she said angrily, “Director, I’m the chosen female lead right now. How could you simply give up the role to someone else? If you insist on doing this, I’ll tell Callum to withdraw his funds!”The director looked troubled, all of a sudden at a loss for what to do.
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