Chapter 559

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Chapter 559: The Retreating Gray Tide

Europa, the Rose Field of the Blue Iris University Botanical Garden.

"I have to admit, I liked you, at least I used to like you."

"Maybe I was too foolish and naive, showing my affection too openly, to the point where you became arrogant and fearless."

"Things that are too easily obtained are always despised, especially in matters of the heart. The one who falls in love first is the loser."

"I finally understand completely, it turns out love is not a mutual agreement, but a battle where one of us survives."

"I’m almost losing, losing everything, not even a trace of myself will be left, while you’re about to win."

"I won’t cry, I won’t make a fuss, and I won’t seek comfort in your arms, even if you deceive me with a single smile."

"—Stop dreaming!"

"—Regret is not your privilege!"

"—Let’s fight to the end!"

In the rose field, a burst of power created a rift on the ground, tearing apart the man’s body.

Petals were swirling and falling from the sky, while the girl held onto the thorns of the rose, allowing blood to drip from her palm, redder than the red rose.

She turned and left, leaving nothing behind, as the lights dimmed, a withering beauty.

"Click! Very good!"

The producers and director shouted, and the serious atmosphere on set immediately ended.

Michelle felt the pressure on her shoulders relax. She dropped the blood gem she was holding into the trash bin, and her assistant picked up a bottle of mineral water to rinse her hands.

Arivia, who was nearby, also exclaimed with a "Wow!" She gently got up from her seat and applauded, saying, "Such a fantastic performance!"

Michelle herself was the producer, investor, and director of this TV drama. It was within her power to bring a newcomer to the set.

"I thought you would be completely nervous and stage-frightened without acting with me, but this scene is actually quite good. It perfectly portrays the resolute attitude of a girl who has been abandoned."

"Thank you for the compliment," Michelle wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I was also very nervous, after all, it was my first time acting."

She was suddenly called over by Arivia to stand in as a replacement. Initially, she thought it would only be a small role, but she didn’t expect to have a significant supporting role.

Generally, a TV drama has twenty-four episodes. Michelle’s role occupies a subplot in the middle, with about three episodes’ worth of screen time.

The filming progress was fast, it took at least a week, and they changed locations four or five times. She followed the crew for the whole week.

Because of Arivia’s fame, the Tulip Academy agreed and gave Michelle an early winter break.

As for safety, Arivia is rich and influential. Her security team is top-notch, maybe even more professional than the mentor leaders at the Tulip Academy.

So Michelle also came along to gain social experience.

The entertainment industry is part of the showbiz world and is known to be a bit chaotic. But in Europa, it’s not so bad. There are not many pure actors; many come from other professions. Someone who plays a mercenary in a TV drama might have actually been a real mercenary in a non-Blood Continent. And the flashy spells released by warlocks on TV might be released many times faster in reality, with much greater power.

In such a scenario, the entertainment industry is hard to corrupt because they have a strong backing. The tricks and connections don’t work on mages… Many mages who reach Holy Domain are interested in making a few movies to build their fame. The value of the Holy Domain is beyond question, and there are only so many people in the country.

The shooting location this time is near the Blue Iris University. The campus has a famous botanical garden with a large rose field, which is very magnificent.

The Blue Iris University’s plant improvement program is one of their top specialties. It includes not only agriculture but also other ornamental and edible plants.

For example, the seedless lychee, that’s a truly outstanding improvement.

Arivia handed over a bottle of mineral water and asked in a curious manner, "Do you have any experience in this area?"

Michelle felt guilty and said, "No way! I don’t have a boyfriend."

Arivia smiled and said, "But the things you just said, it didn’t seem like you were reading from the script. It felt like you were venting your emotions."

Michelle picked up the script and glanced at it, saying, "That’s strange. I don’t think I remembered it wrong."

"Don’t worry, no need to redo it," Arivia clapped her hands. "We’re done for today."

Michelle breathed a sigh of relief and muttered under her breath, "Sister Arivia, can you please not cast me in a role like this next time?"

"Then what kind of role do you want to play?"

"Um… a cool, handsome, and aloof female villain?"

"Most of these female villains are also unable to find love. Are you sure?" Arivia said, "Most of them are crazy beauties. With your innocent appearance, you might not be able to handle this character."

"Even an ordinary and pure girl can do it."

"This is already pure enough. The other characters…a spoiled rich girl who schemes behind the scenes, an assassin who acts in secret, and a part-time maid with deep love…oh, this one is my character, your character is already the purest and fits the role perfectly." Arivia waved the script. "Isn’t that good?"

"It’s too bloody to directly kill someone. I think this character is a crazy beauty."

"Isn’t that what you wanted?"

"Sigh…" Michelle said helplessly, "But why, in this drama, do three female characters kill and two commit suicide?"

"Because that, is love." Arivia said dreamily, "A bloody love story."

"Will the audience pay for it?"

"Adding some blood to a romance movie is like pairing red wine with stewed beef, the taste is a perfect match." Arivia confidently shared her professional experience, "I’m a professional, trust my judgement. Dead people are more fascinating to watch. TV shows without deaths are as boring as playing pretend. Only by progressing the story layer by layer, pushing the characters into a corner, and finally plunging them into the abyss, can we truly stab the audience’s heart and leave a deep impression."

Michelle criticized, "What kind of tragic love is this?"

"Sad love is about regrets and imperfections, but despair is not." Arivia shook her head and said, "I find despair much easier to relate to than regrets." She reached out and patted Michelle’s shoulder, "Let’s talk about what happened on set instead. Next time, don’t always avoid the camera. That’s not how you become a good actress. In the beginning, it can highlight your character’s insecurity, like a pitiful little deer. But later on, you need to change that habit."

"I’ll try my best to get used to it."

Michelle thought to herself that she might not have a talent for acting. Her scenes with other actors were terrible, except when she acted with Arivia. Otherwise, her performance always lacked intensity and seemed fake. She had to make changes to the script, turning many scenes with other actors into monologues to lessen the awkwardness. She also made significant revisions to several planned scenarios. The poor male actor had no more than five scenes, from his entrance to getting killed, and they didn’t even touch each other. Despite this, Michelle could only smile calmly and work overtime. Although the other guy was good looking, Michelle just couldn’t feel anything towards him. Every time she saw him, she instinctively evaded and stepped back.

After work, Arivia went back to catch up on her writing, while Michelle and the cast stayed at the nearby student apartments of the Blue Iris University. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Arivia agreed to create a promotional advertisement for the university, since celebrity effect always worked well. As a bonus, several university officials even tried to persuade Michelle to transfer to the Blue Iris University, but she managed to dodge and avoid them.

Michelle agreed to act not only to fulfill her dreams and passion but also to earn some money. The pay for actors was quite high, and Arivia’s TV dramas were always successful. She had only been working hard for less than a week, and she had already earned more money than her mother had in three years. Michelle planned to save up the money and then consider going abroad, to the East.

Mr. Devil and Chao Lu… were on the distant shore of the ocean.

Without money, she couldn’t go anywhere, and with the language barrier, she also had to find time to study the language of the Ming Country. After just finishing learning pinyin, her head was spinning and her tongue felt tangled when she thought about speaking the Ming Country language. It was too difficult… all the different tones, nasal and retroflex sounds, expressions like "just for the sake of it," and phrases like "XX defeated XX, who won?" or "I almost fell off the bicycle but managed to hold on." And what about typing and hitting? It made sense when you hit someone or hit soy sauce, take a cab, or make a phone call… but you could also hit these things?

Michelle tried to study the crash course for the Ming Country language for a while, but after ten minutes, she started feeling sleepy. She was a top student, but whenever she looked at these Chinese characters, her brain felt scrambled and her vision turned into a carousel. Her former Chinese teacher was waving at her, urging her to leave without looking back.

Leaving behind the book that made people lose their minds with its terrifying wisdom, Michelle stood on the balcony of the apartment, took a deep breath, and looked into the distance. There was a lighthouse and a harbor. She wanted to cross the ocean and see what was beyond. She wanted to see her good friend again, and she wanted to meet that handsome Eastern guy.

The sound of the sea waves up and down, the gray mist blocked the coastline, everything was dull, she couldn’t see the distance.

Suddenly, the gray mist started to fade, the sound of the sea waves gradually became clear, moonlight spilled onto the sea, shimmering like fish scales.

Michelle stood on tiptoes, looking towards the harbor, looking towards the coastline. It was true, the gray tide was receding. It was already the end of January, it should be over.

"It’s gone…" she whispered.

The crimson moon of December, the gray tide of winter, these two natural disasters had passed one after another, and the world immediately became vivid and clear.

Michelle’s eyes lit up with excitement. With the dispersing gray tide, it meant that shipping would resume. Did she also have a chance to take a boat to the East?

She really wanted to find someone to share this good news with, but she hesitated and realized that she couldn’t find the right person to share her joy with.

At that moment, she caught sight of a white figure gliding by, leaving a faint frosty mist in the air. A woman landed on the balcony, stepping on the edge with her sword.

Their gazes met, looking at each other.

Michelle immediately changed her lazy posture and walked towards the other person. Then she noticed the shopping bag in the hands of the fairy, filled with various types of fast food and even junk food. The fairy also had a piece of fried chicken in their mouth, and the grease droplets fell from their lips, congealing into frozen drops and rolling down the windowsill.

"Good evening," Michelle greeted stiffly, instinctively speaking in the language of the Ming Country.

Yun Chuyou turned her head, swallowed the piece of fried chicken, and then turned back as if nothing had happened. "Good evening."

Her gaze fell on the book in Michelle’s hand. "Are you learning the language of the Ming Country?"

"Hmm."

"Why would you do that?"