What? I deserved better? You're in a mess, so what? I'm not? We went on knowing all this! You wanted to keep being a companion! You may be an actor, but I could see through you! Violet vented to herself as she stormed down the trail.
That idiot Sam! Of all things, they really had to work together to hide something from me! She stormed down even faster that she nearly lost her balance as she slammed into a tree bark so hard it hurts her right palm.
OUCH!!!!!!!! She screamed in mind, but the pain didn't slow her down. She went on quicker towards the filming site cause she knew both of them were hot on her heels, chasing after her.
There weren't any chances for the three of them to communicate again. By the time the duo caught up, the crew members were busy setting up the area for filming. She didn't realise how fast time passed up there.
Sebastian was instantly dragged into the makeup tent to get ready for filming. With Violet pretending to blend in with the other crews to set up the area after preparing Sebastian's costume this time, Sam had to pretend to join the crew to watch over Violet discreetly in case she did something stupid.
Violet knew Sam would be the one who had to look out for her while looking out for Sebastian from Fang Li. She knew she could make use of Fang Li to stay away from Sebastian, too. Hence, she worked nonchalantly and prepared his light fruits and roasted chicken meal ready to be served anytime.
She walked over to Fang Li who was busy sorting out his clothes. "Fang Li, let me do all these. You could pass this to him." Violet passed her a tray as Fang Li snarled at Violet.
She had an expression of "how dare you instruct me to do things here" but then realised Violet was offering to do a tedious job of sorting out his clothes for different acting sets and gladly delivered the meal instead. Violet winced from the harsh impact Fang Li had when taking the tray from her. That's when she realised her bruised palm but she had no time to tend to it yet.
Violet and Sam both were watching Fang Li closely as she went to pass the meal tray to Sebastian who was busy in a discussion with his co actress, Clarin. Though Sebastian acted like he didn't bother with Fang Li delivering his meal, his eyes were darting around looking for Violet.
Clarin noticed his sudden action and couldn't help but ask. "Looking for someone?" Clarin prompted while lifting an eyebrow.
Sebastian saw the meal, and ever since the suspicion from the last filming incident, Sam had arranged for Sebastian's food to be individually packed. It minimises the risk of his food being tampered with. Even fresh fruits were cut and vacuum-sealed.
He reconfirmed it was indeed Violet's touch, though Fang Li delivered it, he couldn't help but still be skeptical.
"Looks like your PA is busy with your clothes today…" Clarin helped him out. He quickly turned around to watch her hard at work which brought some relief but also a little upset with her arrangements. Swapping tasks with Fang Li now indicates she was distancing herself.
Clarin smiled and nodded at his reaction knowingly. "Got into a fight?"
Sebastian drew back his composure and shook his head. "No. Nothing important to care about. So, where were we?"
"We're done… I would have more scenes with Wayne since I'm a spirit character during your investigative scenes…" Clarin clarified as he nodded and began to peel open his fruit packaging.
"Apologise while you can. We women are very soft-hearted." Clarin went back to the topic again.
"It's not that simple…" Sebastian said. "Nothing is simple in our industry, Seb. Fame comes with a price. Don't hurt if you intend to keep." Clarin smiled knowingly which made Sebastian ponder further on his decisions.
While organising Sebastian's clothes, Pei Li from afar was seen acting differently by Violet. Because they arrived late, Wayne didn't get the chance to introduce Pei Li to anyone. Instead, Pei Li went around a little flabbergasted by the speed at which people were working around. Violet went up to her to offer some help.
"Pei Li?" Violet asked as Pei Li's frustration instantly turned into a sweet smile as she nodded.
"What's wrong? What is it you need?" Violet asked urgently.
Pei Li instantly showed her the list of things Wayne needed but she didn't know where to get them. It was a basic requirement for assistants to be resourceful and intuitive but Violet could sense how dense Pei Li was today.
Violet set aside her suspicions first and helped her sort out the list. "Alright, here will be where the assigned costumes are every day. So, here you can follow the code to know which sets of clothing Wayne needs next." Violet showed Pei Li as she nodded while smiling sweetly.
They walked further ahead towards the props section. "And here is sometimes what he needs during filming. So, they would have already been assigned and you just need to collect them." Violet explained and again she gets a very smiley Pei Li. She continued to lead her around the preparation area.
"Next would be his logistics. You should always ensure you have transportation back after filming. So when his last set of filming timing is stated here, it could only be estimated. Just get the driver to come earlier on standby. The same for his meals. The crew members will pack but sometimes like Sebastian, he has his own preferences, he may not want the food the crew had prepared. If I'm not mistaken, Wayne didn't eat much too in the previous filming set. So, here, an apple to return to you for the favour you did for me previously." Violet passed her one, and Pei Li who was half listening to Violet was smitten even more.
She already had a strong liking for Violet the first time she saw her. Today she got the chance to finally interact with Violet, which made her very delighted. With Violet giving her a gift, she couldn't believe how lucky she was.
"For me? Really?" She asked in an innocent way which made Violet couldn't help but notice the change in her even more. Previously, she always knew Pei Li was brave but also stern and organised but today she was lost and pure gullible.
She wanted to reply yes, only for the director to start screaming for everyone to be prepared. "Quick, go to Wayne. Let him eat first before filming!" Violet urged as Pei Li nodded and headed into the makeup tent, where she wanted to check if Sebastian was eating well.
The sight of his transformed self made her couldn't take her eyes off his cool looks. She knew it was a scene where he would need to go through the investigation with Wayne's character in the scene. She noticed his coactress, Clarin was sitting close by him. The sight made her a little upset as she decided to leave the tent.
A part of her was sad that they couldn't interact as they did before, but when she recalled the way he and Sam tried hiding things from her, she put on a stern face as she joined the crew members, awaiting the filming to begin.
Violet noticed Pei Li was excited as she stepped out of the tent while talking to Wayne. However, the moment Wayne's gaze met with Violet, he instantly motioned for her to come over. Feeling strange, Violet skeptically obliged.
"I don't have much time, but could you please not let Pei Li watch this scene? I will explain later." Wayne said in a rush in a whisper.
Violet didn't have a chance to reason with him and could only nod as she quickly thought of a way to distract Pei Li.
"Come, we have things we need to do…" Violet instructed her. Pei Li was taken by surprise.
"But… But can we watch a little? Just a little of his filming, please?" Violet felt something was off. She didn't give it much thought cause Pei Li was very persuasive, looking all docile.
"Aww, come on, Big Sister… Let me just wait a while. Just once… I will do anything you want. Please…" Violet frowned at her "just once" but ended up giving in cause even she was curious about the next scene. She didn't have a chance to look at the snippets of the script provided earlier.
As she stood next to Pei Li, who was excited, the scene that unfolded in front of them made Pei Li fidget. It was the scene where Clarin's character was raped to her death, and it was a walkthrough done by Wayne's character, the police detective, assisted by Sebastian's character, the undercover police officer, to look for clues. Clarin's acting was too surreal for Pei Li to handle.
Flashes of the night she last saw her twin, Pei Ni flashes by her memory as she struggles to breathe. Intertwining with Pei Ni's recollection of events, Pei Li felt as though the defence mechanism she had built all this while was about to crumble.
Penny! Penny, come out! Help! Pei Li pleaded, but to no avail.
Clarin's screams and pleas were ringing in Pei Li's ears. She wanted to force herself to stay and watch the continuity of the filming, but her body's reflexes were pulling her away as she ran.
Penny!! Please! Pei Li pleaded again. However, this time Pei Li realised she was feeling a little less scared than before.
Why won't you come anymore? Cause I'm less frightened now? Pei Li questioned in her mind as she forced herself not to tear up while running away.