Model to Holywood

"Rocca, Lindsay, get ready!"

In the afternoon, filming continued on set.

Today's scene was indoors.

Katie likes Aaron, but Aaron is Gina's boyfriend, the leader of their friend group.

Katie had planned to break them up by exposing Gina's cheating, but her two attempts at setting them up both failed.

This time, she pretended to be bad at math and invited Aaron over to tutor her, using the opportunity to steal a kiss from him.

In this scene: Rocca and Lindsay Lohan were the actors.

"You nervous, bad boy?"

Lindsay rested her chin on her hand, blinking as she stared at him.

"Nervous about what?" 

Seeing how calm he was, Lindsay felt a little dissatisfied.

"About shooting a kiss scene with me—aren't you nervous?"

"Why should I be?"

"Because I'll bite you!" 

Lindsay flashed her sparkling teeth, like a little tiger.

"Okay, now I'm nervous." 

Rocca laughed.

"Hmph!"

"Hey, you two, stop chatting."

Director Mark shook his head, put on his headphones, and waved his arm.

The clapperboard snapped in front of the camera, and the scene began: 

"Scene 37, Shot 5, Take 2. Action!"

As the cameras rolled, Rocca wore a blue long-sleeved T-shirt, holding a pencil and working on a math problem.

Next to him sat Lindsay Lohan, in a red sweater with her burgundy hair down. She bit her lower lip, deep in thought, looking quiet and sexy—a far cry from her off-screen self.

"What's the answer to this problem?"

Lindsay pointed at the textbook, her eyes glued to his face with an intense, unfiltered gaze.

Rocca glanced down, holding the pencil between his fingers and marking the problem. "This one? The first time I got zero, but when I checked it again, the answer was one."

Lindsay blinked and smiled, "I got one too."

"Yeah, I checked it again—it makes sense that two negatives make a positive."

Rocca was seriously explaining the math problem, but when he first got the script, he had secretly thought to himself how lucky American high school students were; their 12th-grade math problems were easier than elementary school problems in China.

"Cut!"

Director Mark called out loudly. "Hey, Rocca, your focus should be on Lindsay's face. Aaron's not a nerd. With a hot girl sitting next to him, there's no way he'd be focused on a math problem!"

Rocca nodded, "Got it, Director. I'll pay attention."

Filming continued.

This shot was a close-up.

In the frame, Lindsay smiled, her bright eyes blinking as she said, "I get it now, like how negative four times negative six gives a positive number, right?"

"Exactly!"

Rocca flashed a charming smile.

"You're a great tutor!"

As they discussed the math problem, their eyes met, and the atmosphere turned intimate.

The lights fell on Lindsay's face, highlighting her flushed cheeks and rosy lips, her smile alluring.

Rocca gazed at her cheek, still smiling handsomely.

Lindsay slowly leaned in.

Rocca slightly lowered his head.

Their lips touched.

Two cameras filmed the scene—one capturing the front and the other the side.

"Hiss…"

As soon as they kissed, Rocca drew in a sharp breath, holding his lower lip.

"Cut!"

"Lindsay, take it seriously!" 

Director Mark had seen it all on camera.

While they were kissing, Lindsay had opened her mouth and bit Rocca's lower lip.

"Sorry, Director! My vision blurred for a second, and I mistook his lip for a strawberry," Lindsay said, pretending to be embarrassed.

Yeah, right! 

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Lindsay, stop messing around." 

Director Mark said seriously, "If you really want to bite Rocca, wait until after the shoot and bite him all you want!"

"Hahaha!"

The crew, all twenty or so of them, burst into laughter.

This time, Lindsay actually blushed.

Rocca shook his head—this girl was definitely faking it.

After the little incident, the two of them resumed filming the scene.

Their lips touched and stayed still, waiting for the close-up to finish. When the director called for interaction, they finally made slight movements.

"Perfect!"

On the monitor, the sunset streamed through the window, casting light on the two of them. Their noses touched, Rocca kissing Lindsay's upper lip, and Lindsay kissing his lower lip. It was a pure, simple kiss.

Their profiles were both beautiful, and their lip shapes were lovely. The light made their lips look like two pieces of translucent red jade—a visually stunning moment.

Director Mark nodded slightly. This shot might even be a contender for a Best Kiss Scene award.

"Cut! That's a wrap for this scene!"

It was past 5 p.m. by the time they wrapped up.

Rocca headed to the changing room to switch clothes.

Knock, knock. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Rocca was pulling up his pants when he opened the door to find Lindsay Lohan, standing there in a spaghetti strap dress.

"Lindsay, what's up? Let me put on a shirt first."

Lindsay glanced at his muscles, paused for a moment, then squeezed her way in and closed the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Biting you!"

Lindsay suddenly pounced on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and playfully biting him.

"Stop messing around!"

Rocca leaned back against the door, holding her by the legs, resting his head against her, and sighed in exasperation. Girls these days had no sense of restraint.

"I'm going to bite you! You tricked me into thinking you couldn't dance, just to take advantage of me. Now I'm going to take advantage of you, or else I'll report you for harassment!"

Lindsay huffed, blushing as she bit him again.

Rocca, irritated now, suddenly turned and pinned her against the wall with a thud.

"Ah~"

Lindsay let out a pained cry, opening her small mouth.

Luca forcefully and aggressively leaned in.

Knock knock~

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Luca, are you still in there?"

It was Ian, the director's assistant.

Luca suddenly snapped back to reality and let go of Lindsay, whose strap was halfway down her shoulder.

"Ignore him!" 

Lindsay wrapped her arms around his neck, panting as she spoke.

Luca took a deep breath and looked at the girl in front of him, feeling a growing sense of guilt. This girl was about the same age as Fanny.

"I need to step out for a minute," he whispered into her ear.

"Hurry back!" 

Lindsay whispered softly.

Luca put on his clothes and opened the door.

"Ian, what's up?"

"Luca, the scenes at the campus are almost done. The rest of the shooting will take place in Toronto, did you know that?"

Luca nodded; he had been informed in advance.

The script called for scenes set in fall and winter, so shooting in Canada was a better fit. Plus, the scenery there is beautiful.

Beyond that, the main reason was that things are cheaper in Canada, helping them cut costs and take advantage of tax breaks and other incentives.

"The crew is booking tickets together, but since you're using a Brazilian passport, you'll need to sort out the border paperwork in advance," Ian explained.

"Oh, I see. I'll have my agent take care of it and send you the receipts later."

"Alright!"

Ian said goodbye and left.

Luca stood at the door and called Ed. He glanced back at the room. Should he go back inside? That girl's going to be a media sensation one day; she turns everything into a headline. It might be smart to keep his distance for now.

Inside, Lindsay waited for a while. When no one came back in, she pulled up her strap and walked to the door. After asking around, she found out that Luca had already left.

"Jerk!!!"

"Fanny, I'm back!"

At Big Pear Tree Manor, Luca parked his car and habitually called out to the villa. No one answered, and he remembered that girl had already gone back to New York.

Now the huge estate was empty, leaving him all alone.

Feeling lonely and cold, he thought, maybe I should've brought someone home?

Hmm, better not. The temptation of Mr. Big is too much; there are wolves all around. Better to stay reserved and not let those wild girls take advantage.

He quickly threw together some grilled meat, poured himself a glass of red wine, and lay down on the balcony, gazing at the distant ocean sunset and the nearby trees with birds returning to their nests. He suddenly noticed that the lawn and greenery in the yard had gotten pretty wild, swaying in the wind.

For some reason, this made him feel restless, though he couldn't figure out why or how to shake it.

After two glasses of wine, he grabbed a half-new lawnmower from the garage and started pushing it across the lawn.

Normally, the lawn and greenery were handled by a housekeeping service.

But lately, he'd been so busy that he forgot to schedule them.

Mowing the lawn isn't exactly rocket science, though. With enough patience and a bit of obsessive-compulsiveness, anyone can be a good gardener.

Vroom vroom vroom! 

The lawnmower roared to life. It ran on diesel, stronger than an electric trimmer and more efficient, though it was pretty loud and spat out a puff of black smoke that nearly choked him.

Luckily, Luca wasn't the type to fuss over such things. With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he pushed the lawnmower forward.

In the sunset, a disheveled man in denim overalls, his muscular torso bare, mowed the lawn fiercely, cutting down countless blades of grass. His body became streaked with a few green splashes. If Theodore and the other little guys saw him, they'd probably scream, "Chainsaw man!" and run away.

After an hour of work, Luca had trimmed about half the lawn. Feeling somewhat accomplished, he glanced back. That feeling vanished instantly.

The lawn he'd trimmed looked like a dog's chewed-up head—uneven, with some parts shaved bald and others still waving in the evening breeze.

"Ugh..."

He squatted down, took a drag from his cigarette, and squinted at the mutilated lawn. He hesitated, wondering whether to continue the destruction or go back and even it out. 

Would a second pass make it any better?

Honk honk~

Just as he was debating, two horn beeps came from the front gate.

Luca slowly got up and walked over to the villa's entrance.

A bright yellow taxi had pulled up in front of the gate.

Click~

The car door opened, and a long, toned leg stepped onto the ground. The honey-colored skin and fit calves were unmistakable.

"Darling, what brings you here?" 

Luca happily walked toward her.

Sure enough, it was Lima. She was wearing sunglasses and a simple silk dress as she got out of the car.

"Pay the fare!" 

She shot him a look and walked straight into the house, her beautiful figure quickly disappearing inside.

Luca stared after her, momentarily stunned. Was she here to catch him in the act?

"Hey, Mr. Kelly, are you the one paying the fare?" 

The Black driver leaned on the car window, grinning teasingly.

Luca forced a smile, reached into his pocket, and handed over a bill.

"Keep the change."

"Thanks!" 

The driver chuckled. "Mr. Kelly, is Britney at your estate right now?"

"Are you a paparazzo?" 

Luca asked, annoyed.

"Haha, sometimes we drivers moonlight as paparazzi. If Britney is in your villa, I could break a huge story today!"

The driver flashed his gleaming white teeth as he laughed.

"Sorry to disappoint you!" 

Luca replied with a dark expression as he pulled out Lima's suitcase.

"Haha, no worries, Mr. Kelly. I have to say, you're a lucky guy. Good luck!"

The driver waved with a gleeful smile as he drove away.

---

(Chapter ends)