Chapter 60
Chapter 60
For the next couple of days, Eileen was all-in, busting her chops on the filming of Fancy Island.
The shoot was jam-packed.
Eileen was completely engrossed in her work, Saul’s glum figure only occasionally visible when she lifted her head during
breaks. But a few days later, he was nowhere to be seen.
Eileen didn’t mind. In fact, she thought that was for the best, saving her the trouble of having to dodge him.
But, thanks to Saul’s frequent appearances, coupled with Eileen’s loud reprimand that day, the whole crew now knew that Bartley
and Saul were brothers.
Bartley’s status on set shot up instantly. Before, some of the staff didn’t care too much for him because he often struggled to get
the shots right. But now, no one dared to complain.
Bartley’s attitude towards others remained as it was before, and he didn’t act all high and mighty. But occasionally, Eileen noticed
a flash of coldness in his eyes when someone tried to suck up to him. Before she could catch a second glimpse, he was back to
being the polite, diligent young man again.
A month of shooting flew by.
Eileen had been shuttling between the hotel and the set every day, having little contact with the outside world.
Until one day, she bumped into Egbert at the entrance of Cinema City.
Egbert had just stepped out of his car. He was wearing a dark coat, a white turtleneck sweater underneath, and a face mask. He
was carrying a little girl in a white wool dress.
The little girl was only two or three years old, her features indistinct.
They entered through the back door.
Eileen didn’t pay much mind, but she ran into them again in the elevator.
Eileen stood at the elevator door, debating whether or not to get in.
Just as the doors were about to close, Egbert’s slender finger pressed the open door button.
“Aren’t you getting in?” His voice was as cold as eyer.
Eileen pursed her lips and finally stepped in.
The elevator doors closed. When Eileen was about to press her floor, she noticed that Egbert had already pressed it. She
withdrew her hand and stuffed them both into her pockets.
“I haven’t seen you around lately.” Wanting to break the awkward silence in the elevator, Eileen initiated a conversation.
Egbert glanced at her. “I wrapped up my work a while ago.”
“You’ve wrapped up?!” Eileen had been completely out of the loop with the other film crew’s progress. She scratched her face,
“So congrats?”
Egbert: “Congrats for what?”
Eileen “Never mind”
The atmosphere turned even more awkward.
Eileen simply looked up at the floor indicator.
At that moment, she felt a light tug at her pants
When she looked down, she saw it was the little girl that Egbert had brought along who was pulling at her. The little girl was
very pretty, with delicate skin and exquisite features, like a little doll.
Eileen had no idea what she wanted and asked, puzzled, “What’s up?”
Then, Egbert called out to the little girl, “Isabel.”
The little girl, Isabel, glanced at Mr. Reed, then at Eileen next to him, and suddenly asked, “Are you my aunt?”
Eileen was taken aback.
Egbert was also taken aback.
Eileen looked at Egbert, confused.
Egbert bent down to pick up Isabel, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Isabel was reprimanded, and she pouted, looking down, but she still couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Eileen.
At that moment, the elevator reached their floor.
Eileen was the first to step out. The Fancy Island crew was supposed to go right. She took a couple of steps, then looked back
and saw Egbert walking down the left corridor with the little girl.
Eileen didn’t think much of it.
The morning shoot went smoothly, and at half past twelve, Lenwood called everyone for lunch.
Eileen was now quite familiar with the woman in charge of meals. Every mealtime, she would happily take the woman’s arm,
signaling her.
The woman was thoroughly annoyed by her, and with a helpless eye roll, she pulled out a box of her own private stash of food
from underneath and shoved it into Eileen’s arms, “Here, take it and go.”
“Thank you!” Eileen hugged the lunch box, and like a smuggler, she sneaked into the back staircase.
She opened the lunch box, and there were two big drumsticks and a few wings, clearly specially prepared by the woman!
Just as she was about to happily dig in, she suddenly felt someone watching her.
She turned around immediately, only to see a child’s face peeking at her from around the corner of the stairs.
It was the little girl that Egbert had brought in the morning, Isabel, right?
Eileen found a clean newspaper, spread it on the stairs, and sat down.
When she looked up again, she saw the little girl crouching at the edge of the wall, timidly looking at her.
Eileen smiled and waved at her.
The little girl looked surprised, looked behind her to make sure there was no one else, then cautiously pointed at her nose and
asked softly, “Are you calling me?”
Eileen nodded, “Come here.”
The little girl ran over in tiny steps and obediently stood in front of Eileen.
Eileen asked, “Why are you running around alone? Where’s the man who brought you here this morning?”
The little girl obediently answered, “Mr. Reed went out and hasn’t come back. Isabel was scared alone in the room.”
Eileen guessed that the room she was talking about was probably the lounge.
“Even if you’re scared, you can’t just run around. What if you get lost?” Eileen lectured her.
The little girl bit her lip, looking pitiful as she accepted the scolding.
Seeing her like that, Eileen found her adorable and patted her hair, “Don’t do that again next time.”
The little girl seemed to not really care about what Eileen said. Seeing that Eileen didn’t seem angry anymore, she approached a
little closer, gently tugged at Eileen’s clothes, and cautiously asked, “Are you my aunt?”
She had asked the same question in the morning. Eileen laughed and answered, “I’m not your aunt, I don’t have any siblings.”
The little girl furrowed her brows and suddenly leaned in close, her big eyes just inches from Eileen’s.
Eileen couldn’t help but step back.
But the little girl followed with her short fingers gently touching Eileen’s face.
Eileen froze for a second. The little girl’s fingers were very soft, and she could smell a faint fragrance from her.
First, the little girl touched her cheek, then slowly moved upwards to touch her nose and eyes.
Eileen had to lower the little girl’s hand and warned her again, “You can’t just go around touching strangers. It’s not good
behavior, got it?”
The little girl dropped her hand, blinked her big eyes, and said, “Your eyes.”
“Is there something wrong with my eyes?”
The little girl whispered, “They’re like my grandma’s.”
Eileen was a bit confused, “What do you mean?”
“Your nose is like hers, too. And your mouth.”
Eileen couldn’t help but laugh, “What are you trying to say?”
The little girl suddenly jumped into Eileen’s arms, clinging onto her roughly. “You’re my aunt.”
Eileen had to put down the lunchbox in her hand, looking helplessly at the mischievous little girl in her arms, “I’m really not your
aunt. You’ve got the wrong person.”
“You’re my aunt.” The little girl lifted her head, her small mouth puckered up, “You’re just like the aunt in my picture.