Chapter 58

When Lily sat in the Lincoln, she took a deep breath and tightly held the envelope containing the secret letter from her mother. She felt a bit relieved, but she was still a little afraid that Ramo might back out.

"What's the address?" Ramo asked. Lily told the driver, who was quite far away, "Brentwood, South Great Green Street." The car started moving, and a soundproof, one-way transparent glass partition lowered in the middle of the car, making the spacious and luxurious rear seat a private space.

The scenery outside the car windows was receding, and Ramo stood up, took a glass bottle of Budweiser beer from the small fridge in front, and also took out two highball glasses, ready to pour the beer.

"I don't want it, thank you," Lily said. Ramo was only 15 years old, still six years away from the legal drinking age of 21, but Ramo obviously didn't care. It seemed that Willis and Demi Moore didn't care either, but Lily didn't want to drink, or rather, she didn't want to have her first drink with Ramo.

"Oh, good student," Ramo put back one of the glasses, poured only one, and sat back down, drinking continuously. Soon, she poured another full glass.

"Don't get drunk," Lily reminded her. If Ramo got drunk, it would be useless when they arrived at the set.

Ramo glanced at her with a look of disdain and amusement, "I can finish this bottle of beer without even burping. Wait until you see me drink whiskey, then you'll be worried."

Lily shrugged slightly, not knowing what to say.

"If you don't want beer, do you want marijuana?" Ramo got up and walked to another storage cabinet. Lily frowned immediately, "What are you talking about? I don't want it." Ramo turned to look at her, feigning seriousness, "Really? I have it here, plenty of it. I know a few dealers."

"Please..." Lily didn't find it funny and wasn't sure if Ramo was really using. Her voice became a bit lower, "I don't like these things, and I'm sure he doesn't either."

"Do you think I don't know? Look at how thick your eyebrows are." Ramo was a bit annoyed, "You're the good kid, and I'm the bad kid, right!" She took a big sip of her drink and said, "You can say no, but I can't. I'm telling you, being forced to do something feels terrible."

Lily naturally sensed Ramo's anger and reflected on herself, realizing she had been too serious and had subconsciously categorized Ramo...

She gave a slightly apologetic smile, "Ramo, I really appreciate your help, and I believe you will change your mind about this."

"Ha ha..." Ramo gently swirled her glass, the yellow liquid inside swaying. She had a completely indifferent look, "What's the point of me changing my mind? I'll say it again, that old man is furious, it's over. After this, I absolutely won't deal with this nonsense anymore."

Lily knew that Ramo would do what she said, which would make it useless for her to see how professional Wei was. What to do...

Suddenly, an idea came to her! Lily remembered how Wei had managed to get the USC students to join. She blurted out, "Let's make a bet, are you interested?"

"What kind of bet?" Ramo glanced at her.

Lily was thinking, blinking her eyes, "You think Wei's crew isn't professional, and that his filming is just kids playing around, right?" Ramo said, "YEP," and Lily continued, "So, if Wei and his team are professional, I win; if they're not, you win."

"How do we define professionalism?" Ramo was interested.

"We all know what a professional set looks like. We've acted and studied acting, don't we?" Lily countered, though she had last acted when she was two...

She said, "We'll know who wins just by looking, unless someone cheats, right?"

"What's the bet?" Ramo finished half a glass of beer in one gulp and poured a third glass. Her tongue scraped her teeth, and her eyes lit up.

Lily had already thought about it, "If I win, you have to help Wei one more time with this, of course, it will be reasonable help. If you win... you can decide what you want me to do."

Ramo sized her up, reached out to grab her chest, but Lily angrily pushed her hand away. Ramo laughed, "If I were a guy or a lesbian, we could do something, but I'm not. What can I do? Make your eyebrows thinner?"

Her tone and words were unpleasant, and Lily felt a surge of anger. Can't this person speak properly? She kept her voice calm, "You can do that."

"I'm really not interested in women," Ramo's annoyance was rising. Should she mess with this British girl? This girl is too self-righteous and stupid. She needs a lesson...

"Ah, I've got it! You get drunk first, then go find those paparazzi scum and have them take some photos."

"No!" Lily firmly rejected, her face turning red with anger.

Thinking about the news of "Phil Collins' 14-year-old daughter drunk on the street" filling various entertainment media, her public image would be ruined. She would be seen as a rebellious, indulgent, and terrible star child. More importantly, it would bring shame to her parents and the entire Collins family. She would be expelled from school, and everything would be ruined.

"That's too much, it involves too many people and things. I can't agree to it. You have to choose something that only involves me."

"You're so sure Wei is professional, why are you afraid to bet?"

"Yes, but I can't bet on this. I have other responsibilities!"

Ramo snorted a few times but didn't insist, "Then go up to random guys on the street and ask for a kiss, mouth to mouth, until you succeed three times."

"No, don't be so extreme!" Lily's eyes widened.

Ramo rolled her eyes, "Then just tell me, say 'I'm sorry, I was wrong'? Not that simple! If you don't want to bet, fine. You can go up to each person in Wei's crew, lift your shirt, show your bra, and say, 'I'm a stupid bitch.' Each person once!"

Seeing the other's increasingly red face, she thought, after this visit, she would delete Lily Collins from her phone contacts.

"It's your idea to bet, and if you lose, you can back out." Ramo casually drank her beer.

"If I agree, I won't back out." Lily's eyes were almost on fire, and she said resolutely, "I can accept this bet, but my terms are different. If you lose, you don't have to lift your shirt, but you have to say that sentence in front of everyone, once to everyone, and once to Wei! As for helping or not, it's up to you! Bet? Ramo Willis!"

"Interesting... interesting..." Ramo's eyes also flared with anger, almost crushing her glass. Suddenly, she raised her glass, "Cheers! I bet."

"I bet too." Lily took a deep breath, calming the raging fire inside her, "I won't lose anyway."

"Is that so? We'll see."

The rest of the car ride was silent. When they arrived at South Great Green Street, Lily called Wei to confirm that the crew was at his house and asked the driver to drive there. At this point, Ramo suddenly asked, "Actually, are you having fun helping him so much?"

"Yes, it's very enjoyable." Lily nodded lightly.

"Love makes people blind, it's true." Ramo mocked.

When the car arrived at the destination, they could already see Wei's house. Lily said, "It's the one with the gray roof and white walls up ahead." Ramo pressed the remote, and the partition glass retracted. She told the driver, "Park here, the one with the gray roof. Wait for me for 15 minutes."

At the same time, Pala was waiting on the front lawn to welcome the guests. When she saw a mid-length Lincoln arrive, she was surprised and began to understand Wei's mysterious "A big shot is coming, everyone be prepared!"

After the car parked, the rear door opened, and two girls got out. She recognized one of them, Lily, Wei's classmate; the other, tall and somewhat familiar...

"Welcome, I'm Pala. Wei sent me to pick you up." She smiled and walked over.

Lily greeted her and looked at Ramo's poker face, introducing her, "This is Ramo Willis."

Hearing this name, Pala immediately remembered, this was Bruce Willis' daughter! A significant figure indeed. She suddenly wondered who Lily was, having a vague memory, also the daughter of a celebrity? If she knew the last name, she would definitely remember.

"Are you a USC film school student?" Ramo looked at her, "How can you help a middle schooler make a movie, are you crazy?"

Pala was taken aback. Lily said, "Tell the truth, it's okay," so she led the way and answered, "At first, we all lost a bet and kept our promise; but soon, we found that although Wei is a middle schooler, he has all the qualities of a professional filmmaker, in many aspects... better than us college students."

Lily smiled, feeling much less angry, and glanced at Ramo, hearing that, you're definitely going to lose!

"Another bet, ha ha!" Ramo laughed as if it were a joke, "That you're worse than a middle schooler, it's strange that USC hasn't kicked you out."

"I think it's because there's no other middle schooler like Wei in the whole country?" Pala responded calmly, not getting angry with a spoiled middle schooler.

As they walked to the backyard, they entered the set area. Pala gestured for them to be quiet and not to walk over, as the camera was filming, and they could hear Anna's sad voice, "Bella, do you understand, I can't dance anymore..."

"CUT! This take is good, no problem, prepare for the next shot." Soon, Wei's voice rang out, followed by a chorus of voices.

Since there were no extras today, only the crew, Anna, and her on-screen and off-screen parents, Bella, and Wei's family, the set was much quieter.

Lily retracted her gaze, feeling a bit disappointed. If they had arrived a minute earlier, it would have been better. She hoped the setup for the next shot wouldn't take long.

Ramo crossed her arms, more interested in the surrounding flowers and trees than the so-called set, "Wei's backyard is pretty nice."

"Hey!" Wei had already noticed them and walked over with a smile, "Lily, Ramo, welcome, welcome to my humble abode!" Lily gave him a military salute, as if to say, "Sir, I've brought the prisoner, mission accomplished."

Ramo wasn't interested in small talk and directly said to him, "Show me, how are you professional?"

"Ha ha!" Wei wasn't surprised by her attitude and led Princess Willis around the set, introducing everyone. Anna, who was in a wheelchair and in a low mood, didn't react much and wasn't enthusiastic about making new friends.

But the others were surprised to varying degrees. The daughter of Willis! Also a Harvard-Westlake student?

However, they quickly noticed the difference. Ramo's attitude was full of disdain, contempt, impatience, and hostility... not like a friend to Wei and Lily. What was her purpose?

Ramo didn't care what these people thought. After a round, she remained skeptical about the seemingly professional set. She touched the camera and said to the surrounding people, "Have you seen 'The Sting'? This place gives me the feeling of the horse racing scene."

Everyone burst into laughter, thinking she was joking. "The Sting" was the 46th Academy Award for Best Picture, and they had all seen it. Darum laughed, "That's a funny comparison." Pete was delighted, "We're pretending to film, ha ha..."

"Who says not?" Ramo rolled her eyes, "CUT right away, 15 minutes of joking around, is that it?"

"Guys, get moving, shoot a scene for Ramo to see!" Wei shouted, and everyone enthusiastically got to work, "OK!" "The lights will be ready soon!"

Seeing the professional lighting, sound, and camera work, Lily was excited, often glancing at Ramo with a challenging look, drunkard, get ready to be embarrassed!

Ramo was also watching, and her brows gradually furrowed, becoming more and more surprised...

In less than 5 minutes, the machine started again.

"Scene 17, shot 5."

"Action."

When the clapperboard was struck, Wei softly called out, taking care of Anna's low mood in every detail. Then, Anna in the performance area began to act...

Everyone was watching Anna, and Lily was watching Ramo, who was looking at her fingers.

Suddenly, a "BOOM" explosion sounded, and the main light went out. Everyone was stunned, looking at the light stand, clearly the incandescent bulb had burned out.

"CUT..." Wei had to call a stop. The lighting wasn't set up properly, so they couldn't continue filming...

"Ha ha ha, this is professional? Ha ha ha!" Just as the whole set was quiet, a burst of laughter broke out. Ramo was laughing uncontrollably, almost falling over, staring at Lily, seeing her face turn red with embarrassment, "What do you think, professional? Who wins? Who loses? Ha ha ha--"

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