Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“I’m most afraid of dogs! Where are they?” Xavier hid behind Leia. He was nearly 190cm tall, but he looked like a kid hiding behind his mother’s skirts. Leia pursed her lips and tried her best to suppress her laughter, and patted his head as if he was a child. “Don’t be scared, I’ll protect you. Dogs won’t hurt you. Just stay behind me and stop screaming.”
They supported each other like an old couple and walked through that muddy road until they finally arrived at the set of Happy Days.
“Finally, it’s over!” Xavier heaved a deep sigh, feeling like he had gone through hell.
“Stop exaggerating!” Leia looked at him in confusion. “This is a remote village, so there’ll be mud and dogs everywhere. Why did you torture yourself and come with me if you were so scared?”
“What do you think?” Xavier headed to a small stream and washed his feet, smiling faintly.
“Do I look like someone who purposely looks for trouble?”
“Yes, you do!” Leia replied bluntly.
Xavier rolled his eyes. “I was worried about someone, so I thought of taking care of her, but she clearly despises me. Ah, how ungrateful!”
“Don’t mock me! I’m the one taking care of you. If you hadn’t taken so long, I would have arrived at the set ages ago…”
“Fine, I’m just a busybody. I deserve it.” Xavier was slightly angry now. Every time he was nice to her, she made fun of him. He did all that for nothing!
‘I will go now to stop troubling you.” After Xavier washed away most of the mud, he left Leia washing her feet and walked towards the set not far away.
The set was a tile-roofed house with a large compound and many small rooms as well as some pets and farm animals. It was near the mountains and located beside a river. Happy Days enjoyed good viewership since its launch. They would usually invite famous guests other than their fixed celebrities. Those fixed celebrities were mostly famous singers, actors, and hosts. They had been shooting that show for five seasons, so they were very familiar with each other, but with Shirley around, the atmosphere had become strained.
Shirley was a delicate lady. Although she would not directly put on airs, she would express her thoughts through her assistant and agent. For example, she did not want to cook because the smoke would harm her skin. She also did not want to do farm work for the same reason. The only thing she wanted to do was to sit and chat with the guests, but she didn’t have any creative ideas, so she always put others in an awkward position.
Hence, the fixed celebrities had had enough of her, and were discussing privately if they could dismiss her.
Angelo Fairfax, a famous singer, became desperate as he gritted his teeth and complained,
“I can’t take it anymore! I’ve never met such a delicate star even though I debuted so many years ago. She joined a variety show in the countryside, but doesn’t even want to drink the water at this place. She demanded pure water from an expensive brand, and even asked me to cook using that water. Where can I get so much of that? How preposterous!”
Angelo was in charge of cooking in the show, and he was good at it. The others enjoyed his cooking, and his skills helped him gain a lot of fans. However, Shirley had started ordering him around after she joined the show. She claimed that the pasta was undercooked and that there were insects in the food. However, what infuriated him the most was that she demanded he cook with that expensive water, or else she wouldn’t eat.
“I’ve met self-important people, but she’s way too much. I’m no longer famous but I was quite a successful singer in the past. I’ve never suffered this much before, honestly. If Shirley isn’t dismissed, I’ll quit!” Angelo smacked the table angrily. He was even willing to breach his contract because of Shirley.
Lily Anderson, the host, quickly comforted him. “Ah, please bear with her. She’s a star heavily promoted by Universal Entertainment, and they purposely got her into our show. If we force her to leave, we’ll make Universal Entertainment our enemy. We’ll be banned if we offend them given their status in the entertainment industry.”
“But I heard a rumor that they’ve given up promoting her. If she doesn’t do a good job this time, she may be suspended. We don’t have to be afraid of offending her, we just need to teach her a lesson!” Thomas Morris, a famous actor, had had enough too. He had long wanted to teach that woman a lesson.
“No, that isn’t the case.” Lily shook her head. “The superiors of Universal Entertainment, including Mr. Stuart wanted to promote another star, but Shirley befriended someone more powerful in the company, so she won’t get suspended.”
As a famous host, she had great connections, and had long heard that Shirley had gained a new supporter who Xavier was afraid of. So, she would have to let Shirley have her way.
“Alas, I heard that too. Her new supporter seems to be…” Angelo approached them and was about to gossip when he heard someone open the door of the house. Ace, the dog they had, kept barking.
“Is that a dog?” Xavier was about to go into the house, but he instantly backed away when he saw the large yellow dog in the house. He bumped into Leia who was behind him, and quickly hid behind her helplessly. “Dog… There’s a dog!”
Leia glanced at him in disgust and waved at the dog.” Doggie, hello. Why are you so much fatter than on the screen? Come here and let me pat you.” Strangely, the barking dog turned into a docile pet instantly.
It looked up at Leia and wagged its tail enthusiastically.
Leia touched its head. “Good boy. You’re so cute, but some people are afraid of you. You don’t bite either. I don’t know why he’s so scared. What a coward!”
Xavier could not accept that as he hid behind her. “I mean… I’m not afraid of dogs. I just don’t even know if the wild dogs here are vaccinated or not. What if the dog bites me and I get rabies?”
“You shouldn’t have come here if that was the case. Since you’re here, you should open up and enjoy yourself. Don’t act like a coward and hide behind me,” Leia rudely rebuked him.
At that time, both Lily and Angelo came out of the house. When they saw Xavier, they were initially shocked, but enthusiastically went to him.
“Mr. Stuart, why are you here, in such a remote place? Our little house is honored to have you!” Lily said charmingly.
Angelo extended his hand. “Mr. Stuart, you’re busy so it’s hard to see you. Are you here as a guest, or did you come for a visit? Why didn’t the crew inform us?”
The shooting had ended because it was night, so they could not tell if Xavier was a guest or merely there for a visit.
“We’re here to see someone. May I know if Shirley is around? ” Leia asked directly.
“Shirley?” Angelo became annoyed when Shirley’s name was mentioned. He said indifferently, “She’s a princess. Of course, she won’t stay here.”
“What do you mean? Don’t tell me she’s not here!” Leia almost broke down. It was a long car ride, and she had soldiered through the muddy road and water path before finally arriving on the set. If they told her that Shirley was not there, she’d go mad.
“No, she’s not staying here now. When the cameras are rolling, she’ll be here.” Angelo smiled bitterly.
“Where is she now?” Leia hurriedly asked.
“She’s having a rest in town. Although we have bedrooms here, that princess can’t stand to stay in them. After the shooting is over, she goes to the hotel in town to enjoy the air- conditioning there. Isn’t there a muddy road on the way here? She spent some money to let the villagers carry her over, so technically, she’s providing jobs for the villagers too.
“Ahem, ahem!” Lily hurriedly grabbed Angelo’s arm to stop him. “Miss White’s body is sensitive. We don’t have air- conditioning here, and it’s not very convenient with the water and electricity supply. It’s very normal for her to stay somewhere with better conditions. After all, she’s an actress. It’s one of her jobs to take good care of her body.”
“Tsk, she just puts on airs. Don’t make it sound so righteous, ” Leia directly commented.
“So, does that mean that we have to go back to town to see her?”
“Yes, but it’s too late now, and the road is bad. It’s dangerous for you to go back there. Why don’t you wait until tomorrow? She’ll be back here when we start shooting.” Lily suggested a compromise.
Leia nodded while looking at the dark sky. “Okay, I’ll let her have another easy night.”
After all, she had time to waste with Shirley. She would not give up until she got a result.
“But there’s a problem if you two are here for a visit.” Angelo explained bluntly, “Our bedrooms here are fixed. The only vacant one is Miss White’s room, so you guys may… have to share a room. Is that okay?
“Yes!”
“No!”
Xavier and Leia spoke at the same time.
Xavier wanted to stay in the same room as Leia, but Leia felt that it wasn’t a good idea to get close to him since they had officially broken up with each other.
“Umm… it’s up to the both of you, I guess. Either way, wash up and rest well; there’ll be a grand welcoming feast for the both of you early tomorrow morning. If you’re not comfortable with the arrangement…” Lily thought about it for a while, then pointed at a small thatched shed nearby.” There’s a cowshed over there. We can set up a bed there, and you can make do with it for one night. We don’t suggest it though, because the cows are very stinky and may try to knock you down.”
“Are you serious?” Leia forced a smile, but was inwardly cursing. She knew that the conditions were hard at Happy Days, but surely it couldn’t be so bad that she had to stay in a cow shed.
“It’s late. The both of you should head to bed, don’t worry about us…” Xavier hugged Leia’s shoulders and smiled. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that we have a somewhat ‘special’ relationship… I’m sure we’ll figure out the sleeping arrangements.”
“There’s nothing special about our relationship! Stop spreading rumors, you idiot! People will get the wrong idea.” Leia tried to struggle out of his arms but he just hugged her tighter.
Xavier looked down at her, his gaze tender. “You’re so stubborn, darling. Our relationship is really something else.”
Both Lily and Angelo watched them in understanding, and exchanged meaningful glances.
“Okay, we won’t disturb you then. Take your time to discuss it. There are brand-new toiletries in the room, and if you’re hungry, there are some snacks there too. Goodnight and sweet dreams.”
Angelo was still grinning and watching the fun, but Lily quickly pulled him away to give Xavier and Leia some privacy. She suspected from the beginning that the two were in a relationship, which was why she had suggested they stay in the same room.