An Awkward Situation

Natalie's mood was somewhat restless, making it difficult for her to think calmly in a short period.

"Black Swan" had its global premiere last week at the Venice Film Festival, garnering widespread acclaim from the media, particularly praising the two lead actresses, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. Fox Searchlight, the distributor, believed this film had a strong chance of securing nominations and even wins during the awards season, and thus had begun drafting a PR plan.

Part of this plan involved releasing press statements about Natalie. These releases mentioned that Natalie spent a year and a half getting into shape and dedicated seven months to learning ballet. Not only did this revive her childhood ballet memories, but it also enhanced her professional skills, with the aim of performing the ballet scenes herself and showcasing authentic ballet artistry in the film. The narrative highlighted her arduous effort and dedication, paralleling the film's character.

The upcoming promotions would focus on this, emphasizing Natalie's "obsession with perfection," blurring the line between film and reality, making it seem as if she performed all the ballet scenes herself, thus impressing the audience with her acting prowess.

However, the truth known to professionals was that mastering ballet required years of dedicated practice, and seven months were insufficient. Natalie's time spent getting in shape was mainly to match the body type of her dance double, ensuring consistent shots during filming. The high-difficulty moves were performed by professional dance doubles, while Natalie focused on acting and poses.

It was foreseeable that professionals would question Natalie's ballet proficiency. To counter this, the crew needed to ensure the dance doubles remained silent and that all crew members supported Natalie to ensure smooth awards season promotions.

If it were revealed that most of Natalie's ballet scenes were performed by doubles, it wouldn't just be a matter of deception but would also undermine the PR strategy, leading to unpredictable consequences.

Benjamin Millepied, the choreographer of "Black Swan," was responsible for all ballet choreography and served as the professional advisor overseeing all dancers and doubles. His testimony was crucial to convincingly affirm Natalie's "expertise."

However, sparks flew between Natalie and Benjamin during filming, leading to a romantic relationship. If the media discovered this, Benjamin's testimony would lose credibility, jeopardizing the PR strategy. Although it wouldn't be catastrophic if discovered, it was a risk best avoided.

Therefore, Natalie wasn't dodging paparazzi per se but rather avoiding them discovering her relationship with Benjamin. According to the plan, they were to meet at the ticket counter fifteen minutes ago and then enter the cinema together, ensuring no paparazzi would find out—but Benjamin was late, and things started going wrong from there.

"Are you on a date?"

When Natalie heard this question, her first thought was to go along with it. If she admitted she was dating this… stranger beside her, she could shift the media's focus and muddle the situation.

"Yes." She gave a definitive answer.

But as soon as she said it, Natalie realized she had made a mistake. This man was clearly not a gentleman. If he denied it, it would be embarrassing. Moreover, she didn't know anything about him. Would he cooperate with the act? Would he be willing to pretend to date her for a while? How would Benjamin feel? How would Fox

Searchlight handle this, and what would his agent say? If he took advantage of her fame to create news, would she be shooting herself in the foot?

Sharp as she was, Natalie immediately sensed she had made a mistake. Recently, her hormones seemed off balance, and just yesterday she had flown from Venice to Toronto, causing jet lag that dulled her focus and impaired her judgment.

Feeling the weight of the gazes on her shoulders, Natalie flashed a bright smile. "If you consider talking about films with a friend at a film festival a date, then yes, we're on a date." Though a bit forced, she managed to turn the situation around, giving herself room to maneuver.

Renly raised an eyebrow slightly. He didn't know what Natalie was plotting, but from the bits of conversation, it was clear she was calculating something and he was merely a pawn. However, he had no intention of playing along.

Renly gave Natalie a meaningful look. This Harvard-educated actress was truly living up to her reputation. "Renly, is that true?" Cornell evidently didn't believe it and threw the question back to Renly.

Natalie looked up at Renly, a hint of warning in her eyes, which made Renly chuckle. "When it comes to such matters, we should always respect a lady's word, shouldn't we?" His gentlemanly response was flawless; yet his teasing tone and mocking gaze made people ponder the hidden meaning behind his words.

Before Gavin and Cornell could mull over it, a call came from nearby, "Natalie? What are you doing here? I've been looking for you for a long time!"

Everyone turned to see a tall, elegant man jogging over, looking worried and out of breath. His eyes were fixed solely on Natalie, shining with concern, and he eagerly explained, "I was waiting at another ticket counter and didn't see you. Then I was told there are four ticket counters here." His lightly accented English was charming and graceful.

Now the situation was awkward.

Natalie signaled frantically to Benjamin, who was about to give her a big hug. In a rush, she shouted, "Benjamin!" This managed to halt his steps. "Sorry, I ran into two reporter friends here, so I lost track of time."

Her simple words carried enough information for Benjamin to catch on, and he lowered his arms. Natalie turned to the two reporters, catching sight of the stranger beside her, ready to explain, when she heard the stranger's polite voice, "I'm sorry, I must leave now. I'm planning to watch 'The Illusionist,' and it's about to start."

His courteous voice was like a cello resonating gently, but the underlying implication made Natalie's eyelid twitch. Then she heard the man say, "I hope you two have a pleasant afternoon." Damn him! Natalie ground her teeth. What was he hinting at? He was clearly giving the reporters something to speculate about, completely disrupting the plan.

Gavin's pupils narrowed slightly. Renly's words seemed perfectly innocuous, mere social niceties, but the tone and timing were indeed intriguing—first refusing to answer the dating question, leaving room for speculation, and then leaving just as this supposedly French man appeared, making the excuse flawlessly but with suspicious timing.

What was Renly hinting at?

Natalie watched the stranger walk away, without hesitation, and ground her teeth. She wanted to call after him but realized she didn't know his name. Her words stalled abruptly, almost biting her tongue, "Enjoy your afternoon." In a flash, Natalie regained her composure and smiled at the two reporters, "He's always like that, passionately into films. Nothing can stop him. Our crew is gathering later to watch a movie together, and I wanted to invite him, but it's clear now he won't be joining us."

Her humorous, clever explanation smoothly covered for Benjamin's appearance. She had managed to stabilize the situation, if not perfectly, at least without further escalation.

Something was off. Gavin felt every pore on his body screaming that there was a secret here. Especially with Renly's final tone and reaction, something was definitely wrong. It might seem like he was overthinking, but his intuition insisted otherwise.

"Are the 'Black Swan' crew watching a movie together today?" Gavin raised his voice, curiously asking, "What movie is it? Must be something special for the whole crew to come out together."

Natalie felt things getting more troublesome. That damned man was a disaster!

Renly walked straight to the ticket counter. He hadn't lied; he indeed planned to watch "The Illusionist."

As for Natalie, in his previous life, Renly didn't remember the exact timeline, but Natalie's pregnancy news was well-known, and the child's father was Benjamin, with whom she later got engaged. From the clues earlier, it was clear Natalie didn't want the reporters to find out about her relationship with Benjamin. As an outsider, Renly lacked enough information to know more, but he wasn't interested or curious. His final dig at the situation was merely a reciprocal move.

Checking the time, he saw there was a screening in five minutes. Surprisingly, tickets were still available—a rarity at a film festival. Renly bought his ticket and headed into the theater, leaving the unexpected encounter behind.

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200 powerstones - 1 bonus chapter