Chapter 6: Oh No, I've Been Set Up by Capital
"Then I'll see you next time, Director Jesse?"
"Yes, see you next time, Isa."
"Have a safe trip."
"Oh~ Thank you~ I hope you also happily receive a callback invitation."
Leavesden Film Studios is actually only about 20 miles from Mayfair, a drive of at most half an hour.
If there's no traffic.
After bidding farewell to Director Jesse, who personally saw her off, Isabella first glanced at the garage before entering the house. There was no car, which meant her mother hadn't returned. After entering, she looked at the living room clock; it was still five minutes before one in the afternoon.
"Oh~ It seems I really am a master of time management~"
This fact made Isabella very pleased. "Catherine, do you remember what I said when we left? To be safe, we needed to finish everything before three in the afternoon. Now there are still two hours until three, aren't I fast?"
"Yeah…"
The sound of agreement made the little girl's eyes crinkle with a smile.
She took off her satchel, tossed it onto the sofa, and skipped into the dining room with light steps.
Uncovering the common silver cloche, her mother's prepared lavish lunch appeared before her.
Uh…
Well, although her mother's food looked good, it definitely looked like a dry lunch.
But that wasn't important. In Isabella's eyes, even a dry lunch was delicious at this moment. "Catherine, although passing the initial audition is worth celebrating, considering that opening champagne halfway through is prone to disaster, shall we just eat sandwiches at home for lunch?"
"Also, I'm very grateful for your help, and I really want to treat you to a big meal, but since Mom doesn't know what we've been up to, let's postpone going out to eat? Don't worry, I won't forget."
Previously, Isabella had indeed appeared calm and composed, but now?
Oh! My! God!
She had interviewed for Hermione Granger today!
When J.K. Rowling's good friend Susie was delighted by her appearance, and the casting Director Jesse was very satisfied with her performance, if she said she wasn't excited at all, that would be showing off.
Outside, she couldn't show it, because Xiao Hai Li was a more composed person. Yes, she admitted that to get the role and change her fate, she had been acting during her interactions outside. But at home, it was all family, so why would she still act then?
To put it bluntly, at this moment, if she didn't show off a little, she'd feel itchy all over!
And just as Isabella was happily dividing the lunch, preparing to wash her hands and eat… Oh dear, she hadn't washed her hands after coming home before sitting at the table, that wasn't hygienic at all… She suddenly realized that her older sister hadn't said much since entering the house?
That wasn't like her! Before, when she caught a hint, she would always shout excitedly!
Feeling strange, Isabella looked up, and the figure standing by the dining table like a block of wood made her blink.
"Catherine? What's wrong with you?"
Their eyes met, and after a few seconds of silence, Catherine suddenly said, "I suddenly feel like you're the older sister."
"What?"
"You're so outstanding."
…
After coming to this world, Isabella found that the original owner's family atmosphere was quite good.
If she had to describe it, they were truly a loving family.
Her father, Eric, seemed somewhat utilitarian, but his motivation was to make life better and better; her mother, Vivian, seemed like a noble lady from a wealthy family, but when it came to raising children, she always did it herself.
To be honest, living in such an environment, it would be very difficult for Catherine and Isabella to go astray.
And precisely because there were no conflicts at home, the sisters' relationship had always been good, the kind where they talked about everything…
"Isa, I've always thought that since I'm older than you, I must know more than you."
Catherine looked at her sister and said with some emotion, "So before, when I found that you didn't seem to want to help Mom share the burden, I wanted to talk to you clearly. Then, starting yesterday, I realized that age doesn't seem to represent everything."
"Your perspective on the family is a direction I had never considered. Today, your evaluation of Hermione and Harry is a question I had never thought about… But… we watched Harry Potter together…"
At this point, Catherine suddenly stopped.
After looking at her younger sister for a while, she lowered her head, a little dejected. "On the way back, you and Director Jesse chatted very happily. I thought about it, and if I were you, I probably couldn't be so relaxed."
"You said…"
"Am I a bit of a failure?"
Oh~
Isabella smiled.
The family atmosphere of the original owner was indeed good, but someone without a competitive spirit would be Harry Potter.
The two sisters might not usually fight or argue, but they would still compare who was stronger or weaker.
In the past, Catherine always had the upper hand, but now, she felt the gap.
But this was normal, right?
After all, Isabella had a different soul.
"Catherine."
Isabella came to her sister, pulled her down to sit, and said, "I don't think you need to be too discouraged."
"Why?"
"Because everyone has their strengths, and I just happen to be good at these, aren't I?"
Isabella raised her arm and counted on her fingers, "You can ride a horse, but I can't. You can paint, I can't either. In the past, my best skill was piano, and now, maybe I suddenly became good at communicating with others?"
Catherine thought for a while and found it reasonable.
But soon, she frowned again. "Our teacher did say that communicating with people is also an art, but if this is your specialty, then your specialty has improved too quickly, hasn't it? You weren't like this before."
"Oh~ That's because Dad isn't here anymore, isn't it?"
Isabella said, "When Dad was around, we didn't need to talk much to others, because people would only call us Miss Heywood. But now, we're just Catherine Heywood and Isabella Heywood."
"Before this change, we had to grow up, just like you said yesterday."
"And because you're the older sister, you feel you need to be more composed, so your growth direction might lean towards being quiet?"
"But I'm different. No matter how much I grow, I'm still the youngest daughter of the Heywood family. With you holding down the fort, for me, being composed would be the exception, and being mischievous would be the norm, right? My dear?"
Isabella raised an eyebrow at her sister.
Pfft—
Catherine burst into laughter through her tears.
A girl's heart is like June rain, complex and hard to fathom.
Regarding this, Richie Jen even released a song 'complaining':
'I thought and thought~ I guessed and guessed~ Girls' thoughts~ are truly strange~'
One moment, Catherine was still gloomy, the next, she was happy again.
This, of course, had Isabella's coaxing as a factor, but more importantly, it was her own ability to come to terms with things.
After Catherine's outburst, Isabella's excitement also subsided quite a bit. While comforting her sister, she suddenly realized that her eloquence might be stronger than her peers, but she hadn't acted before, so what would she be like when truly facing the camera?
Who knew?
So…
She still had to work hard.
Just as Isabella was wondering if she needed to find a way to quickly learn acting, after finishing her sandwich and wanting to go back to her room to research, her older sister called out to her again, "Isa, can you come to the studio with me?"
"I can, but… Why?"
"To celebrate you passing the initial audition! We can't tell Mom, but we can commemorate it by painting."
"Oh, no problem."
Before the invention of cameras, people used painting to record scenery, and after cameras were invented, celebrating beautiful moments with painting seemed a bit artistic, but that wasn't important, as long as Catherine was happy.
Accompanying her older sister upstairs, compared to Isabella's music room, her studio was a bit cluttered.
Although there were storage cabinets, easels, canvases, and art supplies were still scattered everywhere. The only thing tidy was the artwork on the walls.
Catherine managed the cleanliness of this room herself; the cleaning company wouldn't set foot in it, so she preferred to do things however was convenient for her.
The sofa was cleared, allowing Isabella to play freely, while Catherine, wearing an apron, sorted through items at her workbench.
"I want to paint an oil painting."
"Ah? You're not going to make me sit here for a month, are you?"
"What are you thinking? You can leave after I finish the base. I won't even wait for the paint to dry here myself."
Oil painting is a method of painting primarily using oil-based pigments. The finished product has rich color expression and a delicate texture, but oil-based paints have a longer drying period, so when you choose natural drying, the creation time will be relatively long.
After confirming the painting she wanted to create, Catherine took out a canvas, previously primed with titanium white, from the material store. She sketched the composition on it, and after about two hours, Isabella, who had fallen asleep with nothing to do, was finally woken up by her older sister.
She got up and looked—
Wow!
She had turned herself into a Sleeping Beauty version of Rose!
Isabella admitted her older sister's skill was good, and the painting was quite beautiful, but…
"Catherine, is this me you've painted?"
After a few more glances, Isabella felt something wasn't quite right.
"Of course! Doesn't it look like you? Or should I get a mirror for you to compare?"
"It looks quite similar, but these whiskers and tail…"
Indeed, the girl in the painting had a few small whiskers and a small tail.
Not only that, but it seemed there were flies around, and that tail was even curled up and wagging.
"Oh, I originally wanted to paint you directly, but I felt there was no highlight, so I didn't know how to start at first. But after you fell asleep, I suddenly realized you were like a Xiao Hai Li. Of course, Hermione also gave me inspiration…"
"Oh~ Are you calling me cute?"
Isabella felt she had grasped her older sister's intention.
Beavers are a symbol of cuteness in Western culture. Uh… that's probably obvious; most people find them cute.
However, Catherine shook her head and said, "No, you're cute when you're quiet, but not when you're rowdy."
"…"
Alright, alright!
So you're saying I'm wild!
Isabella understood the hidden meaning in her older sister's words, and her face fell, unhappy.
Catherine, however, couldn't stop laughing.
"Do you think I'm wrong? Leaving everything else aside, just about today's matter, how are you going to tell Mom?"
Isabella hadn't really thought about this question.
How do you cover all your bases when you sneak out?
Isabella couldn't answer, and the smile on Catherine's face grew wider.
"Xiao Hai Li act without thinking of the consequences. Beavers have the habit of building dams and are architects of nature, but at the same time, they will also sneak into human homes to steal food when they are hungry."
"Oh~ My dear sister, I think this should be your problem to consider, because I won the bet today."
Isabella was too lazy to bother with Catherine. After bringing up their previous bet, she simply slipped away.
If she couldn't think of a good solution, she'd just be an ostrich.
She was just an ordinary person.
Perhaps after sleeping for a while in her older sister's studio, Isabella, feeling refreshed, went online again after returning to her room. She looked up information on acting, and then, "An Actor Prepares" appeared before her.
If her goal was to be the King of Comedy, she would definitely read this book, but she wasn't, so…
She might as well flip through it.
Due to issues like intellectual property protection, books are very expensive in Western countries, but the development of the internet relies on resource sharing. With a simple search on a Yahoo forum, Isabella found various versions posted by an old master.
She downloaded one with good reviews, read a few pages, and then deleted the document.
The text was too obscure; she couldn't understand it at all.
She would look for something else.
She searched around but found nothing.
But time passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, it was evening.
To be fair, when you are concentrating on something, it's hard to notice the passage of time. Isabella was the same, and the reason she suddenly woke up was because her sister came to knock on the door with a serious expression.
"What did you say? Mom isn't back yet?"
Isabella was startled.
"Yes, I just finished a thin coat on the painting, looked up, and realized it was already five o'clock," Catherine said. "I thought Mom was already back and just didn't disturb me because she saw me painting, but then I went downstairs and looked… no one…"
"This shouldn't be. How many theaters did Mom make appointments with? Does it take a whole day?"
Isabella said, "And at this time, any theater should be performing, right? Where would they have time for interviews?"
West End theaters are open every day.
And, most of the time, a theater stages two shows a day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.
So, no matter which theater needed people, their recruitment times were in the morning and at noon.
At the latest, it wouldn't drag on past three in the afternoon.
Therefore, where was their mother?
"Did you call Mom?"
"Uh… I came to find you as soon as I realized Mom might not be back."
Isabella was almost choked by Catherine's words.
"Sister! I might be a little more mature than you, but I'm not Aladdin's lamp!"
"If Mom isn't back, call her! What's the use of telling me in a hurry? Will she appear if I make a wish to you?"
"…"
Catherine thought it made sense.
She hurried downstairs to make a call.
Isabella didn't remain seated either. She followed her older sister downstairs, and just as they were about to dial…
"Click."
The sound of a door opening came from the entryway.
They looked towards the sound.
Oh, Mom was back.
"Mom—where have you been? Why are you only coming back now? I was so worried."
Mom's appearance relieved Catherine, and she went to greet her.
"Didn't Mom say before she left that she had appointments with several theaters today?"
Vivian smiled and hugged her rushing elder daughter, asking in confusion, "You haven't lost your memory, have you?"
"We know you had appointments with several theaters today, but we didn't expect you to be busy until now."
Isabella, who had moved closer, began to explain.
"That's because Lady Luck is smiling," Vivian said.
"Oh~ Mom~ You found a job?" Catherine was very surprised.
"Hmm… I guess so. I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
Vivian kept them in suspense.
But Catherine and Isabella didn't care.
In their eyes, getting Mom to cheer up was the most important thing right now.
And finding a goal and conquering it was the process of cheering up.
"I want to hear the bad news first."
Catherine eagerly played along with her mother.
"Okay, the bad news is I ran to four theaters today, and not a single one wanted me."
Vivian looked at her elder daughter with a smile.
"Ah?"
Catherine was stunned.
No theater wanted Mom?
That meant Mom hadn't found a job?
Then what was the good news she spoke of…
"So?" Catherine was a little confused.
Vivian didn't answer immediately. She looked deeply at her elder daughter, then turned her head to look at her younger daughter nearby.
After staring for a while, making both of them feel a bit uneasy, she finally said, "The good news is, this afternoon, people from Time Warner invited me for two hours of afternoon tea." Vivian curved her lips, smiling at Isabella, "Congratulations, Isa, you passed the preliminary audition for Hermione Granger with the most excellent results…"
Boom—
Isabella and Catherine only felt a thunderclap explode in their ears!
At this moment, both felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
No—
How did Mom know they went to audition for Hermione Granger?
They had only gone to Leavesden this morning!
They had left their own contact information when they left!!
No—
This afternoon, Jesse had driven them back!
Recalling Jesse's blessing as he left, Isabella's face turned pale.
Damn it, I've been set up by capital!