Ficorpio
Chapter 1
“Cut! Damien Crowe, can you actually do this or not?”
The shout blasting out of the walkie-talkie was loud enough to lift the roof off the set. I tightened my grip on the device until my knuckles went white, staring hard at the rigid figures frozen on the video monitor. It was already the thirty-seventh failed take of the princess-carry shot. Every second we wasted was money bleeding out of the production in scenery, lighting, and manpower.
Our investor was an old friend who had slapped his chest and said the budget was unlimited. But no one’s money grew on trees. If he ever decided to pull out later, I wasn’t about to bankrupt myself covering the loss.
Damien Crowe, the actor being called out, let go all at once. Mia Hart stumbled and nearly sat down on the floor, but Victor Stone reacted fast and caught her before she hit the ground. Damien looked at me with the kind of helplessness people use when they want to sound reasonable without actually taking responsibility.
“Director Bennett, this really isn’t on me. Mia’s too heavy. I honestly can’t carry her.”
“Heavy?” I said, lifting a brow as I stood.
Mia was the female lead I had chosen from more than three hundred auditioning actresses. She had soft, willow-shaped brows, bright almond eyes, and a waist so slim it looked like it could snap in half. At most, she weighed a little over eighty pounds. I reached out and poked the soft flesh on her arm, then glanced at Damien’s own skinny arms, which looked like they barely had any muscle at all.
I let out a quiet laugh. “Damien, are you sure she’s the heavy one, and not that your arms are weaker than chopsticks?”
His face flushed deep red. “Director Bennett, how is that not a personal attack? My fans all know I’m in good shape!”
“In good shape and you still can’t lift an eighty-pound girl?” I tipped my chin toward Victor. “Ben, show him again. Slow motion. Let some actors who are ‘in good shape’ see what it looks like.”
Ben Carter agreed at once. He bent, scooped Mia under the knees, stood up in one smooth motion, and even turned in a circle while holding her. He didn’t even start sweating.
Damien’s eyelid twitched as he watched, but he still refused to back down. “The angle’s different. Let me try again.”
The result was the same. The moment he got his hands under Mia’s knees, he lurched. By the third time he let go, Mia’s back nearly slammed into the prop rack. I finally lost my patience, snatched the script out of his hand, and threw it to the floor.
“Move.”
I smiled at Mia first. Under her stunned gaze, I bent down, slid my left arm around her waist, supported her knees with my right arm, and drove upward with my core. She came off the ground effortlessly.
Chapter 2
Mia gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck. I even carried her in a slow circle on purpose, her skirt brushing the floor and kicking up a little dust. Then I looked at Damien, who was staring at us like he’d seen something impossible, and said coolly, “What’s so hard about this? Weakling.”
The set went dead silent for two seconds.
Then a burst of suppressed laughter broke out.
Damien’s face went from red to green to black. His fists clenched, and he turned on his heel. “Claire Bennett, just you wait!”
I set Mia down gently and patted her back. “Don’t be scared. This isn’t your fault.”
Mia’s cheeks were bright red. She twisted the hem of her dress and said softly, “Director Bennett, maybe… maybe we should use a stunt double or a box to raise me up instead? Don’t make it hard for Mr. Crowe.”
“Make it hard for him?” I gave a cold laugh. “He’s collecting a six-figure paycheck and can’t even manage a basic action move. And he still has the nerve to say he’s being put on the spot?”
Damien was a hot-and-cold newcomer shoved in by the investors. He had fans, but his skill was questionable at best. I had objected when the contract was signed, but the investors kept saying he brought traffic, so I had forced myself to agree. I had not expected to end up with this kind of trouble.
By the time we wrapped for the day, Nora Blake had already sent me a screenshot. The hashtag #ClaireBennettWeakling was sitting at number three on the trending topics list, and the comments inside were all from Damien’s fans, full of abuse.
[What kind of toxic director is she? Our boy is clearly the best!] [Claire Bennett is already drowning in scandal. How does she have the nerve to talk about anyone else? Did she forget the time she drove out a veteran actor?] [Mia Hart isn’t any better. She’s obviously pretending to be fragile for sympathy. She just wants to ride our boy’s popularity!] [Poor baby. Facing a director with no manners and a scheming girl like that, and he still put up with it this long. He really is too nice!]
I skimmed through it once and didn’t take it seriously. I’d been in the industry for five years, working my way up from assistant director to independent filmmaker. The labels “sharp-tongued,” “difficult,” and “full of scandals” had been stuck to me for ages.
I cast for fit, not for hype. When I directed, I demanded results. I didn’t care if you were a movie star or a newcomer; if you missed the mark, I still tore into you. I had offended plenty of people. A little online abuse meant nothing to me.
Mia, on the other hand, quietly sent me a message on the messaging app: [Director Bennett, I’m sorry. It’s all because of me.]
Chapter 3
I replied: [It has nothing to do with you. Focus on filming. If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up.]
I didn’t expect Damien to post a long, pointed statement online that same night. He attached a photo of himself working out and wrote in a self-righteous tone:
[As an actor, I’ve always believed the work itself is what matters most. Some people would do better to spend less time trying to please the director and more time improving their acting. Some directors would do better to stop attacking people personally for attention and learn how to respect others. Thanks to my fans for the support. I’ll keep working hard and won’t let everyone down.]
Good. One post and he managed to insult both me and Mia.
Nora practically exploded with anger. “Director Bennett, Damien Crowe is way out of line! We can’t just let this go!”
My fingers tapped lightly against the desk. A smile slowly curved my lips. “Of course we can’t.”
I reposted his Weibo immediately and added a caption: [Wishing you a bright future. The contract termination agreement has been sent to your email @DamienCrowe]
The moment that went up, the entire internet blew apart.
Damien’s fans went even crazier. They cursed at me, demanded that I pay them for emotional damages, and some of them even dug up my private number and started harassing me in the middle of the night.
Mia was frightened out of her mind. She spent every day huddled in a corner, crying in secret, and started starving herself to lose weight. She was already thin, and within a few days her cheeks had hollowed out and dark circles had formed under her eyes. She barely had the strength to work when we filmed.
I looked at the boxed lunch in front of her, nearly untouched, then shoved a cup of hot milk tea into her hands.
“You have to drink this. If you keep starving yourself, you won’t even be able to finish the scenes.”
Mia’s eyes were red. “Director Bennett… if I lose more weight, will Mr. Crowe be able to carry me?”
“It has nothing to do with your weight.” I reached out and rubbed her head. “He’s the problem. Don’t worry. I’ll handle this. I won’t let you be wronged.”
That night, I had the editing team cut together a raw footage clip and post it online.
In the video, Damien kept shoving Mia away with obvious disgust, muttering things like, “Too heavy,” and “So annoying,” while Ben carried her with ease. Then there was the shot of me carrying her one-handed and turning in place, which made the contrast even more brutal.
I also posted the security footage of Damien’s agent coming to extort me. In the video, the man was practically spitting as he shouted, “Claire Bennett, apologize to Damien and pay us five million in emotional damages. That’ll be the end of it. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you lose everything!”
The moment the video went live, public opinion flipped overnight.