the two-faced Adopted Girl Who Melted CEO's Ice-Cold Heart-Chapter 799: Icing on the Cake
In the new film, there’s a young female role. Delphine didn’t want to overcomplicate things, so she directly asked Chloe Winston if she’d be willing to take the part. On one hand, she hoped to cultivate Chloe’s talent, and on the other, Chloe’s acting skills were more than sufficient—the visuals would just be the cherry on top.
Chloe was flat broke at the moment. She was so thrilled that she nearly jumped with joy. Without even looking at the script, she nodded repeatedly and clung to Delphine, acting cute: "Delphine, I have just one request—pay me in cash."
When she had fled, Constantine Stewart had locked her ID in a safe, not to mention her bank cards. Any card she managed to get was frozen almost immediately. If Constantine caught wind of her whereabouts in the South Seas because of a card transaction, he might just package her up and send her back to the Imperial City in no time.
Delphine was amused by her antics. She nodded with a smile and said, "Alright, I’ll make sure Kyla Zamora pays you directly in cash."
With one lead role locked down, there were still six more principal roles to cast. Delphine carefully sifted through seasoned actors one by one, extending olive branches and inviting them to join her new film. At the same time, she sent a message to Lucian Bates, the assistant director, asking him to come to the South Seas. This film’s setting was on a luxury yacht, and given the maritime backdrop, shooting naturally had to take place in the South Seas.
Kyla brought back news in the afternoon. The film rights were owned by a newly established production company. That company refused to sell the rights and instead wanted to invest in the movie, with Delphine as the director.
"They don’t seem short on money. They’re unwilling to sell the rights and want to invest, saying they’re impressed by your talent as a director and eager to collaborate with you. Delphine, do you think we should work with them or look for another script?" Kyla explained after negotiating with them for quite some time and seeing their firm stance, then sought Delphine’s opinion.
Such collaborations were quite common in the film industry—investors, rights holders, and even actors participating as stakeholders were all usual occurrences, creating a rather complex dynamic.
"Finding another script might not be as fitting as this one," Delphine said with a furrowed brow.
"How about we work with them? The studio’s current funds are all profits from the last movie. Without an investor for this project, it might be a bit tough to shoulder everything ourselves," Kyla suggested pragmatically.
Delphine nodded and said, "Let them know—we’ll buy the film rights, and they can participate in the production as investors instead."
Kyla quickly made the call and haggled for half an hour before the other party finally relented.
Kyla hung up the phone and grinned. "They agreed. The investors are putting in a hundred million, but they insist on placing their people in the crew to oversee the filming."
"That much investment?" Delphine raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. But then again, more money in filmmaking was always better, so she didn’t mind and simply nodded in approval.
With the film’s matters settled, Kyla took charge of signing the contract with them and completing all the necessary formalities. Afterward, she promptly began making official announcements.
It had been nearly five months since Delphine’s debut film became a blockbuster hit. Meanwhile, the Leclair Family in the South Seas was currently under the public spotlight. Ignatius Leclair, the Crown Prince, who had monopolized the aristocratic circles in the South Seas for almost a decade, had stepped away from the family’s affairs. Rumors swirled that his wife, Delphine, had started working on her second film, which instantly became a hot topic.
Delphine was engrossed in researching filmmaking techniques and buried herself in work, paying little attention to Ignatius Leclair’s recent habit of leaving early and returning late, seemingly tied up with something important.
A couple of days passed, and everything was ready except for one key element—an essential luxury yacht for shooting remained unavailable. Filming at sea was already a challenging endeavor, and this roadblock left Delphine so worried that she couldn’t even eat properly.
That evening, Ignatius returned from his study to find her sprawled on the bed, lost in thought. A faint smirk tugged at his lips as he said in a low, teasing voice, "I hear Mrs. Leclair is looking for a luxury yacht?"
