Seeing the dimming look in his eyes, Laila knew she hadn't said those things to discourage him.
So, she deliberately reached out to ruffle his hair hard, wearing a hate-iron-for-not-becoming-steel expression as she said, "You're not even thirty yet, and your memory's already going? Do I need to remind you that before this, you helped my movie in the role of action director, designing fight choreography for Black Widow?"
She secretly gave herself a mental thumbs-up. If she hadn't anticipated a situation like this and let him dabble in other areas ahead of time, who knew which dead end he might have trapped himself in this time?
Well, truthfully, it wasn't that she'd predicted this long ago. She simply believed in his abilities. He shouldn't be confined to the "city" of acting alone—he ought to lead his troops to capture other territories as well.
Looking at it now, she'd been absolutely right—and clever too. With that past work as action director under his belt, how could he deny his abilities?
Sure enough, her words swept away the shadow in his heart. That's right! He could help her in other ways, too! First as an action director, and perhaps in even more areas in the future!
"I get it now. I wasn't thinking broadly enough before." He lowered his head a little guiltily.
Laila smiled and tapped a finger against his forehead. "It's not that you weren't thinking enough—it's that you were overthinking. You need to see yourself. You're not inferior to anyone. Leslie Cheung's acting is indeed excellent, but how far behind can you be? Don't forget—you're the youngest Best Actor in Oscar history. Isn't that enough to give you confidence?"
Roy finally broke into a smile. "You're right. His excellence is his own, but there's no way I'm losing to him!"
"That's the spirit!" Laila gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Alright, chin up. Go look over the script for tomorrow's shoot. I'm going to cut together a teaser trailer, and when it's done, you're going to be my very first trailer critic!"
"Leave it to me!" Roy stood up at once and trotted off to read the script.
Only after watching him walk away did Laila exhale a long breath.
She had known him for ten years, from a slightly roguish, green young man to someone voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by several fashion magazines. You could say she had watched him grow step by step.
Aside from the troublemaking in the early years, the more mature version of him hadn't given her any messes to clean up in a long time. Instead, his unbelievable network of connections had helped her countless times, and his very presence had become the anchor of her life—her stabilizing force.
It was a feeling she could never have imagined when they first met. Perhaps because he had been mature for so long, she had even forgotten those little flaws he used to have. But today reminded her—no matter how mature a man becomes, there's still a "little princess" tucked away in his heart. Every so often, he needs kisses, hugs, and to be lifted high in the air, just so he doesn't sulk from feeling neglected.
Laila chuckled to herself. No wonder she had heard married women with kids say they were raising two children—one the baby, and one the baby's father. Roy was the same—hit by a little setback and straight into a spiral, even playing at being insecure.
It seemed that having a strong rival truly was the best way to make someone stronger. In the past, after winning his Oscar, would he have felt this kind of drive to "show up" a competitor in terms of acting?
She was growing more and more eager for the filming ahead. What kind of fierce chemistry would they spark on set?
In high spirits, Laila began organizing the footage they had shot and the finished special effects shots. She was going to cut a teaser trailer—partly to stir up the market, lest her long stay on the island make people forget about her and her film.
She knew plenty of people were waiting to see her stumble, ready to mock her for the "foolish" ambition of challenging the highest-grossing film in history. She was sure that once the teaser dropped, many would analyze it frame by frame, hunting for weaknesses to keep badmouthing her and her work.
But that was fine—negative buzz was still buzz. She could plant comments through hired posters to subtly boost her image and heat, and if her detractors weren't harsh enough, she'd even "blacken" herself a little for extra fuel.
First, get slammed. Then, stage a triumphant comeback. Wasn't that exactly the kind of story people loved?
So, a few days later, the Avengers teaser quietly went live on the official website.
Well, not so quietly—because right after uploading it, Laila posted a link on her Facebook page with a simple caption: "The trailer you've been waiting for."
Just those few words—without even naming the movie—were enough to nearly crash the official site's servers within minutes.
Laila's editing skills for films were impeccable, and her knack for cutting trailers was even sharper. She knew exactly how to avoid spoilers while using the flashiest edits to hook viewers so deeply they couldn't pull themselves out.
Excited fans opened the video, and the very first shots showed the assembly of the superheroes. As the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, and others appeared, superhero fans screamed in delight like they'd just mainlined pure adrenaline. Loving comics didn't mean loving just one hero—most people had several favorites, sometimes more.
Being chosen as core members of the Avengers out of thousands of heroes meant these few had the highest popularity. Even Iron Man, who had once hovered on the edge of the A-list, had built a huge fan base thanks to a few blockbuster films.
With this group assembled, how could any superhero fan resist the draw of the movie?
"Haha, they're all my favorites! This is going to be the coolest movie ever!"
"My favorite Cap is here! Still as handsome as ever—I'm watching this for him, no question!"
"Iron Man is as cool as always—I love his armor so much."
"Scarlett is smoking hot—but who's that other guy?"
"Is that Hawkeye? I think I see a quiver on his back."
The first few seconds alone had fans buzzing with excitement. But when the flying aircraft carrier rose from the ocean, everyone who saw it completely lost their minds.