Chapter 3: A Changed Script
He’s wearing a simple black shirt, sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows, showing off strong forearms. There’s a hint of coldness in his eyes, but also a familiar gentleness.
My heart skips a beat—
That’s Matthew Carter.
Matthew in his youth.
Nearby, a few girls whisper:
"Director Carter is so handsome."
"He could make it on his looks alone, but insists on relying on talent in this industry."
I can’t help but chuckle.
In a few years, he’ll become a scruffy middle-aged guy—never washes his face or combs his hair, always with stubble, holed up in the editing suite all day.
But what I’ve always loved about Matthew was never his looks.
At this point, Matthew has just won a new director’s award. It wasn’t a major award, but to us film students, he’s already a big deal.
"Who do you think Director Carter will choose?"
"Man, I totally blew it. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Hope I can at least get a small supporting role."
Everyone around me is visibly nervous, but I alone hold my head high, heart thudding, but my smile feels real this time—like I already know how the story ends.
The more they praise him, the more satisfied I feel.
—Such an outstanding man, from the very beginning, only had me, Natalie Rivers, in his eyes.
He loved me all his life, cherished me all his life, and even at the end, confessed to me.
I look up, my gaze locked on Matthew.
Maybe it’s my imagination, but his gaze seems to fall on me too.
I smile at him.
But the next second, Matthew’s gaze calmly shifts away.
"We’ve already chosen the female lead for 'Spring Song.'"
He picks up his notebook, his voice low and steady:
"Julia Harper."
Everyone’s eyes turn to a quiet girl in the corner.
She widens her eyes in surprise, her face blushing shyly, like a timid little deer.
And I’m stunned.
...Why?
Why didn’t Matthew choose me like in the last life?
What happened?
The sound of a director’s chair scraping against the floor jolts me out of my reverie. The soft click of Matthew’s pen is louder than a gunshot in the tense silence.