After Landon finished breakfast, he drove the ford explorer to pick up Zoe and headed to the set of 24 hours together.
The atmosphere inside the car was a bit more somber than usual.
Zoe sat quietly in the passenger seat, not chattering away as she usually did. She only occasionally stole a quick glance at Landon, her eyes complex, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Landon focused on the road conditions, but he could sense Zoe's abnormality.
He knew the reason but couldn't explain it, nor did he want to.
Some things only get messier the more you try to explain them; remaining silent was perhaps the only choice for now.
As filming neared its end, Landon's remaining scenes in 24 hours were few.
According to the shooting schedule, he would complete all of Tony Almeida's shots this week.
In the final few days of the schedule, most were scenes opposite Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer) or part of the ensemble scenes in the CTU Command Center background.
The workload was gradually easing, but the importance of each scene had not diminished, especially those that determined the character's ultimate fate and left suspense.
By contrast, although Kim Bauer, played by Elisha Cuthbert, had fewer total scenes than Landon's Tony Almeida,
her scenes were more scattered, interspersed throughout key points of the entire season. Therefore, her wrap date would actually be slightly later than Landon's.
Perhaps precisely because she realized Landon was about to leave the crew, the sense of urgency Elisha displayed grew day by day.
She was no longer satisfied with merely accompanying and observing on set; the longing and possessiveness in her eyes became more overt and urgent.
She was like a child trying to grab shifting sand; knowing it was hard to hold onto, she still clenched her fist tightly.
Landon could understand this anxiety.
For two young actors whose careers had just started, once this project ended and they each dove into new streams of work, the chances of staying in the same crew for such a long time and in such close proximity again were slim to none.
Of course, 24 hours might have a second season, and theoretically, both Tony and Kim could return.
But the reality of the entertainment industry is often crueler than a script.
If one party's status and public recognition suddenly soared, the possibility of coming back to play a supporting role in a TV series would be greatly reduced, whether from the perspective of commercial value or career planning.
Of course, Elisha didn't know if Landon would skyrocket within a year or two, but she still felt the cruelty of the entertainment circle.
Therefore, this final time spent together was, to her, more like a countdown to a farewell carnival, filled with tragedy and indulgence.
Landon was not cold-hearted. Elisha's youthful vitality, her undisguised admiration, and that wholehearted devotion held a great attraction for him.
Especially after experiencing Cameron Diaz's seduction that morning, a certain unappeased restlessness lingered faintly within his body.
But at this moment, the vast majority of his mind was already occupied by the huge, pending opportunity of the fast and the furious.
He knew what it would mean if he successfully landed the role of Brian OConner.
That wasn't just a male lead in a movie; it was a stepping stone to the inner circle of mainstream Hollywood commercial films, a huge leap in exposure, industry recognition, and subsequent resources.
Although the road from newcomer to big star still required time and the accumulation of more works, the fast and the furious undoubtedly provided a starting point that could be called "reaching the sky in a single step."
By comparison, while A Beautiful Mind was a recognized Oscar-caliber masterpiece, if the movie succeeded, people would only attribute that success to Russell Crowe's successful portrayal of the mathematician John Nash.
And the Charles Herman that Landon played in the film was, in the end, just a schizophrenic hallucination of the mathematician John Nash, with only a certain amount of room for performance.
The important supporting role he played could gain critical acclaim and industry attention, but it would be difficult to directly translate that into the superstar influence of the mass market.
Therefore, when Elisha stuck to him like a shadow again today, looking at him with those enticing eyes, Landon's thoughts were complex.
On one hand, he enjoyed the feeling of being intensely needed, and his body's memory also recalled the pleasure of those intimate moments;
on the other hand, his reason and greater ambition were being pulled by the distant sound of racing engines and the negotiation strategies Tracy had stayed up all night in the study to deduce.
The crew members had already become accustomed to the closeness of these two young actors.
Perhaps it was the outstanding performance of the two that won respect, and it also made the crew tolerant of them being a pair. Who hasn't been young?
As long as it didn't affect the filming progress, everyone offered a kind smile or turned a blind eye.
In this high-pressure and interpersonally complex industry, a set romance, as long as it didn't turn ugly, was often seen as an ordinary interlude during filming.
However, there was one person who couldn't view it as easily as the others. That was Zoe.
As Landon's assistant and Makeup Artist, she was perhaps the person most helpless about this relationship, other than the parties involved.
On one hand, she knew about the relationship between Landon and Rachel, and she also vaguely sensed the unusual relationship between Tracy and Landon.
On the other hand, seeing Elisha get close to Landon every day without any scruples, Zoe was filled with unease and a sense of betrayal.
She felt that Landon was doing wrong by Tracy and Rachel, yet she herself couldn't tell Tracy.
Several times she wanted to speak up to remind him, or even just give a hint, but the words died in her throat.
Her direct boss was Landon. Her duty was to assist his work, ensure his schedule, and maintain his image, not to interfere in his private life.
What's more, Tracy had never given any instructions or hints regarding this matter. If she acted rashly, she might end up pleasing no one.
Of course, whether she had her own designs on Landon deep in her heart was something only she knew.
Zora felt that she was really hurt.
She tasted all the bitterness, but didn't get a bit of the sweetness.
This emotion reached a small peak around noon.
During the lunch break, the crew provided meals, and actors usually ate in the rest area or trailers.
Zoe picked up the lunch box for Landon as usual, but saw no sign of him or Elisha.
She looked around and didn't see anyone.
An hour later, the two of them walked out one after the other from the direction of a warehouse where idle props were stored.
Elisha's face wore a faint flush from exercise, her eyes were moist, and her steps were slightly languid, but her whole being radiated a glow of being fully nourished, even her hair seemed to have a sheen.
When she saw Zoe, she even said hello in an extremely good mood, her smile sickly sweet.
Landon appeared much calmer, only nodding to Zoe, his face showing little emotion.
Zoe's heart instantly sank, followed by a surge of intense emotion mixed with disdain and bitterness.
She could almost guess what had happened in that missing hour.
"This pair of dogs!" she cursed fiercely in her heart, but she had to maintain a calm expression on her face.