Model to Holywood

Two days later, the incident of blood at Britney's door still made it to the newspapers.

Some reports claimed Britney was injured during her concert rehearsal, with severe wounds that might affect her tour. Others said she attempted suicide after a breakup and was rushed to the hospital by her assistant. There were also rumors of a robbery at her mansion—fake news was flying everywhere.

However, after a press conference from the Beverly Police Department, the rumors gradually died down.

But within the paparazzi circles, a widespread rumor remained: A paparazzo from New York entered Britney's mansion and never came out again. It was said that the brave soul had been devoured by Britney's dogs, leaving no trace of him behind.

"Luca, I saw a story yesterday saying Britney was hurt by some scumbag, got depressed, and tried to kill herself. Her assistant saved her just in time. Is that scumbag you?" 

On set at the Art Academy, during a filming break, Lindsay Lohan came over and asked.

Luca put down his book and glanced at her indifferently.

"What do you think?"

"It's you, isn't it? Your public girlfriend is Lima, but you're also rumored to be Britney's boyfriend. You're playing both sides—total scumbag behavior. Am I wrong?" 

Lindsay Lohan tilted her head and blinked, trying to read his expression.

Luca smirked slightly. He and Britney had been keeping their relationship so private that the paparazzi couldn't catch anything. This led some media to speculate they had broken up—otherwise, how had he been in LA for so long without ever being seen with her in public? 

Taking advantage of the bloody incident, some papers hinted that Britney had been hurt by him, leading to her slashing her wrists in a suicide attempt.

As a result, he suddenly gained a bunch of new haters.

"You know I'm a bad guy, yet you're still getting this close. Want to know what a scumbag smells like?"

Luca tapped her forehead with his book.

"I don't need to smell it to know."

"What do I smell like, then?"

"Like that tofu from the other day!" 

Lindsay wrinkled her nose in mock disgust.

Luca chuckled softly and reopened his book.

"What are you reading?"

She grabbed the book and glanced at the cover. "Java Programming Basics? Why are you reading a computer science book?"

"To become a programmer. Lots of people who study programming these days are becoming billionaires. I want to learn from their path to success."

"Looks complicated. Can you even understand it?"

"Nope."

"Haha! Then what were you doing staring so intently at it? Pretending?"

Lindsay smirked, looking like she deserved a good smack.

Luca shrugged. "Don't you think I look charming when I'm reading?"

"Charming?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes so hard she nearly gagged.

"So, your purpose for reading is to use this method to attract girls?"

Lindsay raised an eyebrow.

"Well… you see, it worked. You came over, didn't you?"

"Ugh, no way!" 

Lindsay turned and started walking away, but after a few steps, she said, "Amanda was right, you are a bad boy!"

Luca grinned, crossing his legs and going back to reading *Java Programming Basics*.

A while back, he had advised Lima to switch to game development. Then he thought of the old saying: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." 

If he found it difficult himself, how could he push Lima to do it? 

After reflecting, he ordered a few textbooks on game design online and planned to study them thoroughly. Once he got the hang of it, he could involve Lima in the process.

But after reading the book, he realized he had oversimplified game programming. He could understand the words on the page—some parts he could even memorize—but truly grasping the concepts was incredibly difficult.

Scratching his head, he noticed two hairs falling onto the page. Alarmed, he wondered if this was the curse of programmers. Did becoming a programmer require the sacrifice of a full head of hair?

"Is the price too high?" 

Luca touched his handsome face, silently wondering if the trade-off was worth it.

"Luca, the set is ready!" 

Tony came over to remind him.

"Got it!" 

Luca pulled at his hair, relieved when none came out.

"Luca, in this scene, you're supposed to perform some fancy soccer tricks, then do a bicycle kick to score, which catches Lindsay's attention. Can you pull that off?" 

Director Mark explained.

"No problem!" 

Luca juggled the soccer ball a few times.

In the script, the male lead, Aaron, is portrayed as handsome and skilled in both soccer and football.

However, in the original movie, Aaron's soccer scenes were pretty basic—just him fumbling around. There were no fancy moves or cool tricks like a bicycle kick.

Now that Luca was in the role, the director added these elements to the scene.

Luca was pleased. Without these scenes, Aaron's character would have been just a pretty face, making the role flat and lacking depth. Adding these moments would flesh out the character and make him more memorable. 

"Director Mark, how long is this scene supposed to be?" 

"Thirty seconds." 

Mark thought for a moment. "If you put on an even better show, maybe forty seconds."

"Okay, thanks, Mark!" 

Forty seconds was more than enough. Sometimes, just one second of brilliance could leave a lasting impression.

As Mark went back to preparations, Luca began warming up, jogging two laps around the field and doing a few yoga stretches on the grass.

"Luca, Ed warned me to watch out for your back. Don't push yourself with any high-risk moves," Tony said hesitantly.

"Don't worry. My back's fine now!" 

Luca patted Tony on the shoulder and bounced on the spot.

"Mark, can I arrange the placement of the players for this scene?"

Luca hesitated when he saw how the extras were positioned on the field.

"They're just extras; most don't really know how to play soccer, so they might not be able to keep up with you," Mark replied with a frown.

"It's fine. My request isn't difficult."

"Alright then, how about you serve as the stunt coordinator for this scene?"

"Thanks for trusting me, director!" 

Luca thanked him and stepped onto the field.

This wasn't a standard soccer field—it was only half the size.

There were eight extras on the field, all wearing a mix of random athletic gear.

*Clap, clap!* Luca clapped his hands. "Hey everyone, I'm Luca Kelly, former lead striker for Brazil's national youth soccer team. I'll be taking over this game, so I'll need your cooperation."

"Brazilian national striker? For real?" 

One of the extras mumbled quietly.

"Of course. His name is Luca Kelly, and he was teammates with Kaká. They even showed one of his matches on TV recently."

"Yeah, I saw that too! His bicycle kick was insane. I can't believe we get to play with him!"

"Wait, he's that good? Why isn't he still playing soccer and becoming a football star?"

"The news said he suffered a serious back injury and couldn't play anymore."

"Yeah, he was even scouted by Real Madrid. He was just one step away from stardom. It's a real shame."

"A shame? Who cares? He's from Brazil, not the U.S. team. If he's injured, it's no big deal, right?"

"True!"

The extras murmured amongst themselves.

Luca ignored the chatter and positioned the extras where he wanted them.

"Alright, everyone, listen up. When the cameras roll, I'm going to dribble past you and take a shot at the goal. I need you all to give it your best and try to stop me."

"Are we supposed to really defend or just pretend?" 

The extra who had dismissed Luca earlier asked with a smirk.

"Defend for real!" 

There was no need to worry about offsides in a scene like this.

"Haha, all eight of us against just you?" 

"That's right. And if you manage to stop me, I'll buy you all drinks. Deal?"

"Deal! You're on!" 

The extra laughed. He was part of the school's soccer team and figured he was pretty good. Five of the other extras were his teammates.

Six of them couldn't stop one guy, especially an injured one? 

Ha! Taking down a former Brazilian national player would make for a great story, wouldn't it?

"Deal!"

(End of chapter)