Chapter 19: Commercial

Darryl takes Regina to the set of her commercial, telling her to call him when she gets back, and he'll come pick her up. Then Darryl hurriedly left. Regina really wondered what Darryl's thoughts really were. At times he was rough and cold towards her, scaring and frightening her, at other times he was surprisingly gentle.

Ignoring the entangled thoughts in her head, Regina quickly entered the filming set of the commercial.

Today was the first time Regina received an advertising contract. After four years as an unknown singer, Regina received an advertising contract for the first time in which she starred. Previously, she only acted in a few little-known small commercials, moreover, she could only play the role of a passing crowd.

After Regina's impressive performance at the concert, more people got to know her. Some of her cover songs started going viral online and more people knew about her. Below Regina's videos, there are many comments expressing their love for her.

"I can't believe that a great singer like her doesn't have any personal music. If she releases an album, I'd love to hear it."

"This cover is very vocal, I've studied vocal techniques before, so I have some understanding. Regina must be a talented singer."

"Wow, I met her at a concert a few days ago. She sang backing for Roxana Lynne. Did you guys see the video of her singing 'Love and touch' without music?"

It is not clear who recorded the video of Regina performing at that concert, but thanks to it, Regina suddenly became popular, she also had the opportunity to star in the commercial after four years as an unknown singer.

Because of that, Regina was very excited.

Myrna's mood was even higher than Regina's, she came to the set early and bought coffee for the whole advertising crew. From the director, assistant director to the make-up artist, Myrna greeted them warmly. If Myrna can get on well with them, she is confident that the director will notice Regina and may invite Regina to do more commercials.

It had been a long time since Myrna felt they were so lucky.

When Regina entered, people didn't pay too much attention to her. The staff were all focused on doing their jobs, even the friendly Regina who greeted them didn't mind, fortunately a few nodded to her in lieu of greetings.

Regina knew that at present she was still a singer with not much fame, so it was understandable to be ignored. Even so, Regina did not feel sad, because she has always been a persistent and positive person.

"Have you read the script of the ad?" The director asked in a sleepy monotone.

"Yes." Regina replied.

"Okay. You stand on stage and sing a few lines. The lights will go out for about 5 seconds, please keep singing. After the lights come back on, say the slogan 'Music is our light'. Get it?"

"Yes."

Regina was nervous and stood on the stage. From everyone's eyes, Regina knew they didn't really trust her to do well in commercials. They invited her to participate in this advertisement simply because they wanted to take advantage of her emerging fame. Wait until her fame is gone, they probably won't be interested in her anymore.

"Okay. 3... 2... 1... Action."

Regina sang, but before she could finish singing, the director called for a pause.

"Regina, look at this camera lens. Where are you looking?" The director got upset and said, then he mumbled how disappointed he was with Regina.

"I'm sorry, I didn't have experience shooting commercials so I made a mistake. Please allow me to try again." Regina bowed and apologized to the director.

Although she couldn't see, she could feel the eyes of contempt and laughter. Regina's whole body trembled, a few drops of sweat drenched her forehead.

At this time, Roxana Lynne accidentally stopped by there. She had just filmed an advertisement on the set next door and was about to return. Unexpectedly, she saw her sister filming an advertisement.

"Katie, why was she invited to do commercials? Obviously I told the company to limit all promotional activities for her, right?" Roxana exasperatedly told her manager.

Katie stared, then shook her head and smiled.

"Looks like your sister doesn't have an easy time filming commercials."

Roxana frowned, then imitated Katie, observing what was going on on the set of the commercial. After a while, she squealed as if she understood. It can be seen that Regina has never filmed commercials as the lead actress, so she is constantly confused and making mistakes. The director and staff looked tired and lost patience with her.

"Well, she's so weak, but she always shows herself as strong." Roxana pursed her lips and smiled. "Shouldn't I make it a little more difficult for her?"

At the same time, the director gave everyone a 15-minute break. Regina entered the dressing room and sat down in front of the mirror. She needed to take advantage of this brief time to relax and refocus.

"You alright?" Myrna worried and patted Regina's shoulder.

"I'm fine. Just a little nervous."

Regina took a sip of water, her eyes filled with sadness. This is a rare opportunity for her to get close to her dream country of becoming a famous singer. Although this commercial is not necessarily successful, she is still determined to do it well. Not to mention, she knew full well that Myrna had high hopes for this.

Regina's lack of experience shooting commercials and no training and instruction makes Regina shy in front of the camera. She looked at the camera for a while and felt that her limbs were weak, and when she sang, she did not do well.

"Regina, break time is over."

An employee knocked on the door of the room and called Regina. After taking a deep breath, Regina gathered her courage and returned to the set.

"This is your last chance. If you can't shoot, I will cancel the contract and find another singer to replace you." The director gives a warning.

Then, the camera was ready, as soon as the director's signal, Regina immediately immersed herself in singing. This time, she decided to close her eyes and sing, thus avoiding having to look directly at the camera, which made her nervous. The director did not object to that, it seems that this shoot made him quite satisfied. At least Regina sang well and wasn't shaking anymore.

In the second scene when the lights went out, Regina continued to sing passionately. At that moment, a loud noise was heard followed by a scream.