The howling wind sounded like the wailing of a demon. The sun in the sky had long disappeared, and large snowflakes mixed with fine hailstones struck the trailer, making a terrifying sound as if the blizzard was about to bury everything in the world.
Sienna Miller lay on the long sofa inside the trailer used for resting. Her eyes were somewhat vacant due to exhaustion after prolonged excitement. She was simply staring blankly, listening to the sound of the wind and snow outside.
The storm intensified, and it seemed like the trailer had been stationary for a long time.
The sound of a phone call ended, and then Matthew Horner's voice came through. "The snowstorm is too severe; the convoy can't move for now. We've decided to wait it out here."
"Uh..." Sienna Miller responded with a faint murmur.
She was too tired. The filming had consumed a lot of her energy and heat, and braving the wind to return to the trailer had drained even more from her. She didn't feel like saying anything more.
A shadow moved in front of her, and Sienna Miller's vacant eyes gradually focused. She saw Matthew Horner, standing by the opposite window, looking like a statue of King David.
"His physique is really impressive," she thought absentmindedly. "Every muscle is so perfect. No wonder so many women are obsessed with him, so many willing to..."
Just like how men discuss women, women also gather to discuss men. In Sienna Miller's small circle of actors, they often talked about male stars or models, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew Horner being their favorite topics. However, Leonardo DiCaprio's physique had been declining in recent years, so Matthew Horner had become the most desirable one-night stand in their discussions.
"Indeed, he's perfect. Not just good-looking but also quite useful..."
Suddenly, a barely noticeable breeze drifted in, and Sienna Miller felt a chill on her thigh. She quickly looked forward and saw that Matthew Horner had drawn back the curtain to check the storm outside. A slight draft had entered the trailer, making her feel cold down below.
Sienna Miller looked down and saw that her black tight leather pants had turned into crotchless pants, and she felt an unusual sense of shame.
In reality, the black leather jacket she wore as the baroness appeared perfectly intact, with only one exception.
Sienna Miller's gaze fell back on Matthew Horner. This guy wasn't just playing around!
Suddenly, she thought of Karolina Kurkova, who had been shouting so loudly earlier. Did the people outside hear it? It wouldn't be long before rumors spread that she got the leading role because of Matthew Horner.
Sienna Miller first shook her head, then dismissed the thought. She had already enjoyed it, so why care about anything else?
Besides, just in terms of Matthew Horner's prowess, he was far better than those pretty boys in Britain by several times.
Dazed, Sienna Miller's gaze fixed on Matthew Horner. Previously, she had thought of him as one of the few decent people in Hollywood, but she hadn't expected him to lure her into his trailer and seduce her...
But she wasn't exactly conservative. How could she resist such an attractive man's advances? Having a fling with Hollywood's universal lover was worth it, even if it was in such a shameful way.
Just as these thoughts crossed her mind, Sienna Miller noticed that Matthew Horner had already turned around and was staring at her. Before she could cover up, he strode over, his strong physique bearing down on her like the Rocky Mountains.
Was she really going to die here today?
Sienna Miller didn't die, of course, but over the next two days of filming, she developed a severe cold. It wasn't just her; many people in the crew seemed unaccustomed to the harsh weather and gradually fell ill, including Matthew, who was usually in excellent health.
He had many scenes involving fighting in the snow. While side shots and those with his back to the camera could use stunt doubles, all the frontal shots required him to perform personally. Although he had experience filming in New York's winter nights, New York's winter was nothing compared to Iceland.
Stephen Sommers had to adjust the filming schedule, especially moving scenes originally planned for nighttime to the daytime.
Iceland had entered winter, and nighttime filming was too unpredictable.
Some non-essential scenes were canceled altogether by Stephen Sommers. The difficulty of filming in Iceland's harsh conditions far exceeded his expectations.
It wasn't just the safety of the cast and crew; some equipment failures in the severe cold occurred much more frequently than usual, and the production costs exceeded the budget by twice as much, prompting complaints from Paramount Pictures and third-party insurers.
How could the director and producers not be influenced by the investors?
After ten days of filming in Iceland's icy wilderness, the crew had basically completed the necessary scenes for the movie and returned to Los Angeles before the brutal winter set in.
Back in Los Angeles, even with "Twilight" about to be released, Matthew didn't have any pressing work and decided to stay home and recover.
He had caught a cold, which wasn't too serious in Iceland, but upon returning to Los Angeles, his condition suddenly worsened.
In all his years in Los Angeles, this was the first time he had fallen seriously ill.
Since he had been in excellent health all these years, apart from routine checkups, he had rarely seen a doctor. He hadn't even hired a personal physician, something common among the wealthy. Fortunately, money could solve most problems, and a cold wasn't a particularly serious illness.
However, Matthew took it very seriously and didn't take it lightly. After all, there are dozens or even hundreds of flu-related deaths in North America each year.
According to some in the medical community, white people are particularly susceptible to colds, especially the flu.
"Incredible that someone as strong as you can get sick."
In the living room of the Horner estate, Lily Collins remarked as she looked at Matthew, who had a bright red nose. "I always thought you were invincible."
Matthew invited Lily Collins to sit down wherever she liked and asked, "Why are you here?"
Lily Collins sat down on a single-seater sofa, shrugged playfully, and said, "I met David Ellison at a press event yesterday. He mentioned you were sick, so I came over to check on you."
She looked at Matthew, seeing that his condition wasn't too severe, and asked teasingly, "What, are you not happy to see me?"
"Of course, I'm happy." Matthew stretched lazily from his seat across from Lily Collins. "I've been bored to death at home these past two days. David came over yesterday, said a few words, and then left. I was just lamenting having no one to talk to."
Since Matthew was sick, David Ellison had been busy garnering media attention, promoting "Twilight," and was quite occupied.
Out of the $40 million production budget for the film, $10 million came from David Ellison's investment.
"You're lonely for conversation?" Lily Collins muttered under her breath, then asked, "Being idle is a good opportunity to rest."
Matthew replied, "When I'm idle, I start overthinking things."
Lily Collins' bright eyes focused on him as she asked, "What are you thinking about? Beautiful women? Like... Nina Dobrev?"
"Get out!" Matthew retorted irritably, "I'm thinking about how a cold might lead to death."
"Is it that serious?" Lily Collins' attention was immediately diverted.
Matthew coughed a few times, took a sip of hot water from a cup, and then said, "I've had nothing better to do the past few days, so I've been reading a lot of medical information. Many people say that white people have the weakest resistance to colds and the flu."
"Is that so?" Lily Collins touched her face, frowning slightly. "Is that true?"
Matthew pretended to nod seriously. "On my way back from Iceland, I read some material that said the flu originally spread to humans from domesticated pigs, and prehistoric humans in East Asia were the first to domesticate wild boars."
He started coughing again, and Lily Collins quickly stood up and handed him the cup.
Matthew took another sip, temporarily suppressing the cough, and said, "As wild boars were transformed into domesticated ones, living in fixed, enclosed, and crowded areas, they first began to develop diseases among themselves. Over time, these viruses were transmitted to humans, leading to the emergence of the flu among humans."
He put down the cup and continued, "Throughout the long history, East Asian people have developed various antibodies through their struggle against the flu. Today, despite its many mutations, this virus that has been around for thousands of years doesn't seem to affect East Asian populations as much."
Lily Collins scratched her face and furrowed her thick eyebrows. "That's an interesting theory."
"It's based on research from some in the medical community," Matthew said, spreading his hands. "I didn't just make it up."
Lily Collins suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, I think I read somewhere about how the flu contributed to the destruction of Native Americans."
"Hmm?" Matthew looked at her curiously.
"It was about how the Native Americans were wiped out," Lily Collins said slowly as she recalled. "Most people think they were exterminated by the Americans or the Spanish, but the real cause was the flu virus brought over by Europeans. The Native Americans had never been exposed to it and had no antibodies, so it was extremely dangerous."
Matthew paused, "That actually makes some sense."
He suddenly thought of a time-travel novel he had read on a certain site. If a person were to travel back in time, not just in
spirit but in body as well, could it cause an ecological disaster in an era without antibiotics?
After all, the viruses honed by various antibiotics were not to be underestimated.
The two of them chatted for a long time. Lily Collins had an event in the evening, so she left before noon.
"You'd better get well soon," she said before leaving. "The whole crew is waiting for you to join the promotion of 'Twilight.'"
Matthew nodded, "Don't worry, I'll be back in front of the media in a couple of days."
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