Chapter 219

Emma Stone put down her suitcase with a smile and turned toward the bedroom.

"I'm going to rest first. Help yourself, and remember to turn off the lights."

"Wait-a-minute! WTF?"

How did Taylor Swift feel like a clown?

This won't do!

"I'm going to sleep too. We'll just squeeze together."

Saying this, Taylor Swift took off her coat, turned off the living room light, and walked into the bedroom without hesitation, arriving beside Xu Can.

To make a statement, she grabbed Xu Can's arm and hugged him affectionately.

Sister Stone naturally wasn't happy and pressed herself close to Xu Can as well.

The two women glared fiercely at each other across Xu Can.

After a moment, they calmed down and suddenly felt something was off.

It had seemed a bit too impulsive just now.

Sister Stone was just about to get up and leave.

when Xu Can, seemingly fast asleep, instinctively pulled her into a tight embrace.

At the same time, Taylor Swift on the other side was also firmly held by him.

Sister Stone and Taylor Swift's brains instantly froze.

"What is this supposed to be?"

The "asleep" Xu Can secretly smirked.

None of you are getting away.

……

That night, nothing happened.

It was merely a healthy, green, positive-energy human sleep method, with no improper influence whatsoever.

But Xu Can slept soundly—probably the sweetest sleep he'd had in both lifetimes.

He woke up early, refreshed and invigorated,

while the other two women were still asleep; no one knew when they'd fallen asleep, but it certainly wasn't early.

Another reason Xu Can woke up was because he was being crushed and couldn't breathe.

Previously, only one arm would go numb from being pinned; now it was double the ache, painful yet pleasurable.

Quietly climbing up, Xu Can slipped into the living room, turned on the computer, and began a video conference with the Zhipianbu Sect.

Before finalizing this strategy, Xu Can had already assigned the new project—he instructed the Zhipianbu Sect to recruit extras and assemble the filming crew as soon as possible.

Star River Entertainment was no longer the small studio of just a dozen people it had once been.

Star River Pictures alone had over a thousand staff members, with full talent across all departments, no longer needing Sony Pictures' assistance.

Thanks to salaries above market rates, team morale was high, and work proceeded without unnecessary delays.

In just a few days, a film crew had been preliminarily assembled and was ready to begin work at any moment.

Including the recruitment of extras, filming could begin in at most three days!

For this film, *Source Code*, Xu Can could use the train car set in Sony's studio.

They had many abandoned train cars specifically for shooting train-related scenes.

Later, green screen effects could simulate the scenery outside the windows to create the feeling of a moving train.

With the main set and extras settled, the remaining exterior scenes could be shot casually in Chicago later—by then, the film would be nearly complete.

Now only the two lead actresses were still fast asleep.

Speaking of it, Xu Can's initial investment in filming *Source Code* was precisely to resolve the issue of the two women coexisting.

He wanted to find a reason to make them spend day and night together, perhaps improving their relationship, at least preventing them from being utterly incompatible.

Xu Can's solution was simple: no avoidance, no choice—face it head-on, I want them both!

A or B? Not A, not B, not OR… I choose AND.

The hidden ending path might be treacherous, perhaps leading to the worst outcome.

But Xu Can wanted to at least try.

*Source Code* had originally been a sudden idea, pulled at random from his memory film library.

The male lead must deal with two female leads: one a false female in a virtual fragment,

the other a real female from outside.

The real female lead required some acting ability and was to be played by the future Best Actress, Sister Stone.

the fake female just needed to be a prop—Taylor Swift had no acting skill, but that didn't matter; Xu Can would personally train her step by step.

As for the male lead, poor Jake Gyllenhaal would have to suffer—his classic sci-fi film had been stolen from under him.

Come to think of it, *Love & Other Drugs* had also been stolen from him.

Maybe someday, he'd make it up to him with another film; right now, it was an emergency, and Jake would surely understand.

After all, he didn't even know *Source Code* existed yet.

Remember, the original *Source Code* had a budget of 36 million and earned over 120 million in box office revenue—a classic example of low cost, high return, and high acclaim.

When released in mainland China, it won the weekend box office championship and received praise from over 86% of critics, even earning a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at that year's Oscars.

This compact, light sci-fi, brain-teasing film had indeed left a strong impression on many viewers.

Xu Can's spontaneous idea had been an accidental success.

He estimated that with his own box office draw, Emma Stone's, plus the publicity stunt of Taylor Swift's appearance,

the new version of *Source Code* would surely surpass 120 million in box office—perhaps even create a miracle.

While Xu Can was in the living room handling emails on his computer and planning the screening schedule ahead,

Emma Stone and Taylor Swift in the bedroom had already woken up.

The two of them had instinctively reached for Xu Can's spot, stretching out to touch that familiar person, but after fumbling around and finding nothing, they touched an unfamiliar, ice-cold hand instead!

Both of them jolted awake almost at the same time, eyes meeting.

At that moment, time itself seemed to freeze, leaving only an eternal awkwardness.

"Pfft." Taylor, with her lower laugh threshold, couldn't hold it in first.

She noticed Emma's hair was pressed into a mess, with a tuft of cowlick looking absurdly dopey, and nearly lost it.

"What are you laughing at?" Stone, freshly awake, was completely baffled.

"Nothing… don't mind it." Taylor quickly pressed down the corners of her mouth, afraid Emma would say she was mocking her.

The more Taylor acted like that, the more suspicious Stone became. She went to the bathroom inside the bedroom and looked in the mirror.

Sure enough, her hair was a total mess, looking exactly like the Golden-Haired Lion King.

She picked up the comb and couldn't get her hair sorted no matter what; Taylor on the other side couldn't stand watching anymore and hurried over.

"Here, let me…"

Xu Can outside heard the commotion, his train of thought broken, and only then realized the two girls had already woken up.

He pushed the door open and took a curious look, and his expression immediately turned a bit odd.

In front of the bathroom's big mirror, two lightly-dressed beauties with different hair colors were combing each other's hair like close girlfriends.

On the first day of the new year of 2009, Xu Can was a bit confused:

"Ah, this… is it them who haven't woken up, or me who hasn't woken up?"