"You're the one who needs to come up with a solution!" Laila shot him an annoyed look.
"I told you to change locations, but you refused!"
"Do you know how much that would increase the budget?" A simple change of location wouldn't just cost tens or hundreds of thousands—it could add millions, even billions, to the budget! Did he think her money grew on trees?
Xiao Ye shrugged. "Then I'm out of ideas. I've already told you how serious the situation is. The moment Roy and Leonardo step off the plane and onto South African soil, their safety can't be guaranteed! It's up to you to decide what to do."
Laila frowned and told him to go back and prepare while she pondered the situation.
If things were really as he described, even bringing a large number of bodyguards wouldn't guarantee the safety of everyone. She'd rather not make the film at all than risk their safety.
So, she needed to get to the bottom of this.
Laila didn't doubt Xiao Ye's words. She knew he wouldn't lie to her about something like this. It wasn't that she trusted his loyalty to her, but she knew there was no benefit for him in deceiving her.
In this world where interests reign supreme, she had long understood that no one does anything without a reason. Even mentally ill people who harm others for no apparent reason are seeking some kind of personal satisfaction, aren't they?
Moreover, her ability to read people wasn't just a fluke. The fact that she could always see through Xiao Ye's disguises, no matter how flawless, spoke volumes about her keen perception.
In her past life, she hadn't been this sharp. Perhaps in this life, her sixth sense had grown stronger. She could always tell what someone was thinking, whether their intentions were good or bad, just by looking into their eyes. Was this her golden finger, perhaps?
To get more details, she called both Roy and Leonardo over.
"I want to know exactly what happened in South Africa," Laila said in a serious tone, warning them not to try to brush her off.
Roy was taken aback. He hadn't expected her to bring up something that had happened so long ago. She wasn't the type to dwell on the past, so why was she bringing it up now?
"Did something happen?" That was the only possibility he could think of.
Laila didn't answer. Instead, her icy blue eyes scanned both their faces. "Answer my question first."
Leonardo felt a chill run down his spine. Her gaze felt like an ice arrow piercing through him, freezing him in place. Since the last incident hadn't involved him…
He shamelessly took half a step back, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, hiding behind Roy.
He was smart. Between him and Roy, Laila would obviously be more concerned about Roy. Not just because of their relationship, but also because the diamond incident was directly tied to Roy. From him, she could get firsthand information.
As a result, Laila's icy gaze was now entirely focused on Roy.
However, what Leonardo saw as an icy glare, Roy interpreted as a concern. It made him feel a warm, sweet sensation in his heart, raising his happiness by several notches.
"Well…" He knew she must have heard something to bring this up again, but he still didn't want her to know the full extent of what had happened. Even though it had been a long time, he didn't want her to feel scared or worried about his safety every time he went out.
He understood all too well what it felt like to worry about someone, and he couldn't let her go through that. But he also wouldn't lie to her. So, he decided to downplay the events, presenting them in a way that wouldn't scare her.
"At the time, I had traveled to several countries but couldn't find a diamond I was satisfied with. Leo mentioned he knew someone in South Africa, so I went with him to check it out. With the help of a middleman, I finally bought a satisfactory diamond from someone. I didn't expect that the diamond had been stolen, and we were found out. Luckily, Xiao Ye showed up in time, or we might have been in real trouble."
If Laila hadn't already heard the real version from Xiao Ye, she might have been fooled by his calm retelling.
Did he lie? No, everything he said was true. He just left out some details and glossed over others.
Laila, of course, understood why he was downplaying it.
"You…" She stood up, took a couple of steps, paused, then took a few more before turning to look at him and Leonardo, who was still pretending to be invisible. "Leo, did you forget where the movie is set?"
"Isn't it South Africa?" Before he could finish, he jumped up, no longer able to play dead. His face instantly changed color. "Oh, shit! Are we going back to that hellhole?"
Laila's eye twitched. You didn't even research where the movie is set, and you claim to have studied the script for years?
"Exactly! The very place you barely escaped from. Do I need to remind you what you did there? Do you think you can step onto that land again and smoothly finish filming? You know it's impossible to wrap up the movie in just a few months. And we won't be going with just a handful of people. The entire crew will be there. Do you expect them to risk their lives with you?"
"Sorry, Leo, I'm out of this project. And I'd advise you not to set foot on that land again." Laila knew there were many dangerous places in the world, even in the U.S. But here, she could use money to solve most problems. In that country, throwing money around would only make things worse.
"That's not acceptable!" Leonardo was frantic. "Laila, we had an agreement. We signed contracts and worked on the script together, and everything was going so well. How can we back out over something like this?"
Laila shook her head. "I can't gamble with the lives of my crew. Yes, I love the story of 'Blood Diamond', and I have high hopes for it, but that's not a reason to put everyone in danger."
And there was one more thing she didn't say: if she went, Roy would follow. She couldn't risk his safety to test how secure that country was! She didn't know much about South Africa, only that it developed well in the future. But she couldn't forget that it was still 2008, and she had no idea if the country had become "safe" by then.