Chapter 98 That's Not How You Address Me
Due to scheduling conflicts with the second male lead, the crew had to unexpectedly squeeze in a scene between him and the female lead between the main romantic leads' scenes.
James came over to sit beside Sophia, taking a couple sips of his coffee while gazing at her tenderly. "Are you getting bored?"
Sophia shook her head, smiling sweetly. "Not at all. Watching you guys act is pretty interesting."
The director nearby was speechless.
He certainly didn't sense any genuine interest from her! She'd been sitting there the entire time with a completely expressionless face, giving him cold sweats!
Sophia's gaze drifted to Alice, who was now performing her scene with the second male lead. "James, are you and Alice dating?"
James startled, nearly choking on his coffee. After catching his breath, he looked at Sophia in confusion. "No, we haven't even met outside of filming. She does text me pretty often, but I usually just send polite responses."
After all, as the male and female leads of the same production, they occasionally needed to discuss script details or coordinate their schedules, so they exchanged contact information.
But he was a high school senior with a heavy academic workload and tight schedule—where would he find time to chat with Alice, a college student?
Whenever she messaged him on social media, if it was about script issues he'd engage seriously, but for casual conversation he'd just send a polite response before getting back to his own work.
Sometimes when he was deep in studying, Alice would message him at lunch and he wouldn't see it until dinner, responding with just a quick "Sorry, was busy" to end the conversation.
Why was Sophia asking about this?
Sophia raised an eyebrow. Then why had she overheard those two girls beside Alice claiming these two were dating?
Was it wishful thinking? Or just gossip?
Either way, since James wasn't interested in Alice romantically, she wouldn't be breaking up a couple.
Sophia turned to the director. "From now on, don't cast Alice in any of James's projects."
It was an order, not a request.
The director's head was spinning. "Ms. Johnson, there aren't many young actresses James's age who can play opposite him in these short series. You already had me remove Electra last time, and now Alice—this is really putting me in a difficult position!"
"Besides..." the director's voice dropped, speaking carefully, "James is twenty now. If he really wanted to date someone, it wouldn't be that big a deal. You don't need to manage things so strictly, do you?"
Wasn't Sophia being a bit too controlling? She was managing him more strictly than a mother would.
James looked confused. "Sophia, you're the one who told them not to cast Electra with me?"
No wonder—he'd filmed five or six short series by now, but had only worked with Electra on his very first project.
Before this production started, he'd heard the director struggling over casting the female lead. At the time he'd wondered why they couldn't just use Electra, since her age and acting skills seemed perfect for the role. Turns out Sophia had already given orders.
The director kept his mouth tightly shut, eyes darting between them, equally curious to hear her reasoning.
"James, I'll explain that situation to you later. After you finish this series, take a break for a while. You've got college entrance exams coming up—wait until after the SATs to decide whether to take on new projects."
Hearing this, James had no objections. He trusted that Sophia wouldn't do anything to harm him.
He really should dedicate more time to studying anyway. Otherwise, his gap year would have been completely pointless.
Today's filming wrapped up, and various departments began packing up props and equipment.
"Come on, this magnolia tree pathway is really beautiful. Want me to take some photos of you first?"
James returned after changing clothes, automatically taking Sophia's bag and asking gently.
"That sounds great! Let's take some together—I don't have any photos with you yet." Sophia linked her arm through James's, smiling playfully.
A year ago, Sophia never would have imagined herself acting coquettish, especially with family.
James looked at Sophia with doting affection. "Sure, let's take lots. Dad, Mom, and Evelyn will definitely be jealous when we get back."
None of them had solo photos with Sophia either.
The siblings walked arm in arm, looking like they had the kind of closeness that came from growing up together for decades. Who could imagine they'd only known each other for less than a year?
As night fell, lights placed beneath the magnolia trees illuminated the gorgeously blooming flowers from below.
The atmosphere was perfect, with plenty of students from the university taking photos nearby, and campus couples strolling hand in hand everywhere.
Solo shots, group photos—they took quite a collection before finally leaving satisfied when the time felt right.
"James!"
Hearing her name called, James looked up from the photos on his phone to see Alice approaching with a brilliant smile.
His expression immediately shifted from doting tenderness to polite courtesy. "What a coincidence."
James wasn't naive. Alice's way of looking at him, plus her constant social media messages sharing daily life details, made her interest obvious.
So he always maintained his distance to avoid giving her false hope or encouraging inappropriate expectations.
Alice tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes, such a coincidence."
She turned to look at Sophia, her expression taking on the kind of patronizing affection an elder might show a junior. "Sophia, hello there."
Sophia had received extensive high-end etiquette training. Unless under special circumstances, she rarely dropped her composure in front of outsiders.
She maintained a serene smile, speaking slowly: "Miss Gonzalez, we're neither related nor close acquaintances. For a first meeting, addressing me that way is quite impolite."
Alice's expression stiffened, but she quickly forced an awkward smile. "You're James's sister—calling you Sophia seems friendlier, doesn't it?"
Sophia replied: "You and James are merely colleagues, hardly even friends. Given the relationship between you and me, even if you don't follow the director's example of respectfully addressing me as Ms. Johnson, you should at least call me Miss Johnson."
Alice slowly let her awkward smile fade, surprised at how difficult James's sister was to deal with. She looked sweet and soft, but her attitude was completely domineering.
Over just a form of address? She could find so many faults?
"If there's nothing else, we'll be going." Sophia smiled graciously.
Throughout the entire exchange, she showed no hostility and even offered polite farewells. Her flawless behavior only made Alice feel more frustrated.
Watching the two of them walk through the magnolia pathway toward the parking area, getting into an obviously expensive sports car, Alice gritted her teeth.
So what if Sophia was difficult? Once she won over James, what could she possibly say then?
"Sophia, when did you buy this car?" James settled into the passenger seat, unable to hide his amazement as he looked around. "This must have cost a fortune, right?"
"I don't know, someone gave it to me." Sophia answered casually, not particularly wanting to discuss money with James.
She changed the subject, "James, I'm in a relationship."