King of Hollywood-Chapter 176 - : Unexpected Surprise

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Unexpected Surprise

“Hi, Julia, it’s great to see you here,” Adrian called out as Julia, who was talking with her assistant, immediately turned around. Though her eyes flickered with a hint of panic, she calmed down within seconds.

“Hello, Ed,” Julia responded with a smile, then looked curiously at the Emma in his arms. The little girl was biting her finger, examining Julia with the same curious look, her big eyes adorable as they moved around.

“This is Emma, a friend’s child,” Adrian explained, then stroked the little girl’s head. “This is Miss Julia Roberts, say hello, dear.”

To his surprise, the little girl suddenly turned around and plunged into Adrian’s lavishly, burying her head into his shoulder.

“Sorry, she’s a bit shy,” Adrian explained helplessly. Typically, when Emma did this, it meant she wasn’t too fond of the person. So far, the only unfamiliar women who had found favor with her were Emma Thompson from the filming of ‘Howards End’ and Charlize.

“No problem, I actually have a niece about her age who is also named Emma,” Julia said nonchalantly, waving her hand, “She’s also very shy with strangers because of… my damn brother!”

At this point, she suddenly became indignant: “He got his girlfriend pregnant and then didn’t want to take responsibility, and his girlfriend didn’t want to look after the child either. Eventually, I ended up taking the child home. I even had a fallout with my brother over it.”

Julia paused, suddenly startled by her own candor. Although… but…

“To be honest, Julia, your niece is far better than Emma,” Adrian seemingly hadn’t noticed her moment of surprise, sighed, then patted Emma’s back. The girl responded by biting his face and waving her arms, making a howling sound, causing Adrian to roll his eyes once again.

Julia laughed before curiosity struck, “Why?”

“Um…” Adrian hesitated as he glanced at the little one in his arms, then decided to give her a brief explanation. Julia’s eyes widened; her look towards Emma filled with the same kind of pity as Charlize. Unfortunately, the little girl hardly appreciated the sentiment and turned away when Julia tried to touch her head, even sticking out a big tongue at her.

“She’s really cute,” Julia said, not feeling embarrassed, shrugging her shoulders with a smile.

“Yes, just a child,” Adrian chuckled, then changed the topic, “How have you been? I mean, how’s the role? Mike hasn’t made any unreasonable demands, has he?”

“No, Mike is a great director, we get along quite well,” Julia brushed her hair beside her ear, becoming distant again as the topic turned to work, “I like the role, it’s interesting, conservative but not stuffy.”

“Glad you like it. I wrote it especially for you, hoping it brings you good luck,” Adrian said with a slight smile.

The two then fell silent, occasionally exchanging glances, quick to look away. It wasn’t until minutes later that Adrian spoke again, “If you’re free tonight…”

“Sorry, Ed, I’ve been really tired these past few days, so…” Julia gestured.

“I’ve missed you, Julia,” Adrian cut her off directly.

Silence fell again, and after a while, Julia gave a bitter smile. “Don’t do this, Ed, you have…”

“I broke up with Kate,” Adrian interrupted her again.

“How… how could that be?!” Julia’s eyes widened, “Why?”

“What else could it be? I came clean to her,” Adrian shrugged, for a moment looking somewhat desolate.

“This… this…” Julia didn’t know what to say. Just then Neville announced that the break was over and shooting would continue; she had to suppress her questions and enter the set, which resulted in repeated NGs during the shoot.

Adrian, watching Julia on the set, commented inwardly that the mumbled speech was indeed effective, but he hadn’t noticed Emma occasionally glancing from a distance at Julia and then at him, her eyes spinning nonstop.

However, after the initial encounter, Julia seemed to avoid Adrian, deliberately or otherwise, for the next two days. Even when she couldn’t evade him, their chats were fleeting, and the idea of asking her out was even more unthinkable.

Adrian wasn’t in a hurry; there were still a few days before he’d return to Los Angeles, and the crew had given him a surprise.

“Pride and Prejudice?” Adrian asked, pointing to the book in the woman’s hand, as she looked up at him in confusion. He quickly gestured, “Sorry, I just saw you seemed quite engrossed and wanted to know the name of the book you’re reading.”

“Yes, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, one of my favorite novels,” the woman smiled back. She had soft black hair and large brown eyes. Even in simple casual clothing, she carried an air of elegance and charm.

“Love is vital, and so is money,” Adrian recited a line from the book casually and took a seat beside the woman. Emma wasn’t with him today; Charlize was taking her out.

The woman looked surprised, a glimmer of intrigue in her brown eyes, “Do you also love this novel?”

“Not especially, but Austen’s novel is indeed worth reading more than once,” Adrian shrugged and then held out his hand, “Adrian Cowell, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Rachel Weisz, the pleasure is mine,” the woman shook his hand, “You’re from the United States… wait, you’re that Miracle Director who made ‘Howards End’ in the States?!”

She looked at him in shock, not even noticing her book had dropped. Adrian just shrugged, “If there isn’t a second person living in Los Angeles named Adrian Cowell, then that would be me.”

Rachel’s mouth hung open wide enough to almost swallow an egg, and it took her quite a while to digest the information.

“I… I can’t believe… I’m actually sitting… sitting beside you!” Rachel stammered, but she quickly regained composure and once again took Adrian’s hand, asking excitedly, “Can you tell me about how you made the movie ‘Howards End’? I don’t mean anything by it, it’s just that I majored in British literature at university.”

Adrian was about to answer with a smile when he heard Neville call for the preparation of the shoot, and Rachel immediately showed a disappointed expression.

“How about this,” Adrian offered, “after we’re done shooting, we go out for a coffee?”

Rachel blinked, thought for a few seconds, and then nodded with a smile.

This was the surprise the crew had prepared for Adrian, the elegant and beautiful Rachel Weisz herself playing the girlfriend of the leading man! As a graduate of Cambridge University, Rachel possessed a high level of education that other stars lacked, having majored in British literature which gave her an extraordinary presence. Moreover, she was genuinely beautiful, and with her renown as a college ‘princess,’ she had always been the intellectual’s dream girl. Since Julia was avoiding him, he didn’t mind going out for a chat with Rachel.

After the shoot, as Adrian and Rachel walked out side by side, he distinctly felt someone’s gaze linger on his back for a long time, but he never looked back.

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The two found an outdoor café on a nearby street, and though the temperature in London in March wasn’t very high, the hard-won sun peeked out from the thick clouds, casting a warm and comfortable light on them. Under such conditions, sitting at an outdoor café on the streets of an English alley, chatting over coffee, was a pleasant affair.

“The 1940 version didn’t quite capture the essence of the original work, changed too much, probably because of Hollywood’s early style of happy endings; the 1949 version was even worse, a three-act stage play turned TV version, with even worse modifications; I haven’t seen the 1952 and 1958 versions, so I won’t comment, but I’ve heard the 1958 version was overly farcical; and as for the 1967 version, being the first colored ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ it also changed too much, even omitting the four sisters; the 1980 film version is currently the best one, getting the plot and characters just right, but because the actors were almost chosen based on the novel’s illustrations, it was lacking in performance, and it also seemed too small in scope. Personally, I think to make a good adaptation of Austen’s novel, it would be best to make it into a 7 or 8 episode TV miniseries…” Adrian spoke at length, while Rachel watched him with sparkling eyes.

They talked about many things, from British literature to European literature to American literature. Most of the time, Adrian could give a well-thought-out reply, making Rachel laugh with little jokes, and if there was something he didn’t know, he would frankly admit it, and then Rachel would cleverly change the subject.

There was no need to be surprised that he had read so many books; these were all skills essential for the previous Adrian, as a playboy—or rather, a very charming playboy—that relied on not just hormones to attract women; he had to be capable of dealing with various types of women. Reading so many books and watching so many movies was for him like playing the piano or guitar, just a skill for wooing women, and now for Adrian reborn, along with the merged memories of his past, it was even more potent.

After spending a nice evening in the café, the two went out for dinner and continued to stroll and chat on the streets. When passing by a craft store, Adrian even bought her a small gift.

Even so, their firm embrace didn’t break apart, and after a long while, Rachel slowly opened her eyes.

“You’re amazing, Ed,” she said as her soul finally descended from heaven. Turning to hug Adrian, she spoke in a still breathless voice, then suddenly became shy as something occurred to her.

“What is it?” Adrian soothed, stroking her hair.

“I’m not… I’m not that kind of girl… I’ve never been with… a man I just met…” Rachel looked annoyed, lowering her head and not looking at Adrian as if regretting something.

“It shows,” Adrian said with a slight smile, then leaned in, confusing Rachel with his unexpected closeness as he gently nibbled on her delicate earlobe, causing her to tremble slightly. “Your body’s response can’t lie.”

“So, you’ve had many women?” Rachel suddenly raised her eyebrows, quickly regaining her intelligence after the passion had subsided. Adrian didn’t answer immediately but caressed her face, and after a while, he said, “You’re captivating, Rachel, you have a unique aura that deeply attracts me. I told myself I would regret it if I turned you down.”

Rachel propped up half her naked body, and after watching him for a long time, she sighed softly, “I really don’t understand why I invited you over to my place, the intense urge to… oh, damn it…”

Her cheeks suddenly flushed red again, and she seemed to want to say something but couldn’t get the words out. Adrian laughed lightly and embraced her, kissing her rosy lips once more.

“It’s normal, Rachel, people always have various impulses, as long as one knows what they’re doing. Do you remember how we discussed Eleanor from ‘Sense and Sensibility’? This has been a wonderful night, and even if there’s no tomorrow, this night will stay in my memory,” Adrian said softly, gazing into her eyes and pinching her chin.

“Oh Ed, you’re seducing me again, you’ve been seducing me all night…” Rachel sighed and then kissed Adrian of her own accord. “The night is still young, Ed.”

Rachel didn’t need to say anything more; Adrian had already turned over and pinned her beneath him.

This was an accident, well, not really an accident, for Adrian had always been the type to never let food already in his mouth slip away. As for what would happen next, he had planned it out already; adding Rachel to his list, she wouldn’t escape his grasp.

Indeed, it was a wonderful night. Adrian and Rachel made love several times, only falling asleep in each other’s arms in the wee hours. As a result, Rachel was late for filming the next day and got a stern talking-to from Neville, while Adrian, who deliberately arrived several hours late, was met with Charlize’s fury.

“I’m your secretary! I’m your assistant! But I’m not your friend’s kid’s nanny!” Charlize didn’t exactly roar, but she took Adrian aside and said through gritted teeth, as if each word was being squeezed through her teeth, “My job is to collect and sort information for you, organize your work schedule, and handle your calls and contacts. It doesn’t include babysitting your friend’s child! Even if you have a date, can’t you at least take Emma home first?!”

Given the good relationship between Charlize and Emma, her complaints were surely substantial, as could be imagined from Emma’s excitement and rush to Adrian upon seeing him on set.

“I apologize, okay?” Adrian said, glancing at Emma nearby who was being cared for by a crew assistant and kept giving him pitiful looks. “Yesterday was an accident, I didn’t expect… things to end up that way. Alright, don’t be angry, women who get angry age quickly.”

Charlize immediately glared at him but said no more; Adrian then patted her on the shoulder. “I owe the little troublemaker my thanks. I know all too well her powers of crying and fussing. Okay, not many bosses would apologize to their assistant like this.”

Charlize was slightly startled when she heard this and smoothed out her demeanor, returning to her professional self, “I apologize too, Ed. I shouldn’t have spoken to you in that tone.”

“No worries, I understand how you feel,” said Adrian, who had watched her reaction closely, gesturing magnanimously with his hands. “With that settled, I should go to Emma. By the look on her face, if I don’t go over soon, she might come over to grab someone.”

This issue was thus resolved, but another was not so easy to deal with. Julia had watched Adrian and Rachel leave together, and then Rachel happened to be late today; even if Adrian arrived at the set hours after Rachel, others might not have noticed, but Julia, who had had her wild days with Adrian, would surely understand what had transpired between them.

So she shifted her attitude towards Adrian from previously avoiding him to outright coldness, responding indifferently to anything he said, which didn’t do Adrian any favors. However, this worked out for the scenes being shot those days, where the female protagonist was cold and indifferent to the male protagonist’s philandering, which earned high praise from Director Neville.

(To be continued. To find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. There are more chapters available to support the author and legitimate reading!)