King of Hollywood-Chapter 177 - : Not a Bad Harvest

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Not a Bad Harvest

“Cut!” Neville sprung up from the director’s chair, vexedly scratching his head, “Dan, how many times have I told you, you need to act more flippant! Where has your emotion gone?! Right now, you’re a libertine unwilling to admit to his own heart, not a tragic man desperate for love!”

The set erupted into laughter.

“Sorry, director,” Dennis said with a rueful smile, raising his hands. After a glance at Julia beside him, he added, “Julie’s presence is too overwhelming; I can’t pull off an air of indifference in front of her.”

More laughter followed as Neville glared, his arms crossed, about to say something when Adrian intervened.

“Let me have a chat with him, and let’s give everyone a break, shall we?” Adrian said softly.

“Alright,” Neville nodded his agreement, “take a 30-minutes break, everyone. Get your emotions in check.”

“How are you doing, Dan?” Adrian walked straight over to Dennis.

“I got it, Ed—I know what the problem is,” Dennis conceded with his hands up, “I’m adjusting.”

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“Hey, I haven’t said anything yet,” Adrian chuckled, looking at him.

“Oh, come off it. I don’t believe for a second you don’t know what I’ve been through these past few days,” Dennis grumbled, an uncommonly irritated look on his face, “I don’t even know what to say to Noni anymore; she’s been so… conflicted recently.”

“I’ve taught you all I could; now it’s up to you to perform,” Adrian laughed, “although I don’t know what exactly you’ve said to her, you seem to be getting along fairly well, don’t you think?”

Dennis spread his hands and said nothing, before finally adding, “I apologize on her behalf to you, Ed.”

“Apologize? Oh, that’s nothing.” Adrian waved it off nonchalantly but then curiously asked, “But if possible, can you tell me why she’s upset with me?”

“Well…” Dennis became visibly embarrassed, yet he eventually answered, “Once, Noni asked me why I pursued her using those methods, and I told her…”

“Told her I was the one who taught you?” Adrian smacked his forehead, “God, have you really forgotten how to charm a woman, Dan? I can’t believe you’d tell her that.”

“Be honest when it’s time to be honest—that’s also something you taught me,” Dennis shrugged, “Besides, Ed, I’m not like you; I can’t just go out on dates and sleep with other women right in front of one I’m involved with!”

“That makes me sound like a real jerk, huh?” Adrian crossed his arms and stared at him. Dennis cleared his throat and looked away to change the subject, “Alright, I’ll adjust. I promise, I think I’m getting close.”

“You’re something else,” Adrian shook his head with a smile. He glanced into the distance where a tall figure flashed by; then he patted Dennis on the arm and said, “That’s that, then,” before quickly walking over there.

Passing through several rooms to a rather bare resting area, Adrian greeted a few actors and pushed open the door to a private corner rest lounge, “Hi, Julie.”

Julie, who had just sat down at the vanity table, turned around. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, lifting her chin as she observed him for a few seconds before asking in a cold tone, “What do you want, Ed?”

“You know, Julie, right now you look just like a little girl,” Adrian couldn’t help but laugh seeing Julie’s face darken, and he hurriedly gestured with his hands, “I’m heading back to Los Angeles, Julie.”

Two minutes of silence followed. Julie, with one leg crossed over the other and one hand resting on the back of the chair, supported her cheek with the other hand and watched Adrian for what seemed a long time before asking, “Is that all?”

“Your reaction is quite heartbreaking,” Adrian sighed, pretending to be sad as he looked at her.

“I thought,” Julie stood up, walked to the table, took a sip of water, then turned back and said, “that’s something you should tell that new girl you’ve met, shouldn’t you?”

Adrian looked at her, raising an eyebrow, his expression mockingly amused. Julie’s heart skipped a beat, although she kept her gaze casual and even tilted slightly to the side, resting one hand on the table.

“I’m rather unlucky, I guess. First, I break up with my girlfriend, then I get ruthlessly rejected when I invite a friend to dinner,” Adrian walked around the room with his back to her, spinning circles. With a lamenting tone, he continued, “Then, I just want to have a proper chat about English literature with a young lady. But due to various reasons, like breaking up and being rejected by a friend, I end up having a passionate moment. Fine, that’s not a big deal, but for some reason… my friend starts to get jealous.”

At those words, Julie startled, realizing that Adrian had somehow come close, still watching her with that half-smiling look.

“Uh… well, then… good luck to you.” Julie immediately took two steps back, stuttering a reply with a forced smile. After calming herself slightly to appear less flustered, she straightened up to walk past Adrian, but alas, as they brushed past each other, Adrian roughly pulled Julie into his embrace and kissed her on those signature lips.

After passionately kissing for several minutes, they finally caught their breath and parted. Adrian lightly scraped his hand across Julia’s lips and said, “I really missed you, Julia, your lips, your eyes, your nose, your body, those crazy days…”

Before he could finish, Julia seized him with another kiss, a flurry of touches and lingering embraces followed. Then she firmly stated, “That’s enough, Ed! Stop teasing me!”

“No, never. When there’s chemistry, why dodge and deny it?” Adrian replied with a smile.

“Damn it… Ed, are you even listening to me?!” Julia gasped, hands on Adrian but making no effort to push him away.

“Ed, you jerk…” Julia started to say something else but then swallowed her words when voices from the other side of the wall drifted over, reminding her that the rest of the cast’s dressing rooms were just outside.

“Wait… wait a second… There’s just a wall between us and them… Can’t we move somewhere else?”

“No… I have to return to Los Angeles this afternoon…”

“Damn it, you asshole, you came here just to…”

Her voice trailed off as the chattering from beyond the wall continued, muffled but audible. “I have to admit, Julia Roberts is an exceptional actress, both beautiful and talented.”

“Right, don’t you guys feel there’s something between Julia and that Miracle Director, Adrian?”

“Julia, are you in there? The makeup artist needs you for a touch-up,” called the voice of her personal assistant.

“Ed…” Julia gasped in a low voice, her cheeks flushed, her eyes half-lidded with desire, utterly unsure how to react.

“Give us ten minutes,” Adrian called out firmly.

“Oh for God’s sake, are you trying to make sure everyone knows?!”

“Less talking, baby. You have ten minutes to send me to Heaven, or I’ll take you there, or we’ll go together.”

“Then let’s do it!”

Adrian left the set beneath Julia’s fiery gaze, which whether it held more love or hate was difficult to discern. The half-hour break was enough for them to settle everything without arousing suspicion, but some details could never be completely hidden.

Of course, Adrian didn’t forget to stop by Rachel’s place—she had no scenes that day and wasn’t on set.

“If you ever consider a career in Hollywood, please come to me. You’re a terrific actor, and I trust my judgment,” Adrian said as he handed over his business card.

“I will,” Rachel said with a smile, her eyes reflecting a tangle of emotions.

After wrapping up an arrangement in Paris that he had promised at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Adrian was finally on his way back to Los Angeles to attend the annual cinematic event. The trip to London had been more than fruitful, further stirring Julia’s emotions and incidentally, netting Rachel as well.

I love this kind of life, Adrian thought as he sat in the rented private jet, gazing at the clouds outside. He was oblivious to the complicated looks Charlize, busy with the itinerary on the other side, occasionally sent his way. (To be continued… For further information, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available there. Support the author; support genuine reading!)