King of Hollywood

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Resolved and Unresolved

“I don’t need that!” Kate decisively turned around, left Adrian’s embrace, walked to the side, and lifted her chin while folding her arms, looking at him, “To hear the truth, I just realized where my problem lies so I can do better.”

“And how do you know I’m telling the truth, Kate?” Adrian teased.

“Oh? So, you mean to say you’ve never been honest with me?” Kate instantly raised her eyebrows.

“Well…” Adrian couldn’t help but cough, glanced around, and then picked up a spoon to try the pea and ham soup from the pot, “Hmm… the taste is fine, it’s just missing a bit of pepper.”

Kate huffed, walked over, and took the spoon from Adrian’s hand, continuing to stir in the small pot. The stirring wasn’t very even, perhaps she was thinking about something.

“What’s wrong? Is something on your mind?” Adrian quickly sensed this, “If it’s about what I said earlier, I apologize.”

“No, it’s not that, I just…” Kate sighed and hesitated before she looked at him gloomily and said, “I don’t know if I should tell you this, it might make me seem… petty…”

“How could that be,” Adrian laughed, wrapped his arms around Kate’s waist, lifted her, and placed her on the table, “You can tell me anything. Keeping things to yourself can easily lead to misunderstandings, people need to communicate, especially couples.”

“Okay…” Kate, sitting on the table, bit her lip and looked straight into his eyes, “Ed, I want to know… I want to know… the reason you stopped the preparations for ‘Twisters.'”

After she spoke, she looked at him nervously and timidly, her eyes wide and unblinking.

“What, you think it’s because you weren’t good enough?” Adrian couldn’t help but chuckle, reaching out and pinching her cheek, “Why would you think that, Kate?”

“I admit I initially thought that, but more importantly,” Kate pouted, “I have been preparing for so long, I believe I can do well, but you tell me to pause!”

“There are many reasons for the pause, like funding or lack of manpower, it’s nothing serious, it’s not a cancellation. Besides, I have prepared an important supporting role for you.” Adrian shrugged his shoulders.

“You prepared a significant supporting role for me?” Kate blinked.

“Yes, my next movie will be shot in London, and I think you are perfect for that role. What, Roger didn’t tell you?” Adrian looked surprised, but then leaned closer, slightly narrowing his eyes in scrutiny, “Or he did tell you, but in your anger, you forgot it.”

“That… that…” Kate immediately became flustered, her previous momentum dissolving.

“Ah, I need to check how the soup is doing.” Kate also tried to use the thick soup as a shield, but before she could jump down from the table, Adrian had already held her down.

“Changing the subject like this isn’t good, Kate,” he said with a smile that was not quite a smile, his eyes full of meaning, “You got upset without knowing the full situation, which really hurt my feelings, so now I need to compensate.”

“Wait, Ed, wait.” Kate grabbed his mischievous right hand, slightly cross, “That doesn’t mean I didn’t understand the situation. No matter what, it was you who broke the contract first.”

“Hmm, good idea, blame it all on me and it’s all settled.” Adrian grinned at her.

Kate’s cheeks flushed a lot more, finally, she found a topic to switch to, “Oh, I think I remember Roger saying that the movie offering me a role is adapted from ‘Howards End,’ is that true?”

“Of course.” Adrian raised an eyebrow, already guessing what Kate would say next.

Kate noticed this, and as the blush receded, it surged up again. She coughed lightly but still asked, “Are you planning to… make a Victorian Era British classical style movie?”

“I can’t always make cult-type movies, can I?” Adrian laughed without elaborating further.

“But… but…” Kate gestured but didn’t know what else to say.

“Alright, Kate, I know you’re worried about me, but don’t take it to heart too much. There are always unexpected difficulties in the journey of self-breakthrough, just do your best.” Adrian said and kissed her on the forehead.

“Okay,” Kate sighed, then wrapped her arms around Adrian’s neck and kissed him back, “Looks like I need to flip through that novel a few more times, the last time I read it was two years ago.”

“You’d better hurry,” Adrian pinched her little chin, “you know, I’m about to take the new movie to France for the Cannes Film Festival, and as soon as the festival is over, we’ll head to London.”

“That soon?” Kate was somewhat surprised.

“It’s not that fast; the preparation phase has just begun. Although the lead roles have been selected, I still have to personally invite them. But most importantly,” sighed Adrian helplessly, “Emma keeps nagging on the phone every day. I’m afraid she’ll drag her aunt over to Los Angeles if I don’t visit her soon.”

Kate couldn’t help but laugh, covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes curving into an attractive shape.

“I’ll have someone deliver the script to you tomorrow. Make sure to fully utilize your strengths; you are really suitable for the role of Helena.” Unable to resist, Adrian kissed her on the lips again.

“No problem, I’ll make you satisfied!” Kate giggled, poking him in the chest.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly, planning to interpret “make you satisfied” in another way, but then he suddenly thought of something and raised his eyebrows slyly, speaking teasingly, “It’s such a pity you can’t join me at the Cannes Film Festival. You know, there’s going to be a very sexy woman with us.”

“Here you go again, Ed!” Kate immediately punched him lightly yet firmly, visibly upset, “Does my figure really not measure up to Monica Bellucci? Praising another woman in front of your girlfriend, God, what are you thinking!”

“Because I wanted to tease you,” Adrian quickly made a facetious face, “I always find it cute when you get like this.”

Seeing that Kate really was getting angry, he quickly dropped his smile and wrapped his arms around her, coaxing, “Okay, okay, although your figure isn’t like hers, you have a charm she doesn’t possess. I’ve always said this, but you’ve only focused on the word ‘figure.'”

“Because that’s one of the most enticing aspects of a woman, you said.” Kate lifted her chin defiantly.

“Yes, yes, but you need to understand, Kate, perfect curves have their allure, and imperfect curves have their own charm,” Adrian kissed her cheek playfully, “a beautiful woman who turns heads everywhere doesn’t need just a perfect body.”

“I knew you’d say something like that,” Kate pouted, but the slight smile at the edges of her mouth betrayed her emotions, “I’m now thinking whether I should just take a leave from school and go with you to Cannes.”

“That would be fantastic. Cannes is a famous tourist spot with beautiful beaches along the Mediterranean,” Adrian said enthusiastically. “That way, you’d have attended all three major European film festivals.”

Kate stared at him for a few minutes before sighing in frustration, “It’s too late to ask for leave now; I’ve just submitted a paper. Oh, damn, I wish I had changed my mind earlier.”

“Really? It’s not possible?” Adrian asked, frowning slightly.

Kate just shrugged without saying a word.

“Alright, no worries, there will be other chances.” He comforted her with a hug.

Kate humphed, about to say something, but suddenly her expression changed and she hurriedly jumped down from the table and rushed to the kitchen counter, then shrieked, “My God!”

“It’s just a bit overcooked, no need to exaggerate,” Adrian glanced at the little pot emitting a clearly burnt smell and shrugged nonchalantly.

Kate whirled around, glaring at him angrily, “This is all your fault, Ed! If you hadn’t dragged me over here, I wouldn’t have forgotten the soup was still cooking! Now look what’s happened!”

“Okay, okay, my fault, I apologize.” Adrian raised both hands, knowing it was not the time to reason with a woman.

“You call that an apology, Ed?!”

“So, dear Kate, what would you like me to do then?”

“You should be asking yourself that!”

“But I really don’t know, can you tell me?”

…………………

As May rolled in, the debates over “The Shawshank Redemption” finally began to subside, but it’s undeniable that the film has been closely linked with the 64th Oscars and “Silence of the Lambs.” If someone mentions this edition of the Oscars or praises “Silence of the Lambs,” “The Shawshank Redemption” will inevitably come up as a regrettable counterpart. The die-hard fans of the two films also became distinctly divided, often dismissing the other when praising their favorite.

“That prison film full of moaning for no reason? Forget it, who redeemed whom? It was a mess from the start,” said a fan of “Silence of the Lambs.”

“Nothing but disgusting gore and contrived thrills in that film,” said a fan of “The Shawshank Redemption.”

Of course, such extreme comments are rare. Most fans are rational, criticizing briefly before letting it go. However, it’s undeniable that “The Shawshank Redemption” has consistently topped the charts for video sales and rentals, leaving “Silence of the Lambs” far behind.

However, the discussions of the film had not caused Adrian, the director of “The Shawshank Redemption,” to be forgotten by reporters. They quickly found another noteworthy topic. (To be continued, please visit www.qidian.com for more chapters. Support the author and support genuine reading!)