King of Hollywood

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Consider it a Vacation

In the modestly decorated living room, two people were sitting face to face on a pair of sofas. Well, it should be said that a man in his twenties and a 2-year-old girl were seated. They sat there with their arms crossed, staring at each other without saying a word, their faces expressionless.

The little girl was dressed in a lace dress, her brown hair neatly tied at the back of her head, and she wore dark round-head leather shoes under her white velvet socks, looking particularly adorable. However, she was pouting and glaring at the young man, seemingly displeased. Meanwhile, the young man sat upright with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, clearly teasing the little one.

After staring at each other for a long time, the little girl finally couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped down from the sofa. She grabbed Winnie the Pooh next to her and swung it as she walked up to the man, furiously smashing it against him.

“Hey, that’s not something a lady should do, Emma,” the man mockingly dodged her attacks.

The little one, ignoring him, continued to throw her stuffed toy at him with all her might. Most of her attacks couldn’t reach him because she wasn’t tall enough, but she persevered and repeated her actions. If her Winnie the Pooh bear could think, it probably would have started crying by now.

Such a child. Adrian couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. When Mrs. Rodlin opened the door, Emma in the living room opened her arms with a thrilled face wanting to rush over, but she stopped after a few steps, finally lifted her head with her nostrils flared, snorted, then turned and went back to sit on the sofa with her arms crossed, waiting for an apology.

Children are like that, acting entirely based on their moods, which can change faster than anyone else’s, even more unpredictable than a woman’s. So Adrian simply crossed his arms and sat silently across from her.

However, he hadn’t expected that she would harbor such grudges, actually dragging the stuffed toy over to hit him, which was amusing and exasperating. After dodging playfully a few more times, Adrian suddenly leaned to the side and fell down, his head lightly touching the arm of the sofa, then he clutched his head and cried out, “Ouch! That really hurts!”

The little girl paused, bewildered, and after staring dumbfounded for a couple of seconds, she hurriedly climbed onto his sofa and into Adrian’s arms, reaching out to check the “wound” while stuttering an apology, “So… sorry, I didn’t mean to… I didn’t do it on purpose…”

Adrian had initially wanted to tease her a bit more, but seeing the anxious and pitiful look on the little one, he gave up the idea and flipped over to hug her: “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“Really?” Emma finally stopped moving. She scrutinized Adrian for a moment, looking less worried, but after blinking, she became slightly uncertain again, “Really?”

Smart little one. Adrian complimented her in his heart, then rubbed his head, pretending to dismiss the pain: “Really, it passed in a moment. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose.” Emma immediately hung her head in embarrassment, her hands nervously fidgeting; poor Winnie had no idea what had become of him.

“It’s okay, I know. I haven’t been to see you for months, and you’re upset. I should apologize.” Adrian hugged her for comfort, although it wasn’t his fault, children aren’t reasonable.

“Five months!” Emma became indignant again and for emphasis, she pouted and stretched out five little fingers, shaking them – her soft, tender tone sounding very soothing.

“Okay, okay, so how should I make it up to you?” Adrian couldn’t resist pinching her cheek.

Thinking hard with her head tilted, the little one gave a blood-draining answer: “Don’t know!”

Adrian rolled his eyes and suddenly reached under Emma’s armpits to tickle her. The little one screamed, dodged, and struggled, trying to escape from Adrian’s grasp, but Adrian, prepared as he was, held her tight in his arms and began to tease her, forcing the little girl to curl up, excitedly shouting and laughing.

“Are your negotiations finished?” At that moment, Emma’s aunt, Mrs. Rodlin, came into the living room with a fruit platter and, seeing the playful pair, shook her head with a smile.

“Ed, aren’t you being a bit…” she whispered, sitting down with a gesture as she put the fruit platter aside.

“It’s okay, as long as Emma is happy.” Adrian, stopping his antics, casually waved his hand and then placed the little girl back onto the sofa: “Do you like this, Emma?”

“I like it!” The merry little girl waved her arms, her face flushed from the playful tussle entirely adorable.

Rodlin could only helplessly shrug her shoulders, just as the doorbell rang—her husband, also the little guy’s uncle, Adam Goldberg, had come back.

“Hi, Ed.” After kissing his wife, he greeted Adrian.

“Hi, Adam.” Adrian waved back.

“You finally made it. If it had taken any longer, Emma might have run away from home,” Adam joked as he sat down.

“I can imagine that just now she even beat me up with Winnie the Pooh,” Adrian exaggerated a bit, then picked up the stuffed toy that had been tossed aside and shook his head with a tsk, “Poor Winnie.”

Adam couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Emma, although not quite understanding, didn’t miss the playful tone and immediately snatched Winnie the Pooh from Adrian’s hand, then made a big funny face.

This adorable gesture made all three people present laugh. Then Adam said, “Are you going to stay in London for a while? You can stay at our place, since the guest room is always empty.”

“Really?” Adrian hesitated a little.

“Of course, I think that’s also Emma’s wish.” Adam said, looking at the little girl still sitting in Adrian’s lap, “Emma, do you want Ed to stay at our house?”

Emma blinked and then cheered, grabbing Adrian’s shoulder, “Want stories! Want to sleep with me!”

Adrian sighed helplessly, pinching the little girl’s cheek, “It seems I don’t have a choice.”

“Then it’s settled,” Adam laughed, “By the way, the newspapers said you won the Palme d’Or, is that true?”

So Adrian ended up staying at Emma’s aunt and uncle’s house, and like last summer vacation, he spent every day with Emma without much else to do. Actually, it wasn’t so bad; it was like a vacation, relaxed without too many worries.

Even though the entertainment media was buzzing with news about the Palme d’Or record being broken, directors are different from actors; people might discuss which star is handsome or beautiful, but they seldom remember a director’s face, even famous ones like Truffaut or Spielberg.

Thanks to Katherine and Hugh’s tight-lipped stance, he could freely take Emma out for walks. Of course, a little disguise was necessary. The United Kingdom, after all, is the birthplace of paparazzi. Though their most audacious moments hadn’t arrived yet, it was always better to be cautious; being recognized would still be troublesome.

Emma was thrilled about his visit, clinging to him almost 24 hours a day. Although she was over two years old, some things never changed, sometimes even intensified, perhaps because Adrian wasn’t always around? Who knows, Adrian didn’t mind, otherwise he wouldn’t have specifically come to London to see her. Of course, he would be grateful if she didn’t insist on squeezing into his bed every night and insistently sleeping on his arm. Waking up with a numb arm every morning for several days in a row wasn’t a pleasant experience.

After a week, as Adrian became elusive and the Bossworth Film Company refused to disclose his whereabouts, coupled with the upcoming premiere of “Pulp Fiction”, the media’s enthusiasm for the youngest Palme d’Or winner also waned considerably. So, guessing that the news had well simmered down, Adrian began preparing for another important task he had in London, and he suddenly felt that bringing Emma along might have an unexpected effect.

“I suggest that you better sit down properly, Miss Emma Watson!” Adrian said, glancing at the passenger seat.

The little girl lying by the car window sometimes observed the street scenes outside and sometimes breathed on the window, then started drawing as she turned back and giggled, making a funny face at him.

Adrian sighed and then raised his voice, “Emma!”

“Got it,” Emma stuck out her tongue and sat properly. However, this behavior only lasted for a few minutes before she started looking around and touching everything again.

Sighing once more, Adrian shrugged his shoulders and continued driving at a tortoise speed of 15 miles per hour. Generally speaking, the passenger seat is the most dangerous spot in a car. Even adults can easily get injured in an accident, let alone children. But Emma insisted on sitting next to him—if driving hadn’t been necessary, Adrian wondered if she would have asked to sit on his lap. After several unsuccessful persuasions, he had no choice but to let her stay in the passenger seat.

Fortunately, the rented car had a child safety seat, which somewhat reassured Adrian. However, seeing Emma’s lively and active nature, he still reduced the speed to the minimum as a precaution.

It’s okay, he thought, reassuring himself that the lady would understand. However, after taking a turn, although the destination was now in sight, it still took him about ten more minutes to finally park by the street.

After getting out of the car and carrying the little girl out, Adrian repeatedly reminded her to behave before arriving at the apartment door as per the address, and rang the doorbell. (To be continued, for further details, please visit www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)