King of Hollywood

Chapter 142: Chapter 142: The Broadcasted Tango Segment

Although the British media still frequently brought up “Howards End” during these two months, the level of attention had clearly not reached the previous “heights,” as evident from the reviews gradually moving from the front page to the second or third pages. After all, provocations were uninteresting without any rebuttals, and no matter how much they questioned, Adrian’s only response was, “Please wait for the film’s release before making a fair judgment.”

Thus, the hype inevitably dwindled, and the remaining attention mainly centered around the intriguing performance of “Pulp Fiction.” Released almost simultaneously in the United Kingdom and the United States, it had already been withdrawn from theaters and had garnered over 20 million British Pounds in box office revenue in the UK, also winning the fervent support of numerous film enthusiasts.

In North America, thanks to the extended screenings, even though it had been released for 16 weeks, it was still being shown in six to seven hundred theaters. The astonishing part was that after its eighth week, the number of theaters had continuously dropped, bottoming out at 300, yet the box office slowly but steadily climbed, garnering about 2 million weekly with virtually no empty seats. As the film’s slow season approached, the theater count gradually increased again, yet the weekly box office remained around 2 million, stable yet amusing, which also inspired admiration for the film.

“I’ve already seen it seven or eight times, I love everything about this movie!” exclaimed an enthusiast, dressed in a retro style mimicking a movie character, during an interview.

There were many fans like him, deeply enamored with the various details displayed in “Pulp Fiction,” such as the retro outfits and music, among other things. Interestingly, they were also the most staunch opponents of Adrian’s filming of “Howards End.” They believed he should continue making movies like “Pulp Fiction” instead of inexplicably producing some arthouse drama, especially one styled after the Victorian era like “Howards End”!

Of course, Adrian was unaware of these opinions, and even if he knew, he wouldn’t care. So, he continued to work peacefully on the post-production of “Howards End” in his London studio, and simultaneously—

“Keep going! Oh, don’t stop, keep going!” Shouts of urgency and excitement echoed through the room, accompanied by the creaking of a chair. Also in the editing room, also on the lounge chair, also with a man, but not with the same woman.

Monica was wildly flipping her long hair, bare from the waist up, biting her lip with eyes that seemed to spit fire, her ample and enticing bosom leaping up and down intensely, indicating the vigor of their activity.

Compared to Kate’s youthful body, the mature and sensual Monica provided a completely different kind of pleasure, more enticing, more lascivious, and more bone-meltingly intoxicating, especially after being tempered in Adrian’s hands multiple times.

As the creaking grew louder, the chair seemed about to collapse, and Adrian, who had been sitting in it, suddenly grabbed Monica and had abruptly stood up, while Monica clung to him like an octopus, followed by even more vigorous activity. Soon, several short screams rang out, and the two of them then tensed their bodies and clung tightly together.

After this continued for more than ten seconds, Adrian finally sighed and sat back down with Monica, who then softly moaned and slumped onto him.

“Oh, Monica, you always surprise me.” After a brief rest, Adrian, holding the mature, sexy body, sighed contentedly, his hand gliding over her smooth back.

Monica didn’t respond and remained savoring the climax’s lingering effects while resting on his chest. Eventually, she lifted her head, her brown eyes still slightly dazed, “Why… how do you always make us reach this state together?”

“That’s where the skill lies, satisfying myself while also satisfying my woman, that’s what a man should do,” Adrian replied, raising an eyebrow. “I’m familiar with your body, dear Monica, I know your every response, I take pleasure in satisfying my women.”

“You seem pretty full of yourself, Ed,” Monica retorted with a teasing tone.

“Perhaps, but I prefer the word ‘confident,'” Adrian corrected, then, smiling wryly, he tilted up Monica’s chin. “Don’t you think a man who always holds the winning cards is attractive to women?”

Monica paused briefly, then huffed lightly, “Is that what you tell your little girlfriend too?”

“No, she is her, and you are you,” Adrian said with a smile, his finger lightly tracing her plump lips.

Monica lightly bit his finger and then suddenly asked, “So, under the same conditions, who did it better?”

Adrian blinked, then quickly understood. The reason they ended up having a passionate moment in the editing room with the door closed today was mainly because he had unintentionally mentioned doing the same with Kate here. Although he hadn’t made it obvious when he spoke, Monica quickly caught on, leading to the current situation.

At first, Adrian was a bit surprised by her initiative, but their conversation just now made him realize Monica’s thoughts. He found it amusing and didn’t take it seriously, “Each has their own uniqueness, and it’s incomparable.”

Monica huffed again, straightened up, and got off Adrian’s waist. However, as she tidied up, she couldn’t help but ask, “Is it the same for every man, to keep a lover while having a girlfriend?”

“My answer is, most of them are like this, even if they don’t act on it, they still entertain the thought,” Adrian said with a smile, helping Monica put on her bra from behind.

Although Monica was facing away while she adjusted her clothes, Adrian could guess her thoughts from her shoulders sagging and then rising again. He placed his head on her shoulder and whispered into her ear, “You know, Monica, there’s no point in lying about this.”

Monica looked back at him without saying a word, and Adrian, smiling, playfully slapped her buttocks and then said, glancing at the time, “It’s almost time to get off work, how about we go for a stroll on Regent King Street or Oxford Street later? After all, the remaining time is ours.”

Even though the holidays in American universities are quite long, they eventually come to an end, so after mid-September, Kate had to return to school. With one less person around, Adrian consistently kept in touch with Monica, who was conveniently in Italy, so close by; how could he not call her over?

As for Emma, her aunt came to know about the mischief she caused between Adrian and Kate and simply reduced her visits to Adrian, regardless of the tantrums the little girl threw at home, so there was no worry about her seeing their intimacy.

Days spent with beautiful women are always pleasant; by early October, “Casper,” which had been pulled from North American theaters, had impressively raked in about 120 million in box office takings, and while the screenings were not over in some overseas regions, it was projecting to be a similar figure.

Meanwhile, “Pulp Fiction” was still advancing towards the hundred-million mark, slowly accumulating two to three million weekly, and interestingly, in the 18th-week weekend, it re-entered the top ten at the North American box office with a $2.8 million gross. Although the off-season didn’t have particularly captivating productions, this occurrence was surprising, even startling.

“Adrian truly deserves the title of genius director; he must have used some magic to give such resilience to this R-rated film,” one media outlet wrote in a review.

However, the most surprising thing was not this; during October, what captured the most attention was a movie clip broadcast on various TV stations. A blind man, led by a young person, took the hand of a young woman and brought her to the dance floor, then danced a tango under the melody of Carlos Gardel’s most famous work, “Gone With The Bullets.”

Although it lasted only 2 minutes and had just a few lines of dialogue, the tango was so flamboyant and full of passion that it was impossible to look away. Especially the portrayal of the blind man by Al Pacino—yes, that well-known Al Pacino—drew much praise from film fans.

After the initial shock, a quick-witted reporter immediately realized something, especially since the broadcast clip was followed by “Stay Tuned” This prompted people to start a flurry of discussions, wanting to know what this meant; a New York Times columnist wrote, “After being on ice for over half a year, Adrian’s fourth film has finally shown the tip of the iceberg. Does this imply that this much-talked-about movie will finally meet the audience? What is Adrian’s plan? Does he think it’s been sufficiently modified to be presented, or is he trying to build momentum for ‘Howards End’?”

This hypothesis was relatively fair, but a film critic who had previously mocked Adrian bluntly described it as “wishful thinking.”

“Judging from the clip alone, it indeed attracts a lot of attention; the beautiful girl, the enchanting music, the blind yet flamboyant Al Pacino, and the passionate tango. But whether a movie is excellent is not for a clip to decide. In my view, Adrian’s decision to release this long-frozen film now is either hoping to garner some affirmative reviews or because ‘Howards End’ has run into more serious issues, thus forcing him to divert attention with this film. Frankly, I believe the latter is much more likely.” That was his review.

Because of events two months prior, the British media was always keeping an eye on Adrian and naturally knew about his fourth film. Upon hearing this news, they eagerly brought up ‘Howards End’ again and began circling the studio, hoping to get firsthand information. (To be continued, to find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, with more chapters available. Support the author, support genuine reading!)