King of Hollywood
Chapter 400 - 122: What is this?

Chapter 400: Chapter 122: What is this?

The sound of vigorous applause erupted, and the atmosphere in the hall immediately heated up even more. Many elderly people couldn’t help but wipe their eyes, marveling at the content of the story and the performance of the actors.

As the thunderous applause continued, the curtain on the stage once again slowly opened, and all the creators walked up to bow and thank the audience. This made the applause even more enthusiastic, almost as if it was going to lift the roof off Broadway. Although Adrian was also clapping, he took this opportunity to leave the box and head backstage.

"Although I anticipated all of this, I still have to say, your daughter was outstanding," Adrian said to the couple who had arrived at the backstage area before him.

"Thank you, Ed. She has always been the best," Shelly responded with a smile, then looked at her husband, "Right, Evan?"

"Uh... yes," Evan, who had snapped back to reality, nodded. Although not particularly enthusiastic, evidently still maintaining his reluctance for his daughter to pursue this as a career, he was very affirmative of her outstanding performance tonight. "Nata truly was exceptional, thanks for your recommendation and support, Ed."

"She has the talent, I just gave a little push," Adrian said with a smile.

Soon, the actors retreated from the front and led by Natalie, who upon spotting her parents joyfully hopped and ran into their embrace, her attire from the ’40s and ’50s made her look quite composed, but her running immediately disrupted this aura, though her lively appearance was still quite adorable.

The Helarg couple naturally couldn’t stop praising her performance, especially Evan, who put aside all his previous reservations and kept complimenting his daughter. Adrian occasionally chimed in, and Natalie responded now and then, but both were brief, looking no different than before, only conveying messages through their fleeting eye contacts that only they understood.

Still, this was somewhat risky, so when the leader of the theatre troupe came over with the main creators to chat with Adrian, he took the opportunity to leave.

It goes without saying that today was the premiere of "The Diary of a Young Girl" on Broadway and thanks to Adrian’s strong support, the play was staged well ahead of schedule. The story was well-written and supported significantly by the Jewish community, and all the actors performed exceptionally well, hence the first showing was a full house.

"Anyway, congratulations, the premiere was very successful, and it will continue to be," Adrian said after expressing his emotions, as Natalie had already removed her makeup and was ready to leave with her parents.

"I remember there should be a celebration party later, aren’t you going to attend, Nata?" Adrian asked the trio with a smile.

"Then why aren’t you attending?" Natalie asked first, a mix of resignation and amusement in her eyes.

"You know I’ve been heavily hounded by reporters recently, I would have flown back to Los Angeles this morning if it wasn’t for your opening performance. Even so, I had to use a little strategy at the airport to get away. If I attend the party and reporters find out I haven’t left, I would inevitably be surrounded by them, so better not," Adrian shrugged and then looked at Natalie.

The so-called strategy was inviting Tom Cruise to fly back to Los Angeles with him in his private jet, then pretending to receive a phone call that required him to stay, which allowed the private jet to leave with Cruise first. Thus, reporters at the airport saw his private jet taking off but didn’t know he wasn’t inside, thus they couldn’t trace him.

Hearing "because it’s your opening performance," Natalie’s eyes instantly brightened, but before she could speak, Evan already answered for her, "We’re holding a small party at home for her, invited a few friends, so there’s no need to attend the company’s party."

The young girl then helplessly spread her hands, her playful gesture truly irresistible.

"By the way, maybe you’d like to join our small party?" Shelly suddenly asked.

Adrian was stunned for a moment, then looked at Natalie, seeing a mix of hope and worry in her eyes. Eventually, he politely declined, "Thank you, but maybe next time. I still have some matters to attend to."

He paused, then immediately laughed again. "I completely believe there will be many such little parties in the future, so don’t worry about missing anything."

"Thank you." Natalie’s smile became even lovelier, and anyone could understand the meaning of her words. She glanced toward the end of the hallway approaching them, and her smile suddenly turned mischievous.

"May I have a word with you in private?" she suddenly asked, stopping in her tracks.

"Hmm?" Adrian raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Evan and Shelly, finally nodding his head. "Of course, you can."

With a playful chuckle, Natalie beckoned with her finger. Adrian, hesitating briefly, then bent down with an amused expression. "Alright, what is it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the young girl tiptoed up and pecked him lightly on the face, then giggled as she hid behind her mother.

"Nata!" Adrian, having expected this, immediately put on a bemused expression, while Evan also looked at his daughter with a slight frown.

"It’s very impolite to tease a gentleman like that, Nata," Shelly said, reprimanding her daughter while holding her.

"I think a true gentleman wouldn’t mind," Natalie made a face. "Well, if Ed feels I’ve offended him, then I apologize."

"It’s alright. I understand you’re very happy today, but try not to do it again," Adrian quickly responded.

After parting at the entrance of the hallway, listening to their distant footsteps and occasional remarks such as "You’re too frivolous," "But he’s quite entertaining," and "You’re a big girl, you shouldn’t act like this," Adrian gave a deep sigh and then touched his lips. Natalie had chosen her target cleverly—in the eyes of Evan and Shelly, it looked like she had only brushed her lips against his cheek, but Adrian knew it was his mouth corner she had kissed.

Typical ghost spirit Natalie Portman. Adrian sighed to himself quietly, feeling for a moment that declining Shelly’s invitation was a mistake, but it was just for a moment; thinking he missed out would be a grave mistake.

The doorbell rang, and Adrian, smiling, opened the door with a welcoming gesture. "Welcome, my dear."

Outside, Natalie blinked, almost laughing out loud, then coughed lightly, and very seriously extended her hand. Despite her clean-cut hairstyle, wearing a long-sleeve T-shirt, a jacket, pants, and canvas shoes, she held her chin high with an air of a distinguished young lady.

Adrian gently kissed the back of her hand and led her into the hotel room, but his next movement completely shattered the established atmosphere. He peeked out the hotel corridor several times, making sure there was no one outside before quickly closing the door and heaving an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"I specifically chose the timing," Natalie rolled her eyes while sitting on the sofa.

"It’s always good to be cautious, isn’t it?" Adrian sat down next to her with a grin. "You know, I’m committing a crime here."

A blush instantly spread across Natalie’s cheeks, and she glared at him with a peevish pout, then turned her head away, ignoring Adrian.

"Alright, how was your little party last night?" Adrian swiftly changed the subject, seeing no response from the girl, and continued with a smile, "Let me guess, a bunch of peers chatting and maybe playing games, then playing some soft or upbeat music, and if you clicked, dancing together..."

"They’re just kids, and we don’t really have that many things in common to talk about, and dad wouldn’t allow it at home..." Natalie turned her head back with displeasure, interrupting him, but she also paused suddenly. Unnoticed, Adrian had moved so close that turning her head brought their noses almost to touch, and she could almost feel his breath.

"No music or dancing at home?" Adrian asked with a light chuckle.

"Yes, it’s not in line with the traditions," Natalie involuntarily became somewhat flustered, but a hint of desire flashed through her brown eyes as she met Adrian’s black ones.

So, the next second, Adrian kissed the girl’s pink lips, gently sucking on that tender piece. Although Natalie had already experienced this once, she was still a bit overwhelmed at the beginning, but she quickly adjusted, her little tongue beginning to sway with Adrian’s rhythm, rising and falling like a small boat on the waves, even though the kiss nearly left her breathless, she was unwilling to give up at all.

After a long, wet kiss, the two finally separated, took a breath, and then realized their positions had changed. Adrian lay on the couch with the girl in his arms, while Natalie lay on top of him, her arms around his neck.

"You’ve sinned again, Ed." After a long gaze, the girl suddenly chuckled.

"Yeah, I’ve sinned again. What should we do about it?" Adrian went along with her words, showing a troubled expression, "Ah, let’s not worry so much, let’s finish committing this sin before we think about it."

"That won’t do, I have to stop you from sinning." Natalie stuck out her tongue, suddenly sprung up from him, and made to run towards the door.

"Do you think that’s possible?" Adrian also jumped up and lunged towards her like a big bad wolf.

The girl giggled and screamed, running around the room while Adrian relentlessly chased after her. After a long commotion that nearly turned the whole house upside down, Adrian finally managed to capture Natalie in his arms, then threw her heavily onto the bed and pressed down on her.

"It’s strange, why do I like you, Ed?" After the joyful commotion, the girl pinned under Adrian steadied her breath and looked at him affectionately, but a shadow swiftly crossed her eyes again.

"Who knows?" Adrian stroked her head while occasionally placing a light kiss on her beautiful face, "Feelings are hard to explain; I am just as puzzled, except for one thing I am sure of."

"Which thing?" Natalie asked curiously.

Adrian stroked her hair, with an infatuated look in his eyes, leaned down, and whispered into her ear, "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul..."

With these murmurs, Natalie’s expression immediately turned hazy, her bright eyes becoming watery, a few words had already stirred up the deep-seated passion in her heart, although she said nothing, her hands had already started moving on Adrian’s body. What followed goes without saying, almost a month after first tasting the forbidden fruit and meeting again, especially as Adrian had made her thoroughly enjoy their first time, though letters and phone calls alleviated the longing, a great deal of passion had accumulated, which, once unleashed, was enough to ignite anything.

Even so, there would be some minor interruptions.

"No, no, you can’t do this..." After her panties were stripped off, the nearly naked Natalie shyly crossed her arms in front of her spread legs, blocking Adrian’s further advance.

"Ha, my dear little Nada, you enjoyed it very much last time," Adrian said, laughing as he easily removed her hands and then buried his head.

The powerless Natalie immediately threw her head back, lost in ecstasy, letting out a long moan, while simultaneously clutching the bed sheet tightly.

Beautiful moments are always fleeting; alas, Natalie couldn’t always stay overnight like before. However, this made the two of them cherish every moment together even more, a taste that held its own unique sweetness and yearning.

In the end, Adrian returned to Los Angeles still enveloped in the fragrance of the young girl’s body and continued filming "Eyes Wide Shut" at the studio. Though he found it hard to let go of this fruit, half-green and half-ripe, and surely the best at present, it didn’t mean he would give up on other fruits, as there were many more waiting for him to harvest, like this one right now.

"Cut!" Adrian yelled from behind the camera, his furrowed brow indicating his dissatisfaction with the current situation.

"Your emotions clearly aren’t there. Nicole is being a bit too flamboyant, and Tommy doesn’t look like someone who’s just smoked marijuana at all," he said to the two, who were first to grab their towels. "Think back, remember what it feels like to smoke marijuana. Even if you can’t fully recall, you should have some impression, right?"

"I think at this time, Doctor William should show some signs of guilt, he indeed realizes that he has been neglecting his wife," Cruise explained.

"It doesn’t need to be that obvious," Adrian immediately said. "Remember the specific content of this scene, the husband and wife smoke marijuana to relieve boredom, then the wife accuses the husband of flirting with two models at a party, and the husband knows he didn’t, but he went to save someone and has no solid proof to argue back; he feels wronged. And then, the wife explodes with having had sexual fantasies about a naval officer, which deeply shocks him, so even though there might be a hint of guilt, it’s hidden among other emotions! Understand, Tommy?!"

"Okay, I get it, let’s try again," Cruise shrugged.

Adrian didn’t bother with him further. Did he expect that a free ride on a private jet would change his attitude? Dream on, especially since Cruise wasn’t without his own private jet.

"As for you, Nicole, you’ve done pretty well so far, but try to tone it down a bit more," Adrian then said to Nicole.

"I understand," said Nicole, with a towel around her and devoid of any expression.

"Let’s go for another take then. If it doesn’t pass this time, I might really have you smoke some marijuana before shooting, even if it might get us sued!" Adrian half-threatened, half-joked.

Luckily, his threat didn’t materialize, and after three or four more takes, the couple’s scene, fueled by a momentary indulgence in marijuana, finally passed. Although they had to shoot nearly forty takes, making it the scene with the highest number of NGs since the start, the effect was quite good.

It wasn’t surprising. Adrian, with a keen eye, could almost ascertain that Cruise and Nicole probably took this opportunity to vent at each other, especially recalling the sudden burst of passion during the Vanity Fair party, it made complete sense why Cruise seemed less confident. It also left Adrian wondering what would change in their relationship after this shoot ended, and some sights remained unseen, as, for the needs of the performance, Nicole only wore a slightly transparent white vest and panties, with key areas faintly visible—this temptation was hardly less than the previous back-to-camera undressing.

However, soon Adrian had a rough judgment. When he asked Cruise after finishing the shoot if he could be present during the next day’s shooting of the intense scene in Doctor William’s fantasy, where his wife and the naval officer are involved, Cruise chose to refuse.

"No no no, my presence might affect the performance of the two actors. Didn’t you say it would be a closed set? There won’t be any problem. I’ll also use this opportunity to handle some other matters," Cruise explained.

"Alright then, that’s settled," Adrian shrugged, then turned to look at Nicole, who had just dressed and come out from the dressing room, and quietly chuckled to himself.

The next day, in a small room on set, several cameras were placed separately, lights, and all equipment were properly arranged. Nicole Kidman sat nervously on the edge of the bed, dressed in a floral dress. The room was empty except for her. Adrian had come by to check earlier but left after telling her that the actors would be coming soon.

Who would he let play out this intense scene with her? Nicole frowned, clenching her fists unwillingly.

According to the storyboards for the intense scene Adrian had shown her, it was clearly quite explicit. Hence, except for the actors and the director, all unnecessary personnel had been cleared out of the room, meaning a complete closed set, so...

As she sat anxiously, Adrian, dressed in a white naval officer’s uniform, walked into the room.

"You... what is this?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)