King of Hollywood
Chapter 459 - 180: Anything Else

Chapter 459: Chapter 180: Anything Else

The little girl sat quietly in the chair, looking nothing like her usual lively self, her gaze slightly unfocused, as if unsure where to look, her face filled with melancholic loneliness, evoking a sense of heartache.

"Hi, Scarlett, what are you doing here? Where’s your mom?" Adrian walked in, asking with a concerned tone.

Scarlett looked up blankly, recognized Adrian, and managed a forced smile. She opened her mouth but said nothing.

"What happened?" Adrian casually closed the door, glanced outside, and took a few steps to sit next to her.

"Nothing... nothing..." the little girl answered softly, "I came... to audition for a role... I..."

"Where’s your mom?" Adrian looked around again and asked. The lounge was small and had no inner rooms, so nobody else could be there.

"She has... something else to handle... She told me... to wait for her here..." Scarlett bit her lip and turned her head aside, unconsciously clenching her hands into fists behind her back.

"What happened? You don’t seem very happy," Adrian asked in a gentle tone.

Suddenly, Scarlett turned her head back with a hopeful look, as if eager to say something, but after hesitating for a few minutes, she lowered it again and softly said, "Really... it’s nothing..."

"Okay, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay," Adrian said after a while, "but, Scarlett, I just want you to know that if you have something on your mind that you cannot share with your family, or if you seek any help, you can come to me. You’re a lovely girl, and you are also a strong girl, I really really want to see you happy, not sad like this."

He reached out and gently stroked Scarlett’s tender cheek, saying in the most sincere tone. Suddenly, Scarlett’s body began to tremble involuntarily, and her eyes rapidly reddened. Despite her efforts to control herself, her mouth involuntarily opened wide, and as tears rolled down, her throat began to convulse.

However, no matter how much she cried, or how wide her mouth opened, no sound came out. Only someone profoundly sad could be in such a state. Immediately, Adrian pulled her into his arms and repeatedly rubbed her back, "Cry, cry out loud, it’ll feel much better once you let it out."

With his continuous patting, the little girl finally let out a sound, initially a hissing noise as if the air was being squeezed out of gaps in her lungs, but soon turned into normal sobs, and eventually, she burst into loud crying. The crying seemed somewhat uncontrollable as Scarlett buried her head in his chest, her shoulders heaving, her hands clutching tightly at his collar.

Adrian clearly felt his clothes getting soaked with her tears, but he did nothing else, just kept gently patting her back. The door was lightly pushed open, and Melanie appeared at the doorway with a worried look. Adrian quickly put up his finger to his lips in a "shush" gesture, then gently shook his head.

Melanie looked at her daughter still sobbing in his arms, hesitated for a moment, then nodded quietly and backed out again.

After a few more minutes, Scarlett’s crying finally subsided. After several continuous sobs, she lifted her tear-streaked face.

"I’m... sorry..." she choked out, tears still occasionally running down her flushed cheeks.

"It’s okay, as long as it helps you release those feelings," Adrian smiled, took out a tissue, and began wiping her tear-stained face, "Do you feel a bit better now?"

"Thank... thank you..." Scarlett said intermittently, trying her best to appear calm, and seemed to have her emotions mostly under control.

"Scarlett?" After waiting outside for a long while, Melanie finally came in, quickly hugging her daughter, "Are you okay? I’m sorry, it was wrong of me to leave you alone here."

"It’s okay... Mom... I’m fine now," Scarlett said, sniffling and managing a forced smile.

"I believe she’s all right, Melanie, don’t worry, Scarlett is a very outstanding little girl," Adrian said, handing her a cup of hot cocoa. "Drink this, Scarlett, it will help calm you down and also replenish some of your energy."

Scarlett took the cup obediently and nodded; indeed, she had cried herself to weakness, so she sat down and slowly began to drink.

"May I take a few minutes of your time, Melanie?" Adrian then signaled to Melanie.

"Yes, of course." Melanie immediately followed him to the other side.

"Forgive my forwardness, but may I know what happened?" Adrian asked in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Of course, if it’s inconvenient..."

"Well... This..." Melanie hesitated, then decided to tell the truth, "It’s like this, her father... he and I have recently got divorced officially."

"I understand." Adrian immediately made a "no need to say more" gesture, "I guess you must have been in a cold war for a long time, right? And Mr. Castan must bear a lot of the blame... This indeed is quite a blow for a child."

"Yes," Melanie smiled gratefully. "It’s not the first time she’s been like this; it happened during the filming on the set of ’The Horse Whisperer’—you know the movie, right?"

"Yes, ’The Horse Whisperer’ by Robert Redford, produced jointly with his production company and Miramax, starring Scarlett as the daughter," Adrian nodded. "It’s a good role, quite challenging."

"At the set, she was seen crying quietly more than once, but in front of everyone, she always tried hard to pretend nothing was wrong." Melanie sighed, "And it’s the same at home, I’ve tried several times to find time to talk to her, but I never know what to say, and her brothers and sisters can’t help much either."

"I understand, it’s hard for parents to explain such things to children, especially when their views on life and the world are still forming. From a personal perspective, I suggest you just need to be patient, you don’t have to talk much, but make sure to listen to her a lot. She is a very remarkable child, and I have high expectations for her—I don’t want her to sink into silence," Adrian said seriously.

Then, after a long pause, he continued, "I hope my words don’t trouble you, Melanie."

"Oh no, Ed," she smiled and shook her head, "In fact, I should thank you. She has been this way for quite a while, and I’m grateful she cried it out today, otherwise I might have had to take her to see a psychologist. I’ll try to do as you suggested, Ed, I promise."

Adrian nodded, glanced at Scarlett who was occasionally looking their way with her cup in hand, then walked back to her and crouched down, "Feeling much better now?"

"Yes, much better now." The little girl was completely calm, having vented her feelings through crying, and her smile was much lovelier.

"Good, then let go of those unhappy things, remember what I just said, you are a strong girl, and these setbacks won’t knock you down, right?" Adrian said with a smile, "And if you ever have worries you don’t want to talk to Mom about, you can confide in me, I promise not to tell anyone."

Scarlett blinked and then brightened up, "You promise? Swear to God?"

"Swear to God." Adrian raised his right hand, Melanie next to him wanted to say something but closed her mouth as soon as she opened it.

"Thank you." Scarlett suddenly hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder and holding him tightly with her eyes closed. Adrian chuckled and again gently patted her back.

After a while, Melanie finally spoke, "Alright, Scarlett, we need to go now."

"Goodbye, Ed." The little girl ran back to her mother’s side and waved goodbye to Adrian.

"Goodbye." Adrian nodded to her and her mother as he walked them out of the lounge, watching them as they walked down the hallway. Scarlett occasionally turned her head to look at him, her face filled with reluctance to leave.

He hadn’t expected this to happen, but it was a good opportunity, right? Adrian recalled all the information he had on Scarlett, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

"Are we still going to the office?" Sarah’s voice came from behind him.

"Oh, sorry for making you wait." Adrian quickly snapped out of it and walked with her towards the office.

Sarah, who had been waiting outside the door the whole time, had seen everything from start to finish but didn’t say much. She just looked deeply at Adrian until they entered his office and then she spoke softly, "This is how I fell for it."

"What did you say?" Adrian immediately raised an eyebrow.

"Did I say something?" Sarah looked up, blinking innocently.

"You definitely said something. I heard it," Adrian said, half-amused as he began to rummage through a drawer.

"If you heard it, then why ask?" Sarah responded irritably.

"Wow, wow," Adrian clicked his tongue, "Is it my imagination, or did I detect a hint of jealousy in your tone?!"

"I... didn’t!" Sarah’s cheeks reddened slightly, but then she suddenly turned her head and stared unblinkingly at Adrian.

"What is it?" Adrian couldn’t help but touch his face, wondering if something was sticking on it.

The next second, Sarah stepped forward, stretched out her arms, tiptoed, and hugged Adrian. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder for a long time before she let out a deep sigh, "If there was ever a shred of doubt before, today it’s completely gone."

"Oh?" Adrian, also hugging her, raised his eyebrows but didn’t look too surprised. He knew what Sarah wanted to say.

"I love you, Ed, even though..." Sarah didn’t finish her sentence, knowing that Adrian understood what she wanted to say.

"I’m glad I sold myself to you," she whispered, then gently kissed him on the lips, her eyes full of affection.

"I’m glad I bought you," Adrian smiled back and kissed her, then shook the document in his hand, "Alright, I found it. Let’s head back before it gets too late to book a table at the Elf Restaurant."

Although Adrian accidentally became a confidant to a young girl once more, he didn’t feel troubled, especially considering some of the statements Scarlett made in her past life. If he easily let it go, he would be a fool, as there are also many similarities between her and the others. Moreover, he had quite an understanding in this area, and this Pygmalion effect also brought him a great sense of achievement.

Thus, Adrian’s attention was mostly still on the movies. Although Sarah complained that her role in "Legally Blonde" wasn’t dumb enough, it wasn’t a big deal. After all, Sarah wasn’t particularly clever in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," or "School Ties" either. This kind of foolish feel could be adjusted.

"She’s doing quite well; it only needs a little attention, expressing this feel isn’t a difficult task, moreover Ali isn’t really that kind of dumb woman," Josh Wartan, who was the director, commented on her performance.

If there was anything Sarah needed to worry about, it was still her gentle nature that developed after relying on Adrian. Even though Adrian brought Love under her tutelage, hoping she could vent the suppressed side, in public, Sarah and Love looked completely like good sisters.

"It’s okay, at least she has quite a presence in private." Adrian thought to himself. Out of concern, he had once sneaked a peek at how Sarah and Love interacted privately. Sarah was incredibly domineering, pinning Love against the dressing room wall and threatening to slap her whenever she misspoke. Of course, Sarah never really hit her, manipulated her for a while, and then consoled her with a condescending attitude. She was almost a queen.

Such incidences had occurred many times, and Love had become completely submissive to her. However, each time afterwards, when Sarah was alone, she would breathe heavily, trying to calm herself, seemingly excited yet ridden with guilt.

"Take it slow, no rush," Adrian thought to himself. "It’s Love’s turn to get some treats." He had previously launched an album for Love. The sales were neither good nor bad, giving her some popularity in singing. Now, it was time to consider giving her a substantial but not too famous role in a movie. The female lead in "Final Destination" would be perfect.

Adrian was soon on the set of another movie, besides "Legally Blonde," the fourth part of Julia’s romance quintet: "Runaway Bride"!

"So you finally decided to visit me?" Julia immediately said this when Adrian appeared on the set of "Runaway Bride," her tone clearly discontent, which had never happened before.

"What happened?" Adrian asked with a smile, making it seem like it was not a big deal.

"Oh, nothing much, just that I’m merely one of your many women. You taking the time to visit me is already an honor, right?" Julia continued sarcastically.

"Huh? Sorry, this seems... alright, Emma, do you know what your aunt is talking about?" Adrian glanced at Julia half-smilingly, before changing his expression as he looked slightly behind her.

Around the corner of the wall, Emma Roberts curiously peeked half of her head out, her eyes spinning around. Julia immediately covered her mouth subconsciously, her complexion worsening. If Emma had heard what was said just now, that would be troublesome, even though she was only six years old. But thinking about how this man made her lose her composure, she couldn’t help but glare at Adrian again, before scanning the surroundings. Thankfully, the crew members were all far away, with no one else there but Emma.

"Don’t worry," Adrian whispered in Julia’s ear before kissing her cheek in front of Emma and then went over to pick up the little one.

Julia glared at him again but said nothing.

"You two are so funny," Emma, biting her finger, watched Adrian and her aunt for a while before suddenly clapping her hands and giggling.

With Emma’s interruption, and although she heard their conversation but did not understand it, Julia’s displeasure quickly dissipated quite a bit. After all, it was no secret that Adrian had many women and her dissatisfaction stemmed not only from Adrian’s failure to visit the set in Los Angeles right away but also from the difficult filming.

"I just can’t seem to get into the right state, even slightly complicated scenes require many NGs to pass, I feel like I’ve suddenly forgotten how to act," Julia complained.

Clearly, it was anxiety-induced, like always worrying about certain things which caused performance issues. Of course, identifying the cause of the anxiety was the first step, and Adrian was somewhat aware of it.

"Millennium," Adrian smiled and continued, "directed by me and also when the fifth part will be released. I intend to make you the first Oscar-winning actress of the millennium."

"The first Oscar-winning actress of the millennium should be that person at the beginning of the year 2000," she said, although her relaxed expression said it all.

"Who is the real first millennium actress will be a matter of public opinion, won’t it?" Adrian said, smiling as he began to caress her torso.

Both were naked, lying in the bedroom bed. This was another way to eliminate anxiety and one of the reasons why Julia was so relaxed. What better way to relieve stress than through passionate lovemaking?

"Wait, Ed, Emma is just next door; we were already loud enough earlier." Julia urgently grabbed his hand.

"That’s true," Adrian mused mockingly before bursting into laughter, "But, I really miss your mouth."

Julia gave him a look but immediately turned over, kneeling on the bed and bending down. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)