King of Hollywood
Chapter 462 - 183 So That’s How It Is

Chapter 462: Chapter 183 So That’s How It Is

"Give me a top-down composition, with two cameras from two angles, and make sure the tone is a bit warmer, emphasizing that ambiguous, hesitant feeling rather than an eruption of passion!"

"I’m only giving you ten minutes, Mr. Angelo! In ten minutes, I want to see this theater filled with people! No quibbling, no haggling! Got it!"

"Dan! Pay attention to your feelings. Haven’t you adjusted smoothly after shooting for so long?! The same goes for everyone else. Energize yourselves and put in one hundred percent!"

With Adrian’s voice constantly resounding on set, the order of the crew had completely returned to normal within just a day and a half. It had to be said that his personal authority was quite high. Of course, during that period, he didn’t spare anyone his scolding, from the lead male and female actors of the two crews to the lighting technicians, cameramen, director’s assistants, assistant directors, except for Geoffrey Rush and Judi Dench, two veteran actors, and the personal secretary assistant, Charlize.

No one said much after all, their performance over the previous week had been evident to all. Alongside the concerted efforts of several leaders, even though everyone was on edge, the overall atmosphere in the crew was still pretty good. And it wasn’t without its calm moments, at least when a certain just-turned-2-year-old girl wobbled and hugged Adrian, calling him daddy indistinctly, the strict Miracle Director always showed a smile and let everyone off the hook.

Truth be told, many in the crew were quite amazed. They had never heard rumors of Adrian being married, let alone having a child, and one that was already two years old. Those who had worked with him numerous times and knew of his romantic escapades could somewhat guess the reason, but they refrained from discussing it too much. As for the others, they received subtle hints not to disclose anything casually.

Perhaps some would always be tempted to take risks, but what happened next quickly made them abandon such thoughts. In fact, it wasn’t much; The Sun published a few photos of Adrian playing with several kids, including Lily, Little Emma, Small Emma, and Keira, with the headline: "The Miracle Director, King of the Kids."

The photos were very clear, and the distance quite close; they certainly weren’t taken covertly. The set had always been tightly protected, so there was no need to spell out how they obtained these photos. Furthermore, the article didn’t exaggerate, using a light-hearted tone to poke fun—quite different from The Sun’s usual style. Considering Adrian’s stature and seemingly good relations with News Corporation, anyone contemplating a risk would think twice.

For Adrian, this matter was inconsequential and not worth mentioning. After speaking with Charlize, she settled it with just a few phone calls, not even needing to contact Murdoch. And Charlize also let some rumors circulate casually within the crew, unofficially of course, ensuring that certain thoughts were nipped in the bud before they could take root in the minds of a few.

However, the gang of little ones didn’t take kindly to the nickname "King of the Kids."

"He just played a few games with me, why should he be called the King of the Kids? We should have a vote to choose the real King of the Kids!" Little Emma declared passionately, fist in the air, seemingly ready to topple a tyrant.

"Do we really need to do that? Ed hasn’t admitted he’s the King of the Kids," Small Emma seemed to think it was all a bit too much.

"Oh, hell, why am I even getting involved in this mess," Keira said, rubbing her head in frustration.

As for Lily, well, her opinion was completely ignored by everyone, even though she was quite upset and shaking Little Emma’s sleeve; she was mostly angry because she wasn’t joining in her play.

"How could you say that, Rose? This is our right, we should definitely strive to fight for it," Little Emma immediately pinched Small Emma’s cheek and said with "great dissatisfaction."

"But, Charlotte, I think..." Small Emma hesitated and didn’t know what to say, the other person was one year older than her, and smarter and more mature, so naturally she let herself be manipulated.

"It means that during the election, you just need to cast one vote for me," Adrian’s voice came up at this moment, followed by his appearance in front of them with four ice cream cones.

"You guys sure ask for a lot. I at least lined up for five minutes, here you go, each person may only have one," he handed an ice cream cone to each of the three girls and then sat on a bench, holding Lily in his arms, and took out a little spoon to feed his daughter, spoon by spoon.

"As the king of the kids, shouldn’t you bear this responsibility?" Little Emma licked her ice cream and argued convincingly.

"But I thought I heard someone say, why should I be the king of the kids, right?" Adrian teased as he recalled the comment.

"Of course, but at least you’re the nominal king of the kids until our election," Little Emma boasted, "but don’t worry, I’ll vote for you."

"You’re too cunning, Charlotte!" Small Emma immediately pouted and seemed a bit upset, but Little Emma looked up pretending innocence and continued to play with her ice cream cone with her little tongue.

Resulting from this, Small Emma grew even more dissatisfied, but she didn’t know what to say. How could she blame others when she fell for it herself? Yet seeing Little Emma’s expression inevitably made her want to get angry, and finally, with her Cheeks puffed, she raised her fists, trying to regain some dignity through a mock fight, while Little Emma laughed and dodged continuously, as the two playfully scuffled.

Adrian, feeding his daughter, chuckled and shook his head, and then turned to look at Keira, "What’s wrong? You don’t seem very happy?"

"No... um... it’s nothing, I just..." Keira shrugged her shoulders, gestured a few times, and finally sighed.

She was already 13 years old, had entered adolescence, and naturally wanted to assert her individuality more, wanted to show her independent character and charm. It was this that formed her rebelliousness. Particularly, because of the experiences she had as a child, this desire was even stronger, so she disdained mixing with younger children. But after all, Keira had been friends with Little Emma for a while, the two of them had gotten along quite pleasantly. Small Emma, although meeting her for the first time, had gotten along with her not too badly, thanks to Little Emma’s relationship. So, how could she refuse when they invited her to come out and play?

More so, the childlike playfulness they exhibited and the pure friendship between them deeply attracted Keira, hence the current situation where she was feeling a bit caught in the middle.

"You need to learn to adjust your mindset, Keira," Adrian began to chuckle, he could obviously see what she was thinking, "Some things can coexist seamlessly, understand? For example, at work, I’m a very demanding person, the actors make a bit of a mistake and I can criticize them mercilessly. But privately, in front of Lily, as long as she’s happy, I can do whatever she wants me to do, even if I lose all my dignity."

Keira fell silent for a moment, and then sighed, "To be honest, I was shocked when you introduced Lily to me, you actually have a daughter already."

"Can’t I have a daughter?" Adrian teased, his smile flickering across his face as if he’d discovered something.

"Um... of course... not..." Keira muttered, scratching her head, then took a big bite of the ice cream cone she held, ending up smearing a large dollop around her mouth.

"Anyway, don’t overthink it, and don’t be too critical, or you’ll become extreme, and extremists aren’t popular anywhere," Adrian continued the conversation, "As long as you know what you want to do and keep at it, I’ve always believed you’ll be a remarkable girl."

As he spoke, he pulled out a tissue to wipe away the ice cream sticking at the corner of her mouth. The little girl didn’t mind; she just stared at him blankly until she suddenly smiled and pointed into his chest.

Adrian looked down, not understanding, and the next second sighed rollingly as Lily sat on his lap, happily eating the cone, her face covered in ice cream.

"That’s enough, Lily, no more," he snatched the cone from her hand immediately. He brought a spoon to feed her, worrying she might upset her stomach, especially since it was already autumn and particularly with London’s clear seasonal changes.

But the little tycoon couldn’t understand his father’s good intentions and immediately demanded her treat back, "Give it to me!"

Adrian, of course, didn’t comply and quickly gulped down the cone, which turned the corners of Lily’s mouth down in heartbroken indignation as she looked at him, "Daddy is a villain!"

The little one loudly protested, flailing her arms to express her dissatisfaction, all ignored by Adrian who, after finishing the cone, even smacked his lips and gave Little Emma a thumbs-up, "The flavor is really good, no wonder you insisted on this place’s cones."

Watching the stark contrast between the sulky daughter and the smug father, Keira couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. The two Emmas, having stopped their scuffle, also laughed uncontrollably, drawing the attention of passersby.

"Alright, little ones, it’s time to go back. I promised Mr. Knightley a safe return for Keira," Adrian announced, thus concluding their amusement park visit.

Outings like this with the children weren’t frequent for two reasons: first, they always had to disguise themselves to avoid the paparazzi’s eyes; second, Adrian’s primary focus was on filming. Fortunately, the little ones, or more so Little Emma, understood this, being the girl who had spent the most time on set with Adrian. She not only refrained from clinging but also comforted Lily, who was upset about not having her father to play with, along with Small Emma.

Of course, Little Emma maintained her stance, as she put it, it was her "right"!

"Your right, since when did you have such rights?" In the bedroom of the hotel suite, wearing pajamas, Adrian looked at the little girl on the bed disapprovingly. She had phoned home saying she would stay overnight with Small Emma, then told Small Emma she would return home for the night, and now she was in his bed.

"Alright, time to sleep," Little Emma yawned unconcernedly, her head poking out from the covers. "I want to hear a story, the story of ’Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.’"

Adrian fought the impulse to ask how old she already was because he knew for certain the little rascal would tell him very formally that she was now 7 years old and then look at him with sparkling eyes as if to say, "Is there a problem?"

You’ve got me beat. Adrian sighed, helplessly picking up the novel from the bedside and sat down beside her under her watchful gaze, he opened the book and began reading aloud propped against the headboard.

Things are still fine now, but in a few years... Adrian read while sighingly thinking to himself, deciding not to ponder about it for the moment. Meanwhile, he was secretly puzzled about what they could be up to for him to lack any excuse to refuse.

"They" naturally referred to Gwyneth and Blanchett who, after Adrian returned from Paris, started to very tactfully refuse him, regardless of which one he tried to flirt with, he would be passed off to the other. At first, Adrian didn’t take it seriously, but now back in Los Angeles, and they were still acting like that, it couldn’t help but perplex him.

Of course, compared to the beginning, they had improved quite a bit, at least they occasionally flirted with Adrian, and did not show dislike towards Lily even though it was their first time meeting the little girl - even though they knew who her mother was. Lily, though not shy with strangers, was still very sensitive in this regard; she could instinctively tell who liked her and who didn’t, so from how well she got along with them, it was clear that Gwyneth and Blanchett genuinely liked her.

But whenever Adrian wanted to take things further, those excuses would come again, "You think you can go find Gwyneth" and "I think you can go find Kate" were almost always on their lips. What was funny was that they only passed him to each other and never to someone else, knowing full well that there were other women around Adrian, but Charlize was always there.

But what was going on, exactly? Adrian racked his brain for several days, and after the film crew had nearly caught up on the delayed schedule, he came up with a plan.

"Hey, Gwyneth, it’s me, where are you? Oh, the night is so beautiful tonight, maybe you’d like to join me for dinner? You would? Okay, then get some good rest. Shooting is coming to an end; don’t get sick." Adrian ended the call as he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the suite, looking out at the night view, the room behind him dark, lights not turned on.

Looking at his phone, he chuckled softly; not feeling well again, she used that excuse almost every time, just like Blanchett who always said, "I’m a bit tired now," it was basically a clear sign telling him, here, this is an excuse.

"Do you really think you can stop me with that, Gwyneth?" said Adrian as he checked the time and estimated when to head to the bathroom.

This suite was, of course, not his, no need to say whose it was; he had booked these suites and getting a servant to open it was simple, he also used a "surprise" as an excuse for secrecy. Just ten minutes ago, the people he arranged to have in the lobby saw Gwyneth returning and gave Adrian a call. He immediately called Gwyneth and then began the wait.

Soon, the click of the door sounded from the entrance, Adrian had left a small gap intentionally and heard it clearly, followed by a snap, the lights turned on. He smiled slightly, just about to peek through the door crack, when suddenly, he stopped his movement because the sound of kissing started to emerge, sounding... like it was a kiss?!

How... amusing. Adrian raised his eyebrows and then moved closer to the gap; he then widened his eyes in shock. Gwyneth was pinned against the wall, and the one embracing her and kissing her passionately was a woman!

(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)