King of Hollywood
Chapter 512 - 233 A Gift

Chapter 512: Chapter 233 A Gift

"Father complex?" Kate twitched the corners of her mouth as if she wanted to laugh, "What sort of joke is this, Sarah?"

"Isn’t it true?" Sarah remained calm as if she had fully accepted certain things, "Although I don’t know much, I understand a bit about you and Charli’s family situations. You should be well aware without me saying it. Besides ... well, not to mention their names, but isn’t it the same for all who have deep feelings for Ed?"

Kate moved her lips but remained silent, then she looked at Charlize, whose face revealed a confused expression. It was rare for Charlize to display such emotions; despite not being as adept at controlling her emotions as Adrian, she hardly ever showed them. Kate knew about her past, such as how her mother had to shoot her own husband to protect her daughter, which filled her with sympathy. Sometimes she even thought that if Charlize hadn’t become Adrian’s secretary, hadn’t gotten involved with him in bed, could they have become friends?

Damn, what a foolish thought! Kate rolled her eyes internally. Alright, it was said that Charlize was just 15 when she accidentally met Adrian in New York; Sarah was even younger. This theory made some sense, but what did it have to do with her? She certainly didn’t ...

Suddenly, Kate was stunned as an indescribable feeling surged within her heart. Although her biological father had left this world when she was six, and she soon had a stepfather, her relationship with her stepfather was never good. It wasn’t that he treated her badly, in fact, he nearly did everything a father should do, but she could never accept him.

That was why, after starting middle school, she quickly picked up smoking and even developed anorexia, which affected her for a long time. Even though she tried to correct these issues, it hardly worked, not until she graduated from high school—at which point she had completely overcome these challenges under Adrian’s supervision.

Thinking of this, Kate sighed internally. The memory of meeting Adrian at a café on the outskirts of London right after finishing a movie shoot surfaced in her mind. The way he unabashedly took the cigarette from her hand was especially vivid, seemingly rude yet carrying an indescribable caring nature. But what struck her most was afterward, in the leased studio, the affectionate moments when Adrian played back the shooting segments for her.

Under those circumstances, he could have continued on; most men would have, and she wouldn’t have refused—most women wouldn’t have either—but Adrian had chosen to stop. "Your feelings matter most," this phrase had been ringing in Kate’s mind since that day, ultimately causing her to irresistibly fall into his comforting, sturdy, and secure embrace.

The kitchen fell into an odd silence as the three women, each with their own thoughts, stood there. After a long while, Sarah spoke again, "Last night ... it was me who brought it up to Ed. If ... then I apologize, and I assure you it won’t happen again."

After saying this, she turned and walked away. A few minutes later, Charlize let out a long sigh, "It doesn’t matter, as long as I know what I’m doing. One latte, thank you."

She gave a slight smile and followed out too. Kate swept up her long hair and stared blankly at the door for a while before turning around and getting busy. She certainly could deny it and come up with many pieces of evidence, but what for? In front of two women who had accepted and acknowledged it? Isn’t it laughable? She claimed there was not even a bit of that factor? Damn! Kate muttered lowly, putting down the freshly washed cup with a thud.

If she hadn’t left Adrian’s side after hearing that news back then, might today be different? Thinking this, Kate slightly shook her head. She always did this, just as Adrian said, even though she already knew the answer in her heart, she wouldn’t face reality, maybe because she was British, always carrying a bit of reservation ...

"Alright, one, no, two, oh, make it three, forget it, four lattes then, Ed likes this flavor too. Since he and Charlize are having it, Sarah and I can’t choose something else." Kate murmured as she started making coffee, pushing everything else to the back of her mind.

Adrian, holding his daughter who had just woken up, came to the dining room for breakfast and noticed something odd—Kate, Charlize, and Sarah sporadically fixed their gazes on him. This was usually normal, but not this morning. First, they always looked over together; second, there seemed to be something more in their eyes.

He was sensitive to women’s thoughts but couldn’t quite figure out what they were thinking, so he simply sipped his coffee and joked, "Nice latte, Kate, I thought you would prepare milk. Thinking of it, last night’s fresh milk tasted so good, you ladies probably wouldn’t care to try boxed one again."

He was in a good mood, although he had tried a foursome with Drew, Cameron, and Kelly Hu, and they all eagerly pleased him, that couldn’t compare to the comfort of being entangled with his three women. Especially when they shared and kissed each other, passing along through their mouths, there was no hint of lasciviousness, and it made him exceptionally satisfied.

The faces of the three women instantly reddened, including Charlize, and then they all fiercely glared back. As expected, Lily, who was holding a glass and drinking milk, immediately raised her head and, blinking her eyes, asked her father, "What is natural milk, Daddy? Is it really tasty?"

"Um... this..." Adrian immediately became embarrassed, stammering a few words before the women helped shift the topic.

Although he wanted to continue, Kate soon went to report to the "Serendipity" set, and Sarah also had to keep filming "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." After finishing work, Adrian also had to continue looking after the other two little troublemakers. Small Emma didn’t mind his staying over for a night, but Little Emma and Liv were both very upset.

Adrian also had privately asked Charlize what had happened between them, but Charlize never gave a direct answer.

"Sarah is really a good girl; you’ve trained her very well." She finally said this, and although her tone was teasing and carried her usual slight sarcasm, her gaze was filled with emotion.

Even though he still didn’t quite understand, Adrian didn’t ask any further. But Sarah indeed was a good girl—if it weren’t for her wanting a wild night, he might not have taken her, grabbing Charlize to Kate’s bedroom.

"Fragile yet strong." He mused, and the media soon found Sarah and asked her what she thought about the discovery of a body in a New York apartment, suspected to be her biological father—a fact that couldn’t be hidden for long. Her response was, "Providing sperm does not make someone a father; he does not exist in my life."

Distinctive, with works that young adults love, and not particularly keen on fame, it’s no wonder she became one of the two top idols of the late 1990s. Oh, now there’s only her left, the other, Jennifer Love Hewitt, had become her sidekick under Adrian’s discreet arrangements. So, a thought quickly surfaced in his mind.

"...All my life all the time so far away from home, Without you I’ll be so far away from home." The girl finally finished singing the song in her soulful, magnetic voice, making the song, which was already a bit sad and strong, even more moving.

"Very good, Britney, I’ve said it before, you have an amazing talent for singing," Adrian gently applauded.

"Thank you, this is a song written by Ed." Britney immediately jumped onto Adrian, burrowing into his embrace and affectionately swaying her soft body.

"It wasn’t me who wrote it, I just provided some lyrics and part of the melody, then other songwriters joined in to complete it," Adrian said very "modestly."

"It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s something from Ed, I like it," Britney said cheerfully, speaking of training, this was his most successful case.

"I like this song, it’s sad yet not hopeless, filled with sighs yet full of warmth," she continued, "Will this be the main single for my next album, or a standalone release?"

However, Adrian’s answer surprised her: "Unfortunately, Britney, neither, this song was written for another girl."

"Another... girl?" Britney looked surprised, then pouted her lips, becoming somewhat displeased.

Although Adrian’s brainwashing was effective, upon hearing something like this, unless one completely lost their personality and self, it was impossible not to react. And while Adrian tirelessly trained Britney, erasing her personality and self completely would also be a boring affair.

"It seems my little cutie is not too happy," he teased.

"Of course not..." Britney suddenly became stammering, turning her head but occasionally glancing at him, her contradictory demeanor quite adorable.

"Do you remember what I once told you, Britney?" Adrian turned her around to sit upright.

"Yes, I... want to be the most favored one, to have an ocean-wide heart..." Britney reluctantly repeated, then stuck out her tongue, "But it’s so hard."

"Wasn’t it just as hard during the initial training?" Adrian smiled slightly, "Do you know why I wanted to write this song for her? Because when she was very young, her father abandoned her and her mother. She and her mother lived a very tough life. She started taking on debts as an advertising model when she was very little. She is both strong and fragile; when strong, she would do anything for her mother and her family, and when fragile, she would hide away in a lonely corner and cry softly..."

As he spoke, his voice grew deeper, filled with a mix of admiration and reflection, quickly affecting Britney who unconsciously bit her lip, and immediately after Adrian finished, she started to apologize, "I’m sorry, Ed, I didn’t know it was like that... I... I won’t be jealous anymore!"

"That’s fine. It’s only human to feel that way, as long as you don’t hide it," Adrian comforted her, caressing her head, "I plan to record this song as a single, performed by you, and then give it to her, is that okay?"

"Really?" Britney’s eyes widened, clearly loving the song.

"Of course," Adrian nodded, "You can release it too if you’d like, but in a few years. You know, as a gift, it’s naturally better the more unique it is, plus, in a few years, you’ll fully come into the song."

Hearing that "a gift is better the more unique it is," the young girl involuntarily pouted but then showed a puzzled expression.

"You haven’t lived that kind of life, so you don’t deeply feel ’far away from home’. When you’re a bit older and more experienced, you’ll be able to grasp its meaning better," Adrian said seriously, pinching her chin.

"Okay, then it’s settled. Ed’s always right," Britney thought for a moment, then said with a flick of her head, pecking his cheek playfully, "I want a unique gift too."

"Don’t worry, you’ll get it." Adrian laughed, pulling the young girl into his arms and kissing her pink lips.

If they were to release "far away from home" now, it wouldn’t be impossible. Britney and the song did match well, her husky voice lending it a unique flavor. However, besides the fact that "a gift is better the more unique it is," the timing isn’t ideal. Her debut album was released less than half a year ago, and "baby one more time" is still hanging in the Billboard TOP 100 while Britney’s image is still that of a lively, cute, young girl.

"far away from home" is warm but overall slightly sad, not wholly fitting her current image. Hastily releasing it now could backfire. In a couple of years, when she needs to gradually change her image and style, releasing the song then might make it even more famous than in this previous life.

Speaking of which, Adrian remembered this song, and the singer from Groove Coverage, due to a copyright infringement case involving this German group. They had a very famous song "God is a girl," which was a hit and widely covered. Still, nobody knew that the climax’s eight bars were completely plagiarized from the Swedish band Roxette’s "jefferson," without any alteration.

In China, nobody knew until the news spread and sparked much debate. It only subsided when someone uploaded that song later. Adrian had followed this debate and thus knew of this German group and had listened to "far away from home," a quite remarkable song.

The song’s lyrics happened to have some similarities with Sarah’s experiences, so Adrian wanted to give her a gift, and in the process, he found a great song for Britney. Of course, recording just one single wasn’t enough; this unique gift had other elements too.

After Britney had left—they hadn’t engaged in particularly intense activities, Adrian might have been lecherous, but he wasn’t insatiable—he left his exclusive lounge to find Eric Norton. They had almost gathered all the songs for Christina’s debut album. Although there were a few slots left, the recording had already begun.

Perhaps he could let Christina try "God is a girl"? After all, the Swedish group Roxette’s "jefferson" was also released after 2000, so bringing it out now wouldn’t need to worry about plagiarism issues like Groove Coverage. However, after thinking for a moment, Adrian shook his head. This dance-style song suited both Britney and Christina well, it didn’t have to be specifically for Christina, since it’s her debut album, the impression had to be as strong as possible.

Of course, more importantly, plagiarizing a song was just too troublesome. Although he played piano reasonably well and could recognize musical notation, composing a song was not so easy. The previous "baby one more time" for Britney and the current "far away from home" both involved recalling lyrics and then having some songwriters complete them in front of him by humming a tune.

Knowing this, he might as well have made a name for himself in the music field. Adrian grumbled in frustration and then knocked on the recording studio door.

Christina was recording behind the glass wall, her light-colored long hair hanging down from her head, wearing a thin white shirt with a bra faintly visible underneath, and tight jeans that nicely outlined her curves, giving off a youthful yet slightly sexy vibe.

"Well done, Kristen," The producer, Norton, took off his headphones and gave a thumbs up to the girl behind the glass wall.

"It seems I arrived just in time," Adrian said with a smile.

"Indeed, Kristen’s singing is really remarkable, she got many songs in one take," Norton praised Kristen unreservedly.

"Very good, Kristen," Adrian also gave a thumbs up to Christina as she came out from behind the glass wall.

"Thank you. You said you signed me because my singing was the best, I certainly couldn’t let you down," Christina’s lips curved slightly, exuding vibrant youth and looking charming.

"Oh, that’s the best compliment I’ve heard," Adrian laughed heartily, yet a strange look flashed in his eyes, he had heard such words quite often from Christina lately.

"By the way, we’re still a few songs short, Eric," he then turned to Norton.

"Two songs," Norton shrugged and casually pulled out a few pages, "Here are a few great songs I was thinking of showing to Kristen."

Christina immediately walked over and began to look through them.

"She’s also very talented in this area, I really respect her opinion," Norton continued.

Adrian was about to speak, but a strange feeling suddenly came over him. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it and show your support, which is my greatest motivation.)