King of Hollywood
Chapter 513 - 234: Because of Preparing for the New Song, I Remembered...

Chapter 513: Chapter 234: Because of Preparing for the New Song, I Remembered...

Under the colorful lights, the pair moved together with practiced ease, as if they had rehearsed countless times before. The woman’s hips and the man’s groin kept rhythm perfectly, becoming one. Surrounding them, quite a few others copied their posture, pressing close together and emitting occasional shrill screams of excitement.

When the music ended, the man and woman in the center of the stage also stopped, embraced, and shared a kiss before returning to their spots.

"I never knew you were so good at this kind of dance," Christina said to Adrian with a giggle, after taking a long, refreshing gulp of chilled beer and sighing contentedly. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead and the tip of her nose; her cheeks were flushed with a delicate red hue, though it was hard to tell if that was due to excitement or something else.

Although she wasn’t of legal drinking age yet, how many American youths really cared about that? Besides, this wasn’t exactly a bar, and no one checked IDs—as long as they didn’t get wasted, no one bothered.

"Of course, whether it was in high school or college, no one could beat me on the dance floor," Adrian boasted with his chin held high, displaying a pride quite different from his demeanor in the office or at formal gatherings. At work and various luncheons, parties, and meetings, he was calm and gentlemanly, making conversations feel like a breath of fresh air. But now, he seemed wild and unconstrained, not at all like a man in his thirties. However, the sense of stability had not completely vanished. The combination was paradoxically attractive, especially to someone like Christina, who was on the cusp of leaving her girlhood behind yet still somewhat naive.

"You’re truly a miracle, Ed. I’m sure you’ve heard this many times, but... to be noticed by you is my good fortune," Christina remarked earnestly, though her eyes wandered over Adrian’s body, and her hands were subtly playful—like slyly licking the corners of her mouth or slowly twisting her fingers around the handle of her beer glass. Her crossed legs swung, with one foot hooking upwards frequently.

Adrian smiled inwardly. During his visits to the record company, Christina had always been particularly enthusiastic towards him. Of course, this enthusiasm was two-fold: on one hand, she always took the chance to chat briefly and showcase her talent with her songs, yet never overdid it. On the other hand, she found opportunities to flirt with him, again maintaining a careful balance.

Just like the time in the studio when she brushed by Adrian while receiving papers from Norton, her perky rear discreetly bumped against his groin—not too lightly, not too heavily. The contact was brief, likely unnoticed by others, but it was significant. At least for Adrian, who found himself taking a sharp breath, suspecting she had practiced to get the pressure just right.

"I told you long ago that you would make an excellent singer, Kristen," Adrian said with a slight smile, then gently patted his thigh.

Understanding the cue, Christina stood up and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck before initiating a kiss. Couples all around them were in similar embraces; even the most reputable nightclubs featured such scenes, not to mention a place like this that wasn’t quite so proper—it overlooked the underage drinking among youth, but it certainly wasn’t a terrible venue, just a notch below the mainstream ones.

Aside from those discreet teases, Christina had frequently sat in his lap and kissed him passionately in the past, more often than now, with more people around. Since none of these people knew them, Christina didn’t have to hold back. Adrian knew exactly why she behaved this way. Initially, Christina’s intimate gestures were infrequent and not too fervent, but they changed after a certain period—during which Britney had been ardently close to him more than once in his private dressing room.

Adrian, despite his preference for Britney, had to admit that she was now well-trained and submissive. When he originally signed Christina, apart from his knowledge of her accomplishments in his past life, he also planned to pit her against Britney. But now, faced with a Christina who actively presented herself to him, he couldn’t help but take pride in his work—one that succeeded by his own means.

He had tasted the flavor of many Latin beauties, Jennifer Penello, Gisele Bundchen, Shakira, and so on. They all shared one commonality—their exceptionally seductive lower body curves, especially Shakira with her electrifying hips, an image that lingered in his memory. Christina was no different (Aguilera had Spanish heritage), and perhaps after she was marked by him, he could teach her that move in the future.

Taking a deep breath, Adrian finally parted from Christina’s lips. After all, they were in a nightclub; it was inappropriate to go too far. Nevertheless, the young woman leaned against him, dazed, her cheeks flushed with a perpetual panting, overwhelmed by such a carnal and intense kiss—it was her first time experiencing such.

"So, you’ve never been to my place; want to see it?" Adrian whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her.

Since she had asked him out after the recording session, whether she was ready or realized that any delay would only be detrimental to her, Adrian knew she wouldn’t reject his invitation.

"Why not... come to my place?" Christina, finally regaining her senses, gasped for air and fixed her unwavering gaze on Adrian. "I rented a house in the West Forest District... it’s very quiet..."

Adrian raised an eyebrow, aware of Christina’s housing situation. After the release and subsequent acclaim of "Charlie’s Angels," even the soundtrack had gained popularity. The original album sold well, hence Christina also obtained the biggest income since she started singing and promptly rented a house to move out.

"Then, let’s go to your place," he said with a light chuckle.

After the car entered the garage and the door began to slowly close behind them, Christina unfastened her seatbelt. She stole a glance at Adrian, who had already stepped out on the other side, and hurriedly rubbed her cheeks in the rearview mirror. The rosy flush still hung on her face, and her eyes were a mix of spring desire.

At the thought, Christina looked at Adrian again before recalling all the preparations she had made, which should... No, which must satisfy him.

"From here..." Christina pointed toward the garage’s side door, her words incomplete when Adrian stepped forward, pinned her against the car door, and captured her bright lips with a kiss.

Then, while deeply kissing her and caressing her, Adrian pulled her to the side. Christina, unusually compliant and cooperative, suddenly found herself turned around, with both hands braced on something. The young woman opened her eyes to see the car’s hood in front of her, spotless and reflecting specks of light from the garage, still retaining a residual warmth.

---------------------------

"Charli, what do you think our chances are of acquiring Valve now?" Adrian asked after poring over documents in his office chair for quite some time.

"It won’t be easy. Founders Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington are both Microsoft employees with good relations with id Software, and they have a set of supporters in the industry. It’ll be troublesome to push for an acquisition if they’re not willing to sell," Charlize answered without hesitation, indicating her familiarity with these details.

"What a hassle, a person really can’t do too much at the same time," Adrian complained.

"I think if you spent half the time you do in bed on your work, this wouldn’t be happening," Charlize remarked nonchalantly.

Adrian rolled his eyes as if he hadn’t heard and then flicked through the documents in his hands. "This really is troublesome. Although they don’t seem to have such a plan yet, who knows what the future holds? Just asking for authorization to use their modules and 3D engine takes so much time, and I can’t be supervising development every day..."

"If you’re only interested in using some modules and the 3D engine to make a game, why not invest to have them develop it to your specifications?" Charlize proposed from the side.

Pondering this, Adrian raised an eyebrow before suddenly clapping his hands together forcefully. "That’s an excellent idea, Charli! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!"

He grabbed Charlize’s hand and began a saccharine tribute, "You really are the world’s most exceptional secretary assistant, Charli, oh, I really, really like you!"

Now it was Charlize’s turn to roll her eyes. She withdrew her hand and shook her head, "If there’s nothing more, I’ll be going."

"Alright, alright, you’re always like this," Adrian feigned a complaint and then added, "Remember to remind me to have Valve develop a design game."

"Understood," Charlize’s voice trailed from afar.

Sitting back down, Adrian took another look at the documents in hand and let out a long sigh. Despite his unmatched memory, a person’s energy is always finite. Most of the time, he was focused on producing movies and television shows. Although he had provided guidance for game development, like the U.S. studio’s current development of Resident Evil and the upcoming Resident Evil 2, he had been rather laissez-faire.

Despite exceptional works from Blizzard, Eidos, and other acquired studios, and the soon-to-be-released hit StarCraft, he had missed quite a few gems, such as Valve Studio’s Half-Life, founded in ’96. Of course, what Adrian was really interested in was not Half-Life, but its derivative, Counter-Strike, which had an even longer lifespan than StarCraft!

According to the original timeline, Half-Life should be released this year, then next year, a few employees, out of boredom, would develop Counter-Strike on the same modules and 3D engine base. Having missed out on Half-Life, how could he miss Counter-Strike? But time might not be on his side. However, Charlize’s reminder sparked an idea – he could invest and then have Valve Studio develop it soon.

Keeping her as a secretary assistant was indeed a waste of her talents. Adrian thought so, considering Charlize truly was exceptional. But there was no rush; in another year and a half, he could make big moves. Like his other women, he wouldn’t let them suffer losses.

Speaking of which, it was quite interesting that Adrian had thought of Counter-Strike at this time because of a new song prepared for Christina that had triggered the memory. Now that he had marked Christina – their first time, in the garage of all places, without protection and shooting directly on – it was only natural that he reciprocated with benefits.

Although he preferred to enjoy women full of mature charm like Nicole, Naomi, Monica, and Julia, the act of leaving his mark was also a pleasure, a different kind of thrill – the thrill of conquest and a peculiar sense of ownership. With women like that, as long as they were by his side, Adrian would not skimp. Christina’s new album was short of two songs, wasn’t it? He would fill in the gap then, even though it would be troublesome.

One of the songs was "Apologize," which would be popular years later. The style wasn’t much different from the current pop, and albeit originally performed by a male singer, with slight lyric adjustments, it could suit a female singer just as well. The other was a song frequently featured in Counter-Strike videos from his past life – "She Is My Sin."

It was also a well-liked song, a bit heavy metal-gothic in style, but perfect for showcasing Christina’s vocal talent. And it wasn’t like her first album was taking the youthful and cute route a la Britney. With some modifications, it would suit her just as well. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)