King of Hollywood
Chapter 636 - 44 Slight Gains

Chapter 636: Chapter 44 Slight Gains

"Wow, awesome!" _{fre(e)webnove.l.c.om}

"Nice job, do another one!"

On a spacious vacant lot in Napanee Town, about a dozen boys and girls were scattered in different corners, cheering for the person performing in the middle of the field. The man on the skateboard didn’t look impressive, performing ordinary tricks like flips, yet he always received a round of applause.

"He really is quite handsome, Avril, I think dating him might not be a bad idea," a girl said to her companion, unable to take her eyes off the man in the field and speaking with excitement in her voice.

Do I need to introduce him? Avril really wanted to ask, but she ultimately held back, only frowning slightly and muttering discontentedly, "Is he that good? Those moves are simple, even I could do them."

She had invited Adrian to the skateboarding event with ulterior motives, to show him some colors and see if he’d dare to keep calling her "Vini" after today; she found the nickname appalling. Little did she know he’d blend in so well with these guys, it was a joke; her skateboarder friends had at least one less round with him, how could they get along so well?

Even now, Avril still remembered that scene vividly, when a young guy teased Adrian about playing skateboard in a suit, and after Adrian asked for the nearest clothing store, he told them to wait a moment and left. Ten minutes later, when he returned to the field, everyone was surprised. He wore a ginger yellow short-sleeved T-shirt, grass green mid-thigh shorts, black sports shoes, his hair slightly wet and tousled, and he carried a skateboard. Though his look was somewhat odd and amusing compared to before, it was also clearly youthful and unrestrained.

Avril had her jaw dropped wide open. As a person who often met Adrian, she couldn’t recognize him immediately. It was such a stark contrast, but those who hadn’t had contact with him were surprised and quickly greeted him. Then he chatted with others, got to know most people, and after a few had skated a few rounds, he started skateboarding after warming up, leading to the current situation.

"It’s different, he is already thirty but also so tall, performing these moves is already impressive," a young boy nearby said defensively.

"This record producer is really interesting, I’ve never seen such a fun Uncle," another companion chimed in.

Avril didn’t reveal his full identity, merely vaguely indicating that he was a producer signed to her record label. Otherwise, if they knew he was the Miracle Director, things would have been chaotic. However, this made Avril even more depressed, staring angrily at the guy who had successfully flipped again, jokingly wondering why this guy could also charm people so effortlessly with skateboarding. Her heart was very, very unhappy, but at the same time, a sense of admiration involuntarily arose.

"Thank you, thank you all for tolerating my performance, I hope everyone had a great time," the man in the field finally finished his act, slightly bowed, and immediately elicited a lot of applause.

"How about that, my performance wasn’t too bad, right?" As more people began to skate, Adrian walked back to Avril, asking with a tone of fishing for compliments.

Looking at his smile, Avril was unsure if it was feigned or genuine, and became even more displeased, immediately snorting, "There wasn’t a single difficult trick,"

"Come on, I haven’t skated in over ten years, today was unplanned, and with my height, lack of agility, doing this much is already quite good," Adrian’s tone surprisingly carried a hint of grievance, "Besides, although over thirty isn’t middle-aged yet, it’s also beyond youth, doesn’t it deserve praise?"

Seeing such a grown man showing a "deeply hurt" expression, Avril suddenly felt a shiver down her spine, and rolled her eyes as she picked up her skateboard to enter the field.

Just then, Adrian lowered his voice, "By the way, do you want everyone to call you ’Vini’, or should I be the only one calling you ’Vini’?"

The girl suddenly gasped, stared at him angrily, and made a cutting motion across her throat with her hand as a warning, but she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief at the same time. This was the Uncle AD she knew.

Whistling, Avril stepped onto the skate park with her skateboard, and everyone cleared space for her. It had to be said, her skateboarding skills were among the best there; she executed all sorts of complicated moves perfectly. Perhaps her petite stature played a role, similar to street dancing—shorter individuals often have an advantage in such sports.

"See that? That’s how you skateboard," she proudly said to Adrian after her performance.

"Be careful, don’t get into an accident," Adrian kindly warned.

"Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport, Uncle AD, you’re not my mom," Avril responded, visibly annoyed. She was having too much fun to heed his words.

She then zipped onto the street with her skateboard, skating back and forth from the street corner, changing poses several times, and finally stopping in the middle of the street, spreading her arms in a "see, nothing’s going to happen" gesture. However, just then, a car suddenly turned from the corner, speeding so fast that all it could do was honk when it spotted someone on the street.

Time seemed to freeze. Only a few of the boys and girls by the side of the street noticed something was off, while Avril, standing in the street, could only instinctively raise her arms. Then, a massive force suddenly hit her from the side as a pair of arms firmly held her, rolling her along the street several times until the screeching of the car braking frantically rang out.

"What happened?"

"What’s going on?!"

Once the car stopped sideways, the other skaters finally realized what had happened and ran panicked toward the downed pair in the middle of the street.

"Are you okay, Avril? Avril?!" Amid familiar shouts, Avril, who had lost her focus, finally came to her senses. She then clutched the collar of the person who had embraced her and began to scream frantically.

Adrian immediately breathed a sigh of relief, lifted her horizontally to move away from the center of the street, all the while continuously comforting her, "It’s okay, it’s alright now, Avril. You’re not hurt."

It was unclear if Avril understood him as she continuously shrunk into his embrace, clutching him tightly as if he might disappear the next second.

"Everyone, don’t worry, there’s no need to panic, it’s all right now," Adrian shouted to the distressed kids gathering around him while cradling the girl.

He glanced at the car that just had passed. The driver had already gotten out and was looking their way, frowning with a mix of unease and irritation.

"Just sit here for a while, Avril, it’s already okay." Adrian then gently comforted the distraught girl as he seated her in the passenger seat of his car, "I’ll just step away for a moment and be right back."

Finally regaining her composure, Avril still wore an expression of fear and shock, clinging to Adrian’s collar, unwilling to let go—the impact of the car heading straight for her had been too much. Adrian patiently soothed her for a long time and took out a beverage he always had ready in the car, letting her sip a few drinks to help her relax a little.

"I’ll be back quickly, I promise." Adrian kissed her forehead and gave a few instructions to some of the girls close to Avril, then headed toward the increasingly impatient car driver.

The negotiation process didn’t take much time to reach a consensus. Although Avril had stood in the middle of the street, violating traffic rules, the fact that the car had been speeding was also true. With Adrian’s eloquence, they had decided not to call the police, and the matter had ended there. After this incident, it was impossible for the group of kids to continue playing, and since Avril hadn’t been injured, they had left in small groups after saying goodbye.

"We should head back now—feeling better now?" Adrian had said to the girl next to him as they got into the car.

Although Avril had calmed down completely, she still held her arms crossed in front of her chest and sighed after a long pause, "I was so scared."

"With me here, no one will hurt you," Adrian had said, rubbing her head before starting the car.

The ride had been quiet, with the girl continually turning her head to look outside. However, it was difficult to say whether she was actually looking at the street outside or sneaking glances at Adrian in the reflection of the glass.

Soon, the Lavine family home appeared in view, and the girl finally broke the silence, "You won’t tell my mom, will you, Ed?"

Unexpectedly, Adrian’s response had been, "What, don’t you always call me, Uncle AD?"

Avril had rolled her eyes immediately, raised her hand to hit him—fortunately, they were in the car, so she stopped after making the gesture and then pouted, sulking. However, she hadn’t kept up her sulking for long. As home was now just around the corner, she had sighed again, "Fine, I won’t call you Uncle AD anymore, but you also can’t call me ’Vini’ anymore."

"That won’t do," Adrian had responded directly, rejecting her suggestion. "At least I haven’t made the nickname ’Vini’ known to everyone."

The girl had glared at him again, but unfortunately, she had had no other tactics, so eventually, when the car had stopped, she had grunted, somewhat grudgingly and helplessly, "Alright, alright, then let’s just keep everything the same."

Adrian had laughed heartily, rubbing her head again, "Alright, I won’t tell your mom."

Avril had humphed heavily again in dissatisfaction, then sighed deeply, held his hand, and looked at him with bright, unblinking eyes, "Thank you... Uncle AD."

Though it had been just a short sentence, the emotions it contained were indescribable. Adrian had smiled, patted her hand, was about to say something, but the girl suddenly leaned over, wrapped her arms around his neck, and planted her lips on his cheek with a smack. After doing so, Avril had seemed to realize what she had just done, her cheeks instantly flushing as she hurriedly opened the door, leaving her skateboard behind, and headed home without looking back.

Watching her back, he had touched the kissed spot and laughed silently to himself; coming to Napanee hadn’t been without its rewards, after all.

Not to mention the surprise of the Lavine family at his appearance or Avril’s inability to meet his eyes all evening, the journey in Napanee had come to an end. The next day, amidst the Lavine family’s polite insistence and the girl’s slightly shameful disappointed gaze, Adrian had left.

Afterward, he had spent a pleasant weekend at a ranch in Canada, enjoyed the full range of services provided by Lin Zhiling, and then Adrian had returned to Los Angeles, while arranging a significant role for her in "CSI."

"This role is quite good, but..." Lin Zhiling had said, full of confusion upon hearing the news, knowing that Adrian preferred to speak frankly, but as someone of Chinese heritage, she still wasn’t quite accustomed to it.

"Don’t overthink it, I’m here for you," Adrian said without going into too much detail.

He knew what she was thinking. Lin Zhiling had been in Hollywood for over a year and knew that film actors’ fame far surpassed that of television actors. One always hears about international movie stars, but when have they ever heard about television stars? Driven by her vanity, she naturally felt some aversion to acting in television.

Of course, she agreed immediately after Adrian said this. Vanity aside, she still knew what she wanted and how to get it. For this reason, Adrian didn’t bother to explain that "CSI" had excellent ratings and a spin-off was already on the agenda. What should have existed in the past was now expected; it was only uncertain whether Miami or New York would come first.

He had designed the same role for her in the entire "CSI" series, which would not only be a major highlight but would also connect the three series. If she steadily continued, she would be the number-one popular Asian actress in North America. However, once "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was released, Lin Zhiling was bound to make some international fame, just like that person from his past life. By then, it was uncertain if she would still be willingly managed by him.

If she continued to be submissive, Adrian wouldn’t mind promoting her further, but if she became disruptive, then it would be better to treat her as a dispensable plaything.

The summer box office battle was still fiercely underway. The films to watch this year were either released at the beginning or the end of the year. Besides "Miss Congeniality" and "Gladiator" during the summer, there was only "What Lies Beneath," starring Naomi and Harrison Ford. However, this movie was scheduled for the late summer in September, leaving at least a month.

Next month, Jessica’s "Save the Last Dance" was due to be released. Since the theme was niche and there were no plans to contend for an Oscar, it was scheduled for the off-season in October. By then, she should have safely given birth and would be able to go to the theater to see her own performance, followed by "Winter’s Bone," "Erin Brockovich," and "Traffic" and other movies.

Oh, and "What Women Want" too. Sophie played the female lead, though her role was decorative with not much substance. However, it was beneficial in regaining the popularity she lost while being absent from the public eye due to her pregnancy, and it also paved the way for next year. Johnny Depp had already agreed to star in "Chocolat," which could start shooting in no more than a month.

As for "The Bone Collector," starring Monica and Denzel Washington, although delayed by a year, it was merely a commercial film. Its release early next year didn’t matter much. However, "The Cider House Rules," which had already finished filming, must strive to be released at the end of this year; any further delay would mean waiting until early 2002. No one could be sure of what might happen then.

Adrian had seen the partially unprocessed footage of the movie. Kate handled it very well, though she couldn’t rest this year as another movie was waiting for her.

"I’ve had less than a month of rest and now I have to start preparing for a new movie. Don’t you think this is exploitation?" Kate complained, leaning against the wall in the gym and stretching her legs.

"How could that be?" Adrian said with a grin, his eyes occasionally sweeping over her curves, especially those long legs. Among his women, very few could rival her legs.

Kate noticed his look but simply snorted in response. She knew all too well that if she asked Adrian, "What are you looking at?" he would definitely reply bluntly, "Of course, your legs," or "Of course, your butt."

"Speaking of which, I can hardly wait to see you dressed as Laura," Adrian then remarked.

Although Kate lacked a wild aura and her bust was not very voluptuous, with Adrian’s adjustments, Laura had also undergone corresponding changes. Maybe not noticeable in the game, but at least in the novel’s description, she still wielded some British classical charm, which harmonized well with Kate. After all, being born into British nobility meant she ought to possess some classical charm. Focusing only on displaying a wild side might be unbalanced.

The only issue was her bust line, but no worries, making Kate’s bust appear larger visually was an easy task. Adrian had seen the production team’s designs, hence his remark about wanting to see how Kate would look dressed up.

Kate’s response was another snort. She still didn’t speak, clearly aware of the subtext in his words. Adrian chuckled lightly, thinking about how to tease her a bit more when Yukie arrived in the gym.

"Ed, Mr. Dennis has arrived," Yukie, who always appeared gentle and quiet, said. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at QiDian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)