King of Hollywood
Chapter 345 - Chapter 345 Chapter 69 Ill Give You One Then

Chapter 345: Chapter 69: I’ll Give You One Then Chapter 345: Chapter 69: I’ll Give You One Then “Do you want a child?” Adrian raised his eyebrows, a teasing expression immediately appearing on his face as if to lament, “No wonder you’re so passionate tonight, seemingly insatiable.” Unfortunately, Monica didn’t respond, just staring at him unblinkingly and then revealing a hint of pleading and tension as time passed.

“Oh, Monica, can’t you have some other expression?” Adrian turned his body, propped his head on his arm, and gazed at his woman with an exaggeratedly mocking tone.

“Ed…” Monica softly called out.

“Well, do you really want a child, dear?” Adrian stopped teasing her, lifted Monica’s chin with his hand, and stared into her eyes seriously as he asked.

“Yes.” The lady nodded firmly without hesitation.

It was apparent, although Kate’s pregnancy had stimulated her, her desire for a child was also heartfelt.

“Then I’ll just give you one,” Adrian said as he kissed her lips, thinking why not since Monica wanted one? Although Kate’s was unintended, that didn’t mean Adrian was averse to children, especially because…

“Really?” Although Monica had been carefully suppressing her emotions, excitement still showed through.

“Of course,” Adrian said, playing with her voluptuousness with a smile, but then his expression became serious: “But not now.”

Monica didn’t speak, just quietly looked at him, waiting for his explanation. However, to her surprise, after brewing for a moment, Adrian asked an unrelated question: “Do you know why I’ve only arranged a small independent movie for you this year, Monica?”

“Um… to solidify the current status.” Although she didn’t understand what he meant, Monica still answered.

“Yes, according to my plan, your current fame is enough, so the most important thing is, in the next four to five years, to amass the right experience through various appropriate roles–I’ve got all kinds of roles ready, including ones that could possibly let you grab the crown that countless actresses dream of,” Adrian whispered.

Despite this, Monica couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise.

“You are my woman, you have the potential, naturally, you should get what belongs to you,” Adrian said with an unequivocal tone, “You also know, there’s regional discrimination everywhere, even with me here, you still need to put in more effort, so this accumulation is crucial for you; if you get pregnant now, everything will have to start over, and even I can’t be completely sure I can secure you the best opportunities.”

“Are… are you serious?” Monica looked at him in disbelief.

“Oh, God, this is the second time you’ve asked that tonight,” Adrian rolled his eyes, grabbed her buttocks and nudged before saying, “I’ve told you, you’re my woman, you should get these.”

He caressed her cheek, “I promise you, Monica, whether or not I can ultimately get you to that throne, I will give you a child. Of course, if you insist, I can give you one right now.”

“Are you sure?” Monica asked as her fingertips traced circles on Adrian’s chest.

“I think I still have that much credibility,” Adrian laughed heartily, but his laughter was quickly silenced by the woman’s red lips. Monica had put all her effort into entangling with him for a long time before they finally parted.

As she caught her breath, she suddenly moved downwards and cradled what any man would covet, pressing herself against Adrian’s lower half. Though she had done this before, today Monica was more unrestrained.

“Want more? Not giving up yet?” Adrian joked as he simply sat up and moved to the sofa in the bedroom, looking down at Monica with a particular sense of pleasure.

“Not really,” the lady panted seductively, “actually, I planned to keep it in my mouth, then spit it into a cup and save it in a bank. Even if you default later, it wouldn’t matter.”

“…Not a bad idea.”

Having spent only about five days in Los Angeles, Adrian returned to London. Although his itinerary had been somewhat affected by the scandal with Julia, his main concern was the filming of “Emma,” for which two movies were to be produced this year.

As for the scandal, although the tabloids placed this piece of news on the front page, the major newspapers published it on the second or third page, or even further inside. Considering the previous incident, Adrian and Julia’s reunion could be seen as reigniting an old flame–Hollywood was full of such on-again, off-again news. With no solid evidence, such as photos of Adrian leaving a villa, and only speculation from the tabloids regarding his past associates like Sophie and Gwyneth, why would the reputable newspapers cite such sources in detail?

Moreover, both Julia and Adrian did not respond to these affairs, and as time passed without new developments, readers gradually lost interest. Losing interest meant that the news was no longer valuable; without any newsworthy value, why would newspapers still publish these stories?

So, after pointing out a few areas that needed attention to Roger, his agent handling his entertainment affairs, Adrian left the rest to him to deal with.

Back on set, it was inevitable that some well-acquainted folks teased him a bit. No matter what the tabloids reported, people had noticed Adrian’s ambiguous closeness with Gwyneth after the shooting ended. They were surprised that upon his return to the US, he had entered Julia’s chambers. The male staff members secretly admired him and were also curious about Gwyneth’s reaction.

However, to their disappointment, Gwyneth almost had no reaction, not even the coldness that should have been there. Instead, she laughed and chatted with Adrian as if the scandalous newspaper stories had never existed. She even maintained a good state in the subsequent shootings, which amazed the men in the crew.

In Adrian’s view, this was quite normal. Since Gwyneth had already made her choice before, she should be mentally prepared for such situations. Then, with some gentle coaxing, even if she felt a bit of resentment because of the scandal immediately upon his return to the US, it would soon dissipate, not much different from his other relationships.

The only thing that somewhat worried Adrian was Blanchett’s attitude. Although she remained nonchalant about his scandals, her demeanor was slightly more reserved. It was minimal, but the well-prepared Adrian still noticed it.

This wasn’t surprising. With Blanchett’s personality, if Adrian hadn’t made early moves, constantly hinting and having developed her body–from a physical conquest of a woman, which is no science fiction–her reaction wouldn’t be this mild now.

Of course, this was also related to Adrian’s brief stay in Los Angeles this time. After all, during those few days, he had to pacify the women and deal with several movies. Additionally, the scandal had forced him to spend some energy shaking off the paparazzi, so some oversights were inevitable. He believed that next time things would be much better. Sometimes such situations could even act as a catalyst, as long as the methods were clever enough.

Besides that, there was another matter troubling him.

“Roger didn’t get it wrong?” Adrian asked as he looked at the fax in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed.

“I think he wouldn’t make a mistake on this, it’s the big boss’s request,” said Charlize, standing by his side with a tone half mocking, half teasing, her eyes gleaming with a bit of schadenfreude.

“Alright, then tell him that I want him to find the original source, the very first source,” Adrian immediately said.

“Got it–starting to make amends to others now?” Noted Charlize disbelievingly, shrugging her shoulders.

“Shouldn’t I do that?” Adrian raised an eyebrow, seeming rather displeased with her tone.

“If you think that hurt the other person, then you shouldn’t have made the mistake in the first place,” Charlize huffed, turning to walk away after just two steps, her jeans tight around her hips made a crisp snap.

Visibly annoyed, she turned to glare at Adrian, who looked nonchalant as he rubbed his hands together as if nothing had happened. Charlize just rolled her eyes and left the hotel room without looking back.

The handfeel wasn’t bad; it seemed he needed to knead more, not just the top but the bottom as well. Watching her retreating figure, Adrian smiled smugly and then refocused his attention on the fax in his hand.

After returning to Los Angeles, Adrian had gone to several movie sets that were tracking progress, such as Julia’s “My Best Friend’s Wedding” or Sarah’s “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

Sarah was naturally thrilled he visited the set, even though his scandal had already hit the newspapers; Adrian had managed to shake off the paparazzi and spent a good night out with her. However, even though she seemed very happy, Adrian still sensed a hint of gloom in the young girl’s heart–a discomfort, to be more precise. But when he tentatively asked Sarah if something unpleasant had happened recently, she repeatedly denied it and tried her best to appear cheerful.

“I’m just a bit tired, after all, having to act in TV shows and movies and attending numerous press events, it’s inevitably exhausting,” Sarah said with a cheerful smile.

The more she tried to act nonchalant, the more evident her discomfort became, but no matter how Adrian tried to coax, Sarah consistently avoided discussing it. He couldn’t just outright confront her, as it was clear the young girl didn’t want him to know, and forcing the issue would only hurt her pride.

However, Adrian also sensed it was likely an issue with the movie shooting; when he asked her opinion about the film, Sarah’s mood noticeably fluctuated, but he couldn’t delve deeper into it.

His time in Los Angeles was limited, hence not allowing detailed investigation, so before heading back to London, he took the opportunity under the guise of resolving the scandal that Roger had handled to see what was really going on.

“So it really is like this…” Adrian pinched the papers and let out a cold laugh. When he left Los Angeles, he had vaguely deduced a few possibilities, and the information Roger had gathered confirmed one of them.

He had a rough idea who the instigator might be–he had thought it would be amusing at first, but to his surprise, it had turned out this way. Of course, until Roger unearthed the truth, everything was still conjecture, but whoever it was, they had a price to pay!

In the following month, Adrian spent most of his time in the production crew without going anywhere else, focusing solely on pushing forward the progress. Oh, that’s not quite right–he also traveled a few times between his London studio and the crew. “Braveheart” was nearing the final stages of post-production, initial editing was nearing completion, and further montage techniques needed his personal touch. Of course, if Adrian didn’t want to bother and couldn’t spare the time, he could also continue to supervise after thoroughly discussing with the editor and have them take responsibility for the editing.

However, after some thought, Adrian decided to abandon this option. If he chose this path, he would have to visit the studio weekly to check on things, which might end up delaying both matters. Therefore, it would be better to first finish shooting “Emma” in one go and then slowly move on to montage editing, even if it meant dealing with two films simultaneously later on.

Besides, he made a special trip to Paris to visit Sophie. The post-production of the movie required not only editing but also set to music, title sequences, and some parts needed voiceovers to be depicted. Interestingly, Adrian brought Gwyneth with him.

“Thank you, just let me know when you need me, even if by then you have returned to the United States,” Sophie politely said at the end of their work discussion and politely declined Adrian’s invitation to have dinner together.

In fact, throughout the date, she was very polite, displaying an elegant ladylike demeanor, contrasting yet complementing the equally dignified Gwyneth beside Adrian. Although Sophie refused the invitation, Adrian still got what he wanted. Not to mention Sophie’s unconscious competitive psyche, during her refusal, Adrian, who had been paying close attention, caught something flickering in her eyes.

Yes, Adrian had intentionally brought Gwyneth along. Considering the news of his “rekindled old flame” with Julia and rumors about him and Gwyneth, it was unlikely Sophie hadn’t seen them. Thus, her current mental state was quite intriguing.

As expected, Sophie’s reaction did not exceed his expectations. This gave Adrian an added assurance and also inadvertently soothed Gwyneth. Although they returned soon thereafter, only staying half a day in Paris–without even exploring many famous areas–Gwyneth didn’t complain. She accepted the explanation of “avoiding paparazzi,” since Adrian kept her close by, though the two hadn’t displayed excessive affection in front of Sophie.

Therefore, this half-day trip to Paris could be considered a decent journey.

Another trip that could be deemed decent was to Edinburgh, which Adrian took with Charlize, oh and Emma, who was eager to learn about the upcoming “Harry Potter” content.

Rowling’s first “Harry Potter” series novel, “Philosopher’s Stone,” had officially been released in the UK and US. As for the sales… let’s just say they were fairly decent, better than some other novels Adrian had co-authored previously. And the royalties were sufficient for Rowling to further improve her own life, but they couldn’t compare to the “Harry Potter” Adrian remembered.

It wasn’t enough to start a magical craze, not even a small wave–for all right, that might be an exaggeration, but according to the feedback from the publishing company, the novel had a fairly good response among children, marking it as above-standard children’s literature.

Adrian was perplexed for a while, as his memory clearly conveyed that Rowling’s series had achieved immediate success upon release, even winning several well-known literary awards in the United Kingdom. Why then did it seem somewhat lackluster now? He meticulously read through the current “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and also recalled the previous English version he had read in another life. Thanks to his extraordinary memory, he compared them and found no significant changes that could impact the overall series plot. Yet, why hadn’t it achieved the expected sales?

Sherlock Holmes once said, no, it was Conan Doyle speaking through him: “When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” Thus, the conclusion Adrian reached after much contemplation was that the information in his memory had been exaggerated; the “Harry Potter” series hadn’t initially been that sensational.

This is normal. When someone achieves success and becomes an idol for many, others naturally embellish their achievements, overlook their faults, and hype them up, disallowing dissenting opinions. The most evident examples are movie stars, and Rowling was also considered an inspirational figure.

With this in mind, Adrian finally settled down, waiting for the publication of “Chamber of Secrets.” Upon reflection, he realized that the first book merely introduced some basics and the story hadn’t fully unfolded, naturally making it less attractive to a broader audience–indeed, according to the publishing company’s executive, the sales of “Philosopher’s Stone” were already above average within its genre.

With the sequential release of the books, the explosive sales that Adrian remembered were bound to recur. So, he took the time to visit Rowling in Edinburgh, firstly to congratulate her on her initial success and secondly to encourage her to continue striving and complete the next book soon. Without any surprises, once “Azkaban’s Prisoner” was published… no, even before “Azkaban’s Prisoner,” once “Chamber of Secrets” was released, the beginning of the magical craze was inevitable.

Adrian wouldn’t forget another critical factor that drives explosive sales: marketing.

Even if Rowling’s works were excellent, without outstanding promotion and packaging, reaching the fervor Adrian remembered might take a considerably longer time. Now that he owned his own media company, “Harry Potter” under his watch could have a better situation than in his previous life. So why not make this process as short as possible? Especially once this year’s acquisition was successful, he would have even more resources for promotion.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation and monthly votes at Qidian (NovelFire.net). Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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