King of Hollywood

Chapter 251: Chapter 249 You Are Not Ready Yet

Chapter 251: Chapter 249 You Are Not Ready Yet

After entering December, the battle for the Thanksgiving-Christmas slot became even more fierce. Major companies rapidly released big productions, occupying most of the screens and squeezing the living space of various small independent films. For instance, even after “The Piano Lesson” increased to 500 screens, it just stabilized at that level. It used to dabble at the bottom of the North American box office charts, but now it was completely pushed down.

However, that didn’t matter much since “The Piano Lesson” was a long-run release and didn’t care too much about such gains and losses. What was really affected was “Philadelphia Story,” which was planned to be released before mid-December. Although it was essentially a commercial film, it also carried a bit of artistic flair, which naturally made it less competitive compared to other box office-focused films.

But from another perspective, lacking a bit of competitiveness wasn’t a big deal, because the main character of this movie was gay! Although the gay organizations in the United States had always been active, especially on the West Coast, and San Francisco had been a major base for gays since the 70s, it still couldn’t compare with the activity and influence levels of the 21st century. Naturally, films speaking well of gays were highly regarded.

Even though “Philadelphia Story” was more about an AIDS patient’s fight against discrimination, having a gay protagonist was enough; they could view it as a fight against discrimination by gays. It was foreseeable that they would spontaneously organize to support this movie, just like “Schindler’s List,” although not possessing as extensive influence as those older ones, but that could still bridge the gap with other commercial films—”losing the east, but gaining the west” so to speak.

“Although we oppose all forms of discrimination, we must admit that these issues aren’t so easy to eradicate, so Adrian came up with this theme and handed it to me, luckily I didn’t screw it up,” Jonathan Demme said with a smile at the press conference following the premiere, as the applause post-premiere gave him enough confidence.

Adrian, although he attended the premiere, didn’t show up at the press conference; he had already discussed everything necessary with Demme, and he didn’t need to steal the spotlight. Honestly, he didn’t even want to attend the premiere initially—he had attended too many premieres in the last two months, and though they weren’t much different from parties, there could be too much of a good thing. However, he still showed up, because Hanks was also attending.

Hanks’ acting prowess needed no more explanation; he had specifically volunteered at a hospital for a while to understand AIDS thoroughly. Hence, even though his portrayal slightly deviated from the original—deepening the protagonist’s plight—his performance was still flawless, the warm applause at the conclusion was at least half for him.

Thus, Adrian thought this was an opportunity to finalize the main role. Unbeknownst to him, when he brought it up, Hanks—who had already seen the draft—asked him, “Did all these things really happen?”

At that moment, Adrian really wanted to cover his head, but he patiently explained, “These events did happen, but Forrest Gump is a fictional character, do you understand, Tom? I intend to depict the history of America in the last three or four decades through the life of a fictional man.”

Hanks actually understood, but he felt awkward about it, “Don’t you think it’s a bit odd and funny to mix real and fictional elements together?”

“Trust me, Tom, you’ll like this film,” Adrian replied, “What I showed you the other day was just a draft; you’ll understand once I’ve made the revisions.”

Despite feeling a bit exasperated by Hanks’ nitpicking, Adrian wasn’t worried he might back out. He had already agreed in front of many people at Dennis’s party; after all, Hanks wasn’t like Forrest, he was a smart man.

That issue was temporarily resolved, but Adrian immediately encountered another problem—not exactly a problem, as he would usually be very happy if it were someone else, but…

The car entered the villa and circled around the courtyard fountain before stopping in front of the house. Adrian stepped out of the driver’s side, walked around the front of the car, and opened the passenger door. Then Sarah exited from inside.

Her brown medium-length hair softly hung over her shoulders, under a white silk blouse was a dark tube top and a short skirt, paired with black semi-transparent tights and five-inch heels, oozing a distinctly sexy allure. Yet, paradoxically, her face had minimal makeup, carrying a girl’s unique purity—contradictory yet unified, incredibly beautiful.

Her pretty face, however, bore no expression, but her teeth occasionally stealthily slid over her lips.

“Come in,” Adrian said in a gentle voice, though he gently shook his head.

“Okay,” Sarah replied softly, then followed behind him, her eyes never meeting his.

Once in the living room, Adrian glanced at the wall lamp that was always on, he was about to shout a few words but, recalling the cold tone Charlize adopted on the phone immediately after he mentioned Sarah would be spending the night, swallowed his words.

“Would you like something to drink?” Adrian took off his coat, threw it on the couch, then turned to face Sarah behind him.

Sarah suddenly vigorously shook her head, her body even tenser than when she got in the car. Adrian sighed, poured himself a glass of water, and sat down opposite Sarah. Several times he wanted to break the heavy silence, but each time he saw the girl’s drooping eyelids, hands clenched together resting on tightly closed legs, he could only shrug it off.

“Let’s… go to the bedroom,” Sarah finally said after a long time, still unable to meet Adrian’s eyes, her tone slightly trembling but resolute.

“Alright then,” Adrian smirked, barely perceptibly shaking his head once more, then agreed to her suggestion.

Two people, one after the other, arrived in Adrian’s spacious bedroom. Upon entering, he stretched lazily, pulled off his tie, threw it aside, and turned around to say something but then he froze.

Sarah remained tense, her head slightly lowered, her chest rising and falling rapidly, like a frightened rabbit.

“That’s really… tempting,” Adrian said after observing Sarah, who stood at the doorway, like admiring a beautiful object. The girl shivered slightly at his words and reached to unhook her bra, but Adrian’s voice rang out again, “Before that, go take a shower first.”

“Yes… yes,” Sarah replied nervously, taking the nightgown Adrian handed to her. She quickly grabbed the clothes she had stripped off the floor to cover her chest and hurried into the bathroom.

Adrian shook his head, wondering why she had insisted on coming. He stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Soon, both had finished showering, and they sat opposite each other in their nightgowns, lost in thought. Sarah’s courage seemed to have washed away with the water.

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“Well, let’s talk… how have your acting classes been lately?” Adrian started a conversation, “Or do you have any new plans? Going on a vacation with your mom?”

Sarah kept her head down and didn’t speak. Since insisting on coming to his villa from the premiere, she had never looked at him directly. Adrian finally sighed, raising his hands slightly, “Well then…”

“No!” The girl suddenly sprang up from the chair, her dodging gaze filled with panic.

“It’s okay, I know you…” Adrian said reassuringly.

“No!” She yelled again, her tone tinged with pain. She closed her eyes, bit her lip hard, and after struggling for about ten seconds, she opened her eyes again and finally looked at Adrian, her expression numb.

“You’re truly beautiful, Sarah,” Adrian’s voice quivered as he admired her, then he gestured for her to come closer. Sarah took a deep breath, walked over to Adrian, closed her eyes, and tried to suppress the shaking of her body and the heaving of her chest, asking in a calm voice, “What should I do now?”

To be honest, the kiss didn’t feel good. Sarah initially resisted, and although she soon adjusted, it was all mechanical compliance. Every time Adrian deepened the kiss, her body became stiffer, and by the end, she was as rigid as stone.

Caressing Sarah’s cheek, Adrian smiled silently again.

“Let’s leave it at that for today,” he said, “You should rest, Sarah.”

Sarah’s eyes popped open in surprise.

“Did I not do well?” she asked anxiously, “Yes, I didn’t do well, but I can improve… just give me some time…”

Panic covered her beautiful face; she was almost about to grab something downward.

“It’s okay, Sarah, listen to me,” Adrian gently cupped the girl’s face, “You did very well, no one could have done better, but you’re not ready yet.”

He placed his finger on her lips: “Love is a beautiful thing, but it requires both parties to be truly willing and to bond with one another. All you would get now is pain, not pleasure, and I don’t want that. I hope to give you a first night worth cherishing and remembering, so unless you truly desire it from the bottom of your heart, I will not proceed. So for now, get a good night’s sleep, everything will be different when you wake up tomorrow.” (To be continued, for further details, please visit www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)