King of Hollywood-Chapter 271 - 269 In the Forest

Chapter 271: Chapter 269 In the Forest

Chapter 271: Chapter 269 In the Forest

“It’s okay, as long as you have tried your best,” Hanks sounded quite open-minded over the phone, though whether he was truly sincere was unknown. At present, he was at a welfare institute caring for those with intellectual disabilities as preparation for ‘Forrest Gump.’

Even though he said so, Adrian could not allow such a situation to truly arise. Just think about it, consecutively aiding the same person to ascend the throne of Best Actor for two years in a row would add such a heavy stroke to his halo, wouldn’t it?

However, Daniel Day-Lewis was indeed a tough nut to crack. It was said that because of being ostracized from a young age, he became somewhat depressed, which led to a strong desire to express himself and hence caused his personality to become somewhat split. He had played many roles, including the disabled, ruffians, white aristocrats, Indian savages, and so on, winning many minor awards in the mid-80s. If it weren’t for acting in two films then running off to perform stage plays, returning to the film industry only in ’82, perhaps he might have already won an Oscar statuette by then.

Even so, it was not without a solution. After all, Hanks’ role had a very special aspect.

“We can focus on discrimination against AIDS and homosexuality,” Laverne brought up such a plan.

Adrian agreed without hesitation and added a reminder, “Be mindful of the extent to which homosexuality is portrayed; don’t cross the line. The emphasis should be on discrimination, mostly on discrimination related to AIDS and a smaller part on discrimination against the homosexual community.”

The advantage of ‘Philadelphia Story’ was that it was politically correct. Discrimination has always been one of the most sensitive issues in the United States. Anyone who dares to insult a black person using the N-word could be sued on grounds of discrimination, and there are countless cases in court where one could turn defeat into victory by accusing the other party of discrimination.

The United States, being a melting pot of multiple races, puts preventing racial conflicts at the forefront. What’s more, it also conveniently rubs on the shine of democracy and freedom. So even if one is discriminatory at heart, even when you could privately lash out and vilify with a few friends with shared views, on the surface, you still have to maintain the image of a decent person, especially among the middle class.

Therefore, Hanks’ portrayal of a discriminated against AIDS patient was bound to gain the emotional identification of countless people, coupled with the label of homosexuality – Hollywood has many closeted homosexuals. Moreover, Hanks’ character has a trait that falls under one of the categories of disabled, intellectually challenged, or sickly – exactly the types of roles the Oscar jurors favor the most. So he still had a certain advantage over Daniel Day-Lewis, and what would follow depended on how Laverne handled public relations.

Still, Adrian couldn’t help feeling a bit depressed. Although he knew the future events like the back of his hand thanks to his memory archive, it wasn’t sure that things would happen as they did in his memories. If he wasn’t careful with his strategies, the future could change due to the unpredictable nature of chaos theory, not to mention he had already altered many things.

But such gloominess didn’t last long. The inertia of the world was still very strong, and some things still happened as expected, such as Holly Hunter and Emma Thompson both being nominated for Best Lead Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively. Hunter’s portrayal of the main character in ‘The Piano Lesson’ went without saying, and she also played a supporting role in ‘The Firm;’ Thompson, after playing a supporting role in ‘In the Name of the Father,’ paired up with Anthony Hopkins in ‘The Remains of the Day,’ resulting in both of them being nominated for Best Lead Actor and Actress respectively.

The most eye-catching part of the 66th Oscar nomination list, besides the two Bossworth Film Company movies getting nominated for Best Picture, was these two women. The ‘New York Times’ even used more than a dozen phrases such as ‘surprisingly’ and ‘astonishingly’ to describe the nominations, so even if the two women didn’t win any awards, this was still a tremendous honor.

Therefore, Adrian didn’t take it too seriously. Let the Best Actress category take its own course.

After handling work affairs, he began dealing with personal matters. After the premiere of ‘No Reservations,’ Monica and Julia hadn’t appeared together in public since, with Monica not minding at all, and Julia, although a bit grumpy, soon reverted to her usual compliant self with a little guidance from Adrian.

It was Kate who remained the same as always, starting off cold and indifferent and then being coaxed into bed amidst her resistance, ending up reluctantly participating and finally enthusiastically reciprocating. What amused him most was that after each date, she would complain with a mix of indignation and sorrow, ‘Don’t treat me like this, Ed,’ yet the next time Adrian went looking for her, she never refused.

“You’re just a devil who plays with people’s hearts!” Kate said wistfully, leaning in his arms against the backdrop of the setting sun on the beach in Malibu, after they shared a passionate kiss.

This was a grave accusation, and Adrian felt somewhat wronged. He had just been a bit more thick-skinned, like keeping the door from closing on Kate and squeezing himself into her room. If Kate were truly determined and firm, he most definitely wouldn’t have done so, so the problem was still with Kate. This was a good thing, at least, it showed that her feelings for him were still very strong.

Yet, the previous conversation was unmistakably accurate – the words he had spoken to Charlize in the office. The two women did share similarities in certain aspects, such as being insincere and saying one thing while meaning another. Of course, because Kate had spent a long and unadulterated happy time with Adrian, she tended to be more expressive, her discontent clearly shown on her face. On the other hand, Charlize, due to her father’s lingering shadow, preferred to bury her feelings deep within her heart.

“`

Smoothing over their awkwardness wasn’t difficult, but that required rhythm, guidance, and time; there was no need for that now.

“Hey, Ed, look what I found!” The girl, with her pants legs rolled up high, shouted joyfully as she ran toward him, splashing in the water and waving a small pebble in her hand. The ponytail tied proudly at the back of her head fluttered up and down, filled with the energy of youth.

“Okay, what have you found this time, Sarah?” Similarly with his pants rolled up, Adrian meandered through the stream, occasionally bending over to search for something, then straightened up and smiled at the approaching girl.

“Look at this, isn’t it pretty?” Sarah held up two small stones and shook them, “They’re transparent white, just like crystal, and they emit light when they collide.”

She deliberately knocked the two stones together, producing a crisp clinking sound.

“Let me see.” Adrian took the stones in his hand and examined them against the gentle sunlight, “They look a bit like rainflower stones, I’m not sure… Do we also have rainflower stones here?”

“What’s a rainflower stone?” Sarah asked curiously.

“It’s a type of agate with naturally beautiful patterns, very ornamental, usually produced in China.” Adrian explained briefly, then laughed again, “Well, I got the terms mixed up. Rainflower stone is a specific term, and agate is what we should be calling it.”

Saying this, he gestured with the pebble to the girl: “How about we search more carefully, see if there are more stones like this. If we can collect about ten with similar colors and sizes, how about I make them into a necklace or bracelet for you?”

The girl, her face breaking into a smile, was about to agree when she suddenly became guarded.

“Don’t try to divert my attention using that method, Ed!” The girl shouted, puffing her cheeks out, which made her already slightly chubby cheeks even rounder and cuter.

“Sorry, have I diverted your attention?” Adrian grinned slyly.

“We agreed, whoever finds the most river pebbles within 20 minutes wins,” Sarah said with a high chin, then glanced at the two small piles of stones on the shore, “I’m way ahead of you, don’t think you can get away with this.”

“That really hurts me, Sarah. Is that really what I seem like to you?” Adrian feigned a sigh of sorrow.

“Exactly!” Sarah stuck out her tongue in a teasing face, taking the opportunity to puff out her well-developed chest, proud as a little peacock: “Instead of complaining here, you should think about how you’re going to turn defeat into victory, Ed. You only have… five minutes left!”

She said this, sticking out her tongue, splashed through the water back the way she came, but stopped after two steps and hesitated, looking back at Adrian. Suddenly she turned back, swiped the two white pebbles from Adrian’s hand, and ran off giggling.

Adrian shrugged with a chuckle, then bent over to continue his search in the water. The place they had come to was San Bernardino National Forest Park, southeast of Los Angeles. After staying in the bustling city for so long, it was nice to get into the forest and breathe in the fresh air of nature, and at least Sarah was enjoying herself.

“Time’s up, I win!” Five minutes later, Sarah cheered, her hands holding about a dozen thin, disk-shaped stones, added to the ten or so placed on the shore. She had at least a third more than Adrian.

“`

“Don’t be too smug, not all stones meet the criteria,” Adrian hummed in her tone and then pointed to the small stone that had been picked out on the bank side as the standard.

“Even so, I’m certain I’ve got more than you,” Sarah said, lifting her hands up and down.

“Oh, sure, you do know my bending arc is much larger than yours, so naturally, I expend more effort,” Adrian spread his hands and his smile turned sly once again.

“Here we go again, making excuses,” Sarah made a face at him, seeming to disdain his tactics, then strode towards the shore, splashing through the water.

“Be careful, dear, don’t go so fast, it’s very slippery in the water,” Adrian cautioned.

“I know, I can take care of myself,” Sarah turned and stuck her tongue out at Adrian, rolling her eyes at him. She did not expect her movement to be so large; she slipped, lost her balance, and with a squeal, she tumbled into the creek.

Startled, Adrian quickly waded over and grabbed the struggling girl, but Sarah’s struggles were a bit fierce, and Adrian also lost his balance, especially since there was more moss under the water here. He slipped and fell into the water as well.

The still somewhat chilly creek water immediately enveloped them both. Though it was already March, the forest streams retained a bit of chill. Adrian held Sarah tight and floundered until, after a few moments, he finally found a relatively large rock to stand on, by which time Sarah had also calmed down from her panic, clinging tightly to him.

“Are you all right?” Adrian wiped his face and carefully examined the girl’s cheeks.

“I… I’m fine…” Sarah said with heavy breaths, completely soaked, her hair in strands hanging on her face, her eyes slightly bewildered.

“Let’s head back first,” equally soaked, Adrian promptly picked her up and walked towards the shore, with Sarah meekly nestled in his arms without stirring.

They reached the shore in a few steps, tidied up a bit, fortunately not much, and Adrian picked Sarah up again and strode towards the rented cabin. Such cabins were everywhere in the forest park, though not densely packed. These were for accommodating tourists, with a small portion long-term rented by certain families for convenience during holidays and vacations.

Adrian’s rented cabin wasn’t far from the creek, and they arrived quickly. He dropped the things in his hands on the ground and carried Sarah straight into the bathroom. The hot shower soon relieved the trembling from cold, and when they came out, their complexions had improved.

“Alright, sit here obediently, rest up, don’t move around, and be careful not to catch a cold,” Adrian said, setting Sarah in her warm bathrobe on a chair in front of the fireplace, then quickly brought her a cup of hot cocoa.

“I’m fine, Ed, I’m all good now,” Sarah recovered completely and smiled faintly, pausing before adding, “I’m sorry, I’ve messed things up again, just like last time in San Francisco…”

“Don’t be like that,” Adrian laughed as he playfully tapped her nose, “Anything can go wrong; as long as it all ends up fine, don’t worry too much about it.”

Saying this, he kissed her forehead and, noticing that the sky outside seemed to be darkening, immediately went to start a fire in the fireplace. Sarah watched his busy figure by the fireplace, feeling an indescribable emotion spreading uncontrollably in her heart, coming so suddenly that there was no rise of resistance, or perhaps they had already taken over everything, only she had neglected them.

The beautiful girl closed her eyes and then took a deep breath; even though Adrian was far away, she could still smell that familiar male scent, as if he was right by her side, holding her with his firm, warm chest, never letting her get hurt.

Scenes from the past surfaced in her mind: their first meeting in the restaurant, his invitation for her to play a role, his efforts in securing opportunities for her, and… the necessity of visiting his office for fear of losing him. Every time she thought about the last scene, a faint ache would gnaw at her heart. Although Adrian had always treated her with respect ever since, the more he respected her, the sharper the sting grew within her.

“Come over here,” Adrian’s voice suddenly arose, and Sarah opened her eyes. In the fireplace, the small flames had begun their playful dance, like merry little elves.

“It’s getting dark, and nights in the forest are much colder than in the city,” Adrian continued, his smile basking in the gentle warmth of the flickering flames.

“Okay,” Sarah suddenly smiled, a spark of understanding emerging from within her. She hopped off the chair, took a few steps to the fireplace, wound her arm around Adrian’s, and sat down leaning against him.

“Let’s just sit here,” she suggested, looking up at him. Adrian was a bit surprised at first but then agreed fondly after caressing her cheek, “Alright.”

So, the two sat down by the fireplace, Adrian leaning against the back of the sofa and Sarah resting on his chest, talking and laughing about whatever came to mind. They even had their dinner there.

The sky had turned completely dark, and only here could one understand the meaning of absolute serenity. The wooden cabin, with its doors and windows securely locked and without any artificial light, only found illumination from the occasionally crackling flames in the fireplace. Adrian and Sarah sat quietly in front of it, lost in thought as they watched the dancing fire.

“Alright, let’s rest. Tomorrow we’ll take a trip to the mountaintop, and then head back. We can’t stay out too long,” Adrian finally broke the silence. As he prepared to stand up, the girl tugged at him.

“Let’s make love, Ed,” Sarah, kneeling on the ground, looked up at Adrian with composure on her beautiful face and a shimmer in her eyes.

“Are you ready?” After a half-second pause, Adrian asked softly, looking into her eyes.

“I’m ready,” the girl nodded slightly.

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After a long gaze, Adrian knelt down, cradled her face in his hands, and placed a kiss on her delicate lips.

After a session of tender entanglement, Sarah lay down on the fireplace, and Adrian slowly undid her clothes with a reverent expression, as if unveiling a long-lost treasure.

“Ah, you’re so tempting, Sarah,” Adrian, having shed his own clothes, sighed while looking at the naked girl in front of him.

Sarah, who had been watching him, began to breathe more rapidly, her cheeks flushing with color. As Adrian leaned down, she involuntarily let out a gasp, her body, already slightly tense, stiffening instantly.

“Are you very scared?” Adrian teased in her ear.

“I’ve played with it many times already, how could I be scared!” Sarah retorted shyly, but as soon as she had spoken, Adrian’s mouth silenced her.

“Alright, I’m going to enter now,” he whispered after kissing her earlobe, then arching his body, he applied a gentle force.

Sarah let out a pained moan and clutched tightly onto Adrian.