King of Hollywood-Chapter 518 - 239: Unexpected Gains and Napanee Town

Victors aren’t blamed, so Adrian Cowell, with his achievements cemented, indulged in activities that others might find absurd or even boring but he found delightful, such as taking a solo vacation up north at this moment.

"Your taste is really spot-on, Ed, these earrings suit me better than the previous pair," said the young Eastern woman, clearly enamored with her reflection in the mirror, excitedly addressing the mature, charismatic Western man by her side as she fiddled with her new accessories.

Standing at about 5 feet 7 inches (174 cm) tall, she wasn’t particularly busty, but her slender frame was well-proportioned. Her straight, black hair cascaded down naturally, and she wore a black pencil skirt with a white blouse. Her features were sweet and delicate, with a hint of foxy allure, certainly considered beautiful in Eastern eyes.

"Then let’s go with this pair," the man smiled and nodded, then pulled a credit card from his jacket pocket to hand it over to the nearby attendant.

Taking the opportunity, the woman sneakily glanced at the respectfully poised attendant, then reminisced about previous events, her smile growing even sweeter. Stepping out from the jewelry store, she clung tighter to the man’s arm, pressing his hand against her bosom, her flirtatious laughter rippling through the air.

Later, the pair spent the afternoon touring Toronto and dined in the evening at Saint-Tropez Restaurant, one of Toronto’s finest French establishments. After dinner, the man drove her back to her friend’s home, just outside a Chinese community.

"I have to leave," he said after turning off the engine, his tone carrying regret and sighs that didn’t seem feigned.

The smiling Eastern woman was momentarily stunned; though she knew this day would eventually come, hearing him declare it still made her unable to keep a tinge of reluctance from showing. In just four days, this generous, considerate American man, who spoke fluent Mandarin and took her to places she never dared dream of, fulfilled her Vanity to a great extent—parting was truly a pity. ƒreewebɳovel.com

"Is that so?" She forced a smile. Even if she didn’t want to, what could she do? She was well aware why he had approached her in the first place; he had already got what he wanted.

"Honestly, I really don’t want to part ways with you just yet; you’re one of the most charming Eastern girls I’ve met," he continued, sighing as he gazed unwaveringly at her. His intense look made her cheeks warm—the same look he used on her in the last several nights, pushing her to make bold moves she had never done before, even performing uninhibited, exotic dances that involved various displays and... revealing moves to him.

After a brief pause, as if having an epiphany, he suddenly asked, "By the way, do you like acting in films, Lin?"

"Acting in movies?" The woman showed a puzzled look, not understanding why he would ask that question.

"Yes, my company is preparing for a movie, and there’s an important role for a Chinese female supporting actress. Would you be interested in auditioning?" the man said as he handed her his business card.

Company? Right, he mentioned he owned a film company in Hollywood. Recalling his introduction, a flicker of interest crossed her mind—it might also be an opportunity. She didn’t necessarily have to stay on that small island, dealing with an annoying family, though she was just a Chinese woman... Wait! Her eyes landed on the business card. Despite the dim light in the car, she clearly saw the words on it, then her eyes widened.

"You are... you are..." Her shocked eyes darted back and forth between the business card and the man, her stuttering almost keeping her from speaking, "You are... the Miracle Director... Adrian Cowell?!"

"Let me think, the only person in Hollywood with that name and the nickname ’Miracle Director’ is probably just me," he said humorously.

"It’s just... so surprising, you never... mentioned..." The lady was getting incoherent, and even though she had only come to North America after applying to the University of Toronto, she was quite clear about the reputation of the Miracle Director. After last year’s "Titanic" was released in Toronto, she had watched it at least three times and had learned from the media that almost everything the Miracle Director took an interest in couldn’t go wrong. Now...

"Can I... really do it?" she stuttered.

"This is a movie adapted from a game that won’t be released until September, so right now it’s still in the very early stages of preparation. However, I’ve put a lot of thought into that role of the Chinese heritage actress. You know, it’s very difficult to find a tall, elegantly cold and mysterious Chinese actress with a classic Eastern charm in Hollywood, especially since I’m quite familiar with the East," he said with a sigh, shrugging his shoulders.

Then he lifted her chin with his hand and smiled slightly: "Luckily, I met you while on vacation, which was very fortunate, wasn’t it? So why couldn’t you give it a try?"

"Mmm..." Her throat bobbed slightly, and her expression became somewhat excited. Although it’s difficult for someone of Chinese descent to make it in Hollywood... even being a second-line actress here would be incomparable if she went back, wouldn’t it? Not to mention...

"I’d love to, but I still need to consult my family," she finally said.

Then she walked over to her friend, speaking with a slightly smug tone: "Know where we’ve been these past few days? The prairies of Albert Province. The top horse farms there save a permanent spot for him all year round. Riding horses together across the prairies was just fantastic. We also visited many places, even had dinner at the Saint-Tropez Restaurant... I still think I must be dreaming. Also, he said..."

At this point, the lady stopped, turned around, and walked toward her own bedroom. Jiaxuan, who was listening enraptured, jealous and envious, immediately called out: "Wait, Zhiling, wait..."

"Just a moment, I have something to do," the lady said without looking back.

Once back in her room and after closing the door, she quickly turned on her computer and started surfing the web. Within a few minutes, she had found the information she was looking for. She was first very surprised, and then a smile quickly spread across her lips. If her knowledge about the Miracle Director had previously only been about his films, now she knew much more. The negative emotions she had accumulated after an unsuccessful post-graduation phase and her dissatisfaction with her family were all cast aside.

This was an opportunity, a very good one! she told herself. She knew why that Miracle Director from the United States had invited her to audition, she knew what he saw in her. It didn’t matter. As long as she could establish herself in Hollywood, as long as she could escape the boring affairs of the small island, what did this little sacrifice matter?

"Just like that!" Lin Zhiling said while browsing the official website of AC Media.

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Encountering Lin Zhiling in Toronto was completely unexpected. Adrian had traveled to Canada with another purpose in mind, but he hadn’t anticipated merely resting for a night in Toronto, randomly choosing a bar to enter, only to encounter that woman famous for her "coquettish" demeanor. Initially, he didn’t recognize her. She was just under 24 years old—determining the age of East Asian women was relatively easier than that of Western women—her facial features could only be described as delicate, and she didn’t speak as coyly as rumored, though, of course, the soft Taiwanese accent was unmistakable.

Adrian’s memories of her were scattered, but a hint was all it took for him to recall, and with his current personality, how could he pass up the opportunity for a fresh experience. What followed was a routine procedure: approaching her and her friends to chat, and since his Chinese had always been proficient, a few sentences were enough to have them cackling with glee. He also learned why Lin Zhiling happened to be in Toronto.

Having graduated from the University of Toronto last year, she returned to Taiwan hoping to apply for a position at the Taipei City Art Museum. Unfortunately, they rejected her application based on the lack of a master’s degree or higher. Then for about half a year, she was unemployed, temporarily working as a model, and for certain reasons, she put that aside. This year, her family used their connections to find her an administrative assistant job at a small foundation, but Lin Zhiling, earnestly wanting to achieve great things, couldn’t be satisfied with such a modest job. After arguing with her family, she returned to Toronto to clear her mind and aimed to apply for a graduate program in Western Art History at the University of Toronto. Currently, she was staying at a college friend’s home.

Adrian’s gentlemanly manner left them with a quite favorable impression, and then, playing hard to get, the next day he invited Lin Zhiling out again, took her for a leisurely day around Toronto, and in the evening brought her back to his hotel.

As he had expected from his memories and their conversation that night, she was a woman who admired Vanity, and very good at reading situations. A few pieces of designer clothing and jewelry, plus a trip to Alberta’s horse farms, it was simple for her to become obedient and let him play with her at his whim, even giving up her first kiss. Had it not been for the fact that Adrian had other business to attend to, a bit more thought and effort could have probably quickly led to the "Third experience."

He had initially planned to just have his fun and leave, but as he was preparing to depart, he had another idea. First off, there was the matter of the movie adaptation of "Resident Evil." Being a continuation of the soon-to-be-released second game, with the Fourth Survivor as the main character, it had virtually no connection to the previous incarnation of the film. Therefore, several of the game’s characters needed to make an appearance.

There was no need to mention Leon and Claire, but who would play Ada Wong? There weren’t many remarkable Asian actresses in Hollywood; Kelly Hu was a bit too old, Michelle Young was too masculine, and they both lacked Ada Wong’s air of cold elegance, cool detachment, and yet sultry tenderness. Yukie was a possible option, but having a Japanese woman play the role of a Chinese female spy just felt odd. If he were to pick someone from the circles in Hong Kong or Taiwan, there was, unfortunately, no one at this time that caught Adrian’s eye, so when he told Lin Zhiling, "This Chinese female role is really giving me a headache," he wasn’t lying.

Strictly speaking, Lin Zhiling wasn’t a perfect fit either, but these things could be addressed. For starters, she appeared merely delicate, with a certain Eastern charm that was quite alluring. Adrian then took her to receive a beauty treatment and found a makeup artist to recreate the makeup he felt suited her memory, which combined with appropriate clothing and accessories, instantly elevated her appearance by at least two levels. Even she couldn’t believe the beautiful woman in the mirror was herself after putting on makeup.

In the following days, Adrian pampered her every day, naturally bringing out the seductive look of satisfaction, which, coupled with her relatively delicate features, created a unique allure—this was precisely what convinced Adrian of his idea. As for the rest, such as the soft Taiwanese accent and so forth, they could be handled with dubbing or other methods.

What’s more important was that she made for an excellent subject for training. Although she had mentioned during their chat that she paused her modeling part-time job lightly for "certain reasons," it wasn’t hard to guess what those reasons really were. Plus, during their previous interactions, she exhibited boldness at times and was keenly observant, but sometimes only reacted after Adrian repeatedly hinted at her, making the current her different from the one he remembered ten years later.

The most interesting thing was transforming a woman who originally was a certain way into a completely different image. Gwyneth and Blanchett were two excellent examples, especially Blanchett, who, while retaining a lot from the character traits in his memory, was completely defenseless against Adrian’s casual molding, giving him a true sense of achievement.

Besides, aside from those most precious and treasured items on his collector’s shelf, he also needed some lesser pieces as decoration and contrast; Zetajones was one among them, and Lin Zhiling could be another. After all, having only Yukie as an Asian piece in his collection seemed insufficient—adding one more wasn’t a big deal at all.

Adrian gave Lin Zhiling a choice, although it was just one, she absolutely wouldn’t make a choice that was unexpected. Despite only having had contact for a few days, this was something he could be sure of.

Drawing back his thoughts, Adrian turned his gaze to the corner of the street and frowned. At the moment, he was in a small town in Canada called Napanee, leaning against a rented Mercedes — He had originally wanted to use his private plane to transport his Lamborghini there, but considering it would be a bit too ostentatious, he decided to rent a car locally instead — He had been waiting for nearly an hour now.

Based on the intelligence he had gathered earlier, the person should have passed by the street corner half an hour ago, but there was still no sign of them. Could something have happened?

"Damn it, what’s going on here?!"

"How could someone suddenly run out like that?!"

"Oh God, did we kill someone?!"

"Don’t talk nonsense, he’s still breathing!"

"Sir... sir... are you alright?"

"What... what do we do now?"

"I... I don’t know..."

"Don’t look at me... I didn’t expect someone to suddenly walk out..."

"We... we better make a run for it..."

A babble of voices rose all around, from both men and women, sounds of panic, irritation, and fear intermingled. As the person who had been on top of him got up, the words "make a run for it" had just been uttered, and the sound of running footsteps followed. In just a few seconds, the perpetrator had fled the scene completely, leaving Adrian alone, dazedly lying on the ground. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it at Qidian.com, and your support will be my greatest motivation.)

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