King of Hollywood-Chapter 936: 341: Going Public?

Capítulo 936: Chapter 341: Going Public?
“When did it start?” Little Emma suddenly asked as the RV drove onto the street, watching Adrian without blinking.
“Uh… What are you talking about?” Adrian feigned ignorance, spreading his hands.
“Come on, Ed, do I really have to spell it out?” Little Emma brushed the hair by her ear with an annoyed look, an air of youthful maturity that was both regretful and delightful.
“I know what kind of person you are. I just want to know the exact time,” she continued, seemingly indifferent, but her eyes kept glancing at Adrian’s face.
“Just in the past couple of days,” Adrian chuckled lightly, then admitted honestly, “Evanna was yesterday morning, Rachel was yesterday afternoon. Of course, before that I… how should I say it? I had great conversations with them.”
“I knew it—” Little Emma dragged out the words, trying hard to appear nonchalant, but the movement of her white teeth sliding over her lips was quite evident.
“So, what do you plan to do next?” she asked “casually,” clenching her fists tightly behind her back and glancing even more intensely out the window.
“Of course, just this, what else? Should we go further?” Adrian initially wanted to tease her a bit, but seeing her clearly jittery state, he gave up that thought, and pulled her into his arms: “If you had asked two years ago, I might have considered, but now, definitely not—Alright, stop thinking about that, I’m here to make up for your birthday party.”
“Ha, you still remember to make up for my birthday party,” Little Emma immediately yelled sharply as if she had caught his weak point, but the joy in her eyes couldn’t be missed, “Yet you spent all your time on others. You ran around avoiding me all day yesterday, and then today you were having a threesome in the studio. Do you know how long I stood outside guarding for you!”
“I wasn’t hiding from you, Emma,” Adrian chuckled, kissing her cheek, “You never asked, did you—Alright, I know you were watching out for me outside, and I’m really touched, so… there’s no need to worry. Even though you’re often insufferable and use underhanded methods to threaten me, you’re always my darling, and that will never change.”
Little Emma bit her lip and glared at him, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him fiercely.
After all, deep down, she wasn’t willing to share Adrian with more people. She could accept Little Emma solely for growing up together. That’s also why she initially targeted Kate. Of course, Little Emma understood that monopolizing Adrian was impossible, but for those after her, she would try everything to stop it, especially girls the same age or younger, like Rachel and Evanna, even if they were good friends due to the Harry Potter series.
Adrian was aware of her little thoughts but didn’t take them too seriously. Although the little devil was a little devil, she always knew when to do what, which was why he indulged her. As for Rachel and Evanna, although he had them on the same day and then had a threesome, Adrian didn’t have significant plans for them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have acted only now; he mostly wanted to… well, you know.
“Feeling better now?” Adrian teased after a sweet kiss, while his hand slipped underneath her shirt to caress her.
A hint of blush flashed across the young girl’s face, but she huffed and turned her head away as if annoyed that he had seen through her, making her look adorably tsundere.
“So…” Adrian took a deep breath at her neck, showing a mischievous grin, but before he finished speaking, she interrupted: “Don’t even think about it!”
“I haven’t even said anything yet,” he feigned innocence, but Little Emma wasn’t buying it: “I can tell what you’re thinking with just a turn of your head. I absolutely won’t agree, no way!”
“Isn’t that a kind of… well… telepathy?” Adrian asked thoughtfully as his hand continued to roam under her clothes, “Hmm, it seems to have grown a little bigger since before.”
The girl’s breathing became slightly rapid, though she gritted her teeth, her flushed face made her appear tantalizingly alluring.
“Okay,” she suddenly spoke as she rolled her eyes, “Even if I don’t agree, you’ll find a way to make me agree or just trick me into doing it, but—”
Little Emma dragged out her words, her smile turning sly: “I’ll give you one chance, so… do you just want Hermione, Luna, and Ginny? Or do you want Hermione, Luna, Ginny, Cho Chang, and Fleur together? By the way, I heard the next ‘Half-Blood Prince’ is recasting Lavender Brown. What do you think, Ed?”
Adrian couldn’t help but take a deep breath, looking at the girl squinting her eyes. He had to admit, it was an enticing offer. If he agreed, though, and could only play like this once, it would be quite a pity.
“Also, the new actress for Tonks, Gemma Arterton, isn’t bad either. Do you want to add her in?” Little Emma wasn’t done tempting him yet.
“Indeed, Gemma’s figure is quite nice.” Looking at the roof, Adrian replied subconsciously, only to feel a sharp pain in his ribs the next moment.
“When?” The girl’s face instantly fell.
Do all women know this trick naturally? Adrian couldn’t help but complain in his heart, then pinched her cheek with mild annoyance: “During the New Year holiday, are you satisfied now?”
As mentioned before, many young actors in the current Harry Potter series are different from the originals, with only Little Emma and Evanna fitting the original cast. Therefore, Nymphadora Tonks was no exception. Adrian found a younger actress for the role, none other than the girl from the town of Kent, Gemma Arterton.
Of course, just like Louise Bourgoin, Gemma naturally undressed in front of him. She wasn’t exceptionally beautiful, but her figure was top tier, and her adaptability made Adrian find a bit of an attachment. If he hadn’t initially decided to focus on Rachel and Evanna, he might have approached Gemma for some communication this time.
“Speaking of which, don’t you plan to guest star in the Harry Potter movie series?” After calming down, Little Emma asked, “After all, you’ve been in ‘Iron Man,’ so playing some other role shouldn’t be an issue, right?”
“Oh?” Adrian raised an eyebrow, puzzled as to why she switched topics.
“In hindsight, we should’ve had you play Voldemort,” Little Emma blinked and suggested.
“Come on, not only am I not an actor, but I’m also totally uninterested in playing a character without a nose,” Adrian shook his head, “Besides, they already have a great actor for Voldemort.”
“How about a guest role as a Death Eater?” Little Emma grinned, moving close, “One who captured Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Cho, and other girls.”
Alright, so she was still trying to entice him into agreeing to that condition, since that was the case…
“Okay then, let’s do it your way.” Adrian squinted his eyes.
“You’re agreeing to play a Death Eater?”
“Emma!”
“Got it, haha.”
Watching the girl laugh heartily, Adrian shook his head helplessly, and then his lips curled upwards with a slight smile. You asked for this, Emma. Did you really think this thing could hold me back?
“One thing settled, now let’s take care of another,” Little Emma said as she climbed onto Adrian, wrapped her arms around his neck, and blew seductively in his ear, “I’m going to drain you dry, Ed!”
Drain Adrian dry? Just one person? Of course, that’s impossible. That was just Little Emma’s idea. So, even though that night in Liu Li’s apartment — which Adrian used in Los Angeles after Liu Yufei went to the University of Southern California, leaving their London apartment mostly vacant.
In short, even though he gave Little Emma a good “lesson” on the bed that night, it didn’t stop Adrian from continuing to get cozy with Rachel and Evanna the next day. And then there was Gemma, since she had been mentioned before, calling her over for some fun was not a bad idea. Little Emma, Rachel, and Evanna might each have their own flavors, but their figures were not great. Since Ivanka had returned to the United States ahead of time, she had to fill in.
Thus, a few leisurely days passed, and when the fervor in the United States died down to a reasonable level, Adrian finally set out to return. Even so, after word of his return got out, the media still surrounded his mansion so thoroughly that Kate and the daughters had to be careful when coming and going. Sometimes, Adrian even had to step out to lead those people away.
“I don’t understand, why do we have to guard against those ers?” Lily asked with some frustration, leaning against the headboard before giving a loud sneeze.
“Because sometimes these guys can go to any lengths just for a bit of news. You’ll understand when you grow up,” Adrian replied after checking the thermometer carefully, “Very good, your temperature is just a little high, nothing serious. Drink more water and take some medicine, and you’ll get better soon.”
“But Mom said,” Lily sneezed again, “that you’re afraid of being found out for something.”
She widened her eyes as she spoke: “Do you have some secret that can’t be known to others?”
Unfortunately, due to the cold, even though Lily tried her best to make her usual “I already knew that” or “I’ll find out sooner or later” expression, she still seemed a bit weak.
“They’ve already found out, just don’t dare to say anything. The reason I tell you to be cautious is to put on a show,” Adrian pinched her cheek, “Alright then, now just rest. Colds are serious matters, even someone as strong as me catches a cold occasionally. If it’s not treated promptly, it might develop into something severe, understand?”
Due to their constitution, Westerners are very prone to the flu, and what seems like a small issue in the eyes of Easterners can easily be life-threatening here. In the United States alone, tens of thousands die from the flu each year. Although Adrian has always been healthy, even if you don’t count the time he was bedridden after a “field trip” with Sophie, there were still plenty of times he had to rest due to the flu.
“Got it.” Lily muttered a couple of words. Although reluctant, she still obediently lay down and pulled up the blanket.
“I’ll come check on you later.” Adrian kissed her forehead and then left the bedroom under her watchful eye.
In the garden outside the villa, the afternoon sun was intense. The women, or rather the mothers, were talking with each other. Whether their smiles were sincere or forced didn’t matter, the children were running around. Just like he had told Lily earlier, he wasn’t worried about ers capturing these scenes. The reason he told Kate and them to be careful was just for show.
After all, Adrian now appeared in the media as an actor, and actors and directors get different treatments from the media. However, even so, it did not change Adrian’s other identity — media mogul.
As a media mogul, even if he said nothing and kept his private life under wraps, the media would be helpless — as long as he had enough chips for bargaining. Moreover, self-proclaimed rule-abiding Adrian cooperated in some aspects, for example, upon his return, he immediately appeared on the Daily Show to talk about why he took on this movie and mentioned a bit about Charlize and Ivanka.
“As I said before through my spokesperson, this is a very interesting experience. It hasn’t been done by anyone before and rarely will be done again, so why not give it a try? Plus, I greatly admire Stark’s prototype, Hughes.”
“When I first hired Charlize as a secretary assistant, I never expected her to achieve what she has now. She’s really outstanding and we have such great chemistry, that’s why I recommended her to play Pepper Potts.”
“Ivanka and I used to chat a lot, and as an outsider, I could see more clearly her desire to create her own path. I understand Donald’s concerns, but Ivanka is not a caged bird, she needs the freedom to fly. Of course, her becoming my secretary was purely coincidental because she said I inspired her to break away and find other work, so I feel responsible.”
This mix of sincerity and playful ambiguity stirred a lot of gossip enthusiasts, making them even more curious and eagerly awaiting the end of May.
With such cooperation, even if a er captured photos of the mothers gathering like this, no media would dare risk publishing them, especially with the Chicago Tribune incident still fresh. Besides, it’s not like Adrian didn’t have a backup plan, so there’s really no worry.
Compared to those ers, the daughters are clearly more of a headache. For example, Sandy, who is just over a year old, is always bursting with energy, so much so that her outbursts have become a routine. Random grabbing and pinching are also habitual. Keep it up, and she might become another Lily. One Lily is already enough trouble; another one… Why can’t she be as quiet as her sister Alice? Or like some of the other sisters, having just a little something special?
Okay, enough of the family matters. After returning, besides cooperating with the film promotion, there’s one more thing to follow up on, which is Christina’s new album’s first single hitting the charts.
It’s a song that blends styles like blues, jazz, and soul, packed with intense emotion. With its compelling guitar melody, powerful rhythms, and vast vocal range, it’s catchy all the same. Thus, it shot to the top of the charts immediately upon release, and this song is called “Rolling in the Deep”!
Yes, that’s right, it’s “Rolling in the Deep.” Adrian had long been steering Christina towards expanding and trying out these styles, and she did it very well. Winning Best Jazz Female Vocalist at last year’s Grammy was the best proof of that. Over the years, she has made significant strides in blues, jazz, and soul, along with having the best team; she had no issue handling this song. Maybe her voice isn’t husky enough, and the heartbreak isn’t quite as deep as the original, but it’s louder, and when it erupts in the climax, the anger is expressed even more thoroughly.
With this classic piece and the similarly sourced high-quality songs like “Someone Like You” or “Set Fire to the Rain,” as well as several other good tracks, next year’s Grammy is going to be very exciting.
In this scenario, Britney, Avril, and Tyler, all at different times and places, were either pleading, threatening, or begging for new songs. Well, Britney was easy to deal with; Adrian had already given her a good new song, “Poker Face.” While not as intense in response as “Rolling in the Deep” is now, it did spend a period topping the Billboard charts, so picking a few more from the same source should do.
As for Avril and Tyler, he couldn’t immediately think of anything suitable, so he had to delay for now, and… Something unexpected, which even caused countless chain reactions later on, landed in front of him.
“You’re saying… you want to take the company public?” Adrian blinked, somewhat astonished and a bit amused, as if the person in front of him was an alien in Claude’s skin, not Claude himself.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Claude spread his hands, “I’m not an alien.”
“Alright, you’re not,” Adrian said as he checked his phone, “But today isn’t April Fool’s Day either.”
“Ed, I’m serious!” Claude took a deep breath.
Adrian frowned and then relaxed: “No wonder you’re here in my office rather than having me come to yours — alright, and why should I take the company public? To become the world’s richest man?”
“Not necessarily, if it only doubles, you’ll just be a bit more than Gates, easily surpassed at any time.” Claude eventually couldn’t resist making a little joke.
“In that case, I might as well just continue hovering in the top five.” Adrian shrugged, and after Claude squinted his eyes, he raised his hand: “Alright, why should we go public?” (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)