22

"Then I'll be leaving, Aunt Marsha." Adrian rose from his seat halfway as a polite gesture.

"Seriously, you've only been here for a day." His aunt sighed but did not make further comments. "Come visit us again when you're free, Eddy. Victor rarely comes home."

Victor was Anderson and Marsha's only child, who was 4 years older than Adrian. He started his own business after graduating from Yale University, and eventually had his own medium-scaled company. Though it was only in Boston which was not far from New York, he rarely had time to go home. He would also rather bring his mom over to his place than go home because Anderson was old-fashioned and stubborn, which could be seen from his relationship with his younger brother. Besides, there was a saying that a father and a son were enemies in their past lives.

"I will, Aunt, I'll visit Victor when I'm free," Adrian mentioned. Nonetheless, there were some things that he could not change even though they were from the same family. Furthermore, the key was with…

"I hope that you're different the next time I see you." Anderson walked out and spoke in an unpleasant manner until his wife glared at him. "Do well, Eddy, set your aim right."

"Thank you, Uncle Anderson, I understand." Adrian nodded, then left the luxurious apartment.

'Aunt Marsha's right, Uncle Anderson is already used to having the final say at home, so even nice words from him sound harsh,' Adrian thought to himself as he strolled along Manhattan's streets. He adjusted his windbreaker. While it was September, New York's temperature was significantly lower than Los Angeles'.

'That's it for now, I'll come over regularly to catch up with them. As for Victor… Since we barely meet, I'll just talk to him when we do, but it's ultimately their problem to solve.' Adrian began enjoying his time in Manhattan. He never left his country in his past life, let alone coming to New York. Although the former owner visited the city before, it had become memories. Hence, Adrian found it interesting to walk around Times Square and Fifth Avenue while going through those memories.

Before long, Adrian arrived at the Hudson River and felt like he was in a dream when he looked at the Statue of Liberty from afar. Ever since he woke up in February, he had been very occupied. Although he lived life in an orderly manner, he never got to relax completely, which he finally got to do after completing the first step of his plan.

Adrian shook his head slightly. He recalled that there was a bench behind him, so he took a few steps back with the intention to sit on it. Who knew, before his butt touched the bench, a reprimand was heard. "Hey, who let you sit."

The sudden voice shocked Adrian and only realized after turning around that someone had sat on the bench. It was a 15 or 16-year-old girl who wore a pink t-shirt and a light gray coat. She had blonde hair and delicate facial features, making her a beautiful lady.

"I'm sorry, may I sit here?" Adrian asked after noticing the bag and some strange items on the bench. Seeing that the girl was about to refuse him, he added, "I suppose you don't want to occupy the whole bench?"

The girl looked at him half-alert, half-disgusted, then packed the items back into her bag. She looked like she was venting her anger as she purposely shifted to the side after putting her bag on her lap.

Adrian chuckled and shook his head, then sat down quietly. It was a perfect spot to view the Hudson River, but the incident earlier made it slightly boring. After resting for a few minutes, he decided to leave but was startled when he subconsciously turned to look at the girl.

The beautiful girl was looking far away with downcast eyes. With one hand on her bag, she rubbed her kneecap with the other, and her gloomy look suggested that she lost something important.

"Do you have something weighing on your mind?" Adrian asked curiously.

The girl was slightly shocked. She turned to look at Adrian strangely, then ridiculed in a disgusted manner, "What does it have to do with you?"

"Uhm… Alright, I'm sorry." Adrian threw his hands up as he knew that he acted a little rashly, but just as he was about to leave, the girl said scornfully, "How would someone like you know!"

'This girl…' Adrian frowned, then turned to ask, "What do you think I don't know? Your pain? Your setbacks? Oh God, everyone has their pain and frustration, but does everyone vent their anger to those who give them kind reminders out of good intentions? Perhaps you have a persecutory-type delusional disorder, and you think that those who speak to you have ill intentions?"

"You!" The girl's face reddened instantly. Maybe because she suppressed her feelings for too long, she yelled, "Do you know how long I worked hard in this damn place?! Do you know how it feels to fall into the abyss due to an accident, after it took so long to see the light?! I started learning ballet when I was young, and after practicing for many years, I went to Europe and Italy, then finally made it to New York. I entered the damn ballet academy at last, but I can't go on stage anymore because of a knee injury! What do you know!"

Triggered by her emotions, her eyes turned red. She quickly realized it, so she turned her head to the side angrily.

"You finally said it. You'll feel better now." Adrian smiled, then added, "Do you know how I used to be 2 years ago?"

"Who cares how you used to be 2 years ago?" The girl blurted out of a feeling of injustice. A long time after, she finally turned back again to look at Adrian with a complicated look. "So what were you like 2 years ago?"

"Uhm…" Adrian pondered. "I used to fool around while idling my time away."

The lady frowned without saying a word. Adrian looked at the Statue of Liberty as he continued, "Back then, I spent my day fooling around without doing or bothering about anything and I did whatever I wanted to. In fact, I was like that since high school, and even when my best friend took over his dad's company after we graduated, I was still the same. My parents lectured me many times, but I never listened, until 2 years ago… I can't hear them nag anymore."

There was a long pause.

"I continued fooling around. Although my parents changed their will, they left a part of their properties to me, but I drank and played around more than I used to, and I only returned home when I was very drunk. I neither listened to my godfather nor my best friend, and I felt like I was trash, that I was born to be like that. Perhaps I might die from playing around too much… But… I don't know what happened, during February this year, I suddenly… Woke up. Yes, I suddenly awoke, and I understood many things at that moment. I knew I could do something, and I knew that I was definitely not trash, so I looked for my best friend to work out a plan. I have an aim now, and it only took me 7 months to acquire my own company. Though it's still small and weak, I know that I'll definitely succeed! I know that I'll surely stand at the top of the world to overlook those who used to mock me and thought that I was merely trash!"

As Adrian exhaled deeply, he felt refreshed after venting. He then looked at the girl, who was staring back at him blankly. She asked him after some time, "Were you—venting?"

"I guess." Adrian shrugged. "Let me ask you, do you know anything else other than ballet?"

"Uhm…" The lady wondered. "I… I was a model for a few days, and I can maybe act…"

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"Oh Jesus, why must you revolve around those? Don't you have other options?" Adrian waved his hand. "Don't give me excuses like you don't know anything else. I wasted 20 years fooling around and had no experience in management at all, but I'm now the boss of a small company even though I still need help. Learn if you don't know, are you dumb? Do you think that you're not as smart as the others? Come on, if you secured a role by practicing hard in ballet, why can't you do the same in other fields? You can very well major in something in a university, then become an assistant, a reporter, an analyst, and so on. You can build your own path! The most important thing is if you have the courage to, not if you know how to!"

When the sonorous speech was finally brought to a halt, the girl who was drawn to it came back to her senses. They both fell silent. Adrian breathed deeply as he looked at the Hudson River, whereas the girl watched.

A while after, she finally spoke, "Honestly, your speech was great."

"Thank you, how would you compare me to Martin Luther King's 'I Have A Dream'?"

"You were much better than that."

"Really?"

"Really, because you have a dream."

They looked at each other for some time before the lady burst out laughing, followed by Adrian. The onlookers could not help but look at them.

"Thank you, mister, you're a good person." The lady stood up and exhaled. She blushed when she said to Adrian sincerely, "You'll achieve your goal."

"You too." Adrian nodded with a smile.

"Goodbye." The lady waved him goodbye, then hopped away with her bag.

'She's quite adorable.' Adrian then raised his brows when he watched her leave. 'What did she say just now? I'm a good person? Why does that sound strange?'

He shook his head, then was stunned. Subsequently, he slapped his thigh. "Jesus! I forgot to ask for her name and her number!"

21

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye, and the Venice Film Festival was slowly coming to an end, but the highlight had just begun. For all film festivals, the most attractive part was definitely the awards ceremony, especially when a number of outstanding works were showcased this year. For example, England's 'Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead', New Zealand's 'An Angel at My Table', Chile's 'The Moon in the Mirror', and America's 'Goodfellas'. Of course, there was also one that the crowd was astonished at, which was 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', a pure British-styled dark humor film produced by a new American director, Adrian Cowell.

So far, 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' was one of the top five most-watched films at the film festival, but 60% of the attention was given to the disorderly yet neat shooting technique, whereas 40% was given to the contrast between the director's nationality and the film's genre. Everybody knew that it was due to a few factors—historical, cultural—the British people despised the Americans, yet a new American director's debut film was a British-styled dark humor film, which was interesting.

There were American directors who made British-styled films as well, but most of them were famous, whereas Adrian had no previous works before this—not even a short story, hence he was basically an extremely new director. Besides, he was born and raised in America, but his debut film was purely British-styled, thus it was normal that the people were amazed.

The British media explained that Mr. Adrian's grandmother was British and that he lived in London when he was younger, which was why he could produce a British-styled film. Needless to say, it was Gary Brook from Tuchnan Film Company who disclosed it. Of course, nobody knew how many people believed it.

No matter what, the people who followed the Venice Film Festival were curious about the film, especially those from England and America. As such, 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' built a good foundation for its popularity.

Apart from that, the film gained even more attention after Adrian won the Best First Work award at the awards ceremony. Honestly, Adrian did not expect to win an award at all. Though 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' was great in terms of its story, it did not have "artistic" aspects that the European movie critics and directors took a liking to. Therefore, he was shocked when the award presenter announced the winner, so much so that he only went on stage after Laverne nudged him to.

"Thank you, judges, for awarding me with the Best First Work award, I'll continue to deliver great stories through my future works." Adrian waved his trophy after giving a brief speech, then returned to his seat.

In actual fact, Adrian hoped that he could win one or more awards as it would boost his popularity, and would benefit the film's publicity, but he undervalued it when he really won one.

'It'll be great if it's the Golden Lion award, what's the point of winning the Best First Work award,' Adrian thought to himself. 'How many famous films in my previous life actually won consolation-typed awards like this?

'People are always like that, we're never content with what we already have.' Nevertheless, he quickly got rid of that thought. In any case, it was still an honor, and it was the first he earned after he was reborn. This marked the first step of building his reputation, so a celebration was still in order.

However, since nobody expected it too, they did not make reservations at a restaurant or anywhere else, and many places were already full due to celebrations after the awards ceremony. At last, they settled down in a small pub near their hotel. Even so, everyone was very happy, including Laverne who had been bustling about during the film festival. He did not think that Adrian actually achieved what he said more than 2 months ago! Though their film company could only earn from the distribution fee, it was undoubtedly a light in the dark. Laverne was certain that their new boss would not just stop there.

Since it was a small-scaled party, and that the venue was not quite suitable, their celebration ended very quickly, and Adrian returned to his hotel room with his lovely partner. While Kate was unlike the other female celebrities from around the world for at that moment, her delicate features and youthful spirit made her beautiful in her own way, especially her charm that was unusually attractive—ever since she recovered from losing her virginity, the two of them had enjoyable nights almost every night. Kate was addicted after having her first experience, and since Adrian would tease her on purpose, she was completely drawn to it.

Other than that, Adrian specially picked a one-shouldered royal blue evening gown for her according to his past life's impression and his present life's experience, which complemented her character very well. Additionally, he also found a hairdresser and a makeup artist to doll her up, thus she attracted a lot of attention when they walked the red carpet.

"I should congratulate you, Eddy… Ah…" As soon as they returned to their room, Kate was pressed by Adrian against the wall. She chuckled, then wrapped her legs around his waist.

An intense activity naturally followed after that, but it was much more intense than the previous times. They moved from the wall to the floor, from the bed to the couch, from the bathroom to the window, and essentially left their traces of love everywhere. Not only did they try a number of positions, but they also took turns to demand from each other as though they just could not get enough.

They both knew that they would soon be separated.

Anyhow, Kate had to graduate from high school, and Adrian had to return to America after the film festival to turn his plan into reality. Hence, their separation was inevitable, and the wild activities were unavoidable even when they would meet 2 months later.

Once the Venice Film Festival ended, Adrian sent Kate back to London after putting Laverne in charge of the distribution matters for 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'. He later flew back to America reluctantly, but his destination was not Los Angeles. It was New York.

The Big Apple was the United States of America's economic center, and Wall Street was the Big Apple's economic center. It was a place filled with greed, schemes, traps, grim, and scams. Nonetheless, countless people still found their way there, which was due to the power of capital. Despite that, Adrian was not there for capital—of course, it would soon be—he was there to meet someone.

"I told you long ago, Eddy. Don't idle your time away, but when do you ever listen? You did nothing apart from drinking and partying," An old man said after putting his fork and knife down, and taking a sip of wine. He had a slightly bald forehead, a high nose, red cheeks, and brown hair that was neatly combed. He was slightly similar to Adrian's dad, but he did not have many expressions, and he treated Adrian disdainfully.

"I know, Uncle Anderson, I'm changing now," Adrian replied respectfully even though he was rather unhappy.

"Change? Shooting films? Becoming a director?" The old man ridiculed, "You're still fiddling around. Did you think that you could prove that you're capable by purchasing a film company? The Cowell Family didn't last until today because of petty tricks, when are you really going to mature?"

Adrian was furious but he listened patiently. Luckily, another elder spoke at that moment, "Alright, Anderson, at least Eddy's working hard for himself now, can't you encourage him?"

"Working hard? By making films?" Anderson scoffed, then left the dining hall.

The other elder sighed and looked at Adrian apologetically. "I'm sorry, Eddy, you know your uncle… He actually loves you."

"It's okay, Aunt Marsha, I understand." Adrian wiped his mouth with a napkin and suppressed his unhappiness.

"Let's have some coffee in the living room, tell me about your film." Marsha stood up and smiled.

"My pleasure." Adrian nodded and stood up too. The servants cleared the table after.

Anderson Cowell was Adrian's dad's brother. He was a typical wasp as he was stubborn, old-fashioned, and reserved. He used to have a good relationship with Adrian's dad in terms of business but was not an easy person to deal with. Furthermore, he always related everything to the family, and Adrian disliked him whether it was the past or the present.

The Cowell Family had a long history indeed. According to a record kept by Adrian's dad at home, their ancestors traced way back to a passenger on the Mayflower! Their family had glorious days over hundreds of years, but there were always ups and downs. As they scattered all over America after the family expanded, it was no longer how it used to be, so Anderson was only comforting himself by mentioning it from time to time.

Nevertheless, Adrian purposely visited his uncle in New York who had a lot of connections in Wall Street. As mentioned before, public relations were very important no matter which country one was at. Even though there were rarely any unspoken rules in America because of those relationships, there were still exceptions.

In the past 2 years, Adrian almost lost all of the connections that were established by his dad, because he led a muddled life by being an alcoholic. After all, tea would cool down when a person left1. If it was not for his godfather and his best friend, Adrian would have been dead by now.

Since the past Adrian was taken over, the present Adrian was going to rebuild connections as he was ambitious. Fortunately, only two years were wasted, hence the tea had not completely cooled yet, or he could not have gotten in touch with a few big film companies. In spite of that, it was impossible to fix what was lost in those two years in a short period of time.

Adrian understood that very well, so he decided to visit his uncle and aunt in New York. He would start by striking casual conversations with them, because it was best to take things one step at a time.

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20

"If the film must be described by a word, 'coincidence' is undoubtedly the best. Everything happened because of coincidences, especially the surprise ending. Nevertheless, the film that was full of coincidences is not at all hateful at all. The seemingly messy threads were wonderfully pieced together by the director, making it disorderly yet well-ordered at the same time. I must admit that the director has a great technique in linear stories."⸺ Italy, 'Corriere Della Sera'

"This is a typical cut film that is full of strong personal style and English humor. Cut film lovers will definitely love this film, and they won't expect the plot that runs through from the beginning to the end to be so interesting. The strange or rather shocking point is that the director's an American! It is quite ironic that an American director produced a completely British-styled cut film, but it also increases the comedic effect."⸺ England's famous movie critic, Tony Ryan.

"Too many coincidences made this film less appreciable. While the director undeniably knows his way around the narrative, the coincidences made him rather mediocre. This is an interesting film, but interesting is all it is, and it's suitable to be watched to pass time."⸺ France, 'Le Figaro'

"In this year's Venice Film Festival, apart from Martin Scorsese's 'Goodfellas,' another American film attracted a significant amount of attention. The interesting fact about it is that the director is an American, but the film is a strong British-styled cut film. If you had no idea, you will definitely think that it is a British-produced film."⸺ America, 'The Hollywood Reporter'

Basically, the movie critics and reporters who watched 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' at Palazzo del Cinema gave good reviews, except the French. Even so, the French admitted that it was a fun and interesting film. Multi-narrative films would still be praised 20 years later, let alone in 1990.

As a matter of fact, the viewers for the film increased by folds on the next day, such that the theatre and the organizers immediately increased its screening times after an exchange of views. With that, 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' which had already gained a little fame due to the movie critics and the reporters at the film festival attracted even more attention, to the point that some European film companies wanted to secure its distribution rights.

Nevertheless, the first who asked was an American film company—Miramax. The company was established in the '70s by the brothers, Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein and was famous for producing independent films. Independent producers from Hollywood owed part of their success to the Weinstein brothers.

This was also exactly the reason Miramax had a good eye for small productions, so their person in charge of the film festival searched for Adrian immediately. Of course, they were destined to return without accomplishing anything. After all, Adrian took part in the festival under the name of an independent film as a pretense.

Nonetheless, Adrian had a few seconds of regret after declining their offer, because they were very sincere. The offer was not generous, but it was good enough for a new director. Besides, he recalled that Miramax, or in fact, the Weinstein brothers, were very good at public relations. A few films that were produced by them won the Academy Award for Best Picture, so if he were to hand his film to them, he could definitely earn the distribution fee back.

Despite that, he quickly got rid of that thought. 'What will happen to my company if I let them distribute the film? There's no reason for me to push my profits away. Moreover, if my company grows in the future, I'll definitely become Weinstein's opponent in certain aspects, which is even more of a reason I shouldn't weaken myself to strengthen others. Of course, most importantly, I must be unwavering in my decision. I'll gain nothing if I'm half-hearted.'

Following that, film companies from other countries sought out Adrian as well, and he needed to face them one by one.

"Alright, I agree with the conditions. Congratulations, Mr. Brook." After exchanging glances with Laverne, Adrian stood up and put his hand out to the middle-aged man opposite him.

"I'm happy to have secured the distributions rights of this film, and I'm sure that the people will love it." The middle-aged man, who was a gentleman, smiled as he shook his hand. Gary Brook, one of the people in charge of England's Tuchnan Film Company, a typical British man.

"May I ask, Mr. Adrian, how did you… How did you produce a film with such a rich British-styled dark humor?" Brook suddenly asked.

Adrian smiled. "My grandmother was British, and I often went to London with my parents, a city that left me with a deep impression, which is why I chose to produce my debut film there."

"I see." Brook nodded. Although he maintained a smile on his face, his chin moved up slightly.

While Adrian found it funny, he did not show it. He turned to say to Laverne after Brook left, "British people are always so opinionated. They always delay negotiations, and also…"

He gestured with his hand, then shook his head. There were also a few English film companies who contacted him at the last minute, which showed that they were clearly in a dilemma, because the director of the British-styled dark humor film was an American!

"They're used to it. They indulge in their glorious past, and can't seem to withdraw themselves." Laverne shrugged.

Adrian could not help but laugh as he did not expect him to be so merciless in mocking others.

"He seemed to have figured out something," Laverne mentioned.

"It's alright, I'm the one who invested in and produced it, so it won't be much of a problem. Besides, they'll find out sooner or later." Adrian was unbothered, but this was also why he had Laverne to help him deal with the big film companies.

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Laverne left after packing his things. Adrian sighed a long breath of relief after he left, then stretched himself before he walked to the balcony.

"Hey, baby, I'm so sorry for making you come here," Adrian said to Kate, who was reading a book on a recliner.

Kate rolled her eyes at him without saying a word.

"Why? Did anything happen?" Adrian was puzzled.

"Nothing," Kate intentionally spoke with an exaggerated tone," I'm just being opinionated."

Adrian was struck dumb for a moment before he laughed, realizing what was going on.

"Alright, I made a mistake. I forgot a word, I should've added 'some' in front of 'British people'." He reached his hand out to her. "I apologize, alright?"

Kate scoffed, then turned around as if she had not heard him.

Adrian raised his brows, then hugged her by her waist to carry her on his shoulder.

"What are you doing! Put me down!" Kate, who was taken by surprise, instantly struggled to get free by kicking and punching Adrian. She only stopped when her butt was pinched.

Thud. Adrian threw her on the bed, then stared at her with a devilish look. "Clearly, you should be punished, my dear Kate."

"You… I…" Kate placed her hands in front of her chest subconsciously. "Don't mess around, Eddy!"

"It's been a few days, any pain would've been gone by now, right?" Adrian giggled as he got closer to her.

"Wait, it's day time now!" Seeing as he was being serious, Kate immediately moved backward, but there was no way she could get away.

"So what? No law states that it can't be done during day time."

"But… But.. I have to…"

"Don't worry, you'll agree with it soon."

"Wait… Save me!"

Although Kate fought a "long and tough" battle, she was not a match for Adrian who had endless experience, thus she began losing herself due to his touch. Following that was naturally an amorous activity, and the afternoon sunlight that shone through the balcony made the view in the room look extra captivating.

"You're a b*stard, Eddy," Kate commented. She shut her eyes as she curled up in Adrian's arms, out of energy.

"Why do you say so?" Adrian hugged her from behind, then kissed the back of her neck.

"I can't move now." Though Kate sounded like she was complaining, she was more so satisfied.

Adrian smiled without commenting and continued savoring her tenderness. From his past experiences from both lives, he knew the female body very well, and since he had a strong capital in his present life too, he could easily make Kate feel ecstatic.

"Oh right, Kate," He mentioned after some time, "What about your consideration? Don't forget, I still want you to play the female supporting role in my next film."

Kate shivered a little upon hearing him, then turned around after she sighed. She looked at Adrian with a complicated look. "I don't know, Eddy. I… I love you, and I want to go, but…"

"But you still have your studies, and your mom might disapprove, right?" Adrian smiled gently. "I think that a student who's determined to make it to Oxford must graduate from high school; Similarly, a student who aspires to be in Oxford can't go to Stanford University. If you're willing to, I can convince Madam Judy for you."

"Stanford University? But I want to go to Oxford for literature studies." Kate poked his chest.

"Stanford's quite known for humanities and natural sciences too," Adrian persuaded. "Besides, if you want to venture into Hollywood, I think that you should go to Southern California's film academy or California's art academy—Kate, I want you to be by my side."

Tender words always worked. Kate hugged Adrian a moment later. "Eddy, can we talk about this after I graduate from high school? I'll definitely consider, and I want you to be with me too."

"Of course." Adrian nodded, then planted a kiss on her collarbone. "But let me take some interest first."

"Wait! No… You can't… Ah!"

19

As the plot developed, it was soon the part where "Hatchet" Harry schemed against Eddy and his friends, which was when the story began to unfold. The two dumb thieves continued making the audience chuckle, whereas when Bacon was seen explaining to Eddy how ruthless "Hatchet" Harry was, the scene when Harry was hitting a man with a d*ldo caused everyone to burst out laughing.

The film soon entered its climax, where the crowd was dazzled and fully immersed in the story due to the collision between the characters. The dumb thieves sold the antique guns that were supposed to be given to Harry, which were bought by the four-men group that was about to rob their neighbors. When the robbers finally broke into the weed chemists' house, they were almost killed by a lady with minimal presence. The storyline caused everyone to laugh out loud, and at the same time made them eager to find out what would happen next.

It became more interesting when the robbers returned from their heist, and it took them a while before they realized that they had actually been robbed by their neighbors; The four-men group seized the weed stolen by the robbers, but carelessly sold them to the gangster leader of the weed-growers. While the robbers decided to "serve" the four men, the gangster leader was going to take his revenge, thus both parties arrived at the four men's house one after the other. However, the four men had been drinking outside to celebrate the fact that they cleared their debt and earned a lump sum. Due to the strange combination of circumstances, the robbers and the gangster leader ended up in a shootout, which resulted in the deaths of all.

As the audience watched the scene happily, the screening hall was filled with waves of laughter, but that was not the end. The robbers' boss managed to escape the gunfight, leaving with the money and the antique guns through another door but was so unlucky that he bumped into Chris, who was there to collect a debt. Not only was he knocked out, but he was also mugged of the money and the guns. With that, the poor four-men group felt like they had fallen from Heaven to Hell the instant they returned. Right then, the two dumb thieves had been thinking about getting the antique guns back as they had been threatened by Harry, so they followed Big Chris to Harry's den. A problem arose because the thieves and Harry never met, hence they were unaware of each others' identity. Since the dumb thieves had their minds set on getting the guns back, and Harry was obviously not one to be threatened, another shootout caused both parties to die.

"What the f*ck are you doing here?!" Barry, Harry's bodyguard who had been communicating with the dumb thieves yelled after he was shot in his stomach by one of them.

"What the f*ck are you doing here?!" One of the thieves who had been fatally hit by a flying ax from Barry yelled back.

The screening hall was filled with laughter again.

At last, the film ended, and the lights in the hall were turned on. The audience, who did not get enough of it, began discussing with each other. Through the light, Adrian glanced at the hall and found that around 40% of the 500 seats were taken, which was a decent house. He was certain that more people would watch the film after this, which was a good sign.

"Look, I told you not to worry," Adrian whispered to Kate.

Kate rolled her eyes at him as he had been wandering his hands on her thighs the whole time.

Adrian shrugged and was about to talk to the others on his team when he noticed Dennis bending over to his legs, and was rubbing his face with his hands.

"What's wrong, Dan?" Adrian asked.

"Oh, no, nothing, I was just… Just a little excited…" Dennis quickly sat back up, and although he turned his head slightly to the side, Adrian noticed his reddened eyes.

After being startled for 2 seconds, he quickly felt relieved. Even though Dennis never talked about his time in Hollywood, Adrian could guess based on his spiritless character when he worked in the coffee shop. Therefore, when he finally became an important character in a low-cost film, while he was not the main character, he must be very touched upon hearing the praises.

"Eddy." Dennis who finally collected himself looked at Adrian. "Thank you."

Adrian raised his brows without saying a word.

"No matter what happens next, thank you so much," Dennis thanked him again in an unusually serious tone.

Adrian nodded to himself. "Let's go get some coffee, Dan."

There were many open-air coffee shops on Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta street, which were either elegant-styled, unique or had historical touches. Each of them attracted plenty of tourists.

Since Kate could not move around too much, Adrian decided on a small yet delicate open-air coffee shop. Needless to say, drinking an Italian-styled cappuccino under the warm sun was a pleasant activity.

"Frankly speaking, I may have watched it multiple times back in the studio, but it felt completely different when I watched it just now," Dennis expressed after sipping the foam on his cup.

"Perhaps because there were other people in the screening hall, and they gave good reviews," Kate responded.

"There's another reason. Since it's a film, it's more appealing when it's screened on a big screen, which is unrelated to whether the film emphasized effects. A different environment and a different mind will naturally produce a different feeling," Adrian explained as he stirred his drink.

After talking about 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,' Adrian somewhat made a decision.

"Oh right, Dan. I'll be preparing for a new film soon, would you like to play the main character?" Adrian asked.

"A new film?" Dennis was surprised because he did not expect Adrian to prepare for a second film before the first one was officially screened.

"Yes, I have a rough concept for the script already, and I only need to type it out," Adrian replied. "The story's very simple, and I've decided to play some tricks during the editing part."

"No problem." Dennis agreed right away.

"So fast?" Adrian was shocked. "I must let you know that according to the plot, the main character's an extremely thin person who's less than 110 pounds."

"As long as you need me to," Dennis put his hands out and said, "I'll do it."

"Wow, Eddy, you got yourself a good helper," Kate stuck her tongue out after her comment.

"Is that so?" Adrian smiled at her. "Would you play one of the supporting roles then, Kate?"

"Do I have a part too?" Kate was both surprised and curious.

"Of course, but we'll be shooting in Los Angeles around October or November," Adrian responded seriously.

Kate was startled for a few minutes. She was about to say something when her face changed.

"What's wrong?" Adrian quickly held her.

"I accidentally… Hit it too hard… It hurts…" Kate was embarrassed when she answered.

Although they spoke very softly, it was normal that Dennis heard them. Besides, Kate often went to London's studio during the last few days of the post-production, and she was walking unusually slowly earlier. Since he figured out what happened, he let out a dry cough. "Oh right, Eddy, I have something else to attend to, so I'll be leaving."

At the same time, he gave Adrian a thumbs up under the table.

Adrian grinned. "Alright, we'll talk again after the film festival."

Once Dennis left, Adrian simply carried Kate like a princess. "Alright, Ms. Beckinsale, we've watched the film, so it's time to go back to rest."

"Must you carry me like this?" Kate, who was shy, looked around them.

"You have no choice, my love." Adrian laughed as he carried her back to the hotel, and was unbothered by the looks of others. It was worth noting that he was very strong because he never had to catch his breath even after walking a few streets.

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After placing Kate on the bed, Adrian filled the bathtub with hot water, then carried her to it. Nevertheless, Kate was not going to be manipulated so easily, thus she pulled him into the water when he let his guard down. As such, Adrian decided to remove his clothes, and bathed with her.

Of course, they did not proceed further due to Kate's condition. Adrian hugged her from behind, leaned against the bathtub as he massaged her gently.

"Do you feel much better now?" Adrian looked at Kate. "I told you to stay at the hotel."

"Is this meaningful now?" Kate pouted her lips. The flush on her cheeks had not gone away.

Adrian smiled without replying to her, then asked her after kissing her neck. "Do you like to act, Kate? Do you want to be an actress?"

Kate was startled for a while before she nodded. "Somewhat, I thought about it. After all, my parents were performers."

"Follow me to Hollywood then, I'll turn you into a great actress." Adrian suddenly got up to hug her tightly.

"To Hollywood?" Kate was completely stunned. The intimate relationship she shared with Adrian all this time made her forget about two facts: One, she was a Briton who was still in high school; Two, Adrian was an American who worked in Hollywood.

"Yes, to Hollywood," Adrian responded seriously.

Instead of responding, Kate hugged him even tighter.

"Don't rush it, we still have time." Adrian later kissed her lips, and they wrapped around each other passionately.

Followed by the screening of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,' a wave surged in the Venice Film Festival. The viewers included tourists who were attracted by its reputation, as well as movie critics and entertainment reporters from various countries. The film with a seemingly disorderly yet practically ordered thread attracted their attention because there were not many linear films in this style before 1990.

18

"That's it. Goodnight, and rest well, the film will be screened tomorrow." Adrian kissed Kathrin goodbye after he sent her back to her hotel room.

Although the two of them kissed intimately that night, it did not progress further, so they booked two separate rooms in Venice.

"It's still early, can you stay?" Kathrin added, "I'll feel bored by myself."

"No." Adrian shook his head on purpose. "Though your mom didn't say anything…"

"Hey, Eddy!" Kathrin shouted at him, but her angry face was very adorable.

"Alright, alright, I didn't say anything." Adrian laughed and raised his hands.

In the room, they cuddled with each other, then began drinking champagne on the balcony while they talked. Occasionally, they played some games, which Kathrin enjoyed very much. The sky was extremely dark at that moment, but the stars on Lido island, as well as the gentle lights in the room, gave a quality suggestive of poetry or a painting. Additionally, the slight sea breeze made the moment very enjoyable.

"Oh right, I recall you saying that you'll apply to Oxford after you graduate from high school next year?" A moment later, Adrian talked about Kathrin's studies.

"Why? Do you think I can't make it?" Kathrin, who was leaning against his chest, asked. Her reddened cheeks due to the champagne made her look extra attractive.

"Why would I? It's a piece of cake for you." Adrian purposely spoke in a flattering manner, which made her smile happily.

Adrian shrugged. He was about to say something as he caressed her face, but he stood up instead since it was late. "Alright, I should leave, and you should rest."

"Wait, Eddy." Kathrin clung onto his arms, then pulled him to the couch. "Wait for a moment, I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Adrian was surprised, but he did not ask further. Subsequently, Kathrin went into the bathroom.

"I love you, Eddy." When she came out, she hugged him tightly.

"I… Really don't know what to say." Adrian hugged her thin waist, then proceeded to kiss her lips without any hesitation, slowly guiding her tongue with his.

The Sun shone in through the balcony, and the fresh sea breeze blew the curtains. Adrian shifted his body a little so that the kitten that curled up next to him could sleep more comfortably. He stroked her face gently as he indulged in the moment. Honestly, he did not fully enjoy himself last night, but Kathrin obviously could not withstand the intense action. However, he was not a selfish man in this aspect, and he was more pleased if his lady was satisfied.

Right then, Kathrin opened her sleepy eyes. Her body tensed up for a while, but she quickly relaxed and smiled. "Morning, Eddy."

"Morning, baby," Adrian replied softly, then kissed her cheeks, her ears, and her neck.

Kathrin responded to his kisses gently, then the two of them were ready to get out of bed. Just as she was about to sit up, she lay back down.

"It hurts." She frowned at Adrian, embarrassed.

Adrian could not help but chuckle. "It's normal. After all, it was your first time, so it hurts."

"I won't be able to walk today then." Kathrin was upset.

"It's alright, you can just rest in the hotel today," Adrian comforted her.

"How can I! 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' will be screened today, how can I be absent!" Kathrin tried her best to sit up again, but she could not move after that, so she leaned against her pillow.

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"Enough, Kate. It's just a screening, and there won't be a premiere, so it doesn't matter if you attend or not." Adrian put his arm around her shoulder. "How about this, I'll stay here with you."

"No, Eddy, that won't do." Kathrin shook her head. "Don't you want to know how the audience will react?"

"Their reactions are well within my expectations, don't worry," Adrian replied casually.

Kathrin shook her head again. "No, you must go, and I must go!"

Following that, she tried to get off her bed, but Adrian hugged her tightly. "Don't do this, Kate, listen to me."

While Kathrin did not say a word, she pursed her lips and looked at Adrian firmly. After being in a deadlock for a few minutes, he could only give in. "Alright, I'll go, but you…"

"I'll go too!" Before he finished his sentence, Kathrin cut him off. Though she was still slightly afraid, she stuck her chest out. "I'll just bear the pain, I'll be fine as long as I don't walk too fast."

She did have an imposing manner, but when the blanket that was covering her body suddenly slid down, she shrieked.

"It's not like I've never seen it before." Adrian teased her by pulling the blanket down again.

Kathrin stared at him snappily, then declared, "I'm going!"

"Alright, alright." Adrian shrugged helplessly. "You're so stubborn, Kate."

"You told me that it's my style anyway." Kathrin lifted her chin to look at him proudly.

It was then when Adrian's heart moved. After being stunned for a few seconds, he finally knew why he found Kathrin familiar. The feature of British English was that it was spoked in measured tones and that the final tones of some syllables were subconsciously omitted, which was why Kathrin's family name was pronounced as Beckinsell. According to American English, it would be pronounced as… Beckinsale! Kate Beckinsale, the charming English rose in 'Pearl Harbor,' the cold vampire in the city's steel jungle!

'Pleasure to have you, Kate,' Adrian said to himself as he helped her with her clothes.

Palazzo del Cinema was situated to the south of Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta street, the most bustling street on Lido island. It had 7 screening halls with roughly 600 seats and was a medium-sized theatre. Every year, many films were screened in the theatre during the Venice Film Festival. Different films were played in different halls, and spectators could watch any of them depending on their preference.

By the time Adrian and Kathrin arrived at the middle hall where 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' was screened, the hall was already dark, and the film would start playing in 2 minutes. Dennis and the others were already in the seats reserved by the organizers. After greeting them, Adrian helped Kathrin to her seat, and also placed a soft cushion for her.

Without an opening logo, the film began as soon as the screen lit up. In the beginning, Bacon, who was from the four-men group, was seen selling stolen goods on the street while Eddy, who was played by Dennis, promoted them to the onlookers. Honestly, Dennis' acting skill was not that great, but he stood out in his own way. Although Jason Statham who played Bacon in the original film was the only one who attracted attention, nothing in the world was constant. At the very least, Adrian felt that Dennis performed better than the original actor who played his character.

20 minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and there was not much suspense going on, but all parties—the four-men group, "Hatchet" Harry and his bodyguard, the weed-growers, and Big Chris—appeared in order in different ways, which attracted the audience's attention. Especially when "Hatchet" Harry was introduced, the strong contrast caused by the old man and the bunch of sex toys in front of him caused a few people to chuckle.

Nevertheless, the first time the audience dissolved into waves of laughter was when the two dumb thieves went to steal the guns. One of the thieves' unkempt curly hair had a hole in it due to a bullet, and their silly looks really cracked the crowd up, but it was just the beginning.

17

Venice was known as the City of Water because it was situated above the water. Canals that filled the city, gondola rides, and over 400 bridges formed a unique scenery, which attracted tourists from all around the world.

The film festival's specific location was Lido, a barrier island that stretched across the southeast section of Venice. It was a vacation spot that was as famous as the French Riviera in France, as well as Miami and Hawaii in America. The island had private beaches, public baths, a casino, restaurants, clubs, theatres, and other entertainment facilities, making it the best venue for the film festival.

A day before the opening ceremony, which was on the 27th of August, Adrian arrived in Venice with his team. In actual fact, his team consisted only of himself, Kathrin, Dennis, and two assistants. As for miscellaneous matters such as the registration, Laverne had flown over a week ago to settle them.

Adrian was initially worried because the first post-editing version did not meet his expectations, yet Laverne was able to get it through, which was very capable of him. Nonetheless, it made sense since Paramount's CEO from 7 years ago was now Disney's CEO, Michael Eisner. Being one of the assistants of a powerful figure who led Disney to its success, Laverne should not be underestimated. This was also why Adrian decided to purchase Bosworth Film Company when he actually had other choices that were inexpensive and of good quality.

Once they settled down at their hotel, Adrian looked for Laverne to discuss the details. Although Adrian had been paying attention to his film company, the fact that Los Angeles and London were separated by the Atlantic Ocean made it hard for him to keep track of what was going on. Besides, the heavy phones in that era did not support global communications, and it was too troublesome to use cable phones or satellite phones for international calls. Additionally, he spent most of his time on post-production work after the shootings, and a small part of his time with Kathrin, thus the face-to-face conversation with Laverne was necessary.

"Edie Blake from the strategy department, and Clarice Sandor from the editorial department." Moments later, Adrian went straight into the topic. "Although I guaranteed that I won't fire any of them in half a year's time, I also mentioned that I'll observe them throughout this period. Honestly, I'm not happy with their performance."

"I think there must be an understanding." Laverne looked at the information given by Adrian, then said, "Edie and Clarice may not be the more excellent workers, but they're responsible and diligent."

"But it's true that they made mistakes, right?" Adrian smiled, then raised his hand before Laverne responded. "Alright, Lave, I'm just giving my opinion. Since I put you in charge, I trust you, and I'll respect your decision."

"Thank you, Mr. Cowell," Laverne replied a few seconds later.

"You can call me Eddy—let's talk about the film festival now." Adrian changed the topic.

"Alright, Eddy, the organizing committee has accepted 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' as an independent film," Laverne mentioned, then handed Adrian a document.

"Great, we can save some cost." Adrian nodded as he looked through the document.

The reason they decided to participate in the film festival by using the name of an independent film instead of their film company was that America had a law that film production companies could not produce and distribute the same film. This meant that a film produced by a film company had to be distributed by another film company, which was the result of an anti-monopoly law.

Nevertheless, the law meant nothing for Hollywood groups that had a number of film companies, because handing their films to a different distributor was simply passing it from their left hand to their right—even when the anti-monopoly law clearly stated that film companies were not allowed to have theatre chains, those big groups still found ways to slip through loopholes and were indirectly controlling theatre chains—whereas small and medium-sized film companies must abide by that law.

Despite all that, Adrian was not afraid that someone would sabotage them, because Hollywood had perfect distribution channels, hence he did not want to waste the distribution fee. Since his business had just been established, he should spend all his money on important matters, so he could simply participate in the film festival with the name of an independent film, then distribute it through his film company. In any case, he was the only one who did everything from the investments to the production—with the help of the people from his company.

"Have you seen the film? What do you think?" Adrian asked. Seeing as Laverne was hesitant, he added, "It's alright, I just want to hear your opinion."

"Uhm… It's interesting, but I'm not sure if people will like the British-styled film, and it's definitely not an R-rated film. This might affect the views," Laverne replied carefully.

Adrian wanted to respond, but he decided not to because Laverne was right as he had only analyzed it from the perspective of America's market.

"When will it be screened?" Adrian asked again.

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"On the 31st, at Palazzo del Cinema," Laverne answered.

"We'll see when it's screened." Adrian grinned, then changed the topic again. "How are the dramatic rights of the few novels going? I heard that you had some trouble?"

"Mr. Stephen King agreed to sell the dramatic rights of his novel to us, he might have signed the contract already; Mr. Michael Crichton's novel is still under discussion, but we'll likely secure it based on the current situation; The main problem is with Mr. Winston Groom who insists on taking part in the script's adaptation," Laverne explained.

Adrian frowned instantly, then pondered for some time before he responded, "It's best to secure the dramatic rights of Crichton's novel as soon as possible, so make a concession if it's necessary, even if it means letting him participate in the adaptation—but not for Groom… Is he being very persistent?"

"Yes, Mr. Groom said that it's a required condition." Laverne sighed.

Adrian fell silent for a while. "I understand his thoughts, because one's work is equivalent to one's child, and nobody will ever let someone else dress up their child, but the problem is… His novel is a satire on politics, but I intend to adapt it into a motivational film. If he participates in the adaptation, a conflict will be inevitable—this is why I stressed that we must secure the full dramatic rights to his novel."

'What a troublesome fella, Paramount probably did what they did because they're helpless.' He pressed his fingers and began thinking. "How about this, Lave, you can agree with that condition, but also prepare a special contract. Make sure that we can kick him out without any problem if we can't resolve any conflicts during the adaptation period."

Laverne raised his brows as he was surprised, but he nodded without comment. Once they were done discussing, Adrian returned to his room.

On the next day, the film festival officially took place under the witness of countless reporters and their cameras, and the opening film was a local film. After walking the red carpet and listening to the chairman's speech, Adrian strolled on Venice's streets with Kathrin.

He was not interested in interacting with European directors since this was not his aim, and he was a new director. Of course, a few heavyweights from America attended the film festival, such as Martin Scorsese who showcased his new work, 'Goodfellas'. He was an Italian-American, thus was naturally in love with the Venice Film Festival. Moreover, his film themes usually revolved around the identity of Italian-Americans, the significance of sin and redemption in Catholicism, and the issues of violence in America's society— which was probably one of the reasons he was involved in the Oscars for over 10 years.

Since Scorsese was here, Robert De Niro, who had been working closely with him since the '80s and was also one of the main casts in 'Goodfellas', was also present. While Adrian was not very interested in Scorsese, he liked watching De Niro's performances. However, as mentioned earlier, Adrian was only a new director who would not be able to strike a long conversation even if they had met, so he could not be bothered to socialize.

Furthermore, he had put Laverne in charge of the film, and vacation was part of the film festival, thus he began enjoying his time in Venice with Kathrin.

Places like Doge's Palace, Bridge of Sighs, Ca' Rezzonico, Saint Mark's Square, and Saint Mark's Basilica were on their list, and they made sure they traveled in a gondola across canals that were full of cobwebs. On top of that, they also visited the library where 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' was shot. In three days, they visited half of Venice.

"Venice is absolutely beautiful, I love this place!" Looking at the seagulls from the gondola, Kathrin expressed.

"If you'd like, we can come here every year," Adrian responded while wrapping his arm around her waist.

Kathrin smiled, then looked at him deeply before placing her arms around his neck to kiss him. Adrian took advantage of the situation to kiss her deeply as he pulled her closer, and they were immersed in a passionate moment without bothering what was happening around them.

Upon seeing this, the boatman began singing. Even though he sang in Italian, the loving sentiments were very well expressed, causing Adrian and Kathrin to start kissing more intensely.

16

"It's time to say goodbye!" A bearded man pointed a knife at the man who slashed him, then heard a click coming from behind him. He turned around as he was shocked, but the black muzzle was already aimed at him.

Bam, bam, bam! Explosive sounds were heard as long sparks sprayed out from the machine gun, and a downpour of bullets filled the room. A lady dressed in a Bohemian-styled dress formed a strong contrast with the black machine gun. Although her expression could not be clearly seen due to the lighting, her furrowed brows and pouted lips left a wonderful impression. Especially when the screen slowly zoomed into her, her shooting stance was simply thrilling.

'I never thought that I'd look so cool!" Kathrin widened her eyes at the screen. "This is unbelievable, I didn't feel like that when this scene was shot!"

"This is the charm of a film, my love." Adrian pulled her into his arms.

"Oh, no!" Kathrin suddenly shrieked. On the screen, she had used up all the bullets, taken down quite a number of people, and was now standing blankly in place. She had passed out after being hit by the thieves' boss.

"Why didn't you let me kill them all!" She stated, chiding Adrian.

"Because you only asked now." Adrian laughed out loud, then kissed her face.

"Where are the other scenes? Is this the only one?" Kathrin scoffed.

"I'm sorry, this is the main scene, because the other scenes happened in a flash. You must know that you played a lady who was unconscious because of weed, so she has a very weak presence." Adrian shrugged.

"But… I remember that I had lines." Kathrin frowned.

"It was just a few exclamations, and a 'what', so…" Adrian gestured with his hand that the scenes were cut.

"Oh, that's disappointing." Kathrin sighed, but she was clearly joking with him.

"Honestly, I've been thinking." Adrian had a serious look on his face. "I should just cut this scene too since it wouldn't affect the plot too much."

"You can't do that!" Kathrin immediately shouted, then punched Adrian with her fists.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? Do you want to fight? Miss, you don't have a machine gun with you at the moment." Adrian laughed as he grabbed her hands.

Unwilling to be outdone, Kathrin counterattacked, but they both accidentally fell from their chairs. Nevertheless, they continued to wrestle on the ground, and she screamed while laughing from time to time. Eventually, they moved to the desk, then to the wall where they stopped as Adrian pressed her against it.

"I told you, you can't get away," Adrian said to her playfully.

Kathrin stared at him. Her chest undulated at that moment, and her face was so red that she was unusually attractive. Subsequently, Adrian kissed her sexy lips and pushed his tongue through her teeth easily. With that, she responded passionately by wrapping her arms around his neck and inched her body closer to his.

After sucking her lower lip again, Adrian suddenly stopped. The two of them rested their heads against each other without saying a word, so that only the sound of heavy breathing filled the room.

A moment later, Kathrin finally spoke, "I'm sorry, Eddy. I just… I just…"

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"It's alright, Kate. It's alright," Adrian responded gently. He then let her go after he calmed himself down. "I'll tidy up, then send you home, alright?"

Kathrin wanted to say something, but she swallowed those words after a moment of hesitation.

Before long, they arrived on the street outside Kathrin's house. Adrian stopped the car, then said to her, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight…" Kathrin replied softly. She finally plucked up her courage after she opened the door. "Eddy, actually I…"

"It's alright, Kate. I told you, it's alright." Adrian cut her off. He reached out to touch her face with a smile. "Your feelings are more important, do you understand?"

Kathrin was stunned. She threw herself into his arms, then kissed him. As a result, they spent a passionate time together again.

"I love you, Eddy." Kathrin was blushing.

"Me too." Adrian kissed her on her forehead. "Sweet dreams."

When Kathrin left the car, Adrian called out to her, "Oh right, Kate. I've sent the film to the Venice Film Festival, would you join me in Venice? You're still on a summer break anyway."

"Of course!" Kathrin answered quickly.

"It's set then." Adrian nodded, then waved her goodbye.

As usual, he left only after she went inside. While it seemed like he failed on the verge of success, he knew that he had completely captured her.

"How rare it is to have a shy, adorable lady. Being in love feels great," Adrian exclaimed.

It was as if he had two different personalities; he was totally immersed during dates but became as calm as an outsider as soon as his dates ended. Nevertheless, he enjoyed being like that.

'The only tricky part is…' Adrian rubbed his fingers as he recalled the incident in the studio. If he was right, Kathrin was likely… A virgin! This was very normal since there were many 17-year-old ladies who had not lost their virginity, let alone Kathrin, who was rather naive.

Honestly, it would be very satisfying for a man to have the virginity of a lady, but in terms of sex, a virgin and a charming matured lady were very different.

Adrian shook his head as he laughed. If he was seeking skills or physical pleasure, he could have just gone to East London's Bont Street where he could be satisfied by a high-class call girl for 500 pounds an hour.

"That's it, we'll see when we're in Venice." He shrugged.

The Venice Film Festival was first founded in 1932. It was the ancestor of all film festivals in the world and was also one of the "Big Three" film festivals in Europe. Normally, it would take place in late August or early September and would last roughly 2 weeks.

"Film is a serious art service" was the aim of the Venice Film Festival. While different slogans were proposed every year, the judging criterion was very simple—artistic. That being said, Adrian felt that it was more suitable to put encouraging experimental films as the standard.

In his past life, back when he was at the film academy, he had been obsessed with artistic films in Europe and was so ambitious that he thought about producing one. Later, after further analyses, he eventually got rid of that thought and was even disgusted by it. Film reviews varied from one person to another, thus it was simply impossible for everyone to be on the same page. In fact, most artistic films were the result of people flattering each other since they were the ones with power and influence. To put it in a harsher way, Europe's film market had long been fully occupied by Hollywood's commercial films, and European films were only trying to prolong their feeble existence using the name of art.

Of course, this was only Adrian's opinion, just like how different people had different views on the definition of an artistic film. Nevertheless, he favored the film experimenters at the Venice Film Festival. The festival often accepted films that were shot using new, original, and unique methods. Even if they had slight flaws, they were accepted as long as they were innovative. While a number of independent films produced by those who regarded themselves as auteurs of art were released, there were also films that were liked by many due to interesting plots.

This was one of the reasons why Adrian insisted on participating in the Venice Film Festival with 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.' Since the film was considered an experimental film, it was a perfect work to be exhibited at the festival. It was worth noting that the "Big Three" film festivals in Europe had their own features, for example, the Berlin Film Festival paid more importance to ideology. If a film was about a reflection on World War II, it would very likely be highly-awarded as long as it was approved. On the other hand, the Cannes Film Festival was somewhere between the first two festivals as it was more fond of political and motivational works. Judging from 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' quality, though it would receive great reviews by participating in the Berlin Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival, it would not produce a better effect than if it was exhibited at the Venice Film Festival.

If one wanted to expand the influence of a film produced by a small company or an independent film, to find a good publishing company, or to make the cast and director famous, the only way was to join a film festival. Of course, Adrian believed that this was only temporary.

15

"I'm sorry, I think I should go back!" At the very last moment, Kathrin suddenly pushed Adrian away, and turned her reddened face to the side. Her chest was slightly undulating.

Although Adrian was quite stunned, he did not take it to heart. "I'll send you home."

"I can…"

"I insist."

The two of them kept quiet through the journey, and the street lights that shone into the car from time to time created an odd atmosphere. Kathrin lowered her head throughout the journey, whereas Adrian kept a calm expression.

"We're here," Adrian mentioned after he parked the car.

"Thank you," Kathrin responded softly, then reached her hand out to open the door. Perhaps she had something on her mind, she could not open it even after a few tries, so she frowned.

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Adrian chuckled as he leaned over. "You forgot the lock."

"No, I can do this myself." Kathrin quickly declined his help. She pushed slightly harder than she expected, and since Adrian was not paying attention as well, his hand slipped from the window. With that, his upper body was on her.

"So… Sorry, I didn't do it on purpose." Kathrin who was blushing wanted to help him up.

"It's alright, I was being careless." Adrian grabbed her hand and looked up.

When their eyes met again, it felt like a long time had passed, but it also felt like an instant. Adrian inched closer to Kathrin, then kissed her. There was no intense action, only a gentle kiss and such, but it was electrifying.

A long time later, the two of them separated, and looked at each other without saying a word. Few more minutes later, Kathrin who came back to her senses uttered, "I should go back."

Adrian nodded, then opened the door for her. Kathrin who took a step out of the car suddenly turned to say to him seriously, "Eddy, you're a gentleman."

"Thank you." Adrian grinned, then tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Oh, right." Kathrin who had half her body out of the car recalled something again, then turned to ask, "It wasn't a date… Right?"

Adrian was slightly startled, but he smiled and put his hands out. Kathrin's face reddened again as she moved closer to him to plant a kiss on his lips, then she hurried back home.

"A lady's feeling is truly attractive." Adrian touched his lips as he watched her leave as he did not expect his unintentional move to be so rewarding.

In fact, he did not plan the date at all. He was indeed feeling so exhausted and frustrated that he called her to pour out his feelings to her. Due to many reasons, he had been working on the post-production alone, and the tight schedule made him tense.

Nevertheless, Adrian did some preparations in advance, he started recalling the film score the moment he decided to replicate 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'. The film score originated from Britpop, and he only needed to find the few songs once he remembered them completely.

Additionally, he analyzed the scenes of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' during his past life in his film academy, and even created a similar-styled short story by referring to its digital video. Although he was no longer in contact with many linear narrative works after moving to a local platform, he was able to remember everything due to his great memory.

Despite that, Adrian could not guarantee that he could replicate the film completely. Besides, a repeat of anything complicated might not produce the same results, let alone a film production. For instance, due to time constraints, he shot slightly lesser scenes—basically, a 50% film wastage throughout a film production was considered good, because some directors who pursued perfection might actually create an 80% or above film wastage. This was because not all shots would be used, and some scenes were shot a few times as backups in case there was an accident.

Since they were short on time, and Adrian was extremely familiar with the film, many shots were saved during the shootings, but it was also the exact reason that he had to be extra careful during the editing part. Although a mistake would not mean the end, it would waste a lot of time, which was the thing he lacked most at that moment. Furthermore, it was impossible for him to replicate every scene exactly, which was very torturing for him.

Apart from that, this was also his first film after he was reborn, and had to gain instant success. While his past self was quite experienced and capable, it was not the case for the former owner, thus it more or less affected his performance. So far, the editing progress was consistent with what was planned but was only possible by working overtime. Faced with the enormous pressure, it was natural for him to have a bad temper.

In short, the post-production had not been completed and Adrian's emotions were unstable. He would reprimand his assistant and the others if anything went wrong, including Dennis. Though he knew that it was bad, it was difficult for him to change. At one point when he was not in a terrible mood, Dennis took the opportunity to suggest he take a break.

Therefore, Adrian thought about Kathrin. Even though he was only giving it a shot, her appearance changed him instantly, such that he was no longer weary. It was as if a switch was pressed in his head, allowing him to change from one mode to the other. Evidently, some things remained the same whether it was during his past life or his present life.

Not only did he feel much better after the relaxing day, but he also pulled Kathrin closer to him, which was truly rewarding. Of course, he was still aware of his priorities, thus he continued working on the post-production the next morning and also gathered his crew to comfort them.

"I know that many problems emerged recently, and I know that they're mainly because of me. Thank you for putting up with me, and I hope that we stick together till the end," Adrian told them.

It was an indirect apology from him. Since their boss lowered himself, the workers showed their support. Following that, Adrian focused on post-production work again, and perhaps because of his progress with Kathrin, he was in a much better condition. The stress was still there, but his emotions no longer fluctuated like before.

"Maybe you should take a break every two to three days," Dennis quipped to him. He could tell what happened to Adrian.

Adrian declined to comment, but every time he became too frustrated, he would go out during the afternoon after making a call, then continue working the next day. He never delayed his progress, and would sometimes make huge advancements, hence his workers were in disbelief.

All in all, everything was going on smoothly, be it the post-production of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' or other things. The film company was operating normally under Laverne's management and even gained an investor to help produce a very low-budget film. Probably because Adrian kept his promise, his staff became more motivated, but none of the scripts gave him a good impression.

It made sense because Bosworth Film Company was just a small company without much reputation, hence it did not attract many people. Adrian was not too concerned about receiving a script that would give him a good impression, because he had a memory bank in his head.

On the other hand, his accountant faxed him the financial report of the previous month, which showed some ups and downs, but his money was still increasing by folds due to Claw's help. Adrian was certain that his request would be met.

Soon enough, the Venice Film Festival was about to begin.

"Do you know what's the biggest problem with French dishes? They're not filling!" The sound of a key being turned was heard, then two intimate figures were seen walking into the studio. The fluorescent lamp was lit.

"Come on, Eddy. It's the tongue that tastes the food, not the stomach," Kathrin commented with a smile.

"But the problem is that being full is the priority, and how am I supposed to savor the food if I'm feeling hungry?" Adrian refuted. He then turned to lean against the desk and wrapped his arm around Kathrin's waist.

"Are you saying that your compliments were fake?" Kathrin placed her arms on his shoulder as she tilted her head playfully.

"Of course not. The restaurant may be small, but the food tasted great. I mean to say that French dishes are more suitable for competitions, not for people to fill their tummy." Adrian shrugged, then looked at Kathrin's beautiful face as he teased, "Speaking of which, France abounds in many other things."

Kathrin giggled, then kissed Adrian. The sound of tongues clicking was instantly heard as it was a hotter kiss than before. When their tongues intertwined, they took turns to suck each other, where they advanced and retreated repeatedly. The intense kiss lasted for a long time before they finally separated.

"A French kiss, right?" Kathrin remarked with an alluring voice.

Although they had not been together for long, their relationship grew so quickly that they were now deeply in love. They had done everything that could be done, except for the last step.

After planting another kiss on her lips, Adrian led her outside. "I have something to show you."

"To show me?" Kathrin was instantly curious.

In a rather spacious room, Adrian pulled down a white screen that was hung on the widest wall, then placed a film into a bioscope.

"Look at your heroic moment, Kate," He said while tapping the bioscope.

"You're saying… You're saying…" Kathrin was extremely surprised.

Adrian smiled, then turned on the bioscope after he turned off the lights. A white light shone on the screen.