Chapter 837: Chapter 243: Aiming to Set a New Record?
The important reason why Adrian loves homemade dishes is that when you master them, even a small change can offer a different taste. From East Asia to Europe, from big names to Cheryl, tasting fresh bodies can indeed be very pleasurable, but once the novelty wears off, those you know deeply are still more attractive.
So, dating, flirting, and playing around with Avril at her home, coaxing her into doing something a bit daring, makes him even happier—even now.
“Don’t move, don’t move, let me feel, darling, something seems different.” A pair of large hands roamed over the waist of the girl crawling on the bed on all fours, even lifting her clothes to delve inside, fondly caressing the soft skin of her belly.
“What exactly do you want, Ed?” Scarlett furrowed her brows in confusion, then warned, “If you dare to come from behind, Ed, I swear I’ll kick you off.”
“Oh, really?” Adrian blinked, and his hands paused for a moment.
“Ed!” Scarlett turned her head to glare at him, but her expression looked more like teasing than being offended, and her hips gently swayed as if trying to escape his hands but more like inviting him.
This was the Scarlett he knew, always looking for opportunities to tease him; that dinner in Cannes seemed to have given her an alternative amusement. Such teasing was successful in most cases, as Scarlett, being a stunner, knew well how to show off her fabulous body. But today was an exception, Adrian didn’t want to take it further; he did this more because…
“Okay, okay.” He spread his hands, not looking at the disappointment flashing in her eyes, “Looks like my judgment was correct. You’ve got a little belly now, though it’s not very noticeable.”
Scarlett was puzzled at first, not quite understanding what he was saying, but she realized a few seconds later and immediately glared at him with wide eyes in anger. However, after she turned over and sat up, her expression calmed down again, and she put on an indifferent demeanor: “So what, I won’t desperately lose weight like other women. I’ll eat what I like and do what I want!”
“What’s wrong?” Adrian pretended to be puzzled, “I didn’t say anything, did I? And the feel of your little belly is quite nice.”
Scarlett’s face turned red as if she was choking on something but couldn’t cough it out, yet she had to maintain an unconcerned expression, so she simply let him knead her little belly.
“Don’t worry, darling, I’ll always love you just the way you are.” Adrian smiled and gave her earlobe a nibble before jumping off the bed and heading to the bathroom.
The girl bit her lip watching him go in, waited a few seconds, then hurriedly jumped off the bed and lifted her clothes in front of the mirror to check her belly, looking left and right.
It seems unchanged… no, it did bulge a bit, just not noticeable… but no, no change… indeed a bit bulged… nothing, nothing at all… there is, you see… nothing… there is… nothing… Scarlett looked at herself in the mirror with gritted teeth, her face constantly changing expressions, wanting to admit but also deny.
All along, she never deliberately tried to lose weight; she basically ate high-calorie foods as she pleased. Of course, her daily exercise was ample, including her activities on the bed with Adrian—and she was young, so she always kept her figure quite well. Thus, Scarlett always felt indifferent, but now that Adrian mentioned it, she suddenly became unsettled, as her troubled expression showed how conflicted she was inside.
“What are you looking at?” Adrian’s voice, laced with amusement, rang out.
Startled, Scarlett hastily pulled down her clothes as if to cover up her deed, then turned and looked sternly at the suddenly appeared Adrian, seeming to want to deny yet not knowing what to say.
“What happened? Is there a problem?” Adrian blinked smugly, his smile utterly annoying.
“You tricked me!” Scarlett, having a sudden realization, became exceptionally furious and lunged at him with her hands waving.
Adrian laughed heartily and started to dodge, and they chased each other around the room until Keeley came in carrying drinks and snacks.
“Watch out!” Despite Keeley’s first shriek, Scarlett still bumped into her. Though she made a protective gesture, and it helped a bit—not letting the plate of snacks fall to the ground—all three cups of coffee spilled over her.
“Scar!” Keeley screamed in frustration once more, putting the tray on the nearby table, she didn’t care about the large wet patch on her chest, glaring angrily at Scarlett with the intention of giving her a good scolding.
“Instead of thinking it’s my fault, you should blame Ed. If he hadn’t run, I wouldn’t have chased him, and I wouldn’t have bumped into you.” Scarlett put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, unconcerned with Keeley’s attitude.
“Ed couldn’t possibly be wrong; it’s your fault!” Keeley instinctively puffed out her chest, causing a noticeable jiggle.
Scarlett clicked her tongue and looked down with a smile that was not a smile. Keeley followed her gaze, noticing the coffee had formed a pillar-like shape between her ample bosoms, resembling something familiar. But Keeley didn’t feel embarrassed; instead, she tore off her wet clothes, revealing her bra, and stood even prouder, making the cleavage appear rather intriguing.
“Is it my illusion? They seem to have grown a bit?” Scarlett said with a cheerful smile, her disdain still obvious.
“Of course, don’t forget, I’m younger than you!” Keeley lifted her chin with a humph, never willing to fall behind Scarlett in this regard.
“Ha, you’re so conceited, Keeley.” Scarlett folded her arms, squinting her eyes, “But if they get too big, unbearably disproportionate, it might turn people off instead.”
Keeley pouted first, then frowned, hesitantly looking at Adrian, who had been watching the show.
“Don’t worry, Keeley, your proportions are just perfect now.” Adrian laughed heartily, wrapping his arms around her waist, then winked teasingly at Scarlett, “Especially the belly, perfectly flat, just keep it like that, got it?”
Scarlett’s calm facade immediately vanished, gritting her teeth she took a deep breath before glaring at Adrian. Being so close, Keeley noticed, and though she didn’t know what had happened, she certainly wouldn’t let the chance slip by.
“Got it, I’ll definitely keep it up.” She laughed and then pulled his hand to her belly, provokingly glancing at Scarlett.
“Alright, go change your clothes first, though it looks sexy, be careful not to catch a cold.” Adrian dropped the topic, kissed Keeley’s nape, and said.
“I’m on it.” The girl sweetly returned the kiss, and after giving Scarlett a triumphant smile, she left the room.
“Though she often gets manipulated by you, you sometimes get teased by her too.” After Keeley left, Adrian smiled and said to Scarlett.
Due to certain similarities, Adrian often ends up having Keeley and Scarlett together for a threesome, even though it’s temporary. He hasn’t decided to pair them up, but Scarlett quite enjoys it because, in her eyes, Keeley is… very amusing. Although Keeley is somewhat clever, compared to the precocious Scarlett, who declared early on that monogamy is definitely not a theorem, she is still too naive.
So Scarlett, with a little bit of maneuvering, can make Keeley dance in circles, and she always does it in such measures that even if Keeley figures it out, she doesn’t get too upset. Adrian loves to see them playfully teasing each other, and although Keeley may be a bit clumsy in other areas, she knows pleasing him is everything. Besides, when bullied enough, Adrian would show her some favoritism, just like a moment ago.
“If it weren’t for you, how would she have such opportunities?” Scarlett snorted, sounding quite displeased while walking a few steps forward with her hands on her hips, making Adrian quickly raise his hands and retreat.
The girl couldn’t help but find it amusing, and her anger completely subsided: “Alright, Ed, I didn’t plan to do anything else to you—though I really want to teach you a lesson.”
“Alright, alright, but your little belly is really perfect, I mean it.” Adrian laughed heartily, then pulled her into his arms and silenced her with a kiss.
“If there’s a next time, I’ll definitely make you suffer, I promise!” After a moment of intimacy, when they parted, Scarlett jabbed his chest with her finger, fiercely stated, but the blush on her face made her look exceptionally charming.
This is another distinct difference, Adrian can also play such games with his friends, but to get such an emotional response is mostly impossible. Just like the song “when you are gone” Avril wrote for him, although the title and part of the lyrics are similar to the original, overall they are two different songs; the one written for him lacks that explosive feeling, being lively and yet sorrowful, filled with a girl’s faint melancholy and… well… a bit of grievance, but still a lovely song.
Similarly, although she threatened to throw up on his face if disgusted, she ultimately ate it with a bitter face. Vini is like that, Scarlett is like that, even Keeley and Amanda who are more heavily into interests are like that, not to mention Kate and others, so, home-cooked meals fit the taste better.
January passed with the savor of home-cooked meals, though feeling a bit too full from continuously having them since returning to Los Angeles. Also gone with January were various award ceremonies like the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and DGA Awards, most of which Adrian didn’t attend. He just showed up at the Golden Globes because, here in the United States, no matter how hyped up other awards are, the only one representing the highest honor remains one.
“In consecutive years, with each Lord of the Rings trilogy film earning multiple nominations annually, this year, as with the name of its final installment, The Return of the King, it obtained another 11 nominations. The heaviest being Best Picture and Best Director. Miracle Director has been nominated for Best Director for three consecutive years now, and has long been a repeated name among nominees before, it’s nearly been ten years since he last won Best Director, maybe the Academy should consider awarding him another Oscar statuette. The only issue is, the Lord of the Rings trilogy is non-realistic work, a genre not really favored by the Academy, making it almost impossible to win Best Director and Best Picture with such work. However, Adrian Cowell is dubbed as Miracle Director because of his adeptness in creating miracles…”
Reading this, Adrian finally stopped, put the newspaper on his desk, and pondered for a moment: “Do you think it’s a bit blunt?”
“Blunt?” Ivanka raised her eyebrows, put down what she was holding to take the newspaper and read it carefully, “Isn’t it factual?”
“Of course it’s factual, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on the Academy. It feels like I’m telling them, you have to give me an account.” Adrian shrugged.
“Oh?” Ivanka sneered, her eyes narrowing. Her oval face appeared slightly round, generally, slitted eyes aren’t that appealing, but right now it had a bit of cuteness.
“Alright, I’m just a bit worried, a little worried.” Adrian candidly admitted, “You may have guessed a bit of my plan, huh, Innie?”
“Yes, a bit,” Ivanka nodded, then her tone carried some kind of admiration, “The longer I stay in this position, the more I admire Charli, she actually can manage all these messy matters — your meetings, files, innovations, arrangements — so well. Plus handling conflicts among your… well, playboy involvements, yet I still make occasional mistakes…”
“That’s because she started with me, handling fewer matters at first before it gradually got busier,” Adrian laughed as he stood up, pulling Ivanka into his arms, “You, on the other hand, had to manage all these right from the beginning, besides being slightly lesser competent than Charli, resulting in such circumstances.”
Ivanka snorted, but it wasn’t with her usual defiance.
“Don’t get hung up on this, you’re doing just fine right now, aren’t you?” Adrian teased while a hand roamed below her bust and another lay on her inner thigh, “Oh, one more task you didn’t mention.”
“I know, the primary task of a female secretary: to provide sexual services for the boss,” Ivanka rolled her eyes at him, expressing clear disdain, “That’s another thing I admire about Charli, she can completely ignore the rumors in the company, do you know what people say about me privately? Saying I’m under the desk blowing him during visits!”
“But that’s a fact, you know.” Adrian whispered in her ear, “Though, when they come, they’re very familiar faces to you.”
“Should we break new ground then, Mr. Cowell?” Ivanka turned, raising an eyebrow to gaze at him, “In over ten minutes, there’s someone scheduled to come.”
“Of course not,” Adrian laughed heartily, released her and resumed the serious facade after sitting back, “Tell them, Innie, be more discreet, nominations are out, we can’t have direct interactions with the jurors. I want no bad news in the papers before the ceremony on the 29th, speculations are fine but not definitive evidence, of course, I’ll keep up the pressure.”
This year is a leap year, so the Oscar ceremony was set for February 29th, the nomination list was tossed out at the beginning of February, and The Return of the King unsurprisingly received 11 nominations, stirring up a frenzy again. However, Adrian is not particularly thrilled; his initial plan was to compete for 12 nominations and clinch 12 awards, setting an Oscar record akin to the Titanic’s most unbeatable record. Although performance awards are impossible, Best Sound can still be a target.
But, helping Hans Zimmer win the Best Score at the beginning of 2002, making an entry this year tantamount to a definite shut-out. A true example of lifting a stone only to drop it on your own feet.
Despite the frustration, he accepted; not everything can be perfect, after all, records aren’t impossible to break. As that report suggests, no non-realistic work had ever won Best Picture and Best Director before, and now The Lord of the Rings is set to break this precedent.
If it were any other non-realistic piece, it certainly wouldn’t happen, especially a sci-fi film, otherwise, there wouldn’t be a Saturn Award for sci-fi movies. But The Lord of the Rings trilogy stands out, Tolkien can barely be referred to as the father of modern fantasy novels, and the trilogy amasses a substantial fanbase globally and is interpreted with ample real-world significance.
For instance, some believe Middle Earth’s story alludes to World War II, though Tolkien denied multiple times during his life, people’s eagerness to interpret never waned. Moreover, the three films reflect excellence in quality, each succeeding one presenting the grand and exquisite Middle Earth entirely before the audience, triggering considerable responses, coupled with it being adapted from British literature, the Academy couldn’t resist recognizing that they never discriminated against non-realistic films.
What’s more, Adrian’s recollection attests to this, plus being nominated multiple times already, so it should basically have no suspense. Consequently, Adrian is so focused on public relations, not wanting due to a butterfly effect, letting jurors’ heads fill with thoughts like “he’s been nominated multiple times in vain, so what if this time is no different, compensate later” and thus letting the almost reached goal slip through.
This marks the beginning of his entire plan, which is often the most crucial part, ensuring victory is essential. For now though, what mainly preoccupies him isn’t exactly the PR issue.
“Did you say that she requires my presence?”, Adrian asked, finally pausing his contemplation.
“Yes.” Jessica nodded seriously with intent. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to come to Qidian for more chapters and support the author.)