Publics love conspiracy theories, no matter which country it is from, but it’s a huge mistake to assu they are concerned about these theories because they are worried about the country and its people. In the eyes of the public, or rather in the eyes of most people, these topics are of the sa nature as celebrities’ privacy, gossip, and scandals. If it doesn’t involve their own interests, then its greatest use is rely as a piece of bizarre news to chat about after als.
Although 9/11 was an unprecedented disaster, directly and indirectly affecting tens of thousands of people, it still couldn’t escape this rule, not to ntion that countless Aricans bitterly resented the culprits. Adding to that, Michael Moore’s approach was not right. Such conspiracy theories might cause a strong reaction temporarily, but stirring up any significant political waves was virtually impossible.
However, governnts would not appreciate conspiracy theories, regardless of which country. If these matters blew up, regardless of their truth, they would impact the governnt’s credibility. Although in the United States, if the governnt’s credibility was gone, it would just an that a new governnt would take over; it wasn’t possible to keep changing frequently, right?
Thus, even though "Fahrenheit 9/11" participated in the Cannes Film Festival and won the Pal d’Or, earning significant attention and critical acclaim, major film companies and dia conglorates still would not favor it. The United States is governed by capital, but capital is not concentrated in the hands of one or a few individuals. With the rise of professional managers and the growth of various industries, and the continuous division within families, it is no longer an era where a few magnates could control everything like five or six decades ago.
Of course, even now, when these people gather, they still form a force that no person or country can underestimate.
Although capital was dispersed, the intrinsic nature of constant mutual devouring would not change, so just imagine, if a large corporation were to face governnt investigations because of this film, what would be the reaction of other groups in the sa industry? That’s why in his previous life, Disney was very annoyed by Miramax’s independent decisions, eventually deciding to outright dismiss the Weinstein brothers.
However, AC dia had no such worries, they certainly wouldn’t oppose the governnt, but providing protection for their subsidiaries was a different matter. Firstly, they were unaware of the decisions, secondly, they punished them after finding out, and there’s a very important point, AC dia always presented itself as a neutral dia entity!
The United States needs neutral dia, even if it’s just superficial neutrality; it is a symbol of democracy and freedom. Not every dia conglorate is eligible. The inherent shortcomings of News Corporation forced Murdoch to cling to the governnt and the Republican Party. But Adrian and Claude could flaunt their neutrality without any concern.
So, as long as they signal that sothing is inappropriate or wrong — whether it’s "Fahrenheit 9/11" or Miramax’s "rashness" is open to interpretation — what happens behind closed doors in handling Miramax is AC dia’s own affair. Weinstein actually understood this, having previously experienced AC dia’s operations when given full authority by Adrian. He knew he wasn’t suitable to helm such a large conglorate, so although he felt it was sowhat unfair to be used as a pawn, he just grumbled about it.
Michael Moore’s docuntary ended there, and after chatting a few more sentences about the film festival in the café, Adrian subsequently returned to his room, where a charming girl was waiting for him.
Zoe Deschanel wasn’t very beautiful, but she was very delicate and sweet, much like Alexis Bledel with beautiful blue eyes, giving off an artistic and fresh vibe, very suitable for playing either bitter or sweet roles in low-budget independent films. For Adrian, using this appearance to fulfill his corrupt desires was stimulating enough, just like the things he did with Alexis, even though their inner selves and appearances did not match. Playing role-play with "Gilmore Girls," Adrian never used deceitful tactics on Alexis.
The sa was true for Zoe. Over the more than two days in Park City, the most highly praised movie Adrian heard of was "All the Real Girls," though it was sowhat lodramatically sentintal and suffered from the common faults of art films, the actors’ performances were quite good, and then he rembered who the female lead was.
Subsequently, Adrian found an opportunity to acquaint himself with her, t her twice, and then spent an evening chatting in a bar, easily taking her back to his hotel. This was certainly due to Adrian’s adept maneuvers, but Zoe’s indifferent attitude about being his lover for a few days, typical of soone who often starred in independent films influenced by certain cultures, was also a contributing factor.
Frankly, if discovered earlier, Adrian wouldn’t mind having a girl with such flavor around, collecting them, of course, required diversity. However, it wasn’t possible now. He didn’t have so much ti to correct Zoe’s frivolous and playful nature fostered by frequently starring in independent films, and she was a strict vegetarian too, so better not.
"Of course, this didn’t stop Adrian from spending a good ti with Zoe while he could. He considered calling her out for a friendly match in the future, which wasn’t a bad idea either. Therefore, he spent a few days skiing and traveling around with her, even fulfilling her wish to visit Sacranto.
Sacranto is the capital of California, yes, you heard it right–California’s capital is neither Los Angeles, which boasts Hollywood, nor San Francisco, the world’s LGBT headquarters but rather this dium-sized city established along the Sacranto River, with a population of just over four hundred thousand. It’s quite normal not to know this; Los Angeles and San Francisco are just too famous, to the extent that even many Aricans from California might not be able to correctly na their state’s capital.
Though the scenery here was nice, there weren’t too many noteworthy attractions, the most notable being the old western cowboy-style buildings left over from the gold rush era over 150 years ago. Zoe wanted to see these because she thought they were interesting.
"I don’t like traveling, but I’m curious about various novel things. So, I’ve always wanted to co to Sacranto to see these things but never really wanted to make the move. This ti I had your help," Zoe had explained.
Adrian had no reason not to fulfill this request; it was just a simple task after all. Moreover, the young lady had been very cooperative these past few days. Under his inducent, not only did she complete three rounds, but she also did what Alexis had done back then. When he looked down at Zoe, who lay confused and sared on the table, unable to even open her eyes and appearing utterly ravaged, he felt extrely refreshed and satisfied.
Everything was quite nice, only the ending changed a bit because Zoe wanted to return alone.
"You are a really nice guy, Ed, considerate and great in bed, although you like to play pranks. If I stay longer, I might end up liking you," she had said, "I don’t want to get too entangled with a playboy; it’s too easy to get hurt. Hanging out for a few days is fine, but long-term dating is out of the question, so it’s better that I leave early."
Though many won play hard to get, Adrian could tell Zoe was serious, yet miss... he hadn’t planned on long-term dating her either! Playing a friendly match wasn’t really long-term dating.
Of course, he wouldn’t say that. After a few courteous attempts to persuade her to stay, Adrian took her to the airport. No matter what, she was indeed a characterful girl. Although an accident happened in the end, he didn’t take it to heart, and the subsequent events proved the old saying, "What you lose on the swings, you get back on the roundabouts."
"Listen, this job is simple, you just need to strip... twist a few tis on stage, and there will be people cheering you on with tips. Believe , you are so pretty, you’ll definitely be popular, and no one will touch you—I can promise that, it’s a professional place. Just perform a few shows, and you’ll have the money you need." Adrian overheard the conversation from the neighboring table and couldn’t help but shift his gaze from the outside street back to them.
Although a few words were muddled, as long as he properly understood the content of the conversation, he could tell it was a deliberate attempt; apparently, soone was being lured, which was quite amusing.
After Zoe had left, Adrian was not in a hurry to return to Los Angeles. Sacranto, being the capital of California, was a place he had never visited before, and he likely wouldn’t co again, so he decided to spend so ti exploring. Since he had already been delayed, he believed the group of won at ho probably knew why by now, and returning a bit later wouldn’t be a big deal, especially since there was plenty of ti left to shoot La Vie en Rose.
Thus, after wandering around Sacranto for most of the day, at late afternoon approaching evening, he casually chose a nice-looking café, ordered a coffee, and lounged at a street-side window bathing in the remnants of sunset, watching the street view quite relaxedly. It was indeed not bad to occasionally have such a leisurely mont.
However, the tranquility didn’t last long; soon, soone occupied the neighboring table and started a conversation. The voices weren’t loud, but he could hear them very clearly. It was a man and a woman; the woman seed to need money urgently for so reason, while the man, whose profession was unknown, was incessantly urging the woman to beco a stripper, yet also liked to be mysterious... After listening for a while, Adrian couldn’t help but turn back to take a look.
The man was sitting with his back to him, his face was not visible, but he was quite large, initially guessing to be between thirty-five and forty-five years old. The woman was very young, looking no older than twenty, even with a trace of girlish immaturity in her gaze, quite beautiful, with almost golden-brown hair that barely revealed hints of brown and gray-blue eyes, along with fine features. While her figure was not visible, since the man was urging her to beco a stripper, it must be quite good. If trained well, she could probably be quite the catch."
As he sized up the other, the other also noticed him. Initially, the man seed impatient, likely used to being scrutinized, but for so reason, he beca curious.
Soon, the man sensed sothing unusual about the girl and abruptly stopped talking to turn around. His face was quite ordinary; the only morable feature was his slender eyes, which looked sowhat cunning. Upon seeing Adrian, he imdiately said with dissatisfaction, "Hey, what is there to stare at?"
"Oh, sorry." Adrian, in good humor, raised his hands slightly and then shifted his gaze back to the street outside the window, his lips slightly curled up in a mocking smile.
If he had guessed correctly, this man would probably first exploit the girl’s need for money to encourage her to strip, and then subtly persuade her through the temptation of quick money, and ultimately, coax her into becoming a signed actress in adult films. This scenario was common; young girls lacking experience and wanting to make a lot of money easily fell for such temptations, and Adrian knew a bit about this due to incidents involving "Tomb Raider."
But, what did it have to do with him? Even though the girl was indeed beautiful, he had neither the interest nor the obligation to rescue every misguided girl in the world, especially since many of them seed quite happy with their paths.
However, what surprised him was that when the man asked the girl, "Can you give an answer now?" she did not give an affirmative reply; she seed to still be hesitating.
"Ryan, can you give another two days to think about it?" she asked in a pleading tone.
"Alright, but you’d better hurry, Kimberly. There are many girls who want this job, and I approached you because I think you have potential." Although the man did not force her, the displeasure was apparent in his tone, and after speaking, he left without even settling the bill. He really was stingy.
Adrian’s curiosity made him turn his head back again. From their earlier conversation, it was clear that Kimberly was tempted, but why was she now hesitant?
At that mont, the young girl was sitting at the table, her head lowered, fiddling with the handle of her cup, looking deeply troubled. Undeniably, her pose was quite appealing. Then, she suddenly looked up; her gaze imdiately t Adrian’s, but Adrian, unruffled, simply smiled gently before looking away.
"Sir..." The young girl hesitated for a few seconds before seemingly making up her mind and sitting in front of him, her head bowed as she whispered, "Could I... ask you a question?"
Adrian raised an eyebrow. He was initially prepared to refuse outright, but seeing her biting her lip, looking pitiful, he eventually gestured for her to speak.
"My na is Kimberly, Kimberly Nicole Northcamp," the girl slowly began, "I know, you must have heard our conversation, and maybe you think less of ... but I really can’t decide right now. A very cute pony is about to be killed soon, and I want to save it, but I don’t have a better way to make money quickly... So... respected sir, could you give so advice?"
"Sorry, Miss Northcamp, but the most important thing here is what you think," Adrian shrugged, "If you think it’s worth it, go for it, if not, then give it up."
"Not everyone can make the choice that’s best for themselves; sotis an observer can see things more clearly," Kimberly’s expression showed a hint of pleading, "Could you, sir?"
Adrian did not speak, only gazed at her for a long while, then his lips curled into a smile, "One question, Miss Northcamp, when did you recognize ?"
The young girl was taken aback for a mont, but soon her cheeks flushed and her hands involuntarily clenched into fists, displaying great embarrassnt and discomfort; it seed she wasn’t devoid of sha.
"I’m sorry, Mr. Cowell," Kimberly spoke again after a long while, her cheeks still red and her forehead dotted with fine beads of sweat, "I just... I just..."
"You just wanted an opportunity," Adrian interrupted bluntly, "an opportunity to make a na for yourself."
"Is there anything wrong with that?" The young girl suddenly beca sowhat angry and also a bit sorrowful, "I studied hard in school to pursue my dream, for which I was even called a nerd. But now, as high school is about to end, I don’t even know where my future lies, I can’t even preserve the things I love, whereas those playful girls either beco famous or get good jobs, just because they are ruthless for an opportunity. What’s wrong with fighting for an opportunity now?!"
Toward the end, her voice choked up, making her seem even more fragile and pitiful; perhaps there was a bit of acting at the beginning, but it beca a genuine emotional outburst as it went on, slightly arousing Adrian’s sympathy, but wait...
Adrian narrowed his eyes. He had always found Kimberly sowhat familiar, initially thinking it was an illusion since she was very beautiful. However, the feeling persisted, so when she ntioned her na, he specifically recalled to see if he had an impression of this woman. After recalling a couple of tis and not finding pertinent information, he was still certain he recognized her face. Thus, he recalled a few more tis and just then, a na finally ca to mind from the deep recesses of his brain: Kayden Kross!
Truly shocking! Adrian, controlling his excitent, watched Kimberly, who after venting, reverted to a timid, pleading deanor. She resembled her by at least eighty percent, perhaps even a hundred percent with makeup on; he couldn’t believe he had encountered her Here!
For a mont, countless thoughts raced through his mind. After a few minutes, he finally asked, "What can you do for ?"
A fleeting expression of ecstasy flashed across Kimberly’s face.
"Anything, sir!" she said with certainty. After a pause, she bit her lip and then whispered a word softly, "do-e-ra."
It seed her academic performance was indeed very good; otherwise, she wouldn’t know such an obscure word, even Adrian wouldn’t know its aning if he hadn’t read so books involving fad Mycenae.
Decisive, willing to pay a price for what she wanted, quite impressive. Watching the young girl, whose neck had flushed from uttering that word but who still looked at him with hopeful eyes, Adrian silently nodded in approval.
"Co with ." Adrian spoke as he paid the bill and walked out of the café, then took her to a secluded alley nearby.
"Prove it to ," he said, leaning against the wall. Kimberly imdiately knelt down, reaching for his belt without any hesitation, though her expression did beco troubled as the object sprung out and grew larger in her hand—probably because she had never done this before. But two seconds later, she opened her enticing red lips. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian to vote and support us. Your support is our greatest motivation.)
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