Adrian didn’t attend the premiere, and he didn’t need to be present at every premiere, but it was certain that he would attend the party afterward, whether for Sarah or Jessica.
"My view is that perhaps the reviews won’t be too good, but the box office should be quite decent, after all, Scooby-Doo has its fair share of loyal fans. Don’t worry, Sarah, as a producer, you’ve done a great job, everyone says so." Sitting at a party chair, Adrian comforted a sowhat worried Sarah, "Since you’re not interested in winning awards and don’t want to do anything else, trying your hand at being a producer isn’t bad."
"Okay." Sarah seed a bit lackluster.
"Hey, what’s wrong?" Adrian imdiately noticed this, "You don’t look very spirited, do you think the party is too loud?"
"It’s nothing... Okay, I got distracted, I was thinking about sothing else." Sarah, who intended to cover it up, eventually raised her hands in surrender.
"You an to tell , while chatting with , you got distracted? You were thinking about sothing else? You ignored my concern?" Adrian squinted his eyes, "This really hurts my feelings, it looks like I need to give you a profound lesson."
"I knew it," Sarah rolled her eyes, "you always find an excuse."
"But these are all excuses you’ve handed to ," Adrian shrugged and then waved his hand to change the subject, "Okay, if we keep arguing like this, we could talk about it all night, so let’s talk about you, Sarah, what were you thinking? Or rather, what made you get distracted?"
"If you really want to know..." Sarah glanced at him, "What distracted was—you and Kate."
"You and Kate?" Adrian was puzzled, not quite able to catch on for a mont, why did the topic suddenly switch to him and Kate? This was the afterparty for Scooby-Doo, not at ho in Beverly Hills.
"Yes, sohow, I forgot whether Jessie or Qiqi ntioned, you treat Kate and other won very differently." Sarah propped up her chin, her eyes sparkling suddenly becoming captivating, "I had gotten used to everything, but after hearing that sentence, I realized... it’s true."
"Is that so?" Adrian lifted his eyebrows noncommittally.
"Of course, I’m not sure about the others, but as a woman who you dragged together with Kate, Charli, and Innie, I understand them," Sarah smiled, "Charli likes to give you a hard ti with her sarcastic tone, which has continued since you two t; Innie, although she tries to mimic Charli, more often likes to put on an arrogant air for you to coddle her; as for , I’m similar to Yukie, just being by your side is enough. But Kate... how should I say it, there doesn’t seem to be anything special between you two, even though I’ve heard about your initial story with her, and all the coming and going she’s done, but... things between you two have always been very calm. Kate is not like Charli or Innie, who often verbally joust with you, nor is she like , who’s always clinging to you, it’s as if..."
She made a gesture and didn’t continue, looking at Adrian for a mont before sighing again: "At first, I thought there wasn’t much emotion between you two, just because of Lily and your need for control..."
"Need for control?" Adrian put on an unacceptable expression, Sarah pursed her lips and smiled, "Are you not planning to admit it?"
"Okay, need for control..." he imdiately sighed and made a ’go on’ gesture.
"But I quickly realized this idea was wrong, the tacit understanding between you two... far surpasses others." Sarah said, a flicker of envy in her eyes, "That day you told Lily that you could read more books when you have the ti, Kate passed the sketchbook over to you, the very one you wanted. Also, one morning when Kate was going out, she just asked you to help with her coat, and the one you passed her was exactly the one she wanted... There are many examples like this, sotis you two don’t even need to exchange glances to know what the other wants, I’m sowhat confident in my own observational skills..."
White teeth grazed her lips, and Sarah seed a bit dazed, "After coming to a conclusion, the jealousy that had been absent for so long once again occupied my heart. I kept thinking, what if I had t you before her..."
"Who knows..." Adrian’s fingers gently glided over her cheek, "Everyone is different, Sarah, you and Kate..."
Before he could finish, Sarah waved her hand dismissively with a chuckle, "Oh, co on, Ed, I’m not a child. Just because I feel jealous doesn’t an I’ll be jealous forever. I’m quite content."
While speaking, she took Adrian’s hand, showing a serious expression, "What I wanted to say is, Ed, Kate is so unique in my heart, is it ti for you to consider winning her so honor? Perhaps you have plans, but so far she hasn’t received any honors, and that should be easy for you."
Sarah paused before adding, "Don’t ask why I’m saying sothing so trivial—you’ve said that the four of us... we’re essentially one."
Adrian couldn’t help but laugh, affectionately rubbing her nose the way he used to, "Alright, Sarah, I got it."
Who said Sarah couldn’t play mind gas? Just listen to that last sentence. But hey, that was precisely what Adrian wanted to see—being one... As for Kate, oh, no need to worry. Adrian was well aware of the complexities between them. In fact, this year he had already prepared a surprise for Kate, one that might not be unique but would definitely be the first she received. No one would be able to snatch it from her.
If you thought the party ended there, you’d be vastly mistaken. So things are just unpredictable. If Adrian had attended the premiere, then he surely wouldn’t have been so passive, but he didn’t attend, so now he could only grin awkwardly while facing both Jessica and... gan.
Yes, his little vixen had attended the "Scooby-Doo" premiere, and it was Jessica who had invited her. Heaven knows how they t, and they even seed to get along well—well, Adrian had talked to Jessica about gan and even told her about gan’s experiences. A shared sympathy naturally made it easy for them to grow close, but...
"His smirk is the most infuriating, especially the one he gives after pointing out your issues, as if he has you all figured out," gan said.
"Yes, that’s right. At tis like these, all you want to do is punch him hard," Jessica nodded in agreent.
"So, may we give you a punch, dear Ed?" gan then turned towards Adrian.
"Um..." Adrian, sitting beside them, looked at the two won,"Just not in the face."
Imdiately, two thuds sounded as Jessica and gan didn’t hesitate to each deliver a punch to his chest, making him roll his eyes involuntarily.
"That was great!"
"Yes, I’ve wanted to do that for a long ti."
The two exchanged a high-five, appearing quite excited and triumphant.
Rubbing his chest, Adrian wanted to say sothing, but after catching a glance from Jessica’s occasionally scanning eyes, he could only laugh bitterly and gently shake his head while holding it. As ntioned before, gan knew he had many won but was not aware of so won’s place in his life. So when she and Jessica ca together and Jessica cozily hooked her arm through Adrian’s, gan’s initial astonishnt turned into a determination not to be outdone, as she too hooked her arm around his other arm.
gan clearly thought Jessica had only slept with Adrian, so she wanted to assert her stance, and under the influence of that emotion, their initial conversation in his presence was sowhat confrontational. However, Jessica quickly turned the topic to criticizing Adrian, and coupled with the friendship they had previously established, she successfully struck a chord and they united in their animosity.
Without a doubt, this was Jessica’s sche. Although she was comparatively more naive than Nicole and Gwyneth, under Adrian’s influence, she had learned a thing or two. But to say she deliberately approached gan was definitely not the case—it was probably a chance eting, and Adrian had just happened to ntion her, plus they truly shared so similar experiences. After talking a few tis and getting a clear understanding of gan’s thoughts and her relationship with him—which was not difficult—Jessica thought of a way to get "revenge" on Adrian.
To beco friends with gan, then find an opportunity to appear before him with her, stir up her emotions, and lead the topic to Adrian. If he didn’t cooperate, hmph, then she would slip up during their conversation and reveal that she and he even had a child together. Of course, this was aningless; just by looking at gan’s deanor, it was clear another naive girl had been sweet-talked by Adrian. Even if Jessica really did that, he certainly had the ans to win her back and punish Jessica without rcy. However, at the beginning, he had coerced her with a child, now she was coercing him back with a child. Just the thought of it was satisfying, so why bother worrying about anything else.
This was what Adrian deduced from their words and actions; he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, but it was about right. Well, if this would make Jessica happy, then cooperating a bit was fine. But how to prevent her from getting carried away and stirring up such trouble again after tasting success?
Adrian mulled this over, deciding to just impregnate gan as well, killing two birds with one stone. After all, she and Jessica had very similar experiences, so what harm was there in making them a bit more alike? But now was not the ti; "Transforrs" was set to start shooting next month—Caron really didn’t know what to say, the preparations for the early stages were almost ready, the designed Transforrs looked great, but he pursued perfection to the point that shooting still hadn’t started.
Anyway, if this kind of thing happened now, causing the filming to be postponed, Caron would go mad. Of course... well, that would have to wait for later.
The box office for "Scooby-Doo" was excellent, grossing over 40 million in its opening three-day weekend across 2,500 theaters, just as Adrian had said, this dog had cultivated many die-hard fans over the decades. But as he also said, film critics rated the movie very low, both the plot and the actors’ performances.
But no matter, Jessica had a superhero role lined up, and as long as Love had movies—especially high box office films—that was enough for her, Jessica Simpson still focused on her singing career, and for Sarah, having such results in her first attempt at producing was quite impressive.
Then, released in the sa period, was Christina’s music docuntary "This Is ".
"So far so good, which shows your fans really like this docuntary," Adrian said to Christina, holding the freshly released box office data, inside the villa.
Getting over ten million in its opening week box office was definitely indicative of her popularity in North Arica; in fact, Christina’s notoriety in North Arica and Latin Arica wasn’t much less than Britney’s, but it was a different story in Europe.
"Sha it still can’t beat ." Before Christina could respond, Britney had already started to laugh smugly by the side.
"Yeah, sha you have the nerve to compare your movie, which was released and taken off the screens long ago, with my newly released one, Britney," Christina shot back, without the sharp taunts of the past.
Because Adrian had brought them together, they frequently cohabitated here, and after living together for so ti, while they weren’t exactly close, they were much more harmonious, at least they no longer fought to the point of physical altercations. Of course, they still maintained their verbal hardness, with Christina declaring she wouldn’t stoop to the level of that brainless woman, and Britney considering that she could just about tolerate that conceited and arrogant woman.
"Ha, you’ve been getting more and more smug lately, Britney," Adrian laughed while pinching Britney’s cheek after Christina temporarily walked away.
"That’s because master is by my side," Britney said, bringing her hands to her chest, sticking her tongue out with a "ha", while shaking her booty. If she had a tail, she would truly look like a little dog.
This adorable act of affection was extrely cute, for a mont making Adrian seriously consider finding a tail to put on her.
"Has master already promised?" A very observant Britney imdiately cried out joyfully.
"Of course not," Adrian quickly ca back to his senses and lifted her chin, "You should diligently continue your training for now. It won’t be long before you’re done, and of course, you can hold small dostic concerts."
While this wouldn’t hinder Britney’s training, Adrian was contemplating releasing a new album for her. If it perford well, then having a world concert tour was also possible. Typically, the norm was to release an album every two years, and considering the future trends of the music industry, it might even reduce to one every three years.
The reason Britney and Christina had such frequent releases, one after the other, was not only to capitalize on their value but also to fully exploit their potential and popularity. Now, after several years of battle, their fan bases had mostly stabilized, and with the music industry on a downturn, it was natural to return to the original pattern. Thus, Christina only released a single this year, just like Avril.
"But Avril can..." Britney pouted, though her voice grew fainter and fainter, then her eyes darted around twice before she giggled and wrapped her body around Adrian’s like a snake.
"Master," she whispered into his ear, blowing gently, "do you have your eye on Taylor Swift?"
"Don’t act rashly, Britney," Adrian lightly tapped on her head.
"I just want to help you." Britney pouted again, her face full of reluctance.
"Yes, I know you do, but I don’t need your help with this. However, if you really want to," Adrian showed a sly smile and then whispered a few words in her ear.
Britney first looked shocked, but she quickly beca excited, clenching her fists: "No problem, I’ll definitely be the best one!"
After a pause, she too showed a sly smile: "Should we include Kristen as well, Master?"
"No problem, as long as she’s willing," Adrian laughed heartily.
Leaving those matters aside, by mid-May, a television series beloved by countless people was finally coming to its conclusion—yes, it was "Friends," which had created many glorious monts over the past decade and held a special place in many people’s hearts. Although many TV series were ending around this ti, like "Sex and the City," none were as grand as "Friends."
ABC had not only taken out full-page ads in major dia for promotion but had also rented nurous outdoor screens, including the one in Tis Square. As a result, when the last episode aired, anywhere in the United States with an outdoor screen, all Aricans had to do was look up to see it. Thus, the final episode of "Friends" drew a peak viewership of 60.23 million people across Arica—surpassing the over 50 million set by "Survivor" and setting a record that might never be broken again.
For a ti, emotions ran high, and many who had followed the show from start to finish shared their thoughts through various channels. The official "Friends" website was so overwheld by enthusiastic netizens that it almost crashed. NBC, ABC’s old rival and the network that broadcast the first four seasons of "Friends," also openly expressed sincere congratulations.
"This is the end of an era," mused USA Today the following day.
Indeed, an era had co to an end. There were many long-running TV series, like "Days of Our Lives," which started in 1965 and was still in production. There were also many popular TV series during certain periods, like "Will and Grace" and "CSI," which had once surpassed "Friends," especially in the last two seasons, with viewership continually declining, nothing compared to the peak. But no TV show had won the hearts and adoration of countless people like "Friends," nor had any show brought to fa such a universally recognized popular idol and Arica’s Sweetheart as "Friends" did. The high ratings for the finale had said it all.
Yes, Jennifer Aniston. While there were actors who beca famous through television, very few had reached her level. Rember, when she got involved with Dennis and Winona, no matter what the public opinion was, the majority of her die-hard fans overwhelmingly supported her.
After the finale of "Friends," the executives at ABC also shared their thoughts, and of course, a celebratory party was indispensable. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote for recomndations and monthly passes on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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