"Smaller fla, you need a smaller fla, yes, yes, that’s right. Sotis, whether the heat is enough or too much is a matter of a second or two." In the clean and tidy kitchen, Lin Zhiling was teaching Gao Yuanyuan how to simr soup, and she was thoroughly ticulous about it, looking quite the part.
The few Asian won Adrian had kept around, from Yukie to Lin Xilei, could all cook two or three dishes well, even Lin Zhiling, who initially wasn’t very good, had eventually learned. After all, food holds significant weight in Eastern cultures, and there’s that saying, isn’t there? If you want to capture a man’s heart, you must first capture his stomach.
So sotis the won would share cooking tips with each other, just like now. Of course, Lin Zhiling teaching Gao Yuanyuan how to make soup wasn’t solely for this reason.
"Thank you, Sister Zhiling. Sotis I don’t even know how to thank you properly." Gao Yuanyuan said earnestly after tasting the soup and turning off the heat.
"Don’t ntion it. We’re all in a foreign country, after all. Helping each other is the right thing to do, and Xilei is usually very busy, while I happen to have a lot of free ti." Lin Zhiling smiled, then leaned in and kissed her on the lips, her hands grasping Yuanyuan’s waist, "Besides, Yuanyuan, you are so beautiful, you really make my heart flutter."
"Enough now, Sister Zhiling." Gao Yuanyuan blushed again. Despite having fought over Adrian with passion, she reverted to her demure self once out of bed.
"You make feel... very strange," she said, a bit embarrassed.
Before Lin Zhiling could reply, Adrian’s voice ca from the doorway, "Ladies, how much longer are you going to take? If you don’t co soon, Xilei and I are going to start."
"We’ll be right there." Gao Yuanyuan quickly picked up the soup pot and headed out. Lin Zhiling was about to follow when Adrian, coming in, grabbed her arm.
"So you were harassing Yuanyuan again, huh?" Adrian asked, lifting Lin Zhiling’s chin in a half-joking, interrogative manner, only after Yuanyuan had left the kitchen.
"How can you say that, Ed," the woman pouted, looking aggrieved, "How is that harassnt? That was just sisterly affection. Harassnt is actually like this."
As she spoke, she grabbed his other hand and placed it on her perky behind, still with a look of lancholy, as if complaining about why he wasn’t harassing her—it was uniquely tantalizing.
"Alright, alright," Adrian laughed, squeezing her behind twice, "You’re doing great, Zhiling, I really like it."
"That’s a relief," Lin Zhiling exaggerated a sigh of relief, "I was afraid you’d only like her type of woman from now on. But I have to admit, Yuanyuan does have a certain pure charm that’s very appealing."
"Co on, say what you want to say," Adrian then slapped her behind again.
"Since you’ve admitted I did well—those were your own words," Lin Zhiling said coquettishly, clinging to his arm, "shouldn’t you reward with sothing?"
"Oh? What reward do you want?" Adrian deliberately moved inches away from her face, looked into her eyes, and asked. Lin Zhiling imdiately bit her lip and turned her head slightly, seemingly embarrassed to speak up.
From here, one can see the difference between Eastern and Western won. Generally speaking, when wanting a reward, Western won are very direct about what they want, believing that since they’ve already put in the effort, it’s only natural to expect sothing in return; whereas Eastern won always hope that the man will speak up first, otherwise they might feel as if it’s so kind of transaction, even if that’s the fact.
Of course, these are general characteristics. Although Lin Zhiling also has this mindset, it’s more because of the thing she wants.
"You should know that next year you have two comrcial blockbusters," Adrian said with a knowing look.
"One of them is just a minor role," Lin Zhiling pouted, seemingly not quite satisfied.
"But in the other one, you’re the lead actress and you’ll be partnering with Will Smith," Adrian chuckled, "I was under a lot of pressure to change that role to an Asian character."
After saying this, he wrapped his hands around her waist and bit her earlobe, "Don’t worry, Zhiling, to be frank, you still need training. You should know that without the necessary talent, even the best PR won’t cut it. So, don’t be too greedy. Your role in ’The Scorpion King’ was highly praised by many. Why not continue to perform well in these two films, hone your acting skills, and when the ti is right, you’ll get your due."
Hearing his last words, Lin Zhiling’s eyes sparkled and she smiled even more seductively, "Alright, I’ll listen to you then—do you need Cassandra to keep you company tonight?"
As she had said herself, after all, Lin Xilei was an agent, with lots of daily work, so Lin Zhiling was largely responsible for helping Gao Yuanyuan get acclimated to the United States. She was an actress and could rest whenever she didn’t have a gig. Plus, Lin Xilei had instilled quite a few concepts into her, so she got along fairly well with Gao Yuanyuan. They never touched upon sensitive topics and never showed any air of superiority.
But this was just the beginning. As ti went on, Lin Zhiling and Gao Yuanyuan grew increasingly close, cuddling, kissing, and even bathing together. After all, Lin Zhiling had lived in Canada and was more exposed to Western society. Her family had spent the last few years by Adrian’s side, and she had acted in many films, making her far more experienced than Gao Yuanyuan. With no inkling on Gao Yuanyuan’s part about any ulterior motives, she noticed nothing untoward.
So, once accustod to this type of intimate play between won, Gao Yuanyuan found it quite natural to escalate the passion during their tis as a threeso or fourso, which is why Lin Zhiling’s efforts were significant.
As such, Adrian definitely wanted to reward her, so after ’The Scorpion King,’ he gave her roles in two big comrcial films. One was Emrich’s latest disaster movie. Yes, the one that depicted the greenhouse effect with Aricans fleeing to xico for refuge, ’The Day After Tomorrow.’ After taking a small stumble with ’Godzilla,’ Emrich laid low for about two years, then he penned this script and, without much thought, went straight to Adrian.
It was he who chose Adrian to direct ’Independence Day,’ and he had also alerted him to so problems during the production of ’Godzilla’—advice he hadn’t heeded at the ti. Now, having written a new script, it was only natural to show it to this Hollywood director and producer with a keen eye for support.
Knowing Emrich’s track record, Adrian imdiately decided to invest in the movie. The fact that the movie would make money was undeniable, but it also provided an opportunity for his woman to increase her fa and hone her acting skills, sothing he couldn’t miss. There weren’t many substantial female roles in the film, just two—a female student and an Asian female scientist, neither of which required much acting ability. As a result, the female student role went to Kayden, and the Asian female scientist went to Lin Zhiling.
However, if one could say that the female student was sowhat pivotal to the main storyline, the Asian female scientist was quite dispensable, as any other character could serve the role’s purpose. So Lin Zhiling was sowhat unsatisfied. Adrian knew this, and that’s why he secured her the lead female role in the other film: an adaptation of Asimov’s short story, starring Will Smith, ’I, Robot.’
The idea might seem inconceivable—changing the original white female scientist to an Asian? But the change wasn’t difficult to make; if the male lead could be changed to a black man, changing the female lead to Asian wasn’t a big deal either. The excuse of a diverse society could silence many opponents, not to ntion...
Anyway, it was no problem. Under Adrian’s insistence, both movies were about to start shooting imdiately. It seed that among Asians, he had a particular fondness for Lin Zhiling. Yukie had been with him for seven or eight years and had never received such treatnt.
Well, Adrian didn’t deny it. After all, Lin Zhiling was worth his favor. Not to ntion her obedience; she was gentle like a kitten yet never forgot to show off her sensual charm. She hardly ever refused Adrian’s requests, and even when she got a little temperantal, she knew the right occasion. Just because she was the only woman who had finished shooting all the heavy-thed "Drink Sen" series, Adrian owed her a reward.
Of course, Adrian wasn’t reckless with consequences. These two roles seed substantial, but in reality... You have to understand, popular Asian roles were always scarce; he couldn’t give them all to one woman. Anyway, the reward Lin Zhiling wanted the most wasn’t this, so he could use that as a legitimate reason to keep her obedient.
"The soup that Zhiling and Yuanyuan made together was pretty good, but the main dish made by Xilei was also nice," Adrian comnted contently after a harmonious Chinese dinner.
"Ed always does this, a slap on the wrist for everyone, not leaning towards one side. It’s pleasing to hear, but it inevitably feels a bit fake," Lin Xilei humd lightly, a term of endearnt she only used when alone with Adrian.
"You’re using the wrong expression. A slap on the wrist is pejorative, Xilei," Lin Zhiling corrected her, and then shrugged her shoulders, "There’s no helping it, none of us want to hear negative comnts from him, right?"
Gao Yuanyuan said nothing, just smiled as she tasted the dessert, and it wasn’t until she was almost done that she gathered her courage, "Ed."
"What is it?" Adrian turned his head imdiately.
"Well..." She lightly bit her lips before carefully beginning, "I heard from my parents over the phone that things have gotten much better there, a lot of people are out and about, so I was wondering when I could go back for a visit, and also... the crew from ’Heavenly Sword Dragon Slaying Saber’ keeps asking when I can return for the promotion."
"I see..." Adrian thought for a mont, "I’ve heard that news too, because the virus doesn’t fare well in hot weather, so the outbreak is thoroughly under control. But the alert hasn’t been completely lifted yet... How about August? By that ti, the outbreak should be completely under control, and ’Heavenly Sword Dragon Slaying Saber’ would also be airing then."
Without waiting for Gao Yuanyuan’s response, he continued to explain, "For a sci-fi series like ’Battlestar Galactica,’ it doesn’t need to be completely fild before airing, but it can’t be like sitcoms that are fild and aired simultaneously, so you need at least half or two-thirds of it done before a long break. Your scenes may be fewer, but they’re all crucial, so you need to give it your all. The producers and directors have praised you; you can’t let them down, right?"
’Battlestar Galactica’ had already officially started filming. As a sci-fi show with relatively significant investnt, plus most new shows for the fall season start preparing pilots around this ti, it made sense to start shooting now, just like Jessie’s now-concluded ’Dark Angel.’
However, unlike the past, there was no mini-series this ti. Under Adrian’s persistence, Universal went straight to filming the television series. In the past, Universal had only wanted to make a mini-series, but because of unexpectedly high ratings, they scored 4 to 5 million viewers on non-basic cable networks. You see, getting nearly 10 million viewers on basic cable networks was already quite good, and for non-basic cable networks with fewer viewers, averaging 2 to 3 million was decent, so over 4 million was considered very popular.
Of course, there were a few non-basic cable shows that had hit 10 million viewers, but nothing current, and only one.
With such high ratings for the mini-series, it was certain to be turned into a series, and thus ’Battlestar Galactica’ beca hot. Now with Adrian on board, they could bypass the mini-series step altogether and go straight to a full series. As for the content, there was no need to worry or regret; they could just incorporate it into the series.
Gao Yuanyuan’s character was one of the Asian pilots, an undercover robot among humans but unaware of her true nature, who would beco a dangerous entity once activated. Frankly, this was a significant challenge for her; her roles had always been the girl-next-door type, and they were specifically Chinese girl-next-door roles.
But under imnse pressure, when there’s no way out, people often tap into their latent potential. If Charlize isn’t an apt example, Lin Xilei should fit the bill, right? When she first joined the talent agency, she was subjected to a fair amount of subtle discrimination, and like Charlize, the rumors about her advancing her career through her looks never ceased. Not only did she not succumb, but with Adrian’s support, she managed to make a na for herself. Even though those rumors haven’t completely faded away, whenever she attends various Hollywood events, those people inevitably show her the respect she deserves.
Gao Yuanyuan was no different. Despite never having played such a role before, she could work hard to learn, or else why would Adrian have arranged for her to receive acting training? Not to ntion, she had already beco capable of conversing in fluent, accent-free English within a few months and had no problem reading scripts. Moreover, not being traditionally trained in acting had its benefits, since her theoretical knowledge was essentially a blank slate, allowing for liberal alterations and adjustnts.
With the considerable support Adrian provided, it goes without saying that he arranged for her to receive the best acting training. He also had Lin Xilei specifically locate a designer to help Gao Yuanyuan reshape her image, and, like Liu Yufei, after showing so progress, she was given specialized training. Additionally, the character was tweaked to suit her better.
In the original version, the pilot character sported a ponytail. She might not be considered particularly beautiful in the eyes of Eastern people but had an exceptional figure, especially the curves of her hips, which were nearly as attractive as those of Western won—quite sensual. Although Gao Yuanyuan’s figure was also decent, it wasn’t quite there yet, even though the body sculpting course was indeed helpful. Therefore, sensuality had to be substituted with attributes that better suited her.
Hence, this character had her hair cut short, in part because Gao Yuanyuan’s ponytail wasn’t particularly appealing, and partly because short hair gave her a more efficient look. She then engaged in more sports and fitness and underwent so appropriate firearms training, along with simple flying lessons. She exuded a manifest spirit in her official photos, and the designer praised her unique allure, believing she possessed an exceptional kind of sensuality.
With a tailored image plus her own efforts, she showed several bright spots during the filming period. Adrian hadn’t put in all that effort for nothing, and the complints she received from the producer and director weren’t without rit.
"What if... we can’t wrap up by August?" Gao Yuanyuan asked cautiously after so thought.
"If you can maintain your current condition, I can persuade them to adjust the schedule and shoot your scenes first," Adrian stated imdiately. "So whether you can finish by August is up to you."
"Okay, then it’s settled," Gao Yuanyuan agreed with a smile.
"Looks like we need to toast to Yuanyuan," Lin Zhiling chid in at the mont, to which Lin Xilei very harmoniously passed her a bottle of whiskey.
"Whiskey? Can we switch to sothing else? Like champagne or..." Gao Yuanyuan, quite startled, asked with so difficulty.
"Champagne won’t let the joy in your heart shine through, Yuanyuan," Lin Xilei said teasingly.
"Yeah, and if whiskey isn’t to your taste, we could go for baijiu, from Taiwan or Mainland China; either’s fine. We have a bit of a collection," Lin Zhiling said, resting her cheeks in her hands, a sowhat challenging glint in her eyes.
Glancing at Adrian, who was smiling yet earnest in his words, Gao Yuanyuan knew she wouldn’t be able to get out of this easily today. Besides, with the weight off her mind, she boldly puffed out her chest, full of daring spirit: "Then let’s go for it!"
What a darling girl. Adrian mused internally, then subtly nodded in satisfaction. Deciding to bring her to the United States had certainly been a good move, and she had gotten along quite well with Lin Zhiling and Lin Xilei...
He suddenly furrowed his brow, considering from Gao Yuanyuan’s performance that she could be one for the collection, perhaps not reaching the level of the likes of Kate, but surely on par with the Lin sisters. However... never mind, he was due to visit the Mainland by the end of the year anyway, and things would naturally reveal themselves by then. After all, since he’d already been there twice, they were bound to take so form of action. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote for it at qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
Reviews
All reviews (0)