Chapter 821: Chapter 227: Anything Else
Li Zi stared blankly at Yu Shiman kissing passionately with Adrian. Although she knew it was bound to happen with Yu Shiman’s proactive behavior, witnessing the scene in front of her still left her feeling uneasy, along with... a hint of jealousy. Yu Shiman was young and wouldn’t overthink things. She simply went after what she wanted without reservation, like the way she hustled from one set to another, desperately increasing her exposure to the higher-ups.
Once upon a time, Li Zi was the same, although she was driven more by life and family obligations, thinking that present suffering would prevent future pain. But now it all seemed meaningless to her.
The kissing couple finally separated, allowing Li Zi to see Yu Shiman’s eyes blurred and her breaths pleasurable, seemingly enjoying herself and not just acting. When her gaze moved downward a bit, she understood why. Yu Shiman’s dress had risen from her waist to her chest, undoubtedly because of Adrian’s hand. Yet, seeing her squinting eyes and smiling face, was she genuinely so happy? Then, Li Zi locked eyes with Adrian.
She instinctively shrank back, but Adrian immediately wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her forward towards him.
"This is... too fast," Li Zi said with a forced smile.
"Not at all," Adrian released Yu Shiman and cupped Li Zi’s face with his other hand, lightly running his finger over her chin before leaning in to whisper, in a voice audible only to the two of them, "I’ve been longing for this moment."
Li Zi shivered as her heart began pounding, looking at him with some uncertainty.
"You might have heard, or perhaps you haven’t," Adrian continued to gaze into her eyes with a smile, maintaining the tone only they could hear, "I’m quite familiar with Chinese culture. I’ve watched your portrayal of Zhao Min in the TV series ’Heavenly Sword Dragon Slaying Saber.’ So, after coming to Hong Kong, I wanted to at least spend a night with you."
Such direct words stunned Li Zi again. She had encountered many men during social engagements, but they were usually either eyeing her lustfully while speaking falsely. Adrian, however, was treating her very gentlemanly and elegantly while openly expressing his desire to sleep with her. The fact that she couldn’t bring herself to be angry, even feeling less resentful than before, was bewildering—was it because of his poise and directness?
Before Li Zi could clear her thoughts, her mouth was blocked, Adrian being both invasive yet meticulously controlled. As she instinctively resisted for a moment, her defenses soon gave way. Simultaneously, his hands began to roam over her body, matching the entangled rhythm, quickly eliciting a response from her after several rounds.
Finally breaking apart, Li Zi gasped, ignoring the string of saliva still connecting their lips, and placed her hands on Adrian’s shoulders in an attempt to push him away momentarily. But Adrian gave her no such chance, gripping her pushing hand and starting to kiss her face and neck, sucking and teasing, exploring sensitive spots that left Li Zi breathless and unable to resist. Particularly when his hand moved to her thigh, sliding up, and lifting her skirt to delve within, she couldn’t help but let out a soft cry.
Under the man’s calculated teasing, Li Zi’s vision grew foggy, catching glimpses of Yu Shiman doing something while apologetically glancing at her. Striving to open her eyes wide, Li Zi then saw Yu Shiman retrieve her hands from beneath Adrian, open a wrapper, put a raincoat in her mouth, and lean down again.
Once she got back up, Adrian then removed Li Zi’s panties, lifted one of her legs onto himself, and realizing what Yu Shiman had just done, Li Zi tensed her body involuntarily as her face flushed deeper. This is... even the clothes aren’t off, it’s too urgent...
"Relax, don’t worry," Adrian whispered soothingly as he pressed against her entrance.
"Yes... yes," Li Zi replied with a slight tremor in her voice, quickly adjusting her mindset, closing her eyes disregarding her wildly heaving chest.
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The soft lighting made the room appear rather dim, while outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the city remained partly lit, a stark contrast under the deep blue night sky, signaling that dawn was near. Only wearing panties and a large men’s shirt, Li Zi leaned against the long table, supporting her body with her hands. Although her eyes were fixed outside, her absentminded expression showed her thoughts were elsewhere.
Li Zi hadn’t known Yu Shiman for very long, but seeing her in such an irrational state for the first time, coupled with such a role model nearby, Li Zi inevitably found herself following suit without reserve.
"This is crazy..." She mumbled, clutching her head, when a voice reached her ear, "Why not sleep a little longer?"
She initially jumped, then relaxed when she saw Adrian in pajamas.
"I just... woke up suddenly and couldn’t go back to sleep, so... I got up to walk around," Li Zi forced a smile.
"Really?" Adrian approached with a slight smirk, "We had quite a wild time last night. Generally speaking, women who’ve partied crazily with me usually sleep till late morning."
Li Zi’s face flushed, turning awkward, she turned her head away for several seconds before biting her lip to muster out, "I’m not She."
He chuckled, not pursuing the topic, but instead raised an eyebrow, "Still upset?"
"What?" Li Zi’s heart skipped a beat, feigning ignorance.
"I mean about being forced to come entertain me," Adrian stated knowingly, "Don’t tell me you came willingly."
Li Zi suddenly felt the urge to punch him, but ultimately, only managed a self-deprecating, helpless smile, "And what good would being upset do?"
"I’m sorry," Adrian hesitated before saying, "If this makes you feel any better."
Li Zi was astonished, then incredulous, he... he’s actually apologizing to me?!
"Anything I find appealing, I want to have. You could see this as a rich person’s self-centered quirk," Adrian chuckled, "I mentioned I’ve watched the TVB version of ’Heavenly Sword Dragon Slaying Saber.’ I think your portrayal of Zhao Min is the best so far. I wanted to have you, so after some business in China, I came to Hong Kong and hinted greatly at them."
Li Zi’s face paled, but then turned despairing. This man before her was a world-class billionaire and renowned global director; even if people knew he had been with her, they’d say it was a compliment.
"Why tell me this?" She asked bitterly.
"I love pursuing women, but I also strive to respect them. I won’t hide anything, nor do I need to hide anything. She should know all my feelings for her," Adrian replied candidly.
Li Zi was taken aback again, pondering his words as her eyes reddened slightly. This man, despite openly showing his desire for her, did indeed show more respect compared to... at least with those at TVB.
"Should I say thank you then?" She asked, although she immediately kept her emotions in check, her tone lacking any sarcasm.
Then, Adrian’s large hands were placed on her shoulders, pulling her into his embrace: "Don’t think about those things anymore. This world is like that, which is why resilient people are sought after and loved. I’ve read about you, Zi, trust me, I know the feeling of helplessness, the feeling of having to fight desperately for survival, and that’s why I like you more. I’ve said that flowers that have weathered storms are the most beautiful when they blossom."
Leaning against his chest, an indescribable sense of security surged in her heart, even though it still felt somewhat unreal, and there was a vague sense that something was amiss, she didn’t want to think too much about it. Then, Li Zi raised her head and proactively kissed Adrian while fully awake.
The kiss was different from last night; Adrian wasn’t as aggressive, it was more like an affectionate moment between a couple.
"You... you’re going to do it again..." Li Zi was a bit flustered, as they were so close, she could completely feel his reaction.
"It’ll be fine." Adrian chuckled softly beside her ear, laying her down on the long table.
"But She is still..."
"She’s asleep, we just need to be gentle."
Saying this, after pressing her down on the table, Adrian lifted her legs onto his shoulders, Li Zi stopped talking, only closing her eyes to begin enduring his advances.
Often it’s like this, no matter how twisted something is, once you accept it, you start finding the reasonable parts in it. As the saying goes, life is like rape, if you can’t resist, you might as well enjoy it. For Li Zi, it was the same, she couldn’t refuse TVB’s demands, even going to please the other party with Yu Shiman, so when she stopped minding Adrian’s considerate side, she began to enjoy the pleasure of sex, at least under Adrian, she felt an unprecedented satisfaction, and TVB appropriately reduced their current shooting time.
Even though there were things she couldn’t accept, like the next day when Adrian had them wear costumes from "War And Beauty" to come over, which made Li Zi complain inwardly, but with the example of Yu Shiman, who went along with Adrian’s every wish, she had no choice, and so before this annual TVB drama was finished filming, "Yuying" and "Erchun" were already under the same man together.
So, later on, wearing Zhao Min’s costume and getting intimate with Adrian also became logical, after all, he said it was because he watched "Heavenly Sword Dragon Slaying Saber" that he wanted her. Even under the precedent set by "Zhou Zhiruo", when Adrian held her from behind, whispering in her ear asking if Princess Shaomin was satisfied, she surprisingly coordinated by first showing an unwilling expression, and then excitedly saying she had already forgotten Zhang Wuji.
I’m crazy. Li Zi said to herself, while engaging in a mouth battle with "Zhou Zhiruo" beneath him in her Zhao Min persona.
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So Adrian likes women who have had hardships, as long as you grasp her thoughts, fully express your goodwill, show some respect, combined with your own status and power, it’s easy to succeed.
This isn’t to say he’s playing with emotions, it’s just that such women are easier to see through internally, and Adrian indeed relatively prefers such women, like flowers that bloom after a storm. If Li Zi had come up to him like Yu Shiman did, accepting all his requests, he wouldn’t have bothered talking so much.
Of course, Adrian doesn’t dislike Yu Shiman either. Having such a bold, proactive, and obedient woman around allows for many tricks and even brings Li Zi along.
Honestly, his initial target was only Li Zi, although there were hints of receiving blessings from multiple concubines, he didn’t truly plan for Yu Shiman to join as well. Shao Yifu’s forthcomingness was unexpected, but considering the rumors of how he treated his employees, such things are normal, and Adrian was happy to accept this favor.
Since Yu Shiman is so obedient and proactive, he might as well have fun with it, and now it’s when she’s at her most flavorful. Before, her face still carried some baby fat, which, although cute, somewhat made her look mediocre, but after striving desperately in these two years, diet and frequent injuries reduced much of the flesh on her face, yet not reaching the thinness of two to three years later, just right for now.
However, his plan, originally intended to be achieved in Taiwan, was realized here, which was quite interesting. Maybe by then...
"It’s a good movie, worthy of being called the savior of Hong Kong cinema. Clearly, Hong Kong filmmakers have started to grasp some paths of Hollywood’s large productions and have integrated them well into their own culture—I see, I believe police and gangster films are one of the hallmarks of Hong Kong cinema," Adrian sat cross-legged on the sofa, smiling as he looked at the four men in front of him at a top club, "so I was thinking, what if it was adapted into a U.S. version?"
Among these four men, two appeared to be in their forties, one wearing glasses, plump, looking prosperous, neatly dressed, with the air of a big boss, while the other dressed simply, dressed somewhat trendy, yet overall decently, and the remaining two in their thirties, resembled the latter.
The two in their forties listened very seriously, and the one with the boss demeanor was also pondering deeply, while the other two in their thirties were also listening, but seemed not to be too concerned.
Adrian, observing silently, chuckled inwardly and continued, "However, considering the cultural differences, I hope to purchase the full adaptation rights. I think Mr. Liu will understand why."
"Mr. Cowell is indeed sincere," the plump boss with glasses smiled, then looked at the man beside him, "what do you think, Weiqiang?"
"I have no objections," after a brief pause, Liu Weiqiang said, "Mr. Cowell obviously has a better understanding of Chinese culture than many Westerners. If there’s truly an American version of ’Infernal Affairs,’ I believe it will be just as exciting."
"So it’s settled then?" Adrian smiled, stood up, and shook hands with Liu Weiqiang and Media Asia’s chairman, Lin Jianyue, and casually shook hands with Liu Weiqiang’s partners, brought along Alan Mak and Zhuang Wenqiang.
"I hope that by then, the two of you can offer some advice on the script." He continued.
"No problem, Mr. Cowell." The two were a bit flattered and somewhat proud at the same time.
All along, Hong Kong cinema always trailed behind Hollywood, even at its peak only managing to contend equally in markets like Southeast Asia at Hollywood’s doorstep. After the 90s, Hong Kong cinema declined, and with the appearance of "Titanic," it became even more vulnerable. Now, Hollywood was unexpectedly interested in buying the adaptation rights to a film they produced, and it was from a famous Miracle Director, so how could they not be pleased?
Lin Jianyue was equally proud. Since its inception, Media Asia had yet made a film that Hollywood wanted to buy adaptation rights for, achieving something no others could. Once this news gets out, it will envy many. Investing in "Infernal Affairs" back then was indeed the right decision.
But he didn’t show it too much, instead gracefully shaking hands with Adrian: "If Mr. Cowell has the time, you’re welcome to visit Media Asia."
Although he attended the welcome banquet for Adrian that day, they had hardly exchanged words. As someone keen on developing the entertainment industry, it was necessary to cultivate relationships with this Hollywood powerhouse who also had some connections in mainland China.
"I might not make it this time," Adrian courteously replied, "I don’t have many things to do in Hong Kong, apart from looking around and checking the purchase of ’Infernal Affairs’ adaptation rights. Also, in the coming days, I’ve already made arrangements to meet with Emperor’s Mr. Yeung, so I must apologize."
Upon hearing the word "Emperor," Lin Jianyue raised his brows but didn’t show any extra emotions: "It’s alright, I look forward to Mr. Cowell visiting Hong Kong again."
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation.)