Chapter 185: Seed
Chapter 185: Seed
“Hi, Eric.” Elisabeth pulled the awkward-looking Julia over to Eric. Seeing the two suddenly arrive, Virginia took the initiative to leave. Elisabeth unceremoniously pressed Julia down onto the sofa and sat down as well.
“Liz, why haven’t you left?” Eric asked strangely.
Elisabeth glared at Eric in dissatisfaction. “Why should I leave? Am I not welcome?”
“Of course not,” Eric denied. “It’s just that, given your status as the Murdoch family’s second young lady, you surely wouldn’t care for a small party like this, right?”
The Murdoch family’s second young lady?
Hearing Eric’s words, Julia curiously sized up the woman beside her again. Noticing Julia’s puzzled expression, Eric took the initiative to introduce her. “Julia, didn’t Liz introduce herself to you? She is the second daughter of Mr. Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News Corp, which owns 20th Century Fox.”
“Hey, Eric, are you trying to drive a wedge between me and Julia? Julia was right. You really are a bastard.” Elisabeth angrily punched Eric on the shoulder. Julia, who had originally felt somewhat uncomfortable that Elisabeth Murdoch had concealed her identity from her, immediately wanted to cover her face in embarrassment after hearing the second half of Elisabeth’s sentence.
Oh God, how could she say that out loud?
Eric froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. “Julia finally agreed to say what she really thinks.”
“No, Eric, I didn’t…” The woman’s face flushed bright red as she waved her hand and tried to explain, but she could not say anything.
After blurting those words out, Elisabeth also realized she had misspoken and gave Julia an apologetic look. Then she smoothly changed the topic without leaving a trace. “Eric, was that woman just now your lover?”
“Yes.” Eric nodded.
“Uh… you really are confident about admitting that.” Eric’s immediate admission instead left Elisabeth momentarily speechless. “Then what about Julia?”
Julia had wanted to stop this unrestrained girl, but since the question had already been asked, she knew any extra action would be too late. Instead, she looked at Eric uneasily, not knowing how he would answer.
“What does this have to do with Julia?” Eric asked strangely.
“I… I’m not listening to the two of you spout nonsense anymore.” Hearing Eric’s words, Julia felt a trace of relief, but at the same time, a strong sense of loss rose in her heart. After dropping that sentence, she stood and fled in panic like a little rabbit chased by hunting dogs.
Looking at Julia’s hurriedly retreating figure, Elisabeth rolled her eyes at Eric. “You really don’t understand women, Mr. Williams.”
Eric shrugged, not minding the change in how the woman addressed him. “Liz, there are some things you don’t understand, so it’s better not to jump to conclusions.”
“Oh, I’m getting more and more curious about you, Eric. How about inviting me to dinner when you’re free? I’d like to talk with you more.”
“Not interested.” Eric finished the remaining wine in his glass and stood, intending to go socialize with the others.
“Hey, hey, how can you be like this?” Elisabeth very unladylike tugged at the corner of Eric’s shirt. “Fine, I’ll invite you to dinner instead.”
Because he did not know about Elisabeth’s conversation with Carta, and because he had no information about this woman in his memories, Eric had directly labeled Elisabeth, after their brief exchange, as a self-centered rich young lady type. Although her status was noble, with Eric’s current position, he had absolutely no need to lower himself and flatter such a spoiled young lady.
After tugging several times, he finally pulled the corner of his shirt out of the woman’s hand. Looking at the wrinkled hem, Eric helplessly smoothed it out. Noticing the woman’s indignant expression, Eric suddenly gave a wicked smile and slowly bent down, leaning close in front of her. “Liz, there’s one thing I need to remind you…”
Elisabeth looked at the aggressive eyes before her and could not help leaning back. Her hands instinctively moved to guard in front of her as she stammered, “Wh-what?”
As the woman retreated, Eric continued leaning forward. Smelling the faint perfume on her body, he raised one finger and waved it in front of her. “I need to remind you, never, ever become too interested in a man. Otherwise, you may very easily fall in love with him.”
“Ah…” Elisabeth opened her mouth and let out one syllable. Seeing Eric leave decisively after dropping those words, the woman came back to herself from her flustered state and stomped hard. “Bah, only a ghost would fall in love with you. Bastard, pervert, egomaniac…”
A series of derogatory words poured endlessly from the spoiled young lady’s mouth. After venting the anger in her heart, she suddenly glanced around in alarm. Seeing that no one had noticed her side, she let out a breath of relief, stood, straightened her clothes, slightly raised her chin, and once again recovered that proud appearance as she carried her red wine into the crowd.
Lu Xun said that originally there were no roads in the world, but when many people walked the same way, a road came into being. In fact, this sentence could be extended in many ways. For example, some things originally would not happen, but if some unscrupulous fellow unintentionally planted a seed of suggestion, after enough time passed, it became real.
“Mr. Williams, may I toast you?” While Eric was moving through the crowd and chatting with everyone, a little girl, led over by her mother, came before Eric holding a glass of juice. She opened her beautiful large eyes and looked up at Eric expectantly.
“Of course, Sarah.” Eric smiled, bent down, and gently touched his glass to the little girl’s cup, then drank the remaining red wine in one gulp.
The little girl also took a large sip of juice. After watching Eric finish the wine in his glass, she said, “Mr. Williams, thank you for giving me the role of Anne Stewart.”
“It’s nothing. Your performance was excellent too.” Eric looked at the little girl in front of him. Sarah Michelle Gellar was only twelve years old at this time, but the girl’s growth was far behind Drew’s rapid development. Perhaps because of her family situation, Eric had heard that the mother and daughter’s living conditions were not very good. Because of this, Sarah was only around 1.2 meters tall now, somewhat short compared to others her age. Her round face still had cute baby fat. In Eric’s memory, the girl would only grow to around 1.6 meters in the end.
“Then, Mr. Williams, can I act in a movie you personally direct?” the little girl suddenly asked, her tone full of childish innocence and her large eyes filled with expectation.
Eric looked at Sarah’s mother, then at the little girl. For a moment, he could not tell whether this sentence had been taught to her by her mother or whether it was merely a child speaking without restraint.
Actually, if not for the scheduling conflict with The Others, the role of Jonah’s little girlfriend Jessica in Sleepless in Seattle would have suited Sarah very well. But since the girl had already appeared in The Others, that role definitely could not be given to her again. Otherwise, audiences who saw the same little girl in two different films released around the same time and in different styles would feel a sense of dissonance.
“If there’s a chance, I think so,” Eric answered. It was difficult for him to refuse the expectant little girl, so he could only reply this way.