Chapter 43: This Is a Spell
Chapter 43: This Is a Spell
Because the curtains were drawn shut, the bedroom was rather dim. Julia Roberts, whose sleeping schedule had always been very regular, woke up in exhaustion. She shifted slightly, and her beautiful naked body slipped out from beneath the thin blanket without any cover at all. Raising her arm to glance at her wristwatch, the woman instinctively thought she was late for work and abruptly sat up. But after a few seconds, she sighed softly and relaxed again, collapsing backward onto the bed.
Looking to the side, the man who had tormented her to the point of exhaustion last night—until she had even cried out and begged for mercy—was already gone. If not for being inside this unfamiliar bedroom, Julia would have believed everything from last night had been a dream, a nightmare in which that devil-like man had gradually lured her deeper and deeper into the abyss.
After rolling restlessly in bed for a while with chaotic thoughts, Julia got out of bed and wandered naked through the dim bedroom, searching for the clothes that had been tossed everywhere. The search only made her grind her teeth harder in frustration. Aside from the sturdy jeans, her shirt, bra, and even panties had all been torn apart. One could imagine how intense the battle last night had been.
Left with no choice, she went without underwear beneath her jeans, then looked around before grabbing a white shirt from the man’s clothes rack and putting it on. Pulling open the curtains, she stepped onto the balcony. Los Angeles was still brilliantly sunny—so bright it felt irritating.
After taking several deep breaths of the cool morning air, Julia turned and walked downstairs.
The sound of kitchenware clattering came from the kitchen. Turning her head, she saw the casually dressed man skillfully busying himself there while the faint fragrance of oatmeal porridge drifted through the air.
Eric quickly noticed the woman’s figure as well.
“Good morning, Julia.”
“Morning,” Julia replied politely despite her reluctance. At the same time, an uncontrollable trace of grievance welled up inside her. This man had thoroughly played with her inside and out last night, yet now he was unwilling to even say a single sweet nothing like “darling” or “baby,” even just to coax her. He was truly… infuriating.
“You’re already so rich, yet you still make your own breakfast?” Leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, Julia spoke with a trace of teasing.
Hearing her tone, Eric raised an eyebrow.
“Looks like I didn’t discipline you enough last night. You still dare speak to me like that?”
“You… don’t think that just because we reached some… some kind of agreement, you can do whatever you want to me. At worst…”
Eric acted as though he did not notice the woman bristling like an angry cat. He casually lifted the lid off the pot for a glance, turned off the gas, then said, “At worst what? We go our separate ways? Then you’d be the one suffering a huge loss.”
Julia found herself speechless and could only glare viciously at Eric as if trying to kill the hateful man with her eyes.
“Alright, stop glaring. I heard the newspaper delivery pass by just now. Go bring today’s papers inside for me.”
Julia stomped her foot like a little girl before turning and heading outside.
Inside the kitchen, Eric glanced at the woman’s sexy back and revealed a faint smile. The reason he had treated Julia that way last night was to plant a seed of obedience deep in her subconscious. Judging from things now, although the woman still acted stubborn verbally, the details of her behavior clearly showed that last night’s “training” had achieved quite a good effect. Since he had already decided to elevate Julia to the heights she had reached in his previous life, he could not allow her to completely escape his control.
Although she was a woman, the Julia of his previous life had become more strong-willed than many men after she rose to fame. Eric had no desire to see her soar to success only to completely break free from the path he arranged for her and start making chaotic Brownian-motion-like decisions. And given Julia’s personality, if Eric took no precautions, that possibility would be extremely high.
Carrying a stack of newspapers back into the living room, Julia had no interest in appearing before Eric only to be annoyed again. She sat down by herself and began flipping through the papers. After scanning several issues without finding anything interesting, she casually tossed them aside until she reached a copy of the Los Angeles Metropolitan News. The moment she saw the headline, she immediately revealed a gleeful smile.
Home Alone Director Returns Home Late at Night with Drew Barrymore; Convenience Store Clerk Girlfriend Catches Them in Bed and Leaves in Tears
Beneath the long headline was an article overflowing with gossip, accompanied by clear photographs.
“What are you reading? You’re already not that pretty, and now you’re stretching your mouth that wide?” Eric carried breakfast into the living room and placed it on the coffee table.
Julia shot him a sideways glance. This scumbag was already in deep trouble and still unaware of it. Handing him the newspaper, she stood and walked toward the kitchen.
“You should worry about yourself first. I never imagined you’d be such a bastard. You could even hurt such a beautiful girlfriend.”
Eric took the newspaper and glanced at it, immediately cursing inwardly. Those paparazzi truly were everywhere. Judging from the photos, they had probably camped outside his house for at least an entire day and night.
Reading carefully, he found the article to be three parts truth and seven parts fabrication. It vividly described how he brought Drew Barrymore home for the night and was then caught in bed by his girlfriend the next morning, as if the reporter had personally watched the entire scene unfold beside them.
After quickly finishing the article, Eric tossed the newspaper onto the coffee table. While eating breakfast, he silently considered the potential impact this matter might have.
Julia returned carrying a bowl of oatmeal porridge and a plate of bread. Seeing that Eric’s expression remained unchanged, she asked curiously, “Aren’t you worried at all?”
Without even lifting his head, Eric replied, “It’s just tabloid gossip. If I got furious every time I saw something like this, I’d never be able to live normally. Once you enter this industry, you have to be prepared to bear everything that comes with it.”
“I know that too, but didn’t you notice the reporters deliberately hinting at Drew’s age? Drew’s only thirteen, you know. According to California law…” Julia smugly raised three fingers. “At least three years, even if the girl consented.”
Of course Eric had noticed the reporters’ intentions. These shameless tabloids always loved stirring up trouble for sales. But what worried him was not this issue itself. Another matter would prove more troublesome.
Now that such explosive gossip had broken out, combined with the fact that Hollywood was entering the lucrative December holiday season, the film companies whose box office numbers had been crushed by Home Alone and Back to 17 would undoubtedly realize this was a perfect opportunity to suppress the earnings of both films.
Seeing Eric fall silent, Julia naturally assumed he was feeling guilty. For some reason, she even felt a trace of satisfaction inside.
“Enough smirking. It’s not like my bad luck will improve your life. Wash the dishes after breakfast. I’m heading out.”
After hurriedly finishing his meal, Eric grabbed his coat and instructed Julia, “Oh, and if I were you, I’d quit the restaurant job. Stay home honestly for the next few days.”
Julia protested, “Why? You can’t restrict my personal freedom!”
Eric pointed toward the newspaper on the coffee table.
“Because tomorrow, you’ll be on the front page too.”
“Ah!” Julia immediately became flustered.
…
“Good morning, Eric.”
Outside an agreed-upon real estate agency in Burbank, Eric had just gotten out of the car when he saw Jeffrey Hansen already waiting there.
“Morning, Jeffrey. Let’s go inside.”
But Jeffrey stopped him.
“Eric, hold on. There’s something I want to talk to you about first.”
“Hm?”
Jeffrey pulled Eric aside to a more secluded spot and took out a copy of the Los Angeles Metropolitan News from his bag.
“Eric, you’ve been too reckless. Even though I’ve only met Anne a few times, I think she’s a good girl. You shouldn’t have hurt her. More importantly, even if you want women, it absolutely shouldn’t be Drew. That little girl is only thirteen. If someone deliberately grabs onto this issue, you’ll be ruined. Think about Roman Polanski. After what happened eleven years ago, he’s practically been unable to return to the United States ever since.”
Eric knew Jeffrey genuinely cared about him, so he patiently listened to the lecture. After Jeffrey finished, Eric patted his shoulder.
“Relax, Jeffrey. It’s just a misunderstanding. Drew did stay over at my house that night, but nothing like that happened.”
“Anyway,” Jeffrey still said uneasily, “you need to be more careful. Eric, you rose too fast and shined too brightly. You’ve already touched a lot of people’s interests. It’s hard to say whether someone might use unconventional methods against you. I remember reading an idiom from Eastern China once, something about a tree growing too tall…”
Listening to Jeffrey stumble through the explanation, Eric found it amusing. Without thinking, he replied fluently in standard Chinese:
“The tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; the mound that rises above the shore will be washed away by the current; the man who surpasses the crowd will surely be condemned.”
Jeffrey stared at him strangely.
“Uh… what did you just say?”
Eric suddenly felt the melancholy of “how hard it is to find a kindred spirit anywhere beneath the heavens.” Too lazy to explain further, he casually said, “It’s a spell I read in a book once. Whenever something happens, I can’t help reciting it a few times. It calms the mind.”
After Eric joked around like that, Jeffrey also felt he had been nagging too much. He stopped dwelling on the topic and changed the subject.
“Alright, Eric. Let’s go in. The real estate agent I arranged to meet is already waiting for us.”