Chapter 349: Is There True Love?

On the last weekend of April, the square in front of the Century City Shopping Center was packed with people. Top Entertainment and Universal Pictures, along with the cast of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," prepared to hold an open-air media meet here, the last major event in Los Angeles before the movie's release.

Fans of Matthew and supporters of Charlize Theron had gathered early from all over Los Angeles.

In a lounge rented by the production team inside the Century City Shopping Center, Matthew sat on a chair and took a jewelry box handed to him by Helen Herman. He opened it to peek inside and asked, "How much did this cost?"

"The diamonds are fake," Helen stated directly. "It's a free ring sponsored by the production team, made with synthetic diamonds, worth no more than a thousand dollars."

Matthew shook the jewelry box lightly and asked, "Did you give Charlize a heads-up?"

Helen nodded gently, "I've already informed her." She pulled up a chair next to her and sat down, adding, "Charlize Theron has no objections."

Synthetic diamonds were so well-made that even up close, it was hard to distinguish them from the real thing.

The cost of promotional stunts was covered by the production team, who certainly considered the budget, as they couldn't really purchase an actual diamond ring just for a scene.

Matthew secured the jewelry box, and Helen reminded him, "It's time to show off your acting skills. Are you ready?"

"Is it just a proposal?" Matthew responded casually. "Though it's my first time, I've seen plenty. It's all the same, isn't it?"

Helen nodded, "Just don't slip up." She stood up to leave. "I'm going to talk to Aziva Gosman."

"Oh, Helen," Matthew suddenly remembered something he had forgotten earlier and whispered, "Aziva Gosman mentioned a new project to me before, he seemed interested in collaborating with me."

"Oh?" Helen pondered for a moment and replied, "I'm aware of it, I'll keep an eye out."

With that, Matthew set the matter aside for now.

After all, Aziva Gosman had only mentioned it in passing, and there hadn't been any follow-up; it might have been just politeness.

The crowd in front of the Century City Shopping Center grew larger. Initially, it was mainly fans, but as the crowd swelled, it drew in many shoppers and tourists.

"Remember, everyone, shout loud when Matthew comes out!" 

Near the stage, Brian Lester loudly instructed a group of about twenty fans, "This is the last event for Matthew in Los Angeles before 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' is released. After this, who knows when you'll get to see him up close again."

Daenerys, one of Brian's best friends, said, "Stop nagging, Brian." She looked around at the others. "We're all Matthew's fans; none of us will be quieter than you."

Brian Lester scratched the back of his head and smiled, "Just a reminder."

He then unzipped his large backpack and pulled out a stack of posters. "These are the latest 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' posters of Matthew. Make sure to hold them up when he comes out."

Daenerys and another girl shouted, "Don't worry, Brian!"

With Daenerys' help, Brian quickly distributed the posters to the group of fans. Seeing others with new posters of Matthew, several fans who hadn't come with them approached, and Brian ended up giving away the remaining dozen or so.

After distributing the posters, Brian checked his watch. There was still some time before the media event. He looked around and noticed other fans, like his group, also had uniform posters.

"Brian!" Daenerys approached him, asking, "Where did you get these posters? I don't remember this version."

"My father often deals with Hollywood people," Brian casually fabricated an explanation. "He got these posters."

The truth was different. A few days ago, his father had brought a red-haired young woman who claimed to be part of Matthew's service team. She had asked him to organize Matthew's fans in Los Angeles to come and cheer for him today.

Prompted by his father, Brian quickly agreed. Although the West Hollywood Matthew fan organization he was part of was somewhat loose—despite being a senior member and one of the founders—he managed to gather about twenty people.

Yesterday, he received a package containing these brand-new posters.

Cheering for Matthew was a given, and Brian didn't think too much of it; he just wanted to offer more support to his favorite star.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded on stage. Daenerys pulled on Brian's arm, "Look, the reporters have arrived!"

Brian looked up to see about twenty reporters with badges gradually taking their seats on stage. Cameras were being set up, unclear whether the media event was to be recorded or

 live-streamed.

"Look! Look!" Daenerys pointed to a pretty young girl on stage who looked to be in her teens. "She's even younger than me!"

Brian followed her pointing finger and nodded, "Looks like she's still in high school."

"That kind of person can be a reporter..." Daenerys was quite indignant.

On stage, Lily Collins sat in her chair, flipping through her notebook repeatedly, preparing her questions as curious glances continued to surround her, seemingly puzzled by how someone so young could be part of the press.

But Lily Collins came from no ordinary family and didn't care about the reporters' stares; after all, she was now one of them.

Feeling the male reporter to her left still staring, Lily shut her notebook and glared at him. "What are you looking at? Haven't seen a young reporter before?"

"Uh..." The reporter didn't expect such a fiery temper from the girl and reluctantly turned away.

Lily huffed and looked forward to the empty row of chairs opposite her.

"Matthew Horner, Charlize Theron..." she muttered, "How did those two get together? Last time I interviewed Matthew, he didn't mention her."

Thinking of Matthew, Lily felt a bit dissatisfied; she had sent a request for an exclusive interview a long time ago, but all he did was invite her to a joint public media event, which seemed rather insincere.

If only she could have a one-on-one interview...

Lily sighed, then suddenly perked up her ears to eavesdrop on two reporters nearby discussing Matthew and Charlize.

"Since the Oscars, haven't Matthew Horner and Charlize Theron been the most exposed stars?" asked the female reporter to her left.

The male reporter facing her responded, "I'm not sure if they're the most exposed, but they're definitely the most high-profile celebrity couple. They make last year's Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie look tame."

The female reporter scoffed, "Don't compare those two to Matthew Horner and Charlize Theron; these two are true love..."

"True love?" The male reporter snorted derisively. "You've only been in the industry for half a year. Give it time, and you'll see—does true love even exist in Hollywood?"

"Their character is surely better than that other couple, right?" The female reporter seemed to have a soft spot for Matthew and Charlize, arguing her point.

The male reporter shook his head. "Character is hard to judge. Charlize Theron might be better than that couple, but as for Matthew Horner, it's debatable."

Lily was somewhat angered by this and wanted to stand up and confront them but thought better of it and just rolled her eyes at the man in front.

In all of Hollywood, was there a star with better character than Matthew? When she was being bullied by her principal, Matthew had responded to her plea for help and actually came to her school. How many stars would do that for a fan?

And regarding Charlize Theron, if Matthew hadn't gallantly stepped in, she would have been battered by that jerk...

These stars didn't have good character? Then what kind of stars did?

Those two fools in front were comparing Matthew to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? Was there even a comparison? Putting Matthew in the same category as Brad and Angelina was ridiculous.

Lily stared at the chattering reporters in front of her, muttering under her breath, "Idiots! Disgusting couple!"

Just then, a commotion erupted below the stage, with various noises and shouts of "Matthew" and "Charlize" faintly audible. Lily glanced down, where fans uniformly raised Matthew's posters as if under a single command.

Then, she turned to see the main cast and crew of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," led by producer Aziva Gosman, ascend the stage. Matthew and Charlize walked hand-in-hand, occasionally whispering to each other and sharing joyful smiles.

"This is just the perfect couple!"

Lily heard someone on her right exclaim, "Hollywood's coolest duo should indeed be a couple!"

"Matthew! Matthew! Matthew..."

The noise from the stage became unified, with shouts for Matthew overwhelming everything else, as if everyone there was his fan.

As the crew took their seats opposite the media, Lily perked up, ready for the media event to begin.

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