Chapter 15 Is This Not a Date?

"I'm sorry, I think I should go back!" At the last moment, Katherine suddenly pushed Adrian away, turning her flushed face to the side, her chest rising and falling slightly.

Adrian, although somewhat stunned, did not take it to heart, "I'll take you back."

"I can go by myself..."

"I insist."

The two did not speak again throughout the car ride. The streetlights flashing by occasionally made the inside of the car alternately bright and dim, adding a peculiar atmosphere. Katherine kept her head slightly lowered, while Adrian maintained a calm demeanor.

"We're here." Adrian said softly after pulling the car to a stop.

"Thank you," Katherine responded softly. She reached for the door handle, but whether it was because she was lost in thought or for some other reason, she couldn't open it after several tries, and her brows furrowed.

Adrian found it somewhat amusing but refrained from showing it, leaning over immediately, "I forgot to unlock the safety lock."

"No need, I can handle it myself," Katherine hurriedly declined. In the midst of their pushing and shoving, her hand applied a bit too much force. Adrian, also not paying attention, had his hand slip from the car window, and his upper body fell onto Katherine's.

"Sorry... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that," Katherine blushed, trying to help him up.

"It's okay, I wasn't careful," Adrian said, holding her hand as he lifted his head.

Their eyes met once again, as if time had either stopped or flown by in a flash. Adrian slowly drew closer, and Katherine leaned in to kiss his lips. There were no intense movements, just soft touches and gentle sucking, subtle yet intoxicating.

After a while, they parted, looking at each other without saying a word. After a long while, Katherine finally reacted and said in a soft voice, "I should go back."

Adrian nodded and opened the car door for her. After stepping out, Katherine suddenly turned around and looked at him seriously, "Ed, you are a gentleman."

"Thank you." Adrian smiled slightly, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Oh," Katherine, half out of the car, remembered something and turned to look at Adrian again with a shy expression, "Today... doesn't count as a date, right?"

Adrian was a bit taken aback, then he chuckled and spread his hands. Katherine's face went red, and she quickly leaned over to give him a gentle peck on the lips, then quickly got out of the car and skipped towards home.

"The charm of young love is truly captivating." Adrian watched the beautiful figure disappear into the distance, touched his lips, not expecting his unintentional act to yield such unexpected results.

Today's date was not something he had planned. Adrian had indeed been overwhelmed and extremely anxious when he called Katherine, wanting to confide in someone. For various reasons, all the post-production work had to be done by him alone, and with time being so tight, his nerves had been stretched taut.

Adrian had prepared for this earlier. When he decided to recreate "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," he began recalling its soundtrack. The music for this movie primarily came from British rock, so he just needed to recall it completely, find those few songs, and match them to the movie.

Moreover, in his previous life, while at the Film Academy, he often analyzed the shots from "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," even trying to recreate a short film in a similar style using a DV with others. Although he couldn't work with multi-narrative projects after moving to a local station, thanks to his extraordinary memory now, he recalled them all.

However, this could not guarantee a 100% recreation of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." Repeating any complex task once doesn't always yield the same result, let alone making a movie. For instance, due to time constraints, Adrian shot fewer scenes. Basically, wasting 50% of the film during production is already considered good data, while those perfectionist directors might discard more than 80% of the footage because not every scene will be used, and some crucial scenes need multiple takes for backups.

Due to time constraints and his intimate familiarity with the movie, Adrian saved many scenes during filming. It was also because of this that he had to be extra cautious during editing. Although mistakes could still be fixed, they would waste a lot of time, and time was the one thing Adrian lacked the most. Moreover, he couldn't make every scene match his memory exactly, so editing became excruciating.

Besides, this was his first movie after being reborn, and it needed to be a hit. Although he had good experience and ability in his previous life, the life he'd lived in this world for more than twenty years also influenced him. Up till now, the editing progress remained consistent with his plan, but it had been forced out through working overtime, and facing this immense pressure, it would be surprising if Adrian were still in a good mood.

In summary, although production was on track, Adrian's emotions were not stable. His assistant would receive a round of rebuke for even minor mistakes, and even Dennis was not exempt. Adrian knew this wasn't good, but knowing is one thing, and doing is another, until Dennis suggested he take a break when his mood wasn't too terrible.

So Adrian thought of Katherine. Although he approached her with a trial attitude, once she appeared in front of him, it was as if he had transformed. That sense of fatigue and exhaustion disappeared, as if a switch in his mind had flipped, switching from one mode to another. Clearly, as he had said long ago, some things remained unchanged even across lifetimes.

This day out improved Adrian's mood significantly, while also advancing Katherine's feelings toward him. No wonder he felt he'd gained quite a bit. Of course, he was still clear about priorities, returning to post-production work the very next morning and gathering everyone together before starting, giving them a good pep talk.

"I know, there have been many problems recently, and I know most of these issues were my fault. Thank you for your tolerance, and I hope we can see this through together," Adrian said.

This was equivalent to an indirect apology. Since the boss had lowered his posture, the staff naturally had nothing more to say and expressed their support. Then, Adrian plunged back into post-production. Perhaps because of the breakthrough with Katherine, his state improved significantly, and although the pressure remained immense, his mood swings became less intense than before.

"Maybe you should take a break every two or three days," Dennis quipped, having somewhat guessed Adrian's situation with his keen observation.

Adrian neither agreed nor disagreed, but whenever the feeling of suffocation reached its peak due to post-production, he would call Katherine and go out for an afternoon, returning the next day invigorated to continue working. His progress was never delayed, and sometimes there were small breakthroughs. The staff around him found this a bit unbelievable.

In any case, everything went smoothly, be it the post-production of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" or other matters. Under Laverne's management, the film company was operating normally and had secured investment to produce a low-budget film. Perhaps because Adrian had kept his promise, the staff had more or less developed some enthusiasm, although none of the submitted scripts seemed familiar to Adrian.

This was not surprising, given that Bossworth Film Company was just a small company with little fame and couldn't attract prominent people. Adrian didn't mind. It would be nice to find familiar scripts among them, but it wouldn't be a bad thing if he didn't. Besides, he had a memory vault in his head.

As for things in Japan, the accountant had faxed over last month's financial report. There were fluctuations, but under Claude's operation, things continued trending upward, and it seemed meeting Adrian's requirements wouldn't be a problem.

And so, time flew by, and the Venice Film Festival was about to open.

"Do you know the biggest problem with French cuisine? It's not filling!" As the key turned, two affectionate figures walked into the studio, switching on the fluorescent light.

"Come on, Ed, food is for tasting with the tongue, not the stomach," Katherine laughed, linking her arm with his.

"But the issue is, getting full is always the primary need. How can you savor food if you're perpetually hungry?" Adrian countered, leaning against the table while wrapping his arms around Katherine's slim waist.

"Are you saying your previous compliments were false?" Katherine rested her hands on Adrian's shoulders, tilting her head playfully, a slight flirtation in her eyes.

"Of course not. Although the restaurant was small, the food was indeed delicious. I was actually trying to say French cuisine is more suited for competitions rather than filling one's belly," Adrian shrugged and then, looking at Katherine's delicate face, added with a playful tone, "By the way, France produces many things."

Katherine giggled, her eyes twinkling, and naturally kissed Adrian. The smacking sounds started up again, far more intense than that day. Their tongues entwined constantly, teasing and sucking, advancing and retreating, back and forth, never enough. After an intense, heated kiss, they finally parted.

"And French kisses too, right?" Katherine said playfully, her soft voice exceptionally enticing.

Although not much time had passed, their relationship progressed rapidly, now fully immersed as a couple in love, having done everything except the final step.

Adrian simply smiled without speaking, giving her another peck on the lips before leading her inside, "I have something to show you."

"Something?" Katherine's curiosity was immediately piqued.

In a slightly broad room, Adrian walked to the widest wall and pulled down the white screen, then set up the projector and placed the film on it.

"Take a look at your flair, Kate," he said, patting the projector.

"Do you mean... do you mean..." Katherine said in surprise, looking at the projector.

Adrian smiled and then, turning off the fluorescent lights, switched on the projector, casting a beam of light onto the screen.