Chapter 26: Forced to Respond

The man blocking the way was tall and had an arrogant face, making Matthew feel like he owed the man a huge debt.

"Hey, country bumpkin!" Meiken pointed at Matthew with his chin. He had already gathered some information about Matthew from a few American extras, "Stop right there!"

Although Matthew didn't know who the person was, he didn't want to engage with him, especially since this was on a film set. Any bad mouthing from the man could potentially lead to trouble.

He had just finished playing a role and was about to receive a significant amount of money. He didn't need to take such a risk.

The road was wide enough not only for two people to pass but even a trailer truck could easily drive through. Matthew stepped to the side to avoid the man blocking his path, planning to walk past him.

Unexpectedly, the man persisted and quickly stepped in front of him again.

"Country bumpkin!" he stood a meter away from Matthew, staring at him intensely, "Didn't you hear me tell you to stop?"

Matthew stopped walking, furrowed his brows, and asked in annoyance, "What do you want?"

"You dare steal my role!" Meiken nearly shouted.

"Who stole your role?" Matthew realized this fool might be the actor Ridley Scott had replaced, but he responded dismissively, "Nonsense."

When Meiken heard Matthew's unfriendly tone, he pointed a finger at him, "What did you say? Do you know who I am?"

There were few pedestrians on the set, but a few dressed as Roman soldiers among the extras stopped to watch the unfolding drama.

Before Matthew could reply, Meiken yelled, "I'm Meiken, from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in England! Remember that, you American pig!"

His voice was loud, and not only did Matthew hear the insult, but so did the nearby extras.

This was in the northern area of Los Angeles, and those extras were all Americans. Hearing themselves being insulted as "American pigs," especially coming from a Brit, made them visibly upset.

Matthew's facial muscles twitched, a surge of anger at the thought of grabbing and breaking the finger pointing at him, but considering the potential to lose $8,000 on the film set, he suppressed his impulse.

"Meiken, is it?" Matthew sneered, "You're a nutcase! Idiot! Moron! Raised without manners! Cursed to have a son without an ass and a daughter as a whore! Your whole family should be cursed! You're such a vile creature, you could only play a turd, less worthy than a piece of gum on the road soaked in dog urine. Looking for a girlfriend, you'd have to go to a zoo…"

In a split second, a string of curses flew out of Matthew's mouth, each unique.

Meiken was stunned, unable to comprehend what Matthew was saying.

Matthew was not usually a doormat, but the $8,000 wasn't in his hands yet. If it weren't for the film set, he would have already turned this so-called Meiken into a bloody mess.

Taking advantage of the bewildered man blocking his way, Matthew tried to bypass him.

But how could Meiken let him leave easily? Unable to confront Ridley Scott, he had come here to vent his frustrations.

He was a pampered child of the ivory tower. Under the strong recommendation of his academy and tutors, he had never played leading roles but had always been the one to take roles from others, not the other way around.

"American pig!"

Meiken roared and swung a punch at Matthew's face.

Although he didn't want to start a conflict, Matthew was on guard. Seeing the punch coming, he quickly grabbed Meiken's wrist.

"You…" Meiken felt the grip on his wrist was incredibly rough.

Since the other party had started a physical fight, Matthew no longer held back. His arm suddenly exerted strength, his grip tightening like a vice, and due to the extreme force, his veins bulged noticeably.

"Ah…"

A bone-deep pain emanated from his wrist, and Meiken couldn't help but cry out in pain, flailing his other arm, punching Matthew's shoulder.

But with one arm caught and in severe pain, he couldn't exert much force, and his punch felt more like a tickle to Matthew.

Matthew was now angered. Did this Brit really think he was a big-time celebrity? Holding Meiken's wrist, he pushed forward sharply.

Meiken staggered backward, pushed by the strong force, taking a few steps back before stopping.

But just as he steadied himself, something with a whizzing sound flew at him.

Then, Matthew's open right hand harshly slapped Meiken's face.

Slap—

The crisp sound was exceptionally loud.

"Well done!"

Seeing the arrogant Brit get hit, a few American extras nearby shouted excitedly, "Hit that pompous Brit harder!"

Meiken was stunned, only the burning pain on his face reminding him of what had just happened.

But before he could gather his wits, Matthew's hand swung back and slapped the other side of his face.

"You…" Meiken was jolted awake by the slap, touching his face in disbelief, "You dared to hit me!"

"Ha…" Matthew withdrew his hand, realizing he had acted impulsively, and raised his voice deliberately, "It was self-defense!"

"You American pig!" Meiken leaped up, ready to retaliate, "I won't let you get away with this!"

"Meiken, stop!" A figure hurried from behind Meiken, "What are you doing!"

The newcomer was a tall, thin man in a fitted suit. Upon seeing him, Meiken looked like a child who had lost a fight and saw his parent, his eyes turning red, almost ready to cry.

"Gore, come quickly!" Meiken pointed at Matthew and shouted, "He started hitting me!"

The tall man approached quickly, took one look at Matthew, and said, "You!"

Before Matthew could speak, he continued, "Excellent! You stole Meiken's role and now you resort to violence. I..."

"I was defending myself." Matthew cut him off, "He started it."

The tall man, Gore, turned to look at Meiken. Of course, Meiken wouldn't admit to it, exclaiming, "I just wanted to talk to him, and he hit me."

"I'm Gore, Meiken's agent!" the tall man introduced himself with a tone of British decorum, "I remember you, Matthew Horner, right? About this situation..."

"Gore, sir!" Matthew interrupted him again bluntly, "My agent is here. She will discuss this with you."

Behind Meiken and Gore, Helen Herman and a bearded man were approaching from the opposite direction, clearly having seen him.

"What's going on?" Helen Herman asked as soon as she arrived.

She was supposed to meet with Matthew, but had run into the bearded man along the way and got delayed.

"Your client..." Gore started to speak, but Helen Herman didn't even look at him, cutting him off, "Sorry, sir, I wasn't asking you."

Matthew chuckled softly. This female agent made a much better impression on him than the rotund Dennis Kurt.

"This gentleman blocked my way," Matthew explained succinctly, "claimed I stole his role, called me an American pig, and then attacked me. I had no choice but to retaliate."

"Out of necessity?" Gore pointed to the bright red handprints on Meiken's face, "You call this necessity?"

The bearded man was also present, and Gore, holding his waist, declared, "This has to be resolved! My client was assaulted on set! I'll file a complaint with the actors' guild!"

The bearded man looked calmly at Matthew, then at the disheveled Meiken, and said nothing.

At that moment, Gore added, "Meiken is a client of William Morris!"

William Morris was undoubtedly a giant in the talent agency industry, second only to CAA, and normally, small agents and actors wouldn't dare to offend such a company.

Knowing what his client was like, Gore was aware of some of his potential and decent networking possibilities, making him potentially a star.

As an agent, it was fundamental to defend his client, which was basic professional integrity.

By mentioning William Morris, Gore thought he could intimidate the group before him.

But after he finished, he scanned the faces of the bearded man, Helen Herman, and Matthew, only to find their expressions unchanged, unaffected by his name-dropping.

The bearded man, a long-time collaborator with Ridley Scott, wouldn't care about a threat from a small agent at a major agency at this point.

As for Matthew, he was blissfully unaware of the true extent of William Morris's power.

And Helen Herman, having started her own business after working at CAA's mailroom, wasn't about to be intimidated by such a minor threat.

Matthew furrowed his brows, glanced around, and saw that the onlookers were still present. He then said to Helen Herman, "This Mr. Meiken insulted me as an American pig. That's discriminatory language, right?"

"I didn't!" Meiken immediately denied.

Ignoring him, Matthew moved closer to Helen Herman, signaling with his eyes to the onlookers, and whispered a few words. Helen Herman nodded slightly, then went to talk to them. The American extras happily followed her back.

Seeing the extras approach, Meiken's face gradually turned pale, the red marks from the slaps stark against his skin.

Helen Herman pointed at them and stated, "These men have been watching since Mr. Meiken blocked Matthew, and witnessed the entire incident."

"That's right!" one of the extras pointed at Meiken and shouted, "This Brit kept cursing us as American pigs!"

This blatant regional

 discrimination angered them, especially coming from a Brit.

"I..." Meiken tried to argue.

But another extra cut in, "The Brit not only cursed but also hit first!"

Helen Herman smiled at Gore across the way, whose face was turning increasingly unpleasant.

"The Brit started the physical altercation!" another extra confirmed, "We can all vouch for that!"

Meiken was at a loss for words, glaring fiercely at Matthew. Matthew simply shrugged and spread his hands.

Helen Herman looked at Matthew and said, "Mr. Gore, Mr. Meiken is suspected of using discriminatory and insulting language against my client. I will be filing a complaint with both the American and British actors' unions!"