Chapter 43 - It's a mantra

Because the curtains were closed, the bedroom appeared somewhat dark. Julia whose schedule had been stable for quite a while woke up exhausted, she rolled over revealing her nudity and took a look at her watch. After seeing the time, she subconsciously sat up, thinking she was late for work. It took her a minute to recall where she was and what had happened last night, after which she sighed, relaxed, and laid back down.

Looking around, the man who had exhausted her to the point of unconsciousness wasn't around. If not for the fact that she woke up in his bedroom, she'd think that everything that happened was a dream. More like a nightmare really, in which a demon had slowly but surely lured her into his abyss.

Her thoughts a mess, Julia got out of bed. Looking at her clothes scattered all over the room, she gritted her teeth in resentment. Except for her sturdy jeans, all her clothes whether it be her shirt, bra, panties or trousers, were all torn to some degree. One could imagine how intense the previous night's action must have been.

Helplessly putting her jeans on, she reluctantly went to the man's closet and wore one of his white shirts. Opening the balcony's curtains, L.A's morning sun was as bright and annoying as ever.

Deeply inhaling a few mouthfuls of the cool morning air, Julia turned and walked down the stairs.

Hearing the sound of utensils clanking in the kitchen, Julia turned to take a look. She saw the man dressed in casual clothes, busy in the kitchen as the faint fragrance of porridge drifted in the air.

Immediately noticing the girl, Eric said: "Good morning, Julia."

"Good morning." although somewhat reluctant, she still greeted him politely. She couldn't help but hold a bit of resentment in her heart though. The man had played her so thoroughly last night but wasn't even trying to coax her with deceitful words such as 'baby' or 'sweetheart' now. It was really hateful!

"You're so rich, but you still make your own breakfast?" Leaning on the door frame with her arms folded, Julia said with a trace of ridicule.

Eric listened to the girl, then raised an eyebrow: "Oh, it seems that you've already forgotten last night, for you to even dare talk to me like this."

"You… don't think we've reached some kind of agreement… don't think you can do whatever you please with me."

Eric pretended to not notice the girl who seemed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He looked at his dish, closed the lid of the pot and switched off the gas before saying: "Oh? Hm… I think you'd be the one to suffer a loss in that case though?"

Julia was somewhat speechless for a time. She could only glare at Eric, wishing she could kill this bastard with her eyes.

"Alright stop glaring, I heard the sound of the newspapers being thrown against the door, help me get them."

Julia stomped her foot like a little girl, turned around and walked towards the door.

From the kitchen, Eric glanced at her sexy back, and the corner of his mouth curled up in a smile. He didn't mean to bully Julia last night, he just wanted to plant a seed of obedience in the girl's subconscious. Now look, even though she was still a bit unruly, it seemed like his 'teachings' had gotten through. At this rate, even when she hit it big in the future, she would never completely escape from his palm.

Despite being a woman, he knew that her past self was even more strong-minded than the majority of men. Once she'd risen to fame, Eric didn't want her to completely change trajectory and mess up his plans, and if he didn't take care of her now, knowing her, that's probably what would happen.

Taking a stack of newspapers back to the living room, Julia didn't give Eric another chance to bully her as she sat in the living room and started looking through the newspapers. She yawned and tossed aside several of them as they were just not interesting. But when she noticed the headline of the Los Angeles Daily, she momentarily froze before revealing a gloating smile.

Home Alone's director and Drew Barrymore's one-night stand. A convenience store clerk left in tears.

Below the long title was a detailed article as well as a clear picture.

"Hey hey, you're already not that attractive but with your mouth so agape, aren't you afraid it'll stretch?" Eric carried the breakfast to the living room and put it on the coffee table.

Julia glanced at him, this sleazy guy didn't even know what trouble he was in. She handed the newspaper over to him, got up and went straight towards the kitchen: "You should worry about yourself first. Unbelievable, you're such a jerk that you'd even hurt such a pretty girlfriend."

Eric glanced at the newspaper and couldn't help but sigh. These paparazzi were seriously everywhere, they had probably staked his house the whole night.

Reading the article carefully, more than 70% of it was bullshit. It recounted how he had brought Drew home for the night and how, the next day, his girlfriend had caught them in bed together. The process was described vividly as if the paps themselves had witnessed everything.

After a quick read, Eric threw the newspaper on the coffee table and thought about the mess that would follow while eating breakfast.

Holding a bowl of porridge, Julia returned to the living room. Noticing that Eric's expression was the same, she curiously inquired: "Aren't you worried?"

Eric said without looking up: "Merely some gossip tabloid. If I worry over it every time, I would lead a miserable life. Since I stepped into this circle, I obviously must be prepared to take on everything thrown at me."

"I know. I'm talking about that, didn't you notice? The article intentionally or unintentionally keeps mentioning Drew Barrymore's age, don't you get it? She's only thirteen years old, and by the California law…" Julia gleefully raised three fingers: "You're looking at three years, even if she was willing."

Eric had obviously seen through the author's intention, those tabloids would resort to any means to boost their sales and stir up trouble, but he wasn't worried about this. Rather, something else weighed on his mind.

With such a bomb being dropped, those other film companies who had been miserably suppressed by Home Alone and 17 Again, would definitely not let go of such a great opportunity.

Seeing that Eric didn't respond, Julia thought that he had a guilty conscience and felt a bit smug.

"Alright don't look at me like that. Yeah, I'm talking about your 'your misfortune is totally my happiness' kind of look. Wash your bowl after you eat, I'm leaving first." Eric finished eating in a hurry, took his coat and told Julia: "Ah right, If I were you I'd go to the restaurant and hand my resignation over, then stay at home for the next few days."

Julia protested: "Why? You can't restrain my personal freedom!"

Eric pointed to the newspaper on the coffee table: "Because tomorrow, you'll also make the headlines."

"Ugh!" Julia suddenly felt helpless.

...

"Eric, good morning."

At an agreed place in Burbank, in front of a real estate agency, Eric got off his car and was greeted by the sight of Jeffrey Hansen waiting for him.

"Good morning Jeffrey, let's go in."

Jeffrey stopped him and said: "Wait, there's something we need to talk about first."

"Yes?"

Jeffrey pulled him aside, and took out a copy of the Los Angeles Daily from his bag: "Eric, seriously, what's with all the nonsense? Although I've only seen her a few times, Aniston is a good girl, you shouldn't have hurt her. More importantly, even if you were looking for another woman, why Drew? She's only thirteen, ah that won't do, you're ruined. Look at Roman Polanski, that scandal of his happened 11 years ago, and he still hasn't been able to get his foothold in the US back."

Eric knew that his old friend was just concerned about him, so he patiently listened to his nagging, and once he was finished, Eric patted the man's shoulder and said: "Rest assured, Jeffrey, this whole thing is just a misunderstanding. Although Drew spent the night at my house, nothing happened."

"Anyways," Jeffrey was still not assured: "You should be careful, Eric. You rose too fast, your performance was too eye-catching and so you piqued many people's interest, and it's difficult to assess whether they will try and use unconventional means to deal with you. I remember once seeing a Chinese idiom, something about a tree being really tall in the forest…"

Eric listened to Jeffrey's jumbled description, he felt it was really funny and couldn't help but mutter in fluent Chinese: "Mù xiù yú lín, fēng bì cuī zhī; duī chū yú àn, liú bì tuān zhī; háng gāo yú zhòng, rén bì fēi zhī." (The wind will destroy the tallest tree in the forest, the water will tear down the sharpest stone on the cliff, the crowd will slander the one with the noblest virtue.)

"Eh… I couldn't hear you just now, what did you say?" Jeffrey asked weirdly.

Eric looked at the bright sun on the horizon, speaking in his original language made him feel nostalgic. He was too lazy to explain so he casually bullshitted: "It's a mantra I saw in a book once, it helps calm the mind and refresh one's spirit."

Jeffrey felt Eric was really embarrassed today and he no longer pursued the matter saying: "Alright let's go in, we have an appointment with the real estate agent."