Chapter 192: An Awkward “Cupping” Incident

After the premiere, Elisha Cuthbert, who had been trying to find a way to approach Martin, suddenly saw her opportunity.

Paris, that little tart, had left before Martin.

Meanwhile, Martin was still chatting with Bruce Willis.

It seemed they weren't together.

When Martin finished his conversation with Bruce Willis and started walking toward the exit, Elisha quickly followed him.

Just as Martin reached the car parked at the theater entrance and a large man, either a driver or bodyguard, was preparing to open the door for him, Elisha gritted her teeth and ran a few steps to catch up with him. She then leaned forward and exclaimed, "Ouch!" as she collapsed into Martin's arms.

At that moment, Martin was facing sideways, away from Elisha.

According to Elisha's calculations—

As she fell, she would crash into Martin's arms... He would most likely instinctively catch her, and she could then thank him, inviting him for a drink... Wait, no, Martin was still underage, so no drinking... She could invite him to dinner, maybe... Surely with her beauty, she could easily charm a fourteen-year-old boy...

However, the scene unfolded completely differently than Elisha had imagined.

As she fell toward him, Martin nimbly dodged.

Elisha was stunned, and as she flailed, her body flipped, turning from sideways to falling on her back.

At this moment, Martin acted quickly—he grabbed the fabric of Elisha's clothing near her lower abdomen and, with one hand, hoisted her up.

Elisha was dumbfounded!

Martin actually lifted her with just one hand! My god, he's that strong?!

Wait, the place where he grabbed?!

Elisha's eyes widened in shock as she felt a searing pain just below her stomach. She realized her well-maintained maomao (a slang reference to a delicate area) had probably been twisted or pulled.

A flurry of camera shutters went off, flashes lighting up the scene.

The reporters were both impressed by Martin's one-handed rescue and delighted by the spectacle!

The position was just too comical!

Many female reporters could sympathize and crossed their legs in response.

"Let me down!" Elisha whispered sharply to Martin.

Yes, she wanted to become famous, but not like this!

She just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

Realizing the situation, Martin gently set Elisha back on her feet.

The sharp pain made Elisha want to rub the area, but there was no way she could do that right now.

She gritted her teeth and forced out a thankful smile, saying, "Martin, thank you for saving me from falling."

Martin, pretending not to hear the slight annoyance in her voice, smiled and said, "No problem, just a quick save."

Elisha awkwardly hurried away with an exaggerated, twisted walk. Only then did Martin gesture for Gordon to open the car door, and he quickly got in.

Inside the car, Paris's voice rang out.

"That tart Elisha, I thought she was my friend, but she's already trying to seduce you in front of me."

It turned out that Paris hadn't actually left but had gone to the parking lot and snuck into Martin's car.

She had witnessed Elisha's little scheme and was burning with anger.

As one of Martin's "collectibles," Paris didn't mind that Martin had many women. As long as they were like her—"collectibles"—there wouldn't be jealousy or anger between them under the influence of the "love cultivator."

However, when facing women who weren't "collectibles" trying to seduce Martin in front of her, she still had normal feelings of jealousy and anger.

Of course, there were exceptions—like Lindsay, who seemed "abnormal" even in normal situations. She never cared how many women Martin had outside as long as he treated her well.

...

Since the film premiered on Thursday, by the end of the first weekend, the box office for Waxwork had reached 22 million USD, while Dracula 2000, which opened at the same time, only earned 17 million.

(PS: Oddly enough, Dracula 2000 was actually a decent movie, with good reviews and even won the Best Horror Film award at the 27th Saturn Awards, but the box office just didn't take off.)

Waxwork had claimed the box office crown for the week.

"Honestly, from an artistic perspective, both films are about the same—well, neither is particularly artistic. As for the plot, both films are decent, falling within the standard horror genre. So why did Waxwork outperform Dracula 2000 by such a large margin? I believe it's because of the soundtrack. Martin's score far exceeds Dracula 2000's." — Los Angeles Times

"Waxwork trumps Dracula 2000. Princess Hilton's big-screen debut is a resounding success. Following Nicole Kidman, Martin's film has launched another female star." — The New York Times

"Hee hee, I'm already a movie star! They're comparing me to Nicole Kidman! I'm so happy!" Paris giggled at the dinner table, completely forgetting the unpleasantness Elisha had caused last night.

She picked up the next newspaper.

"Waxwork's victory is actually a failure for Martin. This film clearly shows that his talent for writing scripts has been largely exhausted—"

"Ugh, what nonsense! Let me see, The World News, is this the rag that always talks bad about you? I'm not reading this!" Paris tossed the paper into the trash.

...

Miramax.

Harvey Weinstein sat in his office, fuming, before tossing a stack of newspapers into the trash and throwing a lit match on top.

Boom. The paper began to burn in the trash can.

When Bob Weinstein entered, the room was filled with smoke.

"Cough, cough, cough! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Why, why, why can't Martin that little bastard fail for once?!"

Harvey sat back in his chair, defeated.

"Harvey, I got a warning call from Lauren Graham at Dimension Films. He said we've overstepped this time."

"Don't worry about that old man. If he annoys me, I'll just buy his company."

Harvey waved his hand dismissively, then continued on Martin.

"Bob, do you think we should get some media we're familiar with to expose some dirt on Martin?"

"Does Martin have any dirt?" Bob asked, a bit surprised.

Harvey sneered, "He's got plenty of dirt. I'd bet he and all those girls around him have an unusual relationship, including Paris Hilton."

As a seasoned old pervert, Harvey could sense the same in other "perverts" like Martin, but—

"Do you have proof?" Bob asked cautiously.

"Uh, no!" Harvey paused, then added, "What proof do you need? Hollywood's full of rumors!"

"Harvey, Martin's different. He's not just any actor; his family has powerful connections. We need to be careful."

"We can get those tabloids involved. I won't be in the spotlight."

"Harvey, Martin once said, 'Everything in the past leaves a trace.' I think that's very wise. Can you guarantee he won't trace it back to you? Don't forget, you have more dirt than anyone!"

"Alright, alright, just a little idea of mine. Forget it!"

"Well, what about Lauren Graham at Dimension?"

"Don't bother with him. It's just a small horror film company. By the way, what do you think of my idea about buying Dimension Films?"

[•———•——•———•]

𝙥𝗮𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣(.)𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧