Chapter 339: Maddeningly Fascinating

After the birth of his daughter, the author was so busy that a few chapters got mixed up. He contacted the editor to make corrections yesterday, but the editor is on vacation this week, so please be understanding! Also, since typing is not possible, there are hardly any manuscripts saved, so updates are limited to two a day for now. Those who mock and speculate about breaks or termination of the series, you can stop now.

Over the weekend, Murphy left the Valley on time and soon arrived at the entrance to UCLA. Since the university restricts entry to outside vehicles, he parked his car near the entrance and walked towards the campus.

Originally, Gal Gadot was supposed to meet him, but he refused, thinking that as the vice president of the film society, she would be busy and it wouldn't be good for her to leave suddenly.

Although he hadn't attended college here, Murphy believed that maintaining good relationships with classmates was essential, no matter which side of the Pacific one was on.

More than two years ago, Murphy had brought Gal Gadot here, so he somewhat remembered the place, especially the dormitory area. However, this celebration party was not in the dormitory area but was set in a large restaurant where parties were often held.

He hadn't been to the dining area before. During a previous phone call with Gal Gadot, he was only told to turn left at the entrance, turn right at the first intersection, cross a plaza, then turn left again to see the restaurant's main entrance, which was easy to identify with a party banner hanging on it.

As twilight fell, the campus lights were not yet on. Murphy followed Gal's directions—left, right, then left again—but still couldn't find the restaurant.

Retracing his steps to the plaza, Murphy found a slightly elevated spot to look around but still saw nothing.

"It seems I took the wrong path." He realized this and turned towards the right, where he had seen a young woman approaching, appearing to be a UCLA student.

"Excuse me," Murphy approached and asked proactively, "Could you tell me how to get to Restaurant One?"

The girl turned to look at Murphy, curious, "You're going to Restaurant One?"

Murphy nodded slightly, his gaze briefly scanning the girl's face. She had a bit of a Nordic look, with high cheekbones and deep-set eyes, quite beautiful, her striking blonde hair pinned up at the back, accentuating her sculpted features.

"I'm heading there too."

Inside the campus, the girl felt safe and said, "Follow me."

"Thank you," Murphy replied, following her down a cobblestone path.

"You're welcome." The girl smiled back at him and asked, "Are you going to that celebration party?"

"Yes," Murphy responded as they walked, "You're a member of the film society?"

"No, I'm just invited." The blonde girl led Murphy around a bend, pointing beyond a row of palm trees, "The restaurant is just over there."

The two maintained a respectful distance as they walked towards it. Murphy introduced himself, "I'm Murphy Stanton, from California."

"Murphy Stanton?" The girl seemed to recognize the name, furrowing her brow before a look of surprise crossed her face, "You're not the Hollywood Murphy Stanton, are you?"

"As far as I know," Murphy shrugged, "there isn't a second one."

Though the girl wasn't overly excited, she smiled happily, "Oh, oh, oh, I never expected to meet a famous Hollywood director here."

Murphy smiled politely, "May I know your name, miss?"

"Oh, sorry." The girl, clearly well-educated, quickly introduced herself, "I'm Elizabeth Holmes, from Palo Alto, California."

"Pleasure to meet you," Murphy responded graciously.

"I'm also pleased to meet such a Hollywood director," Elizabeth Holmes said.

By then, they had reached the restaurant's entrance.

Just as they arrived, Gal Gadot hurried over, looking slightly anxious, "Why did it take you so long to get here? Did you get lost?"

"You guessed right," Murphy admitted with a helpless gesture, "I did get lost."

He turned to introduce, "This is Miss Elizabeth Holmes, she led me here."

"Thank you," Gal Gadot expressed her gratitude and introduced herself, "I'm Gal Gadot, a member of the film society. You must be Moson's cousin, right?"

"Hello," Elizabeth Holmes replied with a smile, "I happened to be on a business trip to Los Angeles and accepted Moson's invitation."

She pointed inside, "I won't keep you any longer; I'll head in."

As she walked into the restaurant, Elizabeth Holmes glanced back at Murphy.

"Let's go in too," Gal Gadot, linking arms with Murphy, led him inside, "I told them you'd just make an appearance and answer a few questions privately, nothing more."

Murphy tilted his head and kissed

 her gently, "I'll follow your lead tonight."

Having come here, he certainly wouldn't let Gal Gadot face any awkwardness.

Yet the reality was beyond Murphy's expectations. As soon as he entered the party venue, before he could grasp what was happening, someone shouted 'Murphy is here', and the order of the party completely broke down. A crowd surrounded him, and if not for a few leaders of the film society blocking the way, it might have turned chaotic.

Murphy had not anticipated being so popular in a university.

Unable to stay normally inside the restaurant, and not knowing what might happen next, Gal Gadot, a bit upset by the commotion which could have hurt Murphy, decisively pulled him into a nearby rest room.

"If I had known it would be like this," she leaned against the door, seemingly scared, "I would have never let you come."

"Hey, dear, calm down," Murphy approached and embraced her, "I've faced far more complicated and chaotic situations than this."

During the promotion following his film releases, such scenarios were common.

A persistent knocking sounded at the door. Gal Gadot leaned against it, showing no intention of opening, until a boy's voice came through, "Gal, it's me, John, just me alone."

Murphy patted Gal Gadot's shoulder, and with a pout, she moved aside to open the door.

A brown-haired boy entered, quickly apologizing, "Sorry, Director Stanton, we didn't expect this to happen."

"It's okay." Murphy, not minding since it involved Gal Gadot's classmates, shook his head, "I appreciate your enthusiasm."

The boy sheepishly scratched his head, "It's my fault for not managing better, Director Stanton..."

Murphy raised his hand to interrupt, "Call me Murphy."

Though polite, Murphy had no intention of venturing back into the restaurant without proper security, unlike during a film promotion.

As Murphy chatted casually with John, the film society leader, he gradually realized that in the era of information explosion, even directors, who mostly stayed behind the scenes, were becoming recognized. The situation where big directors, especially popular ones, were unknown was changing. Publicity for films was evolving to highlight the directors prominently.

"Is he really that popular among you?"

In the restaurant, Elizabeth Holmes looked towards the rest room and asked her cousin Moson, "You all act like you're crazy about him."

"You haven't seen 'Deadpool' and 'Gone Girl,' have you?" Seeing his cousin nod, Moson exclaimed, "One is madly adorable, the other maddeningly fascinating, Murphy's style is just so unique."

He emphatically raised a thumb, "Among Hollywood directors under forty, Murphy's ability and income are definitely number one! He's the perfect idol for those of us dreaming of making movies!"

Elizabeth Holmes ignored the rest of Moson's words, remembering only one, "Income is also number one?"

"Absolutely!" Knowing a bit due to his classmate's relationship, Moson quickly added, "I saw it from authoritative media, his early films all had a base salary of around four million dollars plus a certain percentage of box office returns. In 'Deadpool,' it's said he made close to twenty million dollars just from North American box office shares, plus he owned a quarter of the total investment. The film made nearly 600 million at the box office, can you imagine how much he made from that?"

Hearing Moson's words, Elizabeth Holmes pondered.

"Are you interested in him?" Moson gossiped, "Planning to pursue him? He has a girlfriend."

"I'm not as trivial as you think," Elizabeth Holmes waved dismissively, "I'm going to talk to Murphy Stanton."

Moson curiously asked, "About what?"

Elizabeth Holmes shook her head and didn't reply, heading straight towards the rest room.

Inside, Murphy was still polite to Gal Gadot's classmates, "John, if you have any questions, you can ask me here; I'd rather not go back out."

"Okay, okay..." John was visibly excited as he stood up, "I'll go tell the others."

Murphy nodded to him, and after saying goodbye to a couple of people, John left the rest room.

No sooner had he left than the door was knocked on again. Gal Gadot looked at Murphy, stood up, and went to open the door.

"Hi, Gal." A blonde girl waved at her with a smile, "We meet again."

Gal Gadot naturally remembered her, "Hello, Miss Holmes."

"Call me Liz," Elizabeth Holmes courteously asked, "Is Murphy here?"

"In here," Gal Gadot, curious but stepping aside, let Elizabeth Holmes in, who added, "I have something I want to discuss with Murphy."

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