novellhall Chapter 346 Meeting the Ex
Chapter 346 Meeting the Ex
Chapter 345 Meeting the Ex
"Brother Chen Xun, look at this picture. We took it at the Great Wall. You closed your eyes back then!"
"And this one, MaiMai took it for us, you look so handsome in your spacesuit!"
Once on the plane, Ellie held the photo album, looking at it over and over again, and would occasionally huddle up to Chen Xun and chatter incessantly.
Chen Xun leaned back in his seat, watching the little girl's excited expression, smiling and responding, occasionally correcting her newly learned Chinese pronunciation.
For the past two weeks, Ellie has been on set and her Chinese has improved rapidly; daily communication is no longer a problem.
As a result, his interest in Chinese culture has grown stronger, and he keeps saying that he wants to come to China again next time.
We want to see pandas and eat hot pot.
A flight of more than ten hours.
The plane landed smoothly at Los Angeles International Airport.
As soon as I stepped out of the gate, I saw Dakota waiting outside.
She was wearing a simple camel-colored trench coat. When she saw the two of them come out, she immediately greeted them with a smile. She first gave her sister a big hug and then ruffled her hair helplessly: "You've been having a blast, haven't you? I thought you were going to stay in China and not come back."
"China is so much fun!"
"Brother Chen Xun took me to so many places, and I even filmed a movie there!"
"Even Director Guo praised my acting!"
Ellie hugged her sister, chattering away about the fun she had in China, and took out the gifts from her suitcase to show Dakota the various souvenirs she had brought back.
Dakota listened to her sister's sharing, then turned to look at Chen Xun, her eyes full of gratitude: "You've really gone to a lot of trouble, taking care of her for so long and even letting her play a cameo role."
"It was nothing, Ellie was very well-behaved and didn't cause me any trouble."
Chen Xun smiled and pushed the luggage cart out: "She also helped the crew a lot. Her cameo scenes were filmed exceptionally well. Director Guo Fan praised her for her talent."
An afternoon in Beverly Hills.
Sunlight filters through layers of greenery, casting dappled shadows on the asphalt road.
The car slowly came to a stop in front of the industrial-style single-story villa surrounded by a tall green wall.
Chen Xun's hand on the steering wheel paused slightly.
He knew this villa all too well.
Back then, he was just a newcomer working as an extra in Hollywood.
To help Christine quell the rumors about her sexual orientation, he signed an agreement to move in and lived in the second bedroom.
At the time, he regarded this place as his only foothold in Hollywood and as a passport to high-end film studios.
Now, he's back, a Golden Globe winner, holding the reins of Marvel superhero IPs, and the lead actor and co-producer of Warner Bros.' "Joker" project.
Things are wrong.
Every brick and tile of this house is etched with his awkwardness and struggles when he first entered Hollywood, and also hides the passionate yet regretful past between him and Kristen.
"Wow, is this the place?"
"My sister said you used to live here with your sister Christine!"
Ellie peered out the car window, curiously examining the villa's exterior, her eyes sparkling.
Dakota chuckled as he opened the car door and ruffled his sister's hair. "Yeah, I used to come here all the time to freeload off her."
Chen Xun turned off the engine, opened the car door, and stepped onto the stone path in front of the villa.
The evening breeze carried the familiar scent of California pine needles.
Those images sealed in my memory surged up like a tidal wave.
He could almost see Christine holding the Thor's hammer prop she brought back from the Thor set, jokingly teasing him about how he resembled someone transporting stolen money.
He was practicing armor moves in the living room with an umbrella when she laughed and called him the Asgardian Umbrella Man.
Late at night, the two sat at the dining table. She was eating pizza and helping him with lines from "2 Broke Girls," imitating Max's sarcastic tone.
That stormy night, after the shooting, she was so frightened that she couldn't sleep. He wrapped himself in a towel and went into the master bedroom to keep her company through the long night, and the next morning, the two of them joked and entangled in the morning light.
The entryway door was opened, and Christine stood in the doorway.
Her neat short hair had a few strands of light gold highlights at the ends, and she wore a simple black vest and cargo pants, but her eyes still held that unruly spirit.
The moment she looked at Chen Xun, the nonchalance in her eyes vanished instantly, leaving only a complex mix of emotions she couldn't hide.
The moment their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze.
A few steps apart, a whole year of not disturbing each other, the distance from obscurity to brilliance, the past scenes flashed before their eyes like movie clips.
Chen Xun looked at her, his throat tightening slightly. The prepared, polite greetings were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't utter a single word.
He could clearly see that Christine's eyes were gradually reddening, and those eyes, which always carried an air of arrogance, were filled with emotions that she could not hide.
"have not seen you for a long time."
Christine spoke first, her voice hoarse. She stepped aside to make way for her: "Come in, it's the same as always, not much has changed."
"have not seen you for a long time."
Chen Xun suppressed his turbulent emotions, smiled, and took the lead in walking inside.
The villa is still the same as I remember it.
The interior design features a cool gray and white industrial style, with a high ceiling and exposed cement walls.
The huge floor-to-ceiling windows face the swimming pool in the backyard, and sunlight streams in through the glass, falling onto the floor.
It's almost exactly the same as it was when he lived here a few years ago.
Where Thor's hammer used to be, there's now a record player in the corner of the living room.
As Chen Xun's gaze swept across the scene, he could almost see himself clumsily practicing his hammer swing here with an umbrella, while Christine leaned back on the sofa, laughing heartily.
The dining table is still that same long wooden table. They ate countless pizzas together here, stayed up all night rehearsing lines with the script, and opened Christmas presents together.
Even at the end of the corridor, the two doors between the second bedroom and the master bedroom are still the same as before.
He had lived in the second bedroom for more than half a year. The door was ajar, as if it could be pushed open at any moment to reveal simple luggage and walls covered with audition scripts.
"Make yourself at home. What would you like to drink? Red wine or beer?"
"Iced Coke again?"
Christine walked to the bar, turned to look at Chen Xun, and tried to sound casual, but the way she held the glass betrayed her nervousness.
"Iced cola will do."
Chen Xun smiled.
Ellie had already skipped off to the backyard to check out the pool. Dakota followed behind his sister, and as he passed Chen Xun, he winked at him and Christine, deliberately lowering his voice to say, "I'll take Ellie to the backyard to have a look. You two can chat."
After saying that, he pulled the chattering Ellie out through the glass door, leaving only Chen Xun and Christine in the large living room.
The silence in the air was amplified countless times in an instant.
Christine walked over with an iced cola and handed it to him. Her fingertips accidentally brushed against his fingers, and both of them paused slightly as if burned, then quickly withdrew their hands.
She sat down on the sofa opposite him, hugged her knees, looked up at him, her gaze lingering on his face as she looked him over carefully, and said softly, "Congratulations, Golden Globe Best Actor."
"I watched the awards ceremony on TV, and your acceptance speech was very well given."
"Thanks!"
Chen Xun held the cold Coke can: "Congratulations to you too. Your new film has received great reviews. I read the reviews, and they all say that your performance has reached a new level."
"I can't compare to you."
Christine smiled, her tone filled with pride: "I told you, you could definitely make it."
"Back when you were practicing your lines repeatedly at the dinner table with the script for '2 Broke Girls,' I knew that you would stand on the highest podium sooner or later."
A single sentence instantly brought the two of them back to the days they had spent together.