Global Film Emperor

Chapter 507 Afternoon Tea Time

"By the way, what grudge do you have with Sheffield? I don't recall ever hearing you mention it before."

At noon, the sun was shining brightly. Lu Ze poured himself a cup of English black tea and added some low-calorie dried fruits and vegetables. He stirred the tea bag, rotating the silver spoon clockwise along the gold rim of the cup, lightly touching the cup but making very little noise. He looked down at the barely noticeable steam rising from the black tea and asked with a hint of curiosity about Mickey Mouse, who was choosing a parent's outfit for him in the dressing room next door.

"Him? He's a complete idiot. He only had a bad temper when I was young. Now, he's nothing but a fart, the kind that doesn't even make a sound. Am I wearing something a bit too formal?"

With two stomps, Mickey came out, carrying a shoe-shining cloth. He put his left foot on the desk and diligently wiped his already not-so-dirty leather shoes with both hands. He seemed to think it was appropriate, but was also a little worried. In the end, he decided to ask Lu Ze for his opinion.

The tea was at the perfect temperature. Lu Ze picked it up and took a sip, but his gaze was scrutinizing Mickey's outfit: dark blue suit pants paired with a gray shirt and a plaid tie. The dark blue suit might have looked better with a shiny one, making it appear more casual, but unfortunately, the pure lambswool material only made it look serious and stiff.

He sighed, put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, rested his elbows on the armrests, gently rubbed his ring, and pondered his words. After a long while, he slowly uttered his answer to Mickey's question.

"You look a bit like someone who works as a boiler operator in a funeral home in that outfit."

"Get out of here! I knew you wouldn't say anything nice."

"I think you'd look better in hunting gear."

"If you skip the previous sentence and just give me the answer, I'll fucking thank you."

Mickey angrily ripped off his tie and tucked back into the dressing room. He had thought about this look for a long time and even got his hair and beard trimmed so he could be a cool dad when picking up his daughter. But Lu Ze's words had completely broken his composure. In his anger, he didn't know how to control himself and accidentally knocked something over with a loud bang, followed by a hysterical FUCK roar that made Lu Ze scratch his ear with his little finger.

However, he still listens to advice. Mickey has a good sense of aesthetics when it comes to dressing. Unless he has a stylist to help him when attending events, his everyday clothes look like a monkey compared to Lu Ze's.

"You still haven't answered my question. What grudge do you have against the director of 'The Decameron'?"

"He's a pervert, you know? A total workplace psychopath."

The answer was rather subtle, and Lu Ze couldn't help but narrow his eyes. Although he didn't quite believe that someone could ignore handsome men and beautiful women and instead have designs on someone like Mickey, who was of average appearance, he still asked gossipily, "Is he gay?"

"Get the hell out of here! What the hell are you thinking?"

Upon hearing this, Mickey couldn't sit still any longer. He opened the door, and a head popped out from behind it, pointing at him and answering righteously. He was probably still shirtless.

"I can guarantee he likes women, and so do I. I've had several girlfriends, slept with countless women, and even have a daughter. Don't you dare try to slander me."

"You said it yourself."

"Bullshit! Being a pervert doesn't just refer to a special fetish in that area. Besides, being gay is perfectly normal. It's completely different from being a pervert. You can say that to me, but saying it outside will get you into trouble."

"When did I discriminate against gay people? Don't I have enough gay friends? I just thought he was the kind of old man who likes to wear pink thongs to work and wants to show them off to you. You've seen people like that before."

"Shut up! Don't use such vivid imagery, it makes me want to vomit!"

The conversation stopped, presumably because Mickey was trying to swallow the food he had just finished eating at noon. Then, the sound of clothes being shaken off came from the dressing room. After a while, Mickey continued his story.

"Sheffield is the kind of person who likes to put a lot of mental pressure on people, especially people he doesn't like. If someone he hates works under him, it's absolutely unlucky. You guessed it, that unlucky guy was me. Actually, if you don't like someone's personality or flaws, that's fine. But do you know what I hate most about him? He discriminates against Asians."

"Oh, okay, I'm starting to hate him too."

"But he's smart and never expresses his discrimination directly. Otherwise, I could have legitimately given him a 'canthoplasty'. He always liked to express his discrimination through his eyes and tone of voice. That year, I had just graduated from university. Because of my poor grades, I attended a third-rate film school, and it was very difficult to find a job. Let alone Hollywood, it was hard to find a job even in the UK. I finally found a company, Lawrence's company, to work as a production assistant. It was my bad luck to encounter such a stupid boss and a stupid director on set."

“You know how it feels to have no other choice, Lu Ze. After I left this company, no other British film and television company wanted me. At the time, I was dating Elizabeth and hadn’t considered other countries, so I could only endure it and listen to his endless nagging every day: ‘You can’t do this job, Mickey! You’re not cut out for it! Go find another job! Don’t even think about being a director anymore, you’re not cut out for it! Do I look alright in this outfit?’” He walked out and circled in front of Lu Ze. Perhaps because of the unpleasantness of the past, he subconsciously picked up the cigarette pack, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, but immediately thought of what he was going to do next. So he crumpled the cigarette into a ball and threw it into the trash can, and then stuffed a piece of dried radish into his mouth and chewed it.

“It’s better than the suit you wore before. Go on.”

"This stuff is really not good, it's not sweet at all. Sigh, back then I dreamed of going to Hollywood. I even bought the plane ticket once but then quietly canceled it. I thought that going to Hollywood would make me a star, and I doubted myself. I couldn't even do well with this small company in the UK, how could I survive in a place like Hollywood? So I continued to endure it until one day I finally couldn't take it anymore and we argued. We almost came to blows. I was going to drill a hole in his forehead with an electric drill, but luckily I didn't. I just went to the union to complain, and then Lawrence just assigned me to another film crew."

"Thank goodness you didn't lay a hand on me, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to make a living in this industry."

"Yes, but do you know what I'm even more grateful for?"

"what?"

"I'm so glad I didn't go to Hollywood. Less than a week after I switched film crews, Elizabeth told me she was pregnant. From that moment on, I was so glad I didn't go to Hollywood. If I had gone then, and things had gone well, given my arrogance back then, I probably would have taken some opioids to satisfy my cravings. If not, I'd probably be rotting in the black community, smoking some cheap drugs like Widow or Hot Girl. What's worse, if I had actually taken Elizabeth to the US and gotten hooked on that stuff, even if I could protect her, what if Fanny was deformed or mentally challenged? I'd probably want to die."

"You should really be grateful, buddy."

"Yes, that's why I've always felt that my child is a gift from God, guiding me on the path I should take. And without realizing it, I've become able to shoulder more responsibilities. Oh, it's two o'clock. I should go pick up my little one from school. Here I am, give me the car keys."

After handing the car keys to Mickey, he skipped away, carrying the toys he had prepared for his daughter. Unfortunately, perhaps because the father and daughter hadn't spent enough time together, Mickey's memory was hazy, or perhaps time had passed too quickly, causing Mickey to forget that his daughter was now in middle school.

Regardless, Lu Ze didn't think that a twelve-year-old girl would be interested in limited edition McDonald's toys or Barbie dolls. In fact, the pink boxing gloves that Mickey gave Fanny when she got into a fight at school were more appropriate than these toys back then.

Lu Ze could only hope that this girl, who should have become a child star but was forced back to school by her mother and had much more experience than her peers, could understand her father's feelings and give Mickey a way out.

After finishing his black tea and eating most of the vegetables and dried fruit, he turned his head and looked at Mickey's desk. The photo of the father and daughter on the desk was shining brightly in the perfect sunlight. Lu Ze couldn't help but smile. He picked up a cigar lighter and gently lit the cigar tobacco until the aroma dissipated, then rolled the cigar clockwise to light it.

He would put it in his mouth, take a puff, but not in his lungs. It was precisely because it didn't require inhalation that cigars gradually replaced tobacco and became Lu Ze's daily staple. Although it was still not very healthy, it was at least better than cigarettes and could satisfy Lu Ze's little quirk of liking to smoke something while he was thinking.

Carrying a teacup downstairs, I tossed it into the dishwasher on the first floor. I could hear Kesha snoring loudly in his office. Just as I stepped out of the dishwashing room, I saw a white man in his twenties standing at the mailroom door, talking to Old Gil about something.

"Are you alright?"

As the old headquarters, this place has become a club for the film staff of Universal Brothers. You rarely see unfamiliar faces here. Considering the invitation that Universal Brothers has sent out recently, Lu Ze has a general idea of ​​what's going on.

The young man turned around, and upon seeing Lu Ze, his face lit up with surprise. He ran towards Lu Ze at almost a jog pace, shook hands with him, and began to introduce himself.

"Hello Mr. Lu, I am Doyle Griezmann, director of Paranormal Activity. It is an honor to meet you."

This is a very typical German surname, but the cheekbones and nose bridge are not excessively high, much softer than those of Germans. The person is quite tall, slightly taller than Lu Ze, and has wider shoulders, so he is most likely of mixed race. This is not a pointless guess, but there is no need to seek the real answer as soon as you meet him.

As a multinational company, Universal Brothers has always treated all races equally. However, by analyzing the other party's race as much as possible, it is possible to avoid some jokes that are not suitable for a relaxed atmosphere, or to lean towards the jokes that they like, so as to more quickly close the distance between each other.

After all, the best way to respect someone's customs is definitely not to apologize after making an inappropriate joke, but to never make such a joke in the first place. This applies even in China.

“Mr. Griezmann, of course I know. Universal Brothers welcomes you. This way, please.”

For this talent whom Mickey thought the company would need and who seemed to have a good impression of him, Lu Ze didn't choose the standard eight-tooth smile. A hearty laugh showing four more teeth would have been more appropriate. As soon as he shook hands, Lu Ze didn't immediately withdraw his palm. Instead, he gently placed his hand below Mickey's shoulder, on his triceps, while his other hand, palm facing the steps, pointed him in the right direction.

"..."

(End of this chapter)