Reborn in Hollywood

Li Rui walked to another painting and stood still.

This one is bigger than the previous one, with denser paint, and looks like a blob of paint that's been spilled by a mixer.

He stared at it for a few seconds, his lips twitching slightly.

Just then, a voice came from behind.

"You don't understand, do you?"

The female voice carried a hint of mockery.

Li Rui turned his head.

A woman stood three steps away, wearing a long black dress and with long, dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders; her features were as exquisite as those in a Renaissance oil painting.

She crossed her arms, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on her lips.

Jennifer Connelly.

Li Rui was stunned for a moment.

He certainly recognized the face—a Hollywood-renowned actor, an Oscar winner, and a double academic achiever from Yale and Stanford.

Alicia in "A Beautiful Mind" made countless people remember her eyes.

But that's in the movies.

Standing before him, Jennifer Connelly's eyes held no emotion, only a condescending scrutiny.

Li Rui met her gaze.

Are you talking about me?

Is anyone else here?

Jennifer took a step forward, her gaze sweeping across his face before settling back on the painting.

"Pollock's works are not meant to be understood, but to be felt."

Her tone was casual, but the implication that "I'm teaching you" was unmistakable.

Li Rui didn't say anything.

Jennifer continued.

"Of course, for some people, experiencing this kind of thing might be too difficult."

She turned to look at Li Rui, "After all, the fact that you can stare at a painting with an expression that says a lot about how much this thing is worth already speaks volumes."

Li Rui smiled.

"Are you saying my expression while looking at the painting was off?"

"I mean, something's wrong with you as a whole."

Jennifer's voice was calm, but every word was like a knife: "Wearing a custom-made suit, standing in front of Pollock, but thinking about other things. You have no interest in art, no interest in culture, no interest in anything that can't be quantified into money."

She paused.

"A typical Hollywood nouveau riche, worthless except for a good-looking face."

Li Rui stared at her for three seconds.

Then he laughed.

"Miss Connery, do you recognize me?"

"I don't know him."

"Then what gives you the right to judge me?"

Jennifer met his gaze.

"Just look at the way you looked at the painting just now. I've seen that look on too many people's faces—they're not appreciating it, they're calculating, calculating how much the painting can sell for, how much it can appreciate in value if they buy it, calculating whether this thing can make them look like upper-class people."

She took a step forward, less than a meter away from Li Rui.

"You're not the first, and you won't be the last. But your expression is more pronounced than others, probably because—"

She looked him up and down. "You can't even be bothered to pretend."

Li Rui looked at her.

At 31, Jennifer Connelly was at the peak of her beauty and figure, with exquisitely beautiful features that were almost perfect, and a captivating quality in her deep brown eyes.

But at this moment, those eyes held undisguised contempt.

But there is no love without a reason in this world, and naturally there is no hate without a reason either.

Why would Jennifer Connelly suddenly rush up and unleash her ultimate move at point-blank range? Has she gone mad?

No, there's definitely something wrong here!

Li Rui suddenly remembered something.

A few months ago, after CK's underwear was released, Philip said something to him.

"Your boyfriend is the talk of the town among all the actresses in Hollywood."

The reason... is simply the same as Willem Duff's situation a few years later, when his penis was so large that the director had to find a body double to play the role.

The only difference is that "Green Goblin" directed the movie "Antichrist," while Li Rui directed "GG."

Li Rui hadn't taken it seriously at first.

Do you really think he could easily win over Jessica and make two young supermodels prefer to seek help rather than break up, all because of his own charm and the influence of the Force?

Of course, it's inseparable from its strong financial resources!

This point was already thoroughly proven by dozens of "romantic encounters" in the years before he entered Hollywood.

Li Rui was very clear about his strengths from the beginning, and this was a major reason why he was so determined to develop in Hollywood and believed he could succeed.

So when he re-examined the matter today, doubts arose in his mind.

He took half a step forward.

"Miss Connery, I have a question for you."

Jennifer raised an eyebrow.

"What's the problem?"

"Did you come here today to participate in an event, or did you come specifically to cause me trouble?"

Jennifer paused for a moment.

Li Rui didn't give her time to react.

"Because if it's the former, what you just said was already offensive enough. If it's the latter—"

He paused for a moment, then said, "I think it would be better if we talked somewhere else."

Jennifer stared at him for a few seconds.

Then she laughed.

That kind of laughter was completely different from the mockery he had just given.

"How about we go somewhere else?"

"right."

Jennifer thought about it.

Where do you live?

Li Rui gave an address.

Jennifer nodded and turned to leave.

After walking a few steps, she turned back and glanced at Li Rui.

"Wait for my call."

Then they disappeared into the crowd.

Li Rui stood there, watching her retreating figure.

This woman is interesting.

For the next few hours, Li Rui continued to wander around the exhibition hall.

He looked at several Pollock paintings, several Rothko paintings, and several de Kooning paintings.

Each piece made him think, "This thing can sell for tens of millions; people in the art world are really rich."

Emily accompanied him throughout, occasionally offering a brief introduction. Li Rui nodded and hummed a few times, remaining silent.

The event ended at 4 PM.

Li Rui returned to his apartment, took a shower, and sat in the living room waiting for a call.

At five o'clock, the phone rang.

It's Jennifer.

"The address hasn't changed, has it?"

"Nothing has changed."

"We'll be there in half an hour."

The phone hangs up.

Thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Li Rui opened the door.

Jennifer stood at the door, having changed into casual clothes—a white shirt, jeans, and her hair casually tied up.

The overbearing feeling from the morning was gone, replaced by something indescribable.

Li Rui stepped aside to let her in.

"What would you like to drink?"

"Water will do."

Li Rui poured a glass of water and sat down opposite her.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

Jennifer spoke first.

Do you know why I said those things to you this morning?

Li Rui shook his head, thinking to himself that Li Rui's intentions were written all over his face.

"have no idea."

Jennifer smiled.

"Because I want to see how you'll react."

Li Rui raised an eyebrow.

"That's all?"

"That's it!"

Jennifer leaned back on the sofa and looked at him.

"I saw your GG. I didn't see it on purpose. It was everywhere and I couldn't avoid it."

Li Rui didn't say anything.

Jennifer continued.

Then I discovered something.

"What is it?"

"Half of all the actresses in Hollywood are talking about that GG. You can probably guess why they're talking about it."

Li Rui's lips curled up, revealing a mocking smile.

Jennifer's smile became even wider.

"You didn't know, did you?"

Li Rui sighed.

"Know what?"

Jennifer stood up, walked up to him, and looked down at him.

"That guy's video wasn't too explicit, the problem is—"

She paused for a moment, then said, "Your size is impossible to hide even when you're wearing underwear."

Li Rui chuckled.

"so what?"

"so--"

Jennifer bent down to meet his gaze. "What I said this morning wasn't really meant to be disrespectful to you. I just wanted to see how you would react if I provoked you."

For the first time, an almost "evil" smile appeared on Li Rui's face.

"Are you fishing?"

I guess so.

"Did you catch it?"

Jennifer did not answer.

She just looked at him, and there was something indescribable in his deep brown eyes.

Li Rui stood up and took a step forward.

The distance between the two was less than ten centimeters.

"Miss Connery,"

Li Rui began, "You know what? I originally thought that coming to this event today was just a formality."

Jennifer didn't move.

"Looking at it now," Li Rui said, "this transition was quite interesting."

Jennifer smiled.

That smile was completely different from the one she had in the morning.

The next second, Li Rui raised his hand and gently pushed Jennifer Connelly, who fell onto the sofa. Li Rui wasn't worried at all about Lima and Ambrosio returning halfway through, because they had received multiple engagements today and would be busy for at least half a month.

In just a few seconds, Jennifer Connelly's expensive, seasonal luxury casual outfit had vanished.

Before she could even react, she felt as if she had been flipped over—face down, followed by a muffled groan, and then she never had the chance to utter a complete sentence again.

……

By the time Jennifer Connelly regained consciousness, it was already pitch black.

She felt weak and sore all over, and a large hand was still groping her body. So she could only muster up her last bit of strength and forcefully slap away the mischievous hand.

"Enough! Do you want to kill me? God! I'm so stupid, I'm probably the first actress in all of Hollywood to actively want to be killed by you!"

Li Rui couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Isn't this the result you wanted? Now that you've actually got it, why are you regretting it?"

Jennifer Connelly murmured, "Don't bother me, let me sleep for a while, I'm really going to die..."

Just a few seconds later, this Hollywood actress, known for her elegance, started snoring!

Although the sound was not loud.

Li Rui shook his head, thinking to himself, "You're not good enough either. What kind of skills do you have to dare to go head-to-head with me?"

The next morning, Jennifer was still asleep when sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Li Rui has woken up.

He leaned against the headboard, looking at the woman beside him.

Thirty-one-year-old Jennifer Connelly's sleeping posture was far from elegant—her hair was a mess, there was a drool mark on the corner of her mouth, one leg was on top of him, and she was wrapped around him like an octopus.

Who would have thought that this was the same Hollywood actress who stood in front of Pollock yesterday, looking down at him and calling him a "Hollywood nouveau riche"?

Li Rui gently moved her legs apart, then got up and got out of bed.

Jennifer turned over, mumbled something, and fell asleep again.

Li Rui went into the bathroom, took a shower, and changed into clean clothes.

As I came out, my phone rang on the bedside table.