From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The air was slightly quiet.

Too quiet, in fact, it was abnormal.

“…Oh, Anson.”

The physical therapist, who had just entered, saw the scene before her with a glance. Anyone with working eyes could sense the subtle tension in the air.

However, before she could stop herself, the words slipped out.

Anson turned his head, feigning composure.

The physical therapist hesitated slightly, "Do you need me to leave? I can come back later?"

Why bring up what shouldn't be brought up!

Anson's throat felt a little itchy, but he stood his ground, "If you leave now, it'll make something out of nothing. I'm not sure if that counts as helping."

"So, I think it's better if you stay. Coincidentally, my time is up, we should be leaving."

A small jest successfully defused the crisis, and the subtle atmosphere became light again.

The physical therapist was slightly stunned: Could it be that she was just eager to find a partner, so she saw romance everywhere? Maybe Anson and Annie were not having any affair.

Anson had already regained his composure, casually and effortlessly managing to mislead another person.

Anson turned to look at Annie, "I'm going to buy a coffee, do you want one too? Or are you not supposed to have too much caffeine right now?"

Everything, perfect.

Annie was still a little restrained and shy, not daring to look the physical therapist in the eye, she cleared her throat, "Orange juice? Do they have orange juice in the hospital?"

"Please, the hospital only has orange juice, okay? I'm already tired of orange juice."

Anson chattered on ahead, Annie followed closely behind, the two of them left the treatment room one after the other.

The two people left in the room looked at each other, finally someone broke the silence, "So, did something actually happen just now, or not?"

Outside, Anson and Annie's pace gradually quickened.

They didn't forget that this was a hospital, no running or shouting, and other patients were resting, so the two of them tiptoed lightly and quickly, trying to keep their voices as low as possible.

They didn't stop until they left the ward area, slipped into the stairwell, then broke into a jog, burst out of the building, and returned to the outdoor lawn, their steps could no longer be controlled, running faster and faster, laughter bursting from their throats, eventually evolving into a simple and pure joy.

Everything, as if returning to childhood.

No reason, just running; no reason needed, yet enough happiness.

Happiness, used to be so simple.

Running and running, until they couldn't feel oxygen in their chests, until their lungs were surging with heat, until their bodies began to tire, then they stopped.

Looking at each other, without any reason, they burst into unrestrained laughter, as if they had just experienced the funniest, most absurd, and most thrilling moment in the world.

Perhaps, calming down and coming back to their senses, they would realize their own foolishness and silliness, but it was precisely at such moments that people were willing to believe that life still held infinite possibilities.

Occasionally, a little silliness is actually quite good.

Huff, huff.

Annie gasped for breath, supporting her knees with her hands, looking at Anson in front of her, her smile blooming, her eyes bright, exuding a sunny aura from head to toe, just standing there made it impossible to look away.

She knew that recently, Anson's world had also been turned upside down.

The outside world, a scene of noise and chaos, Sony Columbia or the paparazzi, their existence was only adding to the trouble, like leeches, waiting to absorb all the benefits from Anson, then unhesitatingly abandon Anson and look for the next target.

However, that wasn't all, the internal world was also completely disordered.

Anson's back injury was far more serious and difficult than it appeared on the surface; but Anson had to race against time, recovering from the injury was already a challenge, Anson also needed to go a step further, restore his agility and ability, and after returning to the crew, he would have to continue scaling walls.

Moreover, he would have to face the test of the wires again.

Now Sony Columbia was watching closely from the side, they hadn't relaxed their vigilance, and might even be preparing to counterattack at any time, completely reversing the situation.

One hypothesis was that Anson refused to perform action scenes himself due to "injury", Sony Columbia would have to provide support, and they wouldn't refuse.

But behind the scenes, they could play the victim, pretending to be innocent and helpless, implying openly and secretly that Anson was using this scheme to extort and threaten Sony Columbia, putting Sony Columbia under the wheels for public execution, and after fighting for his rights, revealing the true face of a big star.

Little by little, as long as Sony Columbia continued to compromise, they would be able to pull the producers, directors, and film company executives to their side, and even completely reverse the current public opinion.

At that time, perhaps Anson would still not lack invitations for film projects, but the difficulty of managing his network of relationships in Hollywood would become very, very difficult, especially those reputations, once a stereotype is formed it is difficult to reverse—

For powerful actors, there is always strength to pave the way, Jim Carrey is like this; but for pretty faces, it is another story.

It was because of this that Anson's rehabilitation was particularly focused and even more diligent.

On the surface, Anson looked relaxed and carefree, completely in control of Sony Columbia, and undoubtedly became the biggest winner of the entire news event.

But in fact, Anson was walking on thin ice.

The road to the peak has always been like this, thorns and bumps are everywhere, and a little carelessness may lead to destruction; at that time, no one will remember Anson's existence at all.

In the past twenty days, in places that reporters and the masses could not see, how much sweat and hardship Anson had paid, and how many nights he tossed and turned in pain, finally overcoming the pain and regaining control of his body, no one knew.

Including Annie, she only saw the tip of the iceberg.

At this moment, seeing Anson's bright and radiant smile again.

Annie finally understood why Anson's brow always hid a trace of vicissitudes and gloom in the brightness, like a grand masterpiece, she just wanted to calm down and read it carefully and earnestly.

Then, Annie shouted, "When are you planning to return to the crew?"

Anson smiled wantonly, "In your opinion, I've already fully recovered, right?"

Annie's heart tightened, could it be… not yet?

Anson waved his hand, "No, it's just Luca, you know these older brothers, they always think too much, he still treats me like a child, threatening the doctor, demanding that the doctor let me continue to rehabilitate and recuperate for a while, he doesn't care about filming or acting at all."

Annie smiled knowingly, "Yes, I understand."

Anson, "The day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow I'm going to return to the set. Originally, I was hoping to go back the day before yesterday, a few days earlier than scheduled, to surprise everyone, it's all Luca's fault."

Annie also laughed heartily, "Then you were just playing rogue in the treatment room?"

Anson widened his eyes, "Didn't you say you didn't see anything? I didn't expect you to be this kind of Annie, I'm really disappointed."

Looking at Anson shaking his head and sighing, Annie's mood also brightened up—

Growing up, long and painful, but they will eventually be able to persevere, right?