From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Los Angeles, the City of Sound.

Early in the morning, birds flew onto branches, singing cheerfully. The rush hour traffic hadn't fully surged yet, only occasionally catching the roar of engines speeding by, which only made the world seem even more peaceful.

"Hey, Harry, did you spend another night here? Is Anson still working through the night?"

"Get lost!"

Facing the probing of his colleagues, Harry-Pacey only offered a finger, the one right in the middle, which made the paparazzi who had just arrived on the scene laugh and start to clamor.

"Come on, Harry, how long have Anson and his little dwarves been here? Two weeks? Three weeks? They're practically growing mold inside. All of Hollywood knows. Sharing some information isn't a big deal."

"Exactly, exactly. Is their recording going smoothly? Any big fights? A barrage of insults would also work, or maybe someone slammed the door and left?"

"Didn't they spend another all-nighter in there last night?"

A torrent of noisy complaints poured out.

Harry rolled his eyes, not hiding his annoyance.

"Anson is no longer in the City of Sound."

Huh?

In an instant, the world fell silent, as if someone had pressed the mute button. One by one, they all looked at Harry with stunned faces.

"I said, Anson has left, not just the City of Sound, he's left Los Angeles. I tried to follow him last night, but I was shaken off."

Half true, half false—

Last night, Anson left Los Angeles, and Harry did secretly tail him. Deception is part of the game. He agreed to help Anson deceive the other paparazzi, but he didn't agree not to ask about Anson's whereabouts himself.

The result?

The result was being stopped by two traffic police officers, supposedly to check for drunk driving, but Harry swore he saw a car pass him, and it was clearly Edgar; moreover, Edgar exchanged a glance with the two traffic police officers.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Damn it!

Harry absolutely refused to admit that he, as a paparazzi, had been outsmarted.

Illusory and real, true and false.

Harry knew that if he told the truth, these colleagues wouldn't believe him. Each and every one of them was shrewd. The more he said Anson had left Los Angeles, the more these people would firmly believe that Anson was still in Los Angeles.

Look—

"Tch."

"We'd believe that when pigs fly."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

The inherently suspicious paparazzi's first reaction was that Harry was using a diversion tactic, trying to shift their attention so that Harry could further grasp Anson's exclusive movements.

Harry looked calm, shrugged his shoulders, "If you don't believe me, you can search the City of Sound yourself. Anson and the band members are gone. They said they needed to clear their heads and rest for a while."

The truth was laid out like this.

But no one believed it.

"Then why are you still here?"

"They went out to gather inspiration, why didn't you follow?"

"Did they leave separately, or did they leave together?"

A barrage of questions.

But Harry wasn't going to answer. He just needed to wrangle with these colleagues.

Now Harry understood Anson's words somewhat—

Teasing the paparazzi is actually quite fun.

Harry ignored his colleagues, turned on the car radio, and started listening to the broadcast with relish, so much so that the other paparazzi looked at each other.

Harry couldn't help but wonder, where is Anson now?

… …

Portland.

Anson is in Portland.

In fact, Anson hadn't gone far. He was just in Oregon, above California, shaking off the tails, shaking off the flies, and the world was quiet again.

Originally, Edgar was going to arrange an assistant for Anson. Now that Anson's career had taken off, and because of the exposure from "Spider-Man", the handling of daily chores was becoming more and more difficult, and an assistant was urgently needed.

Some time ago, Anson stayed in the recording studio day and night, and didn't need an assistant for the time being; but now that he's back in the actor's position, the assistant can come in handy.

However, Anson refused—

From all indications, Gus didn't like having too large an entourage; plus, the other actors in "Elephant" were all ordinary middle school students. It would be a bit strange if Anson suddenly showed up with an assistant.

Since it's an independent film, then cooperate with the crew to be independent to the end.

So, Anson embarked on the journey alone.

Since promoting "Spider-Man", Anson hadn't breathed the fresh air of freedom for a long, long time. His daily life was surrounded by bustling crowds. It was a long-awaited return to being alone—

Enlightening.

Those noises, those commotions gradually disappeared, and his shoulders also felt lighter.

Portland, the city streets are filled with an atmosphere of cold detachment. Whether it's the wide streets, the low buildings, or the city style that has remained in the 1970s, everything seems to be distancing itself.

Involuntarily, Anson speculated about the reason why Gus chose to shoot this film in Portland.

Could it be because of this temperament?

Seemingly vast and spacious, it actually pulls the relationships between people apart. The invisible coldness and repression silently surround everyone.

Of course, it's also possible that Anson himself has preconceived notions. He's just a tourist now, and the impression of a quick glance is often false.

So, Anson deliberately slowed down his pace, browsing the city streets in detail. At the end of the city wander, he finally arrived at the filming location of the film—

A middle school.

It's just an ordinary middle school. Students are running around on the playground and in the corridors. The noise during recess is similar among teenagers all over the world.

Groups of two or three, each forming their own cliques. A group of beautiful girls are studying their outfits. The athletes coming and going constantly size them up and whistle. The bookworms holding books and heading to the library across the playground try their best to hide their figures. Under the shade of the trees in the corner of the playground, you can see a group of excellent students discussing math problems. The mischievous troublemakers who are laughing and chasing alarm the birds and sparrows along the way, bursting out with exaggerated laughter as they roar past…

A few strokes have already outlined a daily scene of middle school.

The "Elephant" crew will conduct on-location shooting in this ordinary middle school; at the same time, most of the students appearing in the film will also come from here—

Shooting a feature film in the style of a documentary.

This is a brand new attempt. Just imagining it makes Anson excited.

Then, Anson noticed a figure.

Obediently carrying a schoolbag, trying to avoid the crowded areas as much as possible, quietly crossing the playground, walking towards the classroom. He seemed a little cautious, constantly looking around, looking at those figures running and laughing wantonly with some vigilance and envy, but his steps never slowed down, passing by in a hurry.

Wait, that's…

Could it be a hallucination?

A surge of joy surged up, and Anson quickly chased after him.

"Jack!"