Two days later, on January 15th, Adriaan informed Claude. In order to prevent possible eavesdropping, he specifically asked Claude out and revealed the date at a cafe he used to frequent.
"January 17th, in the early hours of the morning," he said straightforwardly after sitting down.
"Got it." Claude also only said a short sentence. He picked up his coffee and drank it in one gulp before leaving.
He didn't ask for the source of the information, nor did he verify the authenticity of the information, nor did he raise any doubts. This was because he had promised Adriaan. This was called trust, and this was the friendship of best friends.
Well, everything was ready. However, after the meeting and returning home, Adriaan welcomed an unexpected person — the financial consultant who took care of his assets was also his personal accountant, Leggett Maxier.
Leggett had been serving Adriaan's father since a long time ago. For decades, he had always been loyal to his father. Other than the godfather and Claude, Leggett was undoubtedly one of the people Adriaan could trust wholeheartedly. His position was even higher than Wilson Gardner, the private lawyer who had also been serving Adriaan's father for a long time.
"What you're doing is very inappropriate, Mr. Adriaan." As soon as Leggett sat down, he took out several financial statements and pushed them in front of Adriaan. Then, he spoke in a business-like tone.
"Just call me Eide, Uncle Leggett." Adriaan smiled bitterly and rubbed the sides of his head. Generally speaking, when Leggett spoke in such a tone, it meant that he had a very important and unpleasant opinion to share. Although it was Adriaan's business whether he listened or not, it was his business whether he said it or not.
Leggett didn't say anything, but he frowned slightly.
"I know what you want to say, Uncle Leggett. I have my own considerations." It was obvious why Leggett was here. Adrian tried to sound sincere. He did not want to lose this excellent and loyal accountant.
"I'll be straightforward, Eide. You've invested too much, and the risk is too great. If you're not careful, you might capsize. Yes, Claude is very good at this, but you are not cut out for this. " Although his words were very merciless, from the change in the way he addressed him, it was obvious that Leggett had no ill intentions.
"I know, Uncle Leggett. I know it's risky, so I gave Krau full authority." Adriaan made a gesture to strengthen his tone. "I need to accumulate funds quickly."
"There are many ways to quickly accumulate funds, but you chose the most dangerous path."
"But this is also the fastest and most profitable path, as long as I win!"
Adriaan took a deep breath and looked seriously at Leggett, who was sitting in front of him. "It's been almost a year, Uncle Leggett. You should be able to see that I've changed. I've wasted too much time and money. I just want to get it back! I know what I'm doing, and I know what I want. Even if it's this gamble, I still have some leeway. Why haven't I had much interaction with you for an entire year? Because I want to prove myself. I want to prove that I'm no longer the ignorant, young and frivolous Adriaan. I have my own goals and what I want to do! I know you care about me, Uncle Leggett. I'm very grateful, but I need your support now! "
Leggett didn't speak for a long time. He just stared at Adriaan with a sharp gaze. After a long time, he stood up and bowed slightly. "I understand, Eide. Then, as you wish!"
With a sigh of relief in his heart, Adriaan stood up and stretched out his hand. "Thank you, Uncle Leggett!"
"I'll take care of everything for you. If there's anything you need, please let me know," Leggett said solemnly, shaking his hand.
A smile rippled across Adriaan's face. He had originally planned to talk to Leggett after this matter was over. That would be more persuasive. According to Adriaan's memory, his financial adviser was not only flexible but also very rigorous and meticulous when dealing with things. He didn't like to joke like Wilson either. It would take some effort to convince such a person.
Unexpectedly, he took the initiative to come to him now. Fortunately, Adriaan had done a lot of preparatory work before. His image of being dispirited and reinvigorated also added a lot of points to him, and he finally won the other party's support. This meant that his cheap father — well, from the perspective of the small part of his soul, he wasn't exactly a cheap father — left him with a small group of people.
Now, all that was left was to wait for the US military to launch an attack. The pressure was undoubtedly huge for Adriaan. Even the rationality and calmness he was most proud of after his rebirth did not work for a moment. His daily work efficiency was extremely low. Fortunately, this pressure didn't last too long. Two days later, in the early morning of January 17, the six US aircraft carrier groups and multinational forces gathered in the Persian Gulf launched an air strike on Dumb Tree.
Adriaan let out a long sigh, and then … continued to bury himself in the post-production, no longer paying attention to it. Yes, this was just the beginning. The final result would not be known until the war was over, but since he had given full authority to Claude, he might as well let him do it. At most, he would inform him in half a month when the end of the war would be so that he could clear the goods in advance. As for the world being shocked by the war … What did that have to do with him?
In the next ten days or so, Adriaan resumed his previous life. During working hours, he would do the post-production in the editing room. During his break, he would write something at home, do some exercise, and at the same time, he would coax Kate over the phone. Watching "Memory Fragment" take shape in his hands, a feeling of excitement welled up in him. Although this feeling wasn't as satisfying as Kate moaning under him, and although what the movie brought him was far from what he needed, it was undoubtedly helping him climb towards his goal step by step.
Compared to the indifferent Adriaan, Laffern was much more worried. He was worried that this year's Berlin Film Festival would be canceled because of the war in the Persian Gulf. If that was the case, he would have to rearrange the promotional work for his new movie.
"Don't worry, Laffer. This year's Berlin Film Festival will definitely not be canceled. Just wait and see!" Adriaan comforted him several times. In his memory, the 1991 Berlin Film Festival was held as scheduled.
In fact, even if he couldn't remember whether it was canceled or not, looking at the current situation, he knew that it was impossible. Germany was finally unified in October last year, and the Berlin Wall was torn down in November. How could West Germany let go of this opportunity to show off to East Germany?
Of course, this had nothing to do with Adriaan. There was only one purpose for participating in the Berlin Film Festival — publicity!
…
Following a roar, the image finally lit up. A man with a gun pointed at his head turned his head and yelled as if he wanted to do something. But after a gunshot, he fell to the ground, and dark red blood splattered everywhere. Following that, the face of a decadent man with a messy beard appeared in the camera. He looked at the dead man with an indifferent gaze, then threw away the pistol and took out a Polaroid to snap the image.
The camera quickly spat out the photo. The man took the photo in front of his face and shook it. After a few seconds, he shook it again. After doing this several times, the image of the photo was finally revealed. Following that, the camera suddenly flashed and turned into black and white. Following that, the tired and confused eyes of the man who fired the shot were revealed.
Where am I? In a hotel room? The voice-over sounded in his mind.
In the next few minutes, the man who fired the shot was sitting on the bed in the motel room, expressing his confusion and confusion in a roundabout way.
Whispers could be heard in the cinema. The audience was obviously confused. Why did he suddenly jump into a motel room after killing someone? Well, this could be considered a suspense set by the director, but why did the image turn into black and white? Before they could finish thinking, the man in the camera had already finished expressing his confusion. Then, the image changed back to color.
"This person, have you seen him before?" The man placed the photo in front of the window and asked the person inside.
The person in the photo was obviously the person he killed at the beginning. Then, this person walked in from outside and greeted the male lead warmly. It seemed like they had a good relationship.
This immediately attracted the audience. Since the two of them had a good relationship, why did the male lead kill him? Also, from the lines, the male lead seemed to have some kind of illness, which seemed to be related to his memory.
Very soon, after the two of them chatted for a while, they came to an abandoned house in the suburbs. The male lead who entered the house first took out a photo from his clothes. It was a photo of the man. When he flipped it over, the words were written on the back: Don't be fooled by him anymore. It's him. Kill him!
"How long have I been looking for you?" The male lead mumbled. Then, when the man was not paying attention, he knocked him down and dragged him inside. Then, he pointed a gun at the man's head.
"I finally found you. Repent to my wife, b * stard," the male lead said.
However, the man did not show much panic. Instead, he laughed at the fact that he did not even know who he was and that he had to rely on the photo to remember everything. At the same time, he encouraged the man to go to the basement with him because there was a truth that he did not know.
The male lead seemed to believe him, but the man named Teddy suddenly started to struggle. So, without hesitation, the male lead pulled the trigger, and there was a bang.
The camera turned again, and the image became black and white again. It returned to the previous situation of the male lead in the hotel. At the same time, the voice-over in his mind rang out, It's just a normal room, and the drawers are empty …
The audience whispered again. They did not understand what the director was trying to say. Why did the image change from black and white to color? Why did the plot break so much?
However, compared to the previous time, the whispers were much softer. Some people could more or less see the gist of it. Moreover, there was a lot of suspense left in the plot. For example, what was the male lead's illness? Teddy was very familiar with him and knew about his condition. Why did the male lead insist on killing him? What had happened to his wife? All these were enough to attract the audience to continue watching.
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