Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 31: First meeting

Standing behind the cashier, the black man raised his gaze and looked at the furious Jennifer. Then, he lowered his eyes again, ignoring her.

Jennifer found the man in front of her simply unreasonable. She abandoned her plan to communicate with reason, leaned forward where she stood, extended her right hand, and directly opened the door of the freezer. The door stopped abruptly against the man's back, but that was enough. Jennifer leaned in and took out a bottle of mineral water before slamming the freezer door shut again.

Renly was completely immersed in the world of books, oblivious to what was happening outside. Suddenly, a push came from behind, and under the dual forces of gravity and propulsion, his body fell forward as if the whole world was shaking, forcibly dragging him out of the world of books.

Raising his head, Renly finally saw the stranger standing before him. Clad in a simple t-shirt and jeans, with long light golden hair braided into a fishtail, hanging over her shoulders, she looked like an ordinary girl. On her slightly chubby round face, delicate eyebrows were tangled together, and her gray-blue eyes burned with anger, glaring fiercely at Renly, almost emitting laser beams.

Quickly removing his earplugs, Renly threw a puzzled glance. "What's going on?"

Seeing Renly remove his earplugs, all of Jennifer's reprimands and condemnations got stuck in her throat. Her brows relaxed, but her pupils dilated slowly. So, was it her mistake just now? The man in front of her had earplugs, so he hadn't heard her words? So her curses just now had no effect? So he wasn't disrespecting her, he just... simply didn't hear?

Embarrassment swept over Jennifer after her anger. She felt her toes curling up. Her impulsive nature often led her to jump to conclusions without understanding the situation, which had often led her into trouble. But now, even after all this, she hadn't learned her lesson. "You..." Jennifer pointed at the earplugs in Renly's hand, but her words were swallowed up. Looking around, she noticed that the earplug wire was tucked under her collar. No wonder she hadn't seen it earlier.

Jennifer felt a bit annoyed, biting her lip. The words of apology surged to her lips, but there was a tickle in her throat, and she couldn't help but cough lightly to disguise her true feelings. Unexpectedly, this cough choked her, and she began to cough violently, which was not a pretty sight.

Renly tilted her head, capturing all the emotions in Jennifer's gray-blue eyes. Anger, regret, embarrassment, struggle, apology, shyness... those small eyes were filled with a myriad of colors, as if a mere raise of an eyebrow revealed all the thoughts in her heart, prompting people to explore the story hidden behind those lively eyes.

Jennifer Lawrence, the teenage actress who became globally famous with "The Hunger Games" series, was also a talented and spiritually gifted actress. "Silver Linings Playbook" made her the second youngest Best Actress winner in history. Although her performances seemed to be losing the agility she had when she started, she remained one of the most skilled actresses among the new generation.

Her astonishing performance in "Winter's Bone" was one of Renly's most admired performances.

Almost at first sight, Renly recognized the girl who would later be affectionately referred to by Chinese fans as "Big Sister Jennifer." However, at this moment, Jennifer was still a fledgling, with a simple attire that even carried a bit of a rural vibe. The flared jeans made her look disconnected from fashion. However, her straightforward tomboyishness remained unchanged.

"Cough..." Jennifer seemed to want to say something but ended up choking. Renly quickly took out a bottle of mineral water from the freezer behind her, opened it, and handed it over.

Watching Renly's actions, Jennifer's eyes flickered with surprise, puzzled. Renly raised the mineral water and offered a friendly smile. "I think you might need some help."

Jennifer coughed hoarsely twice, looked at the mineral water in Renly's hand, then coughed again and drank two big gulps from her own bottle, relieving her almost burning throat a bit.

Watching Jennifer's hearty gesture, Renly couldn't help but smile.

Jennifer keenly caught that smile, and once again, anger and frustration surged within her. She ground her teeth, the words of apology turning in her mouth, but she couldn't bring herself to say them. After sizing up the man in front of her, with his narrow, clear and deep eyes, shining with a hint of mischief, warmth, and a little smile, like the sunlight at three o'clock in the afternoon, languid and dazzling.

Jennifer awkwardly lowered her gaze, avoiding eye contact. She thought and thought, but she still didn't know what to say or how to explain the situation. Finally, she just "hmphed," turned around, and left straight away.

"Miss, miss!" The black man at the cashier quickly called out, stopping Jennifer, who had almost stepped out. "You have to pay before you can take it."

Jennifer ground her teeth involuntarily—she had lost count of how many times she had done this in a short period of time. Her cheeks were burning hot. She took a deep breath, turned back, quickly checked out, then picked up her mineral water, squeezing it tightly. Though it was cold on the surface, her palm began to exert force, and then more force.

All because of a bottle of mineral water!

Jennifer swiftly left the supermarket, without any hesitation in her steps.

Renly sat still, looking at the freezer door behind her and then at the spot where he had been pushed forward. He understood what had happened—he had blocked the path of the door just now, and the earplugs had become a barrier to communication between them.

Renly knew it was his mistake. He stood up with a roll of his body. From afar, he saw Jennifer leaving the supermarket, and it was too late to catch up. He called out, "Sorry," his voice echoing in the empty space, startling the surrounding area.

In her line of sight, Jennifer's footsteps not only didn't stop but also accelerated, disappearing around the corner.

Renly absentmindedly touched his neck and chuckled lightly. Then he sat down again, picking up "The Lies" that had fallen on the ground. He habitually picked up the earplugs but only plugged in the right ear. Then he took them out, not only to avoid a repeat of the situation just now but also to avoid missing any announcements at the airport.

That was just a little incident. Renly quickly immersed himself in the world of books again, and time passed quickly. The boarding announcement for the flight to New York came, and Renly finally heard it. He packed up his luggage, walked quickly towards the boarding gate.

After completing the boarding procedures, he quickly entered the cabin—due to being too engrossed earlier, he was among the last passengers to enter the cabin, and most of the others had already taken their seats.

Renly opened the overhead luggage compartment, threw his carry-on luggage in, and was about to sit down when he caught sight of a face, none other than Jennifer Lawrence, whom he had just encountered! Unexpectedly, she was also heading to New York!

Renly was about to walk over to clarify the misunderstanding and express his apology face-to-face, but before his actions could catch up with his thoughts, he saw Jennifer spreading a newspaper completely covering her face. She even let go of her hands, letting the newspaper dangle on her cheek as she lay back on her seat, falling asleep.

This small gesture made Renly chuckle silently. Obviously, she didn't want any form of communication. Renly didn't make any extra moves and just sat down in his seat, quietly waiting for takeoff.

The flight from Los Angeles to New York, spanning the entire North American continent, was a long three-hour flight. Shortly after takeoff, Renly fell asleep, skipping the airplane meal. When he woke up, the plane had already landed safely, the safety door was open, and the first-class and business-class passengers were leaving the plane.

Renly stretched lazily, looking at the gradually descending night outside the window. The city of New York welcomed every visitor with open arms, its lights shining brightly.

"Excuse me." The passenger sitting on Renly's inner side apologized softly, then stood up, took his luggage, and followed the queue to prepare to disembark.

Renly made way, and only then did he remember that Jennifer was sitting not far behind. He turned his head to look around, but there was no trace of her. Renly felt puzzled, but then he stood up. He thought he might have remembered the wrong seat, but after looking around, he couldn't see Jennifer anywhere.

At that moment, he caught sight of a figure—none other than Jennifer. She followed the queue and left through the rear door of the plane. Renly didn't even have time to speak; Jennifer had already left the plane, leaving only her back, as if fleeing in panic.

For a moment, Renly was stunned, then he chuckled silently and temporarily pushed this short episode out of his mind, once again sinking into his seat and watching the night outside the window grow darker.

New York, he had returned.

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A/N: 10 more Chapters will be uploaded on reaching 100th rank.