Chapter 30: Chapter 203 – Basic Method

 

Hearing Eric's answer, Elisabeth rolled her eyes at him and said, "You... are really uncultured."

"What does this have to do with being uncultured?" Eric opened a can of beer and sat down on the sofa before he continued, "Should I be like you? Say that I liked the book then you mention some philosophy regarding life conveyed by the book and we begin discussing the book like fanatics?"

"Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be ?"

Eric smiled slightly and replied, "When you were in college, you must have often encountered such things, right?"

Elisabeth nodded honestly.

Julia, who was drinking her fruit juice, couldn't help but laugh. She became independent after graduating from high school. Although she did not have a high IQ and education like Elisabeth, she was better at seeing through people than Elisabeth who had lived a sheltered life.

Elisabeth was quite intelligent, but she was unable to understand the meaning behind Eric’s words.

Faced by her puzzled gaze, Eric also laughed and explained, "As you are the second daughter of Rupert Murdoch, the boss of News Corporation, if a man wanted to get close to you, he would certainly show off his intellect and ‘high cultural level’ rather than his wealth or successful career. So, most of the men who discussed philosophy with you had actually wanted to pick you up."

Learning the truth, Elisabeth was left dumbfounded with her mouth open.

Eric took a sip of his beer while leaning on the couch and spoke, as if reminiscing, "Speaking of which, I often used this basic method of picking up girls during my previous life."

"Bullshit!" Although Elisabeth realized that Eric was probably telling the truth, she was unwilling to believe it and said, "You think all men are nasty like you."

"Most men wouldn’t mind being a little nasty if they could become the son-in-law of Rupert Murdoch.”

Elisabeth retorted, unconvinced, "These... these are all just conjectures."

"I think you’re just being blind to the truth," Eric didn't mean to quarrel with Elisabeth so he changed the topic and asked, "By the way, why did you two come here so late?"

Hearing his question, Julia's waist involuntarily straightened, an instinctive reaction whenever she feels nervous.

Elisabeth replied casually, "Since you are in Venice, we should hang out together. How about tomorrow?"

Eric thought about his schedule and nodded, "No problem, I’m free tomorrow."

Elisabeth originally thought Eric would need some convincing, so she was confused when he readily agreed. It was late at night in Venice and inappropriate for two women to stay in a man's room for too long, so after speaking a bit with him she took Julia, who never spoke word, and left.

***

The next day, Andrei Smirnov, the chairman of the jury who had learned of Eric’s arrival, invited him to have breakfast early in the morning.Although they needed the help of an interpreter to communicate, the two of them still had a good time.

After chatting in the restaurant until past nine o'clock, Andrei Smirnov had to reluctantly leave because of work.

After taking Alan to the agreed upon dock, Eric discovered that Julia and Elisabeth had been waiting for a long time.

As soon as he arrived, Elisabeth complained  to display her dissatisfaction, "Hey, Eric, you are really not punctual. How can you let two women wait so long for you?"

"I have things to do, okay. I’m not free like you two," Eric replied and then had Alan rent a boat since they planned to go to the main island of Venice today.

Finding a speedboat, Elisabeth took Julia into the cabin, but drove Alan off since she could also speak Italian. Arriving on the main island by speedboat, the three took a gondola ride and drifted along the Grand Canal.

The morning sun was shining warmly. Eric, dressed in casual clothes, leaned on his chair in the gondola and looked at the enclosed buildings around him with relish. From time to time, he raised his camera up to take a few photos.

Elisabeth, who was sitting on the other side, was busy chatting loudly in Italian with the old ferryman named Loviso standing on the bow of the ship. The two of them laughed heartily from time to time.

"Hey, Julia, why are you so quiet? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" Eric pressed the shutter towards an arch bridge a few times, only to realize that the woman sitting next to him had been quiet the whole time.

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This gondola had only one seat, so the three people were huddled together. Eric was on the right, Elisabeth occupied the left, and Julia was stuffed in the middle. The two women were quite thin and Eric was also quite fit, so even though three people were sitting in seats meant for two people, it didn’t feel too crowded.

Julia raised her head and faced Eric’s concerned gaze, and quickly replied, "No, I’m fine."

"Oh," Eric thought for a while but didn’t  know what to say, so he raised his camera and continued shooting. When the photo was taken, Julia quickly, but quietly, said, "Eric, when are you returning to Los Angeles?"

"September 5th, the day after tomorrow."

Julia  raised her head, looked at Eric, and curiously asked, "Why are you in such a hurry? Don’t you want to spend a few more days in Venice?"

Eric raised his camera, snapped a silhouette of a seabird flying over the water, and explained casually, "I want to rest for a while, but I have to shoot two movies in just over a month so time is very tight."

Julia nodded, then gently lowered her head.

"By the way, Julia, when do you plan to go back?" Julia hesitated, then said, "Originally, Liz said that she would take me to Australia. Her family has many ranches there, but I don't plan to go."

"It's time to go back. Steel Magnolias is scheduled to release in November. You should be part of the promotion. In addition, you also need to choose the script for your movie next year."

Julia had a complicated look on her face as she glanced at Eric, and uttered a word after a while: "You..."

Eric lowered his head and took out the used reel of film from his camera and put it away. He replaced it with a new reel of film. He then looked up at Julia’s expression and quickly understood what she was thinking, so he smiled and said, " I won’t interfere with the movie. You can choose by yourself if you want. Of course, it’s best to listen to Kapoor’s advice.”

By the end of this year, Julia will be in two hit movies which will bring her career to its peak. Although Eric can help her career remain at this peak over the following years, with Julia's current personality, Eric felt that it is better to let her experience some ups and downs.

Moreover, next year, he won’t make so many movies like this year. If he keeps shooting hit movies frantically, the giant studios who have control of Hollywood will see him as a threat. He might even end up being jointly suppressed, so he planned on making a layout for his future in Hollywood next year.

When Eric had interfered with her movie selection, she had wanted to escape his control, but now, hearing that Eric no longer cared to select movies for her, Julia had a sudden feeling of emptiness.

"Hey, look! It’s the Bridge of Sighs!" Elisabeth, on the other side, suddenly shouted.

Eric raised his head and looked towards Elisabeth's direction. In a narrow water lane, there was a fully enclosed white stone arch bridge that looked like an attic. The boatman named Loviso smiled and waved the oars to row the gondola into the water lane.

"The Bridge of Sighs, what a beautiful name. Julia, do you know the history behind it?" Elisabeth sighed like a young literary youth before she turned and asked Julia sitting beside her.

Julia shook her head. The early ‘90s was not a time when one could learn about anything by simply clicking on a webpage and typing just a few words.

Seeing Julia shaking her head, Elisabeth waved her little hand triumphantly and explained, "Look, this kind of arch bridge connects the two buildings. This is the Venice Governor’s Palace and that is a prison for criminals. After trial in the Governor’s Mansion, the prisoners who are escorted to the prison are able to experience the beauty of the open world one last time. As a result, the prisoners who cross this bridge always sigh in regret which was where the name Bridge of Sighs came from."

Eric took a few photos, put the camera down and said with a smile, "According to what you said, I think it would be more apt for this bridge to be renamed the Gates of Hell. If the bridge is alive, hearing so many criminals sigh over and over again, it must be full of violent emotions. In the context of a movie, such a being would be a typical villain who feels that the whole world is filled with hatred and decides to destroy humanity."

Elisabeth’s excited movements stopped, and she subconsciously thought that Eric’s words made sense, but she quickly shook her head and rolled her eyes at him, "Hey, why are you always so negative?"

"I'm just telling the truth."

Elisabeth simply ignored him and held Julia's arm as she continued to whisper.

The gondola drifted slowly under the Bridge of Sighs, and the boatman standing at the stern raised his voice slightly and spoke a few words in Italian to the three people.

Eric and Julia looked towards Elisabeth who raised her chin arrogantly before translating, "Mr. Loveso said that if a couple kisses under the Bridge of Sighs, they will forever remain in love."

When Julia heard this, she blinked her eyes and glanced at Eric secretly, but after just a glimpse, she lowered her eyes with a guilty conscience. However, Elisabeth couldn't help standing up slightly, her eyes traversing between Eric and Julia, eagerly waiting for one of them to make a move.

Eric saw Elisabeth's reaction, put his hands on his chest as if scared, and said sternly, "Forget it, I will never kiss you."

"Fuck, I won't kiss you even if this bridge collapses, asshole." Elisabeth retorted with her hands on her hips. After speaking, she turned her large eyes, and under Eric's astonished gaze, she hugged the unsuspecting Julia, leaned over and kissed her cherry red lips.

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