Chapter 94: The Food Dispute

  Natalie sat quietly in the chair, opened the script, and the first thing that caught her eye was a painting of a thin girl wearing a striped short-sleeved shirt. Her dark brown bob covered her sorrowful face, with bright eyes below, still hanging two lines of clear tears. A silver-white sun-shaped pendant around her neck was particularly eye-catching.

  Matilda? Is this me? This girl is clearly her lookalike.

  Natalie didn't ask, but continued to flip through them. There were more than a dozen sketches in the back, most of which were outlined in blue pencil, and several of which showed her facing off against a tall, big-nosed man.

  Although the painting level is not very high, it can still be identified as a person's expression. I don't know why, but after Natalie saw these few paintings, she unconsciously thought of the book "Lolita" that she had secretly read before.

  Maybe it's just my misconception, that annoying guy shouldn't be so boring. Natalie shook her head and turned to the main text of the script.

  Gangsters? Hitmen? Action scenes? Her brow furrowed, remembering that the script was called "Léon the Professional", wasn't this kind of scene to be expected?

  As an extremely clever girl, she was very quick and finally saw Matilda's debut. The miserable experience of this precocious girl instantly attracted her, especially the few lines of dialogue in it, which were written very well.

  Is life always so painful? Or is it just in childhood? It's always been so painful!

  It's like it has the standard of "The Sixth Sense", not bad, this guy didn't slack off on her! Natalie forced out a smile, obviously able to write works with such depth of thought, yet insisting on leaning towards commercialization, as if afraid others wouldn't smell the coppery stench on him!

  Yes! That's the smell of copper! She remembered that it was this word in Chinese.

  Natalie was in a good mood, thinking that playing such a role should be a wise choice. However, the good times did not last long. As the plot deepened, her brow furrowed, especially when she saw Leon and Matilda's emotional exchange. Suddenly, she realized that Matilda was actually a strong and alternative Lolita!

  Unconsciously, she puffed out her chest, her cheeks also bulged up, and began to browse through the script with a mixture of emotions. She had acted in many stage plays and read numerous scripts, especially after getting to know Ryan, he would send her an attachment of every script he wrote, which somewhat caught her eye.

  Leon and Matilda, these two characters are exceptionally well-crafted, especially Matilda, her personality, her traits, almost tailor-made for her, but why, the emotions between her and Leon...

  Fine! She admitted that without this emotional depth, the script would be at best mediocre. Just Ryan Jenkins' crap! Is this really what he's been working on?

  Natalie scratched her face, closed the script, and Ryan leaned over, asking, "Nat..."

  "Ryan, what are you thinking? Have you been sneaking a peek at Lolita?" Natalie asked without waiting for the other person to finish speaking.

  "Ah......Lolita......" Ryan was really caught off guard by Natalie's question, and then reacted, "Nate, you actually peeked at Lolita!"

  "Natalie opened her mouth, quickly changing the subject, 'Ryan, what are you thinking? My god, a love story between a twelve-year-old girl and a middle-aged killer, are you crazy?'"

  "Alright, Nate, this is just a fairy tale, a fairy tale about assassins. Ryan waved his hand and started to run the train, "You should be able to see that what's between Matilda and Leon is a complex mix of gratitude, paternal love, friendship, and infatuation, not pure romance."

  "I guarantee that in the eyes of most people, their relationship is nothing short of incestuous." Natalie would never easily believe his nonsense.

  "Alright, let's be honest, Natalie. Do you want to play Matilda?" Ryan cut straight to the point, dismissing all the fuss as irrelevant.

  "This...," Natalie hesitated, to be honest, this role was really attractive to her.

  "Let's put it this way, Nate. If you perform well, those guys will definitely pin the title of performance genius on you." Ryan used temptation straightforwardly, and with his past achievements, he was somewhat persuasive.

  Is he a performing genius? Natalie's heart was racing, she knew that no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to surpass him in storytelling, writing or music. The only area where she might have an edge over him was in performance - she had to outdo him somehow!

  Besides, after all these years of hard work, isn't it just waiting for an opportunity? Ryan is now her best friend. If the status gap between them is too great, it will definitely affect their future interactions. She doesn't want to lose her only friend.

  She just felt that something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. It seemed like Ryan had set a trap for her and she had willingly walked right into it.

  Ryan didn't say anything else, and Natalie was visibly moved. When there's news from France, she'll probably make her own choice too.

  They have known each other for more than two years, exchanging a letter every week and making two phone calls, almost without interruption. He didn't believe in that nonsense about past lives - "My future is in Jerusalem, not Hollywood" - no one knew better than him what kind of ideals or... ambitions this girl had, not even her parents were an exception.

  As night began to fall, after Ryan had given Mrs. Shelley a phone call, he and Natalie exited the room and headed towards the hotel's dining hall.

  Mrs. Shirley knew that the two were each other's only peers, and it had been a long time since they met, so there must be a lot to talk about, just reminding them not to quarrel too much, and Natalie must be sent back before 10 o'clock.

  Ryan, however, heard some other implications and couldn't help but scratch his head. He also knew that Westerners mature early, and it's not uncommon for them to start dating boys and girls at the age of eleven or twelve. Since he and Natalie had a special relationship, it was normal for Mrs. Sherry to worry.

  He just doesn't have that kind of thought now, at least he thinks so. Looking at Natalie, she is thin and weak, almost skin and bones...

  Alright, still a lovely Lolita, but he wouldn't be beastly to that extent, after all, this is his best friend.

  The Waldorf Astoria's Western restaurant has a diverse range of dishes, and the chef's skills are also very high. Unfortunately, there aren't many food options that suit Natalie, as many Western foods contain animal fats. Although vegetarians are common, those who follow such a strict diet like Natalie's family are rare.

  Fruit salad, whole wheat toast with cheese, mashed potatoes, apple pie - that's Natalie's food. Ryan sits across from her, the main course in front of him is a fully cooked steak and roasted lamb leg, he looks at Natalie's eating, having an urge to order a whole roasted lamb leg for her.

  "Nate, why must you insist on being a vegetarian?" Ryan thought he enjoyed good food and letting his friend eat those tasteless foods was a crime.

  "Dad's requirements," she said with a shrug. "He says it's a Jewish tradition." Natalie shrugged indifferently.

  Ryan rolled his eyes, he couldn't quite understand it. Natalie was a very opinionated girl, and in most things, her father couldn't force her to do something she didn't want to do, such as signing the contract with Goldie. So why did she suddenly become an obedient good girl when it came to food?

  "I don't think vegetarian food is bad either." Natalie added.

  "Don't you think you're too thin?" Ryan pointed to her slender arm, "At our age, it's the key period for development. Plant protein can't completely replace animal protein, which will affect your growth. I guarantee, Nate, if you only insist on being a vegetarian, at most, you'll be as tall as I am now."

  "Five feet five inches?" Natalie's eyes rolled around, "I think this height is pretty good."

  "Good?" Ryan raised an eyebrow, deliberately picking up a delicious steak and slowly putting it into his mouth. Unfortunately, Natalie didn't see it. "I'm telling you, Nat, when I grow up, I'll be at least six feet tall. By then, you'll be standing in front of me, shorter by that much. Don't cry."

  "I can wear high heels, okay?" Natalie's excuses were endless. "Besides, Ryan, what's the point of being that tall? I mean... like Nicole, no offense..."

  Ryan made a gesture for her to continue, and Natalie went on, "Like Nicole, she's just too tall. I think women should be no more than five feet seven inches."

  He was scratching his head, originally wanting to persuade her not to insist on vegetarianism, but somehow ended up talking about height and had the initiative taken away by her.

  Actually Ryan really wanted to tell her that if she continued to adhere to a strict vegetarian diet, height might not be a big problem, but in the future, her bust size would at most be B, or even A.

  But can this be said? If it's said, with Natalie's personality, she will definitely put that fruit salad on his face.

  Ryan didn't give up and continued to persuade, "Nate, how about some lamb chops? This is authentic French-style roasted lamb leg."

  After finishing speaking, he cut off a piece and put it in his mouth, revealing a few moments of intoxication.

  "Really?" Natalie gave him a pair of white eyes, "Ryan, I've heard nutritionists say that people who eat too much meat not only have rough skin but also have body odor!"

  "What's that smell?" Ryan's eyes widened.

  "Really." Natalie made a V sign under the table and continued, "So you should try to be a vegetarian!"

  "Vegetarianism?" Ryan shook his head without hesitation. What's more terrifying than not being able to eat meat? He still wants to taste all the delicious food in the world this lifetime.

  Even if Natalie was smart enough, but still young, facing Ryan's silver tongue, plus she had only been insisting on strict vegetarianism for a few years, under his deception and temptation, she still tasted a little lamb leg meat, looking at her expression did not reject it. As an exchange, Ryan also ate a lot of fruit salad and whole wheat bread.

  After dinner, the two of them chatted for a while longer before Ryan called over his assistant to drive Natalie home.

  Although Natalie dominated the conversation at dinner, Ryan was still thrilled. Strict vegetarians are the most annoying people, and now there's a crack in the wall, isn't there always a day when you can pry it open?

  Sorry, I played too much yesterday and got back home almost at 1 o'clock. The chapter that was owed will be made up for today. Thank you everyone for your support~~