Birth of an actor

According to the "New York Times" later, this year's North American awards season was full of splendor. Some companies (or individuals) competed for this year's Golden Globes and Oscars like they were running for the US president for their own self-interest. There are endless means of fair competition, and the entire awards season has been messed up more than the political elections. In the end, most of Hollywood was dragged into the water. It's become a movie.

Of course, in the eyes of The New York Times, it will be a satirical film that truly reflects the status quo of the Hollywood awards season, full of dark humor, rather than a glamorous fashion blockbuster.

To talk about this far-reaching turmoil, we have to start with a news website called "The Drudge Report".

This is one of the most notorious but influential news websites in North America. In the 2000 U.S. election, a lot of black material about the Republican and Democratic candidates was first exposed by Drudge’s report.

In 1995, Matt Drudge, who dropped out of high school and moved to Hollywood to work, started the Drudge Report with two fingers and a laptop in his dilapidated apartment. The initial news on the website was all about Drudge Some gossip about CBS was collected through work (a clerk in the CBS studio souvenir shop). Three years later, when the scandal about the then US President Clinton’s affair with the trainee came out of the White House, the traditional media in the United States kept silent. , "Newsweek" even "shot" a report that was about to be published. Only Matt Drudge named Lewinsky's name on the Drudge Report website, which officially revealed The prelude to the Clinton sex scandal—this is the first time in the world that a news website has rushed ahead of traditional newspapers to report global important events. The most famous news site.

Although today’s young netizens may prefer news websites such as HSO (Hollywood News Online), because the atmosphere of HSO is open and free, and it also has a BBS-style social function, where people can disclose the unknown celebrities they know On the one hand, they can talk and discuss with each other freely.But readers who want to see bad news or celebrities who are afraid of seeing bad news will still pay attention to Drudge's reports-especially politicians who are aspiring to run for president, they are most afraid of seeing themselves in Drudge's pen The name-because Matt Drucci is the kind of person who hides behind websites and e-mails and silently peeps into the privacy of others, especially celebrities.

During the voting for this year's American Film and TV Golden Globe Awards, an exciting flashing siren logo suddenly appeared on the news website reported by Drudge, and immediately attracted the attention of all people who browsed the news. It is said that as long as there is a flashing siren sign on the website, it means that Matt Drucci has a big news to explode today-as expected, it didn't take long for a piece of news concocted by Drudge himself to come out.

The big and flashy title is really eye-catching: "Double, Double, Lies: The Unknown Same-Sex Love of the Actor in A Beautiful Mind!" "

"The biggest lie in Hollywood this year has appeared!" Matt Drucci pointed out fiercely in his report: ""A Beautiful Mind", a biographical film based on John Nash's life, has achieved unprecedented success. The extremely high box office and excellent word-of-mouth made it a leader among similar films. Almost every audience who watched the film said that they were amazed by Nash's courage to fight against fate, and that he and his wife Alicia were inseparable. I am moved by the unyielding love, but all of this is actually a lie!"

"The shocking truth is that John Nash's real life was far from being as perfect and romantic as depicted in the movies, and his life was far more "colorful" than some modern people - Nash's first love was a man, He also kissed his friend Donald Newman. In 1950, John Nash courted and tried to tease mathematician John Milnor. In 1954, Nash was arrested in Santa Monica, California, for "indecent charges." And because of this, he lost his job at the time! Moreover, long before he met Alicia, Nash fell in love with a nurse, Steele, at MIT. The two had an illegitimate child, but Nash’s social status There is a gap as an excuse for not marrying Steele. Also, the love between Nash and Alicia is not as beautiful as described in the movie. They divorced in 1962. In 1965, Alicia almost married To another mathematician, John Coleman Moore."

""A Beautiful Mind" does not actually show a real John Nash. The movie not only avoids a lot of plots in the original biography, but also fabricates a lot of plots. The movie is lying from the beginning to the end! For a man who has an illegitimate child and divorced Gay chants, that's what A Beautiful Mind is all about!"

For other moderate media, they might say that "movies are inherently an art, and art has fictional components, and those that are [-]% true to reality are documentaries."However, the attack reported by Drudge was very vicious. It only grasped the ambiguous relationship between John Nash and some homosexuals in his youth that existed in the original work but was deleted in the film, and criticized this point, diverting attention and focusing on the point. The method is very ingenious.

Moreover, these criticisms were concocted during this period of time, obviously with another purpose.

This purpose is also very obvious: to put a gay hat on "A Beautiful Mind".

To be more precise, it is to play the gay card, intending to stir up the antipathy of "A Beautiful Mind" among the members of the academy, and to reduce the votes of "A Beautiful Mind" as much as possible.

Some people may ask, does this work?

In fact, it does work, homosexuality is sometimes a touchy and taboo subject in Hollywood, especially in the academy.

The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) AMPAS had more than 1985 members in 4000, and as of the beginning of this year, it has a total of 5739 members, and it has only increased by more than 17 in 1000 years.Most of them are professionals or veterans of different aspects of the Hollywood film industry, because the governing committee does not invite someone to join the Academy without sufficient visibility and achievements.

A small number of memberships each year and harsh access conditions make "older age" a feature of most college members. In the words of "Times Weekly", "AMPAS is like a club for middle-aged and elderly people." Naturally, it is not as open-minded as young people. The age distribution of members determines another characteristic of the academy is conservatism.

To give a simple example, 40-year-old Jodie Foster is LES and has a girlfriend who has been in love for more than ten years. This is not a hard secret in Hollywood.Judy's acting career has been as long as 37 years. After winning two Oscars, she has long been famous, but she still hides her identity as LES to the outside world, because Jodie Foster knows clearly that the well-known secret is still Secretly, once she comes out publicly, I'm afraid her career will plunge immediately, and the academy will no longer nominate her.

Even Jodie Foster is so cautious. It can be imagined that Hollywood, which has always advocated inclusiveness and diversity and is known as the "liberal stronghold", is not so open. What's more, the Republican Party is in power now, and the Republican Party has always been unfriendly to gay groups. , although President Bush Jr. has not made any public anti-gay remarks, but in Hollywood, conservative anti-gay arrogance is already on the rise.

……

Seemingly overnight, the criticism of "A Beautiful Mind" in the media has been overwhelming.

Starting from Drudge's report, many film critics followed closely - many of them are well-known film critics in the United States, and many of them are famous for "taking money for publicity" - plus countless gossip tabloids, Everyone is desperately trying to discredit "A Beautiful Mind", as if they will not stop until the film's reputation becomes notorious.

Not being faithful enough to the original book seems to have become the original sin of the film, and not mentioning Nash's illegitimate child and homosexuality in the film is even more sinful.

Negative remarks about "A Beautiful Mind" are spreading everywhere, and the wave of attacks from the media came so quickly and with such a huge momentum, it became a hot topic in Hollywood and even the United States in just a day or two, as if there was an invisible bird The big hands seem to be pushing silently behind the back.

Universal, Ron Howard and many actors, including William, were caught off guard by the storm.

Ron Howard is the first to get anxious. The reputation of "A Beautiful Mind" is closely related to him. If the film's reputation is not good, he will inevitably be the most affected as a director. Moreover, "A Beautiful Mind" is Howard's most successful film so far. A successful work also brought the distance between him and the best director trophy infinitely close. No matter what aspect he considered, Ron Howard didn't want to see this kind of negative news continue to fly in the sky.

He first contacted the media on his own initiative, and then went on a talk show to explain why he should delete the same-sex-related plots in the movie-in the conservative era after World War II, some psychological studies believed that homosexuality would lead to a series of Mental problems, such as schizophrenia, have no scientific basis, but they were very popular in the 60s and [-]s, and they still have considerable influence today. Traditional Catholic families use this as an excuse to send their sons who show homosexual tendencies Not a few were sent to mental hospitals for treatment.Of course, they're calling it a nursing home now.

Ron Howard explained that he originally wanted to restore some of Nash's young affairs in the movie, but he was worried that some viewers would mistakenly associate Nash's schizophrenia with homosexuality, so he deleted this part of the plot.

Ron Howard's statement was understood and recognized by those fans who love "A Beautiful Mind", but it did not curb the wave of criticism of the film. Many tabloids did not even report Howard's clarification, but instead poured sewage on the film as always .

At this time, I am afraid that even the most naive guy can see that behind the media and film critics who crazily slander "A Beautiful Mind", there are really traces of human manipulation.

Global executives held an emergency meeting to study how to deal with this public relations crisis.

The first is to calm down the turmoil and make the unfavorable remarks against "A Beautiful Mind" disappear as soon as possible. Secondly, Miramax and Harvey Weinstein must not be let go.

——Universal executives have their own news channels. Although there is no real evidence, it is not difficult at all to determine that Miramax is behind the scenes.

As one of the Big Seven in Hollywood, Universal's actions were swift. The top management unified their opinions one moment, and immediately launched a counterattack the next moment.

Universal first spent a lot of money to restore the reputation of "A Beautiful Mind", including republishing Ron Howard's explanation of the script's cuts in "Variety"; asking the original author Sylvia Nassar to issue a statement Expressed that she was very satisfied with the adaptation of the film, and then criticized Drudge’s biased and misleading reports; organized a number of film viewings in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami and other cities where members of the Academy live; The Times and other large newspaper subscription editions with a circulation of over one million copies will include a coloring page promotional booklet to promote the film and so on.

As competitors in the awards season, Miramax is most worthy of criticism because Jim Broadbent, the leading actor of "Life Together", signed up as a supporting actor, but Universal has no way to make a big fuss about this matter, because Jennifer Connery is also the leading role.

However, there is something to be caught about another film "Unlucky Love" produced by Miramax.

Soon, an anti-smoking organization called "Smoke-Free Movies" stood up and published full-page advertisements in the "New York Times" and "Variety Shows" to denounce "Unlucky Love": "Smoking in the movie The lens has a subtle influence on ordinary people, especially teenagers. If smoking is associated with mature, rebellious, and attractive characters in the movie lens, then the possibility of teenagers trying to smoke will double...Recently, we are very It is a pity to see that in the movie "Beautiful Love", which won the honor of the best film of the year of the New York Film Critics Association and is still being released in North America, not only does the actress Sissy Spacek smoke a lot, there is even a scene of The plot where the protagonist goes to the store to order and buy Marlboro cigarettes... What an obvious advocacy - I don't know how much the cigarette manufacturer paid for "Broken Love" for the placement of advertisements, so that this movie is willing to become a scene of death and disease. accomplice?"

As soon as the critical advertisement of "smoke-free movies" was published in newspapers, it immediately received responses from other anti-smoking organizations, environmental protection organizations, and parent associations, among which the New York and California parent associations responded most violently——"Bullshit" "Love" is rated R, which means that people over the age of 17 can watch it at will. In North America, there are not a few teenagers aged [-] or [-] sneaking into movie theaters to watch R-rated movies. It is the easiest to be influenced and imitated by movies. Once something involves teenagers in the United States, the negative public opinion effect is always the easiest to expand and the hardest to solve.

"Variety" has cooperated with Miramax. This month, customers who subscribe to the magazine have been giving out the coloring pages of "Unlucky Love" along with the magazine. In the first issue of Variety, there is no promotional coloring page for Miramax.

In the past few years, the anti-smoking atmosphere in California has been getting higher and higher. In addition, "Variety Show" suspended the cooperation, and Miramax's executives also had a headache for a while - "New York Times" and "Variety Show" in Hollywood It is a large-scale newspaper that is quickly handed out, and members of the academy will naturally read it frequently. "Smoke-free movies" stand on a moral high ground. As long as anti-smoking organizations continue to denounce it, this matter will always maintain a high degree of exposure. In addition, as long as there are a few more anti-smoking advertisements in the newspapers, will the members of the academy generously vote for "Unlucky Love" under the influence of public opinion?

Just as Miramax's preemptive attack caught Universal by surprise, Universal's use of the non-profit organization's move also caught Miramax in a hurry. Ron Howard didn't want to hide his own when he was on the phone with William. Joyful mood: "— Harvey Weinstein had to issue an announcement emphasizing to the public that Miramax and Marlboro are absolutely not collaborating, nor will they knowingly promote a certain brand of cigarettes in the movie - you heard He even called the director of 'Smoke-Free Movies', angrily complaining that the advertisement of the anti-smoking group affected the chances of winning the award of "Unreciable Love"? - self-inflicted, let me say. This is Mira Max started the war first, so don’t think about being alone, now we’re tied—”

Ron Howard thought this was the end of the battle between the two studios, but he was wrong.

Only two days later, the Drudge Report once again hung the conspicuous lightning logo on the homepage of the website, accompanied by an even more sensational headline: "Explore the unknown scandal of John Nash, the prototype of "A Beautiful Mind"—— Homosexuality, adultery, outcasts, anti-Semites!"

Obviously, some people (or organizations) hope that the media's guns will always be aimed at "A Beautiful Mind". After finding that one homosexual card is not enough, they immediately played all their remaining cards.

Anti-Semitism, in particular, can be called a trump card—since the founding of the country, racial issues have been a lingering nightmare in American society. Looking across the United States, it is mainly racial discrimination between whites and blacks. In Hollywood, The issue between Jews and non-Jews is also a powder keg that no one dares to step on.

How many Jews are there in Hollywood?countless.What is certain is that Jewish rulers account for at least half of all industries in front of and behind the scenes, and their sensitivity to ethnic issues is sometimes more serious than the issue of black skin color.

The new headlines reported by Drudge stunned the entire Hollywood, and the tabloids followed closely, with criticism flying all over the sky. After watching the battle, they wished to smear John Nash as a heinous and deeply hidden Nazi.

Those who knew the reason for this gunpowder all sighed in their hearts: Poison, this trick is too poisonous.

If "A Beautiful Mind" is really linked to anti-Semitism, then the future of this movie is completely over.

The president of Universal was almost blown up when he heard the news. Later, gossip spread that the cleaners swept away a pile of glass shards from the president's office that day.A high-level executive who did not want to disclose his real name even directly broke the news to the media that the source behind Drudge's report was definitely Miramax.

However, the Drudge report does not admit this statement, and the website director Matt Drudge even more confidently stated that most of the information in his news was discovered when he read the original biography of the movie, and the rest was obtained through investigation. .

This fire even came to John Nash outside of Hollywood. The former Nobel laureate in economics had to stand up and clarify to the media that the negative remarks made on him were all malicious slanders, and had already affected He lived a normal life -- some Jewish Princeton students in the library or on campus questioned whether he was really racially biased -- and pleaded with the media to help him restore his reputation.

Jennifer Connelly, the heroine of "A Beautiful Mind", is Jewish. She used herself as an example, saying that she had read the original book several times, and also contacted John Nash himself many times during the filming period. She did not feel anything from the other party. To the slightest tendency to discriminate against Judaism, Nash is a respectable scholar.

While the director and actors of "A Beautiful Mind" were busy cleaning up their anti-Semitic slurs, the ninth Golden Globe Awards ceremony also kicked off at the Hilton Hotel in Hollywood.

Compared with the Oscars, the list of winners of the Golden Globe Awards is usually not very difficult to predict, but at this awards ceremony, there were some big and small upsets.

For example, it swept the European film festivals in the first half of last year. After its release at the end of the year, it won a high box office. At the same time, "A Beautiful Mind" was praised by countless "Best Films of the Year" by North American Film Critics Associations. Not only is it a big hit before the awards, It also has the most six nominations in the drama category, but in the end it only got three trophies-the drama category best picture, best screenplay and best supporting actress.

Best Director went to Gosford Park director Robert Altman.

The trophy for Best Actor went to Denzel Washington for "Training Day."

This is indeed beyond the expectations of many people. When "Training Day" was released, most of the film critics in North America commented that it might be restricted by the role setting of the anti-narcotics police. Denzel Washington's role in the film The performance can only be said to be due diligence, well-regulated, not amazing, even worse than Kevin Spacey's performance in "True Express", but unexpectedly, it was this powerful black actor who had the last laugh.

Perhaps even Denzel Washington himself was surprised by this result, which can be heard from his acceptance speech, a bit caught off guard and bewildered, and the speech did not seem to have been carefully prepared and brewed.

When Denzel Washington spoke, at least half of the cameras in the arena were aimed at the position where William was sitting in the audience.

William was smiling with a natural demeanor. From his expression and eyes, there was no trace of surprise and disappointment at the trophy.

In other words, there are no flaws or handles that can be caught by the media.

But don't expect the Hollywood journalists to be very moral. As soon as the award ceremony is over, the media will start to arrange all the winners and losers for fear of chaos.

……

One of Lance's favorite restaurants in the city has just updated its menu, and some of the ingredients are extremely rare. Lance asked William to try it together. The meal time was specially chosen at noon, because the restaurant environment is relatively quiet at this time. Apart from a handful of elderly socialites enjoying a late brunch, there are generally few other guests.

Lance arrived a little early. He pulled out the wine list from the menu and looked at it casually while waiting for William.

Not long after, William arrived outside the restaurant, but he didn't come in immediately. Instead, he waved to Lance through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and stood outside to finish the call.

In just a short meeting, Lance noticed the seriousness in William's expression. It was probably another work call. Lance knew that his best friend had been troubled by the media recently.

Because of William, although Lance only kept the necessary attention on Hollywood, he can also find that the atmosphere this year is extraordinary-although the competition among film companies or actors in the past was fierce, they all used common methods in the media , and know enough is enough, and this year, the competition is no longer gossip, insinuation and covert operations, it has directly escalated to a blatant vicious fight, deliberately fabricating scandals to discredit the opponent's dirty tricks, which Lance once thought would only appear in political campaigns or business Annexation, not something in an art competition.

In fact, these problems can also be seen from the newspapers that another diner in the restaurant, the elderly gentleman, is reading leisurely:

"Homosexual Suspicion Over "A Beautiful Mind" William Bradley Loses Best Actor! "

"Interpretation of celebrity micro-expressions under the lens can't hide the loss OR sincere blessings? "

"Golden Globe Awards Results Announced Miramax is the Biggest Winner"

"NAACP: Golden Globes results reflect fairness and justice"

"Oscar Nominations Announced, William Bradley Becomes Best Actor Again"

Lance looked away for a moment, then back, beckoning to the waiter and making a request.A moment later, the other party delivered a copy of the "New York Post" that he had just bought out to Lance.

There were no big revelations in the newspapers that would shock the United States, and all the controversy revolved around the film rather than William himself.It wasn't until he breathed a sigh of relief that Lance realized he'd been holding his breath the whole time.I couldn't help but torture myself, what is he afraid of?Or, what is he expecting?

At this moment, William appeared, and after handing over his coat to the attentive waiter, he walked briskly towards Lance.

However, Lance saw the obsessed look in the waiter's eyes after William turned around. If no one was around, the young man with too many freckles on his face might have buried his head in his friend's coat and took a deep breath.Because he looks like he wants to.

That's why they have to choose to come to this restaurant at noon in broad daylight instead of at night, because everyone's eyes can't get off the long legs, the curve of the hips and the shoulders that stretch the shirt perfectly Move away, not to mention that carefully sculpted face, as striking as a bonfire burning in the dark night.Black hair and green eyes, such a color scheme is a rare species even in the United States of America.

No one here does not know him, but out of the reservedness of the upper class, the guests at the other table just cast a curious look and then stopped paying attention, and the well-trained waiters also stick to their professionalism , but the performance is more active and eager than usual.

"Is the phone okay?"

"Fortunately, Ron Howard was a little too nervous, and it took some time to calm him down. He wanted me to attend a few receptions in New York this weekend, and I agreed. There is no way to refuse the necessary entertainment." William moved on his seat. , fingers tugged at the collar. "After all you know, eight nominations."

Not long after the Golden Globes ceremony, the list of Oscar nominations came out. Although it has been on the cusp of scandal recently, "A Beautiful Mind" still won eight nominations for its impeccable film narrative and superb artistic level , including the heaviest Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.

Originally, the troubles created by Miramax have not been resolved. After the announcement of the nominations, the allure of the Oscars is obviously greater. Even if the process is bleak, as long as the result is a victory, it is considered a success. They have resorted to various tricks and methods to stir up the already depraved award season competition even more chaotic.

For example, recently there were some dinner parties in Hollywood featuring black actors such as Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Will Smith, etc. In public, supporters of these actors did not shy away from saying: "If this year's Oscars cannot produce a black actor or actress, then Oscar, and even Hollywood as a whole, is discriminating against black people." This argument has even been echoed by many black actors.

And Denzel Washington's behind-the-scenes supporters even have national black organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People-although the name is called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, this organization mainly fights for the rights of blacks, Asians and Latinos are usually not considered by them.

Being dumped by Miramax with despicable means, and at the same time the nominated competitor played such a strange trick of racial discrimination, of course Universal cannot sit still. Even Lang, who has always been low-key and kind and not keen on social Howard is also using the contacts he has accumulated over the years to build momentum for himself.

Lance heard William talk about the news that many Oscar-nominated films changed their tricks and competed with each other to spend money in public relations, and asked quietly: "Do you need help?"

"Uh, no, I can handle it." William knew that Lance wanted to help, and he could help. Lance has his own media group, and he has a good relationship with Murdoch's two sons, Lachlan and James, and they even know each other. There are quite a few good campaign consultants, all of whom have really participated in the US election, and any one of them will be better than the so-called publicity consultants specially hired by the film companies for the Oscar competition.However, it would be too boring to put together a lineup that could run for President of the United States just to ensure an Oscar PR race, and William prefers to do it his way.Besides, the troubles in front of him were not enough to make him burnt out.

"That's good." Lance nodded slightly.

The waiter came to order. Lance ordered his own and then ordered for William. The waiter took away the menu. William didn't have time to protest, so he could only throw Lance a "how do you know what I want to eat?" " gaze.

"The oysters in this season are also good. The chef told me that a batch just arrived in the morning."

"...how do you know what I want to eat?"

"I just know it."

Another magical little skill of Lance, William shrugged and didn't say much. Sometimes, he even felt that Lance could read his own heart.

The waiter came over and put down the appetizers on the dining table, and poured the red wine into the decanter. Lance quietly wanted to fold a newspaper and move it to the corner, but William just turned his eyes away from the decanter Noticing it, he raised an eyebrow: "Were you reading gossip tabloids to pass the time?"

"Uh...there are some interesting gossips in the newspaper." Lance hurriedly added, "It's about the Morgan Consortium and the DuPont Consortium."

William was even more sure that Lance was watching gossip news related to him, and he casually asked, "What did it say about me?" Kind of cute, really.The British character is generally recognized as indifferent and silent, but it can be seen from the most developed British tabloid industry that it is natural to like gossip. Even William himself would occasionally want to see how the media imagined and arranged him as "drunk money for nothing". Everyone knows about the private life of "Let's go wild", but Lance wants to sneak around like this, which makes people want to play tricks on the contrary.

Lance was not caught. He took a bite of the bread and ate it carelessly, as if he didn't hear William's words.

However, William had already glanced at the ink headlines across the dining table, "Gay Suspects... Lose the Golden Globe Best Actor?" He didn't see clearly whether the report was about the movie or himself, but that didn't stop him from laughing. : "First homosexuality and then anti-Semitism, over and over again, can't they come up with something new?"

"This news didn't make you feel uncomfortable?" Lance's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm no longer a Hollywood rookie, my friend, the insinuations in the newspapers will not affect—" Halfway through the words, William's face tensed instantly, his dark green eyes looked at his friend, and he began to Check it out: "What are you trying to convey? Leaving aside who the papers are targeting, you're saying that if they're whispering suspicions that I'm gay the way they suspect Tom Cruise, I should feel Very uncomfortable, or outright angry?"

Lance also tightened his jaw, looking at a grand piano opposite. "Isn't that supposed to be a normal reaction for a superstar. You should never let the public misunderstand that you are gay." He replied, "Like you just saw, I also read the entertainment section of the newspaper, I know last summer Tom Cruise took a magazine and another group to court for defamation for $[-] million for claiming he was gay. I'm going to guess what you guys think Pretty much the same as the reaction."

'Idiot and bastard, if he could read minds, he wouldn't say things like that. 'William decided to take back his previous thoughts, "You are right, as a superstar, of course you can't have anything to do with homosexuality, don't even mention this word, otherwise you will be boycotted by the studio and fans will run away Yeah — maybe I should do an interview with The New York Times and make an anti-gay manifesto, what do you think of that proposal?"

Lance's expression was blank, only his eyes condensed into a sharp iceberg. "That's a good idea." He replied, staring at his soup as if waking up from a dream, "It's just that the New York Times has always been a liberal stance, and they don't necessarily publish the same topic. You should go to the Christian Science Maxim newspaper or Fox News."

William had never been like this before. He felt that there was a blank gap between him and Lance. The waiter brought the main course carefully prepared by the chef, but he lost his appetite at all. He even began to suspect that it was It wasn't old Roderick who cast a spell on his friend.

Lance also sat motionless.

In the silence, William spoke again. "Why do you look like someone punched you in the face suddenly? To be honest, it's me who should be more upset." He narrowed the distance between the two, with a helpless and angry expression: "Fuck you Yes, Lance. You heard that right, fuck you. Yes, twice. How long have we known me? I thought you knew me best in the world, but now I'm thinking about taking that back. You How dare you think of me like that, how dare you really suggest that I go to the TV station to openly oppose homosexuality."

"I thought……"

"Do you think?"

"I always thought you weren't gay." Even thought you hated this.

"I--"

William hesitated.

A strange sense of stability fermented from Lance's stomach, feeling extremely agitated and unusually calm. "So, are you?" he asked.Although the fingers resting on his knees were still trembling, they were quickly controlled by him.Anyway, he spoke up.

This question actually made William feel a slight shock.