Chapter 181

He Is a Real Jerk

“Hey, Eric, I have watched all your films . They are all common except Running out of Time . ”

“Thanks for your appreciation, Elizabeth . ”

“I am not praising you,” the girl said angrily . “I am just curious about why quite a few of your films have become a huge box office success . It is an interesting topic and I am going to use it in my thesis . ”

“Do you major in communication?” Eric asked, making a guess based on the girl’s family background .

“Of course . I am studying in Vassar College, New York and will graduate next year . ”

Eric just nodded without making any comments . Although he possessed the body now and could remember most of the things, he could not recall the 8 universities in the Ivy League, let alone Vassar College .

The girl was dissatisfied with Eric’s reaction and asked：“Haven’t you heard of Vassar College?”

Eric replied：“Elizabeth, in fact, I am just a senior high school graduate and cannot even remember the names of the Ivy League, so……”

“Fine,” the girl shrugged her shoulders and became even more interested in Eric . A young man that had not gone to college could make such an achievement in such a short time . How strange it was!

The senior managers of Universal Picture and MGM arrived at almost 2 o’clock . After everyone was there, the staff ushered them into a luxury video hall in the Sunset Hotel .

Eric just nodded at Virginia and others and then sat in the first row . By his side were Michael Eisner and Paramount’s President Nade Tarn . There were altogether 8 seats in the first row and the remaining ones were occupied by senior managers of 5 other major film companies .

Elizabeth Murdoch was an uninvited guest . She did not want to cause trouble for the staff and just sat in the back row among the crews of The Others and Steel Magnolias . She even moved closer to Julia .

Julia took a look at this strange girl that had suddenly appeared by her side and felt a little strange . She did not know who the girl was . Eric was quite a playboy so it was easy for Julia to link Elizabeth with Virginia . Then she became somewhat hostile towards the girl .

Julia had made up her mind to break up with Eric, but he had surely left a deep imprint on her . Such an imprint had even stimulated Julia to compare other men with Eric . Then her romantic relationship with them was unlikely to last for long .

Dylan McDermott played the role of Julia’s husband in Steel Magnolias . He had been courting Julia during the shooting . He was a tall and handsome man who had graduated from the School of Drama in Fordham University, a private college in New York . Moreover, the man was talented, mild and considerate, showing a stark contrast with Eric who was always overbearing . So Julia had tried to get on with Dylan . After the shooting, however, the imprint left by Eric ruined the romantic relationship between them . All ended up in vain .

These days Julia had been bearing a resentment towards Eric, since she thought that Eric had influenced her private life . In order to weaken the influence, she had never seen Eric after the shooting of Steel Magnolias, even though they were in the same city of Los Angeles .

While the staff were preparing for the show, Elizabeth Murdoch greeted Julia . After being acknowledged, Elizabeth asked softly as if they were friends：“Julia, what do you think of Eric Williams?”

“He is a real jerk!” Julia directly blurted it out without even thinking . Elizabeth’s approach had somehow put her in a bad mood .

“……” Elizabeth looked at Julia, confused and wordless .

Julia spoke in a low voice and others were chatting softly, so her words were heard by only several persons around . Sitting by Julia was Sally Field who could not help laughing . Sally had similar experiences and heard about the affairs between Julia and Eric . Thus, she could surely sense a woman’s jealousy hidden in Julia’s words .

Julia realized what she had just said and blushed scarlet, trying to find a place where she could hide herself . Fortunately, the video hall became darkened . Not until then did Julia draw a deep breath .

Elizabeth Murdoch sat straight and could not help but glance at Julia several times before focusing her attention on the screen .

Since Eric prioritized The Others among the 3 films he had invested in, it was naturally arranged in the latter half of the show as the highlight . The first movie to put on show was Herbert Ross’s Steel Magnolias .

Steel Magnolias was featured by plots characterized of trivia . The whole film was centered around the daily life of 6 women and the highlights included the Eatentons’ wedding, Easter, Christmas, the New Year and funerals . Although Herbert Ross had added some comic elements, it was a drama film on the whole .

The movie started with the wedding of Shelby Eatenton, a role played by Julia . Minutes of narration combined with trivia presented to the audience the images of 6 women with distinct characteristics .

Shelby’s wedding was followed by the New Year . The hairdresser named Annelle was no longer shy or self-abased like she used to . She got to know a waiter at the wedding and the two fell in love and started living together soon . Annelle felt that all was a god-given gift and treasured her life a lot . For this, she began to embrace Christianity hectically and kept on praying all the time . Shelby suffered from hyperinsulinemia, a disease that was in stark contrast with diabetes . The illness could cause hypoglycemia and the patient would faint in an attack . So the doctor advised Shelby never to give birth .

After marriage, Shelby’s medical certificate showed that she could not adopt children . Then she tried to get pregnant without telling her parents .

Life went on slowly and Shelby gave birth to her child smoothly . However, another nightmare befell the family .

Due to her delivery, Shelby suffered from serious kidney failure . In this case, her strict mother tried to save her by giving one kidney .

The operation was successful and Shelby seemed to go back to her normal life . Her son was growing up gradually and she continued to devote herself to her beloved work . However, life was not all roses . One day, Shelby fainted on the floor while taking care of her son at home .

After she was sent to hospital, the poor woman could only stay alive with the help of life support apparatus . Shelby’s mother was staying by her side all day and all night, only to find her incurable . Eventually, Shelby’s father signed his name on some papers and the apparatus was removed .