Chapter 3 : Confiding, Moving Out, and Scandal.

Bliss Restaurant was co-invested by Adrian and a friend.

In recent years, he had made some money from acting and invested in a friend''s restaurant outside the industry. Even Christopher didn''t know about this.

He had known this friend before entering the industry, and the friend was very reliable. Even when Adrian was busy with filming and didn''t show up for months, he wasn''t worried. But when he had time, he would still visit, as it was a partnership, and he couldn''t be too hands-off.

The car drove directly to the back door. After entering through the back, Adrian first went to the kitchen, greeted everyone, and then went straight to the third floor.

The office door was open, and he knocked lightly.

"Come in," a deep voice said.

Adrian walked in and sat down in front of the desk. The person behind the desk was busy writing something and didn''t look up at him.

After waiting for a while without hearing a word, the person looked up and, seeing it was him, raised his thick eyebrows, "How come you have time to come by today? Didn''t you say you were busy filming recently?"

Adrian: "Filming isn''t a 24-hour job."

The person thought for a moment and asked, "Is Mr. DuPont very busy? Or... did you two have a fight?"

Adrian: "...I don''t even dare to talk to you anymore."

"So what happened between you two?"

Adrian licked his lips, "Brian, Christopher and I are over."

Brian''s full name was Brian Brown, six years older than Adrian, with a wife and a son. He had a laid-back and straightforward personality, and Adrian got along very well with him. Over the years, Adrian had always treated him like a brother and was willing to share everything with him.

Brian just frowned slightly and asked a seemingly unrelated question, "Is your filming going smoothly?"

Adrian knew what he was worried about and nodded, "It''s going well. I''ll still be able to get better roles in the future... Brian, he won''t shortchange me in that regard."

In many ways, Christopher is a man of quality. He is gentle, generous, humble, emotionally intelligent, and deeply affectionate. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have waited for Caleb for six years and kicked Adrian out without a second thought when Caleb was about to return to the country.

Brian looked at him for a moment and said mercilessly, "It hurts, doesn''t it?"

Adrian had nothing to hide in front of Brian, so he nodded with a bitter smile, "Yeah."

Brian said, "I''m not going to comfort you. After all, this was your own choice. I''ve said everything I needed to say over the past few years. Now, I''ll just remind you to pull yourself together as soon as possible. You''re still young, and there''s a long road ahead."

"I know, Brian, I will." Adrian nodded vigorously, not sure to whom he was making the promise.

After leaving Bliss Restaurant, Adrian had Adam drive him straight home. Despite being mentally prepared, he was still stunned when he opened the door.

——Christopher''s things were all gone.

Christopher had moved out.

This house was initially given to Adrian by Christopher when they signed the contract. Most of the items inside were Adrian''s, with only a small portion belonging to Christopher. Now, that small portion had disappeared as if Christopher had never existed in this house.

Adrian collapsed on the sofa, feeling a void in his heart, as if the missing items had taken a piece of him with them, leaving a cold draft blowing through.

There was a note pressed on the coffee table: "Contact me when you have time. We''ll handle the house transfer and I''ll give you the two million and the termination agreement I promised."

Adrian crumpled the note and threw it into the trash can. He called a lawyer friend, "When are you coming back to the country? Look me up when you do, I need your help with something."

Christopher owned several properties. After moving out from Adrian''s place, he went straight to a penthouse in the city center.

The apartment was a one-unit-per-floor type, offering great privacy. He went directly from the underground parking lot to the top floor without encountering anyone.

He brought very few things from Adrian''s place, not even enough to fill a suitcase. He carried the suitcase into the living room, dropped it in the corner, and didn''t want to move.

He felt very tired, didn''t want to talk, didn''t want to move, and didn''t even feel like going to bed. It was as if a vague, indescribable heaviness was pressing on his chest.

After lying on the sofa for a while, his phone rang. It was Caleb calling. He didn''t feel the excitement he had imagined, but there was some anticipation.

"Christopher," Caleb called him on the other end, his voice gentle and lingering, "I''ve already bought the ticket for next Tuesday night. We''ll see each other soon."

Christopher smiled, "Really? Well, take care on your way. I''ll treat you to dinner when you get back."

Caleb said softly, "Christopher, I want to eat something you cook yourself. I haven''t had it in years, and I''m going crazy."

Christopher paused and replied softly, "Okay, I''ll cook for you when you get back."

They talked for a few more minutes before hanging up. Christopher lay on the sofa until dusk before slowly sitting up. He picked up his phone and ordered some takeout, but before it arrived, his agent Angela called.

"Where are you? Have you checked Twitter?"

Christopher put his phone on speaker and logged into Twitter, "What''s up?"

Angela''s tone was not good, "Alice is really something. It''s only midweek, and she''s already trending twice. Is she trying to go the controversial route?"

[Young actress Alice, after rumors of cohabitation with actor Christopher, is now getting cozy with rising star Adrian on set.]

Below were two photos of Alice and Adrian on set, with their arms around each other. According to an insider, these photos were not from the film. The "insider" did not explain the origin of the photos, but this kind of ambiguity only piqued everyone''s curiosity.

Some media outlets even posted photos of Christopher and Alice from the previous day, comparing them to those of Adrian and Alice, mocking Alice for being fickle while also taking the opportunity to ridicule the two male leads. Of course, the main target was Adrian for two reasons: Adrian was not as popular as Christopher, and Adrian came after Christopher.

Netizens accused Adrian of trying to ride on Mr. DuPont''s fame to promote himself and climb up the ladder. There were also some who felt sorry for Adrian, but they were clearly outnumbered by Mr. DuPont''s massive fan base.

"What''s up with your Adrian? He knows you just had a scandal with Alice, so why is he getting involved? Is he out of his mind?"

Angela always spoke bluntly and harshly, but she was highly capable; otherwise, she wouldn''t be managing Christopher.

Christopher was used to her temper and way of speaking. He rubbed his temples and said, "I don''t know. We''re not together."

"You can''t even manage your own people. I think you should give up being a movie star!"

Christopher found it amusing. "Whether I stay a movie star isn''t up to me."

"Don''t get cheeky with me!" Angela snapped. "Ask Adrian what his company plans to do. This isn''t just a problem for one or two companies now. We need to know their plan so we can respond appropriately. I''ll talk to Alice. We were just cooperating to create a scandal, not a real mess. If she doesn''t want to cooperate anymore, I''ll take back the two roles I promised her."

After Angela finished speaking, she waited for Christopher''s response. Christopher was silent for a moment and then said, "Adrian and I, we''re done."