Chapter 244: Hollywood Black and White Movies (2)
Chapter 244: Hollywood Black and White Movies (2)
"Can you imagine? I'm sitting here, surrounded by famous makeup artists and agents, oh..." Selina sits in front of the dressing table, sighing. She squints her eyes as if she's enchanted by the fantasy life.
"I don't need to imagine, they'll be here soon."
"What?" Selina turns around, looking at him in confusion. Then she sees a group of people rushing in from the door of the dressing room, holding clothes hangers with various dresses on them, and jewelry racks with gemstones on them. They swarm around Selina.
Bruce sits on the sofa on one side of the room, squinting his eyes. He holds a cigar in his hand but doesn't put it in his mouth, letting the smoke float.
"Hey, wait, what are you guys doing?" Selina is lifted off her chair before she can react, but soon, the stylists push her into the changing room.
Bruce leans against the sofa, looking up at the dressing room. This is the witness to Hollywood's rise, where countless international actors and celebrities have sat. The mirror reflects their shining faces.
Exquisite dresses glide over the soft carpet, and sparkling gemstones weave into a brilliant galaxy. The wood here still smells of perfume, mixed with the scent of cigars, making people drowsy.
The most prosperous and magnificent era makes anyone immerse themselves unconsciously, chasing after those luxurious, complicated and beautiful dreams.
Bruce slowly opens his eyes and sees Selina walk out of the changing room.
It's the first time he's seen Selina in such a dress, a long fishtail dress covered in delicate diamonds. The overhead lights make her body flow with a sparkling river. This kind of light makes Bruce, who's used to darkness, squint his eyes. Selina touches her earrings and looks at Bruce, "Do I look good?"Bruce's blue eyes squint and always make people feel uneasy. In the cat's intuition, this feeling is even stronger. Selina clearly feels the aggressiveness in Bruce's eyes, which makes him look less like a playboy and more like a beast.
Bruce stands up, takes her hand, and Selina puts her hand on his waist, saying, "Is this a dream?"
Bruce sees a hint of confusion between her eyebrows, with a bit of childishness, like a little girl who can't figure out a simple question.
The life in the slums makes people lose all their innocence. The days of struggling for food and clothing are etched on her eyebrows, and the strength and wildness that supported her in those difficult days, after being washed away by this bit of childishness, show a sense of fragility that makes Bruce's heart beat fiercely, which hasn't happened in many years.
When Selina looks up, her eyes are brighter than the gemstones on her body. She says, "Have you seen that movie?"
"Which one?"
"...I forgot." Selina turns her head and says, "But there's always one. I remember, the male and female leads are dancing on stage, and the female lead is wearing the same dress as me. She's very beautiful..."
"So are you."
"Will you dance with me?" Selina asks.
Bruce holds her waist and says, "That question should be asked by me, Miss Selina. Can you dance with me?"
The floating light casts a dim shadow, like a dream that will never wake up. The dust under the light starts to dance, like a band playing a dance in the microscopic world. The light falls, and nothing here has changed, but the day has dawned.
"Look at this! This is so cool!" Peter picks up a lasso and says excitedly, "I guess this must be a prop from a western movie! When I went to the west last time... Oh, Gwen, come and see, what's in there? It looks like a dressing room?"
Peter pulls Gwen over, pointing to a room inside. They are curious and leaning in to take a look. The guide sees their expression and introduces them, "Oh, this is the exhibition hall that restores the dressing room from the original set. Most of the exhibits here were moved from there."
"Restore? What happened to that dressing room?"
The guide shows a regretful expression and shrugs, "Unfortunately, it was burned down in a big fire at the turn of the century."
"Oh my god, I think my dad told me about that fire," Gwen crossed herself over her chest and said, "I remember a firefighter also sacrificed his life."
"Yes, there aren't many items left, but this exhibition has tried its best to recreate the scene at the time. You can go in and have a look," the guide said.
Peter and Gwen hand in hand walked into the dressing room. As soon as they entered, Gwen exclaimed, "Wow," and Peter touched the wooden dressing table, saying, "This must be authentic? The wood grain is really beautiful."
"Yes," the guide stood at the door and said, "The sofa next to it was also rescued from the original site. You can visit it. I won't disturb you."
The guide smiled and then left. Peter looked around, completely immersed in the new experience brought by the antique atmosphere.
This is a completely different feeling from a technology exhibition, full of humanistic charm from that prosperous era.
Peter walked to the sofa, looked left and right, and then sat down. Gwen exclaimed, "Why did you sit on it? This is a cultural relic. What if it breaks?"
"It's okay, it's quite sturdy. Do you want to try it?"
Every time Peter looked up, his eyes were always bright, filled with joy and anticipation that almost overflowed. Gwen walked in front of him, grabbed Peter's outstretched hand, and rarely looked down at Peter's face from top to bottom.
"Do you know how red your face is?" Peter smiled and said.
Gwen fanned her face with her hand, as if to change the subject, and said, "I have a good idea. I'll walk out of there... that changing room. Can you imagine me wearing a beautiful dress? Can you imagine it?"
"Of course, my imagination is great." Peter moved in the chair, seeming to not know how to relax, then he leaned back against the backrest, lifted his head, and Gwen let go of his hand and turned to the dressing room.
When Peter heard a "creak," he knew that the dressing room door had opened. Looking down at the ceiling, he saw Gwen walking out of the dressing room, standing in front of the window against the light, and the afternoon sun covered her with a layer of silver gauze. Peter was really attracted.
He stared wide-eyed, his pupils slightly contracted, as if he was stunned. Gwen suddenly lowered her head and smiled, then stretched out a hand, and Peter stood up involuntarily, holding her hand. When Gwen looked at him, her voice sounded light and thin.
"Do you think, like in the movies, someone has done this in this dressing room before?"
"I think... maybe," Peter stuttered.
"What do you think they would do next?"
"...What would they do?" Peter felt his mind go blank. Gwen turned her head, looked at the window, and then said, "Anyway, they wouldn't just stand there like you."
After speaking, she let go of Peter's hand, turned and walked to the other side. Peter was suddenly awakened, he grabbed Gwen, and Gwen turned to look at him. A bright beam of sunlight brought up countless tiny dust particles between them.
"Gwen..." Peter could only call out her name dumbfoundedly, feeling the warmth from her hand. Gwen saw a complex expression suddenly appear on Peter's face, but in the end, she saw Peter open his mouth and not say anything.
Gwen showed a hint of sadness, but quickly suppressed it. She said, "Let's go and see other exhibitions."
When the two of them walked out of the exhibition hall, it was close to dusk. Gwen and Peter walked hand in hand on the steps in front of the exhibition hall. They walked down layer by layer, watching the twilight light flow down the steps.
"What do you think?" Gwen suddenly asked, and Peter turned to look at her, a bit confused. "What do you mean?"
"How is this exhibition?"
"It's great, I mean... well, it's a bit different, but it's really good. I never knew film history could be so interesting."
"I thought you wouldn't like it." Gwen put one hand behind her back and said, "After all, you seem to prefer industrial products."
"Don't say things like 'I love you if you love me.' I don't want to hear that." Gwen looked at Peter from above her eyes, and Peter showed a somewhat embarrassed expression. Gwen laughed and said, "You're the least romantic person I've ever met."
Peter scratched his temple. His mouth turned downward and he said, "You must think I'm a very boring person, right? I really can't say nice things. My aunt often says that it's a miracle that I can find a girlfriend in this world."
Gwen suddenly laughed at his words. She chuckled and said, "You really aren't very interesting... but you always manage to make me laugh."
"You know, Peter..." Gwen suddenly looked at Peter seriously and said, "I always feel like there's another you, a you that I don't know, hidden beneath your appearance."
"Maybe I'm just overthinking it, but I have this intuition, Peter. What attracts me to you is the soul beneath your surface, you're different from them, but I can't quite put my finger on what's different..."
Seeing Peter's expression, Gwen asked, "Am I making you feel uncomfortable?"
She shook her head gently, and her hair flew with the movement.
"Don't feel uncomfortable, Peter."
She stepped down the next step before Peter, then looked up at him and said, "Just as you're willing to accompany me on a trip to Hollywood, to fulfill our childhood fantasies, just as you're willing to accept a different me, I can of course accept a different you."
She reached out and lightly touched Peter's face with her finger, saying, "Don't worry, don't doubt, don't feel uncomfortable... Peter, no matter the past, present, or future, you don't have to feel uncomfortable for me."
Peter's mind flashed with the dreams he had dreamed over and over again. His eyes contained the youth's naivety, but also a different kind of perseverance. He looked into Gwen's eyes where there was a sea of tender lovers. He heard Gwen say, "... I like every version of you, the different you."
"You're different from everyone I've ever met..." Selena walked down one step and stood still, looking up at Bruce on the upper step. "It's like there are two completely different souls living in your body."
"Why do you say that?" Bruce looked at Selena, and the two-step height difference made their height difference even greater. Selena's effort to lift her head looked a bit funny, but also cute.
"Can I take it as cat's intuition? I don't even know if the you I see now is the real you, or if there are many versions of you?"
"Which one do you like the most?" Bruce's eyes, in the glow of the sunset, suddenly ignited orange flames in their icy blue, and Selina felt her gaze being melted by the flames until they burned into her heart.
"Of course, I like the rich one." Selina waved her arms and said, "The one who can take me to Los Angeles to play, and can give me such a beautiful dress, and dance with me..."
Selina was sure she saw disappointment in Bruce's eyes, and she suddenly smiled cunningly. Looking back at Bruce, with a bit of pride, she said, "You were sad just now, weren't you?"
"I remember you said that bats don't get sad." Selina reached out a hand to touch Bruce's face, but the height difference made her movements look like those of a believer reaching out to pray to a deity.
"But you can be sad. You are not just a bat, at least not to me...my Mr. Fluffy."