hollywood billionaire

Chapter 250 Glory and Dreams
"Really?"

This time, Dua Lipa and Anne-Marie, Ellie Goulding's two British compatriots, spoke at the same time, with clearly discernible doubts in their tones.

"You don't look like a chav at all."

Dua Lipa has lived in central London basically her whole life, and she probably sees the most British teenagers wandering the streets all day long.

After returning to London alone from Pristina at the age of 15, Dua Lipa has been studying at Parliament Hill Secondary School in the northern district of Camden.Generally speaking, Camden is not a dangerous neighborhood where violence is rampant, but it has a large number of bars and is one of the most noisy nightlife destinations in London.If there is alcohol, there will be fights, and if there are fights, there will definitely be chavs.

In the English-speaking world, this is a term unique to the British Isles and refers to young people from low-income backgrounds who wear flashy clothes, usually knock-offs of luxury brands, and sports-style hair and makeup.

Teenagers in every country are a headache, but compared to the United States, where AR-15s are everywhere, the United Kingdom, which has a total gun ban and loose sentencing standards for minor crimes, is obviously more troublesome.

In this country where you don’t have to worry about getting shot in the head when you go out on the streets, every town has countless chavs, also known as chavs, who cross the road everywhere, litter, drink alcohol during the day, and smoke in groups, all of which will make pedestrians frown. , but they would do anything that wouldn’t lead to them actually getting caught by the police.

The next level up is the roadmen that all British citizens talk about.The whole body is covered in black Nike and Adidas. In recent years, the trend of wearing black face masks has become more and more popular.

They roamed the neighborhoods where they lived in groups, and some even formed "knife gangs."The hand in his coat pocket is tightly holding the knife that he carefully selected after countless weapon fights, which is as easy as his arm to use his fingers.

Ordinary people use daggers and machetes, ruthless people use butterfly knives, and a few who don't have the correct brain circuits even carry crossbows with them.Everyone is on edge, ready to take on a rival gang member or a passerby they don't like.

Even well-trained professional boxers or professional soldiers will try their best to avoid conflicts with them when walking on the street.Adults always have all kinds of worries and worries, and these teenagers who were born in Romania instead of Rome are already destined to die. Even if they stab you twice, the most they can do is be sent to a young offender institution and jailed, and Only part of the sentence needs to be served, and they can even serve the rest in the community "on license."

The pop star in front of me, with her fairy-like fluffy blond hair, speaking in a noble Bristol accent, and wearing an emerald Chloé haute couture gown, doesn't look like she's the bottom of a family struggling to step ashore from the quagmire.

Dua-lipa doesn't even quite believe she's from Hereford.

How can any Herefordian have such standard pronunciation?

With their Rhotic accents, they also incorporate some Welsh vocal habits, making them sound quite rural.

In a country like the UK with strict hierarchies and distinct classes, people with similar accents will basically be considered by default to be poor people below the middle-income level.

"I wasn't like what I am now."

Ellie Goulding knew where Dua Lipa and Anne-Marie's doubts came from. She tapped her fingertips lightly on her lips and smiled.

"I was born with red hair. It was brown when I was born, and then gradually turned into some kind of strange dark red as time went by. Maybe it's because my mother has red hair and my father has black hair. The sides are I’ve inherited some of it, so it’s a mixed color.”

"I thought you were born with blonde hair." Hayley Williams was very surprised. After all, Ellie Goulding has been synonymous with blonde girls in the music industry since her debut.

"Yes, many people think so, but you can tell by looking at my hair roots." Ellie lowered her head and showed Hailey the hair roots on the top of her head, which were bleached and dyed countless times and neutralized with red. of turmeric.

"As a teenager, I hated my mother... to be more precise, I was very disappointed with her irresponsible attitude. I was too young at that time to think about deeper things. I couldn't imagine why she turned into me. Why can her husband just disappear into family life and she has to bear everything..."

"At that time, I was a slum girl who was rebellious for the sake of rebellion. I hated the world and the role it gave me, but I couldn't be angry with the entire earth, so I could only vent all my emotions on the people around me. , and on myself.”

"I dyed my hair jet black, leaving no trace of red. If I grew even an inch of my original color, I would dye it all over again because I don't want to see anything on me that reminds me of Her traces.”

"I wore heavy eye shadow, wore goth clothes, fucked this and shit that every day, and hung out with the baddest and coolest girls in school. It was common for me to skip school and take the car to Kington's early on weekends. I wandered around the town center that could be walked in five minutes and didn’t get home until the early hours of the morning. I drank whatever they drank and smoked whatever they smoked.”

"Although I hung out with them, I never felt that I was... a chav. Maybe I thought so at the time. When my brothers and sisters called me that, I was even a little proud. But now I understand, I am like this It’s not because I agree with their lifestyle, it’s just the opposite.”

"I did this just to let my mother see what her little daughter has become under her neglect. My fall is her sin."

Ellie Goulding looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

"I don't like this kind of life, not only when I think about it now, but also at the time. I am actually a very introverted person. I am more comfortable lying in bed and listening to music than prowling around on the street. Some. But I still force myself to meet those girls every day, because I don’t believe that I have the luck to choose another life. Father running away, single-parent family, public housing, struggling to survive, no matter how you look at it, it should be a standard tragic script .”

"I thought I would go on like this, drop out of school every day until the school officially expelled me, then find a job in a bar or supermarket, hang out with some greasy hippie whose hair was long enough to be knotted, and I had to stay with him because I was pregnant. Get married, give birth to three or four children in a confused manner, and then repeat the fate of the Goulding family..."

"But suddenly one day, I..."

"I walked into a Tesco in Hereford, next to Victoria Street, with a bunch of girls. It wasn't to buy anything, it was to steal. We were having a boring competition to see who could avoid being spotted by the shop assistants. situation, stealing the highest value merchandise."

"I'm telling you, they are really...professional players. They can stuff three bottles of red wine into their sweatshirts, and they won't notice any difference. I'm different. I feel like no matter what I stuff into my pocket, it will crunch and attract attention." , even if it’s a bag of gum.”

"I stood... I still remember, between aisles [-] and [-], looking at the dazzling array of snacks and candies, and hesitated for a long time. I didn't want to win the championship in this kind of competition, but I also didn't want to steal too little. They laughed at me."

"Finally, I took a few packs of Wagon Wheels, unzipped my coat, and put it into my arms..."

"Wagon Wheels."

Capturing the name of each food in other people's affectionate memories is Zhao Youzhen's unique ability.

"What are Wagon Wheels?"

"A chocolate-flavored sweet." Dua Lipa whispered for Zhao Youzhen, "Two short biscuits sandwiched together, filled with marshmallows inside, and covered with chocolate coating."

“No packed lunch is complete without this sweet treat,” Anne-Marie further explains, “If your mom puts a Wagon Wheels in your lunch box, you’re the coolest kid on the playground… eating one. Chocolate almost as big as your head.”

"Yes, I have always envied those who brought Wagon Wheels to school since I was a child. Our school provides free lunch, but many children's parents still pack them with various snacks." Ellie-Goulding combined Regarding his own situation, he made the final addition, "As for our family, a single mother raises four children. She usually eats whatever is available and convenient. Oatmeal for dinner is a common meal. There is no extra money to buy these. thing."

"In general..." Han Yi, who understood clearly, made an analogy with the common memory of the people of China and South Korea that Zhao Youzhen could instantly understand, "It's Orion's chocolate pie."

"Ah, Orion." Zhao Youzhen, whose brain pathways were more or less blocked by the cocktail, suddenly realized, "It seems that children in every country eat the same thing."

"Chocolate, cream, cake, as long as you are a child, it should be difficult to resist the charm of their combination." Ellie Goulding smiled and drew a rectangle on her chest, "So, naturally, It became my first choice. While I was pretending, I thought, this kind of snack is not expensive, if I get caught, there won’t be any serious punishment, right?”

"Result, Murphy's Law. Before I could put the third piece of pie into my arms, I was discovered."

"There was a clerk, a middle-aged woman in her 40s, who appeared in the same aisle pushing a restocking trolley." Ellie Goulding straightened her arms, roughly making a gesture between the two. Distance, "There is only so much space between me and her. It feels like if she reaches out, she can directly grab my collar."

"You must be scared, right?" Madison Beal asked. "If it were me, my heart would have stopped if I was caught doing this for the first time."

"I'm about the same." Ellie Goulding covered her mouth and snickered, "It's just...she's about the same. You should know how scary my outfit was at that time. I was dressed in black from head to toe. I wore it to hide people's eyes. The black hood, even the eyeshadow was smoky. I could see the fear in her eyes. She let go of the cart, took a step back, and opened her mouth, feeling like she would scream at any moment. "

Ellie Goulding's description was so vivid that when she was talking about it, Han Yi could even hear Zhao Youzhen, Madison and Billie not far away holding their breath at the same time, as if they were at the crime scene. Same.

"But the next second, her eyes moved downwards and saw the Wagon Wheels in my arms. Suddenly...suddenly I discovered that people's eyes can really detect temperature. Her eyes changed from cold panic to cold panic in an instant. It turned into warm...warm affection. Apart from this word, I don't know what else can be used to describe the look she gave me at that time."

"At the same time, I also saw her face clearly. There were wrinkles, but not many. She wore bright lipstick, but it still couldn't hide her fatigue. The most important thing is that she also has ginger hair."

"I just stood there tremblingly and looked at her for a long time. Finally, she smiled at me, waved her hands gently twice, said nothing, took her cart and continued forward. gone."

"At that time, I didn't think about anything. I didn't even have time to think about it. I didn't even put the pie in my arms back on the shelf. I just ran out of the supermarket. On the way home, no matter how they laughed at me, I just said No. Because I keep thinking about that clerk...why did she let me go. After letting me go, will she be punished for throwing things away? Did she pay for these pies for me? She Why do this?"

"Did you go back to check later?" Lana Del Rey asked.

"No. I don't dare to go back. Until now, I have never stepped foot into that Tesco." Ellie Goulding smiled bitterly and shook her head. "It's not accurate to say that. I often... often go back in my dreams." . In the dream, I was standing by that shelf, keeping looking at her, and she kept looking at me, without saying anything, until I woke up."

"In the dream, she started to look more and more like my mother."

"Both of them really seem...both have red hair, both work in supermarkets, and both are so delicate but tired. Maybe, on the day when I took the first step towards the point of no return, God sent me One of His guardian angels, in the form of my mother, gave me a final hand.”

"The moment this idea came into my mind, I let go of all the resentment I had towards my mother. I started to dye my hair back to a normal color, and then dyed it blonde. I broke away from the clique, studied hard, and got a third degree. Door A, got into college. In college, I studied like crazy everything I could, participated in every meaningful activity I could, met some... great people. Started playing sports, started studying How to eat healthy, start running half and full marathons, until I met my first manager, Jamie Lillywhite, and the rest is history.”

"What a touching story." Khalid opened his mouth, "Your mother must have been particularly moved after hearing it."

"This is what they call divine intervention." Hayley Williams pursed her lips thoughtfully, "I'm not a particularly religious person, but I have to admit that some things in this world are just like that. wonderful."

"I never told her this story."

"What?" Anne-Marie's eyes widened, "Why? This story will definitely change the trajectory of her life, I'm sure."

"After all, there is a difference between fables and reality, isn't there?" Ellie Goulding's lowered eyes revealed a hint of loneliness, "I haven't spoken to her for a long, long time. I tried my best. Working hard to become one of the brightest stars in this country was to prove to her and my father that their broken relationship had not hurt me, that I was still strong, that I was the future they never shared. "

"But obviously, the more successful I am, the greater the negative impact it has on my mother. She is also an artist and a musician, but her time has passed and her moment will never come. . I think just realizing that hurt her deeply."

"I once invited her to come and live with me in London, but no matter how much I tried to persuade her, she was unwilling to leave Hereford."

"I originally thought she would be proud of her daughter's achievements. Sadly, on the contrary, her daughter's success has become the mirror she is most afraid of looking into. The more prominent I am, the more incompetent she appears. This is The last words she said to me during our last fight."

Ellie Goulding wiped the corners of her eyes and smiled pretending to be relaxed.

"But I have never regretted it, because I know that if I spend the rest of my life like she did, both I and she will suffer even more. A friend of mine...I can't mention her name , but she said something very philosophical, which continues to inspire me to this day. She said that my success made my mother suffer during the day, but gave her a sweet dream after she fell asleep."

"The theme of that dream was, what would it be like if what Ellie Goulding went through happened to Tracey Goulding?"

"In that case, will she not have to sacrifice her own life to raise four children?"

"Look, Maddie, our mothers' names are exactly the same - Tracy." Ellie Goulding sat next to Madison Beer and held the latter in her arms, "So, although your The story is different from mine, but I can still relate to it. Because we are all the same kind of people, and we all carry more or less the expectations and shadows of our families..."

"And I believe that every artist here should be like this."

"Art is the revelation of scars, and most of human scars come from families."

"I am." Dua Lipa raised her hand.

“So many unspeakable things happened in the lives of my grandparents and parents. Before I was born, they lived in Kosovo and Bosnia until the war broke out in 1992. My parents sought asylum in London while my grandparents stayed . During the more than ten years in London, they had to go back to school, learn English, learn the necessary skills to survive in the UK, and work several jobs at the same time in order to afford the rent and the life of the whole family. expenditure."

"But even so, they never gave up on returning to their hometown. It wasn't until I was 11 years old that they finally found a job in Kosovo and moved back. I'm really lucky that my parents have that special sense of belief. Strong people, maybe people who have come out of the war, are like this. Nothing can knock them down except death. They know that one day they will return home, so no matter how difficult it is, they will live a positive and optimistic life. Until the day when your dream comes true.”

"They treat me the same way. My mother often encourages me, saying that being a singer is my destiny. 'It doesn't matter whether you are studying or working in a clothing store, as long as you have this dream in your heart, it will come true one day. of.'"

"Giving up is not in the dictionary of Albanians. For myself and for them, I will stick to this path no matter what."

"Are they happy?" Han Yi asked with a smile, "Seeing their daughter's name appear on the British singles chart."

"I'm so happy. The last time we Facetimed with them, my dad memorized all the lyrics of the new single and sang it to me again." Dua Lipa smiled brightly. "He also said that he would come to Los Angeles if he had the chance. I’m looking for you to thank you in person for the opportunity you gave me.”

"My parents said the same thing." Bi Li interrupted and said to Han Yi, "They asked me to invite you to come to our house for dinner when you are free."

"Come to our house for dinner?" Phineas laughed dumbly, "What are they going to do, poison?" The cooking skills of two professional actors who have been working on the set all year round and who work day and night can basically be described as appalling.

"They just said they would come home for dinner, they didn't say they were going to do it." Bi Li winked at her brother, "I may have to work harder for you then, brother."

"It seems that our parents are the same kind of people." Khaled laughed. "My mother said the same thing. She told me to take my boss to El Paso or bring her to Los Angeles. She needs to give him a good Southern hug.”

"From her father, to the army, to me... I have seen her sacrifice and dedication over the years. I still remember that half a year ago, when you found me through SoundCloud, I didn't review almost any conditions. I signed the contract precisely because I have been waiting for this opportunity for too long. I want to get the advance payment quickly, buy her a car, and let my mother see that having me is the best thing in her life. Something to be proud of.”

"I'm different." Anne-Marie pouted with a proud look on her face, "Mom, dad, and sister, they have already booked their tickets to Los Angeles next month. They put their vacation together just to come and see Where I live now, look at the record label I’m signed to, and look at that magician sitting in the president’s office.”

"Next month?" Dua Lipa rubbed her chin and thought seriously, "My tour starts in October. Next month... I can invite them to Los Angeles."

"Then let's do it together!" Anne-Marie clapped her hands and excitedly announced, "Bring all our parents here!"

"What are you going to do, a parent-teacher association?"

Han Yi's tone sounded helpless, but in fact, a series of ripples of emotion and emotion had already appeared in his heart.

Since the establishment of Han Music, everything has been developing rapidly on the established track preset by him.From Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Lauv, Migos to Marshmello, Han Yi followed the chart and captured the future superstars who are about to appear on the world stage.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment?Of course, this is like buying all the Powerball jackpot tickets for the next ten years in one go. Just thinking about the series of miracles they have achieved in another time and space is enough to make people excited.

However, resources are accumulating too fast, and several new artist signing cases have to be handled every week.Therefore, except for a few little girls such as Billie and Madison who dazzle in front of his eyes every day, in Han Yi's mind, the artist matrix he spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build is still just an abstract space-time symbol, and a Wikipedia-style outline.

Lana Del Rey, Elle Goulding and Dua Lipa are my artists?Awesome.

But who are they?
Han Yi didn't have time to explore such issues.

When your career is at a rapid pace, who has the energy to pay attention to those trivial emotions that are irrelevant?
Even today, Han Yi did not schedule time for this matter.He set up a grand dinner to further expand his contacts in the circle.He left Hayley Williams behind and started this late-night conversation in the clouds between dawn and dawn, just to attract the Paramore lead singer to his side, nothing more.

But he didn't expect that this kind of lobbying scene that had happened countless times in the past few months would bring him such an unexpected surprise.

He heard a Hayley Williams who was very different from her appearance, fragile and sensitive.

He saw a completely exposed, soft and delicate Ellie Goulding.

He touched the soul of a reckless, brave, but also wise and introspective soul named Madison Beale.

They are not fictional characters on the stage, behind the mask.

They are all human beings.

For the first time after his rebirth, apart from Xu Yiru and Zhao Youzhen, he felt the noisy, chaotic, and extremely charming reality of this new world.

This illusory game made of money is gradually turning into a real life of flesh and blood.

At this moment, Han Yi suddenly realized that Han Music, a dream that originally belonged to him alone, had become a future that many people hoped for.

And it's better.

It's much better.

The journey is always better when you have fellow travelers.

"You heard me, Haley."

Amidst the sudden lively chatter, Madison Beer, who was leaning on Ellie Goulding's arms, looked at Hayley Williams gently but forcefully, summarizing everyone's glory and dreams, and made a decision A powerful closing argument.

"I don't want to say this, but I think the troubles you are having now definitely didn't exist when Paramore was first established. Because... before success, you only think about how to succeed, but not what happens after success. The troubles that come with it. This is normal, every one of us is like this. Human nature is like this, we will never be satisfied, and every stage has its shortcomings."

"I haven't reached the stage of life you are in now, and neither have the vast majority of people in this room. Even...you, Lana, shouldn't be able to empathize with Hailey, right?"

"I feel like I've passed my prime." Lana Del Rey laughed at herself, "But the mental states Hailey mentioned are indeed not the reality I'm familiar with."

"But I don't doubt their authenticity."

"I don't doubt it either." Madison nodded, "Musicians will definitely feel quite intense suffering when they reach...the stage where they can be remembered by history together with their works. The fear that artistic creativity is dying, the spotlight The helplessness that is gradually extinguished, and...as you said, Hailey, that kind of loneliness left in time, even the strongest soul will be tortured."

"Just thinking about it makes me feel so chilled by the pain that doesn't belong to me yet. But even though it's so terrible, what you said still can't outweigh my enthusiasm for it all."

"Because it is such a blessing to be able to stay in time forever."

"The vast majority of people can only go down the river. My understanding of life is not deep enough, but I think their description is correct. This is a stream flowing in one direction. It can be slow or fast. Well, there is always movement, and there is always change. Time will erase all traces of existence, just like the current will cover the waves of each boat passing by."

"Some people want to go upstream, and some want to stop where they are. The scenery on both sides of the Taiwan Strait is so beautiful that they don't want to leave like this... But they have to leave after all. After leaving, there will be nothing."

"Our fathers, grandfathers, and all the ancestors who carried the same surname before us came here this way. We remember the name of our father or grandfather because they once took the same boat with us. We can't remember more. Our ancestors are so long ago because they have been gone for so long and apart from sharing the same surname, there is nothing left for us to remember about them.”

"Billions of people are born and die quietly like this... Don't get me wrong, they are definitely crucial to the people they love, but if the scale is widened to Human society as a whole, then it doesn’t matter whether they ever existed or not.”

"Now, in this case, you tell me that there is an opportunity to leave my name, my inspiration, thoughts and ravings in this creek forever, so that those who come after you can have a glimpse of it. Do you think How would I react?"

"If it were me, I would be ecstatic."

Touching Madison's head, Ellie Goulding replied softly.

“I would rather have my voice last longer than have a long lifespan.”

"Me too." Madison smiled at her, "Beethoven, Bach, Madonna, U2, they also stayed in this creek in this way. Going down the river, everyone can See the treasures they left for all mankind. The times retained them, they defined the times, and they gave each era a unique voice and a spiritual beacon."

"With them, time has meaning, and human existence itself has meaning."

"There is such a little girl on my Instagram account."

Madison Beer lit up her phone screen to show the crowd.

"Her name is Safi, she is seven years old and comes from Manchester, England. Since she just learned to type on the keyboard two or three years ago, she insists on sharing her joys and sorrows with me every day. She listens to every song of mine, Read every piece of news from me, treat me as a relative she has never met, and regard me as her indispensable friend. She will send me private messages every day, 360 days a year, even if she is sick and has a fever. I provide her with She gave me indescribable satisfaction and joy, and she gave me back exponentially.”

"Imagine how happy a person would be if he could have thousands of Safis at the same time."

"If I have a choice, I will stay in the best time without hesitation, accompany thousands of little girls like Safi as they grow up and grow old, and become their youthful memory. Be the one who introduces their green years to future generations. At that time, the window was gently pushed open."

"In the long river of time, I will always be young. They who have me will also be forever young."

Everyone, including Han Yi, was shocked by Madison Beer's poetic, romantic and magnificent fantasy.The salon area became quiet again, and only her gentle and soft narrative voice echoed between the glass walls.

"What's even more wonderful is that when we stay in time, we can also leave some precious memories that we cherish very much." At this point, Madison Beer reached out to Lana Del Rey, "For example... Some time ago, Lana invited me to participate in the creation of a single from her new album. That single was a collaboration between her and Stevie Nicks. I will never forget that phone call. For every word I uttered, if it is true that I can successfully participate in the recording and successfully preserve this joy forever, then...then it will be true and there will be no regrets."

"Yes, honey." Lana Del Rey also stretched out her hand towards Madison, shaking hands in the air, "This will be a classic that people are eager to sing, believe me."

"With Lana Del Rey and Stevie Nicks, everything becomes a classic."

Madison Beal smiled playfully.

"Besides, Hailey, what we leave behind in time is not all of ourselves. Look, aren't you still sitting here alive and talking to us?"

"What we leave in time is the part of ourselves as artists. The number of years that the artistic soul in us can maintain vigorous creativity is definitely shorter than our real life span. I think this is something we can all agree on. .So, after we as artists disappear, the other part of us still has to continue living, right?”

"We as ordinary people."

Having said this, Madison flipped her hair, glanced across Han Yi's face very quickly, and then lowered her eyes again.

"As ordinary people, we still have many things to experience. Fall in love with someone, be loved by someone, combine with him without hesitation, and spend a long life with him..."

"Beyond music, Hailey, there's a lot to look forward to."

“We who have two lives deserve the best.”

(End of this chapter)