A ripping sound was heard when Adrian removed the fake mustache below his nose. He exercised his mouth in front of a mirror, then threw the mustache away before keeping the windbreaker, the glasses, and the wide brim hat in his small suitcase. After adjusting his clothes in the mirror, he left the washroom. With that, a bloated man in a big windbreaker transformed into a handsome young man in a suit.
Adrian took a look around after leaving the mall, then left in his car that was parked along the street. The reason he disguised himself at the detective agency was mainly due to what would happen in the future, and he did not want the private detective to figure it out. Perhaps it would not affect him in a bad way, but it would still be hidden trouble, thus it was best to handle everything perfectly. Besides, disguising was an easy thing to do.
With that, all he could do now was to wait. Since Dean Wilson had his own way of finding people, and the clues provided were sufficient and clear, he should be able to find that woman.
Initially, Adrian wanted to provide more clues since he came across a lot of information about JK Rowling in his past life, but he mostly just glanced through them. Although he could remember everything he read, it was easier to recall those that he was more familiar with, whereas it was tougher to recall those he had only glanced at, which would require a long time to remember them. He began recollecting them a few days ago, but after a lot of effort, the most useful pieces of information he obtained were her birth date and that she graduated from the University of Exeter.
‘That’s enough for now. Since I have a few more years, I’ll just let Dean take his time. For all I know, I might remember something more about her too,’ Adrian thought to himself as he drove. He initially had the thought of copying the ‘Harry Potter’ series too, but he eventually dropped the idea because it was too difficult to handle.
Firstly, he was an American at the moment. It would be fine if he were to shoot British-styled films, but if he were to write seven British-styled novels, he would not be able to predict how the British people would feel about it. As such, it was best not to do it.
‘What? What if the setting is changed to America? Alright, if a school castle of witchcraft and wizardry with a history of over 1000 years were to tower on a vast plain in Minnesota… Wait, is it really going to be a school of witchcraft and wizardry that teaches magic, not a native American shaman school that teaches sorcery?’
‘Alright, let’s try another perspective. More than 300 years ago, a group of wizards traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to America, and built a school of witchcraft and wizardry in a forest in Maryland… Wait, if Nicolas Flamel can live for 600 years, it doesn’t make sense that the four founders have a shorter life than him, right? Okay, I’ll neglect their age, and assume that their lives are slightly longer than normal people, but if there are already two devils and two wars in the span of 300 years, which parent will be willing to send their children to the school?’
Adrian could not be bothered to do something that would be a pain in the neck. Moreover, he was not a professional writer, and it would also not be worth it if he were to have co-writers like the other three novels he had. Most importantly, he was more familiar with the film and the script, whereas he only read a few of the novels in the series, let alone the original version that was written.
It was best to let Rowling write them herself. Additionally, it was not easy being a single mother—this had nothing to do with Adrian being a hypocrite, because it was simply one of the things he wanted to do since he had the chance to be reborn, and he felt that he might as well jump off the Golden Gate Bridge if he dared not do this.
All in all, it would be fine as long as Adrian could be the first to get the novels’ adaptation rights, or he could also get someone else to write them since it would not be too late. It was not a billion dollars Rowling earned from the series that he valued, because if everything were to go smoothly in the future, he could earn more than that amount. Instead, he valued the industrial chain that was a result of the series—games, films, related products, and theme parks! They would complement his media company greatly.
He rested for a while after returning to the hotel he was staying at, then dialed a number on his phone. “Hey, my love, guess where I am now?”
“You’re in London?” Kate was surprised. “No wonder my sister was smiling at me like that when she asked me to pick up the phone.”
“Is that so? She didn’t recognize my voice at all.” Adrian teased as he pulled his tie downward. “Clearly, she did it on purpose, so you must punish her.”
“Forget it, she’s my sister.” Kate sighed on purpose, then asked, “Are you done filming your new film? I remember you saying that it’ll take at least two months, and it might be longer.”
“Of course I’m done with it, I only spent roughly 7 weeks. Aren’t you familiar with how I do things?” Adrian laughed. “Don’t you want me to finish earlier so that I can come see you as soon as possible?”
The two of them conversed for some time on the phone until Kate sighed again. “Oh, I’m sorry, Eddy. I’m afraid that I won’t be free for a few days because I have a few exams in school.”
“It’s alright, I have something to handle in London too,” Adrian responded smilingly. “When you graduate in a few days, you won’t get to leave me.”
“Are you so confident?” Kate sounded rather hostile.
“Yes.” Adrian was unconcerned.
“We’ll see then. I’m going to read, goodbye.” Kate scoffed, then hung up.
On the other hand, Adrian shook his head and chuckled. He looked through some documents for a while, then called someone else. Entrusting a private detective to locate Rowling was only a part of his plan, which would only be complete if the other part was done too.
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“There shouldn’t be a problem, Mr. Adrian. The information provided is very detailed, so we’ll just have to go through the formalities at the related departments tomorrow,” A man who was sitting on a couch mentioned after looking through some documents.
“Thank you, Chris. This couldn’t have been sorted so quickly without your help, and I must say that Brent recommended a good lawyer to me.” Adrian smiled and nodded.
“I’ll bring the documents to the study, so please wait for a while.” Chris stood up.
“Alright, no problem.” Adrian watched him leave, then began pondering after he lifted his cup of coffee.
Adrian was currently establishing a benevolent fund for single mothers, and the reason behind this was very clear. It would not matter even if he could not find Rowling, and he would simply take this as an act of charity. In any case, it was extremely common for wealthy people in western countries to be involved in charity whether it was a sincere act or not because it was very helpful in shaping one’s image, and charity dinners were also important events for socializing.
Therefore, before Adrian arrived in London, he made some arrangements through Waddell Brent, a British film producer connected with Bosworth Film Company who had also worked with him during his first film production—he was also the one who introduced him to Dean, the private investigator.
‘My plan should be foolproof now. Although so much has to be done, the industrial chain will be worth it,’ Adrian thought to himself, then turned to look at the other side of the long couch. A pair of bright eyes were looking curiously at him from behind the armrest.
They belonged to a little girl who was roughly 2 years old. She had slightly wavy long brown hair that was tied into a ponytail, and her chubby face made her look extremely adorable. Adrian smiled at her as he recognized that she was Chris’ daughter, and he saw her a few times before, but only caught a glimpse of her.
Unfortunately, she did not seem to appreciate his friendliness, thus she stuck her tongue out and made a silly face at him.
Adrian shook his head and chuckled. It was then when a woman’s voice was heard coming from outside the living room. “Baby girl, where are you?”
Before the little girl could reply to her, a young woman appeared at the living room entrance and was looking at her angrily. “How many times have I told you not to cause trouble when daddy has a guest?”
The woman later looked at Adrian apologetically. “I’m sorry, Mr. Adrian. I hope that the little fella didn’t disturb you.”
“It’s okay, Madam Jacqueline, we finished our business already.” Adrian stood up, then looked at the little girl who was running toward her mom. “Your daughter’s adorable.”
“Yes, she is, but she’s also very playful. She likes giving us trouble.” Even though the woman said so, it was clear through her smile that she doted on her daughter. “Have you greeted our guest, Emma?”
The little girl blinked her eyes at Adrian for some time without saying a word, then Adrian adjusted his collar, and reached his hand out to her as though he was really socializing with someone. “Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Emma.”
However, the little girl looked away and buried her head into her mom’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Adrian, the little fella’s quite… Shy,” Jacqueline explained helplessly.
“It’s okay, it’s normal for ladies to be shy,” Adrian replied casually.
Chris walked out of his study at that moment. He was slightly startled when he saw what was going on in the living room, then he handed a document to Adrian. “This is another document that you need, and if everything is okay, please sign at the bottom. Remember to bring it along tomorrow, and my wife and I will meet you at the firm at 9 o’clock in the morning.”
“Great, this will be done more efficiently with Jacqueline’s help.” Adrian nodded. Chris’ wife, Jacqueline, was also an incredible lawyer. It was exactly because of the both of them that Adrian was able to settle everything so well in just a few days.
After skimming through the new document, he signed it, then bid them farewell. “That’s all then. I’ll be leaving now, see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.” The husband and wife sent him to the door, and the little girl who had been watching everything curiously suddenly made a silly face at him again. They all laughed.
“It’s actually her way of expressing her liking toward you,” Chris tried to explain for his daughter.
“I understand.” Adrian walked out with a smile.