Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 85: Not Worth It

"You can just ask me."

The clear words from Renly cut into Chris's chest like heavy blows, almost leaving him breathless, each word hitting him like a relentless punch.

In fact, Renly hadn't cared about the fate of the "Thor" script. After deciding to give up, he had pushed the matter of the script to the back of his mind. If it hadn't been for Roy bringing it up today, he wouldn't have even noticed the script was missing. But regardless of whether Renly cared or not, whether he was interested or not, it was still his script, his personal property. Even if Chris was curious, he couldn't just "steal" it.

Yes, he could just ask Renly.

Ask Renly what exactly was going on with the "Thor" script? Ask Renly if he was involved in the auditions for "Thor"? Ask Renly if he could borrow the script to review it because he was vying for the role of Thor?

As long as Chris took the initiative to ask, Renly would surely be happy to share, because they were not only roommates but also friends.

If Renly refused to share, then that would be another story.

But Chris never asked. He didn't give Renly the opportunity to refuse, nor did he give Renly the chance to share. He bypassed Renly entirely, took the script from the shelf, and even concealed all the information. Legally, it might not be considered theft, and it couldn't even be determined if it was theft. But morally, Chris had made a wrong choice.

An uncontrollable sense of shame swept over Chris. He clenched his fists, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, anger erupting like a volcano, hot magma surging through his veins. "What if you refuse?" Chris roared madly at Renly, but deep down, he knew Renly wouldn't refuse. It was precisely this bit of reason that made Chris even more embarrassed. He wished he could tear Renly apart, shatter that indifferent face into pieces!

"So?" Faced with Chris's questioning, Renly's response became even more indifferent. His eyebrows raised slightly, and his deep eyes emitted an incredulous light. All his elegance, reserve, and composure seemed to be burned away in an instant by flames. "If I don't give it to you, you can't take it!"

Chris's chest tightened, as if he had been thrown into the Arctic Ocean directly, the piercing cold colliding with the raging magma, exploding directly. Anger, shame, jealousy, torment, disgust, bitterness—all intertwined.

Looking at Renly, standing on the moral high ground, criticizing his actions with arrogance and contempt, his hypocritical pretense was nauseating. Chris finally understood why he didn't like Renly anymore, because he was just a pretentious jerk, full of talk about the great dreams of an actor, with a sanctimonious and untouchable appearance, ignoring the gaze of others, living in his own world, but in reality, just a clown struggling desperately to survive.

So, he always enjoyed flaunting his success, he always enjoyed seeing Renly's career struggle, he always enjoyed seeing the brutal collision of Renly's dreams with the harsh reality. More importantly, he always enjoyed seeing Renly bow his proud head in front of him.

"Ha." Chris laughed in anger. Renly's words were so pretentious, so ridiculous. It sounded like a beggar shouting, "I don't care about money," while his rumbling stomach told another story. "So, I took it, so what?"

Chris threw the costume in his hand aside, hands on hips, taking a step forward with tremendous pressure, his muscles like small mountains bringing a powerful oppression. "What are you going to do?"

Chris sneered twice. "Are you planning to crush me with your dreams? Or take me to court? Or... vent to the paparazzi?" Chris spread his hands, a crazy look on his face, full of disdain and mockery. "Tell you what, whatever you want to do, just bring it on, because you won't have a chance."

Chris's expression suddenly became excited, his not-so-large eyes completely widened, his stunning blue eyes, like a tsunami, surged with waves of shock. "Do you know? We won't be on the same level anymore. 'Thor' will be my stepping stone, stepping into the ranks of Hollywood's top actors in one step. Fame, fortune, attention, popularity—all will follow. And you?"

"Heh." Chris seemed to think of something amusing, laughing triumphantly. "And you'll be trapped in those damn indie films, playing some unknown supporting roles, and then you'll be wandering around outside Broadway in New York all day. No one will know your name, no one will care about your talent, and no one will even realize you ever existed."

"Our gap will only grow larger, to the point where we may not even have the chance to meet again in the future. I'll be on the red carpet at the Oscars, basking in the cheers of the world, while you'll be hustling on the streets of New York for a living." Chris looked longing, nodding satisfactorily. "So, this is your last chance."

Watching Chris in front of him, Renly found it quite amusing.

In the past life, in the media, Chris's image was always positive, a loving husband and father, a somewhat silly handsome guy, a striking but not very aggressive vase character. This Chris always charmed audiences and won the love of many fans.

But at this moment, the Chris standing in front of Renly was completely different. He was distorted, aggressive, even manic, with no disguise of his ambition and arrogance. He was much smarter than he appeared.

However, Renly was relieved. He had oversimplified things. In a place like Hollywood, where fame and fortune were at stake, no one who could rise to the top or even the frontline of actors was a fool—because fools like Hayden Christensen were only a flash in the pan, quickly eliminated.

Renly remembered this afternoon when Scarlett and Ryan stood at the door of Hello Youth Hostel, passionately embracing each other.

The real face of Hollywood slowly unfolded before Renly's eyes. It was a dazzling world, far more exciting than the movies.

A smile curled up at the corners of his mouth, not directed at Chris, just finding the scene somewhat amusing.

He had no unrealistic fantasies about Hollywood's glamorous bubble. Having experienced the ups and downs of human relationships in the past life, he knew that the glamorous life under the spotlight was only part of reality. Yet, only today did he glimpse the other side of Hollywood. Perhaps, he had been too peripheral before, not qualified enough, so he had never truly stepped into the stage of this fame and fortune arena.

Did this mean that he had finally made his way in?

Chris looked at Renly's smile, and the rage began to cloud his mind. Renly was disdainful of him, Renly was ridiculing him, there was contempt, there was scorn! But this time, before Chris could speak, Renly's words interrupted his rhythm.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on doing anything. If you like it, just keep it."

Renly's tone remained unchanged, unaffected in the slightest, as if Chris's lengthy discourse just now was nothing more than a breeze, easily forgotten, leaving no trace. "The reason I brought it up was because someone mentioned it to me today, and I just casually asked, without any extra thoughts."

Chris was somewhat caught off guard, as if... as if he had unleashed all his strength for a powerful blow, only to strike into thin air, causing his entire balance to shift, swaying as if about to fall. This kind of stifling feeling of being played with was impossible to vent. The complex emotions swirling in his chest collided once again, as if flowers were blooming, about to burst through his chest.

Then, Renly stood up.

Chris's muscles tensed all over, every cell in his body went into emergency mode. Subconsciously, he clenched his fists, assuming a boxing stance, taking a half step back, ready to engage in combat immediately.

Seeing Chris fully guarded, Renly couldn't help but chuckle, wanting to persuade him, but not knowing where to start. In the end, he just shook his head, as if an adult were looking at a three-year-old child. He spoke again, "Do you know why I don't care? Because it's not worth it."

With that, Renly turned and walked towards the door, opening it. "I have other things to attend to, so I won't be joining your celebration party. Enjoy your evening." Renly smiled, fist bumped Chris, cheered him on, then casually closed the door and left the apartment.

The sound of the door closing softly came, and Chris came back to his senses, looking at the tightly clenched fist in his hand, quickly loosening it. Seeing Renly's indifferent, unconcerned, and easy response, seeing the sharp contrast and huge gap between them, he couldn't catch his breath.

"It's not worth it."

It, or him?

The words rang in his ears again, and in that instant, Chris finally came to his senses, unable to suppress the anger in his heart anymore. He kicked over the table beside him, but even that didn't relieve his frustration, so he began to fiercely stomp on the scattered balloons on the floor, the bursts sounding one after another, releasing his emotions cathartically.

Damn Renly, shameless Renly, disgusting Renly, arrogant Renly, pretentious Renly, self-righteous Renly...

The explosions continued one after another, and Chris finally began to calm down a bit. He took a deep breath, as he had said, their gap would only grow wider, by leaps and bounds. After a short while, "Renly Hall" would no longer be his concern. So, he didn't need to care, did he?

With Renly leaving the apartment building, standing downstairs, his footsteps involuntarily paused as he looked at the familiar street ahead, feeling a bit sentimental. He sighed deeply, then began to walk, facing the golden sunset.