As dusk fell, Matthew and Britney left their room and went to the same restaurant as last time for dinner.
This time, however, they were lucky and didn't encounter anyone like Christina Aguilera to cause trouble.
"You wouldn't believe it, Matthew," Britney said excitedly, "I ran into Christina Aguilera again a while ago.
She tried to provoke me, but I told her my bodyguard was outside, and Christina Aguilera immediately scurried away."
Matthew encouraged her, "Honey, you did great!
Don't pay attention to Christina Aguilera's provocations.
There's always a way to fight back, isn't there?"
Britney laughed happily, "You're right!"
She scratched her fair cheek and asked Matthew, "Do I sometimes act without thinking?"
Matthew thought for a moment and decided to be honest, "Sometimes, yes, a little."
"Then when I do that again," Britney said, a little embarrassed, "Matthew, you have to remind me in time."
"Don't worry," Matthew patted Britney's hand on the table, "I will."
The dishes were served one after another, and they ate and chatted.
Britney seemed a little troubled, "You don't have to go out of town for filming recently, do you?"
Matthew swallowed his food, "I don't have any work for now, so I'll be in Los Angeles for a while.
I also have some things to deal with."
"I have to leave again..." Britney's fork scraped against the ceramic plate, "I'm going to Nashville."
Matthew had heard her mention it once already in the suite, and he couldn't help but comfort her, "Won't you come back once you've finished recording your songs?"
Although he said that, he didn't know if he would be out of town filming again by the time Britney returned to Los Angeles from Nashville.
Talking about these things made them both a little downhearted.
After dinner, Britney went home as usual, and Matthew returned to his apartment to continue packing.
He had lived in this apartment for two years and had accumulated a lot of belongings, especially books and videotapes, which already filled three large boxes.
After attending the two events for "Band of Brothers" hosted by HBO in Los Angeles, he planned to look for a new place to live.
Matthew's idea was to temporarily stay here, but Helen Herman disagreed, believing that this old apartment no longer matched his income and actor status.
In Helen Herman's words, star-making is a systemic project, and the facade is extremely important.
Regardless of what's inside, an actor determined to become a star must first appear glamorous on the outside.
Of course, Helen Herman wouldn't make him do anything beyond his means, and Matthew wouldn't agree to that either.
Helen Herman's idea was that Matthew should ideally rent a detached house on the outskirts of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, or Burbank.
If he couldn't find one at a suitable price, then a refined apartment in a more upscale community in Westwood or North Hollywood would also work.
Matthew left this task to her; Helen Herman was a native Angeleno and naturally had an advantage.
Although Helen Herman hadn't received any concrete news yet, Matthew was already preparing to move.
Initially, Matthew had considered buying a house himself instead of continuing to rent.
People here found it difficult to understand the longing yet unattainable desire for a home among the lower classes across the Pacific.
However, he ultimately held back.
He had only accumulated the salaries from "The Mummy Returns" and "Black Hawk Down," and that was after Helen Herman's commission.
April was also tax season, and his expenses with Britney were quite substantial, so it was better to save that money.
He spent two days intermittently packing his accumulated belongings, and then Helen Herman also had news.
He began looking at houses everywhere with a real estate agent, visiting Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, North Hollywood, and even Burbank.
At first, Matthew was interested in an apartment in North Hollywood.
The apartment was large and luxuriously decorated, but the rent was steep, costing $2,000 a month, which made him back down.
After looking at houses for five consecutive days, he finally found one that suited him better.
In the suburbs north of Burbank, bordering the San Fernando Valley to the north and North Hollywood to the west, there was a detached brick house.
Although the house had only one floor, it had an attic design, which effectively blocked the scorching midday sun of Southern California.
The interior space was a little over 100 square meters and featured elegant European-style decor.
In front of the house, there was also an independent courtyard of over sixty square meters, surrounded by a wall covered with evergreen ivy, which looked very pleasant.
What pleased Matthew most was that the detached house was very quiet.
To be precise, the location was a bit secluded, with the nearest neighbor more than thirty meters away, which provided a certain degree of privacy and was very suitable for Britney to visit secretly.
In addition, the transportation was also very convenient.
Driving east along the community road for two or three minutes, he could see the California section of Highway 5.
Driving north for only ten minutes, he could reach the San Fernando Valley area, which had various large shopping districts where almost all daily necessities could be bought.
Going south, it would take at most ten minutes to reach downtown Burbank.
Burbank was only twenty kilometers from downtown Los Angeles, so it would be very convenient even if he wanted to go back to Los Angeles for something.
Going to North Hollywood was even closer; a ten-minute drive was enough.
And the rent was not expensive, only $1,200.
Although $1,200 was a considerable amount in those days, Matthew was no longer the rookie he was when he first arrived here.
He had a certain understanding of Los Angeles, and a house like this was truly too cheap.
An abnormal price surely had a reason.
Matthew came out of the house and stood on the lawn in the courtyard, directly asking the real estate agent, "is there something wrong with this house?
The price is so much lower than the market value."
This was a real estate agent introduced by Helen Herman, and relatively speaking, he was quite reliable, so he didn't hide anything from Matthew.
He pointed to the corner on the right side of the courtyard, where a patch of grass was clearly missing.
"A murder occurred here a few months ago," the real estate agent said bluntly, "The homeowner had a conflict with her boyfriend and was killed in that corner."
Matthew looked over there and couldn't help but frown.
The real estate agent continued, "The homeowner's mother is European.
After a simple handling, she handed the house over to the company.
This murder case was reported in newspapers and on television, so the house is difficult to rent out and can only be dealt with at a reduced price."
Matthew nodded, walked to that spot and looked around.
There was nothing special about it.
Perhaps someone else might have turned around and left, but he didn't care about such things.
When he was on the other side, he used to pass by a graveyard on his way to and from junior high school.
Especially when he started evening self-study in his second year of junior high, in winter, he wouldn't see the sun at either end of the day, and he would walk past there alone morning and evening without feeling anything at all.
As someone who grew up under atheist education, even though he inexplicably came to this side, he still didn't believe in ghosts and gods.
Matthew was very optimistic about this house, and he didn't care whether a murder had occurred there.
He stood there contemplating for a while and then said to the real estate agent, "One thousand dollars!
I'll rent it for one thousand dollars."
Perhaps the house had been on their hands for some time.
The real estate agent considered it for half a minute, made another phone call, and finally said to Matthew, "Okay!
But the rent must be paid for at least one year in advance."
Matthew readily agreed, "Alright.
Let's handle the formalities as soon as possible."
That afternoon, the real estate agency signed a formal rental agreement with Matthew.
Matthew paid the deposit and a year's rent, received the keys, and could move in at any time.
However, before moving, Matthew still paid a professional cleaning company to clean and organize the place, and replanted grass in the missing parts of the lawn.
He also informed Helen Herman and hired a moving company to move his belongings.
This made it much more convenient for him to go to Angel Agency.
Now, the studios of major companies were also in Burbank or nearby areas, so if his future work involved filming in Los Angeles, it would also be very convenient.
Originally, Matthew had thought about inviting a few friends for a meal after moving, but after making a round of calls, including Britney, he didn't have a single friend in Los Angeles at the moment.
Helen Herman was around, but unfortunately, she and Matthew didn't interact much outside of work.
As May approached, Matthew temporarily had no work, and Helen Herman hadn't found a suitable role or project for him recently.
However, Matthew wasn't idle; his reading and writing practice, imitation acting, and fitness training never stopped, especially the fitness training, which he maintained at an appropriate intensity.
Through the recent films and roles he had taken, he could also see his current greatest strengths, and after the experience of filming several movies, these strengths were gradually transforming into qualifications.
For unknown actors, qualifications are very important.
Of course, if one had a very rich and generous father, or came from a powerful acting family in the industry, that would be another matter.
In early April, Helen Herman specifically called Matthew to the Angel Agency to instruct him on some precautions for the upcoming premiere of "The Mummy Returns" and the subsequent promotional appearances.
"Clothes, shoes, watch..." Helen Herman said earnestly to Matthew, "They must all be brand new!
You are an important supporting actor in the film, so the brand and quality of your clothes should also be appropriately upgraded!"
Matthew mostly listened; he knew he lacked experience in this area.
Helen Herman simply said, "It's better to hire a stylist and have her design something specifically for you."
"Okay!"
"That's fine..."
This was not the time for frugality, Matthew readily agreed, "You help me contact her."
"There's one more thing you'd better know in advance," Helen Herman looked at Matthew, "Universal Pictures has invited the cast and crew of 'The Fast and the Furious' to participate in the premiere, using the attention on 'The Mummy' to promote their film for its subsequent release."
Matthew immediately caught the key point in her words, "is Vin Diesel also attending?"
Helen Herman nodded lightly, "Yes."
She suddenly smiled, "But there's also good news.
I had tea with Sean Daniel last time and heard him say that Universal Pictures is very dissatisfied with Vin Diesel internally and is not planning to work with him again."