Chapter 173: Chapter 172 Hathaway, Did You Reject Deng Kai?
The American journalist provided the answer.
"Princess of Genovia’s Birthday Gala, Ronaldo Makes an Appearance with a Gift!"
"Hathaway Flaunts the Bracelet Given by Deng Kai, Relationship Seems Confirmed!"
"At the Birthday Gala, Hathaway Invited Deng Kai for the First Dance, a Perfect Match with CP Feeling!"
"Deng Kai Has Grown Taller, But Not Quite Enough, Wore Shoe Lifts to the Banquet!"
"Make-up Artist: A partner gave Hathaway an expensive pair of high heels, but she didn’t wear them. She didn’t want to be taller than Deng Kai when they danced together!"
"The Princess Diaries Box Office Hits 100 Million! Hathaway’s Popularity Soars, Earning Millions in Endorsements!"
"Massachusetts Economics Expert: The Mismatched Romance of North America’s Campus Goddess Hathaway and the Ordinary Player Deng Kai! They Won’t Be Blessed, Nor Will It Last!"
"Harvard Sociologist: Hathaway and Deng Kai are Mismatched in Status. To be Worthy of Hathaway, Deng Kai Needs to Become the Second Beckham!"
"Victoria Caroline: Kai is excellent, but there’s only one Beckham."
"Beckham: Yes, but there’s also only one Kai. Social status cannot affect true love, Hathaway, Kai is a good boy, I support you two being together!"
Deng Kai: Boy my ass!
It must be said that Hathaway’s birthday stirred up waves in the American public opinion.
This was largely related to the surging momentum of The Princess Diaries’ box office success.
Even the few production companies that Hathaway had previously turned down for collaborations were now, grievances aside, planning to work with her again.
But this time, Hathaway made an even more excessive demand.
She actually declared she wouldn’t do kissing scenes!
This was Hathaway’s new revelation after studying "Chinese traditional culture" for half a year.
Of course, producers wouldn’t agree.
You’re making an "American girl" movie.
How can a youth theme do without kissing?
Even just for setting the mood at the end, there must be a kiss.
But Hathaway suggested that they could use body doubles, visual effects, or fake positions.
The producers were furious.
They left saying, "Do you think you’re an Oscar-winning actress? Not to mention an Oscar, if you even had an Oscar nomination we might accept your suggestion, but you don’t! You’re not at that level! You have to follow the rules!"
"You’re lucky, Hathaway, but your stubbornness makes it impossible for you to have a brilliant film career, no audience can accept an actress who refuses to do kissing scenes!"
"Never mind kissing scenes, those famed actresses sometimes have to accept even bolder scenes, you will pay for your purity and arrogance!"
Hathaway didn’t care about such threats, this was already the second wave of threats she had heard.
Coming from a middle-class family, she had no obsession with fame or making big money.
Even if she weren’t famous she could live very well.
Now that she was famous, she had even less reason to debase herself.
She wanted to work hard for love.
Despite the American public opinion’s frenzied criticism of Deng Kai, in truth, Deng Kai hadn’t yet agreed to be with Hathaway.
Yes!
Hathaway took the initiative to ask Deng Kai out on her birthday.
But Deng Kai said he needed more time to sort out their relationship and plan the future.
Only when he felt everything was okay would he give Hathaway a responsible answer.
Before that, they were not in a relationship.
But they could try to engage in deeper communication.
Like... what are you thinking about, it’s not that sort of communication, but rather sharing about ideals, life expectations, career plans, and such.
It could be said that this birthday banquet was Hathaway’s happiest one yet.
Because her relationship with Deng Kai took a big step forward.
Therefore, when facing interviews afterward, Hathaway graciously expressed, "Thank you everyone for your attention to the matter with Deng Kai, and thanks to those fans who support me."
"But the relationship between Deng Kai and I is not what everyone imagines."
"We are not in a romantic relationship, as of now we’re still interacting as friends."
When Hathaway said this, many reporters were already excited.
Is it over? They’re done?
Did Deng Kai fail to win Hathaway’s heart?
Or did Hathaway feel a gap between them after she became famous?
Or was it Deng Kai feeling inferior?
"Excuse me, did you reject Deng Kai’s confession?" The American reporter gave Hathaway plenty of face.
What does rejection mean?
It means they were never together.
And breaking up, that carries an emotional stain.
Hathaway, how could she be anything less than perfect?
Faced with the question, Hathaway smiled and said, "No, he has not agreed yet."
After Hathaway left, many reporters still hadn’t snapped back to reality.
He has not agreed?
Agreed to what?
To break up?
No, the meaning of that sentence seemed to imply they never got together.
Combining what Hathaway had said earlier, so is it... Hathaway is the one pursuing Deng Kai, but he has not agreed?
The two of them are still interacting as friends, which means Hathaway hasn’t given up?
She is chasing after Deng Kai?
This...
The American media went wild.
When the skies want to rain, a goddess wants to marry, what’s all this then!
No, wrong, she can’t get married yet, Hathaway isn’t even seventeen!
Deng Kai is only in his sophomore or junior year in China.
This is puppy love!
This is not allowed!
Suddenly, the news was abuzz.
The North American public wanted to snatch Hathaway back.
The European public thinks Deng Kai is impressive, even making the great American girl chase after him.
Chinese football fans think that indeed, when it comes to charm, we Asians are certainly not lacking.
...
The birthday banquet and subsequent news seemed to have sent Deng Kai into an excited phase.
Even though Deng Kai explained multiple times that his exceptional form was due to his growing in height and getting through the adjustment period, fans were more inclined to believe it was the power of love.
From November 16th until December 21st.
Six games, six consecutive wins for the team, advancing early to the regional competitions.
Deng Kai madly accumulated thirteen goals and five assists.
In one fell swoop, he topped both the goal and assist rankings in the Portugal U17 league!
And with the winter break approaching, there were only two games left.
The U17 league is quite a special competition, where players’ strength disparities and talent can suddenly widen due to age and physical development.
Those with rapidly increasing strength and explosive talent often don’t play a full half-season in this age group before being pulled up to the next echelon by their teams.
If their talent continues to explode and their strength continues to dominate, they keep moving up.
If you have enough experience, you can jump straight to the reserve team in one go.
Of course, making it to the first team requires some special luck, not merely having the skill and talent.
Therefore, what Ronaldo created in the future with a five-tier jump in one year, the most valuable of which was the leap to the first team.
Similarly, players who stay in the U17 league for a whole year are either very young, having just moved up, and their abilities not enough to dominate, or they are of average talent and are unlikely to receive a real professional contract from a top-level Portuguese team.
