Watching Andy's disappointed eyes and the forced smile on his face, Roy knew he'd encountered a real suck-up.
This guy probably started sucking up to Keller way back in their student days. One phone call and he comes running, tail wagging, but even now Keller still just calls him a college classmate. He doesn't even get invited inside her house.
Meanwhile, Roy had only known Keller for a few months, and they were already good friends.
What a sad story!
Roy looked at Andy with sympathy. He hadn't actually made any moves on Keller, but because of the passive ability of his Lust Domain, Keller was just naturally more friendly with him.
Keller probably didn't even realize it herself, and other women just took it for granted.
"Hello, Mr. Andy Harrison."
Even though the guy was a suck-up, Roy didn't look down on him. After all, he was an animal lover.
"Mr. Blake looks very young. Where are you working these days?"
Was this guy trying to get intel on the competition?
Roy smiled. He didn't want to get into some kind of male rivalry with Andy; it was pointless.
"Actually, I'm still in my senior year of high school. I'll be starting college in the fall."
When Andy heard how young Roy was, and that he was ten years younger than Keller, he assumed Roy was a relative of Keller's. Hope immediately rekindled in his heart.
"Oh, I see! Mr. Blake, is there anything you'd like to ask me?"
Roy didn't know why Andy's attitude had suddenly changed, but since the guy was being so cooperative, he didn't think too much about it.
"Well, I'm a big fan of your station's late-night show, 'Night Owl.' I was hoping to learn a bit about the host, Jake Dell, and maybe even meet him and get a picture. Do you think that might be possible?"
It definitely wouldn't be good to directly tell Andy he was investigating Jake, so Roy decided to take a roundabout approach and pretend to be a huge fan.
If Andy had some kind of vested interest with Jake, he wouldn't suspect anything.
"Oh, I see. Well, you're out of luck. Jake went on vacation last week and won't be back until the end of the month."
Judging by his tone, Andy seemed pretty familiar with Jake. Roy couldn't tell if he was just trying to show off his connections to the goddess or if he really knew Jake well.
Roy deliberately put on a very disappointed expression.
"But I just watched 'Night Owl' a few days ago!"
"Those were all pre-recorded. Jake actually went overseas for a trip last week. He's probably in Bali or New Zealand right now."
Or maybe he hasn't even left downtown Los Angeles?
Roy could have Sultana ask Customs to help check and confirm if Jake had actually left the country.
"Could you tell me a bit about Jake's background then? I'm really curious!"
"Well..."
Andy hesitated. After all, they were talking about a colleague's private life behind their back, and in the TV industry, which was basically entertainment, there were some taboos about this kind of thing.
Roy subtly nudged the dazed Keller with his elbow. It was her turn to say something.
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Keller snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at him calmly.
"Andy, just tell Roy a little bit. He's just curious."
Since the goddess had spoken, the suck-up naturally started wagging his tail.
"Alright, I'll tell you a few things about Jake, but you absolutely can't tell anyone else, okay?"
Usually, anything that ends with that sentence is guaranteed to spread.
Jake started out as just a regular writer at the TV station, not the kind who wrote scripts for dramas, but the kind who specialized in writing transitional lines for variety shows.
No matter what kind of show it was, including award ceremonies like the Oscars, they needed specialized writers to write the bridging lines, unless you expected those elementary school-level celebrities to write their own lines, which would be a complete disaster.
That's why when the Hollywood writers' guild went on strike, the Oscars were directly canceled.
However, the pay for writing transitional lines was definitely not high. These writers were either just starting out, hoping to move on to writing for film and television, or, like Jake, wanted to transition into becoming a host.
Jake became a field reporter by chance, and then started climbing the ladder step by step, eventually becoming the host of a reality show.
Although the process of becoming a host was very smooth, Jake's experience hosting the reality show wasn't so smooth.
Just as Keller had said before, Jake initially hosted serious reality shows, the kind that criticized social issues and current events.
Although the ratings from viewers were quite high, the problem was that it wasn't entertaining enough, so the viewership remained just above average, and the show almost got canceled several times.
But Jake kept at it until something happened a year ago.
"Jake's dream was to make the show the top-rated program in its time slot, but that dream seemed a bit distant for him. Then, last year, his wife was diagnosed with cancer."
Keller had mentioned this before, saying that after Jake's wife passed away last year, the show's style completely changed.
Roy noticed Andy starting to hesitate again. He was probably about to say something crucial, so Roy quickly nudged Keller again, signaling her to toss him a bone.
"Andy, why don't you continue?"
Since the goddess had spoken, Andy, despite his hesitation, continued.
"Jake suddenly did a special episode where he brought his wife, who had cancer, onto the show to play the sympathy card. That episode successfully pushed him to the threshold of the top ten shows in that time slot, and it seemed to change him."
Using his soon-to-be-deceased wife on the show to garner sympathy?
No wonder Andy didn't want to bring it up. Even in Hollywood, which loved to exploit tragedy, this kind of thing wasn't very common.
Everyone usually exploited other people's tragedies, but this was directly using someone close to him...
Hearing this, Keller frowned.
"I watched that episode too. That was the episode where I stopped watching any show hosted by Jake Dell."
"And then, Mr. Harrison?"
"After that, Jake's wife still passed away, and he completely changed his hosting style, becoming the person he is now. The ratings for 'Night Owl' started to climb steadily, and now it's firmly in second place in its time slot, just one step away from the top spot that Jake has been longing for. Oh, and Jake is currently preparing a special program. Mr. Blake, you can look forward to it."
It sounded like the story of a young man who was originally full of dreams, but gradually abandoned his principles after entering the television industry.
However, Roy had seen this kind of story way too many times, whether in movies, TV shows, or books.
So, after gathering his thoughts, Roy asked another question.
"Does Jake have any hobbies?"
Andy thought for a moment.
"Jake doesn't seem to have any particular hobbies. He's a workaholic. As long as he has work, he doesn't feel tired. It was quite strange when he suddenly asked for a month-long vacation this time."
Roy raised an eyebrow.
"Mr. Harrison, are you sure there's absolutely nothing?"
This time, Keller proactively spoke up for Roy.
"Andy, I'm actually a little curious too."
Since the goddess had spoken, Andy had to rack his brains to come up with something.
"Jake seems to like smoking cigars and drinking red wine, but that's probably a pretty common hobby in the industry. Other than that, I've heard that Jake's beliefs are a bit strange!"
As he said this, Andy lowered his voice, afraid of being overheard.
After all, Christianity was still the mainstream religion in America, and having questionable beliefs could easily lead to public rejection, especially for public figures.
Wasn't Tom Cruise blacklisted by the mainstream media for several years because it was revealed that he believed in Scientology?
Of course, things would be different twenty years later when Capitol Hill would directly change the Bible.
Roy's eyes narrowed. It seemed this Jake definitely had some issues.
"Mr. Harrison, could you perhaps reveal which denomination Jake belongs to?"
Andy looked at Roy strangely, not understanding why he was asking this.
"I don't know. I just know that Jake's beliefs are quite mysterious. He basically has a gathering every month."
Roy looked at Andy's expression; he didn't seem to be lying. He genuinely didn't know.
At this point, Roy didn't have any more questions. So, he stood up and shook hands with Andy.
"Mr. Harrison, thank you very much for your explanation."
Andy's attitude was incredibly enthusiastic.
"You're very welcome, Mr. Blake! I'll contact Keller as soon as Jake returns from his vacation. How about I help you arrange a meeting with Jake then?"
This suck-up's initiative was really strong. Andy's suggestion was exactly what Roy wanted.
"Then I'll leave it in your hands!"
Andy then looked at Keller, seemingly wanting to see her reaction, but Keller was turned towards Roy.
"Keller, Keller, how about I treat you to dinner tonight?"
It was already close to five o'clock, so Andy inviting Keller to dinner wasn't too abrupt.
However, Keller directly refused.
"No need. I'm having dinner with my friends tonight, right, Roy?"
Roy felt a little embarrassed, after all, Andy had just helped him. But since Keller had already said that, he couldn't really refuse her.
And so, under Andy's disappointed gaze, Roy and his companions got up and left the coffee shop.
Once they were out of the coffee shop, Roy poked Keller's arm with his finger.
"Keller, are you really having dinner with us tonight?"
Keller's face was slightly flushed.
"What, is that a problem?"
"I don't care. I just thought that guy looked a little pitiful."
"Forget about him! Mary, drive us to the nearest supermarket. I need to buy some groceries. I'm going to cook a big meal for you guys tonight!"
Keller was actually serious, but her health probably wouldn't allow her to cook a big meal. She was probably going to guide Molly.
Back at Keller's apartment, the female reporter really did take Molly into the kitchen, and Mary went to help too.
Mary, who had the potential to be a good wife and mother, was quite interested in cooking and usually tried to cook for herself as much as possible when she was in the dorms.
Roy and Sultana didn't have anything to do, so they sat on the sofa in the living room. Sultana kept checking Roy's body, as if trying to find where he was injured.
"Roy, you don't have any wounds on your body. Where exactly are you hurt?"
Sultana didn't doubt that Roy was faking his injury. She knew Roy wasn't that kind of person, but she was genuinely curious.
"It's my internal organs."
Roy briefly explained his fight with the Slender Man, leaving out the system and his inventory.
"That sounds incredibly dangerous. It can directly damage internal organs?"
Sultana was very shocked. The strangeness of this enemy had already surpassed that of demons, making it difficult for her, an FEA agent, to understand.
"Yes, Sister Sultana! If you encounter similar incomprehensible supernatural creatures like the Slender Man or the Yellow-Clothed Clown in the future, you must be careful and it's best to stay far away from them!"
Feeling Roy's concern, Sultana was very touched and leaned her head on Roy's shoulder.
"Roy, you need to be careful in the future too!"
Roy really should be more careful.
Since arriving in Los Angeles, Roy had been too successful. All the enemies he encountered had been soundly beaten by him, and the only one he hadn't beaten, the Yellow-Clothed Clown, had主动跑掉 (taken the initiative to run away).
This had made Roy's confidence swell a bit, which was why he went to find the Slender Man without being fully prepared.
Next, Roy planned to be more cautious and thorough in his investigations before taking action.
An hour later, the three people in the kitchen brought out the prepared food.
A perfectly golden roasted chicken, a large bowl of beef bourguignon, Italian seafood bisque, and some vegetable salad for garnish – this dinner could definitely be considered lavish.
Just looking at the appearance of these dishes, they could belong in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Roy was a bit surprised by Keller's cooking skills.
"Keller, did you make all of this?"
Keller smiled and shook her head.
"Mary made the roasted chicken and the vegetable salad. I guided Molly in making the other two dishes. What do you think? Looks pretty good, right?"
"It really does look great! Mary, I didn't expect you to be such a good cook!"
Roy's appetite was immediately whetted. Although he had eaten a full meal at two in the afternoon, his injured state made him get hungry again very quickly, and his stomach was already rumbling a bit.
Being praised for her cooking, Mary was very shy.
"It's Senior Keller who's amazing. She taught me a lot of cooking tips, which is why I was able to make the roasted chicken so well."
It seemed the female reporter's cooking skills were indeed extraordinary.
Sultana clapped her hands.
"Alright, alright, stop with the mutual compliments! Let's dig in!"
Actually, Sultana had been unable to resist for a while. She had been incredibly busy lately, and had mostly been eating Western fast food.
Now, with a table full of delicious food tempting her, how could she possibly resist?
"Sultana is right. We should hurry up and eat before the food gets cold!"
The five of them sat down and started eating and chatting.
Keller, Mary, and Molly didn't actually eat much. They put down their utensils after a few minutes.
Due to the nature of her work, Sultana had a much larger appetite than most women, but compared to Roy, her appetite seemed small.
Keller had prepared enough ingredients to feed ten adults, but Roy still ate everything clean, which greatly surprised Mary and the others who didn't know him well.
"Roy, are you full?"
"About eighty percent full, almost there. Keller, there's something I'd like to ask you for a favor."