Chapter 170

"Wow."

"You're quite the gossip, Anne."

"Speaking of which, are you really dating Taylor? What about Emma?"

Anne Hathaway leaned in closer and closer, her big eyes shining.

"We're all good friends, just had a little tiff recently."

"Oh, no… you don't even consider me a friend." Anne Hathaway looked at Xu Can with puppy-dog eyes.

"Just give me a little hint…"

Xu Can laughed: "Didn't we just meet today? And we're already friends?"

"Of course. I decided to play Catwoman only after watching your Spider-Man."

Anne Hathaway explained in all seriousness:

"We've both been in Nolan's Batman, so we're colleagues from the same crew, and becoming friends after that is perfectly reasonable, right?"

When Xu Can played the Joker, Anne Hathaway hadn't yet joined the crew.

She was really stretching things just to get the scoop.

"Alright, the director's calling us. Let's go film first. When the time is right, I'll tell you."

"A-alright."

Anne Hathaway still wore that puppy-dog look, appearing utterly pitiful.

Xu Can couldn't quite understand why she had been voted the most hated female star in America.

Clearly, getting along with her was very pleasant. Within just a few short hours of meeting, the two of them felt like old friends of many years.

Besides, she had no scandals, no enemies, worked very hard and professionally on set, and lived a very low-key life off it.

Perhaps precisely because of that, she seemed too detached from ordinary life, and so got disliked across all of North America.

……

After finishing a scene, Xu Can used the break to head to his trailer, lay down on the bed, and dialed Tay-Tay's number.

She must have just gotten off a show — this time she finally picked up, instead of hanging up.

"Darling."

"……" She said nothing, but Xu Can could clearly hear Tay-Tay's breathing on the other end.

"I just listened to your song. It's written really well, I like it a lot."

"Oh."

"Wait till I get back, sing it for me."

"Huh? Aren't you in Los Santos?"

"Right. I was going to call you that day to tell you I was coming to New York to film. But you wouldn't take my calls, and you didn't reply to my messages either."

Xu Can deliberately put on a very pitiful look, though in truth he could barely suppress the corners of his mouth.

Originally, he could already use his god-tier acting skills to control his own state,

but now, having fused with the soul of the male lead of "Love and Other Drugs,"

Xu Can had absolute mastery over women's emotions.

Sure enough, Tay-Tay's breathing on the other end of the line noticeably grew heavier.

"Don't you already have Emma? I don't even have a place in your heart, so why tell me you're going to New York?"

"You dummy, you silly girl! What place you hold in my heart — don't you know that by now?"

"Then why did you chase me away!"

"What I love is the you who's independent, confident, radiant. Tay-Tay sweetheart, you don't have to lose yourself to please others — not even if that person is me."

"Huh?"

"You are one of a kind, and I'll always be by your side. You don't need to compete with anyone."

"Wait, you mean…"

"Yes. After cooling down these past few days, I've thought a lot too. I want to choose you, firmly. I only hope that from now on, your songs are full of sweetness — I can't bear to hear the pain in them."

"……"

"Tay, wait for me to come back. There are some things I want to say to you in person, understand?"

"Mm, then I'll wait for you in Los Santos."

Tay-Tay's tone noticeably softened; the earlier iciness had melted away.

After hanging up, Xu Can rubbed his chin, feeling something rather strange.

Reasonably speaking, no girl could be coaxed around so easily.

But Xu Can had mobilized the fused soul of the male lead of "Love and Other Drugs," and everything fell into place — easier than eating a meal.

According to the film's plot, the male lead Jamie was a master of romance.

Faced with any woman — regardless of age, profession, or personality — he could win her over with just two or three lines.

Jamie wandered freely through the flowers; the woman in his bed was different every day, and these fleeting one-night encounters lasted for years.

Originally, the female lead Maggie, played by Anne Hathaway, was also one of his prey — with just a few words, she ended up in his bed.

Until the male lead Jamie fell…

The instant filming on this movie began, Xu Can, as always, let his entire soul drift beyond the heavens and fused with the male lead.

Jamie was an ordinary person in other respects, but this special ability with women even gave Xu Can a sense of total clarity.

Xu Can had already been able to use his uniquely Eastern charm to make Tay-Tay, Stone (Emma Stone), Kristen, and other actresses utterly unable to resist him.

The current Xu Can had, on top of that original foundation, completed a full evolution!

So long as he wished, he could easily sway a woman's emotions.

The Taylor Swift on the phone was only testing the waters; though the conversation had no real technical content, Taylor Swift has already grown excited about meeting him.

Xu Can savored this profound and elusive state.

……

After the super evolution of his emotional ability, Xu Can tried it out on Emma Stone as well.

Originally, Stone Sister couldn't bear to part with Xu Can, often caring for him silently while saying the opposite.

Later, after a phone call with Stone Sister, Stone Sister's defenses were thoroughly breached.

"Emma, don't worry. Right now I only see Taylor as a friend. You are you, no need to compete with anyone."

"Every universe's Spider-Man will fall for Gwen. Every universe's Seb will fall for Mia. Every universe's Xu Can is the same… understand?"

On the other end, Stone Sister has already been in tears.

"Oh, baby, I love you too."

After settling Taylor Swift, Emma was smoothly settled as well.

Since the same space couldn't accommodate both, he might as well manage his time well and accommodate them in different times and spaces.

After that, he just needed to watch out for paparazzi and public places.

"You're something else, Xu."

Anne Hathaway had somehow drifted over at some point and overheard the conversation.

Hm? The spider-sense didn't trigger?

Probably because when fusing with playboy Jamie, Peter Parker automatically went offline.

It didn't matter anyway—he wasn't pursuing Anne Hathaway, and he trusted she wouldn't tell anyone, so being overheard by her was of no consequence.

"Just coaxing my own girlfriend, standard procedure."

"Looks like you're really dating both of them at the same time. You're really Evil…"

Anne Hathaway was a bit helpless.

Clearly Xu Can's moves weren't exactly honorable, yet she couldn't bring herself to dislike him, even feeling he was quite true to his nature.

Xu Can chuckled lightly: "But I wasn't lying. I'm sincere. No matter who I'm facing, giving 100% love is enough, isn't it?"

"But…" Annie was momentarily at a loss for a rebuttal.

"Then besides those two, is there anyone else?"

"Yes and no, depends on what fate arranges."

"You're the Joker, not the Riddler." Annie was both annoyed and amused.

"No, I'm not the Joker. I'm Jamie. Maggie, hurry up and go film."

"Got it, my fake boyfriend." Anne Hathaway was quite helpless.

The next scene: after the male and female leads' first chat-date at the café, they zip back home to do battle.