His Genius Wife Is A Superstar - Chapter 1527: Meeting Director Jabar Wilkins (part II)

Iris was startled. She held back her husband.

Fortunately, Director Wilkins didn’t take offence at Jin Liwei’s wary defensiveness. In fact, he even looked amused and smiled at him good-naturedly. He offered his hand.

“Darling, this is Director Wilkins, Teacher Enrique’s friend,” Iris introduced.

Jin Liwei quickly realized that he had misunderstood. He accepted the other man’s hand and shook it. “Director Wilkins. I’m Liam Jin.”

The director grinned. “I know. You are Liam Jin, a filthy rich billionaire CEO.”

“Ahem.” Jin Liwei didn’t take offence at the director’s description of him either. He knew that he was in the wrong for making swift assumptions about the man based on his outer appearance.

“My apologies,” he said.

“No worries. You’re only protecting your wife from a big, scary, black man like me.”

“That’s…not what I intend—”

Director Wilkins waved a dismissive hand, cutting him off. “I’m already used to it. Like I said, don’t worry about it. I’m proud of my roots and what I look like. I don’t let stereotypes define me. I work my a** off because I have to do it. Nobody else is going to do it for me, that’s for sure. I reached my position in Hollywood by shedding blood, sweat, and tears, and not by being offended by every little thing. I’m a fighter, not a victim.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Jin Liwei said. “But I still must apologize if I offended you.”

The director grinned. He didn’t look like he was pretending. He truly didn’t mind it anymore. “It’s fine.”

Iris looked at the director with admiration. She had heard from Enrique Valdez about the director’s difficult struggles throughout the early days of his career in Hollywood.

Wilkins didn’t start out rich or famous. He wasn’t a genius like Enrique Valdez. He didn’t have connections that would have given him a leg up in the industry. He only had his pure passion for filmmaking. He powered through despite numerous setbacks until he finally made a breakthrough with a critically acclaimed film that swept through the awards season. This was a film in which he collaborated with Enrique Valdez for the first time.

It could be said that Enrique Valdez was the one who gave Wilkins the leg up in the industry. But people must know that it wasn’t easy to invite the legendary hitmaker to create a film score, especially if the director wasn’t already famous or established in Hollywood.

Enrique’s decision to collaborate with a non-famous film director was enough proof that he saw potential in Wilkins. And indeed, the legendary hitmaker’s instincts were correct.

Wilkins’ career skyrocketed after his triumphant collaboration with Enrique Valdez. They would continue to collaborate throughout the years to create even more amazing masterpieces, stamping their legendary collaborations in the history of the Hollywood film industry.

Enrique told Iris that she should invite Director Wilkins to Liberté’s launch party because the director was vacationing in France. She welcomed the suggestion and immediately asked Clover to add the American director’s name to the guest list.

“Let’s go find a seat,” Director Wilkins suggested. “I want to have a chat with you two.”

“Yes, of course.” Iris and Jin Liwei led the director to a more private section of the garden party.

They could see most of the party from here, but others wouldn’t easily see them. It was a great spot for private chats that didn’t need total isolation.

Jin Liwei waved to a waiter who served them more glasses of champagne. Iris asked for a mocktail instead because her alcohol tolerance wasn’t great, to begin with.

“Cheers to Liberté’s successful launch!” The director gave Iris a toast.

“Cheers,” Jin Liwei replied.

Iris smiled. “Thank you. Cheers!”

They chatted about the party for some time before the director changed the topic.

“Enrique told me so much about you,” Director Wilkins said. “You know Enrique. He’s a very taciturn person. It’s very rare for him to talk more than a couple sentences in one go. That’s why I came to your launch party today because I’m so curious about you, Iris Long. Enrique has a very high opinion of a young lady like you. I feel that I need to meet you in person.”

“It’s my honour to meet a Hollywood legend like you,” Iris replied in a polite tone.

“What legend?” Director Wilkins laughed. “Legend is a big word that we must be cautious in throwing around. Sure, I’ve achieved a lot given my low starting point, but I’m still far from being a legend. I still need to accomplish more, and I intend to accomplish more. One day, I’ll surely become a true legend.”

Iris liked this director’s ambitious attitude very much. Based on what Enrique told her, Wilkins had it rough. Even so, the director still managed to maintain a positive attitude and never allowed himself to retain a victim mentality.

Despite repeated failures, he continued to persevere. And even when he had become successful, he still maintained a good balance between confidence and humility. This man was an excellent role model.

“Director Wilkins—”

“Call me Jabar.”

Iris smiled. “Director Jabar.”

Wilkins turned to Jin Liwei and said, “You, too.”

Jin Liwei nodded. “Jabar.”

Wilkins laughed. “From now on, you are my friends! Cheers!”

He once again led a toast to celebrate the beginning of his friendship with the husband and wife.

After downing his champagne, Wilkins’ expression became a bit more serious. “I asked for a private chat with you because I want to ask you for something.”

“What is it, Jabar?” Iris asked.

“To tell you the truth, I’m in a slump right now. I don’t know Enrique’s real intention for arranging for us to meet, but I know that he’s not the type of person to do something random out of the blue. He must have predicted that we could mutually benefit from each other. He didn’t tell me anything except to watch ‘Strong Yet Broken’. I didn’t attend that year’s Sommet International Film Festival, so I’m not familiar with that film. After watching it, I must say that almost everything about the movie is engaging, but what really impressed me the most was the film score. It added so much colour to the emotions of the scenes, giving life to the entire movie.”