Steak

Chapter 124 Steak

Even the most classic movie can become tiresome after watching it too many times. When a director is making a film, it's essentially like replaying the movie in their mind a hundred times. So, to avoid aesthetic fatigue, they usually watch other movies to pass the time during filming.

Why did you suddenly decide to watch this movie with me?

Wearing a simple, clean off-white stand-up collar top, adorned with a small, exquisite decoration at the neckline, Nicole turned her head and smiled, a blue and white patterned silk scarf casually tied around her neck.

Her golden hair was neatly tied up, with a few wisps falling naturally on either side of her face. The lack of deliberate neatness accentuated her clear and soft facial features, while also adding a touch of casual and relaxed atmosphere.

"Didn't you bring sunglasses?" David reminded her. "You're the female lead in the movie, and you'll easily be recognized by the audience when we go out later."

""

"Yes, I brought it. It's in my bag."

Nicole adjusted the scarf draped over her neck and shoulders. "I even prepared this, how could I not wear sunglasses?"

"That's good."

"Hey, don't change the subject! You haven't answered my question yet!"

"Isn't it good enough to watch a movie with you?"

""

David raised his finger in a gesture for silence and whispered, "Stop talking. Let's talk outside."

"Aren't you still making movies?"

"There was a bit of trouble setting up a temporary set, so the crew took a day off today."

Nicole wanted to say something more, but after looking at the remaining time of the movie, she thought she could wait until they got out.

She was overjoyed when David called her last night to say he was coming to see her in "When Harry Met Sally," so she put a lot of thought into her outfit today.

The top is a simple, artistic outfit, and the bottom is a high-waisted short A-line skirt with a pure black base and white tulip-style floral patterns evenly spread all over the skirt. The black and white color contrast is classic and eye-catching.

The high-waisted design hits right at the narrowest part of the waistline, and the short length reveals most of the leg lines, which not only elongates the body proportions but also fully showcases her well-proportioned and slender legs.

David didn't seem to notice this, Nicole thought with some resentment as she sat in the back row of the movie theater.

Her legs were naturally crossed, her hands were gently clasped together, and her hands rested naturally on the folded surface of her clutch on her legs. Her fingers were relaxed and gentle, without any deliberate tension. However, her gaze, which should have been fixed on the big screen in front of her, would occasionally glance to the side!

David wore a loose-fitting dark navy blue suit jacket today, not buttoned up properly, just casually draped over his shoulders, and his shirt wasn't even fully tucked into his trousers.

The melodious sound of a violin echoed through the restaurant, where guests maintained their composure and conversed in hushed tones. Candles burning in olive-shaped glass jars added a touch of tranquility to the dimly lit space.

The small piece of steak, steadily held up by a fork, clearly shows a tender, even pale pink color in its cross-section, indicating it's cooked to a perfect medium-rare (3 to 5 minutes). The muscle fibers are fine and distinct, the surface is coated with glistening juices, and the edges are adorned with a touch of translucent, soft fat, giving it a rich, oily appearance. It looks tender and juicy, without any dryness whatsoever.

"When did you develop the habit of studying steak?"

'

A familiar, teasing voice interrupted David's thoughts. "Are you still thinking of what excuse to use to brush off the question I asked you in the movie theater?"

“How could that be?” David explained. “I was just observing you.”

,

"Oh, so what did you see?"

""

"I saw a beautiful woman gently cut off a piece of tender veal, then put it in her mouth with a fork and chew it slowly. Her rosy lips rose and fell with the rhythm. In this slightly dimly lit restaurant, it was truly —"

David considered his words carefully before replying, "It's incredibly tempting."

""

"You're such a smooth talker," Nicole thought to herself, but she didn't agree. "It's just a simple action, but you've made it sound so sexy, like I'm trying to seduce you while we're eating."

1

"Isn't that right?"

David joked, "You were so distracted while watching a movie, your eyes kept wandering to me. It made me nervous. Hey, what were you watching?"

"I didn't see anything, I just thought you looked pretty sloppy," Nicole said, not bothered by the change of topic, and quickly brought the conversation back on track. "By the way, why did you suddenly decide to ask me to go see 'When Harry Met Sally' with you?"

"I was tired of filming 'L.A. Confidential' and wanted to clear my head. I called you and you happened to be free, so I made an appointment with you."

"Didn't you really like this movie? Last time you even argued with Naomi and me about a plot point for ages, how come you're tired?"

"How could I not be tired? A scene that's already etched in my mind has been filmed over and over again. How could I not be tired!"

As David spoke, he looked down and continued to fork his veal steak.

The remaining whole veal steak on the plate was seared to a crisp and glossy finish, evenly coated with a dark brown sauce with black pepper flavor. The sauce dripped slightly along the steak's texture onto the bottom of the plate, and the seared surface with its caramelized crust contrasted sharply with the tender pink meat inside.

"I'm so tired I don't even have much of an appetite," David said, pointing with his fork to the veal steak on his plate. "This is the first time in days that I've eaten this so slowly."

The veal steak is garnished with broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and herbs such as rosemary and thyme for added aroma. There is also a small sauce pitcher in the corner. The overall presentation is exquisite, allowing you to directly appreciate the high quality of the steak, which is tender, juicy, and fragrant.

However, David, who is usually busy filming, doesn't pay much attention to these details when he's eating.

"Why haven't I heard you mention this before?" Nicole asked curiously. "Is it because of the subject matter?"

"I didn't mention it before simply because I wasn't in Los Angeles."

David shook his head. "Even the simplest, most straightforward plot requires many takes to film well."

"So how do you usually relieve this kind of stress, like watching a movie today?"

"Yeah, pretty much, but if I just want to relax, I'd prefer simple, brainless movies."

,

Nicole asked, somewhat displeased, "You mean 'When Harry Met Sally'?"

“Not entirely, in fact, that’s true for most comedy films,” David added. “And watching a comedy requires the audience to listen carefully to their lines, while an action comedy is something you can watch without using your brain at all.”

The reason why Jackie Chan is so popular that even people in African tribes know him is not only because action scenes naturally have no language or cultural barriers, but also because his dramatic scenes are very simple.

Jackie Chan himself has admitted that long lines of dialogue are far more difficult for him than action scenes. Therefore, most of the dialogue in the film consists of short sentences and colloquial expressions, with almost no complicated long sentences or obscure content. Even in cross-language versions, the director will specially design simple and easy-to-remember lines for him to avoid the comprehension barrier.

Moreover, the dialogue density in his films is very low, with an average of no more than 120 words per minute, and there are almost no local slang or regional references.

When translating for different regions, adaptations are made. For example, the Mandarin version of "Who Am I" replaces Cantonese slang with common and colloquial expressions to ensure that audiences from different cultural backgrounds can easily understand it.

Even in purely artistic films like "Playing House," which have almost no action scenes and lack dense dialogue or lengthy didactic content, the film still maintains its accessible and easy-to-understand nature by conveying emotions through details and feelings.

"When did you stop wanting to listen to the dialogue in movies?" Nicole asked jokingly. "Then why are you making suspense movies like 'L.A. Confidential'?"

"I just don't want to watch movies with too much dialogue, and suspense movies are not necessarily high in dialogue, okay?"

Works like Oppenheimer, which rely almost entirely on dialogue to drive the narrative, are not really suitable for watching when you're trying to relieve stress.

With its dense dialogue, technical jargon, and simultaneous output of information from multiple sources, this movie is jokingly referred to online as a "3-hour listening test." It's only suitable for watching when you're fully alert.

Otherwise, if you lose focus even slightly, you'll fall behind the plot. Even if you force yourself to stay focused and try to understand every line, you'll only feel exhausted after watching it, and it won't relieve any stress at all.