บท 138: First fandom

In Hope's bright and resolute gaze, Renly felt a bit flustered, waves of emotions surged and clashed in his chest, unable to find an outlet.

Not just because the fervent look in Hope's eyes gave him a taste of what it was like to be a main character in "Twilight"; but also because Hope's unwavering words conveyed absolute trust and affirmation, weighing heavily on his chest, even more so than the Emmy trophy.

"Wow." Renly sighed softly, easing the jumble in his mind, and found his voice again, "Thank you, I think this is why so many people love Los Angeles, right?" A jest, brought Renly back to life, and the sensation of overflowing swell in his chest made his lips gently curl upward.

"We had originally planned to show this to you on the red carpet, but those " The Big Bang Theory" fans somehow took my spot. My God, they're really savage!" Hope complained frankly, her excitement from being in such close proximity to Renly made her jump around, her speech losing control as it poured out, "We thought we wouldn't get to see you today, but unexpectedly, you gave us a huge surprise here! Jesus Christ, your singing is so beautiful."

Hope's words suddenly came to a halt, her brain seemingly going momentarily blank. "Ah, so beautiful!" However, besides this phrase, she couldn't recall any other adjectives at the moment, as if she had regressed to her kindergarten days. "It's simply cured my whole day, those annoying fans don't matter at all!"

"Ha." Renly's excitement was contagious, and he couldn't help but laugh heartily, "I stood on the red carpet and enjoyed it very much, a sea of ears, quite spectacular." Renly's banter left Hope feeling sullen, while William and Graham burst into laughter alongside him. "So, besides that, is there anything else I can do to save your terrible mood today?"

"No need, no need." Hope waved her hands repeatedly, "The song you just sang was the best gift... Wait, if, I mean, if you could sign something for me, that would be even better." As the words slipped out, Hope bit her tongue hard, quickly changing her tone.

Her two friends who were holding banners immediately followed suit, nodding in unison, looking like bobblehead dolls.

"Of course, no problem." Renly readily agreed, then saw Hope fumble to pull out a carbon pen and a poster from her backpack. After spreading the poster open, it turned out to be a character poster from his role in "The Pacific". But it didn't stop there; Hope then quickly produced another poster, notebook-sized. Upon opening it, the cover turned out to be from "Cleopatra". "You're like Doraemon, do you have anything else in your backpack?"

"Not at the moment. I hope you release new works soon, so I can continue collecting. For example, that song "Ophelia" you sang earlier." Hope playfully blinked her eyes, causing Renly to burst into laughter.

Renly took the carbon pen and the poster, "Who should I make it out to?" Renly was still a bit unfamiliar, "This is my first time signing, so I'm not too familiar with the process."

"Shut up!" Hope exclaimed, obviously not believing Renly's words. William and Graham widened their eyes too, "How is that possible! Absolutely impossible!"

The time he met a flight attendant on the plane, she had only asked for a photo, not a signature. "Actually, you guys are the second group of fans I've encountered, strictly speaking." Renly thought seriously for a moment, the first one wasn't the flight attendant, it was someone else.

After returning from Europe this time, he received his first fan letter in his life.

The handwritten letter arrived. In the letter, the sender elaborated on their experience of watching "The Pacific" and also discussed the emotions stirred by the song "Cleopatra". Finally, the sender expressed, "You're a remarkable person, moving forward on the path of dreams. To be able to accompany you all the way, to have you as a part of my life, that's the most romantic thing I can imagine in the world."

The letter, to Renly's surprise, was from Hazel Cross. She hadn't left her name in the letter, but the postmark revealed its source. A call to Sinai Hospital would unveil the answer.

The image of that pink letter reappeared in his mind, and the corners of Renly's mouth gently lifted, "I don't believe I'm a striking actor, but let's pray that things will turn around from here."

That self-deprecating yet witty jest made Hope and her two friends burst into laughter, and then Renly glanced at the poster, pondered for a moment, and placed the poster on the wall. He quickly jotted down a sentence, "While everyone praises Hamlet, while everyone mourns for justice, deep in memory, someone always remembers, there's still an Ophelia. Thank you for your encouragement, I won't forget my Ophelia."

After a pause, Renly signed his name in the lower right corner, "Renly - Hall." Then he turned and looked over, "Your name?"

"Hope Bates." The young girl exclaimed, then watched as Renly wrote her name in the upper left corner, completing the signature. This wasn't an official poster, it was printed by Hope herself, the image quality wasn't even very clear, since she couldn't find a high-resolution version on iTunes.

Renly turned around and handed the two posters to Hope, then looked at the two young men, "What about you guys?"

Hope lowered her head to look at the poster in her hands. The flowing and elegant cursive was full of scholarly aura. Didn't people say handsome guys have bad handwriting? Why was Renly's handwriting so good? Her lips couldn't help but curl upwards. This was Renly's first autograph! Seeing the dedication on it, her mood soared even higher. This was truly a meaningful signature.

William brought posters from "The Pacific" and "Band of Brothers", while Graham directly handed over his banner. Renly wielded his pen with a flourish, and he completed signatures for both of them, leaving the three young people thrilled and bubbling with excitement.

Renly re-capped the carbon pen and handed it to Hope. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ed, who had been hesitant and tongue-tied beside them all along. So, he took the initiative to walk over, "So, how was our earnings tonight?"

Ed secretly heaved a sigh of relief, he was just wondering how to join the conversation. "We earned a total of four hundred and seventy-six dollars." Ed counted in all their income. He had played here for almost an hour tonight, and although the earnings were not huge, there were some. However, Ed also knew that without Renly, these earnings wouldn't have been possible.

Renly looked at the stack of colorful bills and a pile of coins in Ed's hands, astonished, "It seems our earnings tonight are good." Truly unexpected, they had only performed two songs, and yet they had such high income in such a short time. It was worth celebrating. "So, what about my share?"

Ed displayed a relieved smile. He had been worried that Renly might look down on this meager income he had brought forth so eagerly. Now, Renly's generous demeanor, placing them on equal footing, expressed ample respect, leaving a warm trace of sentiment in Ed's heart. "This is for you." Ed separated a stack of money and handed it to Renly. "Wait!" He then poured all the coins from his left hand into Renly's palm.

"What about yours?" Renly inquired.

"Oh, this isn't all the coins." Ed made space and then Renly saw the coin box filled to the brim, and a big smile spread across his face. Ed wiped the sweat off his hands, he gave Renly two hundred and fifty dollars. Although he knew it was still unfair, most of the earnings were attracted by Renly. On the basis of equal distribution, he added a little extra, hoping to convey his sincerity.

Renly nodded, "It seems I should come out and do these activities more often in the evenings." The playful tone made Ed burst into laughter. "Ed, it was really enjoyable playing with you tonight." Ed tensed up again, shaking his head repeatedly. The smile on his face was awkward, and he kept adjusting his hair, making it even messier and not at all helpful. "I hope there will be opportunities in the future for us to perform together."

"Definitely! Definitely!" Ed couldn't help but jump lightly, only this way could he suppress the urge to scream. He had earned over two hundred dollars tonight, and with his previous savings, perhaps with a few more nights of hard work, he could save up enough for the trip to New York. If he were doing it alone, the earnings wouldn't have been as much as tonight. This was really great news!

"I have to attend a party now, you know, everyone's waiting for my appearance." Renly's jest, not only Ed, but even Hope and the others standing by, burst into laughter. "But for events like this, suits don't allow any wrinkles. So, Ed, could you do me a favor?"

"What?" Ed blurted out.

Renly raised the cash and coins in his hand, "Could you please temporarily keep these valuables for me and give them back to me next time we meet?" Ed was taken aback, "We only just met today, I'm not sure if I can trust you, so I've counted. It's better if you don't set your sights on them."

"...No problem." Ed's voice was a bit choked. He knew that Renly was considering his pride and dignity, expressing support in this manner. In fact, with this two hundred and fifty dollars, he could set off for New York tomorrow or the day after, but he had to return this two hundred and fifty dollars to Renly, right? "Of course, no problem."

Ed nodded forcefully, masking the embarrassment in his eyes, but the slightly reddened eyes still betrayed his genuine emotion. "When the time comes, I'll personally go to New York. Don't worry."

"That's really kind of you." Renly extended his hands again, and Ed raised his hands as well. Renly carefully placed the stack of bills and coins in Ed's palm. "Phew, that solves my major problem. Sincerely thank you!"

"Renly, Renly, are you planning to attend the celebration party next?" An unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted, drawing everyone's attention.