"What exactly has this marriage brought me? Oh God, everything he's done is just too ridiculous!"
Beyoncé sobbed softly, the sound of her sniffling intertwining with the lump in her throat. Her sadness could be felt even through the phone screen.
"Don't be too sad. Listen, you are Beyoncé! You have 14 Grammys; you are one of the most influential celebrities in the world according to Forbes..." Leon lowered his voice. "And today is Christmas Eve..."
"Can you come over and keep me company? I just kicked Jay-Z out of the house. I'm all alone now."
"I'm very sorry, but it's not convenient for me right now."
"Fine. I should have known your heart doesn't belong to me after all."
"Listen to me..."
Beep beep beep—
Before Leon could say anything else, Beyoncé hung up on the other end.
Putting away his phone, he immediately revealed a look of villainous triumph.
Humming a little tune, he continued working on the Christmas Eve feast.
At 7:00 PM, when everything was ready.
Leon turned on the TV and locked the channel to CBS.
Before Taylor's cover of "Last Christmas" exploded in popularity, the holiday special slot for Divas around Christmas had always been Mariah Carey's exclusive territory.
Although Taylor's influence couldn't yet compare to the Queen who dominated the entire 90s, this interesting coincidence was interpreted by many as a passing of the torch.
On social networks, Leon's friends were already posting about their Christmas Eve activities.
Robbie had returned to her hometown in Queensland, Australia. This was the first time in two years she had spent this important holiday with her parents.
Ariana posted a selfie with her seven besties, all wearing cute antler headbands.
King Von was still in the chaotic O-Block in Chicago, covering the dining table with green bills alongside his homies from the neighborhood.
A Santa Claus doll sat on the table, right next to two cold Glock pistols.
When he scrolled to Elon Musk's Twitter account, Leon immediately perked up—Musk had just posted a photo of a mysterious lady cosplaying as Lara Croft from Tomb Raider.
The upper half of the woman's face was obscured by a black mosaic, prompting the comment section to discuss who this Silicon Valley madman's new love was.
Leon zoomed in slightly on the picture and immediately identified the woman—Amber Heard!
He couldn't possibly mistake a woman he had been intimate with.
"This guy moves pretty fast..."
Two weeks ago, under Musk's repeated urging, Leon had facilitated a "date" between him and Heard.
But he certainly didn't handle it personally. Heard, who had been played regarding the casting of Ready Player One, already viewed him as an enemy.
Leon had once worried that if he announced his engagement to Taylor someday, this crazy woman would seize the opportunity to cause a massive scene.
So, he handed this difficult task to Jeff, using a celebrity charity gala to facilitate the first meeting between the two.
He left a comment under Musk's tweet: [Good job...]
Musk replied instantly: [My friend, no words are needed.]
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
On the TV screen, Taylor wrapped up her performance hastily. She rushed off stage before she even had time to send Christmas greetings to the American people.
At 8:30 PM, as soon as she pushed open the apartment door, she smelled the aroma of roasted chicken and rich spices.
Seeing the table full of a Christmas feast combining Chinese and Western styles, and the Christmas elements visible in every corner of the room...
She took a deep breath and covered her mouth, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Oh my God... did you do all this by yourself, honey?"
"Who else?" Leon tilted his head. "Is there anyone else here?"
Taylor couldn't suppress the excitement in her heart. She was hopelessly in love with everything related to Christmas.
This was related to her upbringing—for the first fourteen years of her life, she grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me, my dear Little Lion." Without even taking off her trench coat or high boots, she rushed into Leon's arms regardless of everything.
"Let's fill our stomachs first."
Leon patted Taylor's back and lit the candles on the candelabra, maxing out the sense of ritual.
He knew too well how to charm girls.
A limited-edition luxury bag could easily make girls from NYU lie obediently on the bed, but for a girl like Taylor who was extremely rich materially, that meant nothing.
What she pursued was a sense of ritual, using it to fill her spiritual void.
Leon carved the turkey. Butter mixed with gravy flowed all over the plate.
He forked a piece of the most succulent leg meat onto Taylor's plate. "It's my first time cooking this thing. To be honest, I don't have much confidence, but I strictly followed your mother's recipe."
"Just looking at the color, I know it's amazing!" Taylor was very supportive, forking a large piece of meat into her mouth and chewing.
She immediately showed an expression of surprise. "OMG... It tastes just like Mom's! It's exactly the same as what my mom makes!"
Is it really that exaggerated?
In his "horse and mule" childhood in this life, Leon hadn't eaten turkey many times, but he still had lingering fears about that disgusting taste—like chewing a block of wax filled with a raw meat smell.
As a native species with a fat content of less than two percent, the reason this thing became popular on a large scale was entirely to satisfy the early colonists' craving for protein.
Leon thought this to himself, but the moment the chicken entered his mouth, he felt somewhat proven wrong.
The infiltration of butter made up for the lack of fat in the turkey meat itself, and the roasting process at three different temperatures and durations ensured the meat was soft and juicy.
In short, the taste was much better than he expected.
"Maybe if you weren't a singer, you'd be more successful than Gordon Ramsay as a chef." The way Taylor gorged herself showed that these words were not flattery.
"Thanks to the family secret recipe provided by your mom."
Mentioning her mother, Taylor seemed to think of something.
She put down her fork and took out her phone to take pictures of the rich dishes on the table. "My brother complained that I didn't stay with the family today. This is the first time I haven't spent Christmas Eve with my family... Seeing this, they will definitely be relieved!"
Taylor's brother, Austin, had complained endlessly about his sister's decision not to come home for Christmas Eve.
After discussing with the family, she finally compromised: she had to go home to reunite with her parents on Christmas Day.
Taylor's parents didn't like their daughter's new boyfriend, although they usually didn't interfere with her love life.
But after this new relationship was exposed, their attitude showed resistance from the very beginning.
Whenever Street Jesus showed his face on the news, apart from winning awards and releasing new songs, it was always two things—scandals and street violence.
They once worried that their daughter would suffer from domestic violence, receiving a critical hit from a copper-buckled belt after some hysterical argument...
Half an hour later, the two collapsed on the sofa watching TV programs.
"This must be the biggest meal I've eaten this year. I'll have to survive on salad for the next week." Taylor lifted her camisole, looking worriedly at her slightly bulging belly from overeating.
"At least not tomorrow. Your mother must have prepared a sumptuous dinner. If you only eat salad, it will make her very unhappy."
"I don't understand why my mom is always a bit prejudiced against you..." Taylor pouted coquettishly, hugging Leon's arm and falling into his arms. "Did you see the big news today? The whole internet is discussing those videos and photos of Jay-Z."
"I saw it. In my opinion, it's not surprising at all." Leon shrugged. "I know Jay-Z well. That bastard always builds himself up as a perfect, good man."
Taylor frowned and murmured, "I can't believe this happened. Ms. Beyoncé and Jay-Z's marriage was perfect; everyone thought so..."
Leon curled his lips and said, "Those guys who look perfect on the surface often have devils living inside them."
The Jay-Z cheating incident seemed to have a big impact on Taylor. As the recognized most perfect couple in the entertainment industry, if even their marriage was exposed as a scandal, who would dare to believe in love?
Taylor, with her outstanding imagination, even substituted the event onto herself. For a moment, she seemed to see her own future.
She shook her head, unwilling to continue letting her imagination run wild.
She changed the subject. "It's time to open presents. Are you excited, honey?"
"Very excited."
Leon sat by the Christmas tree and opened the gifts one by one under Taylor's eager gaze.
Designer clothes, jewelry, art, underwear...
These gifts covered almost everything on a man's wish list, but for him, they were nothing special.
Until he saw a red T-shirt, a different light finally flashed in his eyes—the home jersey of Manchester United during the peak of the dynasty in 1999.
What really made this jersey unique were the dense signatures on it.
Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt... the signatures of the entire Class of '92 were collected, and manager Sir Alex Ferguson's name was also listed. This jersey was of extraordinary significance.
"Do you like it, honey?" Taylor asked deliberately, actually understanding everything just by looking at the expression on Leon's face.
At this moment, this sense of accomplishment satisfied her more than any perfect concert.
"I love it to death."
"I knew you would like it!" Taylor smiled. "I asked Emma Watson to buy it from a British football collector. We spent a lot of effort persuading him to sell this jersey."
"I will put this shirt in a display cabinet and treasure it." Leon tapped her forehead lightly.
This was the most satisfying gift he had received so far.
This also showed from the side that Taylor really put a lot of effort into satisfying his preferences.
It took twenty minutes for all the gifts to be unwrapped, and gift boxes of various colors were scattered all over the floor.
"Now it's my turn!" Taylor's eyes were full of expectation as she gathered her dozen or so gift boxes into her arms.
But as the gifts were opened one by one, her eager expression gradually turned cold.
Lace T-back;
Ice silk T-back;
Sequined T-back;
"Is this the only stuff in your head every day?"
She suppressed the urge to bite him, continued opening without saying a word, hoping for a turn for the better in the next box.
It wasn't until she opened the last gift box that her furrowed brows relaxed.
It contained a first edition vinyl record of the album Sweet Baby James released by veteran folk singer James Taylor in 1970.
Taylor's parents were avid fans of James Taylor and even named their first child "Taylor" because of it.
"I like it very much..."
Although this wasn't the gift Taylor looked forward to most in her heart, at least it showed some thought.
And this praised gift was found by Leon for only $50 at a thrift store.
"I have another surprise for you."
"What is it?" Taylor batted her eyes, her heart beating faster.
Every cell in her body shouted that answer in excitement.
"Come upstairs with me."
Leon held her hand and went to the master bedroom upstairs.
The bed sheet was covered with petals, and a very provocative Christmas bunny outfit was laid out, complete with a playful reindeer antler headband.
Meow—
A cat's cry suddenly coming from under the bed startled Taylor. A brown Siamese cat poked its head out.
Looking nervous, the black mark on its face made it look like it had been hit by a coal briquette.
"It's so cute!" Taylor exclaimed, covering her cheeks.
Leon first hooked his finger to gain the kitten's trust, and before the cat could react, he grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up.
"You little rascal, if you dare to pee under the bed, I'll throw you downstairs! Do you hear me?"
Meow—!!
Meow meow—!!!
The Siamese cat waved its claws helplessly, trying to fight back against the fierce man in front of it.
"Leon! Put it down quickly!"
Taylor quickly snatched the cat and held it in her arms.
It was strange; cats usually adopt a resistant posture when contacting strangers.
But this cat's head seemed to have broadband internet installed; as soon as it landed in Taylor's arms, it kept purring and sticking out its tongue to please its owner.
Obviously, even the cat knew its life was about to achieve a class leap.
"Is this a gift for me?" Taylor asked while petting the cat.
"That's right. I remember for a while you often complained to me about not being able to see your cats," Leon said. "Now, you have a cat to accompany you even in New York."
Taylor owned two cats, named Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey, inspired by the hit shows Law & Order: SVU and Grey's Anatomy.
Currently, both cats were staying in her mansion in Los Angeles, cared for by an assistant specifically responsible for raising cats.
"I've never received such a special gift~"
"As long as you like it." Leon breathed a sigh of relief.
Christmas could be considered muddled through. The key point was that this cat didn't cost him a cent.
Since moving out of the Henry Street apartment to live alone, Bonnie had successively adopted seven cats and dogs.
The house was turned into a mess every day, almost causing her a mental breakdown.
Just this afternoon, Leon asked her to send this cat that looked like a coal ball over to cope with Taylor's thirst for gifts.
"Have you thought of a name for this little thing?" Leon took off his clothes and lay on the bed, entering combat readiness in advance.
"Hmm..." Taylor tilted her head and thought seriously for a while. "How about calling it Lion?"
"Not great, pick another one."
"Then let's call it Christmas, to commemorate the most wonderful Christmas of my life."
"You have to find another assistant to take care of it. I won't spare a moment to look after this little rascal." Leon laughed wickedly. "You already have three cats; when can we have a baby?"
The cat was a nice gift, but for Taylor, it definitely wasn't the gift she looked forward to most tonight.
Her greatest expectation was for Leon to kneel on one knee, holding a diamond ring, and say those words to her personally.
Actually, getting engaged was once really within Leon's scope of consideration.
If the Jay-Z and Beyoncé couple announced their divorce in the near future, his union with Taylor could perfectly fill this ecological niche in the entertainment industry.
But Leon always felt that now didn't seem to be the best time. Taylor was different from other women he had contacted before—she had too many ideas of her own.
Her maverick personality and overly strong career ambition would make this marriage full of uncertainty.
Taylor picked up the red bunny outfit on the bed and gestured it over her body.
Putting on the reindeer headband, a blush floated on her face. "Honey, do you want to see me wear this?"
"I can't wait~"
Immersed in sweetness, Taylor completed the change in two or three minutes.
Just as Leon imagined, she lay on the bed cosplaying as a little Christmas reindeer.
"Awesome..." Leon couldn't wait a moment longer, turning over to pounce on her and complete the suppression.
Meow—!!
The Siamese cat jumped onto the bed, extending its little claws as if to stop him from violating its owner.
"Get lost..."
Leon was tired of coping with Taylor's panting, and for a moment, he was helpless against an annoying cat.