America: My Time

Chapter 1370 Impact
Chapter 1360 Impact
Unable to obtain the benefits they desired, and with their goals unfulfilled, the oil-rich capital naturally wouldn't give up easily and would continue their targeting. However, they couldn't go too far, lest things spiral out of control. After much deliberation, these guys decided to bring up the issue of women, and some tabloids resumed their frenzy. Previously, it was just minor harassment, and the reporting wasn't too excessive, but now everything had changed, and all sorts of accusations had emerged.

Of course, to avoid getting themselves into trouble, those guys didn't dare go too far, nor did they dare target any big shots. They simply mentioned it briefly without going into detail, which made it easier to arouse public curiosity and change people's perception of John. This brought the previously low-profile John back into the spotlight, making the American public curious about his 'life'.

"Sister, look, the media has changed again. You've all been brought up. You're the ones who are better off, only briefly mentioned, but the beauties from Japan have been directly exposed! You attended the wedding too. Was the wedding really that luxurious, called the wedding of the century? And it says that the British royal family sent their blessings, and even the First Lady made an appearance. Is that true?"

At this point, American tabloids had begun revealing the identities of the beautiful women arranged by the Japanese, and even linking them to John. While their claims weren't entirely wrong, such blatant arrangements made their intentions clear: this wasn't just about giving John a playboy reputation, but about going further.

Unfortunately, these guys forgot one thing: John has never been married. No matter how much they make a fuss, it won't work. This is a lesson John learned from Howard Hughes. Look at what that guy was like in Hollywood—at most, he had the reputation of a playboy, but no one could really criticize him. Now, it's the same for John. No matter how loudly those guys shout, they can't shake John in the slightest; they can only make people smile indifferently.

"All you do is worry about is these useless things. Use that energy to prepare properly, don't waste this learning opportunity. You know how busy Stanford students are; your so-called freedom simply doesn't exist! Only when you actually come here will you realize how outrageous all that propaganda back home is." Zeng Li sighed deeply at this point. Only by truly understanding American education can one understand how ridiculous, even misleading, what people back home say is! Private education and public education are completely different, and the difference between top universities and diploma mills is enormous.

After a moment, Zeng Li continued, "As for the wedding you want to know about, it was indeed lavish, but it wasn't arranged by John, but by the Bayard family. Everything else is true. That's how much influence he has. The British royal family's blessing and the First Lady's appearance are facts. It's just that these people reporting it like this probably have ulterior motives!"

Even Zeng Li could see it clearly, so John could naturally see it too. These guys were very meticulous in their planning. Don't underestimate these tabloids. Their schemes were insidious. They put themselves in an important position and claimed that all the guests were influenced by their own influence. Even if that was true, it was not a good thing. It would deepen the rift between him and the Bayard family and cause more dissatisfaction from the family!
Even knowing that this was a scheme by oil giants and John's enemies, the Bayard family wouldn't care. They only knew that their reputation had been affected. If their family's reputation was damaged, they would naturally be dissatisfied with John, and it would even make them think that John didn't care about the family! That's human nature; people will go crazy in the face of profit!
Fortunately, this time, those guys weren't targeting John's other women; they were only reporting on the Japanese beauties, perhaps because they had all the information on them. This was naturally due to the 'assistance' of those Japanese guys. If it weren't for their probing, none of this would have happened. After all, those guys needed time to understand; how could they possibly understand everything in a short time?

"Then why hasn't he reacted at all? It's been several days, and we haven't seen him retaliate at all?"

"Why are you so concerned? How could you possibly understand such things? You should just focus on your studies and stop thinking about these things. This isn't something you should be concerned with, understand? Also, keep a low profile in everything you do, don't be too high-profile, or you'll attract unnecessary trouble. You've seen how many people are watching him. If you get involved, it won't be good for you!"

That's the truth. Even at school, if someone knew, they would try to get closer to her. The lure of profit is insane, enough to make people do all sorts of things! Zeng Li didn't want anything to happen to her sister. If something really happened, she wouldn't be able to help.

Although my time here has been short, even in that brief period, I've felt the madness and understood how terrifying the lure of profit can be. Just look at the situation faced by a financial tycoon like John; you can imagine how terrible the fate of a weakling targeted can be. The pursuit of wealth and profit here is even more frenzied, terrifying, and direct!
John didn't mention that Claudia Schiffer had been tricked by Christie Turlington, but Jennifer Connelly subtly brought up the excessive demands Christie Turlington made, offering a low-key explanation for John's actions. This shocked everyone, especially Zeng Li, Li Fuzhen, and Naoko, who found it unbelievable—it was insane, an outrageous demand.

Even Naoko wouldn't dare make such a request. Even though Martin was valued by the Bayard family and John had arranged for him to start getting involved in business, she still wouldn't dare make such an excessive request. But Christie Turlington made such an unrealistic request, which had a great impact on everyone.

Although everyone knows that John is very rich and controls a huge fortune, it's a bit too presumptuous and arrogant for him to ask for a company, especially a clothing giant like Victoria's Secret. Isn't this just being blinded by greed? Does he really think he's that valuable?
It was precisely because Zeng Li knew about this that she reminded her sister not to be influenced by the atmosphere in the United States. As for Claudia Schiffer's departure, it was even simpler. She herself said that she wanted to get married, and John had also made arrangements. Such arrangements shocked Zeng Li. The awards and honors that she valued could be arranged so casually by a big shot like John. This had an even greater impact on her.

This is the power of capital, this is the influence of capital. As a media giant and a Hollywood tycoon, John's words have such a huge impact on the Oscars. If it weren't for the time factor and Claudia Schiffer's own issues, even winning Best Actress wouldn't be a problem. In the face of capital, even the academics have to compromise and bow down.

The old guard from the Academy dared not oppose John again. Having witnessed his ruthless and iron-fisted approach time and again, they dared not confront him, especially since Hollywood was now firmly under his control. The three major studios were all under his command; how could they dare to resist? Not to mention, John also controlled two major television networks; his influence was undeniable. Blocking or suppressing the Oscars would be no difficult task for him! Having learned their lesson once, the old guard from the Academy wouldn't repeat the same mistake. Moreover, John rarely interfered with the Oscars. If they dared to refuse even this small request, the consequences would be predictable. It was precisely because Claudia Schiffer knew how astonishing John's influence in Hollywood was that she felt so at ease, without any worry about any changes! No one would be foolish enough to hold themselves back on this relatively unimportant award; after all, it was John's decision, the decision of the Hollywood tycoon!

If Zeng Li, Li Bingbing, and Yu Feihong didn't have a clear understanding of John's influence in Hollywood before, they now fully realize that as long as their acting skills are good and they have good works, they have a chance to win an Oscar. They won't be suppressed by the old guard from the Academy or by anyone else. Age is no longer a problem; only acting skills and works matter.

His sister couldn't understand why John hadn't intervened or stopped the tabloid reports. It was because John also wanted to gauge the American public's reaction and further solidify his playboy reputation. Despite his constant asset transfers, the sheer amount of wealth he controlled was enough to attract unwanted attention.

Right now, it's just a problem with women. Before long, those guys will do more. Their only goal is to keep me tied down in the US and prevent me from paying attention to the situation in Asia.

Just when everyone thought John wouldn't leave the US anytime soon and that he would be tied up in the US by these things, something that worried everyone happened. Instead of ten days or half a month, John left the US in just three days and went straight to Japan.

John originally didn't plan to go to Japan first to negotiate with those guys, offer them 'benefits,' and drag them into the dot-com bubble crisis. However, John was very dissatisfied with Rockefeller's reaction, so he could only put some pressure on them. These guys wanted to take the opportunity to divert his attention and help the oil giant. John naturally had to fight back and wouldn't do nothing. They would naturally have to pay the price for their choices.

As soon as John made his move, those old guys immediately became restless. John didn't return to Hong Kong or go to Beijing, but instead chose to go to Japan. How could they not worry and fear such an outcome? John's words from before resurfaced in their minds.

John wants to bring Europeans and Asians into the game, and now he's gone directly to Japan. Isn't this just to win over those guys in Japan? Is this revenge against him, or is it targeting the oil capital? After all, the wedding incident and the tabloids' actions have given John a reason to retaliate!

"Damn it, why didn't we get any advance notice? How were those guys watching us? John couldn't have been completely unprepared. His women couldn't have stayed in the US. Why didn't these guys notice? Why didn't they report to us? Do they realize how big a mistake they made?"

"It's not that they didn't report it, it's that you didn't pay attention. Tell them not to make a fuss, that the wedding is over, and they should naturally leave the United States. There's no need to worry too much. Just keep an eye on John!"

Upon hearing this, Rockefeller was taken aback, a flicker of disappointment crossing his eyes. Yes, that was exactly how he had reacted. He couldn't blame his subordinates for the situation; he could only blame himself for not taking it seriously enough. He had been too arrogant, assuming John would be bogged down by events in the US. The outcome, however, far exceeded his expectations. John completely ignored the situation in the US and chose to leave, thwarting all his calculations.

But Rockefeller wasn't the only one in a panic; everyone else was anxious too. Among the financial tycoons, only Morgan remained calm, his judgment far more accurate than the others. Was it that these people lacked foresight? No, it wasn't a matter of foresight, but rather that they were too greedy, blinded by profit. If they could only calm down, they would have seen through John's thoughts and understood how he would react in this situation!
Now these old guys are all getting anxious, but it's too late to stop it now. John's private jet has already taken off, giving them no chance whatsoever. Faced with this situation, Rockefeller's first thought was of Morgan, and he wanted to have a talk with the big boss. But just as he picked up the phone, he sighed and put the phone down heavily.

Would it be useful to talk to Morgan at this point? Absolutely not. They would only be ridiculed. After calming down a bit, Rockefeller realized their own problems. If they had been less greedy and more composed in the face of everything, this situation wouldn't have occurred. Or perhaps, if he hadn't secretly fueled the fire by amplifying John's story, things wouldn't have gotten this far, wouldn't have spiraled out of control. Frankly, it all stemmed from their selfishness. If they hadn't been so greedy, how could things have turned out this way? How could John have chosen to leave the US prematurely for Japan, causing them this shock?
(End of this chapter)