America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

Ten minutes later, in a small alley near Love Park.

The crowd had dispersed, and Sean leaned against the wall, letting out a long sigh.

"Today went fairly smoothly," Vincent said. "Although there were a few troublemakers, it didn't cause any major problems."

"Mr. Pan, about that thing you just promised..." Matthew was still worried. "The 76ers and Chinatown, that's no small matter. I doubt even Mayor Howard could get it done."

In his view, even if it were to be done, it would probably be a case of "the Chinese people suffering, and I will bear the blame."

"I know," Sean said, "but some things just have to be done."

He had actually given it considerable thought, and he felt he had to do it no matter what. The community center issue was too sensitive for him to address immediately, but he needed to take action and show the public what he was truly doing, not just empty talk. This was crucial to dealing with any potential threats and garnering maximum public sympathy, especially since the investigation against him was far from over.

Robert Harrison's nonstick pan is already scheduled to be returned to Harrisburg.

Therefore, the Chinatown issue became an important opportunity. Whether he could successfully mediate the matter was not important. Sometimes, attitude and process are more important than the result.

If it fails, then find a way to make it a failure; if it succeeds, then it's a great thing to celebrate!

This also proves to the outside world that his campaign is no longer a pipe dream.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Vincent glanced at his watch and said, "I have a few cases to handle this afternoon, so I have to go now."

"So fast?" Matthew was surprised.

"There's nothing I can do. I'm only working part-time as Mr. Pan's legal counsel," Vincent shrugged. "I'll collect all the money I'm owed, but I can't just abandon my other clients."

Sean understood. After all, Vincent had his own cases to handle and also worked as a public interest lawyer. It was already quite generous of him to take the time to help, and to get such a professional legal advisor for only half the salary, it was a win-win situation for him.

"No problem, Mr. Carter. But..." Sean looked at Vincent expectantly, "Could you spare some time over the next few days? We might need your help with things in Chinatown."

"Chinatown?" Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"certainly."

"That's a hot potato, Pan." Vincent shook his head, but a smile played on his lips. "But since you've asked, I'm happy to oblige. Just give me a call when the time comes."

After saying that, he waved to the crowd and turned to leave the alley.

……

After watching Vincent leave, Sean turned to Matthew. "Matthew, I plan to first connect with the residents of Chinatown, or the Chinese community in Philadelphia. Do you have any suggestions?"

Matthew pondered for a moment and then spoke:

"Within the Philadelphia Chinese community, there are currently three most influential organizations. One is the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Association, another is the Philadelphia Chinatown Business Association, and the last is the Save Chinatown Alliance." (Chinatown is the name for the Chinese community in Philadelphia.)

Sean became interested. "Tell me about it."

"Hmm... The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Association was probably founded around 1968, so it's a long-established community development organization. But even I don't really know how it works. If you want to know, I'll tell you about the other two." Matthew said with a headache, "The other two organizations were created because the 76ers wanted to build a basketball arena near Chinatown."

"The Philadelphia Chinatown Chinese Chamber of Commerce was established two years ago. This organization should now have more than 200 members, mainly from Chinatown businesses. They claim to be absolutely neutral in their political stance. Two years ago, during the midterm elections, they held an event where Chinese voters could get a 10% discount at restaurants affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce on election day. My dad voted once that time, and it was quite a big deal."

"That's a good way to encourage Chinese people to participate in politics, but your dad should just open a restaurant himself," Sean retorted.

"The older generation is just that shrewd."

Sarah, standing nearby, nodded in agreement, saying that her pure-blooded Italian father was the same way. Everyone says that Italy is like a mini-China in Southern Europe, so it's no wonder that the two of them ended up together.

"What about the Save Chinatown Alliance?" Sean then asked.

"This organization is primarily a platform, and its structure is rather loose," Matthew explained. "It includes business owners, residents, and some young Asian activists. Their strategies are more radical; they frequently organize protests and are in the news more often."

"Matthew, do you have any connections with either of these organizations?"

“My father has some old friends in the Chamber of Commerce,” Matthew said, “but he hasn’t contributed much to the community in recent years except for taking advantage of welfare benefits, so he might not be able to help much.”

Sean nodded.

At this point, Sarah interjected, "Why don't we do another street rally? How about in Chinatown?"

"No way." Matthew immediately shook his head. "Street speeches in Chinatown won't be effective."

"Why?" Sarah asked, puzzled.

Matthew sighed, "Most Chinese people, especially the older generation, don't like to show their faces in public. They'd rather stay home and watch TV than go out to the streets to attend political rallies. If you give a speech in Chinatown, the audience will most likely be foreign tourists and Black people passing by."

"And—" he looked at Sean, "our street speech today, to put it bluntly, is just a publicity stunt. The goal is to make videos, trend on social media, and create momentum. But Chinese people value concrete actions more than empty words."

"You're right," Sean said slowly. "It seems I need to go back and do some research, organize some materials, read a few books, and then decide how to approach it."

"Regarding contacting the Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance..."

"Please, Matthew," Sean patted him on the shoulder, "help me get in touch with their manager and arrange a meeting."

"I'll do my best," Matthew said with a wry smile.

He's a student at Penn, after all, and can be considered a semi-local Chinese elite, so he should still have some influence to show off.

"Okay, keep it up!"

Sean suddenly let out a hysterical roar, making it seem as if he had another episode of addiction.

Then the group prepared to part ways, and Matthew suddenly remembered the favor Sean had asked him.

"By the way, Mr. Pan, I looked up some information about George Kelly."

"Oh?" Sean paused, "What did you find out?"

"He's a Philadelphia native, a veteran Democratic political broker," Matthew read from his phone. "He's been active in Philadelphia politics since the 1980s, helping several mayors in their campaigns. But he seems to have retired in recent years and rarely appears in public."

"No wonder..." Sean muttered to himself.

No wonder that old man spoke so eloquently and fluently. He must be a veteran of the political arena.

"Why do you want to find this person? Is he on that list too?" Matthew asked curiously.

"It's nothing," Sean shook his head. "We just chatted for a bit. Okay, I'll head back now. Thanks for your hard work today."

……

It was past four in the afternoon when I got back to the campaign office.

Sean had just sat down when his phone rang.

Caller ID: Elon Musk.

Since he made a splash at the charity gala, Musk has been in direct contact with him by phone, though he feels that this might not be as secure as messaging him privately on X.

"Sean, I saw the news!" Musk's voice sounded unusually excited. "Your speech at Love Park was fantastic!"

"Elon, thank you for the compliment." Sean leaned back in his chair. "Is there something you need?"

"I just wanted to ask if you need more funding?" Musk got straight to the point. "I think your team is too small right now. Just a few people, and you have to shoot videos, organize events, and deal with politicians and reporters. I can put in more money to help you hire some professional campaign consultants."

Sean was both amused and exasperated.

To be honest, Musk's offer is very tempting.

His current team is indeed too small. Matthew is a history student, Sarah is a finance student, and Vincent is just a part-time lawyer. If he really wants to run a serious campaign, this number of people is far from enough.

But he also knew that Musk's good intentions must have their own ulterior motives.

This man never does business at a loss.

"Thank you for your offer, Elon," Sean said carefully, "but I don't need it right now. Let's consider expanding the team once things are settled on my end. By the way, could you arrange for more security personnel?"

"No problem, the people I sent have actually been protecting you secretly all along," Musk said readily. "Besides that, if there's anything else you need... you know my number."

Thank you.

After hanging up the phone, Sean leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a while.

Expanding team size...

The idea did indeed linger in his mind for a while.

But now is not the time.

He needs to figure out what's going on in Chinatown first, and prove he's not just a flash in the pan. Only then can he consider recruiting.

With that in mind, Sean opened his laptop.

Matthew wasn't here today, so he had to do the video editing himself. Besides that, he added extra study time to his schedule; he couldn't rely solely on hype to stay afloat.

Although he had little experience with video production before, given his learning ability, the basic operations shouldn't be too difficult for him.

"let me see……"

He opened the folder of materials Matthew had sent him, which contained all the videos Matthew had filmed that day at the Park of Love.

There were more than two hours of raw footage.

"Damn, when will this haircut ever end!"