America: Child stars start with The Shining

"Your acting skills are good, but your appearance isn't particularly distinctive. In this era of internet celebrities, you have no chance."

"You really think you're something special? It was just a drink with a female director, and you slammed the door and walked out, acting all high and mighty!"

"Effort? That's nothing!"

"Fuck you, come help! An extra got hit by a prop!"

He lay helplessly on the ground, his vision gradually blurring. Someone was pressing on his chest to try to resuscitate him, shouting something urgently, but it was no longer audible.

He's spent most of his life in the entertainment industry, but only on occasions like this does he get noticed.

It was a complete failure.

......

"Hey, Ciel, you idiot, listen up!"

"Your uncle didn't send you to me to just coast along!"

"If you daydream again during work hours, I will definitely make you pack your things and get out of here immediately, understand?"

A fat, middle-aged man was standing in front of a little boy, spitting as he spoke.

Charles was somewhat dazed at this moment.

He looked down at his children's work clothes and thought:

"F***ing! How the hell did I end up in America?! And turned into a scrawny white kid?!"

Charles, six years old, lost both his parents and lived with his uncle, suffering the cruelty of his family of origin.

What can I say?

He's clearly a true New Yorker and a white flag member now, so how did he end up with the script from those black guys?

And that's not even the worst of it.

What's even more disheartening is that his parents left him a very "generous" inheritance.

Guess what it is?

It's a loan of hundreds of thousands of dollars!

Logically speaking, he shouldn't have to repay this at all, since he's just a six-year-old child and his signature doesn't even have legal effect.

As a result, the treacherous lawyers transferred all the debts to his uncle's name, leaving Charles with the burden of this debt.

As a result, things have turned into this terrible situation, with his uncle kicking him out to work and pay off debts.

That damn bastard even embezzled the childcare allowance that was rightfully his, claiming it was being held temporarily for him in case he took the money and went off to fool around.

What could a six-year-old kid like him do with that money?

Are you suggesting we make him buy a gun and then, in his childish voice, join a gang and become a gang star?

Bullshit!

It was an absolutely terrible and disastrous start!

Charles is now penniless and, because he is too young, can only work as a black child laborer without any labor protections.

Sometimes he also has to be wary of those righteous cops who will drag him out, which would not only cost him his job but also send him to a juvenile detention center for a lesson.

"Ciel, are you fucking spacing out again?"

Store manager Frank kicked Charles in the butt, causing him to stumble and almost lose his balance.

"Now! Right now! Get back to work!!!"

Charles didn't dare to talk back and immediately walked towards the cashier, while subconsciously looking out the window.

The streets were filled with actors dressed in all sorts of outlandish costumes, as well as staff carrying various photography equipment.

This is a coffee shop inside a Hollywood film set. Shire couldn't do any dirty or strenuous work, but luckily he was good at math and found a job as a cashier.

If he were older, his uncle might have sent him to dangerous places like farms or chemical plants, where cheap child labor like him was most needed.

"Hey, handsome young man, what happened? Did the manager yell at you again today?"

Nearby, a young girl in a work uniform came over, wiping the freshly washed cup with her hands.

"Who knows what's wrong with this fat pig? With that temper, he'll get high blood pressure sooner or later!"

Charles glanced around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, muttered a curse under his breath.

He hates these heartless capitalists the most!

The girl who struck up a conversation with him was named Elena. She looked to be in her early twenties and was working part-time while also attending auditions on film sets, much like his situation in his previous life.

He had struggled for most of his life in his previous life, and although his acting skills were very solid, he never got many opportunities because of his unremarkable appearance.

No matter how hard they try, they can only ever be extras or bit players.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the notice board on the wall, which was full of audition information from the film set. This coffee shop used this method to attract extras to come here and order a cup of coffee.

"Audition for Indiana Jones, directed by Steven Spielberg, at 2 PM."

"..."

"The Shining audition, directed by Kubrick, 3 PM."

Charles sighed. These were all well-known movies from his previous life, movies that would still be talked about decades later.

This marked the beginning of another golden age in 1979, following the Golden Age and the New Hollywood era.

The era of blockbuster movies!

During this period, two men became household names.

One of them was George Lucas, who brought us Star Wars.

Another one is Steven Spielberg, who brought us "Jaws," which completely changed the direction of the film market.

Unfortunately, he is only a six-year-old child and has no chance to participate in auditions of this level.

Charles was well aware of his own limitations. Even if he went, he would only be a mediocre performer. Moreover, he had no experience as a child star, and his experience as an extra in his previous life would hardly be of any use.

"Hey, Ciel, look! Who's coming!"

Elena suddenly patted his shoulder excitedly, signaling him to look up quickly.

Charles said helplessly:

"Why are you so excited? This is a Hollywood film set, you can bump into big stars anytime. Let me see... Holy crap, it's Jodie Foster!?"

A girl wearing black sunglasses walked over with elegant steps. Her features were clean and neat, with an unadorned clarity and a profound temperament.

Judy is only 16 years old, but she has already become a very famous child star, and every big director is eager to put scripts in her hands.

But Charles's impression of her went far beyond that. More than a decade later, this girl would win her second Hollywood Best Actress award for that world-renowned thriller.

The Silence of the Lambs.

A film released on Valentine's Day, specifically about cannibals, swept all the major Oscars that year without any marketing or promotion, leaving other films with almost nothing.

Judy was only 29 years old at the time, but it was already her second time winning an Oscar, a feat that is extremely rare in the entire history of the Oscars.

Charles stood frozen in place. Seeing this, Elena squeezed in front of him, a smile on her face, and said:

"Beautiful lady, what would you like to drink?"

She now resembled a greasy middle-aged man who suddenly appeared and started chatting up someone, leaving Charles speechless.

Judy took off her sunglasses, glanced at the menu, and said in her distinctive, deep voice:

"A cappuccino, please."

Elena immediately brought over a cup of the prepared drink from the side, placed it in front of her, and said obsequiously:

"This cup is for you."

"Oh no, thank you, I'll pay."

Judy took a dollar bill from her wallet and dropped it into the tip jar on the cashier's counter.

It wasn't until the other person left the coffee shop that Elena came to her senses, and she grinned foolishly.

"OMG, this is unbelievable, Ciel! Did you see that?! I actually talked to Judy!"

"Uh, of course I saw it, but you'd better wipe your drool first, Elena, watch your image."

Charles pointed a finger at the other person's mouth.

Elena rolled her eyes, wiped her lips, and walked away humming a little tune.

Charles withdrew his gaze and unconsciously sighed.

Although Jodie Foster is currently at the peak of her career, a shocking tragedy that will stun the world will drag her into the abyss two years from now.

The Reagan assassination attempt.

The killer confessed that he was a huge fan of "Taxi Driver" and decided to assassinate Judy in order to attract her attention.

This statement, made in court, led to Judy being subjected to countless interrogations during that period, almost driving her to a mental breakdown.

This is absolutely an undeserved disaster, and only in America would such strange and bizarre things happen.

Just then.

Charles suddenly noticed a pair of sunglasses that had inexplicably appeared on the cashier's counter.

"Uh, did Judy leave this behind?"

He looked out the window, but could no longer see the other person at all. He also didn't have the other person's contact information, so it was highly likely that he wouldn't be returning the sunglasses.

He reached out and picked it up.

boom!

The instant his fingertips touched the sunglasses, Xia Dun felt a sudden jolt in his mind, followed by several cold notification sounds.

[The "Actor's Comeback System" has been successfully bound. Equippable items have been detected. Currently, the equipment slots are 0/1.]

【Name: Ray-Ban Sunglasses Lost by Child Star (Rare)】

[Original owner: Jodie Foster]

[Source: The Silence of the Lambs]

[Attribute: Expressiveness +30%]

[Entry: Misplaced gaze (passive)]

[Effect Description: When equipped, your facial expressions will be slightly delayed, creating an unnatural mixture of emotions such as "fear," "calm," and "smile," making those around you feel uneasy.]

......

Charles was stunned for a moment, and it took him a full few seconds to barely process all this information.

He lowered his head, pretending nothing had happened, and silently put the sunglasses into his pocket. Then he glanced casually at the information on the notice board.

Those few lines of text suddenly became particularly glaring.

"The Shining audition, directed by Kubrick, 3 PM."