America: Child stars start with The Shining

After calming Jennifer down and resolving this major problem, everything went very smoothly from there.

Charles glanced down at the shooting script in his hand. All he had to do was sit in front of the Apple II computer, type a few words, and then look at the computer screen to make a show of it. He didn't even need to say any lines.

The process was very brief, with almost no room for improvisation, and the entire TV show's focus was clearly not on him and Jennifer.

Charles examined the Apple II in front of him. By today's standards, this thing would be incredibly bulky, but in this era, it was already considered an extremely lightweight microcomputer.

This generation of Apple products has accurately addressed the pain points of its user base. The Apple II is well-suited for everyday scenarios such as home and school, which explains its popularity.

It was precisely because of the good sales of the Apple II during this period that Steve Jobs came up with the idea of ​​making a GG video. However, nowadays, TV screens are extremely valuable and have long become the main battleground for brand communication.

Therefore, Apple's advertising budget can only support them to run some short-duration Google Play ads. If they were to roll them out on a large scale, the cost would be too outrageous and not worthwhile at all.

"Ciel, how old are you?"

"Six years old... We're about to start filming, Jennifer, stop talking to me."

Jennifer sat next to him and, taking advantage of a moment when Steve Jobs was examining the camera, secretly patted Charles on the shoulder and asked:

"Ciel, are you a child star or a model? I'll let you in on a secret, I've already done photoshoots for a lot of magazines."

"..."

"Ciel, why are you ignoring me?"

"Jennifer, it's work time now..."

Ciel felt like there was a mosquito buzzing next to him. Why hadn't anyone warned him beforehand that his partner today was a noisy and crybaby girl?

It's all Ovitz's fault, he's so unreliable!

"Cial, how do I use this keyboard?"

"Uh, you put your hand on it like I do, and then... never mind, how can you be so clumsy?"

He watched as Jennifer awkwardly raised her hand, completely clueless about how to place it on the keyboard, so he had to resort to a more direct approach to teach her.

"Try to imitate my movements. You'll just be posing for a bit; you don't need to do anything else."

Charles grabbed the other person's hand and placed it on the keyboard. He pressed several keys with each of his five fingers, and now it finally looked somewhat professional.

He nodded in satisfaction and was about to stop when he noticed that Jennifer had her head down and her cheeks seemed slightly flushed.

At first, he felt a little confused, but then he suddenly realized that his hand-touching gesture might have been a little too intimate.

I never imagined American kids were so precocious; they're so young and already have this kind of awareness...

Charles coughed twice and turned his head away. He decided not to expose the other party for the time being. It was just a touch of the hand, was it really necessary to react like this?

He's starting to feel a little embarrassed now.

"Alright, kids, sorry to keep you waiting... 3, 2, 1, action!"

......

The shoot ended quickly, thankfully without any other mishaps. Jennifer was very cooperative once she got into work mode, proving herself to be a professional little model, which relieved Charles.

He leaned closer to Jobs and glanced at the footage on the camera. The main body of the GG was basically the appearance and various functions of the Apple II, with a focus on showcasing its colorful graphical interface.

As for Shire and Jennifer, they played two kids using a computer, appearing on screen for only a few seconds to create atmosphere.

Steve Jobs glanced at the camera with satisfaction, patted the Apple II's cover, and said to Charles:

"How about it? Not bad, right?"

He noticed while filming that Charles was very skilled at using the computer, requiring almost no instruction from him, while Jennifer, sitting next to him, seemed somewhat unfamiliar with these things.

Charles blinked, deciding to take the opportunity to subtly hint at his intentions, and said:

"Hmm... I think this machine is a bit too big and not very convenient to use."

When Steve Jobs heard this, he was stunned. He never expected that the boy would be dissatisfied with such a novel gadget as the Apple II.

What a joke! Their new product has compressed the entire body as much as possible, giving it a significant advantage in size compared to competing products on the market. No one should say that this machine is too bulky, not even a child.

Steve Jobs asked:

"Do you think there's anything that could be improved?"

Charles stood up, his arms suddenly spreading out as if playing an accordion, roughly the size of an Apple II screen, then abruptly shrinking them back to one-tenth of their original size, and said:

"If only computer screens could be made as big as a mirror, so I could hold them in my hand, then I could carry them with me everywhere I go."

Jobs stroked his chin and chuckled involuntarily; he had almost forgotten that this guy was still an innocent child.

How is that even possible? You know, shrinking a computer screen to the size of a mirror would take about... wait, no, that's not right.

Jobs suddenly froze on the spot, his mind suddenly overflowing with a multitude of inspirations.

"No, no... Ciel, you're right! My God, you're a genius!"

He suddenly became excited, grabbed Charles and lifted him high in the air. Just because of that one sentence, his mind seemed to have been completely opened up.

In fact, Steve Jobs had long considered whether Apple really needed to continue focusing on the computer manufacturing industry, because they didn't have an overwhelming advantage in either hardware or software.

Today, he suddenly understood what he should do in the future, and he couldn't control his excitement.

No one could understand his passion and obsession with electronic products. His partners couldn't comprehend some of his actions either; they only wanted to make money by riding the wave of trends, and no one cared where future technological development should lead.

But Jobs cared; he wanted to bring about real change to the world.

He put Charles back on the ground, patted the boy's head, and solemnly said:

"Ciel, you may not understand what those words meant, but let me tell you, you are simply a godsend!"

As Jobs spoke, he couldn't help but hug Charles again with excitement. His words, which were somewhat childlike and even a little whimsical, were simply the best gift God had given him.

Ciel nestled in the other's arms and smiled helplessly.

He couldn't accept such praise. Besides, he hadn't really done anything; he had simply helped Jobs bring forward his future wildly imaginative design concepts a little bit.

"Charles, once our new product is developed, I guarantee you'll be one of our first users, and you'll have to keep helping us shoot GG then."

Ovitz happened to walk over at that moment, and upon hearing Jobs's words, he couldn't help but chuckle:

"Jobs, you'll have to raise your offer then."

Charles smiled. If Jobs could really develop the iPhone ahead of schedule, the price for shooting GG might increase by dozens of times.

"Steve Jobs, could you give me your autograph?"

"Where should I sign?"

Jobs is finding the little guy increasingly pleasing to the eye and would love to make him his godson, but it's too early to think about that now. He's only in his twenties and still young.

If Charles knew what Steve Jobs was thinking, he'd probably have to kneel down before him on the spot.

Why bother being a child star? He'd be the heir to Apple and be set for life!

Charles pointed to the white shirt he was wearing and said:

"Let's sign here."

Then he asked Steve Jobs if he could write one more sentence. After listening, Jobs exclaimed:

"That's a great and meaningful sentence; I'll remember it."

After doing all this, Ciel quickly ran to a full-length mirror and began to examine himself carefully.

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish." — Steve Jobs

This is a classic quote that will be included in textbooks in the future, and now he has become the first person to receive it.

Jennifer joined in, raised her hand, and shouted at Jobs:

"Brother Steve Jobs, I want the same signature as Charles!"

Well, Ciel didn't expect that a second one would appear so quickly; Jennifer was also benefiting from his fame.

The entire filming project has now come to an end. As stipulated in the contract, Charles will receive a payment of five hundred US dollars, which will be deposited into the new bank card that Ovitz opened for him a few days later.

Although the amount given was not much, considering Jobs' promise and the signed shirt, the gains from this trip had far exceeded his expectations.

Before leaving, Charles suddenly remembered something, quickly ran to Jobs, and said:

"Jobs, you need to take better care of yourself."

When Jobs heard this, he was clearly taken aback. Did he think that in the eyes of a child, he had already reached the age where he needed to pay attention to his health?

He said with a smile:

"No problem. I hope we'll have the opportunity to work together again in the future. The footage we shoot then won't be as rough as it is now. Hmm... let me think... at least we should shoot it in our own company building, right?"

Looking at that young face that was still without any wrinkles, Charles thought to himself, "It will happen."

Ovitz led Charles back to the beat-up Ford. Just as he was about to get in, he noticed little Jennifer standing not far away, looking at him with reluctance.

"Ciel, are we good friends now?"

Charles hadn't expected her to care so much about this. Was a good friend really that important? Nevertheless, he nodded, not wanting to spoil her fun.

Jennifer finally smiled, and walked briskly back to Mrs. Eileen's side, waving goodbye before leaving.

Charles sighed. Good friends are good friends, but who knows when we'll see each other again? There aren't cell phones like these days, so it's impossible to stay in touch all the time.

He sat in the back seat, looking out the car window. Jobs was standing at the garage door, watching them leave.

The car slowly started moving, and Charles watched as Jobs gradually disappeared from his sight, leaving only his back view, which looked inexplicably lonely.

Charles was momentarily lost in thought.

He huddled in the corner of the back seat, looking at his small hands, speechless for a moment.

Does this count as...changing history?

Although he is now just a speck of dust in this era, he is already capable of becoming the butterfly that flaps its wings. However, he had never realized this before, and only today did he suddenly feel a real connection to it.

In this era, Microsoft had not yet rung the Nasdaq bell, Apple had not yet emerged, and Starbucks was just a small shop located on a street in Seattle.

In this era, Sony hadn't invented the CD player yet, Madonna was working somewhere, and Michael Jackson hadn't released his globally popular album, *Thriller*.

In this era, Hollywood movies are facing a strong impact from television entertainment programs. Tom Cruise is still playing minor roles, and Leonardo DiCaprio has just made his screen debut. Everything is just beginning.

Charles clenched his fists, glanced down at the writing on his white shirt, and murmured:

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish."