America: Child stars start with The Shining

Charles decided to double-check, since there are quite a few celebrities with the surname Jennifer, and there might be several child stars with the same name in this school near Hollywood.

He tentatively asked:

"Jennifer Connelly? That little model who did children's clothing magazines?"

"Man, I knew you'd know her! Every kid who goes to school here knows Jennifer! I heard she's going to be in a movie soon, and she'll be even more famous then!"

Charles paused for a moment, wondering why Tupaik seemed a little too excited.

He continued to ask:

"She's going to make a movie? Where did you hear that?"

"Hey, of course I... heard it from her!"

Charles's expression suddenly turned somewhat strange as he looked at Tupaik's confident demeanor and said:

"Are you and Jennifer good friends?"

"Of course! There's no one in this school who doesn't know me, 2Pac!"

Seeing Tupac puff out his chest, Charles decided not to expose him any further and to protect the child's self-esteem.

Just then, Tupac pulled a small notebook out of his bag and handed it to Charles:

"Look at this! After you see this, you'll know that everything I said is true. Let me tell you, this is my treasure; I don't usually show it to anyone else!"

【Title: Rap Kid's Poetry Collection (Rare)】

[Original owner: 2Pac]

[Attributes: Impact +30%, Narrative Tension +20%]

[Entry: Street Sounds (Passive)]

[Effect Description: Enhances your delivery of lines. When the character's dialogue involves conflict, emotional suppression, or being trapped in a predicament, your tone, rhythm, and pauses will be amplified, making the performance more realistic and significantly improving the audience's empathy and character identification.]

Charles took the crumpled notebook, which was filled with poems and fragmented draft lyrics.

He quickly flipped through a few pages and could already vaguely discern the author's later style, which contained reflections on society and the surrounding world—something completely unlike what someone his age would write.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped, and he saw a familiar name:

2Pacalypse Now.

Isn't this the name of Tupac's first album? How come it's appeared so early?

In Charles's memory, this album, released in 1991, helped Tupac make a name for himself, selling over half a million copies, being certified gold by the RIAA, and later winning a gold award from the Recording Industry Association of America.

But when he continued reading, he found that only the album title was written on it, without a single lyric. Next to it, it said "Apocalypse Now," which is a large-scale war film.

It seems that Tupac's album was inspired by this movie.

Charles closed the notebook, looked up at the other person, and asked:

"2Pac, do you want to be a rapper in the future?"

Tupac scratched his head, took back his notebook, and said excitedly:

"Damn, what Black kid doesn't want to be a rapper these days? Look at 'Rapper's Delight,' man, that's real music!"

Charles smiled as he looked at Tupac's beaming face. This black kid in front of him was going to be a leading figure in West Coast rap in the future.

In this era, Black rap is gradually becoming mainstream, street party culture is on the rise, and gangsters have laid down their guns. Now they use breakdancing to battle, accompanied by energetic rap music to compete.

only......

With the rise of rap music, the conflict between the East and West coasts has intensified, and the media has begun to fuel the flames and hype up the topic.

Ultimately, the conflicts in the lyrics turned into offline street clashes, and this golden age of hip-hop ended with the deaths of 2Pac and Biggie.

[Special mission triggered: A Black kid's dream of becoming a rap superstar.]

[Tupac has always dreamed of becoming a big star and improving his family's living conditions; his talent desperately needs a suitable opportunity to be recognized by the public.]

[Mission Objective: Help Tupac release his first rap album.]

[Reward: Rap Kid's Poetry Collection (Upgrades the equipment's grade, attributes, and affix effects)]

Charles paused for a moment. Perhaps he could recommend Tupac to Ovitz and explore new areas?

But it's obviously too early for this. Tupac is still a primary school student, probably not even out of puberty yet, and his hair hasn't even grown up. Where is he going to get into gangsta rap?

Before they knew it, the morning had passed quickly. Charles was so busy chatting with Tupaik that he barely listened to the lessons, and it was already lunchtime.

However, the amount of knowledge a primary school student has is not a big problem for him even if he doesn't listen to the lessons, but Tupaik might be a little worried.

The two walked together, led by their teacher, and followed their classmates toward the cafeteria.

Tupaik suddenly patted Charles on the shoulder, pointed in a direction, and said:

"Hey, look, it's little Jennifer!"

Charles looked in the direction he pointed and saw Jennifer timidly mingling among a group of classmates, with no one around to talk to her, and she was very quiet.

He raised an eyebrow, seemingly unchanged from the last time they met. Jennifer still looked the same as before, lacking confidence.

He was just about to walk over when Tupac suddenly grabbed him:

"Are you crazy? That's little Jennifer! How could you just walk up to her and say hello?"

Charles glanced at Tupaik and said helplessly:

"Come on, didn't you tell me before that you and Jennifer were good friends? How come you didn't even dare to say hello?"

Tupac's face flushed red, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time. Then, he watched helplessly as Charles walked over.

Jennifer was walking with her head down when someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. Startled, she turned around and saw an unexpected person standing in front of her. She exclaimed in surprise:

"Ciel! What are you doing here?"

"Uh, of course I came here to study, what else would I be here for? I didn't expect you to be at this school too, otherwise I would have told you sooner."

Jennifer was indeed pleased by those words, and a rare smile appeared on her face. She and Charles walked towards the restaurant, chatting and laughing.

Tupac was completely dumbfounded. He had no idea what had just happened. How could these two people suddenly become good friends in the blink of an eye?

Is chatting with girls really that easy?

"Hey, you two, wait for me!"

......

Tupac, carrying his tray, sat down opposite the two men, glaring at Ciel with a resentful look, and said:

"Ciel, that's so unfair of you! Why didn't you tell me sooner that you were also a child star in Hollywood?"

Charles paused for a moment, then replied:

"Uh, you didn't even ask me?"

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked:

"Tupac, would you be interested in coming with us to a movie audition this afternoon?"

Charles was initially puzzled as to why Tupac was so interested in Jennifer; it turns out the guy was just envious of others being able to make movies in Hollywood.

This afternoon happened to be the audition for "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," and he thought he could take Tupac with him to try his luck. This guy had previously boasted that he had played many roles in school plays and had a lot of stage experience, so he should still have a chance.

Jennifer will also be going with them. Ever since she met Charles, she has been pestering her mother, hoping to become a child star and make movies like him.

In a way, the butterfly effect brought about by Charles seems to have helped this little guy enter the Hollywood circle earlier. It's hard to say whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Upon hearing Charles's words, Tupaik's eyes lit up, and he excitedly grabbed Charles's hand, shouting:

"WTF!? Ciel, no, from now on you're my boss, you're not kidding me, are you?!"

"Of course I'm telling the truth."

The auditions for "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" were public; he was just doing a favor. Whether Tupac would be selected depended on his own performance.

"Boss!"

Charles immediately interrupted him:

"No, you'd better not call me that in public..."

If others found out that a black child had recognized a white man as his older brother, Charles estimated that he would be in trouble the next day. This era was not so open-minded.

So, in the afternoon, Charles and Jennifer walked out through the front door with their leave slips.

Tupac, of course, couldn't learn such an open way of skipping class, so he simply found a secluded corner and climbed over the wall to get out.

The three met up outside the school and then walked together toward the Hollywood film set.