America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 91. Arrival in China, Bar Girls

"Hahaha. Eric Cooper, my dear brother, I must thank you!"

As soon as the call connected, Joshua's arrogant laughter rang out from the other end.

"What are you trying to say, Joshua?" Eric frowned.

"Hahaha, don't you understand? I read the newspaper, you actually hooked up with Nicole Kidman, OMG! She's a dream girl for so many people."

"Those tabloids are full of baseless rumors, and you actually believe them? Besides, even if I really were with Nicole Kidman, what does that have to do with gratitude?"

Joshua exclaimed, "Of course! My dear brother, this proves I'm not the first one to mess around. You have no idea how difficult it was when Dad and Mom came to see me at the team the other day!"

"Now I'm a key player, although I'm not a quarterback, but I can seduce countless girls. You have no idea how much I've suffered."

"So if I get caught in the future, I can bring up your actions. If Mom doesn't punish you, then of course there's no reason for her to punish me either. So I have to thank you, my dear brother."

"roll!"

Eric hung up the phone immediately, which means that modern mobile phones don't have a recording function, otherwise he would have recorded the guy and played it out through the loudspeaker when he got back.

Since he and Nicole Kidman weren't caught in the act, they could simply deny it to the death.

Joshua just admitted to cheating on his mother over the phone, and she's sure to spank him and kick him out.

In the passenger seat, Chen Xing handed over the newspaper, then shook his head helplessly.

"Is that a lot?"

"Yes, boss, and they're all headline news!"

"Shit!"

I casually flipped through the list and sure enough, the Oscars, which had dominated the entertainment headlines the day before yesterday, had been relegated to a corner, while I and Nicole had taken the top spot.

However, since the two of them hardly have any photos together, most newspapers chose the two classic moments: Oscar Eric rescuing Eric from his damsel in distress and Nicole talking to Eric sideways at Vanity Fair, almost kissing him.

The two photos appeared quite ambiguous, which inevitably made the public believe the rumor even more.

However, there was another thing that Eric found very funny, and that was Tom Cruise's interview.

He's now a prime target for paparazzi, after all, he's the ex-husband.

In the photos, Tom Cruise appears expressionless in some photos, with furrowed brows in others, and with angry eyes in still others; his mood is quite evident.

Although he started dating Penelope Cruz shortly after his divorce from Nicole Kidman.

But it's still a little upsetting that his ex-wife, with whom he'd been together for 11 years, is now having an affair with another man who is more outstanding, younger, and more handsome than him.

Especially considering that Penelope Cruz is clearly inferior to Nicole Kidman, this means she has lost.

The media also relentlessly dug up old wounds, bluntly stating that Tom Cruise lost to Nicole Kidman, and that the Australian girl who once needed his protection had surpassed him and become a towering tree.

What's even more hilarious is that when Nicole Kidman won the Best Actress award, Tom Cruise had just congratulated her in a media interview and thanked Eric for his actions.

It's only been two days and they've already contradicted themselves; it's truly devastating.

Eric tossed the newspaper aside and couldn't help but laugh. How to describe the feeling? It was kind of exhilarating.

Everyone hates Cao Cao, and everyone wants to be Cao Cao!

Suddenly, my phone screen lit up with a text message.

Neill Blomkamp: "Director, we've all seen the reports. You need to be careful."

Subsequently, text messages from Ryan Reynolds, Patty Jenkins, Chris Evans, and others also arrived.

"Sigh! It's really pitiful for Gadot. The whole crew was backstabbing her, even Patty Jenkins chose to backstab her in order to get more investment."

With a sigh, Eric decided to call them himself.

The Transformers crew was filming scenes at the Hoover Dam at that time, but of course they couldn't actually be filming inside the dam.

They filmed a scene on the outside, then built the set. MGM's props team recreated a ten-meter-tall Megatron, even taller and more imposing than Vertigo.

"Card!"

Patty Jenkins stood up from behind the monitor: "Gadot, your emotions weren't right, and you got your lines wrong too."

Gal Gadot sounded a little downcast: "Sorry, director, I'll take a moment to adjust."

Everyone naturally understood why Gadot was out of sorts; it was her own boss's fault, so no one really blamed her.

"Ten-minute break, Gadot, get back into shape," Patty Jenkins said.

"Okay, sorry!"

She sat back down in her chair, and soon a crew member brought her her phone: "Gadot, here's your phone."

"Thanks."

After glancing at the screen, Gadot quickly stood up and walked to a corner by herself.

Eric.

"Hi, Gadot, what's wrong? Why do you sound so down?"

"It's nothing, I just didn't sleep well."

"Were you keeping up with sleep because of those gossip reports?"

"Since you brought it up, fine, yes! Tell me, is that news true? About you and Nicole Kidman?"

Now that the truth has been revealed, Gal Gadot, true to her character, might as well get straight to the point.

"Of course it's not true. I can tell you with absolute certainty that it's complete nonsense. Those paparazzi love to fabricate scandals so that the newspapers sell well. Don't you understand?"

Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, Eric has come to understand one thing deeply: unless you're caught in the act, never admit it, no matter what.

Don't worry, there will always be die-hard fans who believe you. What's even more terrifying is that some of them can brainwash themselves, reaching the highest level of die-hard fandom.

The heat has died down, time to rise again!

"But why did you go to her house alone? Don't tell me it wasn't you; I recognize that car."

"Honey, it's just preparing for a new movie. You can check out ABC's reports; those big newspapers are relatively objective."

"La Vie en Rose?"

"Yes, if you don't believe me, I can show you the script when I go to the film set in a few days."

"In a few days? Why a few days? Can't we do it now? You haven't shown up on set for half a month. You can't find a director like you anywhere else in the world."

"Gadot, because I'm waiting for my flight to go abroad soon. There's a big project that I need to coordinate, and it's related to MGM's future development."

Hearing Eric describe it as so serious, Gadot felt too embarrassed to say anything more.

After all, the two had never officially defined their relationship; it was only a vague, ambiguous romance. What right did she have to make demands of him?

There was no response from the phone. Eric's voice was gentle as he spoke of his longing: "Gardenia, I miss you!"

After a moment of silence, the person on the other end replied, "I miss you too, Eric. I really want to see you."

"Just bear with me for a few more days, baby. I'll come see you as soon as I get back."

"Oh well."

Eric was about to hang up when he heard that there was no sound from the other end again.

Suddenly, Gadot's voice rang out again.

"Eric, can you answer a question for me?"

"What?"

"What are we? What do you take me for?" Gadot seemed to have mustered up a lot of courage to ask.

After a moment's hesitation, Eric solemnly said, "Girlfriend."

"If I didn't care about you, why would I call you just before boarding the plane to comfort you? You can't use your phone on the plane, and I was worried you'd be upset. Is that a satisfactory answer?"

In 2003, all countries in the world banned the use of mobile phones on airplanes and required them to be switched off, as mobile phones could interfere with signal transmission.

This ban was not broken until 2013 in Europe and the United States.

"Not satisfied, hehe"

"You're still smiling so happily even though you're not satisfied, Gadot. Focus on filming, I'll be back soon."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

A woman's laughter came from the other end of the phone, and then the call ended.

Eric nodded to himself, knowing that this would definitely not affect the filming schedule.

The car then arrived at the airport. Eric got out of the car and stretched. Without the annoying paparazzi, the air felt much fresher.

"The law only stipulates one wife, not one girlfriend!"

Eric walked along, thinking to himself that dealing with this inexperienced young girl was incredibly easy.

Around 8 p.m., a plane slowly landed at Yanjing International Airport.

As Eric walked out of the departure hall, he looked around. Returning to this land, a sense of familiarity instantly welled up in his heart.

Looking at the sparse, hurried people around him, he felt a special sense of kinship with those yellow-skinned faces.

A little girl, about four or five years old, held her mother's hand and looked at Eric with her big, blinking eyes.

Eric smiled at her, and the little girl smiled back. Although he couldn't see clearly because of the mask on, Eric was certain that the little girl smiled.

On the last leg of Eric's flight, he was the only foreigner left.

The reason why Dad said that running a branch office in China was a tough job is because, compared to the United States, China is indeed still somewhat behind.

In addition, media sensationalism has led to many misunderstandings among foreigners. This has remained the same for 20 years as the international situation has changed, and it has even shown a trend of intensification.

Susan only accepted the offer after her father persuaded her earnestly, and it's said that her husband and children cried their eyes out when she left.

Even Eric only told his parents about it when he was about to board the plane, acting first and informing them later. He and Gadot only said they were going abroad.

After taking the masks from Chen Xing and putting them on, the two lined up to go through the testing gate, where several staff members in protective suits were performing their duties.

"Boss, the inspection looks very thorough. Is it really that serious?"

Eric shook his head slightly: "Don't worry,"

After passing the test, Chen Xing contacted Susan by phone, and soon a white Passat appeared in front of them. The two got into the car.

Taking off his mask, Eric asked, "Susan, how's the branch office situation going?"

Susan adjusted her glasses: "It went fairly smoothly. After I arrived here, I used my connections with Xinghui Company to meet with Han Sanping of Huaying Group."

"This person struck me as quite pragmatic. He welcomed our proposal to establish a branch office, but after all, he is only the vice president of Huaying Film Studio and has no authority to make many decisions."

"Then he introduced me to the director of the Yanjing Optoelectronics Bureau. I met with Director Zhou a week ago. His attitude was similar to Han's; he also welcomed me."

"Later I kept waiting for news. I inquired twice in between. Director Zhou said that he was consulting with his superiors and that the land issue was not something that could be resolved quickly."

"Yesterday, I told Director Han and Director Zhou that you were coming. They have already arranged a dinner and should be waiting for us now."

Eric nodded. Having been Chinese in his previous life, he was well aware that administrative processes take time.

Sure enough, just as Susan finished speaking, the phone rang. It was Han Sanping, asking if Eric had arrived yet.

The Passat sped along the road, and the lights of Yanjing remained unchanged during this special period.

There were fewer pedestrians on the road, but there were still some, and they were all wearing masks.

The current policy in Yanjing is to both combat the epidemic and allow life to continue as usual. Therefore, a fixed-point lockdown is being implemented, and non-special places without problems will remain as usual.

The car finally arrived at Fengzeyuan Restaurant, which was still operating as usual.

Because it frequently hosts official receptions and also receives foreign guests, it is considered an official designated location.

After undergoing another round of testing, Eric was led to a private room by a waiter.

The moment the door opened, Eric saw the four people sitting inside stand up—three men and one woman. He recognized two of them immediately.

One of them was Han Sanping, the vice president of Huaying Group. Although he had not yet been promoted to the top position, Huaying Group was practically his domain by 2003.

He wields real power at Huaying Film Company, a fact widely acknowledged in the industry; what he lacks is official recognition.

He's the host now, but he'll soon become the abbot.

The other one was Zhang Ziyi. Eric shook his head inwardly when he saw her, guessing that she had been brought along to keep him company.

But today's dinner is for serious business, so bringing a female celebrity along would be redundant.

Han Sanping extended his hand with a smile: "Welcome, welcome, Mr. Eric. I've been looking forward to your arrival for a long time."

Beside him, Zhang Ziyi immediately translated in English. As soon as she spoke, Eric understood the significance of her presence.

Eric interrupted Zhang Ziyi's translation abruptly, and then, to her astonishment, said, "No translation is needed. I can speak Mandarin."

He then bypassed Zhang Ziyi and shook hands directly with Han Sanping, Director Zhou, and a deputy director of the Optoelectronics Bureau.

"Chairman Han, Director Zhou, Director Chen, it's a pleasure to meet you. Eric Cooper, you can just call me Eric."

(End of this chapter)