American Gossip King

Chapter 191 The World Cup is Coming Soon

Beverly Hills, Goldwyn Estate.

Ian lay on the soft, large bed in the bedroom on the third floor.

Ian didn't approach anyone else. It was rare for this girl to lower her head, so he showed her some tenderness and gave her a break.

Ian stared silently at the ceiling, still holding the phone in his hand.

He was on the phone: "No, no, James, I couldn't have imagined any of this. It's just a coincidence, and I never expected things to turn out this way."

James Perry laughed on the phone: "That's the celebrity effect, Ian. Even if you stop going on adventures, a few of your selfies can become headline news."

Ian shook his head: "That's just overdrawing my reputation. I'm still young and have no intention of stopping striving."

James Perry sensed something was wrong and asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"

Ian looked at Catherine.

Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her large eyes glared fiercely at him.

Ian whispered, "Being raped."

James Peley: "..."

After a long pause, he said, "I never talk about work in this situation."

Ian smiled: "I think the opposite. Time is so precious, there are only 24 hours in a day, so if you can do several things at the same time, there's no need to do only one."

"Who is it?" James Perry asked.

Catherine quickly pulled an ice pick from the ice bucket and aimed it at Ian's neck.

It's as if it means, "If you dare to say my name, I'll let you experience what 'Basic Instinct' is all about."

Ian chuckled: "You fierce woman, you won't let me say anything... If you keep asking, tomorrow's headlines will be Ian Carl stabbed to death in bed, his death gruesome and completely naked!"

James Peley laughed heartily: "Have fun."

He hung up the phone.

Ian grabbed Catherine, knocked the ice pick out of her hand, pressed her down, and grabbed a handful of ice from the ice bucket.

"Ah!" Catherine screamed, startled.

She bit Ian hard on the shoulder like a madwoman.

Ian flipped over and regained control, but then Catherine pushed him down again...

After a short while, the cloud and rain dissipated.

Catherine lay on top of Ian, panting heavily.

The balcony window was open, her hair swayed in the breeze, and her eyes shone brightly under the lamplight.

She said softly, "Is the child Mrs. Bent's?"

Ian smiled: "I'm not surprised you know the answer."

Catherine then clung tightly to Ian: "But I didn't expect you to go to such lengths for her."

It was indeed surprising. In Catherine's knowledge, no one had ever been able to stop Ian's crazy desire to reveal information. Not only that, he might even pull some tricks while chasing Lee Walmart.

But this time, he actually gave up all of that for Lena.

Ian looked at her for a long time before finally saying, "That happened a year ago."

He got off Catherine, wrapped his arms around his neck, looked at the ceiling, and softly recounted his experience with Gasker.

His tone was calm and even, yet tinged with tenderness.

Then Catherine understood: "You love her?"

Ian gave a wry smile, his gaze growing increasingly unfocused.

He was thinking about it seriously.

After a while.

He shook his head and said, "I don't know. Someone like me isn't qualified to talk about love; it's too sacred, I'm not worthy. But people's feelings always need something to rely on, and looking around, it seems like only she is suitable. She doesn't need anything from me; she loves me and she loves Gaskell, though not completely, but it's real. They've given me all the help they can, and they're the only people I can fully trust right now, even more than my mother."

Mrs. Carl was naturally very good to her son, but she was ultimately just an ordinary old lady and couldn't help Ian in any way.

Her greatest contribution was that she never held her son back.

Catherine finally understood.

Oh, I see!

Ian Karl, that cold-blooded bastard, actually fell in love with another man's wife... You actually understand love, even if it's just a little bit.

Catherine remained silent.

After a long pause, she said, "I want to be the bureau chief."

Ian stared at her in astonishment.

Catherine raised her chin: "Belton is running for Congress, and I know you can help me do it."

Ian looked at her.

After a long pause, he shook his head: "No."

"Why?" Catherine was furious.

She sat up angrily, displaying her beautiful figure as if she wanted to use her softest spot to smash Ian's hardest skull.

Ian chuckled: "You know why yourself."

Upon hearing this, Catherine lowered her head.

She certainly knew.

I am very principled and have my own ideas about many things.

The people Ian wants to help are those who can cooperate with him, not someone who acts out of a sense of justice.

But in reality, where is justice in oneself?

She already knew Ian and what he had done.

But she chose to deceive herself and ignore it.

She had long been infatuated with him, but she was just using arrogance and rudeness as a cover.

She bit her lower lip lightly, gazing at Ian with fascination.

She got off Ian and got out of bed.

She displayed her beautiful figure under the lights, and then slowly knelt down in front of Ian.

She murmured, "Fakmi! I beg you!"

Ian smiled.

He said, "That's not enough."

In the past, Catherine might have been furious.

But at this moment, she just bent her body gently.

She said tenderly, "You can have anything you want..."

So Ian slowly pressed her down: "Remember your current attitude..."

That night, Catherine seemed like a completely different person.

She flattered and fawned over Ian.

She explained to herself that it was for the position of bureau chief, but deep down she felt that it was just an excuse she made up.

All her assertiveness was like an empty shell in front of Ian; she knew it was the wrong approach.

She just needed a reason to convince herself, to humble herself, and to surrender completely.

A woman like her, once she submits, will give up everything.

So Ian got a rare and wonderful night.

………………

The next day, Ian went to see Lena first.

In the hospital room, Ian looked at the baby in swaddling clothes with tenderness in his eyes.

"He's so cute!" Ian couldn't contain his excitement and kissed the child's face again.

"Alright, Ian, if you kiss him again, he'll start crying again." Lena happily took the baby from Ian's arms and gave him a cute eye roll.

Americans don't have the concept of postpartum confinement, so Lena won't be staying by her bedside. For her, the most important things right now, besides taking care of the baby, are getting back in shape.

However, Ian didn't think so. He specially found a Chinese wet nurse to tell Lena about the importance of postpartum care for a woman's health.

This made Lena very happy, but also jealous, because according to this logic, she still wouldn't be able to get along with Ian in the future.

Don't think I don't know you slept with Anne Hathaway after Megan Fox... and that's just what's known.

You've changed, Ian Karl.

Last year you were more restrained, but this year you've started having affairs all the time.

You even took the initiative!

It's true that people change with their circumstances! You don't forget your roots when it comes to journalism, but you certainly know how to adapt to different situations when it comes to girls!

Lena's eyes were filled with resentment.

The latest novel is first published here!

If she hadn't had stitches and someone else hadn't been watching, she might have actually started doing it right there on the hospital bed with Ian.

Even so, she still asked Ian with obvious jealousy, "You're going to the World Cup, right? Who are you taking with you?"

Although Ian devoted most of his energy to Hollywood in the first half of the year, the Earth in 2002 was actually a terrifying Earth—terrorism was the defining characteristic of that year.

Many things happened this year, with waves of terror sweeping the globe and calls for counterterrorism growing louder.

However turbulent the world may be, life must go on.

The most typical example is that the World Cup is about to be held.

While war rages in Afghanistan, the World Cup will proceed as scheduled.

May 31st marks the opening of the Japan-Korea World Cup, and is also a global media extravaganza.

Although this international event is not very valuable to the United States, the three major ball sports in the United States are baseball, American football and basketball, and there is no room for soccer to survive.

On the other hand, Ian needs to expand internationally and has no intention of missing out on the World Cup.

It doesn't matter that CBS doesn't have the broadcasting rights for the World Cup; they can still broadcast other World Cup news!

For example, if fans cause trouble, you can't have exclusive broadcasting rights for that, right?

As a result, media outlets from all over the world flocked to the scene in search of news.

In addition, there is another matter that can be considered big news, namely the South Korean scandal!

In the 02 World Cup, South Korea finished fourth, but at the same time, it ruined its reputation.

Later, in order to get promoted, Chung Mong-joon even publicly claimed that he had bribed the referees—something that only works in South Korea.

Is it possible to support openly promoting cheating?

South Koreans' lack of moral boundaries has escalated to the point of openly declaring, "This is our national culture," on par with India's "It's our national culture to defecate everywhere."

Speaking of which, Koreans are pretty awesome.

In China, the three countries I dislike the most are the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

The United States is driven by power and oppression, while Japan is driven by ethnic hatred.

South Korea, which neither bullies China nor has any historical grievances, still ranks among the top three most disliked countries. That's quite something.

Moreover, this is not a perception unique to China, but a perception shared by most countries around the world.

South Koreans are notorious for their dirty play in sports. At the Seoul Olympics before the World Cup, South Koreans were involved in an incident of assaulting a referee, which became a notorious scandal at the Olympics. There has never been a clean event that they participate in.

However, Ian doesn't intend to prevent the South Koreans from taking fourth place this time.

If he wanted to stop it, it would be simple: just use invisible threads to entangle those guys playing football, and then all sorts of crazy mishaps would happen on the field.

Even biased refereeing couldn't stop Ian.

But there's no need for that.

In their pursuit of this football match, South Korea sabotaged relations with both Italy and Spain, directly leading to a deterioration in their relationship with both countries and severely damaging their international reputation. This was a classic example of a foolish act that backfired.

Only South Koreans themselves are smug about this, but they never think about what they have lost—it's the same as the presidential election. As long as I benefit, I don't care what the country loses!

If Ian had helped Italy win that game, Italy might still dislike South Korea, but the hatred wouldn't be as intense—the pain of losing and the pain of almost losing are different.

Since that's the case, it's fine to let them have their own fun, but we can get the evidence that Chung Mong-joon bribed the referee—you don't have to reveal it yourself, I'll reveal it for you.

Chung Mong-joon revealed this himself because times have changed, the domestic environment is supportive, and he no longer needs foreign votes.

Ian might help him explode, but he won't help him choose the right time.

Furthermore, South Korea's fourth-place finish is a major upset, so it's worth betting on.

Ian had promised Gaskell he wouldn't gamble at the casino, but it would be good to gamble on sports occasionally to recoup some of his losses... after all, he had spent a lot of money recently.

I don't need a lot, just enough to earn interest.

Besides that, although Koreans may have terrible personalities, they are still quite attractive.

These people are all American dogs; it's easier to deal with them.

You don't even need to make a request; they'll deliver it to you themselves.

Thinking about it this way, making money, making news, messing with Koreans, messing with Koreans (no repetition), it's a win-win situation!

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but Ian simply smiled and kissed Lena: "I'm not bringing anyone. I have work to do; I need to see Murdoch."

"Maybe she's just looking for a new target, after all, there are plenty of beauties there," Lena hummed.

Ian had to reassure Lena again, saying affectionately, "Most beauties in the world are like delicious dishes; you only need to taste them once, feel them, experience them once, and there's no need to linger. But you're different, darling. I care about you so much; you're my eternal main course!!!"

Lena looked into his eyes, and in that moment, she believed that Ian was speaking from the bottom of his heart.

Then she smiled happily: "Until we grow old together!"

Ian nodded firmly: "Until we grow old together!"

…………

As night fell, Ian left the hospital.

Walking on the streets of Los Angeles, large posters are displayed at the movie theaters not far away.

Spider-Man has been released.

In the wake of the 9/17 attacks, the American people desperately needed a superhero to save them.

The release of Spider-Man at this time is undoubtedly perfectly timed.

A hefty sum of money was about to arrive, but it wasn't even worth Ian thinking about for a few more seconds.

As I said before, whether it's media, film and television, or the internet, all they care about is influence and profit. Now that Ian Carl has gained more influence, he is focusing more on real businesses.

Amazon, ExxonMobil, Apple, UnitedHealth, Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft, GE, Boeing, Pfizer, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon are the companies that Ian is aiming for in the future.

If he has enough strength, he will expand globally in the future, targeting companies such as Toyota in Japan, Total Energy in France, BP, Deutsche Telekom in Germany, Samsung in South Korea, and ASML in the Netherlands.

If the reach is strong enough, even Russian gas and Singapore's Trafigura could be considered. As for China, don't count on anything involving national welfare and people's livelihood, but companies like Tencent, Alibaba, Pinduoduo, and ByteDance are all fine—in fact, companies like PetroChina are also an option.

As I was pondering this, the phone rang.

Ian glanced at the number; it was an unfamiliar number.

He took it and casually put a voice changer on himself.

"Ian Karl?" came a slightly accented, weathered voice from the other end of the phone.

"I'm not sure if I should be, who are you?" Ian vaguely sensed something peculiar.

On the other end of the phone, a deep, weathered voice said, "I am a friend of Mohammed Atta."

Upon hearing this answer, Ian laughed: "Oh, that's interesting."

"I understand your attitude. Your voice sounds different; you're very cautious," the other person said with a smile. "Perhaps we should find somewhere to talk?"

"Are you in Los Angeles?"

"Look up when I'm 80 meters away."

Ian looked up and saw a middle-aged man standing at a second-floor window watching him.

He doesn't have a big beard.

(End of this chapter)