Chapter 269

"During my youth, I can't quite grasp the complex emotions of adulthood yet. It's easier to empathize with the younger years... it's just my age."

She is 22 this year, playing a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl; that is indeed a bit excessive.

Of course, playing a 16-year-old Gao Zhongsheng is acceptable; Liu Liu Tianxian's face still looks very young.

"None of that matters. As long as you can portray the state I need, the settings can be changed."

A three-year gap is truly not an issue. Setting the daughter's debut during high school is the same; delaying the overall age by three years makes little difference.

"Mm, I'll try my best."

After helping Liu Liu Xiaoli to the hotel room and settling her in, Xu Can took his leave.

It was clearly noticeable that Liu Liu Tianxian let out a long sigh of relief.

What, was she afraid he would linger and do something to the drunk Liu Liu Xiaoli?

Joke's on you, how could I, Xu Can, be that kind of person!

"Rest early, goodnight."

"Goodnight... by the way, can we add each other on Face?"

Before leaving, Liu Liu Tianxian hesitated for a moment and made the suggestion.

"Of course." Xu Can readily agreed.

Unbeknownst to them, inside the hotel suite bedroom, Liu Liu Xiaoli suddenly opened her eyes, showing no obvious signs of drunkenness.

She perked up her ears to listen to the commotion at the door until Xu Can had completely left.

"Sigh..."

She didn't even know what she was sighing about.

"Darling, my concert is over, I'm so tired, my voice is hoarse."

In the hotel, Taylor complained over the phone.

"After resting today, I have to fly straight to Barcelona tomorrow. I don't want to do the tour anymore; I want to go to Huaxia to be with you."

"Fine, then come, cancel all the concerts." Xu Can laughed.

The concert revenue meant nothing to him.

Little did he know, Taylor herself negated this plan.

"No, I need to earn money to help support the company. With so many people in the whole group, isn't more income better?"

Taylor automatically adopted the perspective of the boss's wife.

"I'm going to do Pilates now; I have a dance class in a bit."

"Okay, go ahead, I'm going to sleep."

"No, no KissKiss!" Taylor coquettishly protested.

"Okay, okay, okay, KissU."

"Mua~ Goodnight!"

He hung up the phone; the call lasted 45 minutes, an international long-distance call.

It was afternoon in North America; Taylor had scheduled a bunch of dance and fitness classes.

On Xu Can's end, it was already late at night; he had just dropped off Liu Liu Tianxian and her daughter and hadn't even had time to shower in the room yet.

Unexpectedly, right after hanging up, Stone called again.

"Talked for so long, chatting with Taylor over the phone, huh?"

Emma's tone was somewhat resentful.

"No, just chatting with a client. I only chat with you over the phone." Xu Can made up a story.

No way around it, that's how women are.

Both knew the truth, but they still liked hearing sweet words.

"Yeah, right."

Emma muttered that, then started chatting with Xu Can about recent matters.

Originally, she planned to star in an Oscar-contending film, "An Education," after the Oscars.

Later, the company found another script, "The Blind Side."

It tells the story of a white family adopting a black boy and raising him to become one of the most successful offensive tackles in NFL history.

Originally a heartwarming story of a white person treating a black child well, this matter took a twist in 2023.

The real-life prototype, football player Michael Oher, sued his adoptive parents in 2023 for exploiting his fame to make money.

The so-called adoption was not out of kindness, but purely for profit.

The truth of the story was far from the beautiful and inspiring version in the movie; it was entirely a fabricated false kindness.

Xu Can was very interested in the story of "The Blind Side"; after acquiring the script, he adapted it into a dark story.

The first half was like the original film, unfolding from the female lead's perspective, appearing to be a purely inspiring heartwarming drama.

But the second half of the film would trigger a twist, telling the story from the black boy's perspective, turning it into a drama exposing social reality.

The movie could be shot using the black-and-white and color switching method from "Oppenheimer."

Completely shattering the false truth, goodness, and beauty fabricated by white people!

Originally, Xu Can had just casually mentioned it, but Emma Stone was actually very interested and voluntarily proposed to play the role inside.

She wanted to play the female lead who appeared righteous but was actually blinded by greed.

Emma Stone felt the role was quite challenging!

The pursuit of acting is the dream Emma Stone has always adhered to.

Whether she met Xu Can or not, she would never immerse herself in her comfort zone.

Xu Can certainly encouraged her to improve herself, so the first time he used his privilege, he directly arranged a role for Sister Stone without an audition.

He believed she would definitely deliver an outstanding performance.

"I'm going to read the script now. You hurry up and sleep—no staying up late."

Sister Stone also blew a kiss through the phone before hanging up.

In the blink of an eye, it was already past 1 a. m.; they had been on the phone for almost two hours.

This was the phone-call duration required by two girlfriends—if there were a few more, Xu Can wouldn't know how to arrange it.

He hadn't expected the phone to ring again; this time it wasn't the cell phone, but the hotel room's landline.

"Xu, are you asleep?"

"Not yet."

Was it Ivanka? What did she want?

Today when he went to eat with Liu Xiaoli and the others, Ivanka had gone to Sanlitun shopping on her own...

"Regarding the script for 'Interstellar,' I have some questions I want to discuss with you."

"No, why didn't you say so earlier? We're about to start filming—what problems could you possibly have now?"

Xu Can was speechless. What kind of stunt was this Young Lady trying to pull?

The usually aloof and composed Ivanka suddenly sounded a bit flustered.

"Emmm…Well, I was busy before and didn't get around to reading the script carefully."

She pretended to be assertive and said,

"Now I've found some issues in it. If you're not asleep, come over and chat—I'll be waiting for you in my room."

With that, Ivanka hung up the phone, leaving Xu Can no room to argue.

???

In the past, she hadn't managed the company's operations either. As one of the shareholders, Ivanka had never participated in decision-making; Xu Can held absolute authority.

Not to mention film creation—this was Xu Can's own little domain, and she had no right to interfere at all.

But from her meaning, if he ignored her, it might cause the Young Lady to withdraw her investment.

700 million, plus more than a year of interest, wasn't really a problem now—any random film could cover it.

It's just that... the box office share from "Dying to Survive" hadn't been settled yet, and at least a three-month cycle needed to be left for the theaters.

"Source Code" had also only been released not long ago. Currently, the global box office has surpassed 400 million, but it was still the same problem—funds needed time to be recouped.

Previously, "Iron Man 2," "Captain America," and "Thor" had consumed most of the funds,

700 million was indeed a troublesome matter for Xu Can—not that he couldn't afford it, just that it was very troublesome.

Rather than deal with the trouble, Xu Can would rather spend some time going to Ivanka's room to see what she had to say.

Could she possibly eat him?