Reborn in Hollywood

The door opened.

Madeline stood on the porch, wearing a simple cream-colored linen shirt and dark gray trousers, her hair loosely tied back.

She wore minimal makeup, yet her features were stunning enough—the kind of beauty that doesn't need elaborate clothes or jewelry, but can make everyone turn their heads simply because of her bone structure.

At fifty years old, Madeline has fine lines around her eyes, but they have not diminished her charm.

"I can smell it."

She raised her chin slightly and smiled like a little girl, "Someone is trying to please his old mother."

"Who is the old mother?"

Li Rui walked over, bent down and hugged her, "How come I didn't see that?"

Madeline smiled and patted his back lightly, then took the bouquet and took a deep sniff: "You have good taste."

She ushered Li Rui into the house, and while looking for a vase, she chattered, "There's stewed beef in the fridge, I made it last night, take some with you. Also, I just washed the bedding in your bedroom last week, you can take a nap if you're tired—"

"mom."

Li Rui interrupted her, his voice carrying a relaxed languor, "I just sat down."

Madeline turned around and looked at him for three seconds.

Then she put down the flowers in her hand, walked over, sat down opposite her on the sofa, and folded her hands on her knees.

"Tell me," she said calmly, "what happened?"

Li Rui was slightly taken aback.

How did you know—

"You are my son," Madeline said calmly, but with unwavering authority. "You speak one way outside and another way at home. Today's tone... something's happened. Not something bad, I can tell. But it's important."

Li Rui remained silent.

After a moment, he spoke: "I got a role."

Madeline waited quietly for him to continue.

"The second prequel to Star Wars," Li Rui said, "the protagonist is Anakin Skywalker."

Madeline's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Her expression didn't change drastically—Li Rui had never seen his mother lose her composure before. But her amber eyes lit up, like deep water being illuminated by sunlight.

"George Lucas's Star Wars?"

"Um."

"You mean, you'll become Skywalker?"

"Yes."

Madeline slowly leaned back on the sofa, gazing at her son.

A few seconds later, she exhaled softly, her breath trembling slightly.

"Raphael".

Her voice was a little lower than before, "Do you know when I first saw Star Wars?"

Li Rui shook his head.

"In 1977," Madeleine said, "I was studying in Paris then, and a few classmates and I skipped class to see a midnight showing. Back then, there weren't even English subtitles; it was all dubbed in French. When Darth Vader appeared, the whole theater was screaming."

She paused, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"I was twenty-six years old at the time, and I never imagined that more than twenty years later, my son would become a Jedi Knight."

Li Rui looked at her. There were indeed fine lines at the corners of his mother's eyes, and a few strands of gray hair were faintly visible at her temples.

He had never paid attention to these things before.

"You'll become a big star."

Madeline said calmly, "I knew this day would come, but I didn't expect it to be so soon."

"You don't object?" Li Rui asked.

This has always been a knot in his heart.

After graduating last year, he chose to go to Hollywood to pursue his career. His mother did not stop him; she simply helped him load his luggage into the car and stood by the car door for a long time.

At the time, he thought she was reluctant to let go, but later he realized that what was hidden in her silence was a careful and considerate way of letting go.

"Against what?"

Madeline retorted, "Does opposing you make you successful?"

"no……"

Li Rui paused for a moment, then said, "This path is unstable. I could lose my job at any time, be replaced at any time, or be forgotten at any time. Aren't you worried?"

Madeline looked at him intently.

"Raphael," she said, "do you know what I was doing when I was nineteen?"

Li Rui didn't know.

"I rent a 14-square-meter attic room in Paris. There's no heating in winter, and I have to get dressed in bed before I dare to crawl out in the morning. My mother—your grandmother—sends me living expenses every month, but it's only enough to cover the rent. I work as a waitress in a restaurant and as a sales assistant in a department store on weekends. Among my classmates in business school, some have parents who are judges, and some have their entire lives planned out before they even graduate. And I have nothing."

She paused, her gaze distant.

"Later I went to London and started as an analyst at Ernst & Young. For the first three years, I never left work before 1 a.m. The year I became a partner at the age of 33, I was in the emergency room of the hospital—a perforated stomach."

She looked at her son.

"I didn't tell you all this to elicit sympathy. I just wanted to say that stability is never given by others; it's earned by yourself. You chose a more difficult path, but that doesn't mean you'll lose."

Li Rui lowered his head and stared at his clasped fingers.

"mom."

"Um?"

"I will make you proud."

Madeline chuckled softly.

"You have made me very proud since the moment you were born."

The room fell silent, with only the distant sound of the ocean waves outside the window.

Li Rui suddenly felt that the two-hour drive, the fatigue of the past year or so, and the anxiety about the future all became very light at this moment.

Madeline stood up and picked up the bouquet again. "I'll go find a nice vase. Remember to take the stew from the fridge; it'll last you at least three days. And when is your 'Fast & Furious' movie coming out?"

"It's already been released," Li Rui said, "last week."

"What?" Madeline turned around, her expression showing a noticeable change for the first time. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought Philip would..."

"What about the premiere? You didn't mention it either?" Madeline put down the flowers. "Raphael Lee, what kind of person do you take your mother for?"

Li Rui opened his mouth, unsure how to respond.

Madeline walked over and looked down at her son, who was sitting on the sofa. She was only 1.63 meters tall, but her imposing presence made Li Rui, who was 1.85 meters tall, instinctively shrink back.

"next time!"

She spoke slowly and deliberately, "Tell me a month before the movie's release. I'll arrange my work and go see the premiere. Do you hear me?"

"I heard you."

"Don't say 'I heard you,' say 'Yes.'"

"Yes."

Madeline nodded in satisfaction and turned to continue looking for the vase.

Halfway there, she stopped again, and without turning her head, said:

"And, the girl who played your girlfriend—Natalie Portman?"

"Padmé Amidala".

Li Rui corrected, "The actress's name is Natalie."

"She's very good-looking."

Madeline said casually, "But you should be careful when you're filming. You're a public figure now, the paparazzi will photograph everything."

Li Rui: "…………"

He decided not to respond.

Madeline took a crystal vase from the cupboard and began to trim the flowers. Her movements were skillful and elegant, each cut precise and precise.

"Oh, right."

She asked, seemingly casually, "What did you say was the paycheck again?"

Five million.

Madeline paused for a moment.

"……Dollar?"

"Dollar."

She continued pruning the flower branches, her tone as usual: "Oh, that's alright."

Li Rui looked at her slightly reddened ear tips and said nothing.

He knew that his mother would definitely call his grandmother tonight.

To say it in that seemingly nonchalant tone:

"Mom, Raphael got a role. It's nothing special, just George Lucas's Star Wars... yeah, Skywalker. The pay? He's still a kid, he'll be happy with whatever he gets..."

Then hold your phone further away and wait for the cheers to finish.

Li Rui leaned back on the sofa, looking at the calm sea outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

He suddenly remembered that afternoon when he met Master Yoda in the meditation room of the Jedi Temple, the old man had said something to him.

"The Force surrounds us, permeates us, and sustains the galaxy. But family—family is the anchor, the children."

He didn't fully understand at the time.

Now he understands.

In the evening, Li Rui drove back along the Pacific Coast Highway, carrying a full insulated bag of stewed beef, a box of Madeleine lemon cookies, and his mother's order that "you must come again next week."

The setting sun dyed the sea surface golden red, and seagulls skimmed low over the shimmering waves.

Li Rui held the steering wheel with one hand and rested the other hand on the car window frame.

On the phone screen was a short message from Alibaba—

George's assistant just confirmed: the contract will arrive next Monday. Get ready for a makeover, Mr. Skywalker.

Li Rui did not reply.

He put his phone aside and stepped on the gas.

The Mustang's engine roared low as it drove eastward along the coastline toward the city lights that were beginning to twinkle.

In the rearview mirror, the outline of Malibu grew farther and farther away, finally disappearing into the twilight.

But Li Rui knew that there was a window that would be open for him.

There are always his favorite dishes in the refrigerator.

There's a woman, the most beautiful woman in the world, waiting for him to come back with his new movie so he can tell her:

Mom, look, I did it.

That night, Li Rui returned to his apartment and sat quietly in the dark for a long time.

He didn't turn on the light, nor did he bring up the control panel.

Just sit quietly, feeling something warm and pulsating in your chest.

That's not just the Force.

He recalled a sentence he had read many years ago, he didn't know who said it, but he had always remembered it.

"A hero can save the world, but only his family knows which side he likes to put his slippers on before going to bed."

Li Rui looked down at his shadow in the moonlight.

Tomorrow he will continue paying off his debts, continue training, and continue fighting in the arena of Hollywood.

But tonight, at this moment—

He was just Madeleine's son.

This is enough.

My phone screen lit up; it was a text message from Philip.

Are you home yet? Mom messaged me saying you've lost weight and asked me to make sure you eat properly.

Li Rui smiled slightly and typed out a few words.

Tell her I'll get fat.

send.

Another one:

Also, at the next movie premiere, let her sit in the front row.

Philip immediately replied with a "[crying]" emoji.

Then came a string of excited, garbled replies, which Li Rui didn't bother to read carefully, and he held his phone to his chest.

Moonlight seeped in through the gaps in the curtains, like the ever-burning lamps of Coruscant.

But Coruscant doesn't taste like stewed beef.

Li Rui closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep in his real world.