Reborn in Hollywood

"You called just to say this?"

"Of course not."

Kate said in a hoarse voice, "I'm just curious, how many can you handle?"

Li Rui was furious.

"What do you mean!?"

Kate lowered her voice.

"Jessica, Lima, Ambrose, Jennifer, and now Charlize, can you manage?"

Li Rui took a deep breath.

"Who begged for mercy first that night?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Kate slammed the phone down.

Li Rui looked at his phone, a cold smile playing on his lips. He planned to return to Los Angeles as soon as he finished filming Pirates of the Caribbean.

When we get back, we must give this woman a good beating so she'll know who's the one who has the right to speak.

The next morning, Li Rui returned to the film set.

As soon as I stepped into the photography studio, I felt countless eyes staring at me.

Depp was the first to approach.

"Little blacksmith, how was last night? Did you ring the phone non-stop?"

Li Rui ignored him and went straight to the dressing room.

Depp followed behind, chattering on and on.

"Let me tell you, Charlize and I know each other quite well. If you really want to pursue her, I can help you."

Li Rui stopped and turned to look at him.

"Are you very free?"

Depp winked.

"good."

Li Rui raised his foot, pretending to kick the captain's butt.

Depp stumbled forward two steps and almost fell.

But instead of getting angry, he burst into laughter.

"Young blacksmith, you're trying to cover it up!"

He laughed and shouted at the same time.

"Don't forget my promise, I really can get in touch with Charlize!"

Li Rui suddenly sped up his escape.

Depp laughed even harder.

The following week was a very difficult one for Li Rui.

He spent a whole week coaxing each of his women, including Jessica, who said she didn't care. Who knows what she was really thinking?

So you should try to appease her more.

A week later, he finally quelled the turmoil that had engulfed the entire "harem".

The process was simple—he called to apologize, and then showered him with sweet words like they were free. And what about the women—except Jessica—who, besides cursing him a few times, could they really break up with him?

-----------------

January 25th is Li Rui's 21st birthday.

The production crew threw him a grand birthday party.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the staff cleared out the photography studio and set up long tables and chairs.

Champagne, cakes, fruit—everything you could want was available.

A huge banner hung on the wall: Happy 21st Birthday, Raphael!

When Li Rui entered, the whole room cheered.

Depp was the first to rush over and hug him tightly.

Happy birthday, little blacksmith!

Li Rui smiled and pushed him away.

"Have you had too much to drink?"

Depp winked.

"We haven't even started drinking it yet."

Bruckheimer walked over with a glass of champagne.

"Congratulations, Raphael, you're 21. That means you can legally take the glass from my hand now."

Li Rui took the wine glass.

"Thanks."

Verbinski also came over, carrying a beautifully packaged box.

"I have a gift for you."

When Li Rui opened it, he found it was an antique pocket watch.

The silver case and exquisite engravings make it look very valuable.

"This is……"

Verbinski explained.

"This is a tradition on set; every actor who celebrates their birthday on set gets a piece of this."

Li Rui put it away.

"Thanks."

Kayla came over and handed him a card.

"I made it myself."

Li Rui opened it and saw a hand-drawn comic.

The painting depicts Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan dancing in the rain.

He looked up at Kayla, his face full of question marks.

"Did you draw this?"

Kayla nodded.

"It's alright, isn't it?"

Li Rui nodded.

"Very good, but... why did you draw this? You really like 'Step Up'?"

"certainly!"

Kayla answered without hesitation.

While cutting the cake, Li Rui noticed the staff members furtively fiddling with something below.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a spring device with a plate of cake on it.

Needless to say, this was definitely the work of the props team.

These people want to mess with him!

Li Rui blew out the candles without making a sound, then slipped to the side.

The spring bounced up, and the cake flew out.

Instead of hitting Li Rui, it smeared Depp's face.

Depp froze, cream sliding down his face.

The entire room fell silent for a second, then erupted in deafening laughter.

Depp wiped the cream off his face and looked at Li Rui.

"you--"

Li Rui shrugged.

"It wasn't me, it was itself..."

Before Depp could react, Kayla had already grabbed a chunk of cake and thrown it in his face.

Depp was furious.

He grabbed the cake and chased after Kayla.

Kayla screamed and ran away, laughing as she went.

Soon, others joined the fray.

The cake fight has begun.

Li Rui got smeared on several faces, but he also smeared others' faces several times.

In the end, everyone turned into colorful cream people.

The banquet ended at 9 p.m.

Li Rui stood at the entrance of the photography studio, looking at the mess inside.

Depp walked over and offered him a cigarette.

Li Rui shook his head.

Depp lit it himself.

"You're an adult now, and from now on, you're no longer protected by that halo. You'd better watch out, little blacksmith."

Li Rui looked at him, a vague guess forming in his mind.

"Be careful of what?"

Depp exhaled a puff of smoke.

"In short, you must learn to protect yourself."

Li Rui forced a smile.

"Don't worry, no one can hurt me."

Depp waved his hand dismissively, clearly not believing Li Rui's words.

-----------------

In late January, Li Rui's scenes were almost finished.

According to the original plan, filming would wrap up in another two weeks.

But Li Rui didn't want to wait that long.

He used the Force again to accelerate the filming.

Practice makes perfect, and this time he was much more skilled and his energy expenditure was much lower.

Every night after work, he would use his power to gently stimulate the subconscious of everyone in the crew, filling them with energy for the next day and making the filming process flow smoothly.

The effect is immediate.

The scenes that originally took more than half a month to film are progressing at a visible speed.

Director Verbinski sat behind the monitor every day, his expression shifting from surprise to numbness, and then from numbness to habit.

Looking at the progress chart, Bruckheimer couldn't help but mutter to Verbinski.

"At this rate, filming should wrap up around February 10th."

Verbinski nodded.

"It's finally over. I've peeled off several layers of skin."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

But some people don't want it to end so quickly.

On January 28th, several black cars suddenly appeared at the entrance of the film set.

The car door opened, and seven or eight men in suits stepped out. The leader was a bald man in his fifties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and with a shrewd look on his face.

The visitors were high-ranking Disney executives.

Li Rui was filming a scene when he caught a glimpse of that group of people out of the corner of his eye, and a thought struck him.

He didn't stop and continued acting out the scene.

After the shoot, he went to the rest area, sat down, and closed his eyes.

Force perception fully activated.

Bruckheimer led the group into his office, and the door closed.

Li Rui's consciousness gently probed inside, like invisible tentacles, capturing the conversation within.

"Jerry, you're moving too fast."

The voice of a bald man.

Bruckheimer paused for a moment.

"Isn't this a good thing? It can save a lot of money."

"It's saving you money."

The bald man laughed. "But where's our money?"

Bruckheimer remained silent.

The bald man continued.

"You know very well how much Disney invested in this movie—140 million! With such a huge investment, you're telling me it was finished filming in early February?"

Bruckheimer's voice sounded furious.

"Finish filming early, release it early, what's the problem?"

"This is a big problem."

The bald man raised his voice, "Finishing filming early means faster post-production, faster release, and then what? Box office revenue is calculated based on the release date! Do you know that our financial statements this year need to carry over this revenue to the next fiscal year?"

Bruckheimer remained silent.

Li Rui sneered inwardly upon hearing this.

Capitalists are really shrewd.

The bald man's voice continued to come.

"So the pace has to slow down. We need to reshoot scenes that need reshooting, adjust angles that need adjusting, and increase the budget where necessary. Do you understand what I mean?"

After a long pause, Bruckheimer spoke, his voice very low.

"I see."

The door opened.

The group of people in suits filed out, got into the car, and drove away.

Bruckheimer stood at the office door, his face extremely grim.

The filming progress slowed down noticeably on the second day.

Verbinski held the new shooting plan, his brow furrowed.

"Wasn't this scene already done? Why do we have to reshoot it?"

The assistant whispered.

"As required by above."

Verbinski glanced in the direction of Bruckheimer's office and responded expressionlessly.

"Then let's reshoot."

Li Rui watched all of this without saying a word.

He didn't want to know, nor did he care.

After finishing my work each day, I go back to the hotel to rest.

As for how those capitalists eat themselves up, that's none of their business.

The progress slowed down as a result.

The original plan to wrap up filming on February 10th was delayed until around the 20th due to interference from Disney executives.

But Li Rui didn't care; it would only mean staying for another ten days.

Anyway, his pay is calculated according to the contract, and he gets the same amount of money no matter how long he films.

Let those high-ranking officials play their games if they want.

On February 20th, Li Rui finished filming his last scene.

He stood in the center of the studio, while the staff around him began dismantling the set.

One by one, the lights were turned off, and the props were moved away.

Bruckheimer walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

See you in the next installment, Raphael.

Li Rui nodded.

See you in the next installment.

Both men are people who have great faith in Pirates of the Caribbean, but the difference is that Li Rui came with memories of his past life, while Bruckheimer has great faith in the films he produces.

Verbinski also came over and shook hands with him.

"There are still some reshoots in the Los Angeles studio, so don't forget to make time for them."

Li Rui nodded.

"Ready to be called upon at any time."

On February 21, Li Rui returned to Los Angeles.

The plane landed at 2 PM.

Li Rui walked out of the passage and saw Ali waiting in front of him.

Once in the car, Ali immediately asked.

"Shall we go home first?"

Li Rui nodded.

The car drove towards Malibu.

On the way, Ali reported the recent situation to him.