There weren't many scenes of him left in Home Alone, otherwise Ryan would definitely have gone crazy. In his eyes, Disney and Touchstone were desperate for money—they had scheduled a film that started shooting in August to be released during the Thanksgiving to Christmas season. How they even came up with that idea was beyond him.
However, he was gradually getting used to the way Hollywood operated. He knew that while such situations weren't very common, they weren't rare either. Even though many people in the crew were complaining, it was nothing more than that—complaints. After all, triple overtime pay shut most people up.
Ryan could already imagine that once this film was released, Carter Eisner would surely rise above his current awkward position at Touchstone. No one would bring up his uncle Michael Eisner anymore. Since The Sixth Sense managed to gross nearly $300 million at the North American box office, the former 1990 box office champion in his past life likely wouldn't flop either.
Undoubtedly, Disney was still the best company when it came to producing family-friendly films. Perhaps the next few movies should continue to partner with them?
"Ryan, we're here." Kingsley's words interrupted his wandering thoughts. Ryan responded and got out of the car, entering the restaurant with his agent.
This restaurant was Ryan's go-to place when Nicole wasn't home. It was none other than Mr. Zhou's Restaurant. The servers there were already familiar with him. After a quick greeting, they led the two of them to Ryan's usual seat.
"The usual, Ryan?"
The waiter who came over was an old acquaintance—the same Chinese man he met on his first visit. Their conversation was conducted in fluent Mandarin.
"The full Shandong cuisine set, and the fried rice a little more browned this time. Also, Li Ping, when are you guys going to start offering authentic Beijing roast duck and Dezhou braised chicken?" Ryan brought up the old joke again.
"Ryan, your standards are way too high. I've never even seen authentic Beijing roast duck or Dezhou chicken myself," Li Ping replied, knowing well that Ryan was just joking.
To be fair, this restaurant was one of the rare places that could serve authentic Chinese food. Even if there were still some differences compared to the flavors from his hometown in his previous life, it was already quite impressive.
Of course, the dishes they usually served were Westernized. After all, very few Westerners could handle authentic Chinese cuisine. Since Ryan had become a frequent customer, they naturally understood his palate.
Similarly, Ryan had also done some digging into the background of Mr. Zhou's Restaurant. To his surprise, the owner was none other than Zhou Yinghua, the Chinese food tycoon from his past life. Ryan knew about him before and was aware that his father was the legendary Peking Opera master, Qilin Tong.
After the meal, Ryan packed a portion of crab roe soup dumplings as a late-night snack and returned home. But before he could enter the building, he was once again swarmed by paparazzi. Fortunately, he was gradually getting used to this lifestyle. After all, it was just a bunch of buzzing flies.
"Ryan, remember to lock the door tonight. Unless it's me or Nicole, don't open the door for anyone," Kingsley reminded him seriously before leaving.
Crime in America wasn't as rare as people imagined. Outside of the wealthy neighborhoods, the ghettos and Black communities were rife with crime. Even though Westwood had decent security, incidents still happened occasionally. A boy living alone was something to worry about.
Originally, Kingsley wanted to take him to her place, but Ryan didn't enjoy staying with anyone other than Nicole. Besides, his agent had her own dates and life to manage.
Actually, what Ryan feared most wasn't criminals—after all, the truly vicious were in the minority. What disgusted him more were the paparazzi. These people would stop at nothing for a story, even disguising themselves in all sorts of ways to try and trick him into opening the door. But what they didn't know was that Ryan had seen plenty of setups in his previous life involving fake government agents doing surprise inspections. Compared to those pros, these paparazzi were amateurs.
Sure enough, an hour after Pat Kingsley left, the usual nightly harassment began again. As the doorbell rang, Ryan, who had been writing furiously, put down his fountain pen and walked to the door.
"Who is it? What's the matter?" Ryan asked through the door.
"Is this Mr. Ryan Jenkins? I'm Betty Norley from FedEx. You have a package," came a woman's voice.
"A package? Where's it from?"
"Seattle!" the person outside seemed ready for the question.
Ryan rolled his eyes. Clearly, the person outside assumed Nicole was still in Seattle for her film shoot and had sent him a letter, unaware that the two of them never wrote letters—they just talked on the phone. If she'd claimed it was from New York, he might've actually opened the door.
"Ma'am, there's a mailbox right by the door. Just put the package in there. And next time, please get your facts straight—Miss Nicole Kidman left Seattle a long time ago," Ryan couldn't resist throwing in a jab.
These people just wouldn't give up. After so many days, they still thought he was an easy-to-trick little brat? Or did they think he was just as brainless as them?
Not to mention, if they really forced their way in and he had enough evidence, he could absolutely sue them for unlawful entry. Maybe they thought a ten-year-old child, no matter how smart, wouldn't understand the law.
Seems like moving wouldn't be such a bad idea. In Beverly Hills, where the rich and famous lived, these people might at least be a bit more restrained. Shaking his head, Ryan checked the time and walked to the sofa to call Nicole.
"Nicole, I miss you." Hearing her familiar voice, Ryan was overwhelmed with longing.
"I miss you too, Ryan."
"When will you be back in Los Angeles?" Ryan asked.
"Next month."
"Can I come visit you on set? Home Alone is about to wrap."
"Ryan, you should be heading back to school. The principal called me again. Sweetheart, please don't make me worry, okay?"
"Well... alright." Though extremely reluctant, Ryan agreed. He didn't want the children's welfare organization to cause trouble for Nicole.
"Did the paparazzi bother you again today? I just got off the phone with Pat." Nicole's tone clearly showed concern and a hint of worry.
"It's nothing. They knock on our door every day."
"Sweetheart, I know you're very smart and know how to deal with them, but don't forget your age. You must protect yourself."
"Nicole, when will the new house be ready?"
"Tired of this place already? Very soon, I promise. Our new home will be beautiful and unique."
After hanging up, Ryan suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. He knew Nicole had her own life and career and couldn't revolve around him all the time. But this long separation really made him uncomfortable. Even when she went back to Australia to shoot Bush Christmas, they hadn't been apart this long.
Sigh, I'm really turning into a kid again—a naïve one at that. Nicole was certainly doting on him, but maybe she just saw him as a little boy. A woman's heart... he couldn't quite understand it.
So what exactly was the relationship between him and Nicole? He kept avoiding the question. Dependence? Definitely strong. Sibling-like? For sure. But beyond that? He didn't dare think about it, though he knew deep down that he had desires…
Because of me, you've had a completely different life.
Because of you, I found the light that once left me.
Because of you, my goals have become even more certain.
Because of you, I feel a sense of security I've never known.
Nicole… do you know? It's all because of you.
A soft melancholy and intense longing filled his heart. If Nicole Kidman were right in front of him, he would have poured out all these emotions. But she was thousands of miles away and couldn't possibly feel them.
Unconsciously, Ryan sat down at the piano in the corner of the living room. Perhaps music was the best way to express emotions.
His long, calloused fingers touched the black and white keys, and the delicate melody that emerged was moving and sorrowful, as if it held a soul-stirring power. Ryan's voice, though still a bit immature, had a magnetic quality that touched the heart.
But just after the chorus, Ryan stopped. There was no doubt—the song was touching but too sad, and its lyrics didn't really fit the relationship between him and Nicole. A rearrangement and lyric rewrite were necessary.
As for plagiarism? It was of no concern to him. If not for his age, the number of plagiarized and "original" songs he could have churned out would've flooded the market by now.
Ryan was immensely confident about that.
Home Alone finally wrapped. The actors were finally free of the heavy burden. Everyone had been driven half-mad by Carter Eisner during this period. If not for the triple pay dangling in front of them, some crew members, like Ryan, might've already revolted.
"Carter, just let me go already!" Ryan waved his arms dramatically, clearly frustrated. "I know it's my duty to help promote the film, but can't you give me a break? I really don't have time to do TV shows. I've fallen way behind in my schoolwork. If I don't go back soon, I'll be held back or even expelled from St. John's. Do you really want to see a disaster unfold?"
"No, Ryan. I'll definitely close my eyes when that happens," Carter Eisner joked. Even though he knew Ryan was exaggerating, there wasn't much he could do. After all, child labor laws were no joke. "Alright, Ryan. But there might be some voice-over work needed during post-production."
"No problem. You can get in touch with Pat," Ryan rubbed his temples. "If there's nothing else, I'm off."
"Ryan, don't you think we can keep working together?"
"Carter, I understand what you mean. Let's wait until this movie comes out before talking about it, okay? I'm about to start filming Terminator 2, and I really don't have time to consider anything else." Ryan declined but left a door open. "Disney is the best family film studio out there. If I ever come up with something in that genre, I'll definitely think of you guys first."