Janet naturally said, "I never thought about getting a Chinese name. I just suddenly felt that 'Janet' suits this name quite well."
The two women were initially standing opposite each other at a long table filled with various items. As Janet said this, she smiled and moved next to the still confused Jennifer, starting to whisper in her ear.
Simon faintly heard Janet instructing Jennifer to keep a close eye on him and not to get overly tired or involved with women after returning to the U.S. She spoke with the tone of a legitimate wife instructing a chief maid, completely immersed in her role.
Jennifer still didn't understand what was happening, just listening to Janet's instructions, her face slightly flushed, feeling that something was amiss.
The phone on the coffee table rang.
Simon reached for it and answered. It was Anthony Johnston calling to say that lunch was ready at the mansion.
They were leaving Melbourne in the afternoon, and everyone was definitely going to have a meal together.
Both women heard Simon's conversation with Anthony. Taking the opportunity, Janet took Jennifer's arm and said, "I haven't invited you over to my place yet, perfect timing to join us."
Jennifer looked at Simon and smiled, shaking her head, "You two go ahead, I'll organize these things and wait for someone from the airport to pick up the luggage."
If she were just a personal assistant, going to the Johnstons for lunch might not be an issue, but given her current relationship with Simon, going there would make everyone uncomfortable.
Jennifer didn't want to make Simon uncomfortable, preferring to maintain a slight sense of guilt towards her, just like last Easter.
Today, the Johnston mansion was even livelier than when Simon first came to Australia.
That day, after lunch, Veronica no longer deliberately avoided Simon and appeared today as well. Janet's brother, David Johnston, had just returned from England with his girlfriend that morning, adding to the Johnston families, filling the dining room table to the brim.
The only person Simon hadn't met yet was Raymond Johnston's youngest son, Patrick.
David Johnston, 26 years old this year, shared his father's tall and thin stature and wore rimless glasses, having a scholarly appearance. He was currently pursuing a Ph.D. in fluid mechanics at Cambridge University.
David's girlfriend, Leslie Whittaker, was his junior at Cambridge, a brown-haired girl with an impressive appearance and demeanor. She introduced herself as an undergraduate studying architectural design, minoring in art history, probably no more than 22 years old.
As Janet had previously said, David Johnston indeed had a bit of a bookish air.
At the dining table, when Simon asked about his research, David earnestly explained how to use fluid mechanics principles to calculate the movement trajectory of oil layers buried thousands of meters underground, with a series of technical terms that made Raymond Johnston frown.
Because it was David's first time bringing his girlfriend home, everyone pretended to listen out of courtesy, but the old man didn't hold back and quickly interrupted, "What's the use of learning all that, we don't have any oil fields for you to study."
David Johnston was clearly intimidated by his father and immediately fell silent.
The atmosphere in the dining room became somewhat awkward.
Janet leaned in and glanced at Leslie Whittaker next to David.
Simon understood; the old man was not pleased with David's girlfriend, hence his reaction.
Although Raymond Johnston had always been nice to Simon since their first meeting, Simon always knew that the old man was not an easy-going person from the way his children spoke of him and behaved in his presence.
Noticing Leslie Whittaker's discomfort, Simon realized she was also very observant.
Remembering that it was he who had sparked this awkwardness, Simon tried to lighten the mood, "Actually, fluid mechanics is quite versatile. It can also be used in movie special effects. Through fluid simulation, we can achieve realistic water and fire effects with CG animation, avoiding many expensive live-action scenes."
Raymond turned to look at him, softening his tone, "You should keep in touch with Tony after you return to Los Angeles, don't let Janet run wild."
Simon understood what Raymond meant and nodded with a smile, "I will, and honestly, Janet is more suited to manage that fund than me."
Raymond glanced at Janet, "I know her temperament better than you, she's bound to cause trouble if no one watches her."
Janet, who was diligently cutting a lamb chop, frowned in displeasure but didn't argue with her father at that moment.
With a few diversions, the earlier awkwardness was resolved, and the atmosphere in the dining room lightened up again.
Simon readily agreed to Norman Johnston's 8-year-old son Victor's request for a Batmobile, just reminding him not to actually drive it on the road as it was too dangerous.
Questioned by his puzzled father, the boy inadvertently let slip that it was actually Anthony's eldest son, Brandon, who wanted it, but he was too shy to ask Simon himself.
Anthony married early. According to Janet, her eldest brother had to get married halfway through college, having a son and two daughters over the years. 16-year-old Sylvia and 9-year-old Chloe were present, and Brandon, who was the same age as Simon, had appeared a few times these days but was not there for lunch.
Now everyone understood why.
Raymond scolded his eldest grandson for being 'distracted by trivial matters', but he was clearly not as serious as when he interrupted David earlier.
After lunch, Simon stayed in the mansion until four in the afternoon before saying his goodbyes. Anthony and Janet accompanied Simon to the Melbourne airport in the western suburbs, where a Boeing 767 was waiting on the runway.
Besides Simon and Jennifer, the last group of the "Batman" crew staying in Melbourne would also return. The film's work in Australia was essentially completed.
The staff of the Australian branch would settle the tax rebate matters with the Victoria state government. Simon didn't plan to withdraw the approximately 5 million U.S. dollars but intended to invest it directly in Australian film production, such as Jackson's "The Crazy Fatbao Variety Show."
At the runway, about to part ways, Janet tightly hugged Simon and kept muttering, "I'll take good care of Cersei Capital, I promise not to lose money. I'll come to Los Angeles when I miss you, and you should think of me too. If you can suddenly come to see me, that would be even better. Girls always love surprises…"
Simon held Janet, listening patiently, occasionally nodding.
A few minutes later, Janet stopped, leaned in, and kissed Simon's face. Simon thought she would let go but then heard Janet suddenly whisper in his ear, "Does my aunt smell good?"
Truly biting his ear.
Simon was startled by Janet's words, feeling her small teeth graze his earlobe, sending chills down his spine, worried she might bite off a piece. He feigned calmness and nodded, "Yes, you like it too, right?"
Janet, seeing Simon not dodging the issue, released her bite, still whispering close to his ear, "Little rascal, you think I can't tell. Aunt Veronica is very uncomfortable around you. Women are always sensitive to certain things. She doesn't like you but finds it hard to make a scene."
"About that," Simon lightly tickled her waist,
trying to distract her, "I'm very sorry."
"Hmph," Janet twisted her waist a few times, unyielding, "I warned you a long time ago, little rascal. So, just smelling is okay, but absolutely no other thoughts."
Simon felt a cold sweat break out, shaking his head, "I swear to God, absolutely not."
Janet still pinched Simon's waist reluctantly but finally let him go, stepping back, still smiling as if the previous conversation had never happened. She waved at him, "Board the plane, everyone's waiting anxiously."
Simon watched Janet step back, moved forward to catch her again, and kissed her. Janet naturally responded.
After several minutes of entanglement, they parted again. Janet's face was flushed, knowing they couldn't delay any longer. She pushed Simon towards the boarding stairs, then turned and joined Anthony. The siblings stood by the runway, watching Simon board the Boeing 767 as the plane soared into the clouds.
In the forward cabin lounge of the plane.
The flight was smooth. Jennifer, sitting by the window, unbuckled her seatbelt and came to Simon's side, noticing the fine sweat on his forehead, "Are you okay?"
Simon was still thinking about the recent event.
He had always thought he and Veronica had concealed things well, but Janet had seen through their act. Fortunately, Janet had only misunderstood.
But, this misunderstanding seemed more embarrassing than the truth.
Hearing Jennifer's concerned tone, Simon collected his thoughts, unbuckled his seatbelt, and patted his lap, "Come here."
Jennifer glared at him lightly, but when Simon reached out to her, she obliged and sat down, her face slightly flushed, her body stiff, worried someone might suddenly come in.
Her mind racing, Jennifer finally found a topic to distract herself, "What does 'Beiren' mean?"
"From an eastern classical novel, Beiren is the personal maid of the male protagonist," Simon explained while pulling down the partition in front of his seat, picking up a pencil to write two lines of poetry on a blank document, "It's a very meaningful name."
After Simon finished writing, Jennifer looked closely. She didn't recognize the poem but could appreciate the beauty of the Chinese characters, "How beautiful, how do you read this?"
"Hua qi xi ren zhi zhou nuan, que sheng chuan shu xi xin qing," Simon recited slowly, circling the words 'Beiren', explaining, "It's a descriptive poem. A village outskirts just went through an early spring cold rain. The poet wakes up at dawn, the sky still dim, the sun not yet risen. Walking through the countryside, the rich fragrance of flowers implies a warming day, while the chatter of magpies in the trees seems to joyfully tell the poet that it will be a clear day."
Jennifer leaned on Simon, her fingers tracing the pencil-written lines, "Just these fourteen characters convey so much meaning?"
Simon nodded, "Yes, that's the essence of the classical culture of that country."
"I should learn some Chinese when I have time; otherwise, I won't understand anything when you and Janet talk."
"I'll teach you."
"Do you have the time?"
"Time is made, not found. Let's start now."
"Ha."
The two chatted softly, and Jennifer finally relaxed in her seat on Simon's lap. However, the lounge door was knocked, making her jump up and flee like a little rabbit.
It was a flight attendant coming to greet Simon, eagerly asking if he needed anything.
Feeling the attendant's blatant gaze, Simon just asked for a pot of coffee and sent her away.
The earlier intimacy couldn't continue. Jennifer returned to her seat, a smile on her lips but not responding to Simon's beckoning gaze, pretending to be engrossed in some documents.
Simon had no choice but to open the document he had just written the poem on.
It was a distribution report from Elara Deutschman about "The Sid Sisters". Deutschman was still directly accountable to Simon, whether for film distribution under Highgate Films or the previous awards season PR. Deutschman regularly summarized reports for Simon.
Today was April 29th, Saturday.
Highgate Films' third movie this year, "The Sid Sisters," was released on April 22nd.
Compared to "Metropolitan Man" and "Sisters," "The Sid Sisters" had a limited release. Deutschman only promoted it in New York, where art films have a wider audience, with 35 screens.
Despite maximizing the movie's publicity, "The Sid Sisters" received unanimous media praise. However, in its opening week, this drama focusing on school bullying only earned $260,000 at the box office, averaging only $7,500 per screen.
Compared to other hit films that easily broke tens of thousands per screen during previews, "The Sid Sisters," with its 35 screens, didn't even break $10,000 per screen, making it unnecessary to expand its release.
At its current pace, the film's North American total box office would barely exceed one million dollars. Compared to its $3 million production cost, it was definitely heading towards a loss.
"The Sid Sisters" would become Danerys Entertainment's second loss-making film this year.
Deutschman analyzed in the report that the failure of "The Sid Sisters" was mainly due to the gap between its theme and target audience.
The film's protagonists were high school students, aimed at teenagers, but most teenagers apparently don't like art films. The over-18 audience, more receptive to art films, showed little interest in the themes of "The Sid Sisters."
These factors led to the film's failure.
"The Sid Sisters" was a project left over from New World Entertainment. Deutschman did her best, and the box office failure wasn't the distribution team's fault. In her report, Deutschman also concluded that Danerys Entertainment should avoid producing similar themed movies in the future.
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