"Hey, Duke."
A familiar voice called out from beside him. Duke turned his head to see a little girl, about ten years old, dressed in a blue dress with polka dots. Her beautiful golden hair was neatly tied back, and her eyes were strikingly different colors—one blue and one green. Her fluttering eyelashes made her look both lively and adorable.
In an instant, Duke remembered that this girl not only starred in "The Rock" but was also his mother's goddaughter.
"Long time no see, Duke," the little girl said, moving a little closer.
"Yeah," Duke replied, realizing he had forgotten to ask his mother the girl's name.
"What should I call you?" he asked directly.
"You don't know my name?" The girl looked at him with wide eyes, slowly expressing her disappointment. "I starred in your movie, and Leah is my godmother..."
She pouted, seeming quite upset.
"Then, beautiful miss," Duke said, deciding it was better not to argue with a little girl, "can you tell me your name now?"
"But Mom said..." The girl crossed her arms and swayed back and forth. "I can't just tell my name to strangers unless I meet a prince."
Duke almost laughed. "Why can a prince know?"
"Because stories always say..." The girl's eyes darted around. "When you meet a prince, you can kiss him."
"What if that prince is disguised?"
Children's innocent logic can sometimes be quite amusing. Duke deliberately posed a challenging question. "Then wouldn't you end up kissing the wrong person?"
The girl immediately turned serious, saying, "Before meeting a prince, you always have to kiss a lot of frogs."
Hearing her earnest response, Duke couldn't hold back his laughter. In this chaotic banquet hall, the girl in front of him was definitely the most interesting person he had encountered.
"And among those frogs, there might be some nasty toads!" she added, pointing toward the crowd. "Just like those people in there."
"You don't like them?" Duke asked, still chuckling.
"They're too boring," the little girl said seriously. "They like to act all dignified, but sadly, I can't make them leave, just like him..."
She pointed to a bald man standing at the entrance of the hotel. "I can't stand his bald head, but I don't have the power to kick him out."
"Can you tell me your name now?" Duke realized he had been led on quite the roundabout journey by this little girl.
"Well..." The girl leaned over the railing, tilting her head to look at Duke. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Truth or dare!"
"What?" Duke was momentarily taken aback.
"You wanted to ask my name, right?" The girl blinked, seemingly seeing right through him. "You probably also want to know why I'm here? My godmother told me you love fair trade. Don't you think truth or dare is perfect?"
This little rascal, Duke shook his head, pulling his mother into this.
"Don't you think this is childish?" he couldn't help but comment.
"I'm only nine..." The girl raised her voice. "I'm not an adult."
Looking at the little girl who kept her eyes wandering, Duke gradually shifted from joking to serious. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Okay, but since it's your game, I get to ask the first question!"
"Stingy..." The girl pouted but ultimately nodded.
"Truth or dare?" Duke asked again.
"Truth!"
"Why are you here?" Duke didn't believe this was just a coincidence.
"My sister Sophia brought me here." The girl answered without hesitation.
"Now it's my turn!"
Hearing the excitement in his voice, Duke realized that this girl was definitely clever for her age, probably too much so.
"Truth or dare?" she asked.
"Dare!" Duke answered without a second thought.
"No, you have to choose truth!"
The little girl pursed her lips, glaring at Duke as if to say, "If you don't change your mind, I'll bite you." "You have to choose truth!"
"Dare!" Duke insisted.
"Not changing your answer?"
As she spoke, the girl's eyes glanced sideways, focusing on the bald man below.
"Not changing!"
Suddenly, Duke felt a chill down his back, as if he should have changed his answer...
But the girl didn't give him a chance to backtrack. She slightly turned her body, pointing downwards, to where the bald man was standing.
"Down there, there's a bald man; spit on his head."
She looked at Duke very seriously, as if she meant every word.
"No..." Duke shook his head. "I choose truth."
"Too late!" The girl ignored his protest, still pointing below. "Come on, you said it, you have to do it!"
Duke remained unmoved, debating whether he should play along.
"My godmother said you have to be honest!" The girl placed her hands on her hips, looking up at Duke. "You have to do what you said!"
"You won't tell anyone, right?" Duke asked her.
"This is our secret!"
The little girl assured him earnestly, "I promise no one else will know."
Duke chuckled nonchalantly, coughed quietly, and treated this as a little girl's prank. He leaned over the railing, took a deep breath for ten seconds, and, under the girl's teasing gaze, forcefully spat downwards.
"Hello..." A man's voice called from below.
"Haha..."
The clever little girl nearly doubled over with laughter.
Hiding behind the railing, Duke looked ahead until the girl stood up straight again. "Truth or dare?" he asked.
"Truth!" she replied, playfully sticking out her tongue.
"Tell me your name!" Duke pressed.
"Johnson," the girl said, dropping the childish antics and responding directly. "Scarlett Johnson. You can call me Scarlett, like my godmother."
Raising an eyebrow, Duke took another look at the girl. Besides being playful and overly clever, she seemed quite ordinary.
"Now it's my turn!"
"The game is over!" Duke glanced at his watch and turned toward the banquet hall. "Alright, that's enough for today; you should go back."
"Hey, Duke." Scarlett was unfazed, catching up and tugging on Duke's sleeve. "You're an adult; how can you play tricks on a child?"
"Miss Johnson..."
"Scarlett!" she corrected him.
"Scarlett..." Duke allowed her to pull on his sleeve as he continued walking. "So tell me, why are you in Los Angeles? Why did you come to find me?"
The little girl was indeed very playful and adorable. Coupled with her extremely familiar name and the fact that she was his mother's goddaughter, it was easy to feel fond of her. However, Duke wasn't foolish; she had come to this event with Sophia for some other reason.
"I'm taking acting classes in Los Angeles." Scarlett hesitated for a moment. When Duke looked over, she gently pursed her lips and said, "Mom read your new movie script and thinks the role of the president's daughter is perfect for me."
She suddenly stopped, standing there looking at Duke as if she were a child waiting for the teacher's judgment after making a mistake.
"I'll have someone send you an audition invitation."
Though playful, work was still work. Just like with other actors, Duke wouldn't make any easy promises. If Scarlett's audition didn't go well, he wouldn't give such a significant child role to her. If the audition results were above the standard, he would consider her for the role, even out of respect for her mother.
Seeing the girl again brought back memories of what his mother had said about taking good care of her during the premiere of "The Rock"
"After the party is over," Scarlett said, suddenly bouncing up to him, "can I take you out for ice cream?"
"You have money?" Duke asked, continuing toward the banquet hall.
"Of course!" Scarlett tugged on Duke's sleeve confidently. "When I was in New York, I played many roles in stage plays and starred in your last movie, so I earned quite a bit!"
As they spoke, Duke parted the curtains and entered the banquet hall. Sophia Coppola and another woman immediately approached.
"This is my mom..." Scarlett introduced them familiarly, while Sophia added, "This is Ms. Melanie Sloan."
"Hello, Ms. Sloan." Duke shook her hand and exchanged a few casual pleasantries.
Approaching Sophia, he noticed the pair of mother and daughter were whispering to each other. Duke lowered his voice and asked, "How did that little girl find you?"
"At the last premiere, the one for Devil Island," Sophia replied, glancing that way. "Scarlett left me her number; she's Aunt Leah's goddaughter..."
At this point, Duke understood quite well. She was indeed a clever girl, probably not even ten yet.
"Remember to have someone send her an audition invitation," he told Sophia, waving his hand and heading toward Thomsen Rossman, starting a new round of socializing.
Meanwhile, the blonde girl secretly made a victory sign to her mother and stuck her tongue out at Duke's back in a playful manner.
As the host of the party, Duke left the banquet hall quite late. However, upon reaching the hotel lobby, he found Scarlett Johnson and her mother waiting for him, seemingly just for him.
"I told you I'd take you for ice cream," the little girl said, wrinkling her nose. "You have to keep your promises; I won't go back on my word."
"I think we should wait until after you pass the audition before going for ice cream."
If he went for ice cream and she didn't pass the audition, Duke figured this little rascal might just run to her godmother his mother to complain...