Chapter 71

These past few days have been exhausting, work has been so frustrating, and even when I have enough time to write, my heart feels so weary. I beg for recommendation tickets to comfort me.

Muphi remained silent, seemingly pondering the meaning of Ross's words.

Seeing that Muphi didn't speak, Ross cleared his throat and said, "I have a large sum of idle funds."

"Is that so."

Upon hearing this, Muphi already understood Ross's intentions, smiled, and politely declined, "I'm not short of money at the moment. When I am in need, I will definitely call you."

He sighed deeply in his heart, and at the moment he spoke, his hands and feet even felt a bit cold. So many things in this world are so helpless. Does the change in environment also alter the relationships between people?

Whether Ross's idea was a spur of the moment or planned before coming, he didn't know, but he had to refuse, even if it might mean they could no longer be as close as they were in prison.

Ross glanced at Muphi again, nodded, and said no more, turning to deal with the roasted meat on the table.

Muphi also remained silent, his calm face showing no inner turmoil, and he focused on enjoying his dinner.

This kind of thing can't even be considered, once it starts, it will fall into a vicious cycle.

Ross quickly finished eating, stood up, and said, "I have some matters to attend to, I'll be going first."

After saying that, he waved to the people at another table. Muphi didn't try to retain them, seeing them off as they left the restaurant.

Watching Ross's car drive away, Muphi returned to the restaurant, settled the bill, and then walked in the opposite direction. All along, his brows were furrowed. From the day he left prison and chose his profession, he and Ross had taken two completely different paths.

Ross had helped him a lot, and he seemed to owe Ross a favor. If it were something else, Muphi would have agreed without hesitation, but this matter had serious consequences, especially since he might still be under the watch of the Los Angeles police. If caught, he could end up back in prison.

To be honest, he didn't expect Ross to make such a request. Money laundering had already crossed the line of what friends should do for each other.

Turning to look in the direction Ross had left, Muphi sighed, put his hands in his pockets, and walked resolutely forward.

In the following days, Muphi tidied up the rented house, and the Stanton Studio also had a formal office. However, after the "Hard Candy" crew disbanded, he once again became the sole employee.

Fortunately, Paul Wilson would graduate in the summer, and for the next few months, he would still be an intern. Upon hearing that Muphi was preparing a new project, he had already expressed his willingness to continue working for the Stanton Studio.

Hiring staff could be put off for later; Muphi wasn't in a hurry. After tidying up the house, he retreated to his study to prepare for the new film project.

One of the tasks was to watch videos. He rented a large number of horror films from a nearby video chain store, planning to watch at least three a day, then combine the main plot points from his memory to write a suitable script.

The new work, like "Hard Candy," would still be a high-impact cut film.

The nearly one million dollars in the Stanton Studio's account, even in a city like Los Angeles, was a substantial amount, but for filming a movie, it was still a drop in the bucket.

A low-budget film was the only choice.

As the year entered February 2000, schools across North America began to reopen, and someone came to visit.

"I'm back."

Hearing the doorbell, Muphi went downstairs to open the door. Outside stood a blonde girl, "You don't seem happy to see me."

Muphi rubbed his somewhat stiff face, quickly moved aside to let Carey Mulligan in, and said, "These past few days have been too tiring, I'm not in the best spirits."

"Still watching horror films?" Carey Mulligan asked with concern.

Muphi had mentioned this to her during their phone calls over the past few days.

Muphi led the way, walking out of the foyer into the living room, "I've watched too many, I feel like I'm going to vomit."

American splatter films are not easy to watch in large quantities.

"I told you, didn't I?" Carey Mulligan looked at the partitioned desk in the living room, casually threw her bag on it, and said, "Don't overwork yourself, be careful not to have another headache."

"It's too messy here," Muphi said, heading towards the stairs, "Let's go upstairs."

Carey Mulligan followed Muphi into the study on the second floor. After entering, she first turned off the TV and VCR, then opened the south-facing window, letting in a refreshing breeze that dispelled the stuffiness in the study.

"Sit wherever you like," Muphi pointed to the chair in front of the desk, sitting behind it himself, "Would you like some tea?"

"No, thanks," Carey Mulligan looked around curiously, "I'm not thirsty."

"You..." Muphi poured himself a cup of tea and looked at Carey Mulligan, "Seem different."

Her doll-like face was still innocent and cute, her short, neat blonde hair looked the same as before, but Muphi felt something had changed.

Carey Mulligan pouted, "Because I suffered for a month in hell."

Her eyes were filled with resentment, and she said sarcastically, "The great Mr. and Mrs. Mulligan hired me an English etiquette teacher."

Muphi nodded sympathetically; just thinking about it was terrifying.

"I was tortured for a whole month," Carey Mulligan raised a finger, speaking with a hint of madness, "The fact that I survived is a miracle."

Looking at Muphi, her mad expression instantly disappeared, and she shook her head, "If I couldn't still talk to you on the phone, I wouldn't have made it through."

Muphi took a sip of tea, feeling a bit better, and comforted her, "It's all over now."

"Uh-huh," Carey Mulligan nodded lightly, took off her hair clip, and threw it on the table, "I never want to go back to London."

Thinking of the Mulligans in London, Muphi shook his head inwardly. Those two were rigid and stubborn, and didn't know how to communicate with their daughter.

Seeing that Muphi didn't speak, Carey Mulligan raised her voice slightly, "I'm serious, I'm not joking with you."

She leaned on the table, propping her chin with her hands, "By May, I'll be sixteen, and I can drop out of school."

"Drop out of school?" Muphi looked at her curiously.

"Yes, drop out of school," Carey Mulligan sat up, speaking very seriously, "School, parents, homework, all these things are tying me down. I'm fed up, I have to drop out, I want to be a real actor."

She blinked her lively big eyes, looking pitiful, "You'll support me, right, Muphi?"

Muphi smiled, seemingly serious but actually casual, "I will always support you."

"Great!" Carey Mulligan jumped up from the chair, shouting, "I'm going to make it in Hollywood with you. I'll become the best actor, and you'll become the greatest director."

She jumped over and grabbed Muphi's hand, "Come on, let's go out."

Muphi didn't know what she was going to do, slowly standing up.

Carey Mulligan pulled him downstairs, saying as they walked, "Let's go to the movies. I've been waiting for this day for so long, finally, I can see myself on the big screen."

Only then did Muphi remember that in the past few days, he had been isolated from the world, forgetting that "Hard Candy" had been promoted and released in theaters by Miramax.

...

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