Chapter 7

Nicole Kidman sat on the sofa with a sullen expression, radiating a cold and sharp aura. Despite her intense anger, she did not utter a single harsh word. First, because anything she said would fall on deaf ears to Ryan, and second, because she couldn't bear to scold him.

If the events of the night before had only raised her suspicions, then today's events made it clear that this young man had a plan and a motive. The thought of having stood up the famous Tom Cruise for the entire morning made Nicole want to cover her forehead. She hadn't expected that a trip to the supermarket would result in a call from the big star inviting her out, and that Ryan, the scoundrel, would agree to pass on the message but then act as if nothing had happened, not mentioning it all day.

If Tom Cruise hadn't called again after waiting for nearly an entire morning, she would still be in the dark.

"Did you do this on purpose?" Nicole looked up at the unscrupulous teenager, who showed no sign of remorse. She changed her tone to a more certain one, "You did this on purpose! You did it on purpose the night before last too!"

Ryan had never intended to hide anything from Nicole. He shrugged and spread his hands, figuring that since he had already done it, the worst that could happen was being grounded. A dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water.

"Ryan Jenkins, what do you want to do?" Despite Nicole's efforts to suppress her anger, her slow and deliberate words still sent shivers down one's spine. "Do you know what the consequences of your actions will be?"

She had never underestimated the boy's intelligence, sometimes even thinking he was smarter than herself. She didn't believe he couldn't see that his actions would ruin her audition.

Of course, from the cold tone in Tom Cruise's voice when he hung up, it was clear that the audition was already ruined.

"You have a crush on him, don't you, Nicole?" Ryan's question left Nicole momentarily stunned. "Don't deny it, I'm not an idiot."

Nicole felt a headache from Ryan's precociousness for the first time. After hesitating, she nodded, "I do, but only a little."

"I don't like him, I really don't like him!"

Ryan's words surprised Nicole again. They had lived together for several years, but this was the first time he had so clearly expressed his likes and dislikes.

Just from this one sentence, Nicole thought she understood the reason for his actions. Without a second thought, she made a decision, "Alright, Ryan, since you don't like him, I'll try to avoid him as much as possible."

Ryan had expected to have to argue and plead, but he didn't expect Nicole to make a decision so quickly. This showed how much he meant to her. For a moment, he had a thousand words to say, but they all boiled down to one sentence.

"Thank you, Nicole."

Nicole didn't say anything more but walked over and hugged him tightly. He felt her cold beauty, and she felt his warmth. In that moment, it seemed as if the world had narrowed down to just the young lady and the boy. She was his support, and he was her everything.

"Ryan, if you don't like something in the future, please tell me directly. Don't make me worry."

"Okay~ Thank you, Nicole."

"It's just a pity about this opportunity." The bird that was almost in hand had flown away, and Nicole couldn't help but sigh.

"Forget it, Nicole. That role wasn't suitable for you anyway."

The not-yet-ten-year-old Ryan climbed out of Nicole's embrace and adopted a somewhat comical serious expression. Such conversations were common between them, and Nicole didn't mind. "Ryan, I know you're smart and precocious, but do you really understand movies?"

"Who says I don't understand movies?" Ryan's nose almost pointed to the ceiling.

"Alright, then give me a reason."

"I heard Pat describe the general content of the movie. The female lead is just a pretty face, only needing to show off her charm and figure, with no room for acting." Ryan paused and looked at Nicole's cold and beautiful face. "You know, Nicole, you're already too beautiful. Of course, that's an advantage, not a disadvantage. I can imagine that if you took this role, you would be typecast as a pretty face. It would be very difficult to break out of that. Do you want to be a pretty face?"

Despite the harsh words, Nicole Kidman understood the logic. She desperately needed a breakthrough in Hollywood, but after hearing this, her first thought wasn't about herself.

"Ryan, you little know-it-all, when did you start studying movies?" As soon as she said this, Nicole remembered that he had bought many books about movies and screenwriting in London. Could it be...

"Does that need studying? Don't forget, I'm a genius!"

The image of a red-haired monkey suddenly flashed in Ryan's mind, making him shudder. He shook his head to stop his wild thoughts.

A black Cadillac slowly pulled into the small parking lot in front of the apartment. In the back seat, a middle-aged man with some Jewish features and a chubby face looked at the woman beside him and asked again, "Pat, is this script really written by a ten-year-old?"

"Correction, Harvey, Ryan is just over nine, not quite ten."

They were both in the same circle, often bumping into each other, and Pat Kinsley could be considered a friend.

"I'm just surprised. It's unbelievable. Although the story is about a child, a movie filled with loneliness and family doesn't seem like something a child could write."

As they walked towards the apartment, Harvey Weinstein couldn't help but add a few more words. Pat Kinsley smiled knowingly. "Harvey, once you see the boy, you won't think that way anymore."

"Is that so?" He knew a bit about Pat's situation. If she praised him so highly, perhaps this Ryan was truly special. "I'll wait and see."

The doorbell rang, and Nicole was about to get up to open the door when Ryan jumped up from the sofa and ran to the door.

"Hi, Pat, you finally made it." Ryan greeted the female agent first, then looked at the large man behind her, recognizing him despite the difference from his mental image.

"Hi, Ryan, and Nicole." Entering the small living room of the apartment, Pat Kinsley introduced them. "This is Harvey Weinstein from Miramax Films. Harvey, these are Ryan Jenkins and Nicole Kidman."

After a brief exchange, Weinstein got straight to the point. "Miss Kidman, are you Ryan's guardian?"

"Yes." Despite being confused, Nicole nodded.

"Miramax Films has decided to buy the script for 'The Sixth Sense'..." Before Harvey Weinstein could finish, Nicole interrupted, "Script? The Sixth Sense? What script?"

Her question immediately made the atmosphere in the room awkward. Nicole Kidman and Harvey Weinstein's gazes fell on Pat Kinsley, clearly expecting an explanation.

Pat looked at Ryan, who sat still and unmoving. Clearly, he hadn't told Nicole about the script or their visit. She explained, "Ryan gave me a script he wrote, which I submitted to Miramax Films. After Harvey read it, he decided to buy it. I called you this morning, but it seems Ryan forgot to tell you."

"Ryan~" Nicole looked at him.

"Nicole, I just wanted to surprise you. I apologize."

Ryan quickly explained the situation to Nicole. He had written the script in London and given it to Pat Kinsley. This morning, she had called, and he had intentionally kept it a secret to surprise her.

"Dear, you scared me. I knew you read many books about screenwriting in London, but I didn't expect..." Nicole's hands moved unconsciously, as if she didn't know what to say. After a moment, she looked at the man across from her. "I'm sorry, Mr. Weinstein. Can I see the script first?"

"Of course."

Weinstein handed the script to Nicole. As an excellent businessman, patience in the face of profit was a basic quality. While waiting, he observed quietly, especially the boy named Ryan.

He was thin and frail, and his behavior was somewhat erratic, but his sky-blue eyes were exceptionally bright, often flashing with maturity and wisdom beyond his years. Perhaps this time, there would be a significant gain.

The script wasn't thick, at most a hundred pages. Nicole, familiar with Ryan's writing style, read it quickly. The more she read, the more uncomfortable she felt. The lonely and helpless boy who needed care and warmth was clearly Ryan before he was seven, and the single mother had her own shadow.

Even some of the scenes in the script seemed to be inspired by their life after they met. The mother and son in the script were clearly them, two people who relied on each other, not related by blood but closer than family.

But why did these touching scenes appear in a horror script? Perhaps it was related to the dark memories Ryan still carried. Nicole sighed, suddenly feeling that she hadn't cared for him enough.