Chapter 48 Marvel Bankrupt

"Master, have a drink. It's iced."
"Master, try this piece of cake. My grandmother made it."
"Master, this is Hawaiian papaya."
"Master, ..."

Foreign women are certainly fierce!
Liu Jing dismissed Scarlett and sighed with mixed emotions. He had beaten up a kid and somehow ended up with an apprentice.
He had always harbored a dream of taking in disciples and often tried to manipulate Qianqian, but she would rather die than submit.
From Qianqian's perspective, she would rather remain uneducated than ever call him master—he could keep on dreaming.
He had beaten up so many people in orphanages and kindergartens, yet none of them had ever kowtowed to become his disciples on the spot; instead, quite a few of them harbored thoughts of revenge behind his back.
The domestic flowers failed to bloom, but the wild ones blossomed—his very first official disciple turned out to be a foreign girl.

Both of them knew it was mostly just a game of playing house, but with the title established, Liu Jing had plenty of ways to make it official.
As for someone whom the system specifically evaluated as special, he would treat her accordingly. After all, the system was far more reliable than any grandmaster.
Many members of Scarlett's family worked in the film and television industry. She had entered the business the previous year and was preparing for a long-term career in show business.
After her role in *Home Alone 3* was locked in, she begged her grandmother to dig up background information on Liu Jing. As one of China's most famous child stars, Liu Jing was qualified to have a file in Hollywood, and the information inside it was quite detailed.

The male lead of the first two *Home Alone* films was undoubtedly the most famous child star in Hollywood at the time, and there was no second place. Macaulay even became close friends with Jackson across their age gap, and by the early nineties, his salary had already reached eight million US dollars.
Such dazzling achievements made countless child stars green with envy.
Many people were not optimistic about *Home Alone 3*, feeling that the chances of surpassing the predecessors were slim, but as the male lead, he would undoubtedly reap certain benefits.
When Scarlett proactively sought out Liu Jing, she did so with the intention of making a connection.

Originally, in her opinion, even if a child of that age knew martial arts, it was just for show.
The sight of him splitting a wooden stick with a single palm strike shocked Scarlett; this boy actually possessed genuine skills.
Splitting the wooden stick wasn't entirely due to superior martial arts mastery, but rather the clever application of technique. The wooden stick itself had a flaw, and by using subtle leverage, he cleaved it apart with one blow.
Such minor tricks were beyond the comprehension of most adults, let alone a twelve-year-old girl.

"Woodenhead, did you take a fancy to her? Do you want me to propose to her family on your behalf?" His aunt finished coordinating with the team, turned her head, and saw her nephew flirting.
Without interrupting, she quietly stood to one side and waited until Scarlett left before walking over.
Liu Jing cast a sidelong glance, looking her up and down. "Auntie, it's truly a grievance for you to be my manager. You should become a matchmaker instead—it would be a ten-thousand-percent fit."
"Pfft!" His aunt scoffed lightly.
"No, being a matchmaker wouldn't work either; you can't even marry yourself off," Liu Jing shook his head.
"You're the one who can't get married! There are plenty of people chasing this young lady," his aunt said, feeling both shy and angry as he deliberately hit a sore spot.
"How much is the pay from the production team?" Liu Jing was quite curious, as he still had no idea what his salary was.
"One million," his aunt handed the documents in her hand to Liu Jing.
"So much? Am I worth that much now?" Liu Jing was surprised. What was the exchange rate for the US dollar again?
"Heh, keep dreaming—one million Hong Kong dollars," his aunt mocked.

Back when Teacher An signed the contract, Liu Jing received no salary for shooting Win's in-house productions. However, working on external films paid a salary, which was split fifty-fifty with the company.
One million Hong Kong dollars, after paying taxes and splitting half with the company, wouldn't leave much money at all.
"Uh, the difference is a bit big, but it's not bad either. Coming from Hong Kong to Hollywood, it's equivalent to starting over from scratch. They couldn't care less how much I achieved over there previously. When Jackie Chan first came over, his salary was only four million. Calculated this way, Jackie Chan is only four times better than me," Liu Jing comforted himself.

"You really know how to convert currencies, and you're quite open-minded about it. I heard them say that Fox isn't paying much attention to this film. You should prepare yourself mentally too, and don't expect too much," his aunt sighed.
"I wasn't expecting anything in the first place," Liu Jing said with a gloomy expression. The system took ninety percent; hopefully, the box office rewards wouldn't take ninety percent as well.
"Woodenhead, have you noticed? The way they make movies over here is completely different from our side."
"Compared to them, Fatty Wang's crew is just a makeshift amateur troupe."
"And there are plenty who are even worse than Fatty Wang."
"That's true too."

As the two were chatting, someone suddenly shouted, "Luvei, costume test!"
Liu Jing acknowledged the call, patted his rear, and stood up. "I looked at the shooting schedule. Not only are we going to spend Christmas in Chicago, but we'll also be spending the New Year here."
*Home Alone 3* started filming in early December and wrapped up in March of the following year, with a production cycle much longer than Fatty Wang's.
It was common for Fatty Wang to shoot a movie in just a few days, which explained why people often said he only knew how to make crap films.
"No! That's just you. I'm definitely going back to Jiangcheng for the New Year," his aunt chuckled secretly.
"Zhou Wenqiong, you dare..."
"Luvei, are you deaf?" the makeup artist shouted again, looking extremely impatient.
"I hate Hollywood," Liu Jing snorted coldly and flicked his sleeves as he walked away.

His aunt sighed. When she first went to Hong Kong years ago, the staff there had bad attitudes too. If not for Cheung Man shielding her, who knew how many cold shoulders she would have had to endure and how many people would have bullied her. Now that she was in Hollywood, there was no one like Cheung Man to protect them. Her nephew was proud and aloof, having never suffered any setbacks; she wondered if he would be able to endure this.

In this lifetime, Liu Jing truly hadn't suffered any hardships. Ever since he left the orphanage, everything had been smooth sailing. But what his aunt didn't know was that the hardships Liu Jing had experienced in his memories far exceeded her imagination.
She quickly discovered that her worries were somewhat redundant.
The makeup artist, whose attitude had been terrible just moments before, was now sending Liu Jing out with a beaming smile. "Director, Luvei's makeup is done. Have a look and see how it is."
"Oh, boy, a very handsome young man, but you made him too handsome—that will distract the audience's attention," the director said in surprise, stroking his chin and offering a suggestion. "Lucy, what do you think about adding some freckles?"
"That's a wonderful idea. Luvei, we have to listen to the director." The makeup artist took Liu Jing by the hand and led him back into the dressing room.

An hour later, Liu Jing's costume test was successful. Under the careful work of the makeup artist, he was made up to the point where even his aunt almost failed to recognize him.
After the costume test concluded, the director held another script meeting, and the day passed just like that.
During the first few days of the shooting schedule, there were no scenes for Liu Jing, so he could either stay on set or go back to the hotel to rest.
"Woodenhead, why did that fat woman suddenly treat you so well?" His aunt couldn't suppress her curiosity.
"Because I'm so handsome, so cute, and so talented..."
"Speak human words."
"Just use the same tricks I use to coax you on her; she's much easier to coax than you."
"Liu Jing, what do you mean by that? Why am I hard to coax? Damn it, how do you coax me?" His aunt was extremely dissatisfied.
"That's not important. The people you made an appointment with seem to have arrived." Liu Jing saw two cars stop at the entrance of the set, and several women stepped out.

The last time he came to the United States for a vacation, these exact women had taken turns hosting him.
They were his aunt's publishing partners, including the daughter of a high-ranking official, the mistress of a wealthy tycoon, and a Eurasian woman. The Eurasian woman's father held quite a prominent status in the United States, and she was the leader of the group.
"Huh! Why is there a foreign man with them?" His aunt was surprised, but she still went up to greet them.
"Wenqiong, this is Jim Shooter, the writer for DC Comics, the ninth editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, and the founder of Valiant Comics." The Eurasian woman wore a slightly awkward expression, and the other two women also looked uncomfortable.

His aunt was completely baffled. Why would such an almighty figure want to see her? She was just a minor shareholder in the company, essentially just passing through.
"Hello, my name is Zhou Wenqiong," his aunt quickly introduced herself.
"Beautiful lady, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you: Marvel has filed for bankruptcy." There wasn't a trace of sorrow on Jim's face; instead, he looked thoroughly gloating.
His aunt was even more bewildered. Although she liked reading comics, what did the bankruptcy of a comic book company have to do with her? It had nothing to do with her whatsoever.