America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

In the heart of Hollywood Heights, a celebration party hosted by the Screen Actors Guild was underway.

Martin and Nicholson each held a glass of wine, climbing to the highest point of the second floor, which happened to overlook a good portion of the party scene.

Nicholson quietly pointed and said, "Look to your left, they've arrived."

"Seen them," Martin spotted Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, a married couple.

This was a party organized by one of Hollywood's two major actors' guilds, and many members not currently working would come to join.

After all, this was the organization that could truly stand by the actors at crucial times.

Nicholson asked, "Aren't you going over? Garner's in her early thirties, and she's Ben's wife..."

Martin ignored his nonsense and asked, "James Franco's here too?"

As if he was the commander controlling the entire battlefield, Nicholson replied, "Lawrence came with him."

He looked down at the party, feeling a sense of satisfaction in controlling everything, "Don't worry, Martin, everything's under control. Can't slip up."

Nicholson was getting on in years. He had been with more actresses than many had seen on the silver screen, and his substantial fortune and assorted royalties enabled him to live a life of luxury. Now semi-retired, his greatest pursuit was happiness.

Being with Martin and Leonardo, he found the fun he once had when he stirred up Sunset Boulevard with Marlon Brando and Warren Beatty, even more enjoyable than before.

Martin's phone vibrated. He took it out, spoke a couple of words after answering, and shrugged, "The debt collectors have arrived."

It wasn't long before Jolie and Aniston came looking for him.

The former kissed Martin on the left cheek, and the latter, not to be outdone, kissed his right cheek.

Nicholson said, "I've got to go. Something came up."

Martin nodded.

Nicholson gave Martin a thumbs up before leaving to take control of the situation.

He was the mastermind behind this operation!

"You mean we have another chance to show our faces?" Aniston, now a leading voice in Mitu, had a distinctly stronger presence, "Are you planning something again?"

Martin pointed at Nicholson without hesitation, framing him, "It's him, not me."

Jolie was skeptical, "You're not benefiting?"

Martin moved between them, wrapping his arms around both their waists, "Of course, the benefits are for you. Pitt's history now, Mitu has no suitable target, and its presence is waning. Me and Jack are preparing a new target for you to hit hard."

Having played the saint and a part of Mitu effectively for years, Jolie knew the boundaries well, "Martin, you know, we can't just go after certain people or things in the industry, that's playing with fire."

Aniston disagreed with Jolie, "How could Martin let us take risks?"

Jolie rolled her eyes, "Idiot!"

Aniston, lifting her dress hem, was about to take off her high heels to throw, "Slut!"

Martin hastily pacified them both, "How I could possibly let you take any risks? Of course, we wait until the media blows it up, then you join in."

Jolie's hand rested on Martin's chest, "My teacher, you never disappoint."

Aniston chuckled, "This is Amour, for me, the idiot!"

"Your lover, is it?" Jolie's eyes sparkled, "I like that."

She took Martin's hand with one hand and Aniston's with the other, ready to leave.

Making an appearance was enough to give due respect to the guild; nothing was more important than going back and having fun. Whether alone or with two, playing with three was always more interesting.

Martin told them to wait a moment, "Don't be hasty. We have all night. Let's enjoy the show first."

...

On the first floor, Jennifer Lawrence, with an arm linked through Franco's, exclaimed, "Teacher, there are so many stars here."

Watching the naive girl who had recently grown close, Franco delivered his usual spiel, "Study hard here, practice well, and with your talent and qualities, you may become one of them."

Lawrence, already a talented actress among eighteen-year-olds and well-aware of acting, said, "With my teacher's help, I will surely succeed."

Her sincerity was evident in her words, which Franco found quite satisfying with this quick-learning girl.

The teacher Lawrence was referring to was, of course, Jack Nicholson.

Franco said, "Jennifer, you're good, I didn't misjudge you."

However, Lawrence suddenly widened her eyes in excitement, covered her mouth with a trembling hand, and pointed, "Ben Affleck! Teacher, I saw Ben Affleck! He's my favorite actor..."

Franco was a bit unhappy but remained generous, "Let's go, I'll introduce you to him."

"Thank you so much," Lawrence said eagerly, rushing in that direction.

Franco wasn't close with Ben but having mixed in the circle for many years, he recognized him and greeted after approaching, "Hey, Ben."

Jennifer Garner had disappeared somewhere; only Ben was here. He glanced around and recognized Franco, "James, you look younger."

"It must be Jennifer that makes me look a few years younger," Franco introduced the two.

Lauren, trying to contain her excitement, said, "Ben, you're my favorite actor, you were so cool in 'Pearl Harbor' and 'Hollywood Manor'!"

In such an occasion, Ben was quite gracious, "Thank you."

"Could you give me an autograph?" Lauren opened her purse, took out a pen and notebook, and handed them to Ben, smiling like an idiot, "And could we take a photo together, if that's okay?"

"No problem." Ben took the notebook and saw that it had "Studio Four Acting School" printed on the cover, with a signature from James Franco under the principal's section.

He flipped open the notebook to sign it, then asked James to take a photo of him with Lauren.

Lauren was smiling from ear to ear the whole time, as if she had accomplished a great feat.

Ben gave the pen and notebook back to Lauren and asked Franco, "When did you start running an acting school?"

Franco smiled, "After 'Spider-Man 3' wrapped up, I took advantage of the trilogy's final wave of popularity to set up my own Studio Four Acting School, and it's been going till now."

Lauren seized the opportunity to add, "I study acting at James's school." She looked at James with adoration in her eyes, "Originally, many of my sisters wanted to come to Studio Four, but James was too busy. It's such a pity; they're willing to pay but can't become James's students."

Seeing this silly young girl, Ben was well aware that it was precisely these kinds of people who propped up the acting school market in Los Angeles.

Franco didn't mind, treating it as a casual topic for conversation, "I'm an actor who struggled up from the very bottom; I've always wanted to help actors like me, but one person's power is limited, I can only do so little."

The words sounded nice, but Ben heard another meaning.

There were many from the lower ranks who aspired to be stars and were willing to pay a high price for it. Franco's capabilities were limited, he could only occupy a small portion of the market, and many other lower-rank actors or those wishing to become actors were waiting for these so-called opportunities.

Ben reflected on what he had heard at the Adler School; the acting school business was indeed very profitable.

The market was large, with numerous consumers, never lacking new clients, the fees were high, and the courses were incredibly short, with fast-tracked ones completing within a week at most.

The profit came quickly, unlike movie investments, where you couldn't see returns for two or three years.

Ben seemed very casual as he commented, "It looks like your acting school is doing well."

Franco, with a bit of show-off in his tone, responded, "The acting school has helped me fulfill many wishes."

Ben already had some thoughts and, upon hearing this, couldn't help but say, "You might not know, but I work part-time as an acting teacher at the Adler School, helping new actors just like you. I think we have a lot in common on this front, how about we find a place to have a good talk?"

Franco had also been looking for like-minded people recently and, after a brief consideration, agreed, "Let's go upstairs, find a quiet lounge."

He turned to Lauren, "Sorry, Jennifer, Ben and I have some business to talk about, just make yourself at home."

Lauren smiled cheerfully, "It's fine, you're busy. I'll just drive myself home later."

Franco nodded at her, then he and Ben left the hall and took the elevator to the upper floor.

In the crowd not far away, Nicholson was discussing strategies for dealing with young girlfriends with his old friend Al Pacino.

Part of his attention had always been on the area nearby, and he noticed the silhouettes of Ben Affleck and James Franco leaving together.

"Wait a sec, Al!" The situation was progressing smoothly, within his control, Nicholson mocked his old friend, "You just said your new girlfriend is Lucila Sola? I know her, she's almost 30, way too old."

Al Pacino snorted, "She's nearly 40 years younger than me."

Nicholson shook his head, "Do you know how old my new girlfriend is? She's a '90s kid!"

"You're such a bastard!" Al burst out with a string of expletives, "You're even corrupting women born in the '90s now!"

Nicholson waved his hand, "That's why I say, you're outdated, time to accept old age."

Al got angry, "Just wait, I'll soon find a younger girlfriend to show you!"

"I'll be waiting," Nicholson said nonchalantly as he left the place.

He returned to the second floor only to find that Martin, Jolie, and Aniston had all vanished.

Without a thought, he knew that the three of them must have gone to do shameless things.

Nicholson, old but not feeble-hearted, found a quiet place, waited a while, and then dialed Martin's phone. When no one answered, he switched to another cell phone and sent a text message.

"Urgent matter!"

He signed it JJN.

When Nicholson called again, Martin picked up quickly, "Is there an emergency?"

Nicholson remained silent but turned the volume on the handset to the maximum and could faintly hear panting noises. He said, "I mainly wanted to remind you to wear a condom. Don't end up giving me a godson or goddaughter next year."

"Fuck you!" The voice that came through was clearly Jolie's.

Aniston's voice followed, "Jack, you're going to get hit by a car when you step out."

Nicholson hung up the phone satisfied and slowly left the hall, heading to the front door to get into a car.

Suddenly something fell from the sky and splattered on Nicholson's head, he reached up to touch it, and his hand was covered in bird poop!