Chapter Twenty-Four Touchstone

  After getting off the car of Jin Silie, Ryan lowered his baseball cap and quickly swept around, seeing no abnormalities, he waved at the female agent in the car and ran into the campus with his head down.

  He can't stay at home forever, and if he takes too much time off, he'll really have to repeat the grade. Fortunately, as time goes on, the topic of him has gradually cooled down, Hollywood has countless stars and gossip, and naturally someone will replace him to attract the attention of the media and the public.

  "Hey Ryan, long time no see! Why are you always taking such a long leave?"

  Ryan had just sat down in his chair when Jerry and Peter came over from the front and the other side.

  "You know, I'm always busy." Ryan replied casually, his face still hidden in the shadow of his baseball cap.

  "Right, you're really busy." Jerry tilted his head and suddenly said, "Ryan, can you take off your baseball cap?"

  "What's wrong with the hat?" Ryan didn't think much of it and casually took off his hat and put it on the table.

  "Peter!" Jerry shouted, and Peter swiftly pulled out a newspaper from his backpack, took a look at the headline on the front page, and said with great certainty, "That's him."

  Ryan's mouth twitched uncontrollably. In his mind, kids of this age wouldn't read newspapers and magazines at all. Now that he had grown up a lot and looked somewhat different from the sixth sense, he didn't expect these two guys to be reading the Los Angeles Times.

  "Wow, it's really you, Ryan! So you're the little boy from 'The Sixth Sense' after all. Does that mean you also wrote Harry Potter? You knew I loved this book the most, yet you never told me you were the author."

  Jerry's outburst immediately caught the attention of the whole class, and he snatched the newspaper from Peter's hand. "Don't you guys read newspapers or magazines? Don't you watch entertainment news? Don't you go to the movies? Do you know who the little boy in 'The Sixth Sense' is? Do you know who the author of your favorite books 'Ryan's Story Collection' and 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' is? It's Ryan."

  The classroom suddenly turned into a vegetable market, and these over-energized boys and girls all rushed over to look at that newspaper from more than half a month ago. Although the newspaper had many folds, the picture was still clear. Who else could it be if not Ryan?

  A lively girl snatched the newspaper, stood on a chair, and read out the report in a clear voice. For 10-year-old kids, most of the content was understandable until then they believed that the authors of those children's books they often read were actually their classmates!

  Looking around at those guys staring at him, Ryan didn't move a muscle. He only felt his face turning pale and his eyes darkening, the pen in his hand seemed to have turned into a green bamboo stick. Although he knew it was bound to be discovered sooner or later, he hadn't expected that on the first day back at school, he would become the object of everyone's attention.

  "Ryan, why didn't you ever tell us?" The girl actually asked.

  It seems we're not very familiar, are we? Ryan could only roll his eyes. To be honest, apart from Jerry and Peter's little clique in the class, he only knew others by name.

  "I said, when I went to see 'The Sixth Sense' with my dad, I always felt that the little boy in it looked familiar. Now that I think about it, didn't he look just like Ryan when he first transferred here last year?" The other boy's eyes widened in realization.

  "My gosh, you're the screenwriter of that movie! My mom super loves it and has gone to see it four times already. She says the story is so great that she cries every time, and also said that this movie's box office is going to hit $100 million soon!" The other girl spoke up, "And Ryan, I wanted to ask, when is the third Harry Potter coming out?"

  Ryan could only smile helplessly, after all, these people were just curious kids, not paparazzi. Just as he was about to respond, another person asked, "Ryan, how many big stars have you seen? Can you help me get Tom Cruise's autograph?"

  "And Ryan, how did you come up with these stories?"

  "Ryan, are you really an orphan?"

  "Ryan, is it fun making movies? Can you take us to the scene?"

  Maybe I should transfer schools! Ryan had this thought, but when he thought of the increasingly busy Nicole, he automatically extinguished this thought and shouted loudly, "Stop! Stop!"

  The chaotic classroom finally calmed down, but these kids were at the most curious age and had no intention of dispersing. Especially Jerry, who blinked his eyes and suddenly said, "I get it! I get it! No wonder Ryan is writing and drawing every day, he's actually writing stories."

  "Alright, Jerry, you got it right but there's no prize. Ryan waved his hand at his classmates and said, 'Harry Potter and those other works are indeed my creations. I haven't met many big stars, the only star I've collaborated with is Al Pacino, Tom Cruise isn't familiar, can't get autographs for you guys.'"

  Then, Ryan showed a playful smile, "As for filming movies, it's not fun at all. Those movie directors have terrible tempers, and once you make a mistake, they will scold you mercilessly, even if you cry, no one will sympathize with you because you didn't finish your work. Moreover, when shooting at night, it often goes on till dawn, and if the filming isn't completed, you're not allowed to sleep! Also, when the director tells you to laugh, you must laugh, when he tells you to cry, you have to immediately shed tears, and when he tells you to go crazy, you have to instantly become a madman. So, making movies is no fun at all!"

  Ryan's nonsense made the other kids stare in amazement, as they thought making a movie should be a fun thing to do, but unexpectedly heard such a terrifying answer.

  "Alright, class is about to start. Can we discuss any questions during lunch break?" Under Ryan's intimidation and persuasion, the group finally dispersed. He wasn't too worried, as kids of this age are very curious but usually only have a three-minute attention span; after some time has passed, they will naturally shift their focus to other things.

  "Ryan, you can't be serious?" Jerry leaned in closer and lowered his voice, "I won't tell anyone else."

  "Of course... it's fake!"

  "Also, Ryan, is the third set of Harry Potter finished? Can we take a look first?" Peter's head also stretched over.

  "None." Ryan naturally wouldn't admit.

  The bell for class finally rang, and Ryan let out a sigh of relief. He found it more tiring to deal with his peers than the paparazzi, but soon after the lesson started, he discovered a new situation.

  The teacher of the English class, Ms. Sara, would occasionally glance over with a curious and inquiring gaze, and even though Ryan was engrossed in his own affairs, he still sensitively perceived it.

  "Ryan, can you help me out with something?" Mrs. Sarah asked in a low voice just before the end of class.

  "Ah? Of course." Ryan put away his pen, shook his wrist, and suddenly realized who he was talking to, "I'm very sorry..."

  "No need to apologize, Ryan. A child who can write such an excellent piece, I don't think there's anything else I can teach him." Mrs. Sarah smiled, "My daughter loves the Harry Potter series and after finishing the second book, she has been pestering me to read the third one. May I ask when will the third book be published?"

  ……

  Burbank is located in northern Los Angeles, one of the many satellite cities of Los Angeles. Here, the most famous is the media industry. The headquarters or important departments of many media and entertainment companies such as NBC, Disney, Warner Bros. are set up here, so Burbank also has the title of "Media Capital of the World".

  Walt Disney's headquarters, Katzenberg left his uncle's office and returned to the floor belonging to Touchstone Pictures, but that pair of frowning eyebrows never parted, making that not-so-handsome face almost a bitter melon.

  It's no wonder he's worried, as Trial Stone Film has been established for seven years. Despite being backed by Disney, a giant in the industry, they have lacked influential works in both film and television, not to mention compared to the seven major film companies. Even Miramax, which produced "The Sixth Sense", is about to surpass them.

  At the beginning of this year, Carter became the vice president in charge of film at Touchstone Pictures, but despite his efforts to make a difference, the results were not obvious, and the internal doubts about him never disappeared, who let him be under thirty years old, who let him be Michael Eisner's nephew.

  "Karter, Chris? Columbus is waiting for you in the office." The secretary reminded as she passed by the secretary's desk.

  "Chris? Oh, yeah, he's supposed to meet me today." Carter Eisner asked next, "How long has he been here?"

  "It's been more than half an hour."

  "Good grief, I'd better hurry up, hopefully he's bringing good news." Carter hastily pushed open the door and entered the office.

  Chris Columbus, dressed in a gray suit, sat on the sofa, sipping coffee and reading a book, seemingly very engrossed, even unaware of Carter Eisner's entry.

  "Sorry, Chris, kept you waiting!" Carter had to take the initiative to greet him.

  "It wasn't long ago that I just finished reading a story." Chris Columbus closed his book.

  "Alright Chris." Carter smiled apologetically. "I don't know what you've got planned for today, are you thinking of making a new movie?"

  "That's right, Carter," Columbus explained, "I'm looking for a partner, didn't know about Touchstone Pictures..."

  He made a gesture you understand.

  "Did you bring the script?"

  Although his opponent's works are not many, almost every one is a sell-out, Carter naturally hopes that he can bring himself a surprise.

  "The script isn't ready yet." Chris Columbus made an apologetic gesture. "The story is already there."

  He handed the closed book over to Carter.

  "Ryan's Story Collection?"

  Thank you friends for your support, thank you Yuwen DouDou for the reward, today's first update, please give me some collection and votes.