制霸好莱坞

The contract for the Chicago movie had been signed, and the supporting role with less than three minutes of screen time earned Jenny a $30,000 salary.

Of course, when compared to the salaries of the two lead actresses, $30,000 was insignificant. Jenny's pay might even be lower than that of the female prisoner who shared her role with less screen time, not to mention the warden "Mom." However, $30,000 was still above average for the annual income in the U.S. in 2001. After taxes and commissions, Jenny would still have over $20,000 left—enough to live on for several months even if she gave up her job as a dog walker.

The only catch was the payment timeline. Unlike CBS, which paid her after a film's completion, this contract stipulated that payment would be made after the film wrapped. In other words, Jenny was still broke—her money was locked away for the future, with only a small deposit to show for it.

Although there was no sign of another audition, Jenny was busy. Lillian, Dave, Lynch, George Eads, and Emma Swan all called to congratulate her on getting the role. Of course, she also received several dinner invitations. If she didn't have to walk dogs every night, Jenny's social life would be more vibrant. The number of party invites she received was staggering.

This marked a change in her social life. As for her work, Cesare arranged for her to take accent classes to improve her British accent. There were also cultural courses about the Victorian era in Britain, the American Civil War, and the etiquette of women from those times. Additionally, Jenny had to take martial arts lessons—from basic boxing and kicking to fencing and horseback riding.

Jenny speculated that the tuition for these courses probably exceeded her entire salary for Chicago. Cesare likely had a training budget, and she was receiving more training than most of his other clients. That meant the opportunities for other artists under Cesare's management were probably fewer.

However, she still hadn't met any of Cesare's other clients. Jim had mentioned that they were mostly B-list or C-list artists, all busy with their own careers. Plus, Jenny rarely attended parties, so she hadn't had a chance to meet them. Cesare didn't seem interested in introducing them either.

Being under the same agent didn't mean their personal relationships had to be close. They were meant to support each other publicly and cooperate in the hype machine, but behind the scenes, agents only had so many resources, so competition was inevitable. For example, today Cesare only brought Jenny as a newcomer—if there were another one, she wouldn't have been granted so many training opportunities. How could the others not have objections?

In addition to her courses, Jenny also had to attend pre-training for the upcoming Chicago musical. The two lead actresses, Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones, had no relevant experience, and even Richard Gere needed dance training. Jenny and the other supporting actors, no matter how few scenes they had, also had to attend classes—but with fewer hours than the leads. By the time Jenny had her audition, Renee and Catherine had already been in training for two months.

So, Jenny began her busy, poor, and hungry life again. The only consolation was that there were many singing and dancing parts in the training course, which at least served as exercise. Moreover, walking dogs every day also counted as physical activity, so Jenny could burn calories without resorting to extreme dieting to maintain her figure.

"Okay, now say a few words in a Scottish accent," her accent teacher snapped his fingers. "Focus on the key points—tongue-twisters and enunciation. Say whatever comes to mind."

Jenny rolled her eyes internally. She wished she were taking a Chinese or Asian accent class instead. "I'm starving now. Give me a piece of meat, or I might eat people!"

"Your phrasing sounds like a robber, but your pronunciation is all wrong. The roughness and the swallowed sounds are missing." The teacher began nitpicking. "Now, listen to how I say it, and hear the difference."

During the one-hour class, Jenny felt as if her pronunciation was that of a poor little girl who'd been bullied and ravaged by ruthless robbers. She almost forgot how to speak in her natural accent. "Are you really starving?" several classmates teased after class, making fun of her terrible performance. "You repeated that line at least a dozen times! Now I'm hungry too!"

"I'm really starving," Jenny admitted weakly. "Now, please stop bringing it up, okay? If you keep talking like this, my stomach might start digesting itself."

Jenny wasn't the only one in the class, but the group was small. The course was expensive, and most of the students were actors or actresses who played supporting roles on TV shows and took the class for career development. There were a few, though, who weren't in the industry at all—they were simply there out of curiosity. One of them had a bizarre reason for being there: after 9/11, they became paranoid, believing that everyone hated Americans. They wanted to learn a foreign accent to blend in when traveling abroad...

Despite being from a dull and boring country, the U.S. is a land where, in a metropolis like Los Angeles, people's personalities can fully blossom. So, even though the reason seemed absurd, the other students accepted it without question.

It was this student who had come up to Jenny earlier, making fun of her. Most of the others left quickly after class, but he was still packing his things slowly. "Since you're hungry, I'm hungry too," he said. "Why don't we grab a bite together?"

"Forget it, Will," Jenny rolled her eyes. "Stop trying. I'm not going out for dinner, coffee, or drinks with you."

This wasn't the first time Jenny had been pursued. Back when she worked at a restaurant, many customers had asked for her number, but most men were respectful enough not to push once they were rejected. Even her accent teacher had tried to date her at first, but after some setbacks, he gave up.

Will was different. He seemed to understand the saying "a strong woman is afraid of a clinging man." He was persistent, never giving up since the first day they met.

"Come on, at least come to a party with me," Will chased after her as she left the classroom. "Aren't you an actor? I could introduce you to the Backstreet Boys. You know Nick Carter? He's the most handsome one—"

Jenny couldn't help but roll her eyes again. "Yes, I know you have a famous cousin, Will—"

"Cousin," Will corrected her.

"Okay, cousin," Jenny pressed the elevator button. "Isn't this better? Paris is a fashion trendsetter for New York girls. How could she not have beautiful women around her? Go, let her introduce you to one. It'll be more efficient than pestering me."

Will Hilton, as it turned out, was the heir to the Hilton hotel empire. Jenny didn't know the exact details of his inheritance, but it was clear his family was wealthy enough to let him spend two years traveling the world before he graduated from college and entered the workforce. Will's network was also powerful enough to get him into Yale. For Jenny's current situation, Will might be a good option. If she didn't want to develop a Hollywood career, marrying into a rich family like his could offer a comfortable life.

But Jenny had already made this choice in her previous life. Her ex-husband had been even better than Will—he was the sole heir to an even larger family business, rich, powerful, and much more mature than Will. She knew exactly how that marriage had turned out.

Jenny couldn't be fooled by Will now, but what made her laugh and cry was that he seemed to be even more attracted to her because of her indifference.

"But they aren't you," Will blinked at her desperately. "Please, please, just one date. I promise I won't bother you again."

Admittedly, Will was good-looking. He had brown hair and blue eyes—typical of a handsome East Coast American. As a rich kid, he didn't flaunt fancy watches or designer brands. If he hadn't revealed his family background, Jenny would never have guessed his wealth.

"Let's not even get into whether I believe that last part," Jenny exhaled. "Even if I agreed, I don't have time, Will. My film starts shooting in a few days, and I have to put my classes on hold. How about this—if you're willing to wait—and promise not to contact me in the meantime—then before you go abroad, I'll go on one date with you, okay?"

She had compromised, not because she was moved by Will's sincerity, but because somehow he had her phone number, and Chen Zhen's thinking still leaned a bit more towards the East. If she wasn't backed into a corner, she didn't want to break things off with Will just yet. Besides, he wasn't that bad—just not part of her plan.

"What is this? A pity date?" Will looked shocked.

"If you think that's insulting, you can turn it down," Jenny quickly replied.

"I have no self-respect," Will shrugged and smiled. "I'd be happier if this pity date could be upgraded." (Meaning, "pity sex.")

Jenny was speechless. "You wish."

Will wasn't upset. He continued talking about his studies and his first stop on his trip abroad—Amsterdam, which, he explained, had just legalized marijuana.

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure your parents will still support you after they hear why you're going to Amsterdam?"

"They'll never know," Will grinned. As they walked to the parking garage, he said, "Want me to take you home today?"

"I drove here," Jenny pointed to her Passat.

"Are you sure you don't want to try my baby?" Will teased, gesturing toward his Ferrari.

Jenny raised an eyebrow and then middle finger at Will, who was stroking his car lovingly. "Looks like you're having a good time with that thing. Why not keep going? I'll go first."

Will laughed and, with a dramatic wink, revved his engine, speeding off into the distance.

Jenny shook her head and smiled, watching him go. She knew this was Hollywood—a place where money, temptation, and beautiful people were everywhere.

For the original Jenny, Will's allure might have been overwhelming.

But as for Chen Zhen's version of Jenny? All she cared about was tomorrow's shoot. She wasn't worried about her role. After rehearsals, she was confident she could perform as well as Lucy Liu. What concerned her, though, was how Renee Zellweger would view her.

Note: Gap year refers to the tradition of students taking a break between high school and college, or between college and entering the workforce, to travel or gain experience. For wealthy families like Will's, a gap year could easily be a time for luxury and self-indulgence.

In the Netherlands, marijuana is sold in coffeeshops, which offer soft drugs. If you want coffee, you'd have to go to a café.