Outside the gates of the old castle mansion, the reporters were behaving in an almost absurd manner.
Some stood on top of their parked broadcast vans, peering over the high walls and frantically taking photographs of the courtyard. It seemed that any guest they managed to capture would be considered newsworthy. Others found large trees beside the walls and climbed them like monkeys.
In truth, the guests attending the banquet in the mansion's courtyard were worth the effort.
George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, and several other Hollywood stars were present. Combined with David and Victoria Beckham, who had enormous appeal throughout Europe, and a number of Manchester United players, the banquet had become a dazzling gathering of celebrities.
As the host, Ethan had been caught off guard by the situation. Standing at the mansion's entrance, he looked across the courtyard filled with famous faces, then glanced at the opportunistic reporters gathered outside the gates and could only smile helplessly.
"Do you really want to hit me?" Eva asked with a charming smile as she held his hand.
Ethan sighed and shook his head with a helpless laugh. "I really do, but whenever I look at you, I can't bring myself to do it."
Eva tightened her grip on his hand, as though afraid he might suddenly disappear. She said nothing, but her expression conveyed more than words ever could. Everything she had done was for Ethan.
"All right, since you've invited almost the entire cast of Ocean's Eleven, why didn't you invite a few more people? Michael Bay, Nicolas Cage, or Spielberg, for example. You know I like their work."
"Next time!" Eva replied with a sly smile.
As her box-office appeal had grown, so had her network in Hollywood. Combined with her kind and approachable personality, it was no surprise that so many people enjoyed spending time with her.
"Come on. Victoria wants to meet some new friends!" Eva said, pulling Ethan toward the crowd.
...
"Hey, lads, do you recognise her?" Curtis asked his teammates from a distance, pointing toward Eva.
"I recognise her! My God, she's the woman who came to the club to see the boss that day!" Essien exclaimed dramatically. "She was wearing huge sunglasses, so I didn't recognise her then. But now I do. Isn't she Eva?"
Curtis grinned. "It seems the boss really does have some ability. He even managed to win over Hollywood's most beautiful woman. He really is the boss!"
He then turned toward Michael Johnson, who was standing nearby, and knocked him firmly on the head, making him wince.
"Listen, Michael. Eva is the boss's girlfriend, so stop telling everyone she's your dream woman. Understood?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Eva's recent films had all performed exceptionally well at the box office. Combined with her striking beauty and elegant temperament, she had been praised as the perfect blend of modern and classical beauty.
Several respected magazines had even voted her the most beautiful woman in the world, making her the dream woman of countless fans.
"And you, John Terry, you're the worst of the lot!" Curtis threatened, waving his arms.
Terry immediately raised both hands in denial.
He had once enjoyed visiting bars and chasing women in London, but after moving to Manchester, he had significantly improved his behaviour. This was partly because Mourinho maintained strict discipline within the dressing room, but also because Curtis was constantly keeping an eye on him.
The two were close friends, and Terry willingly accepted Curtis's supervision, gradually correcting many of his bad habits.
Had Ethan known, he would certainly have praised Curtis. He had no desire to see Terry create the kind of dressing-room scandal that had plagued him in Ethan's previous life.
"Hey, Curtis!" Roy Keane called as he approached from a distance.
The moment they saw him, the New Manchester United players became nervous, uncertain how they should behave.
"Relax, lads. This is Ethan's party!" Keane pointed to himself with a self-deprecating smile. "I can't really be the fierce, permanently angry brute the newspapers claim I am, can I?"
Everyone laughed, and the tense atmosphere immediately eased.
"Curtis, you've been playing well recently. I hear Sir Alex is very interested in you."
Curtis shook his head. "I won't leave New Manchester United!"
Keane shrugged. "Of course. I expected as much. But I think you need to play a little more intelligently."
Seeing Curtis's puzzled expression, Keane explained further.
"You commit too many unnecessary fouls."
He then smiled at the group.
"To establish yourselves in English football, your style has to be strong. Even if you don't go looking for trouble, you absolutely cannot allow others to intimidate you."
Keane slapped Curtis firmly on the shoulder.
"You're the vice-captain, lad. You need to know how to protect your teammates. On the pitch, you do whatever needs to be done, even if it means taking a red card or serving a suspension. That doesn't matter. It's part of your responsibility.
"Only then will opponents think twice before targeting your teammates, because they'll know there could be consequences. Understand?"
Keane laughed and patted De Rossi and Essien on the shoulders.
"You two are talented, but you're still a little soft. A team that relies only on technique and tactics will struggle to establish itself in the Premier League. Otherwise, why do you think Wimbledon once bullied Liverpool so badly that they practically ran crying back to the dressing room?"
As Manchester United's captain, Keane was always delighted to reopen the wounds of one of his club's greatest rivals.
Many of New Manchester United's players were still young and knew little about what had happened in those days. One by one, they eagerly pressed Keane for details.
With nothing else demanding his attention, Keane sat down with the youngsters and began recounting the entertaining story. He also shared many of his own experiences, clearly enjoying himself among them.
From a distance, Walsh noticed how much the New Manchester United players seemed to like Keane. He glanced at Mourinho beside him.
"Don't you think he's corrupting your players?"
Mourinho took a sip of wine and privately thought that Ethan was becoming truly extravagant. Even the wine was excellent and must have been extremely expensive.
Hearing Walsh's question, he shook his head.
"Keane is right. To establish themselves in English football, they need to learn how to protect themselves. I don't allow my players to enter matches looking for confrontation because that would affect their tactical discipline.
"But when opponents come after us aggressively, I'm perfectly happy to see my players respond in kind. An eye for an eye, as Ethan likes to say."
Walsh stood there in surprise as Mourinho walked away to speak with the other guests.
He felt that this entire group had somehow been influenced by Ethan.
But who had influenced Ethan?
Perhaps it was simply the nature of English football.
...
"Hello, George!" Ethan greeted George Clooney and the Hollywood stars beside him with a smile. They had just been discussing films.
"Haha, it's a pleasure to meet Wall Street's investment genius!" Clooney joked as he shook Ethan's hand.
Everyone laughed.
The Wall Street Journal had recently used that exact phrase to describe Ethan. Several of his companies had attracted enormous attention, and many experts were urging him to take them public, although Ethan had no such plans for the moment.
"My financial adviser told me that the safest investment strategy right now is simply to follow Ethan," Clooney continued.
"When he invested in Apple, I didn't follow him. When he invested in eBay, I didn't follow him either, and now I regret both decisions.
"From now on, I'm watching you closely. Whatever you invest in, I'll invest in as well!"
Clooney's words drew another round of laughter.
It was obvious why he had so many friends in Hollywood. It was not merely because of his experience and status, but also because of his humour and personality.
Ethan quickly responded with a few modest remarks, then introduced David Beckham, who had accompanied him, to everyone present.
They all sat down and began chatting casually.
"I heard you were discussing an investment in a film company?" Ethan asked, introducing a new topic.
Clooney chuckled. "Are you interested? Because if you are, Tom, count me in!"
Tom Cruise smiled and nodded.
The handsome Hollywood star had long been interested in investing in or acquiring a film production company, and his network within the industry was extensive.
"I've been speaking with Steven Spielberg recently," Cruise said. "You know DreamWorks isn't operating under ideal conditions at the moment, and I'm considering investing in the company.
"I asked Eva about it before, and she's interested as well. What do you think?"
Ethan nodded.
"That sounds promising. If Eva is interested, you can count me in too.
"However, DreamWorks' current position isn't especially strong. My assistant told me that the company's operations are spread across too many areas.
"It would be better for them to concentrate on films, animation, and distribution. Those are the foundations of their position in Hollywood."
At those words, not only Tom Cruise, but George Clooney and the others also looked surprised.
Ethan's statement sounded simple, but it revealed a great deal.
One of the main reasons DreamWorks had fallen into financial difficulty was that its operations had expanded too broadly, causing its capital and resources to become scattered.
Ethan clearly understood the problem and had already identified a possible solution.
"Now I finally understand why Wall Street considers you the leading investment genius of the new generation," Clooney said with a laugh. "I'm in."
From his tone, it was clear that he had already made his decision.
Once Clooney confirmed his involvement, Brad Pitt also expressed his interest.
As a Hollywood actor himself, he understood the enormous influence that could be created if major figures such as George Clooney, Tom Cruise, and Steven Spielberg joined forces.
The group soon began discussing possible strategies for DreamWorks after the investment.
Ethan strongly supported introducing a professional management structure. He believed this would make the company's operations more transparent, while experienced executives would understand the market better than anyone present, including Spielberg and the other creative figures.
Naturally, they discussed many other subjects as well.
Ethan responded to each one, drawing on knowledge that placed him several years ahead of everyone else.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)