"Kate's movie didn't do well at the box office, and some gossip newspapers even used it to make fun of her relationship with you, so she couldn't make it this time. Luckily, she's staying in Los Angeles and can help us keep an eye on the construction of that house".
Inside the elevator, Janette affectionately held Simon's arm, recounting what had happened in Los Angeles recently.
Simon listened with a smile and said, "Kathryn is a director with a very strong personal style. She just hasn't found her suitable genre yet".
Janette asked, "So what kind of movies do you think Kate is good at making?"
"War films", Simon blurted out, then added, "Kathryn's realistic cinematic style is very suitable for showing the intensity and cruelty of war".
Janette tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "That's true. Don't let Kate's occasional shyness and introversion fool you; deep down, she's full of violent tendencies. Back at Columbia University, many of her paintings were quite bloody".
The ding-dong of the elevator interrupted their conversation. Simon glanced at the indicator light; they were on the 32nd floor.
The two stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hallway to an apartment door.
Janette pulled out a key from her bag, opened the door, and after entering the foyer, kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot into the living room.
Simon followed her in, intending to bend down and pick up the woman's shoes to place them on the nearby shoe rack, when a faint feminine scent wafted around him, carrying a certain ineffable sense of déjà vu.
However, this scent, which should have been refreshing, made Simon's head feel slightly swollen, as if something wanted to rush out from the depths of his memory. After a brief moment of dizziness, Simon adjusted to the scent, and his mind became clear again.
After placing Janette's shoes neatly, he took off his own shoes. There were no men's slippers on the shoe rack, so Simon walked barefoot into the living room, just like Janette.
Janette handed him a bottle of mineral water and said, "This is all that's in the fridge. Should I call Neil to buy some things and have them delivered?"
Simon took the mineral water, smiled, and said, "Don't bother Neil again. Besides, this isn't your apartment, is it?"
Janette nodded and said, "I wanted to buy my own apartment in the city when I was 18, but Mom and Dad wouldn't let me. Later, I spent most of my time in Los Angeles, so there was no need".
Simon gestured around, "Then this place?"
"It's Iceberg's", Janette said, taking off her jacket and tossing it on the sofa. "But she's on vacation in England right now, so we can stay here".
Simon was confused for a moment before remembering who Janette meant by 'Iceberg': "We're staying at your aunt's apartment? Is that appropriate?"
"Of course, whenever I came back to Melbourne and didn't want to listen to the old man nag, I'd crash here", Janette said nonchalantly, snatching the mineral water from Simon's hand, taking a few sips, and tossing the bottle aside. Then she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek against his body and murmuring, "You little rascal, did you miss me during this time?"
Simon chuckled, supporting the woman's light body, and said, "I've been too busy".
Janette, displeased, leaned in and bit Simon's lip, mumbling indistinctly, "I'm biting you".
After a moment of playful intimacy, Janette hummed and pointed in a direction. Simon walked over, turned off the living room lights, and headed towards the bedroom.
Perhaps it was due to being in an unfamiliar environment, but the entire night was filled with various fragmented dreams, and those memories once again surged from the deepest parts of his mind. At one point, he even knew he was dreaming but couldn't wake up.
Amidst the various fractured scenes, a small figure frequently reappeared, a very well-behaved child, silent, reticent, perhaps a little autistic.
Often locked in dark closets.
The child was wise for his age, long hoping for someone to visit him, because then he would get delicious food, new clothes, and everyone around him would become kind.
Broken thoughts drifted, ultimately failing to form any concrete images, only a faint essence etched in the deepest part of his memory.
And then, later.
The child became utterly alone, living in a strange place, like a stubborn little beast.
When Simon woke up, he found distinct tear stains on his pillow. He dazedly retraced the dreams of the previous night, but those fragments, upon waking, melted away as quickly as ice and snow exposed to scorching sunlight.
Bright light filtered through the curtain gap. Simon reached for the wristwatch on the bedside table and saw that it was already 11:55 AM. He usually woke up at 8 AM, and although he and Janette had gone to bed a bit later last night, waking up close to noon was still unusual.
Moreover, he typically had meetings with the sub-fund trading teams of Cersei Capital in the mornings, but today no one had called him.
Janette must have hung up the calls from those people, wanting him to rest a little longer.
Thinking this, he got out of bed, quickly showered, and put on the clothes Janette had prepared for him. Simon went to the living room, and the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen.
Simon called out, and Janette poked her head out of the kitchen, shaking a ladle in her hand, "Five minutes. You can watch TV for a bit first".
Nodding, Simon walked to the refrigerator and pulled open the door. It was already filled with various fruits and drinks, which Janette must have just bought that morning. He took a bottle of mineral water, drank most of it in one gulp, and was about to go to the kitchen to help when he heard a sound from the foyer.
The security of this high-end apartment was very tight; in theory, no one should be able to sneak in unnoticed.
Walking over, puzzled, Simon saw a tall, blonde woman in a cream-colored turtleneck sweater and black pants appear at the foyer, pulling a small suitcase.
When the woman saw Simon, her face instantly turned ashen, her eyes filled with alarm and fear, and she stood there frozen as if paralyzed.
Simon immediately guessed the woman's identity, but upon seeing her, the dizzying sensation he had felt when entering the apartment last night returned. Many dream-like fragments began to coalesce in the depths of his memory.
A violent headache felt like it was going to burst his head.
Simon laboriously raised his arm, wanting to rub his temples. However, before his arm was even fully raised, he had already collapsed onto the floor.
"..."
"Simon Westeros rushed to hospital, Johnston family forcibly seals news".
"Rumours of Simon Westeros' mental illness relapse".
"According to internal sources, Simon Westeros unexpectedly fainted at noon today, possibly due to prolonged overwork".
"Amy Pascal and other Daenerys Entertainment executives depart for Melbourne".
"Affected by Westeros' unexpected coma, Japanese stock market plummets 226 points for the day".
"Los Angeles city spokesperson demands Johnston family disclose Simon Westeros' condition".
"Stanford University expresses concern for Simon Westeros".
"If the prodigy meets with an accident, who will inherit his immense fortune?"
"Breaking news: After a six-hour coma, Simon Westeros woke up around 6:20 PM. The Johnston family announced they would hold a press conference at 8 PM to report on Westeros' condition".
"'Batman' producer Jon Peters says the crew has been notified and will temporarily halt filming for a week".
"..."
"..."
When he woke up again, Simon found that his past memories seemed to have undergone a new integration; some were completely annihilated, while others became clearer.
Lying in the hospital bed, his gaze swept around, and noticing Janette's tear-streaked face by the bedside, Simon felt that he definitely couldn't faint again.
How could he make the people who cared about him sad?
He also found another figure in the crowd, but merely glanced at her before withdrawing his gaze, trying to reassure Janette in as relaxed a tone as possible.
He knew there was nothing wrong with his body, but at everyone's insistence, Simon patiently underwent a comprehensive examination and promised to stay in the hospital for at least three days for observation.
The examination results were naturally all normal. Anthony Johnston personally took Simon's attending physician to hold a press conference.
The next day was Simon's birthday.
His 21st birthday.
After some memories returned, Simon confirmed that this birthday was real.
It was indeed February 22, 1968.
However, he had to spend it in the hospital, and many people had rushed over from the United States. Kathryn, Sandra, and others, as well as Amy, Iger, James, and Terry Semel from Warner, and so on.
Once Simon was confirmed to be awake, the brief chaos quickly subsided.
He heard that the tabloids in Los Angeles were still discussing what would happen to Simon's billions of dollars in assets if he suffered an accident or if his old illness recurred and he lost his autonomy. These people clearly didn't know about Simon's prior arrangements with George Norman.
'Batman' was temporarily halted.
This was not a big deal; in Hollywood, some big stars could cause multi-million dollar film projects to shut down just by arguing with their wives. Simon's current status was far higher than that of any Hollywood star.
Cersei Capital's operations were taken over by Janette. Janette also had an argument with her father, blaming Raymond Johnston for deliberately burdening Simon, which led to his overwork.
Simon had no worries about Janette taking over Cersei Capital. This hedge fund's positioning was long-term bullish operations; as long as the Japanese stock market continued to rise, the possibility of losing money was small, it was just a matter of earning more or less.
Moreover, Simon knew that Janette was usually lazy, but based on his understanding of her since they met, Janette was actually perfectly suited to manage Cersei Capital's specific operations.
After a period of commotion and confirming that Simon was fine, Amy and the others returned to the United States.
After spending two days at the private medical centre sponsored by the Johnston family, they planned to have one more comprehensive check-up tomorrow morning. Once confirmed to be fine, Janette and Simon planned to recuperate at the farm they had bought on Tasmania Island, where it was much quieter.
A day of boredom.
After dinner, they watched TV for a while, and then Janette went to rest in the next room.
Simon also lay in bed alone and quickly fell asleep.
No more fragmented dreams appeared these past two days.
Perhaps.
There would never be any again.
In a haze, he felt a figure appear by the bed, sitting quietly in a chair and watching him.
Simon, sensing a familiar scent, woke up immediately and silently met the gaze of the woman by the bed.
After so many years, the image in his memory seemed to have changed little from the present.
Simon remained silent.
The woman was silent for a moment, then tears began to stream down her face in the faint light. Slowly, she covered her face and began to sob, interspersed with murmured, broken words.
"I was only seventeen then, I didn't know what to do at all… I gave the Levensons a lot of money every year, I hoped you could have a better life… That year they took you on a trip, and then they never returned to Birmingham… I looked for you later… I didn't expect you to appear in San Francisco…"
Simon listened silently to the woman for a long time before interrupting her with a somewhat stiff tone: "Don't cry".
Upon hearing Simon's words, the woman immediately stopped sobbing, covering her mouth and forcibly suppressing it, seemingly worried that any further whimpers would displease the person on the bed.
After a while, she wiped the tears from her face, looked up at Simon, and said, "You, I can give you anything you want. It's all my fault, please don't hurt the Johnston family, and Janette. Janette, Janette really loves you".
Simon was silent again for a moment, then spoke, his tone still somewhat stiff, saying, "I never intended to hurt anyone. All of this is just a coincidence".
The woman sat in the chair, looking clearly unconvinced yet afraid not to believe him.
A moment later, Simon said, "Did you tell anyone?"
The woman shook her head: "No".
"I don't want things to get that complicated. Since you haven't told anyone, then let's forget all of this."
"Hmm?"
"Let's pretend nothing ever happened. I don't know you, and you don't know me".
The woman raised her hand again: "You, really?"
"I'm a little sleepy. You should go".
The woman looked at Simon intently for a moment, then carefully got up and silently left the hospital room.
The next morning, after another full body check-up, Simon left the medical centre surrounded by a large group of people.
The large number of reporters who had been waiting outside the medical centre for three full days caused a near riot when they saw Simon appear, and they followed him all the way to the Johnston family estate before giving up.
At noon, the Johnston family arranged a luncheon to welcome Simon home from the hospital, and also invited some guests.
Things had to be this way.
Everyone was very concerned about whether Simon could still ensure the operation of Cersei Capital.
Furthermore, Raymond Johnston formally introduced his sister, Veronica Johnston, to Simon at the banquet. Although Veronica appeared somewhat unusual in front of Simon, everyone simply took it as a normal reaction when strangers first meet.
Although he had recalled more things, Simon did not intend to let some old past events disrupt his life. He made up his mind to treat everything that had happened in the past few days as a dream.