Chapter 262: This Is Yours
Chapter 262: This Is Yours
Hearing Eric’s words, a flash of inspiration crossed Donald’s mind, but he failed to grasp it. He quickly asked, “Eric, what do you mean?”
Eric said, “I mean your direction for financing is wrong. According to the information I had people gather, among your projects, aside from the other investors, the banks alone have already loaned you more than a billion dollars. If your projects stop construction and end up unfinished, the banks will suffer the greatest losses. So instead of futilely trying to bring in new investors under the current circumstances, you should focus on persuading the banks to continue lending money to you.”
After hearing Eric’s words, Donald Truplang became so excited he almost jumped up. At the same time, he wanted to slap himself hard across the face. It was not as though he had never considered this before. Otherwise, he would not have worked so hard to persuade the banks to agree to delay the annual interest payments. However, after the banks agreed to defer the interest, Donald felt satisfied. Coupled with the banks’ repeated refusals afterward, he had changed the direction of his financing efforts. Because of that wrong step, he had already wasted several months.
“Eric, I really don’t know how to thank you,” Donald Truplang said gratefully as he heavily slapped Eric’s shoulder twice. Then he casually stuffed the little loli who had been sitting on his lap into Eric’s arms. “This is yours now.”
Eric blankly caught the little loli, who had been startled silly by her father’s sudden movement. He thought to himself that this gift was way too expensive. He would have to coax her, raise her, and could only look but not… ah, well, alright then.
But Donald Truplang immediately continued, “Eric, sorry, but I need to return to the company immediately and gather people to discuss this matter. I’ve already wasted four months. God, four whole months! I can’t afford to waste another second. So can you help bring Ivanka back to her mother?”
Eric immediately nodded.
Seeing Eric agree, Donald turned around and left without another glance back. Moments later, only Eric and the little loli in his arms remained in the empty hall.
Watching the sliding doors sway a few times before stopping, Eric finally withdrew his gaze. He lightly pinched Ivanka’s cheek and joked, “Inie, did you hear that? Your dad gave you to me. Come back to Los Angeles with me.”
The cheek-pinching instantly snapped the little loli out of her daze. She clenched her tiny fists and punched Eric a few times while angrily shouting, “You’re awful! I already said you’re not allowed to pinch my cheeks!”
After saying that, the little loli struggled free from Eric’s embrace and sat off to one side, though she continued glaring at him furiously.
The little person’s fists had no strength at all, so Eric merely grinned and said, “Alright, Inie, let’s go find your mother.”
Ivanka subconsciously wanted to nod, but immediately remembered something. “Um, Eric, I still have something I want to discuss with you.”
Eric became interested again. “Let me hear it.”
“I recently started learning acting, and I even joined my school drama club. They all say I’m improving very quickly.” Seeming to recall something she was proud of, the little loli’s cheeks flushed red. She continued, “Eric, Daddy always says you’re an amazing director. How about letting me act in one of your movies?”
“Oh, that won’t be easy,” Eric deliberately dragged out his tone. “A lot of people fight desperately to appear in my movies. You won’t even let me pinch your cheeks, so why should I agree to you?”
Naturally, the little loli could not tell Eric was joking. She widened her eyes and glared at him angrily for several seconds. Seeing that Eric showed no sign of relenting, she hesitated briefly before seemingly making a huge decision. Closing her eyes, she leaned her little face slightly toward Eric and softly said in a tone full of heroic sacrifice, “Then… you’re only allowed to pinch once. And not hard.”
Looking at Ivanka’s flushed little face, a sense of guilt rose in Eric’s heart. He raised his hand, only to immediately lower it again in surrender. “Alright, no pinching then. I promise you.”
Hearing she no longer had to endure the “torture,” Ivanka showed absolutely no courtesy toward Eric. She darted aside with a whoosh and sweetly declared, “You already promised just now, so you’re not allowed to go back on your word.”
“Of course,” Eric nodded. “But Inie, if you want to act in movies, you’ll still need your parents’ permission.”
Ivanka immediately rolled her eyes at Eric. “You’re really dumb. If they didn’t agree, why would they send me to acting classes?”
Thinking about it, Eric realized that actually made sense. In his previous life, Donald Truplang had not even objected when his sixteen-year-old daughter went into modeling, much less acting. The modeling world was far more chaotic than Hollywood.
Still, mocking him immediately after getting what she wanted made this sharp-tongued little loli way too much.
Eric snorted twice and was just about to come up with an excuse to tease the little girl back when the door leading to the screening hall suddenly opened. A male theater employee rushed in hurriedly. Upon spotting Eric, he immediately sighed in relief. “Mr. Williams, so you really are here. The premiere starts in two minutes. Everyone’s waiting for you.”
“Oh, I’ll be right there,” Eric replied to the employee. He no longer had time to bicker with the little loli. Standing up, he said, “Let’s go, Inie. Time to watch the movie.”
Ivanka nodded, jumped off the sofa, and obediently grabbed one of Eric’s hands as they headed toward the screening hall together.
…
The McCallister family was once again preparing to leave for Christmas vacation. This time, although Kevin was not left behind again, he accidentally boarded a flight to New York instead. At the same time, the two foolish thieves, Harry and Marvin, escaped from prison and arrived in New York as well. No longer targeting private homes, they set their sights on a toy store, which seemed easier to rob successfully. After Kevin checked into the Plaza Hotel, he got lost while wandering outside and encountered the two foolish thieves once again at Duncan’s Toy Chest. Thus, another hilarious story began.
To be honest, although Home Alone 2: Lost in New York had a much richer plot and added several side stories, such as the strange pigeon lady in Central Park and the greedy hotel staff at the Plaza Hotel, there was not much innovation in the actual set pieces. However, this sequel was not entirely unchanged. Compared to the first film, which was completely child-oriented, this sequel added certain adult elements. For example, at the beginning Kevin quoted the subtle adult joke his uncle once told him, there were the two confrontations between the foolish thieves and the fashionable woman, and many of the funny lines delivered by the young foolish thief Marvin. These were all humorous scenes designed for adult viewers.
Regardless, after the film finished screening, Eric still received enthusiastic applause and congratulations from many people.
After attending the post-premiere reception, Eric drove Aniston toward the Truplang family apartment in Manhattan. At that moment, the mother and daughter sat together in the back seat. Since Donald Truplang had left in a hurry and even taken the car with him, and since Donald was likely now completely focused on figuring out how to make the banks continue handing over money, he probably would not even remember to send a car to pick up his wife and daughter. As a result, Eric personally drove the mother and daughter home.
“Sorry for troubling you, Mr. Williams,” Ivana Truplang said personally escorting Eric and Aniston out after they had only stayed briefly upon arriving at the Truplang residence.
“It’s nothing, Mrs. Truplang. If there’s nothing else, we’ll head back now.”
Ivana Truplang was just about to nod when Ivanka, who had been standing nearby the entire time, suddenly tugged at her mother’s clothing. “Mom, the movie, the movie.”
“Oh, this…” Ivana Truplang awkwardly glanced at Eric, clearly somewhat troubled by her little daughter’s behavior.
Seeing the little loli’s hopeful expression, Eric said, “Mrs. Truplang, if both you and Donald agree, then if I need a child actor in the future, I’ll let Inie try out.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Williams,” Ivana replied. She had originally been a model, and like many models, she naturally admired the acting profession. Donald Truplang’s desire for attention was even stronger. If possible, neither husband nor wife objected to letting Ivanka appear in one of Eric’s films.
Because Aniston still had to rush back to Los Angeles to film the final episodes of the first season of Friends, and Eric himself also had many matters to handle, the two hurriedly left New York the very next day and returned to Los Angeles.
After the premiere, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York officially opened on November 17. This time, due to multiple films clashing fiercely during the Thanksgiving season, even though Fox spared no effort in promoting and hyping the movie, the reception for Home Alone 2 was nowhere near as unanimously positive as The Others earlier that month. Media reviews of the film showed a very obvious C-shaped polarization. Many praised the sequel enthusiastically, while many others harshly criticized it as worthless.
The New York Post wrote in support of Home Alone 2: “Many sequels suffer from criticism for feeling familiar, simply because audiences loved the original so much. Their expectations become higher, and thus they become more demanding. But Home Alone 2 fully lives up to the audience’s year-long wait. Although some say it is merely a copy with no improvements, the sequel’s plot is actually richer and more entertaining than the first film. As for calling it a ‘copy,’ that is unavoidable. Without Kevin tormenting the two foolish thieves, would Home Alone still be Home Alone?”
However, represented by Hollywood Online, another group of newspapers fiercely criticized the film: “Home Alone 2 is a completely insincere sequel produced by Williams. Large portions of the plot are repetitive, the story is nonsensical and illogical, and most unbearable of all, this film aimed at children aged six to twelve is filled with adult jokes unsuitable for young viewers. We believe this is an enormous mistake by the film ratings board. Home Alone 2 should at the very least have received a PG-13 rating rather than merely a PG rating.”