My teacher is Bruce Lee, who dominated Hollywood.

Chapter 27 Countdown 24 Hours

"A bet?" Ashley turned around with interest. "Mr. Qin, you really are a gambler."

Qin Han put down his coffee cup: "You just mentioned the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal."

"Let's bet on these two things. If I win, as the lead screenwriter of 'Enter the Dragon,' I want to have the right to advise on the director and the cast of the main characters before filming officially begins, and... have a veto right."

Hollywood has a strict hierarchical system.

Despite being called the "top screenwriter," screenwriters don't have a high status in this era, and they usually don't have much to do after the script is submitted.

For a screenwriter to try to interfere with casting and director selection is undoubtedly challenging the rules of Hollywood.

Fred Weintraub was about to speak up to smooth things over when he saw Ashley laugh.

In the eyes of the Warner president, this was nothing more than the performance of a young, ambitious genius eager to prove himself.

If this ambition is properly controlled, it is not a bad thing, but rather a kind of lovely "enterprising spirit".

"It's good that young people have ideas." He took a sip of whiskey.

"Casting and director appointments... Since you've brought this up in this way, I'll give you that opportunity."

Ashley adopted a dealer's air, swirling his glass of wine: "Let's talk about the Vietnam War."

Clearly, war is more appealing than the bugging of the political arena.

"It's almost impossible for Nixon to withdraw with dignity. North Vietnam's attitude is very tough, and this war will drag on for at least another year or two."

"Great minds think alike," Fred chimed in. "My friends at the Pentagon told me that the military budget has already been prepared for next year."

As Qin Han listened to their analysis, his smile deepened. He turned to look at the clock on the wall; it was already past 3 a.m.

"It's 3 a.m. Los Angeles time now, January 26th."

Silently calculating the time difference in my mind: France is 9 hours ahead of the US West Coast, which means there are less than 24 hours left until the news is released in Paris at noon tomorrow.

"I'll bet..." Qin Han slowly stood up: "Within 24 hours, Dr. Henry Kissinger will officially sign the armistice agreement in Paris."

"The United States will withdraw all its troops."

"Pfft—" Fred spat out the mouthful of whiskey he had just put in his mouth, spilling it onto the expensive carpet.

He didn't bother wiping the wine stains from the corner of his mouth, staring wide-eyed at Qin Han as if he were looking at a madman:

"Qin! Do you know what you're saying?"

"That's absolutely impossible!" Ashley put down his glass as well. "Mr. Qin, I have many old friends in the Democratic National Committee."

"If there were really a major operation of this magnitude, there would be no way I wouldn't have heard a thing."

"Even in the ongoing Paris peace talks, the two sides are deadlocked on the issue of prisoner repatriation."

"Sign an agreement? That's utterly a pipe dream!"

As the head of one of Hollywood's seven major figures, Ashley considers himself to be at the top of the American information chain.

How could a young Chinese man who crawled out of the slums possibly know news that even he didn't know?

Faced with their questions, Qin Han remained unfazed: "That's why I said it's a gamble."

He sat back down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said, "Since it's gambling, of course we should choose the game with the highest odds to make it more interesting, right?"

Ashley was somewhat tempted by his nonchalant expression.

Could it be... that he really has some unknown intelligence channels?

That journalists' summit? Or is it the news network of that crazy woman, Lorna Barrett?

But in any case, reason told him that the probability of this happening was infinitely close to zero.

"Alright! If you win, forget about the right to make suggestions; I'll approve all the people you choose, as long as their prices are reasonable!"

He also lay down on the soft sofa and said to Qin Han with a smile:

"But Mr. Qin, what if you lose? What offer can you possibly give me that will tempt me?"

Just when everyone thought he was turning the tables, Qin Han seemed to have been prepared all along: "If I lose... I'll provide Warner Bros. with another script for free, without taking a penny."

There was a moment of silence among the four of them.

Then, a hearty laugh erupted.

"Hahahaha!" Ashley laughed so hard he almost fell over, pointing at Qin Han and saying to Fred, "Look at Fred, this is what young people are like these days!"

"You'll write my script if you lose? Qin, you're not losing out either way!"

In his view, this was not a punishment at all; it was clearly a reward!

This is like an unknown painter saying to the director of the Louvre, "If I lose, I'll give you a painting to hang next to the Mona Lisa for free."

For an unknown Chinese screenwriter, getting Warner Bros. to film his script, even without pay, is a huge endorsement of his qualifications.

This is an attempt to raise one's own value!

"Qin, you're quite the cunning fellow." Fred shook his head with a smile, clearly taking this as a kind of wisdom from Qin Han—using this method to deepen his relationship with Warner.

Qin Han did not defend himself against the two men's teasing.

He simply looked at Ashley quietly, his smile becoming somewhat mysterious: "Mr. Ashley, although I don't think I'll lose."

"But if something really does happen... then Warner Bros. will definitely send me a villa for getting this script."

"Trust me, you definitely won't want to miss that story."

His tone was so certain that Ashley, for a moment, had the illusion that he had just missed a gold mine.

What exactly is that script?

But soon, reason prevailed again.

Ashley shook off the absurd thought from his mind, stood up, glanced at his watch, and said, "Alright, gentlemen."

"The bet is on. It's getting late, and I should go home and face my nagging wife."

"We'll see in 24 hours. Don't go back to that slum tonight either. I've already arranged for a suite at the Sheraton Hotel next to the studio, and the cost will be charged to the company account."

"Fred, see them off for me."

……

At four in the morning, Los Angeles finally had some of the chill that winter should bring.

The extended Lincoln slowly pulled up in front of the Sheraton Hotel.

Fred got out of the car himself and opened the car door for the two of them.

"Qin." Just as Qin Han was about to step through the revolving door, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Can you tell me the truth?"

"Regarding the Vietnam War...did you hear some inside information at that press summit in New York?"

After all, this kid hangs out with that Lorna Barrett.

Qin Han stopped, turned around, chuckled, and shook his head: "No, Mr. Fred, that was just a guess of mine."

However, he deliberately winked at the Warner producer, and for a fleeting moment, his expression resembled that of a cheater peeking at their hole cards at a poker table:

"By the way, I heard that a new Disney theme park opened in Orlando, Florida?"

The topic jumped so quickly that Fred couldn't keep up: "Yes, what's wrong?"

"If I were you, I would use all my spare cash to buy Disney stock as soon as the stock market opens tomorrow morning."

After saying that, before Fred could react, he turned and walked through the revolving door:

Good night, Mr. Fred.