"Cough, cough, I don't think it's necessary. I should be able to finish everything within the original two-week timeline!" After some hesitation, Nancy decided it was better to "rip the bandage off quickly" and finish the post-production for Hotel for Dogs as soon as possible, so she could give herself a break sooner.
Wayne, on the other hand, was left puzzled.
It was rare for him to be so generous as to offer Nancy an additional week for production, and yet she declined?
Who turns down overtime willingly?
Oh well, the reason Wayne was willing to extend the post-production time was primarily because the rights to The Notebook had already been sold, and his system funds were still quite full at the moment.
On top of that, Taken and Resident Evil 1 & 2 had just finished filming and entered post-production, so he likely wouldn't be short on system funds anytime soon.
After all, the production costs for Resident Evil 1 & 2 had been pushed down to $175 million thanks to him working with Industrial Light & Magic.
Once completed, these projects were expected to return $525 million!
Given this, Wayne wasn't too worried about rushing the post-production for Hotel for Dogs.
Unfortunately, Nancy had no clue about any of this.
Wanting to avoid being "manipulated" by Wayne again, she reluctantly passed up on the benefits that had practically landed right in her lap.
Wayne just shook his head and didn't say anything more.
Afterward, he checked in on Lily and Camilla, making plans with them for the next day to reward them properly, then left the set.
This time, though, instead of heading back to Wayne Manor, he went to Avril's place.
Tonight would be Avril's first official appearance at Britney's concert as a guest performer.
Even though she was just a supporting act, she still had to attend the afternoon rehearsal.
Naturally, as her good boyfriend, Wayne went with her.
Honestly, Wayne was surprised at how much time and energy he was willing to invest in Avril. Maybe it was because she gave him a sense of young love that he had never quite experienced with anyone else, making up for some of the regrets he had from his youth.
After all, not being able to date in high school or college was something that had always bothered him in his previous life.
Of course, by the time he got to college, which was a film school, even if he had wanted to date, nobody would have given him the chance.
"Ah! Honey, what are you doing here?"
"I came to be with you for rehearsal. What if you got too nervous by yourself?"
"Oh, stop it!"
Avril, trying to conserve her energy for the evening performance, resisted the urge for a little pre-lunch "dessert." Instead, she gave Wayne a sweet kiss on the cheek.
To be honest, Wayne's presence completely calmed her down, eliminating any of her earlier nervousness.
And Wayne's arrival brought more than just peace of mind.
Tall, handsome, with a unique charisma, and dressed in a custom-made suit with a collectible wristwatch, Wayne made an impression just by standing there. Add to that the four bodyguards surrounding him, and the concert manager quickly ran over after getting word.
After all, the manager had already received a heads-up from his boss, Howard Stringer, about who the guest performer was dating.
And he knew that Wayne was someone even his boss had to curry favor with.
Because of Wayne's appearance, Avril instantly received more attention than Britney, the star of the concert.
This wasn't surprising to Wayne, though, since this was part of his intention.
What Wayne hadn't anticipated, however, was that aside from Britney's assistant and manager, her infamous "vampire dad" was also there. When he found out Wayne had arrived, he dragged Britney, who was about to go on stage for rehearsal, over to greet him.
"Ah! Mr. Wayne, I didn't expect to see you here so early! It's been a long time!"
"Hello, Mr. Spears, it has been a while."
Wayne wasn't particularly close to Jamie Spears, so instead of hugging, he simply shook hands politely.
Jamie Spears didn't dare show any displeasure.
Sure, Britney was incredibly popular, but movie stars were at the top of the entertainment world's hierarchy. Not to mention, Wayne's earnings as a top-tier actor rivaled, or even surpassed, Britney's.
More importantly, Britney was just a money-making tool for the industry, while Wayne was capital.
"It's such an honor to have you attending Britney's concert!"
"Oh, not at all. I personally appreciate Ms. Spears' talent and music."
After a few pleasantries, Jamie Spears tactfully excused himself, taking Britney's manager and assistant along, leaving Britney alone with Wayne — the intent was obvious.
"Hello, Mr. Wayne, long time no see."
Britney, somewhat awkward, greeted Wayne.
At Lily's birthday party, she and Wayne had gotten along quite well, but that was mostly due to the influence of alcohol. Normally, with all the pressure she was under, her father and manager wouldn't let her drink to "protect the cash cow."
Now, without the effects of alcohol, Britney felt a bit embarrassed when she thought about how she had acted.
Wayne could sense her discomfort and chuckled, "Ms. Spears, there's no need to feel awkward. I never force women into anything. If you're not comfortable with any of this, I can have a word with Mr. Spears, and he won't bother you anymore."
"Thank you for that..."
Britney tucked a stray lock of her golden hair behind her ear and quickly averted her gaze.
There was no denying it — Wayne's good looks and that smile were like a black hole, drawing anyone in who dared to glance for too long.
If both she and Wayne were single, it might have been a different story. But the truth was, she had a boyfriend, and Wayne had a girlfriend.
Yet as she looked away, Britney couldn't help but feel frustrated and a bit competitive.
Wasn't she beautiful and sexy enough?
Why didn't Wayne seem the least bit interested in her?
Was her charm lacking?
To Wayne, though, while Britney was indeed attractive, she didn't quite measure up to the other women in his life.
"Ms. Spears, you should probably get to rehearsal," Wayne hinted, subtly suggesting she leave.
"Oh, right. I should... I'll see you later," Britney replied, though it wasn't clear if she had picked up on the hint. Either way, she hurried off backstage to prepare for rehearsal.
Wayne then checked in with Avril in the dressing room before settling into the front row of the audience, accompanied by his bodyguards, armed with magazines and newspapers to pass the time.
Despite the bustling activity of stagehands and the continuous lighting and music tests, Wayne remained engrossed in his reading, finding an unexpected sense of calm.
Of course, a rehearsal is just that — a walkthrough, not the real show — so it wrapped up in just over an hour.
"Let's go grab a bite. I read in a magazine that there's a great dessert place nearby."
After rehearsal, Wayne took Avril for a coffee break, leaving the concert venue. Jamie Spears had hoped for more conversation, and even Britney felt a rare sense of regret seeing them go.
"Am I really not attractive to him at all?"
"I mean, Avril's not prettier or sexier than I am..." Britney thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Wayne, unaware of her thoughts, took Avril out for coffee, returning around 5:30 in the afternoon.
To say Britney was popular in the U.S. would be an understatement.
By the time they got back, more than an hour before the concert's scheduled start at 7 PM, the parking lot was already overflowing with cars and people.
The line at the entrance stretched over a hundred meters down the street.
With no other option, Wayne instructed his bodyguards to park the car near a nearby restaurant, and he and Avril walked over.
"Wow, Britney is really something!" Avril remarked in awe as Wayne held her close. Inside, she couldn't help but dream of achieving that level of fame herself.
Wayne saw right through her and smiled. "Believe in yourself. You'll be just as big, if not bigger, someday."
"Really?" Avril beamed at his encouragement, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a big kiss.
Some of Britney's fans overheard Wayne's comment and turned around to see who had the nerve to suggest anyone could surpass their idol.
But after seeing the four large bodyguards surrounding Wayne, they quickly backed down.
"Well, money talks, but no amount of money can make someone as famous as Britney!" they muttered to themselves.
Little did they know they were in for a surprise.
In Wayne's previous life, Avril had indeed been a bit behind Britney at her peak. But in this world, with Wayne backing her and with all those classic songs "borrowed" from his old world, it wouldn't be hard for Avril to outshine Britney.
After more than 20 minutes, Wayne and Avril finally made their way into the venue through the VIP entrance.
"Good luck! But don't get too nervous."
"Thanks, honey, I won't!"
Avril gave Wayne a quick kiss before rushing backstage.
Wayne then took his seat in the VIP section, surrounded by his bodyguards.
In America, whether it's a sporting event or a concert, the front rows are always reserved for celebrities and the wealthy.
Given Britney Spears' fame, it's no surprise that many celebrities would attend her concert.
Wayne had anticipated this.
But what he didn't expect was that some people would arrive even earlier than he did.
After all, the concert was still an hour away from starting.
However, it soon became clear why these people had arrived so early.
"Ah! Are you Mr. Wayne? I'm Cameron Diaz. I didn't expect to run into you here! I feel so lucky!"
Cameron Diaz, Amy Adams, Rose Byrne.
Seeing the familiar yet unacquainted faces next to his seat, Wayne realized that the news of his attending the concert had leaked.
His first thought was that it might have been Howard Stringer. After all, Britney Spears is associated with Sony Music, and this concert was organized by Sony.
But then he dismissed that idea.
If Howard Stringer wanted to curry favor with him, he wouldn't have chosen these Hollywood actresses.
The reason being, these actresses are now fairly accessible to him and no longer very appealing.
Their presence here is more beneficial to them. If they could get Wayne's attention, they would gain access to a steady stream of high-quality resources.
As Sony Columbia's president, Howard Stringer clearly wouldn't go out of his way for just any actresses.
So the leak was likely from Harvey, the concert organizer, Jamie Spears, or even some of the staff from the afternoon rehearsal.
Besides the A-list actresses like Cameron Diaz and the already well-known Amy Adams and Rose Byrne, he also spotted newer faces like Ebonie Tabron, who was just starting out and had little fame.
So the leak was probably not from just one source.
Wayne shook his head inwardly, not paying it too much mind. He chatted casually with these glamorous women while waiting for the concert to start.
Of course, celebrities attending the concert weren't limited to this group.
Around 6:30 PM, more celebrities began to arrive.
Most of these people were from Los Angeles, so they were initially stunned to see Wayne surrounded by a group of beautiful women, like a star surrounded by admirers. They quickly recognized him and came over to greet him.
Among them, only a small portion were from the film industry; the majority were from the music and sports circles.
For example, Christina Aguilera, who gained fame for singing the theme song of Disney's 1998 version of "Mulan" and was nominated for the Grammy 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' in 2000 and 2001.
And Kobe Bryant, whose popularity and status with the Los Angeles Lakers were gradually catching up with Shaquille O'Neal.
To be honest, seeing Kobe Bryant immediately made Wayne think about avoiding helicopters in the future.
Well, also less flying in commercial and private planes.
After all, being in the air can be very dangerous if something goes wrong.
Aside from these local celebrities, the massive popularity of Britney Spears also drew several out-of-town celebrities.
Of course, these guests were often not as famous—either past their prime or newcomers—coming to ride on Britney's coattails.