Chapter 321: The Biggest Surprise During Filming

"Who is she?" Scarlett Johansson asked curiously, watching the blonde waitress walk away. "She seems to have something against you, Duke."

"A girl I met in New York."

A knowing look immediately appeared on Scarlett's face.

"Your ex-girlfriend?" she asked.

"Scar!" Duke looked at her.

Scarlett lowered her head. "Oh, my mistake."

The waitress soon returned with their coffee. Her professionalism was excellent; aside from her initial surprise, she carried herself exactly as a cafe waitress should.

She politely placed the coffee in front of Duke. "Your latte, sir."

"Thank you."

Noticing the lingering baby fat on her cheeks, Duke asked curiously, "Evie, what are you doing here?"

"I'm a student at the Wharton School of Business," Ivanka Trump replied.

Duke didn't press further, merely pointing at her uniform.

Ivanka Trump realized what he meant and shrugged. "I'm working for my living expenses."

"Will that be all?" she added. "If so, I'm leaving. My shift is over."

"Hey, Evie."

Seeing a billionaire's daughter willing to work for her own living expenses significantly improved Duke's impression of her.

"Do you have time to talk? I think there's a little misunderstanding between us."

Ivanka Trump hesitated for a few seconds, then gave a slow nod and turned away.

"Duke, who is she?" Scarlett Johansson asked, clearly curious.

"Ivanka Trump."

Seeing Scarlett shake her head in confusion, Duke explained, "Her father is Donald Trump."

"Oh, so she's the daughter of that pretentious billionaire."

Scarlett frowned, muttering to herself, "Her family is so wealthy. Why would she come to a place like this to work?"

Just as not everyone from the slums turned into a mugger or an addict, not all wealthy heirs were like Paris Hilton. Even Paris Hilton eventually learned to work hard for her career. The truly exceptional ones found various ways to challenge themselves as they grew up.

Scarlett Johansson's question was soon answered when Ivanka Trump returned and sat down next to Duke.

"Since the eleventh grade, my father has required me to cover part of my own living expenses," she said.

She swirled the water glass in her hand and took a sip. "Now that I'm at the Wharton School of Business, I have to cover all my expenses except for tuition."

"You're a lot like Duke," Scarlett Johansson chimed in. "After he turned sixteen, his godmother made him earn his own living expenses... Oh, my godmother is Duke's mom."

Ivanka Trump turned to look at Duke, looking a bit skeptical. "Really?"

"Really," Duke nodded.

The shared experience eased the slight tension between them. He continued, "Overall, it wasn't too bad. My family covered the expensive tuition, and since I was the high school quarterback, I managed to get a partial scholarship."

Places like his Mountain High School and the California Institute of the Arts were private schools. Institutions with that level of guaranteed educational quality charged terrifyingly high tuition fees, easily reaching tens of thousands of dollars a year. It was one of the reasons for the rigid social stratification in North America. The poor generally couldn't afford good schools, making so-called educational equality—much like freedom—little more than empty talk in this country.

"I have a scholarship too."

As if trying to compete with Duke again, Ivanka Trump added, "It's just that my expenses are a bit high."

"I understand."

Looking at Ivanka's clothes and bag, Duke nodded knowingly. "Girls' expenses are generally higher."

Ivanka didn't argue, simply lowering her head to sip her water.

Duke suddenly recalled their conversation from that night. "I remember you mentioning that you were working part-time as a model," he asked. "The income should be pretty decent, shouldn't it?"

"I only did it for a very short time."

Looking up, Ivanka tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I took some photos for a few minor magazines, then gave up on modeling as a part-time job. The modeling industry..."

She shook her head. "It's too chaotic. It doesn't suit me at all."

"But it can bring you considerable fame," Duke said deliberately. "Don't you want to use the modeling circle as a stepping stone into the entertainment industry and become a star?"

"Do I need to?"

Although she was at the tail end of her rebellious phase, she was still quite clear-headed.

"I'm not that spendthrift from the Hilton Family. I have zero interest in becoming an entertainment star," she said.

Duke picked up his coffee cup and took a slow sip. After a long moment, he finally spoke. "Not many people can withstand the temptation of fame."

"My goal is business," Ivanka Trump said firmly, "not being a celebrity."

She smiled confidently. "With my background, achieving success in business will be much harder than becoming a supermodel or a star. But that just gives me the drive to keep moving forward and makes the effort worthwhile."

That was indeed true. For the daughter of Donald Trump, a titan of business and entertainment, getting famous wouldn't be difficult at all.

After chatting a bit more, Duke's impression of her improved even further. People willing to put in genuine effort always deserved respect. He took the initiative to extend his hand to her.

"Evie, I imagine you won't hold on to that little misunderstanding, right?"

Ivanka turned to him and gave his hand a light shake. "As long as you don't think I look bloated."

Seeing the two of them gradually warm up to each other after their earlier tension, Scarlett Johansson discreetly rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Another woman charmed by him."

A phone suddenly rang. Scarlett's manager, Mary, answered it, then spoke up. "Director Coppola has asked us to head back to the set."

"Alright, let's go then." Scarlett downed her juice, got up, and waved to them. "Goodbye, Duke. Goodbye, Ivanka."

Just as Scarlett and Mary walked out of the cafe, Ivanka Trump checked her watch. "I should get going too."

"So soon?" Duke gestured toward the campus outside. "I was hoping you could be my guide and show me around this famous business school."

Hearing this, Ivanka Trump looked instantly guarded. "You didn't come here specifically for me?"

Duke gave a helpless expression. "My friend Sofia Coppola's film crew is shooting at a nearby middle school. As you just saw, I came here to see my mother's goddaughter."

Ivanka Trump stood up. "Let's go. I'll show you around."

Exiting the cafe, the two strolled along a quiet campus path, passing an older building as they headed toward a spacious square.

Duke and Ivanka chatted as they walked. The issue between them had only been a minor verbal misunderstanding; once they cleared the air, it was easily forgotten.

They hadn't walked far, however, before Duke's phone rang. After taking the call, he flashed an apologetic smile at Ivanka Trump. "Sorry, we'll have to end the tour here for today. I have an urgent matter and need to rush back to New York."

Saying this, Duke offered his hand. "Thank you for being my guide."

"You're welcome."

After bidding farewell to Ivanka, Duke quickly walked out of the campus gates and got into his waiting car. He headed straight to the airport and caught the earliest flight back to New York.

Stepping out of Kennedy Airport in New York, a Rosenberg Family car was already waiting. Once Duke got in, the vehicle nimbly wove through the congested roads, heading toward a hospital on the Upper East Side.

The moment the car stopped at the hospital entrance, Duke got out and hurried into the building. Tina Fey, who had called him earlier, was already waiting in the lobby.

"How is he?" Duke asked anxiously.

"This way."

Tina Fey led the way, speaking as she walked. "It's nothing major. The fans at the event were a little too enthusiastic. They rushed the venue, which caused an accident."

Their pace was brisk as they hurried up the stairs to the third floor.

"George was bumped by a fan," Tina Fey continued. "He fell and suffered some superficial scrapes."

"That's a relief."

Reaching the third floor and entering a room, Duke first spotted Liam Neeson. He nodded to the actor, then walked over to his mother. "Where's George?" he asked.

"He just fell asleep."

Mrs. Leah pointed to the chair opposite her. After Duke sat down, she added, "I've already notified George's girlfriend. She's rushing over from Los Angeles as we speak."

Duke had rushed back from Philadelphia specifically because he had received a call from his mother saying that George Lucas had suddenly been injured.

The cause of the incident was simple: Star Wars fans were brimming with anticipation. With Star Wars Prequel: The Phantom Menace slated for release during this year's Summer Season, George Lucas had brought several key crew members over for a promotional event. The on-site security was insufficient for the massive, overly enthusiastic crowd. When Lucas was getting into his car to leave, the situation suddenly lost control, and a few crazed fans charged forward, knocking him to the ground.

George Lucas was getting on in years. Because the incident was so sudden and the impact relatively forceful, he had nearly lost consciousness. The Rosenberg Family had always maintained a close relationship with him, so with something like this happening while Duke was nearby, rushing over immediately was a given.

Fortunately, after an examination, it was determined that George Lucas wasn't seriously hurt; he had merely suffered a few scrapes from the fall.

Duke stayed at the hospital until quite late. He waited for George Lucas to wake up, went in to exchange a few words with him, and only returned home with his mother after Lucas's girlfriend arrived in New York from Los Angeles.

With his return to New York, Duke's vacation was officially over. He was getting ready to head back to New Zealand to begin post-production on Daylight, where a three-timeline narrative edit awaited him.