Chapter 364: Grand Carnival

The fishing rod traced an arc, and the hook dropped into the calm lake with a soft plop, sending ripples outward. Duke snapped the handle into the custom holder on the gunwale and settled in patiently to wait for a bite. Not far beside him, Ivanka Trump finished baiting her hook and did the same.

After securing her rod, Ivanka slipped on a pair of sunglasses. She rummaged through a paper bag and, like a magician, produced the DV she had used the day before. Flipping open the screen and powering it on, she made a few quick adjustments before aiming the lens at the scenery along both sides of the lake.

Clearly, she was far more interested in the picturesque scenery around the lake than the quiet, patient atmosphere required for fishing.

"You came prepared." Duke shifted his gaze from the fishing rod to her.

Ivanka gestured with the DV in her hand. "Want me to get you in the shot?"

Duke shook his head. Ivanka was mindful of it, deliberately avoiding his position whenever she panned the camera.

Watching her film with such enthusiasm, Duke could not help but ask, "I thought you weren't that into movies. How did you suddenly get so interested in filming?"

Temporarily turning off the DV, Ivanka looked out at the peaks on one side of the lake. "I'm just really interested in New Zealand's scenery."

She slowly drew her gaze back, finally settling it on Duke. "School is about to start, and I'll be leaving New Zealand in a week. I need to keep some souvenirs. I probably won't have many chances to come out here in the future."

Duke gave a gentle nod, but he did not know what to say.

Compared to Tina Fey, Ivanka Trump lacked a great deal of experience, but she had left an excellent impression on him regarding her work. Not only was she intelligent and perceptive, but she was also willing to persevere and work hard. Though proud, she wasn't arrogant. She had a clear understanding of her own capabilities and possessed a strength most people her age did not have—she knew exactly what she wanted and had been constantly fighting for it.

Among people her age, her abilities were not the strongest Duke had ever seen, but her determination and willpower were the firmest.

This world was unfair. For instance, Ivanka was naturally born with a much higher starting point than the vast majority of people. But in some ways, the world was fair; no matter how high a person's starting point was, if they refused to put in the effort, they were destined never to achieve true success.

Duke knew perfectly well that Ivanka was just like Sofia Coppola had been back then. She was only staying by his side to temper herself. How could someone like her ever be content just being someone else's assistant?

He was not surprised by her words in the least; she definitely had much grander goals.

"God favors New Zealand so much."

Seemingly intoxicated by the beautiful scenery, Ivanka actually offered a few small sighs of emotion. "Glaciers and snow-capped mountains, meadows and forests, lakes and oceans, sunrises and sunsets, the Milky Way and starry skies. Having the chance to see all this beautiful scenery even once in a lifetime would be enough, yet I have seen it countless times here in New Zealand."

Hearing her say this, Duke also turned his eyes toward the distance.

The small lake was as flat as a mirror, its lush jade waters brimming with life. To the east of the lake were majestic, snow-capped mountains, and to the west was a green prairie that looked like a carpet. Combined with colors straight out of an oil painting, it was simply an expensive picture scroll.

As a director, Duke had traveled across both the South Island and North Island of New Zealand during the location scouting process. God had indeed shown bias toward this nation, where heavy industry was extremely underdeveloped.

On this island country, you only had to look up to see the deepest blue skies and massive, cotton-candy white clouds. Crystal-clear green streams nestled against villages, flowing quietly, while fog-wreathed glaciers and jade-like lakes were simply as countless as the big and small celebrities on the streets of Los Angeles.

No matter how beautiful the scenery was, it could only intoxicate Duke temporarily. He turned the conversation toward a more practical direction. "What are your plans for the next step? I remember the Wharton School of Business places a heavy emphasis on practical experience."

Ivanka put away the DV and suddenly smiled. "I actually do have an idea, and it was inspired by you."

"Inspired by me?" Duke paused. It did not seem like he had offered any advice, and he could not help but ask, "Do you want to branch out into the film industry?"

"No." Ivanka shook her head. Without beating around the bush, she said directly, "Yesterday, I asked you why you were taking a selfie, and you said you could post it on the internet to share with other people."

Hearing this, Duke frowned, not having a clear impression of it. "Did I say that?"

However, seeing Ivanka's earnest expression, Duke was certain he had said it. It had likely just been an offhand remark; he had not expected her mind to be so sharp.

But Duke remained composed and instead asked, "Could I know what you have in mind?"

"It's not a very mature idea, just some vague concepts."

Sitting across from her was a truly successful person. Though confident, Ivanka was not arrogant. She smiled with a touch of restraint and thought seriously for a moment before slowly speaking. "It's a small idea regarding websites. I think the internet has drastically bridged the distance between people, allowing information to flow much more freely and smoothly..."

Regarding the various internet concepts Ivanka brought up, although Duke was not a professional, his special background meant he was naturally well aware of them.

"My concept..." Ivanka pivoted to the main point. "Could we create an Instant Sharing type of website? Not like the current forums and blogs, but a much freer and more active website. For instance, you could share all sorts of photos, and even videos!"

Duke was not surprised that Ivanka was interested in the internet. Anyone with enough business acumen could see its massive potential. But for Ivanka to associate a video-sharing website with his casual, offhand remark...

He looked at Ivanka Trump. The tremendous success this girl had once achieved was due to far more than just her family background.

"What do you think?" Ivanka's behavior was more like a student eager to get her teacher's approval.

"Your idea is very good."

The matter of fishing was completely tossed aside by the two of them. Duke thought it over for a moment before saying, "In my personal opinion, future video websites might develop just like the portal websites have. Of course, my expertise is in film, so what I say might not be entirely correct."

"I think I can give it a try."

With Duke saying so, Ivanka's resolve seemed firmer, and her agile mind brought her quite a few new ideas. "Do you think this will work? First, I'll build a campus network within the Wharton School of Business. Video sharing might be difficult right now, so we can start with photos. Once the website reaches a certain scale, we can expand it to the entire University of Pennsylvania. If there really is hope for success, we can expand further, like to the Ivy League."

Although it was just a rough, simple idea, it was a relatively safe approach. After all, diving blindly into a massive investment carried far too much risk.

Duke did not say anything, merely nodding.

Ivanka's train of thought grew increasingly clear. "Students are one of the main forces on the internet. When they enter society, they can often influence a lot of the people around them. If I use schools as a fulcrum, I feel the chances of success will be much greater."

"And the technology?" Duke reminded her.

"The University of Pennsylvania isn't lacking in technical talent." Ivanka thought for a moment and added, "If it really doesn't work out, we can always offer high salaries to poach people from Silicon Valley."

At this point, her passionate mood suddenly dropped. "This is just an idea on my lips. I'm only a little over eighteen years old."

"Age is not an obstacle to success," Duke said, offering a rare word of encouragement.

"Thank you." Ivanka smiled. "Thank you, Duke. You've always been encouraging me."

"You're welcome." Duke continued with their earlier topic. "Evie, don't you want to turn this concept into reality?"

"I really want to, but I lack the capital." Ivanka's head was still very clear. In this world, knowing it was one thing, but doing it was another entirely. "I don't have the technology, and I don't have the funds."

Duke knew the prospects of video-sharing websites, but turning those prospects into reality was not something he could achieve just by knowing about it.

But without a doubt, this was an opportunity, a chance to try. Even if it failed, it would not matter much.

"Evie, I think your concept is very good." Duke did not beat around the bush and said directly, "After you go back to school, come up with a detailed proposal. If it passes my investment team's review, I can invest in your website."

Ivanka was taken aback. She had a bit of money and had originally been hesitating over whether to try running it, never expecting Duke to implicitly support her.

Duke added, "Go back and draw up a detailed plan."

If the plan did not pass the audit, he still wouldn't invest. In truth, with the rise of the internet, there would undoubtedly be no shortage of video websites popping up, but how many of them would actually achieve true success in the end?

For a considerable number of things in this world, even if you knew them ahead of time, would they definitely turn into successful operations?

In the following time, Ivanka Trump was visibly distracted. She simply put away her fishing rod and sat at the bow of the boat in a daze. Duke, on the other hand, was much more relaxed. After all, the success or failure of this matter was not that important to him. He enthusiastically threw himself back into the sport of fishing and gained a handsome haul, catching over a dozen of the New Zealand trout that Billy Boyd had mentioned.

Time flew by. Duke packed up his fishing gear, and Ivanka rowed the wooden boat back to the small pier. Billy Boyd and Ian McKellen were already waiting there. After checking each other's catches, the four of them took two off-road vehicles, just as they had when they arrived, and returned to the crew's camp.

Over the next week, Duke completed the filming for the siege of Minas Tirith. The crew returned to Wellington to continue the scenes in the soundstages. However, with the arrival of mid-February, it was also time for Ivanka Trump to leave New Zealand and return to the University of Pennsylvania.

"I will put together a comprehensive plan!"

Standing on the private tarmac, Ivanka Trump seemed to have built up a certain level of confidence after this period of thought. "Duke, I won't let you down."