Chapter 91: Truth and Dare

"Hi, Duke."

An unfamiliar voice called out a greeting beside him. Duke, who had been staring into the distance, turned his head and nodded. "Hi..."

She was a somewhat familiar-looking little girl, about ten years old. She wore a blue polka-dot dress, her beautiful blonde hair tied neatly back. Her eyes were a rare sight—one blue, one green—and with her long, fluttering eyelashes, she looked both vivid and adorable.

In a flash, Duke remembered. Not only had this girl acted in The Rock, but she was also apparently his mother's goddaughter.

"It's been a long time, Duke." The little girl leaned in closer.

"Yeah."

It was only then that Duke realized he had completely forgotten to ask his mother what her goddaughter's name was.

"What should I call you?" he asked directly.

"You don't know my name?" The little girl stared straight at him, hurt slowly filling her eyes. "I acted in your movie, you know, and Mrs. Leah is my godmother..."

She pouted, seemingly very angry.

"Well then, beautiful young lady."

Regardless, she was his mother's goddaughter; Duke wasn't about to bicker with a little girl. "Can you tell me your name now?"

"But Mom says..." The little girl clasped her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth. "I can't just give my name to strangers, unless I meet a prince."

Duke almost laughed. "Why a prince?"

"Because the stories always say..." The little girl's eyes shifted playfully. "If you meet a prince, you can kiss him."

"What if that prince is in disguise?"

Children's innocent logic could be incredibly amusing sometimes, and Duke deliberately challenged her. "Wouldn't you kiss the wrong person then?"

The little girl put away her playful expression and said very seriously, "Before you meet a prince, you always have to kiss a lot of frogs."

Hearing her feigned earnestness, Duke couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. In this chaotic banquet hall, the little girl in front of him was absolutely the most interesting person he had encountered.

"And there might even be some disgusting toads mixed in with the frogs!" She pointed toward the banquet hall. "Just like the people in there."

"You don't like them?" Duke asked with a smile.

"They're too dull and boring," the little girl said earnestly. "And they love acting all serious. But unfortunately, I can't chase them away, just like him..."

She pointed to the hotel entrance below the terrace, where a bald man was standing. "I think his bald head is a total eyesore, but I don't have the power to chase him off."

"Can you tell me your name now?" Duke realized he had been led in a massive circle by the little girl's words.

"Well..." The little girl leaned on the railing, tilted her head to look at Duke, and suddenly said, "Truth and dare!"

"What?" Duke froze for a moment.

"Don't you want to know my name?" The little girl blinked, her gaze seemingly piercing right to his heart. "You probably also want to know why I'm here, right? Godmother told me that you like fair trades the best. Don't you think truth and dare is perfectly fitting?"

'This kid...' Duke couldn't help but shake his head. She had even dragged his mother into this.

"Don't you think this is a bit childish?" he couldn't help asking.

"I'm only nine years old..." The little girl raised her voice. "I'm not an adult."

Watching the little girl whose eyes were constantly darting around, Duke gradually sobered from his joking mood. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Fine, but since the game was your idea, I get to ask the first question!"

"Stingy..." The girl pouted, but eventually nodded.

"Truth or dare?" Duke asked.

"Truth!"

"Why are you here?" Duke didn't believe for a second that this was a coincidence.

"Sister Sofia brought me here." The little girl answered without any hesitation.

"Now it's my turn!"

Hearing the faint excitement in her voice, Duke knew this girl was definitely a precocious little imp. It seemed his mother's goddaughter was a bit too clever for her own good.

"Truth or dare?" she asked.

"Dare!" Duke didn't even have to think about it.

"No way, you have to pick truth!"

The little girl pursed her lips and glared at Duke, looking ready to bite him if he didn't change his mind. "You must pick truth!"

"Dare!" Duke insisted.

"You're not changing your mind?"

As she spoke, the girl's eyes flicked downward. The bald man at the hotel entrance was exceptionally conspicuous.

"I'm not changing it!"

Suddenly, Duke felt a chill run down his spine. It seemed like he really should have changed his answer...

But the girl didn't give him a chance to backpedal. She turned slightly and pointed her right hand downwards, right at the bald man she had mentioned earlier.

"There's a bald guy down there. Spit on his head."

She looked at Duke with utmost seriousness, seemingly without any intention of joking around.

"No..." Duke immediately shook his head. "I'll go with truth instead."

"No, it's too late!" The girl completely ignored Duke's objections and pointed downwards. "Hurry up! You have to do what you said!"

Duke remained unmoved, contemplating whether he should just back out.

"Godmother said that a person must keep their word!" The girl put her hands on her hips, tilting her head up to stare at Duke. "If you say it, you have to do it!"

"You won't tell anyone?" Duke looked at her.

"This is a secret between us!"

The little girl pledged solemnly, "I promise no one else will find out."

Laughing it off indifferently, Duke coughed softly. Deciding to just treat this as a little girl's prank, he leaned over the railing and stuck his head out. He spent a full ten seconds building it up, then, under the girl's teasing gaze, forcefully hawked up a wad of spit and launched it straight down...

"Hello..." A man's voice rang out from below.

"Haha..."

The devilish little girl laughed so hard she practically bent over double.

Ducking back behind the railing, Duke looked straight ahead and waited until the girl had stood back up properly before saying, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth!" The girl stuck out her tongue mischievously.

"Tell me your name!" Duke demanded.

"Johansson," the little girl didn't try to weasel out of it again and answered directly. "Scarlett Johansson. You can call me Scar, just like Godmother does."

Raising an eyebrow slightly, Duke sized the girl up again. Aside from being a bit too mischievous and clever for her own good, there didn't seem to be anything particularly special about this girl.

"Now it's my turn!"

"Game time is over!" Duke deliberately checked his watch and turned to head toward the banquet hall. "Alright, that's it for today. You should be heading back."

"Hey, Duke." Scarlett wasn't shy at all; she chased after him and grabbed his sleeve. "You're an adult! How can you go back on your word to a child?"

"Miss Jensen..."

"Scar!" the girl corrected.

"Scar..." Duke let her tug at his sleeve as he continued walking forward. "Tell me, why are you in Los Angeles? And why did you come looking for me?"

The little girl was indeed very mischievous and adorable, and coupled with that extremely familiar name and her status as his mother's goddaughter, it was very easy to feel a sense of fondness for her. But Duke wasn't stupid. For her to tag along with Sofia to this kind of event, she definitely had an ulterior motive.

"I'm taking acting classes in Los Angeles." Scarlett Johansson hesitated for a moment. When Duke looked over at her, she gently pursed her lips and said, "Mom read the script for your new movie and thought the role of the President's daughter would be perfect for me."

She suddenly stopped in her tracks and stood there looking at Duke, like a child who had made a mistake waiting for a teacher's judgment.

"I'll have someone send you an audition invitation."

Playtime was playtime, but work was work. Just as he would with any other actor, Duke wouldn't make promises lightly. If Scarlett Johansson's audition didn't go well, he absolutely wouldn't give her a child role with so much screen time. But if her audition was above par, he would advocate for her casting, if only for his mother's sake.

Seeing this girl again naturally reminded Duke of what his mother had said at the Premiere of The Rock about taking appropriate care of her.

"When the party is over..." Scarlett Johansson immediately jumped in front of him. "Can I treat you to ice cream?"

"Do you even have money?" Duke resumed walking toward the banquet hall.

"Of course!" Scarlett grabbed Duke's sleeve again, speaking with utmost confidence. "When I was in New York, I played a bunch of roles in stage plays, and I was in your last movie too. I've made quite a bit of money!"

As they spoke, Duke pushed aside the curtain and entered the banquet hall. Sofia Coppola and another woman immediately walked over.

"This is my mom..." Scarlett smoothly made the introduction, and Sofia Coppola added from the side, "This is Ms. Melanie Sloan."

"Hello, Ms. Sloane." Duke shook her hand and exchanged a few casual pleasantries.

Walking over to Sofia and seeing that the mother-daughter duo behind them seemed to be whispering about something, Duke lowered his voice as well and asked, "How did that little one find you?"

"The last Premiere, the one on Alcatraz Island." Sofia glanced over at them. "Scar kept my phone number, and she is Aunt Leah's goddaughter..."

At this point, Duke pretty much understood everything. She really was a clever girl—was she even ten years old yet?

"Remember to have someone send her an audition invitation." Duke waved his hand at Sofia and stepped forward to greet the approaching Thomas Rothman, beginning a new round of socializing.

On the other side, the little blonde girl sneakily flashed a victory sign at her mother and mischievously stuck her tongue out at Duke's retreating back.

As the main character of the party, it was already very late by the time Duke left the banquet hall. But as he walked into the hotel lobby, he found that Scarlett Johansson and her mother were still there, seemingly waiting specifically for him.

"I said I was going to treat you to ice cream." The little girl wrinkled her nose at him. "I always keep my word. I wouldn't back out."

"Save the ice cream for after you pass the audition."

If he ate the ice cream and she didn't pass the audition, Duke felt that with this little squirt's current personality, she might just run to her godmother—his own mother—and complain...

Preparation for the film had only just begun. The cast and all the other details would still require time to finalize.