America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

At TMZ headquarters, Jody, who had gone out for lunch, hurried back, almost running into the lobby.

She yelled at her most trusted group of editors, "Meeting in conference room three!"

Then, turning to her assistant who had rushed over, "Go to the finance department and issue another $10,000 check, tell them it's for the additional informant fees, any questions, they come to me."

Five people followed Jody into conference room three, where on the projector screen that Jody had already turned on, they saw a series of shocking images.

There was only one main character in all the photos—Emma Watson!

All eyes were on Emma Watson's behind; her cream-colored trousers were stained brownish-yellow, with a liquid of the same color dripping down the pant leg.

Even though it was just a photo, all five of them smelled an incredibly foul odor.

Three who had just had lunch covered their noses and mouths at once.

One of the women, unable to hold it in, opened her mouth: "Ugh..."

Fortunately, she only retched.

The one with the strongest stomach said, "It looks like the background is the Disney Studio."

Jody said, "Disney Studio, happened a little over half an hour ago. We've got an exclusive scoop!"

The person muttered, "Why is it always Disney Studio? I remember Amber Heard was also at Disney Studio. That place must be cursed!"

The person beside chimed in, "This is an even bigger bombshell, it's Emma Watson!"

All five perked up, knowing this news would cause a sensation once it went out.

Jody clicked to start the slideshow and said, "You have half an hour, I want to see the related news on TMZ's page in half an hour."

After delegating the tasks, Jody opened up her laptop and got busy.

In less than half an hour, the related news was published.

Jody dragged it to the homepage, positioning it as the top story.
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TMZ, having been first to report scandals such as those involving Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, and Harvey Weinstein, has become the number one entertainment gossip media in North America.

Its chief editor Jody, as an entertainment reporter, had even won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism.

Every day, countless people around the world keep an eye on TMZ.

In any relatively stable society, the interest in entertainment gossip far exceeds that in political news.

Unless the latter is rocked by a monstrous scandal.

The news about Emma Watson immediately exploded.

Especially since some of the photos showed Emma Watson touching the substance on her trousers and sniffing it at her nose, seemingly about to lick it with her tongue.

Less than an hour after TMZ posted the news, the comments soared past ten thousand.

"Oh my God, is that my Hermione?"

"Shocking, Hermione Granger has shattered in my heart!"

"Emma Watson's taste is way too extreme!"

"What on earth happened? Why would Emma Watson turn out like this?"

"I can't look at Emma Watson the same way again, the first thing that comes to mind won't be Hermione Granger, but these peculiar images."

"After seeing these photos, I went to watch one of Emma Watson's movies, why do I feel like everything about her in the movie is tainted?"

......

In a hotel in Burbank, Emma Watson had just come out of a shower when her agent called.

"Emma, where are you?" the agent was very anxious: "What happened?"

Emma Watson, who hadn't seen the related news and was thus in the dark, replied, "I'm at the hotel, just took a shower."

The agent asked, "What happened to you at Disney Studio?"

Emma recalled the previous events and gave a rough account.

"Chocolate sauce?" the agent said, "Someone took photos and sold them to TMZ. Take a look first, I'm coming over."

Emma, not bothering to dry her hair, asked Alanna to fire up the computer and access TMZ's website.

There, right on the front page, a photo of her stood out starkly.

The cream-colored suit trousers were smeared with a large patch of brownish-yellow.

Emma's heart tightened as her trembling hand moved the mouse and clicked on the related news section, where one photo after another appeared.

This piece of news had no text explanation, only the pictures themselves.

In all of the photos, she was the main character... no, actually, it was the brownish-yellow on her behind that took center stage.

Emma asked Alanna who was beside her, "What's your first reaction when you see this?"

"I..." Alanna struggled to say it out loud.

Emma, furious: "Which bastard is framing me!"

A few minutes later, phone call after phone call came in, all inquiring about the incident.

Emma Watson tried to clarify that it was a misunderstanding, the stuff on her trousers was all chocolate sauce.

Though the callers seemed to believe her, the tone of their words clearly hinted at less favorable speculations.

The agent and the public relations manager rushed over and suggested contacting the media to hold a press conference as soon as possible.

They also called the police.

Film crews and stars who frequented the studio lot paid special attention to privacy; there were no surveillance cameras around, and no one knew where that blown-up cushion had gone.

Of course, the production studio wouldn't take responsibility, claiming they knew nothing about it and suggesting that Emma Watson used this method to clear her awkward situation.

The incident attracted countless paparazzi, and the coverage surged wave after wave.

In gossip tabloids like "US Rumors," Emma Watson had already surpassed Amber Heard, becoming the new queen of the screen.

By that afternoon, news related to Emma Watson had topped the Google Trending Searches, securing the headline!

......

At the top floor of the studio where the post-production team of "The Martian" was located, near the gates of Disney Studio.

Martin, Leonardo, and Nicholson had moved three chairs up to the rooftop, sitting there drinking beer, eating peanuts, and enjoying the bustle at the entrance.

Nicholson kept refreshing Twitter and YouTube, saying, "This kind of popularity, other celebrities would be banging their heads to get; Emma Watson got it so easily! Now her photos are number one in Twitter retweets, number one in YouTube views, number one in TMZ hot news, and number one on the Google Trending Searches."

"What does that tell us?" Martin exclaimed, "We're the good guys who help others without asking for anything in return!"

Leonardo gazed at the throngs of reporters at the door and said, "After playing Hermione Granger, Emma Watson has been seeking to transform her image, and we've helped her to successfully do that."

Bruce came up from below at this time, followed by Silsa Ronan.

Martin asked, "Is everything handled?"

Bruce replied, "All taken care of."

"Did I do okay, Coach?" Silsa came over, looking for praise with an expectant expression.

When it was time for encouragement, Martin did not hold back, "You did well."

Silsa Ronan beamed with joy, picked up her phone, and shook it, "I recorded a video, I can sneak a look at it whenever I'm bored; it was so spectacular!"

Nicholson proposed, "Tonight we go to Martin's house to set off fireworks to celebrate."

Martin pointed to his head, "You forgot? You took all my fireworks last time."

Undeterred, Nicholson countered, "We'll set off fireworks at my place to celebrate."

Leonardo suggested, "We should get Lorraine to treat us; she made thousands of US dollars today."

Silsa tentatively asked, "Teachers, can I come too?"

"Sure," Nicholson briefly replied.

Silsa looked at Martin, who nodded slightly.

Leonardo stumbled upon a piece of news, "Emma Watson is calling a press conference to clarify today's events."

Martin commented, "It's useless, these kinds of things can't be clarified."

......

As darkness fell, a press conference was urgently convened at the Burbank Hotel.

Emma Watson and her agent and public relations manager went over the procedures and script again and again.

Before going on stage, Emma made a point to visit the adjacent lounge.

Two boot-lickers, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, had been mobilized by the agency and were waiting there.

As soon as Emma entered, her face immediately filled with distress, and tears began to spin in her eyes. Approaching the two men, she began, "Daniel, Rupert..."

Before she could finish, her tears started to flow.

Rupert reached out to grab Emma's arm; halfway there, he suddenly remembered the photos from the afternoon news, his hand was the same that Emma had brought to her nose. He quickly retracted his hand and sputtered, "I... I will... help you!"

Daniel couldn't control his gaze, it swept over the area between Emma's waist and legs, "We will support you."

Emma noticed the shift in their demeanor, but now wasn't the time for more words. Wiping away her tears, she said, "Thank you both, you'll always be my best friends, my greatest support."

The press conference began, and although Emma Watson's public relations manager presented the beige trousers stained with chocolate sauce, the reporters present didn't believe it, bombarding her with sharp questions.

The reason was simple: if it was just chocolate sauce on the trousers, what value would this explosive nationwide news story hold? What could they gain from it?

Therefore, it definitely wasn't chocolate sauce on the trousers!

This news story would provide them with countless materials in the following days, continuing to attract the attention of onlookers across America and indeed the entire world.

The press conference dragged on longer than expected, leaving Emma Watson exhausted.

But she couldn't immediately return to her room upstairs for rest.

Because the two fish raised in the pond seemed ready to jump out of the water.

Emma, who had gained fame at a young age, was coddled by the entire cast and the whole of Warner, accustomed to being surrounded by sycophants.

In the lounge, she found Daniel and Rupert and said, "Thank you for today, for the agency making you run around and staying so late, how about I treat you to a late-night snack?"

Having seen those afternoon photos and considering the press conference's developments, Daniel did not believe the story about the chocolate sauce, and he had already prepared an excuse, "I have an audition early tomorrow, I need to go back and rest."

A look of irrepressible disappointment crossed Emma's face as she reached out a hand towards Rupert, as if grasping for her last hope.

Rupert initially intended to accept, but looking at Emma's hand, and thinking about what it had touched today, his interest evaporated instantly, "My mother wants me back by nine o'clock."