The revelry lasted until late at night, but eventually, it had to end.
After all the guests were sent off and the party company's employees had cleaned up and left, it was already 12 AM.
Janette, after showering, walked out of the bathroom barefoot in a light camisole nightgown.
She saw Simon sitting on a single sofa by the bedroom's French window, still dressed in his evening shirt and trousers, holding a thick book, which he was flipping through with a slight frown.
She walked over, curled up like a cat in his arms, and took the book from his hand to glance at it.
It was the Eastern novel he had mentioned a few days ago, titled 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' but it was the original Chinese version.
She had only read a small portion of the English version so far, and looking at the complex Chinese characters now, Janette immediately felt dizzy.
She casually tossed the book aside, wrapped her arms around his neck, and said, "If you don't like it, we can rent a venue for parties in the future, instead of having them at home".
As she said this, a smile appeared on Janette's face.
Having known him for so long, she naturally understood that he was a person who valued his private space.
And so...
The lion's territory had been 'invaded' by over two hundred of his kind for an entire night, so she could imagine how uncomfortable he must have felt.
"That would seem too insincere," Simon noticed the smile on the woman's face in his arms and returned it, leaning down to kiss her on the lips.
He said, "I was just thinking, maybe we can buy this place by the end of the year and use it specifically for parties in the future".
By the end of the year, huh?
Janette recalled the recent trends in the North American stock market and heard another slip in his words, but she didn't point it out, merely nodding, "Sounds good".
Simon noticed a flicker of cunning in Janette's eyes and realized something, but he just smiled.
He had too many secrets that couldn't be revealed to outsiders; if he were to be guarded every moment, the two of them simply wouldn't be able to get along.
In fact, Simon would occasionally consciously reveal certain things to her, like the 'Dream of the Red Chamber' she had just tossed aside.
The last time he casually mentioned it, he made time to have someone buy the novel: an English translation for her and the original Chinese version for himself.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find a simplified Chinese version and received a traditional one.
Of course, there was no hindrance to his reading.
Thinking this, Simon reached out and wiped her lips with his index finger, but he couldn't wipe away her smile, so he said, "Baby, what would you do if you found out I was actually an alien someday?"
Janette's eyelashes fluttered, and with an expectant look on her face, she said, "Have an alien baby".
Simon nodded with great satisfaction: "It seems my plan to invade Earth won't face too much resistance".
"Hehe" Janette laughed, shifting into a more comfortable position in Simon's arms.
She then asked, "Didn't Goldberg give you a check before he left? How much was it?"
Simon retrieved the 'Dream of the Red Chamber' again, found a check tucked between the pages, and handed it to Janette.
Janette took it, glanced at it, and exclaimed, "A million dollars! Fox is really generous".
"Yes, I didn't expect it either".
After 'The Butterfly Effect's' second-weekend box office results were released, to ensure Simon's cooperation with subsequent promotions, Fox not only gave him $300,000 but also promised him a bonus once the film's North American box office exceeded $100 million.
Ronald Goldberg, the president of 20th Century Fox, also attended the party tonight, and before leaving, he honoured his original promise by leaving this check.
A million dollars.
It indeed exceeded Simon's expectations.
Ronald Goldberg's contract was set to expire next year, and in Simon's opinion, the likelihood of News Corp. renewing his contract was almost zero.
Therefore, this check was likely due to Barry Diller's intervention.
After Ronald Goldberg's departure, Barry Diller would undoubtedly personally take charge of Fox's film operations, and this check was clearly intended to establish a good relationship with Simon in advance.
Of course, compared to the profits Fox could earn from the entire 'Butterfly Effect' project, the bonus Simon received wasn't actually exaggerated.
Fox's total production and promotional costs for 'The Butterfly Effect' were only about $20 million.
A North American box office exceeding $100 million alone was enough to bring the company a net profit of no less than $30 million.
Janette played with the check in her hand, then after a moment, she chuckled and said, "If Fox knew you'd already made over $30 million from the stock index futures market in just over a month, they might not have given you this $1 million, since you wouldn't care much anyway".
Since Simon established 4,500 long contracts for the S&P 500 index futures in mid-May, the S&P 500 index has risen from around 270 points initially to 287 points at last Friday's close in just over a month.
Westeros Company's long contracts were established in the range of 270 to 275 points, averaging around 272 points.
Thus...
In just over a month, the average index increase for all 4,500 contracts was 15 points, with each point increase in the index representing $2.25 million in profit.
Westeros Company's S&P 500 long contracts now had a book profit of $33.75 million.
$33.75 million was still just the beginning.
Even so, Simon held Janette's small hand, feeling the unique texture of the check's paper together, and still said, "Of course I care; this is $1 million, after all, many people don't earn this much in their entire lives".
Janette looked up at Simon and asked, "You already have so much money, so what are you planning to do?"
Simon thought for a moment, then shook his head.
Janette asked, puzzled, "What? Or, are you also planning to be like that stingy old man, Warren Buffett, who only makes money and doesn't spend it?"
According to recent public data, Warren Buffett's net worth was still only around $2 billion, comparable to Janette's family fortune.
However, Buffett had accumulated such a huge amount of wealth almost from scratch purely through value investing, his rise to prominence was legendary, and his fame in North America had become household knowledge over the years.
Simon chuckled at Janette's calling Buffett a 'stingy old man,' and pinched her delicate cheek.
He said, "It's not good to call people that privately. Besides, I won't be like him; it's just that the money I have now is still too little".
"I didn't call him that privately; I call him that to his face, 'stingy old man'" Janette said haughtily, pushing Simon's hand away.
She then added, "Too little? You're only 19, you little rascal. Tens of millions of dollars, and that's still too little?"
"Of course," Simon nodded, saying, "Basically, I can't do anything".
"What exactly do you want to do?"
"Many things," Simon looked at the woman in his arms and said, "Of course, the ultimate goal is definitely to conquer the world".
Janette nodded emphatically, persistently saying, "Well, tell me something that can be bought with money; that's easier to achieve, right?"
"Things that can be bought with money… First, there must be very good houses.
However, I hope that in every city in this world where I might go, there will be a Westeros house.
Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera..." Simon listed casually, and seeing the woman in his arms with wide eyes, he added with a smile, "Of course, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, and the like in Australia must also be included".
Janette's long eyelashes fluttered a few times when Simon mentioned Australia, and she thought, 'Indeed, it's so little'.
Not to mention the expense of buying countless luxury homes in major cities worldwide, just the annual maintenance costs of these properties would probably be unbearable for very few people in this world.
However...
This is what Janette Johnston's boyfriend should be like.
So she asked again, "What else?"
Simon continued, "To go wherever I'm interested in at any time, I'll naturally need a private jet, and it must be an ultra-long-range private jet that can connect any two cities in this world. Perhaps a Boeing 747, slightly modified, would be enough.
You know, I'm a person with little sense of security, so there must be a backup, but buying two would be a bit too much like following Air Force One. So, it's best to buy one more."
Three Boeing 747s.
This...
How much does a Boeing 747 cost again?
And...
Buying so many planes would surely require a private airport, right?
Most importantly, the maintenance costs of private jets are much higher than those of houses.
Many wealthy individuals choose to rent private jets precisely because they cannot bear the various annual expenses, which are equivalent to about 10% of the private jet's cost.
However...
Although it's a bit expensive, this wish seems even cooler.
So, with some anticipation, she asked again, "Anything else?"
Simon continued, "I hope to have a private island of my own".
Hmm?
Janette was immediately a little disappointed.
A private island, huh?
That's too easy.
Shaking the check still in her hand, Janette looked at Simon and said, "Private islands are easy to buy. Our family has a private island in the Aegean Sea.
My grandfather bought it more than ten years ago; it's about twenty square miles and only cost 3 million Australian dollars at the time".
Simon shook his head and said, "I'm not talking about that kind of small island".
Janette blinked: "Then what is it?"
Simon thought for a moment, then, supporting the woman, he helped her stand up from his embrace and led her to the adjacent study.
A world map hung on the study wall.
Simon picked up a black marker from beside the whiteboard on the other side and, under Janette's curious gaze, casually circled a small 'island' on the world map, saying, "I think this place is good: the end of the world, and it's large enough.
I don't want to buy those small islands that you can walk across in a few minutes. Here, we can hike for a month".
Tasmania.
Janette looked at the island Simon had circled and was finally a little surprised.
Tasmania is located at the southeastern tip of the Australian continent, appearing like an earring of the mainland on the map.
It is also home to the platypus, the only egg-laying mammal discovered in this world.
Janette was very familiar with Tasmania because the island was directly across the sea from Melbourne, where she grew up.
However, Tasmania was by no means comparable to a small island of only twenty square miles in the Aegean Sea, because the total area of this island reached over twenty thousand square miles, which was completely different from the concept of tradable private islands.
In North America, super ranchers like CNN owner Ted Turner, who enjoy acquiring land, only own at most one or two million acres of private territory.
Tasmania, with over twenty thousand square miles, translates to more than ten million acres in total area.
If he could truly buy the entire island, Simon would immediately become one of the people in the world with the most private land.
After observing the world map for a while, Janette turned to the man beside her and said, "Simon, this island is a bit large. Do you know how big Tasmania is?"
"68,401 square kilometres," Simon easily rattled off a number, still sticking to his preferred metric system.
Noticing the confusion in her eyes, he proactively explained, "You know, Janette. I used to live in very small houses, with almost nothing of my own. Now, since I have the opportunity, and perhaps the ability, I naturally want to realize some of my past dreams".
Janette felt a sense of vicissitude in Simon's tone that was entirely unbefitting a 19-year-old.
She grasped his hand and squeezed it tightly, nodding, "Simon, we will definitely achieve these things".
Simon clasped her small hand in return and said, "Of course. So, keep helping me. Last time you only did a little and then quit; this time, try to stick with it longer".
"No" to Simon's surprise, Janette shook her head directly this time, leaning against him.
She said, "You little rascal, I found that I still prefer to cling to you like a vine. However high you grow, I can climb".
Simon nodded and said, "It seems I quite like that too".
"Hehe" Janette laughed, playfully scratching Simon, seemingly testing where it would be convenient to cling.
She then added, "Actually, to achieve what you just said, we don't have to wait until later; we can start now".
"Hmm?"
Janette shook the check still in her other hand and then gestured towards Tasmania on the map, saying, "68,401 square kilometres—that's larger than many states in the United States, so it's impossible to buy it all at once. However, if we start buying a little each year from now on, one day the entire island will belong to us.
Tasmania is actually quite desolate; most of it is primeval forest and barren mountains. Just this $1 million is enough for us to buy a very large piece of land. Oh, and there are hundreds of thousands of people on the island, so if we want to do this, we'll definitely need to plan it well.
Hmm, it's best to set up many shell companies and then quietly buy in without anyone noticing; otherwise, land prices will surely soar".
Simon listened to Janette's increasingly excited tone, then checked his watch.
He said, "In that case, I'll leave this matter to you. However, it's best if we go to sleep now".
Janette obediently allowed Simon to lead her out of the study.
After the man had showered, they embraced on the large bed.
However, she was still very excited.
She discussed in detail with Simon how to arrange things after buying the entire island of Tasmania, and then brought up his other two wishes.
This continued until past 2 AM.
Feeling the steady breathing of the man beside her, she still couldn't fall asleep.
She repeatedly recalled every little detail of this late-night conversation about dreams.
At some point, she suddenly understood.
In many moments they spent together, she could clearly feel that too many things were bound within his heart.
Perhaps...
All he truly wanted, in the end, was just freedom.