In the end, following Wood's suggestion, Wood took out about $200 of his saved-up pocket money and, together with the two adults, went to place a bet on his own team. As a bystander father, Helen King never expected that, under the developed gambling industry in the United States, Wood would bet on the Rockets defeating the Knicks in a seven-game Finals series, which greatly increased the odds. From then on, Wood couldn't stop. He straightforwardly squeezed out half a day from his Sunday to work part-time, heading to the Los Angeles Crowne Plaza Hotel for a side job. Like him, many kids worked part-time at this largest casino in Los Angeles, running errands for those unwilling to place bets themselves, buying lottery tickets, and then exchanging them for checks and cash. Of course, when it came to bank checks, he had to have his parents deposit them into the bank.

In this hotel, Wood specialized in sports betting. He seized the opportunity to register his father as a client, then bought a considerable but diversified amount of highly profitable lottery tickets in his father's name. For example, the next year's Rockets sweeping the Magic in the Finals, last year's miraculous third place for Croatia in the World Cup, and this year he had already bet on the Spurs. In fact, he was also planning to make a big profit from the miraculous performance of Korea in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup and the Greek myth in the 2004 European Championship before calling it quits.

The only time he explained this to others was when Helen King happily told Uncle Johnson's family at a dinner table that his son had already made nearly a million dollars. Facing the still-sober Uncle Johnson, Wood had no choice but to say that the seed money came from a few sports bets, but the vast majority was from the stock market.

Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that he had bought the Rockets right in front of Uncle Johnson, he really wouldn't want to mention the lottery. Otherwise, if things got exposed, the FBI might just have to tie him up and dissect him. By comparison, the stock market is a common topic in the US. There are plenty of minors trading stocks with their parents' accounts, and there are many who have made or lost money.

"But how did you make a million?" Aunt Johnson was very curious at the time.

"I don't know either. I just followed the discussions between my mom and dad and picked a newly listed tech company, hotmail. Then it got acquired by Microsoft, and after making a small profit, I sold it. Looking back, I really regret it." Wood looked genuinely regretful. This wasn't an act—it was the truth. He did dabble in the stock market back then, but most of the time he neither made nor lost money. Hotmail had been a lingering pain for him all these years. Back then, when he saw the stock name and found it familiar, he immediately urged his parents to use his pocket money to buy a considerable amount. But after half a year, the familiar stock kept dropping slowly, and finally, unable to bear it, young Mr. Wood sold everything. Just two weeks after he cleared out, Microsoft acquired it... No wonder it looked so familiar. Wood had regretted it ever since. That was his only chance to become a stock market legend.

Chapter 3: Is it really about to start filming?

Things moved faster than expected. Just a week after the movie investment was finalized, Emily Thompson, who had just rushed back to China, called Helen King and his wife, hoping that Wood could get to Seoul as soon as possible. It turned out that after the movie investment was settled, thanks to the influence of Emily Thompson's two successful films last year, the venue, staff, equipment, other supporting actors, and another lead actor who had already been scheduled all quickly fell into place. So Wood had to set off for Korea immediately.

"Wood, no, from now on you have to remember to call yourself Mark King. When you get to Korea, remember to call me. Senior Emily Thompson will pick you up at the airport and take you to your grandparents' house first. Be sure not to misbehave with your grandparents. In another half a year, when Thanksgiving comes, our family and Aunt Thompson's family will move back to Seoul too. Just settle in and wait for us." Wood—no, Mark King's mother, Grace Parker, carefully instructed her son while packing his clothes.

"That's right, Mark." Helen King made an effort to change his way of addressing him. "Once you get to Seoul, just settle in. We'll be there soon. Jessica and Crystal will be there soon too, and Beck will also go. I heard the movie starts shooting in three days. You must take it seriously—this will be a valuable experience for your future. Just treat it like going to a summer camp."

"Ah..." Wood let out a long sigh. Honestly, although he always thought of himself as an adult, having to go to Korea alone and wait half a year before reuniting with his family still made him feel quite melancholy.

"Can Beck come back with us?" Wood was a bit worried.

"Don't worry, the quarantine process is quick," Grace Parker answered seriously.

"Have you already arranged your work over there?"

"Don't worry, it's being arranged. No big problems."

"Where will Jessica and Crystal live after they go back? Will it be close to us?"

"Very close, don't worry. We'll still be neighbors."

"That's good." Mark King nodded. He wanted to say something but didn't know what, so he just changed the subject and rambled:

"This movie is definitely going to be a big hit!"