boxer to hollywood

After April, the weather in Los Angeles grew increasingly hotter. Sitting under the awning, Link had read only a few dozen pages when he felt waves of heat assaulting his skin. The cicadas in the surrounding woods buzzed incessantly, making it hard to find peace.

"Hey, Link!"

Link closed his book, preparing to return to the villa for a nap when he heard someone greeting him from ahead.

Looking back, he saw Elon Musk riding a bicycle down the villa's straight driveway. Wearing a sun hat, a blue and white beach shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, with his arms and neck sunburned red, he looked no different from the young people on the beach.

"Hi, Elon!"

Link responded and invited Elon Musk to sit in the pavilion.

Musk brought him an invitation. Tesla was currently preparing for its IPO, and Musk planned to host a cocktail party over the weekend, inviting partners to prepare for the initial public offering.

Musk asked if he had time, saying that after Tesla went public, he wanted to hire Link as their global spokesperson.

Link wasn't interested in being a spokesperson and inquired about Tesla's IPO timeline.

Elon told him it would likely be in June, adding that the company wasn't short on funds at the moment. If they didn't get a high valuation on Wall Street, the IPO might be delayed for two or three months.

Link nodded.

In January, after discussing with Ms. Cathie Wood, Cathie, through ARK Invest, contacted Elon Musk and offered to invest in Tesla.

Tesla was in need of funds for research and development. Hearing about the investment offer, Musk personally went to Wall Street to meet with Cathie.

After several discussions, Cathie acquired a 5% stake in Tesla from Musk for $52 million, promising not to sell it within three years and to continue supporting Tesla's technological research and development.

This investment brought Tesla's market value back to $1 billion.

It also boosted Musk's confidence as he prepared for Tesla's IPO.

Link told Musk that he had another $50 million on hand, from boxing match winnings and record company dividends, and he planned to buy more Tesla stock. He asked how much he could buy.

Musk thought for a moment and said that if Link was willing to hold the stock long-term and serve as Tesla's global spokesperson, he could sell him 5.2% of Tesla's shares at $10 per share.

After considering, Link agreed.

He remembered that when Tesla went public, its market value was only $1.7 billion, with an IPO share price of $17.

By 2013, Tesla's market value exceeded $10 billion, and in 2021, it surpassed $1 trillion.

Investing in Tesla this year was more cost-effective than investing in Facebook or Amazon.

"Link, do you live alone?"

After finishing their business discussion, Musk looked around the villa and asked.

"Yes, I'm a single man now," Link shrugged and smiled.

"Haven't you and Taylor reconciled yet?"

"You've seen the news too?" Link said helplessly.

"Haha, of course. You're big stars, your news is always on the headlines. It's hard not to notice," Musk laughed.

Link shook his head. "Do you have a girlfriend now?"

"No steady girlfriend."

Musk smiled and said he was dating a model, asking if Link wanted him to introduce a few.

Link declined, saying the models he knew were more beautiful than the ones Musk knew.

After a few more exchanges, Musk said he had work to attend to and took his leave.

Link also put away his book and returned to the villa.

Looking at the empty rooms, even his footsteps echoed clearly.

He suddenly felt that he should have accepted Musk's suggestion earlier and invited a few models to stay at his house temporarily. Whether they slept with him or not was another matter, but having a few more people in the villa would make it livelier.

Passing by the music room, he seemed to hear the sound of a piano. He pushed the door open and glanced inside, but no one was playing. The room was filled with instruments, yet it felt emptier than ever.

It wasn't like before when he passed by the music room. Sometimes, through the crack in the door, he would see Taylor lying on the carpet, or sitting at the piano, or on the windowsill, playing the piano and messing up her golden hair for a new song.

Unfortunately, all that was gone now.

Link began to reflect on his past actions. If he had pushed away Amy Adams, Beyoncé, and Emma Watson, and hadn't fooled around outside, would things be different?

Thinking about it, he wasn't so sure.

Taylor was a singer, an artistic youth. Such people were more carefree in relationships than ordinary people, at least more carefree than himself.

Compared to Taylor, he really wasn't a scumbag.

He sat down at the piano, his fingers pressing the black and white keys, playing for a while. Suddenly, a song popped into his head, Dylan Matthew's 2019 heartbreak pop song "Love is Gone."

Don't go tonight

Stay here one more time

Remind me what it's like

And let's fall in love one more time

After playing it a few times, Link stopped, took out his camera and tripod, placed them next to the piano, and started recording.

"Link has released another new song."

At around 2 pm Los Angeles time, a singing video went viral online.

The video was posted on Link's personal YouTube account.

In less than two hours, it surpassed 1 million views and quickly spread across the internet.

The video began with Link, wearing a loose shirt and casual pants, sitting at the piano. Sunlight streamed through the arched window into the room, illuminating two vases on the windowsill. The tulips in the vases drooped, almost wilting.

The sunlight also shone on Link. His hair had grown longer since last year, and it was messy, either because he forgot to comb it or it was a new hairstyle. But paired with his chiseled side profile, it made him look even more handsome, like a work of art in a museum.

"So handsome. Someone like Link could be a big star just with his face, but he's also a world boxing champion and sings so well. He's amazing."

"Link is so outstanding, how could Taylor bear to break up with him?"

"Link cheated. Cheating men are toxic. It's good that Taylor broke up with him early."

"So what if he cheated? Which man doesn't cheat? If Link were my boyfriend, I wouldn't care even if he cheated every day."

Netizens discussed in the comment section while watching the video.

*Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!*

In the video, Link finished playing the intro of "Love is Gone" and began singing into the microphone on the piano lid.

Don't go tonight

Stay here one more time

I need you now by my side

It tears me up when you turn me down

I'm begging please, just stick around

"This song by Link is amazing, Katherine. Have you heard it?"

On the set, Emma Stone walked over to Katherine with a tablet and showed it to her.

Katherine listened for a while. "Haven't heard it. It's probably another new song."

Emma Stone blinked, staring at Link playing the piano in the video. "Katherine, Link is singing a breakup song. Did he and Taylor really break up?"

"I don't know either."

Katherine thought for a moment, then took out her phone and called Link to ask about his situation.

I'm sorry, don't leave me, I want you here with me

I know that your love is gone

I can't breathe, I'm so weak, I know this isn't easy

Don't tell me that your love is gone

"This song is not bad, but it's too sad," Katy Perry said in the recording studio, wiping her tears with a tissue.

In the video, Link was alone, his voice low and sorrowful, singing "I'm sorry, don't leave me" over and over again. It felt very melancholic.

"Why sad? Link and Taylor breaking up is a good opportunity for you. Shouldn't you be happy?" Rihanna said, chewing gum.

"Oh, you're right."

Katy Perry immediately turned her sadness into joy. She took out her phone and texted Link, saying she had written a new song and planned to use it as the album's lead single, but she wasn't confident about it and wanted him to listen and give some suggestions.

Besides Katy Perry, Emma Roberts, Lana Del Rey, Dakota Johnson, and other acquaintances also sent messages congratulating him on writing another good song after seeing the video, and subtly inquired about his relationship status.

As Link was replying to the messages, an unexpected guest arrived at the villa - Taylor Swift.

If it were a few hours earlier, he would have been happy to see Taylor return to the villa. But after receiving those text messages, he had a better understanding of Taylor and knew that even if she came back, they couldn't get back together.

(End of Chapter)