boxer to hollywood

Early June, Miami, Palm Bay, Gold Coast.

Fat James often said that Miami Beach in June was the most beautiful.

Overhead was a boundless blue sky and a golden sun.

Before them was the azure sea and white sand.

A warm sea breeze blew through the lush palm groves on the shore, the rustling of leaves mingling with the sound of waves lapping against the sandbank, beautiful and enchanting.

Even more enchanting were the occasional bikini-clad girls who appeared on the beach.

Because this was Miami, also the place with the most Latina beauties. Latina beauties were known for their hot bodies, which also made the bikini girls on the beach mostly busty and curvy, hot and charming.

James' favorite thing to do before was to set up a lounge chair, grab a bottle of Coke, sit under the awning in front of Baker's shop, squint his eyes, and watch the bikini girls passing by, as if watching a Victoria's Secret fashion show.

But since Daniel got married in April and Michael went wandering, he no longer had the leisure to sit in front of the shop and watch beauties. Every time he sat alone in the shop, he often felt inexplicably irritable and couldn't calm down.

Until the day before yesterday, when Link came back from Paris and said he wanted to stay at the shop temporarily, his heart suddenly calmed down again, which was also inexplicable.

"Link, how many days are you planning to stay at home?"

James stood at the door of the shop and asked Link, who was reading a magazine under the awning.

This guy was bare-chested, wearing sweatpants and flip-flops.

James didn't know if it was because of his life in Paris, but he always felt that Link had become much more fashionable. He had long black hair, a messy but stylish hairstyle, and a white gold shield-shaped pendant around his neck, shining brightly in the sun.

His face also seemed much more handsome than before, with fair skin and sharp features. He even looked more handsome than Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise, and Orlando Bloom.

This made James wonder if this guy might have had plastic surgery.

"I don't know, maybe four or five days, or seven or eight days, it's possible."

Link lay on the lounge chair, flipping through the latest issue of Billboard magazine and said.

"Only eight days?"

James was a little disappointed. After Link left, he would be alone again.

"Can't you stay a few more days? You're a billionaire now, there's no need to be so busy."

Link glanced at him, feeling very helpless. He thought that after Daniel and Michael left, James would also leave, either going to the city or going to Los Angeles to join him.

But he didn't. He still stayed at Baker's shop, going to work and getting off work on time, like Robinson Crusoe trapped on a deserted island.

Link had invited him to be his assistant.

James was worried that he couldn't do it well and didn't agree.

Link was planning to buy a coffee shop in Miami and let him run it, but James didn't agree either, saying he couldn't do it well.

This guy was hopeless, and Link could only let him be.

"I heard your mom is finding you a girlfriend. You should learn from Daniel, get married and have children early. It's better than staying here alone."

"No!"

Hearing him mention this, James immediately frowned and gestured, "Do you know what kind of girls my mom introduces to me? They all weigh over 160 pounds. God, although I'm fat, my aesthetic is fine. I also like those curvy girls with long legs, not fat girls, never."

Link chuckled, "Liking is one thing, getting married is another. With your personality, if you marry a hot girl, you might be very unhappy after marriage. So I think your mom is right."

James' expression became wrinkled when he heard his words.

"Hey, Link!"

"Daniel, why are you here?"

Link shouted at Daniel who was walking towards him from the opposite side.

Not long after getting married, Daniel sold the beach shop to someone else and opened a deli with Lina in West Palm Beach. He heard that the business was not bad.

"James said you're back, so I came to see you."

Daniel smiled.

Link invited Daniel to sit down and took a bottle of iced beer from the ice bucket for him.

"How does it feel to be married?"

"Haha, it's great, you can try it."

Daniel winked and smiled.

"I'll try it in a few years."

Link smiled slightly and asked about Michael.

Daniel said that Michael called him last week and said that he was working as a waiter in a bar in Queens, New York, and sometimes worked part-time as a guitarist. He also told him that New York was too cool, there were too many fun places, and he regretted not coming to New York earlier.

Daniel also said that Lina was pregnant, and he would be a father this time next year.

Link and James hurriedly congratulated him. 

Among the four-member group on the beach, Daniel was the oldest, 26 this year, Michael was 24, James was 23, and Link was the youngest.

Now Daniel was the first to get married and the first to be a father.

While they were chatting, Golden Retriever Reggie drove over in a pickup truck, followed by six teenage boxing apprentices, saying that he would bring them to see what a super boxing champion looked like.

Golden Retriever Reggie turned to professional boxing after winning the super heavyweight championship in the National Amateur Boxing Championships.

His current record was 5 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw in 8 fights, which was not bad, but he was still a long way from being an intercontinental champion. 

Now, besides preparing for matches, he spent the rest of his time at the West Boxing Gym as an assistant coach. He was a down-to-earth boxing prospect, much better than that unreliable Mario.

After Reggie arrived, the surrounding neighbors saw the crowd here and gathered around to join in the fun.

Seeing the crowd, James suggested having a beach party to celebrate his return.

Link didn't refuse either. He had someone bring a truckload of beer, drinks, and fruit from the Mexican restaurant next door and moved the stereo from the shop. Everyone had a party on the beach.

At first, there were only thirty or forty people. Later, when they heard that he, the big star, was here, everyone spread the word, and the neighbors and tourists on the beach all ran here. The number of people gradually approached a thousand.

This also included many reporters and paparazzi who came after hearing the news.

The sight of paparazzi gave Link a headache.

After the incident of his breakup with Taylor broke out, he left Los Angeles early for Paris to film in order to avoid harassment from reporters.

During filming in Paris, he got along well with the second female lead, Marion Cotillard, and they became quite close. Then, the French media started to hype up the news that they had fallen in love because of the drama and had an affair.

And Marion Cotillard had a boyfriend of two years, the famous French actor Guillaume Canet.

Those unscrupulous media then hyped up the news that he was the third party, causing a stir in the French entertainment industry.

Every time they filmed, there were hundreds of paparazzi spying around in various ways, and some even sneaked into the crew to play extras.

The paparazzi were too crazy, and many times they directly affected the filming of the crew.

Director Woody Allen was often so angry that he cursed. He couldn't stop the crazy paparazzi, so he vented his anger on Link, blaming him for messing around in the crew and attracting the paparazzi. Therefore, he was extremely strict with Link during filming.

Scenes that others could finish in one or two takes, Woody Allen would ask him to shoot ten or twenty times, nitpicking in every way. Sometimes he would even PUA him on set, scolding him for his poor acting skills and seriously delaying the progress of the crew.

He also mocked Link's goal of winning an Oscar, saying that with his acting skills, even if he made movies his whole life, he wouldn't even get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

All kinds of sarcasm and PUA, without giving him any face.

Even though Link had a good temper, there were many times when he couldn't help but clench his fists, wanting to punch Woody Allen, this old man, into a KO.

Fortunately, Marion Cotillard and Jennifer Lawrence were there to comfort him, so he suppressed the urge to hit someone and finished filming.

But filming like this every day for more than a month, even though he was energetic and resilient, he would still feel mentally exhausted in the end.

Not to mention having to deal with the harassment of the paparazzi every day, the fatigue doubled.

This was also the reason why he chose to return to Miami to rest after filming "Midnight in Paris."

But just after one day of relaxation, the media swarmed up again.

"Mr. Baker, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported that you and Marion Cotillard fell in love and sparked a romance during the filming of 'Midnight in Paris.' Reporters also took photos of you staying overnight at Marion Cotillard's house. Are you and Ms. Marion Cotillard dating?"

"Mr. Baker, The Times reported that Emma Watson visited the set during your filming in Paris and stayed in Paris for a few days. What is your relationship with her, and are you still dating?"

"Mr. Baker, some media took photos of you and the female lead of 'Midnight in Paris,' Jennifer Lawrence, shopping in Paris. Is Jennifer Lawrence also your girlfriend?"

"Mr. Baker, the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine used your photo as the cover and called you a playboy. What do you think of this title?"

A group of entertainment reporters shouted, blocking the entrance of Baker's shop.

Link broke free from the crowd, came to the steps, and looked at the dozens of eager reporters and paparazzi below. He said, "Marion is a very good actress and one of my favorite actresses. During the filming in Paris, she helped me a lot. We are good friends. Besides that, there is no other relationship. Please don't make wild guesses."

"Mr. Baker, Vanity Fair called you a playboy. Do you accept this title?"

A reporter from the American Express shouted.

"This is slander! Vanity Fair is slandering me. I am definitely not a playboy."

"Mr. Baker, Tiffany Trump, Paris Hilton, Amanda Hearst, Georgina Bloomberg, and other socialites actively helped you promote your new album. The New York Post called you the new favorite of New York socialites. What do you think of this title?"

A reporter from USA Today shouted.

"Welcome everyone to Palm Bay Beach. There is beer and drinks, please help yourselves. I have something else to do today, so I can only answer a few questions. Please make an appointment for other questions. I look forward to your interviews. Goodbye!"

Link walked into Baker's shop and closed the door behind him.

"Mr. Baker..."

(End of Chapter)