Chapter 114: This Island is a Bit Big

The festivities continued late into the night, but all good things must come to an end.

After all the guests had left and the party staff had cleaned up, it was already midnight.

Janet, fresh from a shower and clad in a thin spaghetti strap nightgown, barefoot, came out of the bathroom to find Simon sitting on a single sofa by the bedroom floor-to-ceiling window, still in his evening shirt and trousers, deeply engrossed in a thick book with a slight frown.

She walked over and curled up in his lap like a cat, taking the book from his hands to see—it was the Eastern novel called "Dream of the Red Chamber" that he had mentioned a few days ago, albeit in the original Chinese.

She had only read a small part of the English version so far, and now, looking at the complex characters, Janet felt a bit dizzy. She casually tossed the book aside, wrapped her arms around his neck, and said, "If you don't like it, we could always rent a venue for parties in the future, so we don't have to host at home."

She said this with a smile.

Having known him for so long, she could appreciate that he was someone who valued his personal space.

And then.

His territory had been 'invaded' by over two hundred of his own kind for an entire night. It was easy to imagine how uncomfortable he must have felt.

"That would seem too insincere," Simon noted the smile on her face and smiled back, kissing her on the lips, "I was just thinking, maybe we could buy this place by the end of the year and use it exclusively for parties."

End of the year.

Janet recalled the recent trends in the North American stock market, listening to the flaw inadvertently revealed in his words, but she didn't point it out, instead nodding, "Sure."

Simon noticed the cunning flash in Janet's eyes and realized something, but just smiled. He had too many secrets not meant for others, and if he were always on guard, they simply couldn't be together.

In fact, Simon occasionally shared some things with her deliberately, like the "Dream of the Red Chamber" he had just set aside. He had bought the novel after mentioning it in passing, getting an English translation for her and a Chinese original for himself.

Unfortunately, he couldn't find a simplified Chinese version, so he had to settle for the traditional one. Of course, reading it wasn't too much of a problem.

With that thought, Simon ran a finger over her lips, failing to erase her smile, and then asked, "Baby, what would you do if you found out I was actually an alien one day?"

Janet's eyelashes fluttered, and she looked expectant, "Have an alien baby."

Simon nodded with satisfaction, "It seems my plan to invade Earth won't face much resistance."

"Hehe," Janet laughed, shifting to a more comfortable position in his arms, then asked, "Didn't Goldberg give you a check when he left, how much was it?"

Simon picked up "Dream of the Red Chamber" again, found a check tucked between its pages, and handed it to Janet.

Taking a look, she exclaimed in surprise, "One million dollars, Fox is really generous."

"Yeah, I didn't expect it either."

After the second weekend box office results for "The Butterfly Effect" came out, to keep Simon on board for further promotions, Fox not only gave him $300,000 but also promised a bonus if the North American box office broke $100 million.

Fox's president, Ronald Goldberg, also attended tonight's party and fulfilled that promise with the check upon leaving.

One million dollars.

That was indeed beyond Simon's expectations.

Ronald Goldberg's contract was expiring next year, and in Simon's view, the likelihood of News Corp renewing it was almost zero.

Thus, this check was probably influenced by Barry Diller.

Once Ronald Goldberg left, Barry Diller was sure to take a hands-on approach with Fox, and the check was clearly meant to foster a good relationship with Simon in advance.

Of course, compared to the profits Fox could make from "The Butterfly Effect," Simon's bonus wasn't excessive.

Fox had invested about $20 million in total production and marketing costs for "The Butterfly Effect." With a North American box office surpassing $100 million, it could bring the company no less than $30 million in net profits.

Janet played with the check in her hand, then laughed again, "If Fox knew you made over thirty million dollars from the stock index futures market in just over a month, maybe they wouldn't have given you this million dollars, since you wouldn't care much for it."

Since mid-May, when Simon bought 4,500 S&P 500 index futures contracts, the index had risen from about 270 points to 287 points at the close of last Friday.

The Westeros Company's contracts were purchased

 at a range between 270 and 275 points, averaging about 272 points.

Thus, over a month, the average gain of 15 points per contract meant $2.25 million in profit for each point increase, totaling $33.75 million in book profit for Westeros Company.

$33.75 million was just the beginning.

Despite this, as Simon held Janet's hand, feeling the unique texture of the check paper, he said, "Of course I care, it's a million dollars. Many people never make this much in their lifetime."

Janet looked up at Simon, "With so much money already, what do you plan to do?"

Simon thought for a moment, then shook his head.

Janet asked, puzzled, "What? Or do you plan to be like that stingy old man Warren Buffett, just making money without spending it?"

According to recent public data, Warren Buffett's net worth was still only around $2 billion, comparable to Janet's family wealth.

But Buffett had built his vast fortune almost from scratch through value investing, a legendary feat, and his fame in North America was well known.

Listening to Janet's reference to Buffett as a 'stingy old man,' Simon chuckled, pinching her delicate cheek, "It's not nice to call people that behind their back. And 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 behind his back. I'd call him that to his face too, stingy old man," Janet said proudly, shaking off Simon's hand, then adding, "Too little? You're only 19, you brat. Tens of millions of dollars, and that's not enough?"

"Of course," Simon nodded, "It's barely enough to do anything."

"What do you really want to do?"

"Lots of things," Simon looked at the woman in his arms, "Of course, the ultimate goal is definitely world domination."

Janet nodded persistently, "Then, tell me something that money can buy, that's easier to achieve?"

"Money can buy a nice house, first of all. But, I hope to own a Westeros house in every city I might visit. Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, and so on," Simon casually listed, seeing the woman in his arms widen her eyes, he added with a smile, "Of course, in Australia places like Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane definitely need to be included."

Hearing Simon mention Australia, Janet's long eyelashes fluttered a few times, thinking he was indeed ambitious.

Not to mention the cost of buying countless mansions in major cities around the world, just the annual maintenance costs for these properties would be more than most people could afford.

But.

This should be Janet Johnston's boyfriend.

"So, what else?" she asked.

"I'd want to be able to go wherever I'm interested in at any time, so of course, I'd need a private plane. And it has to be an ultra-long-range one that can connect any two cities in the world," Simon continued, "You know, I'm someone who lacks a sense of security, so it's essential to have a backup, but buying two would be too much like following Air Force One. So, it's best to buy one more."

Three Boeing 747s.

This.

How much does one Boeing 747 cost?

Moreover.

Buying so many planes, you'd need your own airport, right?

Most importantly, the maintenance cost of a private plane is much higher than that of a house. Many wealthy people opt to rent private jets because they can't afford the annual costs, which are about 10% of the price of the plane.

Despite the expense, this wish seemed even cooler.

So, she asked again with some anticipation, "Anything else?"

Simon also continued, "I would like to have my own private island."

Hmm?

Janet was immediately a bit disappointed.

A private island.

That was too easy.

Shaking the check still in her hand, Janet looked at Simon, "Private islands are easy to buy. Our family owns a private island in the Aegean Sea. My grandfather bought it over ten years ago, about twenty square miles, and it only cost three million Australian dollars then."

Simon shook his head, "I'm not talking about those small islands."

Janet blinked, "What then?"

Simon thought for a moment, helped her stand from his lap, and led her to the adjacent study.

A world map hung on the wall of the study.

Simon picked up a black marker from the writing board on the other side, and under Janet's curious gaze, casually circled a small 'island' on the world map, "I think this place would be nice, at the end of the world, and large enough. I don't want to buy the kind of small island you can cross in

 a few minutes' walk. Here, we could walk for a month."

Tasmania.

Janet looked at the island Simon had circled, finally a bit startled.

Tasmania is located at the southeastern corner of the Australian mainland, appearing like an earring dangling from the continent on the map, and it's home to the only egg-laying mammal discovered in the world, the platypus.

Janet was quite familiar with Tasmania because the island was just across the sea from Melbourne where she had grown up.

However, Tasmania was not comparable to a small island in the Aegean Sea with only about twenty square miles because its total area was over twenty thousand square miles, completely different from the tradable private islands.

North American landowners like CNN boss Ted Turner, who liked to buy land, at most owned a few million acres. The total area of Tasmania, over twenty thousand square miles, translated to over ten million acres. If Simon could actually buy the entire island, he would immediately become one of the people with the most private land in the world.

After staring at the world map for a while, Janet turned to the man beside her, "Simon, this island is a bit big. Do you know how big Tasmania is?"

"68,401 square kilometers," Simon replied adeptly, sticking to the metric system he preferred, noting the puzzlement in her eyes, he explained proactively, "You know, Janet. I used to live in very small houses, almost owning nothing. Now, if there's a chance, and perhaps the strength, of course, I want to fulfill some of my past dreams."

Janet, feeling the world-weariness in Simon's tone that shouldn't belong to a 19-year-old, gripped his hand tightly, nodding, "Simon, we can definitely make these happen."

Simon caught Janet's hand in return, "Of course. So, keep helping me. Last time you just did a bit and then stopped; stick with it a bit longer this time."

"No," Janet shook her head this time, leaning against him, "Brat, I've realized I prefer to cling to you like a vine. As high as you grow, that's how high I can climb."

Simon nodded, "Seems like I like that too."

"Hehe, such a male chauvinist," Janet laughed, scratching him as if testing where it was best to cling, then said, "Actually, to achieve what you just said, we don't need to wait. We can start now."

"Hmm?"

Janet shook the check still in her other hand and gestured towards Tasmania on the map, "68,401 square kilometers, that's bigger than many states in the USA, you can't buy it all at once. But, if we start buying a bit each year, one day the island will be entirely ours. Tasmania is quite desolate, mostly primitive forests and barren hills. Just this million dollars is enough to buy us a large tract of land. Oh, and there are hundreds of thousands of people there, so if we want to do this, we definitely need to plan well. Hmm, it's best to set up many shell companies and then buy stealthily, otherwise it will definitely cause land prices to skyrocket."

Listening to Janet's increasingly excited tone, Simon checked his watch, "Well then, I'll leave this task to you. But, for now, we better go to sleep."

Janet obediently allowed Simon to lead her out of the study. After he showered, the two embraced in the large bed.

Still very excited.

She discussed in detail with Simon about buying the entire island of Tasmania, then talked about his other two wishes. Until well past two in the morning, feeling Simon's steady breathing beside her, she still couldn't fall asleep.

Recalling every detail of their late-night dreams.

At some point, she suddenly realized.

In many of their moments together, she could clearly feel that he was bound by too much inside.

Maybe.

All he truly wanted was freedom after all.