Chapter 48: Halloween

After everything was arranged, the sky had completely darkened.

Simon was saying goodbye to Ron McMullen and others in the parking lot, just about to leave, when Sandra Block came running up to him.

Sensing Simon's puzzled look, Sandra's face flashed with embarrassment, but she still asked, "Simon, there's a carnival in West Hollywood tonight, would you like to come?"

It was Halloween, and the streets outside the parking lot were already bustling with crowds in all sorts of strange costumes. In fact, venues like Universal Studios and Disneyland in Los Angeles were hosting even more grand festive events that evening.

Although he had some memories of it, Simon was still eager to experience a North American Halloween firsthand.

However, he hesitated at Sandra's invitation.

Janet had suggested a few days ago that everyone celebrate Halloween together. To prepare for the holiday, she hadn't come to the set today and had even called Catherine at noon, claiming she was too busy on her own.

Now, both women were at his house.

Noticing Simon's hesitation, Sandra felt a bit disappointed and was about to casually mention that it was okay if he was busy when Simon said, "Sure, but Catherine and Janet might come along too, is that okay?"

It seemed his relationship with those two women was quite close.

But from what had been observed these past few days, this was hardly a surprise.

Her disappointment deepening, Sandra still managed a smile and nodded, "Of course, it's more fun with more people."

Simon gestured towards the street and asked, "Where exactly?"

"It's on the Santa Monica Blvd stretch in West Hollywood, just head over from here and you'll see it. I'll wait for you guys on Holloway Street—it branches off from Santa Monica Blvd and heads west. There's a big parking lot on Holloway Street where you can park. How about nine o'clock?"

It was already past seven in the evening. Simon thought for a moment, two hours should be enough to have dinner, so he agreed.

The two parted ways, and Simon drove his SUV through the increasingly crowded streets of downtown Santa Monica back to Montana area. Today, the residential streets were also festively decorated, each home adorned with prominent pumpkin lanterns.

Arriving at his own home, Simon found two gigantic one-meter-tall pumpkin lanterns placed at the front of his villa like bizarre guardians, with several strings of smaller pumpkin lanterns hanging from the roadside to the front door.

Because of the festive decorations, Simon couldn't park his SUV in the driveway and had to leave it on the street.

Getting out of the car and approaching the door, Simon took a moment to inspect the enormous pumpkins and realized they were real.

He immediately worried.

Such huge pumpkins, each probably weighing a hundred or two hundred pounds—how would he manage to consume all that? Surely, they couldn't just be thrown away?

Wasteful women!

Muttering to himself once again, Simon entered the villa, where the air was filled with the faint aroma of food.

Hearing the noise, Janet immediately ran out from the kitchen, and Catherine peeked out to greet Simon before ducking back in, likely busy with something.

"Simon, just a moment longer, it's almost ready."

Like a diligent housewife, Janet took Simon's bag and ushered him to sit on the living room sofa. She turned on the TV before running back to the kitchen.

Alright.

Looks like I'll be drinking pumpkin soup for the next month.

Pumpkins are pretty good at keeping, after all.

Leaning back on the sofa, Simon thought to himself, looking around again.

The villa was no longer the sparse place it had been when he first moved in; it was now fully furnished.

Simon had had no time to arrange these things.

Since buying the first lounge chair a month ago, Janet had started moving things into the villa like ants carrying food, and eventually she even got a set of spare keys. She began setting up as if she owned the place.

Not just the living room, but the entire villa had been tidied up by her.

Moreover, using the excuse of creating a 'butterfly effect' themed mural for "Run Lola Run," Janet had set up a studio in the house. And since painting could be tiring, she also arranged a bedroom for herself. Learning that Simon intended to personally compose music for the film, she even moved her piano from her Malibu mansion to the villa.

Now, the whole villa was permeated with Janet's presence, so much so that Simon, who owed her a series of debts possibly amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, wasn't even sure how deep he was in.

Janet, raised in a wealthy family, had a penchant for choosing both the right and the most expensive items when picking out furniture and appliances. Simon definitely didn't have the funds to furnish a sixteen-room mansion completely.

Thus, each piece of furniture Janet bought came with a debt note,

 which she collected enthusiastically, shaking them proudly in her hand while looking at Simon with an expression of triumph.

Having lived through two lifetimes, Simon wasn't devoid of the desire to accumulate wealth, and he could be frugal when necessary. But fundamentally, he was quite indifferent about money, so he let Janet have her way.

As for Janet's intentions, Simon was not naive and understood them perfectly. Although he wasn't ready to commit to a relationship, he wouldn't turn away a woman who had affection for him.

Simon believed that it was rare to meet people who genuinely cared about you beyond your closest family.

When you meet them, cherish them.

After resting for a while on the sofa, Simon got up and headed to the kitchen.

Passing the dining room, he was surprised to see a very prominent roasted turkey in the center of the table. After washing his hands and expertly taking over from Catherine chopping carrots, he commented, "Isn't it a mistake? It's not Thanksgiving, why is there a turkey?"

Catherine handed the chopping task over to Simon and moved to stir a pot nearby, laughing, "I don't know, it must be a mix-up."

Janet, wearing oven mitts, took an apple pie out of the oven, glanced at Simon, and said, "I like turkey, is that a problem?"

"Of course not," Simon immediately agreed, then asked, "Do you like pumpkin? Those two huge ones outside, take them when you leave."

Janet flatly refused, "I don't like them; they are for you to survive the winter."

"Then I'll hibernate."

"I'll wake you up."

"I'm grumpy when I wake up, I might bite."

"That's okay, I'll bring Kate."

Catherine, listening to their banter, interjected, "Why bring me? Can't you just bring a shotgun?"

"That's right, Kate is smarter."

Simon, feigning hurt, blurted out in Chinese, "The hearts of women are most poisonous."

Janet, surprised, asked, "What language is that?"

"Hebrew, maybe?" Catherine added, "I remember Simon said he knows Hebrew."

"Hebrew doesn't sound like that," Janet shook her head, pondering for a moment before adding, "I remember now, it's Chinese. I heard it a few years ago when my dad was doing business."

Catherine looked at Simon for confirmation.

Simon nodded.

Janet then glanced at Simon again, telling Catherine, "Kate, we should explore what other interesting things this boy knows sometime."

"No need to dig, actually, I was abducted by aliens as a child…"

"Ah, spit."

"Heh."

"Alright, no more jokes," Simon laughed, "Let's eat quickly, then head over to West Hollywood for the carnival."

Janet immediately complained, "But I wanted to go to Universal Studios."

"It's too far and getting late. If you want, we can go early tomorrow afternoon," Simon persuaded, "Besides, I've arranged to meet Sandy there."

Hearing this, Janet's dissatisfaction grew, and she hummed in annoyance, "Terrible man, I and Kate prepare dinner for you, and you run off to flirt with another woman."

Despite her words, after a lively dinner, Janet didn't refuse to go to West Hollywood.

However, the three sets of Halloween costumes they had prepared were hastily swapped.

Originally, there was a knight's helmet, a princess dress, and a witch costume, clearly intended for specific individuals.

Now, Catherine became the knight, Janet remained the princess, and Simon, donning a black robe, became a warlock—well, a male witch.

Santa Monica Blvd, stretching over twenty kilometers from Hollywood through West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica to the beach, looked like a straw from above, bending only at the Beverly Hills section.

Ready, the trio set off from Montana area, circled around from Sunset Blvd to West Hollywood, and easily found the designated spot on Holloway Street.

Sandra was already waiting outside a parking lot on Holloway Street, dressed in her "Run Lola Run" costume—red hair, blue vest, green pants, and clown shoes, perfectly suited for Halloween without any additional effort.

The Halloween festivities had begun, and after brief greetings, the group walked towards the nearby Santa Monica Blvd and quickly merged into the dense crowd.

Simon didn't know how many people had gathered in West Hollywood that night. Looking around, the middle of the road was swarming with all sorts of 'ghosts and goblins,' and the sides, packed with onlookers not in costume, were bustling.

Before his rebirth, holidays had become increasingly bland—either swarming to clichéd tourist spots or busy with formulaic hospitality.

Now, amidst a crowd of tens or hundreds of thousands, surrounded by lights, streams of people, laughter, and chatter, Simon once again felt a long-lost, pure sense of holiday spirit.