Itinerary

The next promotional stop was Chicago. On the way there, the atmosphere in the car was somewhat subdued.

Although Tom Cruise had rejoined the promotion, anyone observant could tell that his mood was quite poor.

As the saying goes, "Don't air your dirty laundry in public." But now, it wasn't just being aired; it was being blatantly displayed for the public to see.

Being judged for his private life was an unsettling feeling.

Finally, they arrived at the event location. Fans, movie enthusiasts, and passersby who stopped to watch the spectacle had gathered around the central plaza of Millennium Park. Right beside it was an international cinema, which happened to be distributing tickets on the spot.

Originally, the local media had planned to conduct separate interviews with a few of the key creatives, but the film crew declined, citing time constraints.

The schedule was indeed tight. They spent around half a day in each location before rushing overnight to the next city.

Lyman, Nicholas, and Tom greeted the surrounding audience while being interviewed by the host.

"First of all, congratulations on the tremendous box office success of the movie "Miscreant". Can you share your feelings about breaking the $200M mark at the box office?"

Feelings?

Was there really a need to say it out loud?

Hadn't you seen Tom's forced smile?

Out of this group, he was probably the least happy.

It had broken the billion mark in just four days, then the growth slowed down during the workweek, and daily earnings slightly decreased.

Now, on June 3rd, a Sunday, after twelve days of screening, "Miscreant" had smoothly surpassed $200M, with real-time earnings reaching $223M. Their next target was to aim for $300M.

"Well, of course, I'm very happy. But amidst the joy, there's also some pressure. I'm afraid my future works won't meet the audience's expectations."

After reluctantly answering the question, the host started throwing random inquiries, and who knows where they found him, but he even asked if Tom had plans for a new project.

Come on, I'm here to promote the movie "Miscreant", not to talk about a new project. Why ask this?

Perhaps sensing Lyman's confusion, the host added, "Have you been following the Yahoo community lately?"

"No, we've been busy with the promotion these days. How could we pay attention to that?"

"There's a trending topic up there now. Netizens feel that the story of "Miscreant" isn't complete, as there's a little Easter egg at the end of the movie showing the third-in-command and the undercover cop teaming up on the streets. So they're analyzing that this movie should have a prequel, telling the story of these two making a name for themselves on the streets."

Lastly, the host went on, "Was this something you had planned in advance? Clues left for a prequel?"

Lyman listened and found it absurd.

He had left that Easter egg to explain why Third-in-Command hadn't exposed Tom's undercover identity upon discovering it. He genuinely considered him a brother. Even though they had different paths, he wouldn't have advised him to be more ruthless if not for their close relationship.

But here, how did it turn into a hint for a prequel? Lyman couldn't understand. He wasn't Marvel, why would he like to play with that?

The questions were already out there, and he couldn't avoid answering.

Lyman responded with flattering words like "You have a keen observation" and "Netizens are impressive" to brush off the inquiry.

Seeing that the guy wanted to ask further, afraid he'd come up with another trick, Lyman quickly exchanged a glance with the organizers and ended the interview.

...

Promotion naturally involved the media. Even though Lyman had managed to steer clear of the Tom scandal, during afternoon interviews, he was somewhat prepared for what was coming.

However, he didn't anticipate being disgusted once again.

"Director Lyman, we've heard that you frequently communicate with Tom on set. Is it because you share certain inclinations?"

For heaven's sake, they were still dragging that double plug story along, and now they were insinuating that he was involved as well.

Lyman was momentarily stunned. Couldn't they just make up lies if they wanted?

"What did you say?" Lyman decided to give the journalists another chance to ask a question, hoping they would rephrase it.

"Are you gay?"

Perfect, he really was stubborn. Just as Lyman expected, they were going to nauseate him.

"Who told you that I communicate with Tom because of my abnormal sexual orientation? I'm a director, he's an actor. I communicate with him for filming purposes. Do I communicate with you? Are you even worthy? Are you even qualified, huh? Also, let me clarify one thing. All these allegations are being made without evidence. Are you willing to bear legal responsibility?"

Lyman was provoked.

However, American media was cut from the same cloth as the shameless British tabloids. They weren't fazed by this weak threat. Instead, they believed today's interview would surely unearth more news value.

That's what generates views, and that's money.

No choice, because the hottest topic right now was Tom's personal life.

And he was avoiding appearances, so who else could they interview?

Even his ex-wife, Nicole Kidman, had already been interviewed multiple times and no longer held much value.

"So, you think being gay is an abnormal sexual orientation, and you're very prejudiced, right?"

"No, I'm not prejudiced. I... I respect everyone's choices."

Damn, Lyman almost fell into the trap, but luckily, he reacted quickly.

Even if he despised it in his heart, he couldn't let even a hint of his thoughts show on the surface.

In the future, "coming out of the closet" had become a trend. Even now, there were traces of this trend. Ang Lee, who directed "Brokeback Mountain", won an Oscar for it. Wasn't that the best example?

This so-called "cultural" acceptance was not something he dared to mess with.

The on-site reporters sighed inwardly.

They hadn't managed to trick him. Not at all.

"So, Director Lyman, Tom has spent so many days on your set. Can you give an evaluation of him?"

"Dedicated, hardworking, ambitious, a good actor."

"But people say privately that he's hypocritical, has violent tendencies, and a bad temper."

"You said it yourself, privately. How did you come to know all this? Who told you?"

"Uh..."

Topic skipped, moving on.

"What is your opinion of Scientology?"

Seriously? Again?

"Did you study politics in school? What does the Bill of Rights say? Do I need to explain the issue of religious freedom to you again? Remember, I'm French."

The reporters felt embarrassed, they were rebutted both directly and indirectly.

...

Back in the car, Tom leaned back in exhaustion in his seat. When he saw Lyman return, he sincerely said, "Thank you."

His assistant had already informed him about what had happened earlier.

He was grateful to Lyman for standing up for him.

"What are you thinking?"

"I can't back out now."

Those deeply trapped couldn't extricate themselves.

With so many negative implications of Scientology on him, did he really not care?

He cared, but he couldn't back out.

They called it a cult for a reason; how could it not have some methods?

"Let it go." Lyman sensed his helplessness, but there was little he could do.