Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm

Seated in the audience, Peter Jackson was visibly tense.

His hands clenched involuntarily as he stared at the envelope in Sean Connery's hands, cursing himself for not having X-ray vision.

Connery took his time, opening the envelope with deliberate slowness. He glanced inside, then broke into a smile.

"Congratulations, Peter Jackson—The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers!"

Jackson, despite his hefty frame, leaped to his feet with surprising agility.

Overcome with excitement, he immediately hugged Martin. "Thank you, Martin!"

"You earned it," Martin replied with a smile.

Jackson then turned to embrace the rest of his team, his voice overflowing with gratitude.

As he walked toward the stage, people along the way extended their hands, offering congratulations.

At that moment, Peter Jackson felt as though he had reached the pinnacle of his career.

Standing at the podium, he delivered a long string of thank-yous before finally arriving at the most significant one.

"Yes, I've saved Martin for last, and I don't think anyone—including my parents—will object. Martin saved my career. To be honest, when he decided to take on The Lord of the Rings investment, I was on the verge of collapse…"

In the audience, Harvey Weinstein's face darkened.

After all, the person who had nearly crushed Jackson's career back then was him.

"Thank God I met Martin," Jackson continued, grinning, "even if it was in a leopard's mouth. But I don't blame Him one bit."

The room erupted into laughter.

People suddenly recalled the legendary way Jackson and Martin first met—when Martin saved him from an actual leopard attack. And then, not only did Martin rescue Jackson, but he also invested in his film.

That investment, in turn, brought Martin immense returns.

Thunderous applause followed.

Jackson, initially about to say something sentimental, had a sudden flash of inspiration and changed course.

"And finally, I just want to say—Martin, I love you!!!"

The crowd roared with laughter.

It was obvious he was mimicking Nicole Kidman's earlier declaration.

Both Martin and Nicole laughed along.

Jackson's joke helped ease some of the heat on Nicole.

Smart guy.

Meanwhile, Harvey was growing increasingly anxious.

Another one of Martin's films had won a major award. If his film didn't win Best Picture, he would suffer a total defeat.

He turned to glance at Martin, only to see the younger man smirking, eyes filled with barely concealed disdain.

Damn it, you haven't won yet!

Best Picture hadn't been announced!

But Martin knew he had already won.

From the memories he had absorbed from his past self in China, he knew that in the original timeline, Chicago had won Best Picture this year.

So he had acted.

For weeks, he had been subtly influencing the Academy's older members—not by convincing them to vote for his films, but by planting the idea that Chicago should not win.

Sure, he could have pushed The Matrix or The Two Towers to victory.

But that would have been too controversial, unnecessary.

His goal was simple—as long as Harvey lost, Martin won.

The result?

A surprise upset—The Pianist won Best Picture.

When Kirk Douglas read the name aloud, Harvey's face turned red, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"No… No, that's impossible. I knew those old men were going to vote for Chicago!"

For a brief moment, he completely lost control of his expression.

His furious, stunned face was captured perfectly by the cameras.

In the original timeline, Chicago had dominated, winning Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, and a slew of technical awards—Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design.

But now, thanks to Martin's intervention, Chicago was left with only three wins—Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design.

Of those, only one was a major award.

Compared to Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Picture, they were mere consolation prizes.

So when Martin deliberately walked past Harvey, holding his three golden statuettes, Harvey's face turned an alarming shade of purple.

If he weren't physically outmatched, he might have swung at Martin right then and there.

Seething, Harvey skipped the Oscars afterparty entirely.

Oh, and so did Tom Cruise.

His ex-wife's public love confession to Martin had humiliated him.

As Martin and Nicole exited the Kodak Theatre, preparing to head to the Sunset Tower Hotel for the afterparty, they were immediately swarmed by reporters.

"Martin! What's your relationship with Nicole?"

"Are you two officially together?"

"Have you slept together?"

"Nicole, why did you choose tonight to confess your love? Were you already a couple?"

"Nicole, aren't you worried that this forbidden romance is setting a bad example for children?"

"Nicole, Martin is only sixteen! With such a large age gap, doesn't this feel more like a mother-child relationship?"

Nicole's face turned black.

Martin, meanwhile, burst into laughter—only to have Nicole pinch his waist in retaliation.

Quickly regaining composure, he cleared his throat and said seriously, "Nicole is still in the prime of her youth—physically and mentally. Just look at her. Does she look even remotely old to you? At most, this is a sibling relationship. As for the guy who said 'mother and child'—you've gone too far."

"So, Martin, are you saying you accept Nicole's confession?"

"With a woman as beautiful as Nicole declaring her love, tell me—who could possibly reject her? Tom Cruise?"

Laughter erupted in the crowd.

"Martin, can you tell us when exactly you and Nicole started dating?"

"Martin, have you two… you know?"

Martin pointed at the reporter who had asked both questions.

"Wasn't it you who just said Nicole would be a bad influence on children?"

The reporter blinked. "…Yes?"

"Then aren't you setting a bad example by asking this kind of question?"

The reporter hesitated, then fired back, "Then answer me this—haven't you two violated the Romeo and Juliet laws?"

Martin feigned innocence.

"Nicole and I have a Platonic relationship. We haven't done anything. So tell me—what law have we broken?"

His tone was so convincingly sincere that several reporters actually believed him.

Well, that was just Martin's acting skills at work.

He didn't even need magic to make them buy it.