During the scorching summer blockbuster season, Charles was merely an observer.
Large movie posters outside Los Angeles cinemas enticed people in: "The Matrix Reloaded," "Bruce Almighty," "pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl," "Terminator 3," and "hulk" were either showing or about to be released, filling every theater.
"The Matrix Reloaded" premiered over half a month ago, with a North America opening weekend of 92 million US dollars, and its North America box office has already reached 281 million US dollars to date.
Because the second and third parts were filmed back-to-back, the third part, "The Matrix Revolutions," will also be released this November.
Charles knew that Keanu Reeves earned 75 million US dollars from "The Matrix" trilogy; his salary for the first film was only 10 million, with the subsequent two films bringing in over 60 million US dollars!
Who would have thought that the directors, the Wachowski brothers, would eventually become the Wachowski siblings, and then ultimately the Wachowski sisters?
Driving his BMW Z8 retro-style sports car to the Staples Center in the city center, as the Los Angeles Lakers' journey had ended after losing to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
Charles specifically came to the Staples Center just to see it; after all, he had never been to the US in his previous life, and he had been busy these past two years, so he hadn't watched a Lakers game.
The Los Angeles Lakers, a goldmine! Even the Staples Center has become one of the most popular stadiums.
This year, Michael Jordan retired, truly retired, the kind that won't make a comeback.
Charles looked at the Staples Center, his heart full of envy. Los Angeles is a big market, and while it doesn't have an NFL club, it does have a baseball team.
In the US, although American football and baseball are more popular than basketball, basketball's overseas market is incomparable to American football and baseball.
The original owner of this body was a fan of the NFL and MLB, and also followed the NBA, but had no interest in soccer.
"In the future, when I have money, I want to get a team to play with. The NFL is the most profitable, so I'll get one, and I'm a casual fan of basketball and soccer, so I can get those too," Charles murmured, narrowing his eyes.
Being reborn, life had already become a game, and he was even cheating; too many past dreams could now be realized.
After a few more glances at the Staples Center and the tourists, Charles got in his car and left.
Not far away was the main park campus of USC, where the School of Cinematic Arts, School of Architecture, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and School of Dance, among others, were located within this vast campus.
As for the Schools of Education, Pharmacy, Medicine, etc., they were located in the branch campuses in eastern Los Angeles.
USC's location is excellent, surrounded by the California Science Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Staples Center, MacArthur Park, etc., so there's no shortage of things to eat, drink, and do.
Charles, in a T-shirt and casual pants, drove his 160,000 US dollar BMW Z8 leisurely past the entrance of USC.
California has plenty of sunshine, no wonder everyone likes to drive convertibles, it's really refreshing.
While driving, his eyes under his sunglasses occasionally glanced at various beauties; it was summer vacation, so many university students were on holiday or doing internships.
However, this was not yet the era of the internet boom, and USC was not yet a popular spot for influencers to check in.
Suddenly, a scantily clad, sexy girl in front waved at the car.
"Is something wrong?" Charles stopped the car, pulled down his sunglasses, and asked.
"Hello, are you planning to take Highway 10 towards Santa Monica? I'm going to the beach, could you give me a ride?" The sexy girl's white T-shirt had "USC" printed on it, clearly indicating she was a USC student.
"Get in," Charles was indeed heading back to Beverly Hills, and Highway 10 ends at Santa Monica.
"Thanks," the sexy girl tossed her blonde hair, opened the door, and got into the passenger seat.
"Nice car! I'm Elizabeth, a junior in journalism at USC, currently looking for a summer internship."
As she spoke, she pointed to the "USC" letters on her T-shirt.
"Just call me Charles!" The BMW Z8's long hood and protruding nose made it look quite ugly from the side, though its front and rear streamlined design were good.
Most girls didn't like it, otherwise, it wouldn't have been discontinued after only producing over 5,000 units.
Elizabeth was very interested in the handsome Charles, who drove a sports car. "Charles, what do you do?"
"I work in film, behind the scenes. There are many people in Los Angeles who work in entertainment!" Charles Capet hadn't attended university, but his soul had genuinely studied at a university in China, and it was ten years in the future.
"Film! That's so cool," Elizabeth smoothed her hair.
"I have that idea too, but I'm still looking for an internship at a news organization!"
"It's hard to find? Reporter, editor, or advertising, public relations, something like that." Charles was a bit confused. USC's School of Communication and Journalism and School of Cinematic Arts are top-ranked; how could she not find an internship?
Damn, she can't handle hardship! Back when Charles first arrived, he did odd jobs on set, assistant errands, what didn't he do?
"Oh, Charles, I want to find a job I like right now, and I need enough free time," Elizabeth said.
Los Angeles has a developed economy, with shipping, aerospace, petrochemicals, electronics, and a powerful cultural and entertainment industry, coupled with a warm climate.
California can truly be said to be as rich as a nation, and as the state with the most immigrants, its inclusivity is also very strong.
In less than half an hour, Charles drove to Santa Monica.
"Charles, my friends and I are meeting to play volleyball on the beach, and then go to a bar tonight. There's a rock band playing there tonight, come join us!" Elizabeth invited Charles to come along.
"Oh, are they all as hot as you?"
"Big breasts, perky butts, sexy cheerleaders!"
Since she said that, what was Charles waiting for? Of course, he followed Elizabeth.
After parking the car in the Santa Monica Beach pier parking lot, the Route 66 terminus, a popular check-in spot, appeared before them.
Then there was a large amusement park, and the long pier extended into the sea, with over 15 kilometers of beautiful beach scenery on both sides.
Charles put his arm around Elizabeth, both eating ice cream, while complaining, "I actually don't like coming here in the summer; there are too many people."
"There are fewer people at Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach to the south," Elizabeth didn't mind; more people meant more lively.
"Let's go down and find your friends!" Charles also wanted to see what American university students were like these days!