Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 762 - 553: Christmas Feast

After the public release of "Victory", Link Music posted a MV on YouTube in the second week. It features Link and the Philharmonic Orchestra and Lady Gaga performing live at Lincoln Center in New York, garnering 38 million views on its first day.

Rave reviews.

In the second week, "Victory" reached over 20 million global digital downloads, 420,000 physical copies were sold in the United States, and 116,000 vinyl records.

In the third week, Link Music posted a second MV on YouTube, mainly featuring edited wartime scenes from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. It exploded with over 100 million views worldwide on the first day and was shared 8.6 million times, nearly saturating the internet with the MV and the song.

Media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and Le Figaro described "Victory" as a phenomenal symphony. Through this song, Link showed that he hasn't given up music creation after leaving the music scene; he's attempting new music styles and achieving 'glorious' results.

Acquaintances in the circle congratulated him over phone calls after hearing the song, lavishing various praises and jokes.

Link himself was also surprised at the sales of the track, knowing it was good, but didn't expect it to be this popular.

On Christmas Eve, he announced through Link Music that all income generated by this song in the next three years would be donated periodically to UNICEF, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The media estimated that the total donation amount would be no less than 50 million US Dollars.

"Link really is someone you want to punch but also can't help but admire." freeweɓnovel.cøm

At the New York Black Metal Club, Lil Wayne remarked while looking at the news on his phone.

"It makes sense to admire him, but why would you want to punch him?"

50 Cent asked while smoking.

"This guy's so arrogant, don't you want to punch him?"

"How is Link arrogant? He's donating so much money to charities, what's wrong with that?"

"He manages to top the singles chart with instrumental music, reaching the top of the chart for him is as easy as coming home, isn't that arrogance?"

Lil Wayne said discontentedly.

Other artists have to spend a lot of time and money on promotions to slowly make their way into the top 100 of the singles chart, gradually building popularity to break into the top 10. Only the lucky ones might reach the number one spot.

With three to four thousand songs released each year, only about a dozen make it to the Billboard number one spot, it's like finding a needle in a haystack. Many singers spend their whole lives without ever achieving a chart-topping hit.

But every time Link releases a song, whether it's pop, rap, rock, or instrumental, he reaches number one.

This makes him seem incredibly formidable, and everyone else just fades into the background.

Naturally, Lil Wayne felt annoyed.

"Link has the talent, what can you do about it?"

50 Cent shrugged.

Lil Wayne thought about it, indeed there was nothing he could do.

"Sigh, although Link has left the music scene, his shadow still looms over us all."

Chris Brown sighed.

At the last American Music Awards, Selena complained about being overshadowed by Link, feeling a lot of pressure. Afterwards, the media joked about Link bullying his cousin Selena, but in fact, Link bullied not just Selena, but everyone.

"Hey, Kanye, have you listened to Link's new song? How does it feel?"

50 Cent shouted loudly as he saw Kanye come in.

"I haven't! I never listen to Link's songs."

Kanye, with his hands in his pockets, said with a wooden face.

At that moment, Link's "Victory" started playing in the bar, just the very beginning, and Kanye shouted to the DJ, "Change the song, I'm tired of hearing this every day, my ears are about to develop calluses."

50 Cent and Chris Brown exchanged glances and laughed loudly.

——

In its fourth week of release, "The Hunger Games 2" achieved a cumulative North American box office of $447 million and an overseas box office of $516 million, reaching a total box office of $960 million.

It smoothly surpassed "Iron Man 3's" $402 million and "Frozen's" $393 million, becoming the champion of the North American box office.

In the global box office rankings, it is only behind "Frozen's" $1.25 billion and "Iron Man 3's" $1.207 billion, ranked third.

However, "The Hunger Games 2" still has room for growth at the box office, with a global box office expected to be around $1.1 billion.

Moreover, driven by this movie, "The Hunger Games 1" achieved over $37 million in box office revenue in North America during its second showing over four weeks, which is also a notable figure.

In late December, Lionsgate Films released their last movie of the year, "August: Osage County" in North America, starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, among others, telling the story of a troubled family's generations of grudges and affections.

The movie, produced by Palm Beach Films with a production budget of $25 million, previewed in 8 cinemas in North America and earned $1.02 million at the box office in its first week, setting a new December preview box office record.

After its release, the film received wide praise from numerous media outlets, an acclaim that was spontaneous and not a result of Lionsgate's public relations.

The Hollywood Reporter commented that Meryl Streep again delivered a breathtaking performance, embodying the hypocritical, vicious, pitiful, and hateful core family character to perfection, while Julia Roberts delivered her best performance since "Never Compromise".

Surprisingly, facing Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, 23-year-old Jennifer Lawrence once again delivered an astonishing performance, no less impressive than the two leads. Some say that her performance in "Silver Linings Playbook" wasn't enough for an Oscar for Best Actress, but her acting and interpretation of her character are definitely worthy of an Oscar.

The Los Angeles Times noted that the most exciting part of this play isn't in the script but beyond the script. Everyone knows that Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence have conflicts; bringing them together in this movie to play a mother and daughter with intense conflicts is a stroke of genius... Their scenes together are also one of the most brilliant parts of the movie, with Jennifer holding her own against Meryl's dominance, enhancing the film altogether.

The New York Times rated the play as the most recommendable women-centric artistic film of 2013, describing the various disputes and struggles within a family, leaving the viewers with a sincere sense of desolation. The film's leading actors, whether it be Meryl, Julia, Jennifer, or others like Abigail, Julian, and Ewan McGregor, all contributed masterful performances, making this artistic film profoundly engaging.

USA Today, The Washington Post, and other newspapers also made positive comments about the movie, with a media composite score of 92, comparably favorable to "Dallas Buyers Club".

Fueled by mainstream media praise, in the second week, it achieved a box office of $6.67 million in 148 cinemas, with an attendance rate as high as 88%.

——

"I don't like this movie."

In Half Mountain Villa, Taylor said while looking at the news on the paper.

"Why?"

"This movie tells the story of a family tragedy. It's really not suitable to release it before Christmas, it looks very depressing."

Taylor commented.

"You're right, that's why we chose a limited release to prepare for the Oscars, and plan a wide release after the New Year, so as not to affect the audience's mood."

Link explained.

This movie is not a family-friendly movie, because of plot issues, it was rated R by the MPAA and is unsuitable for children.

"Is the Oscar statuette that important? You don't even want a Grammy, why compete for an Oscar?"

Taylor rested her long legs, holding a cup of hot coffee from the table and took a sip.

"I've won a few Grammys, not much of a challenge. I haven't gotten the Oscar statuette yet, so I want to give it a try."

After finishing his sentence, Link didn't say more, and helped Alexander, Cynthia, and little Margarita decorate four Christmas trees with Christmas dolls and colorful lights, basking in the festive atmosphere from the chatter of the three little ones.

After a while, Selena and Little Annie arrived, and the villa became even more bustling with the children's screams everywhere.

Link and Ivanka began preparing the Christmas feast, while Taylor chatted with Catherine, Mandy, Mr. Gomez, and Little Annie's dad in the living room, the atmosphere lively with the whole big family.

"Link, do you believe that Margarita can sing the female part of 'Victory' too?"

Selena, holding little Margarita in a Christmas dress, entered the kitchen and said.

"Little Margarita can sing? Did you teach her?"

Link asked, putting down the kitchen knife.

"Yes! Margarita, start singing."

Selena poked the little one's chubby cheek.

Little Margarita immediately opened her mouth and started screaming, and then laughed heartily.

"Haha, how is it?"

Selena said with a naughty smirk.

Link glared at her, "Go out and play! Don't spend the day teaching them useless stuff, or I'll spank you."

"Hmph!"

Selena hummed nonchalantly, shouted 'let's go, Margarita' and the little one ran after her. Not long after, more shrieks could be heard from outside.

"We can't let the little ones play with Selena anymore, lest she teaches them bad habits."

Link said while cutting meat.

"I think it's quite good, Selena is very patient with children, and the kids have a lot of fun playing with her."

Ivanka said while washing vegetables by the sink.

"What if the kids grow up too rebellious, being rich second generation, how do we handle it?"

Link asked.

Ivanka smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "Do you have any ideas?"

"No, that's why I'm discussing with you."

Link continued to chop vegetables.

"It's too early to discuss this issue now, and it makes it seem too serious. You know those rebellious rich second generations are a very small, well-known minority. Most are brought up in wealth and receive elite education, growing up to be social elites. As long as we educate our children well and care about them, the chances of them becoming rebellious will decrease, so there's no need to worry too much."

Ivanka said with a smile.

Link nodded, approving of her perspective as a second-generation rich.

"How's the Christmas dinner preparation going?"

Taylor walked over from the living room, holding a glass of juice.

"Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm just skeptical about your Christmas feast."

Taylor leaned against the counter.

"Don't worry, I guarantee it'll fill you up."

Link continued chopping diligently.

"Need help? I don't want to freeload."

"No need, I can manage on my own. Ivanka, you don't need to stay here and distract me either, go out and enjoy."

Link nudged Ivanka's shoulder.

Ivanka, with a chilled look, said with some resentment, "I'm here to help you and you say I'm distracting?"

"You're distracting me."

Link shrugged and smiled.

Ivanka playfully rolled her eyes at him, took off her apron, and left with Taylor.

Link, now alone, prepared the Christmas dinner even faster. Within less than three hours, he prepared a lavish feast - Christmas turkey, Christmas ham, Christmas salmon, Christmas pie, Christmas pudding, bacon chicken rolls, Christmas pizza, seafood soup, several kid dishes, numerous fruits, and beverages, filling the table with festive and vibrant decorations.

But before he could announce dinner, Selena, Taylor, Ivanka, and Mrs. Mandy all took out their phones and started shooting the dinner table, intending for the netizens to rate his chef skills.

After they finished, everyone started to enjoy the Christmas feast, chatting about work, and the four little ones constantly chattered amidst them, leaving the table never quiet.

After the Christmas dinner was over, and as the evening darkened, Catherine's family and Mandy's family drove away.

With the adults gone, the villa became even rowdier and under Selena's suggestion, they drove downtown to Universal Studios to watch the Christmas show and roamed the amusement park until little Margarita, Cynthia, and Alexander fell asleep in their arms, then drove back home.