At noon, on 76th Street of Third Avenue, the sunlight was especially bright.
Luca stopped his car, gazing at the tall buildings, the busy streets filled with cars, bustling sidewalks, high-end luxury stores, and long-legged beauties dressed in minimal clothing.
"New York is still the best!"
He sighed in admiration, humming a tune as he stepped into the elevator.
Ding ding ding~
Arriving at the door of a high-rise apartment, he rang the doorbell. He had been busy with his film crew for the past few weeks and hadn't been home in nearly half a month. He missed the feeling of being home.
Click~
After a moment, the door opened. Standing there was a girl with a round face, round blue eyes, and small, round red lips.
She was wearing a white tank top and shorts, her tall figure and fair, soft skin giving off a sweet strawberry scent. She looked quite appealing.
"Hey~ Miranda!"
Luca smiled slightly, preparing to give her a Brazilian hug.
"Wait, who are you?"
Miranda pushed his arms away, looking at him with disdain.
Luca was taken aback. "Who am I? Miranda, did you lose your memory?"
"I don't know you. Do you need something? If not, I'm closing the door."
Miranda leaned against the door as she spoke.
"Miranda, stop joking."
Luca shook his head and tried to push the door open to step inside.
"You're not coming in!"
Miranda blocked the door and shouted, "Kait, Lima, come quickly! Some homeless guy is trying to barge in!"
"Miranda, hang on! We're coming!"
Thud thud thud~ Kait and Lima appeared, each holding a baseball bat as they stomped to the door, looking fierce.
Luca couldn't help but take a step back.
"Kait, Lima, I'm back!" he said with a slight smile.
"Who are you?"
"Is this your home?" Kait and Lima frowned at him.
"..."
Luca scratched his head helplessly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so caught up with work and forgot to come home. I'll change that from now on."
"Hmph, who cares if you change? First, tell us who you are!" Kait crossed her arms, scowling.
"I'm your brother, Luca!"
"No way!"
Kait sneered. "My brother Luca is handsome and charming. Look at you—dirty clothes, rough skin, greasy hair, scruffy beard. How could you be Luca?"
"Agreed. You look like a homeless man," Lima teased, twirling her bat.
"Wow, now I remember!" Miranda blinked. "Earlier, I gave a homeless guy a dollar. Was that him? Maybe he followed me here. Should we call the cops?"
"No rush, we've got weapons!" Kait lifted her bat, pointing at the so-called homeless man. "You'd better talk fast. Who are you? If you don't speak up, we'll use these."
"Yeah, say something or we'll hit you!" Miranda waved her chubby fist threateningly.
Luca twitched his lips. Had he really changed so much just from wearing the same clothes for a week and not shaving for four days?
He pulled out his wallet. "Look, here's my driver's license—Luca Cassef Domingos Kelly. And look at the photo—still as handsome as ever, right?"
He flashed a bright smile.
"Hm... it does look kind of like him."
"Seems like Luca's back."
"Wait, just looking similar isn't enough. What if he found Luca's wallet?"
"Good point. A driver's license alone can't prove he's Luca. So, what do we do now?"
The three beauties huddled together, whispering.
"I've got an idea!" Kait stepped forward, wrinkling her nose. "He smells terrible."
"I just showered two days ago! How could I smell?"
"Two days ago? Ha!" Kait shook her head, resting her delicate chin on her hand. "Listen, homeless guy. Having my brother's license proves nothing. But my brother has one special skill—he's great at acting cute."
"Acting cute?" Luca was speechless.
"Yes, my brother is very good at acting cute. If you can do it, then we'll know you're him."
"Ha, that's a great suggestion. Go ahead, act cute!" Lima held back her laughter.
Luca sighed. "Come on, I'm a tough guy. I don't act cute!"
"Who's joking? If you can't act cute, you're not Luca."
"And if you're not Luca, you're not coming in."
Kait and Lima slapped their palms with the bats.
"Luca, stop stalling and just act cute!" Miranda yelled.
"Fine!"
Luca wiped his stiff face, then suddenly pointed behind them. "Look, there's a goat in the house!"
"..."
The three girls stared at him silently, not even blinking.
Luca felt utterly embarrassed. He gritted his teeth and stood tall. "Kait, Lima, Miranda, I'm telling you now—no matter what, even if you beat me to death, I absolutely will not act cute."
"Smell that?"
"It smells so good!"
Half an hour later, the dining room was filled with delicious aromas.
Luca was slumped over the dining table, enjoying the food Kait had cooked—peppered steak, fragrant truffle soup, and a beautifully crafted meat pie. There was meat, vegetables, soup, and pie. It was all perfect.
"Kait, your cooking is amazing," Luca praised as he sipped the soup.
"Then eat more!" Kait smiled, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"Luca, when was the last time you got a haircut?" Lima asked, drying his hair with a towel. He had just showered, and his hair was still wet.
"About a month ago, I think. I've been too busy to get it done."
Luca thought for a moment.
"A month?" Miranda shook her head. "No wonder you looked so scruffy in that newspaper photo."
"Scruffy?"
"See for yourself!" Miranda spread out a copy of the New York Post entertainment section, showing a photo of him during an interview.
In the picture, he wore a hat and had a scruffy beard. He looked a bit messy but still ruggedly handsome.
Luca chuckled softly. "I've been so busy I haven't had time to read the papers. Miranda, what does it say?"
Miranda glanced at the article and smiled. "It says you're the most valuable young actor."
"No qualifiers?" Luca asked, confused.
"Nope! The article lists all your work from the past year. Last year's Honey Hot Dance had a box office of $36 million, which was decent, but the home video sales were incredible—$46 million! And this year, you've been in three movies: Mean Girls, The Notebook, and Buried. Add in Honey Hot Dance, and that's over $400 million at the box office! Not to mention your cameos in Along Came Polly and The Day After Tomorrow. The article says you're a huge talent. You've starred in four movies, earned over $400 million at the box office, and even won the Berlin Film Festival award. You've got limitless potential."
Miranda looked at him with admiration.
Luca shook his head. "That's not much. I was just supporting roles in three of those films. It doesn't prove my value."
"But you were still focused on the fashion world last year and became the top-earning male model. You're really something."
Miranda's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"So, I'm doing pretty well?" Luca grinned.
"Yes, dear, you're my pride and joy!" Kait smiled and kissed his forehead.
"And my treasure!" Lima smiled as she kissed his cheek.
"Thanks. I'll keep working harder," Luca promised the three of them.
"But don't forget to come home!"
"Yeah, and if you do forget, just act cute!"
"Ha ha, Luca was so adorable when he acted cute earlier. I recorded it! I'm posting it on YouTube."
"Noooooooo!"
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