Even TV series—Catherine remembered plenty of them.
The most iconic was Prison Break; there were also The Big Bang Theory, Friends, The Lost World, and others—
all works with excellent reputations.
Movies were profitable, but that would take years. Right now, television was far more lucrative.
Catherine returned to the bathroom, looked at herself again, and in the end could only get dressed.
Some parts of the body are vulnerable. For example, some people become weak and defenseless after being struck in the lower back. In her previous life, Catherine had been like that too—only this time, the sensation seemed even more pronounced.
"Damn it, I don't even have Slavic blood—how could I get turned on so easily?!"
She suddenly remembered that her mother seemed to have Scandinavian ancestry. Could that really be true?
Anyway,
June 1 was the release date of The Prisoner of Azkaban, and barring any accidents, The Blair Witch Project would also be released in July.
She would definitely be very busy around that time, so she took advantage of the present to file patents for GameTV and the mouse.
Why a patent for the mouse?
Catherine suddenly realized that the mouse didn't exist yet, so she simply assembled one with a scroll wheel.
After all, the original mouse appeared in 1964, but its patent wasn't filed until 1968.
So why shouldn't she be the inventor of the mouse herself?
Thus, while filing a patent for GameTV, she also applied for one for the mouse.
Immediately afterward, Catherine began preparing to celebrate Jenny's birthday.
Westerners love throwing parties; they enjoy celebrating important occasions.
Incidentally, Catherine's own birthday was also June 1—the release date of the third Harry Potter book. On that day, Catherine would turn thirteen.
And then the day arrived: April 8, 1961.
"Is this… Jenny's house?"
When Catherine arrived at Jenny's home with Lily and the others, she was genuinely taken aback.
The three of them, however, seemed completely unfazed. After all, they were a bit older than Catherine and had known Jenny longer—perhaps they had even visited the year before.
"I didn't expect her to have a villa here in Pennsylvania. Honestly, I didn't know when she told me."
"Does Jenny have villas elsewhere?"
"Yes—one in California."
Catherine's own home was also a single-family house. In fact, many middle- and upper-class Americans owned homes like that.
Catherine's family was fairly well-off, so they lived in one too.
In the United States, most people who lived in city apartments were relatively poor—of course, this didn't include luxury apartments or those who simply preferred convenience.
But this villa could clearly be described as an "estate."
That said, all the surrounding houses were similar, which made it seem rather understated.
"It looks so nice—much bigger than the ones in California!" Ida exclaimed, though there was a hint of melancholy in her eyes.
"I heard this is her grandfather's villa, and she's celebrating her birthday here!"
Ah, I see.
"Friends!"
Jenny came out to greet them.
"Jenny, I never imagined you were this rich!" Lisa sighed again as she looked at the house.
"It's my grandfather's place—there's nothing special about it."
Jenny shrugged.
The United States isn't a country in the traditional sense, but rather a union of capital—a haven for wealth. It's normal for there to be many rich people here.
Although Jenny's family was wealthy, they weren't among the top tycoons; they could only be considered moderately influential.
"Honestly, I had no idea."
Catherine looked at Jenny. Compared to a year ago, she really had changed a lot.
Not only were her freckles gone, but her skin was smooth and clear. She no longer wore glasses and now looked like a true society lady—impressive.
Although there were many wealthy people in the U.S., this was the first one Catherine had personally known—and she hadn't expected it to be her classmate.
They quickly entered the house.
"Jenny's classmates—welcome!"
A man in his early sixties stepped forward.
"I'm Jenny's grandfather. My name is Luhman White." Old Mr. White smiled kindly at the group.
"Thank you very much for the film."
Catherine suddenly remembered that he had also helped resolve the issue with the movie. Since it was a B-movie and not strictly banned, the cuts didn't affect the story's progression—another stroke of luck amid misfortune.
"It was nothing. If it had been a big studio production, I wouldn't have been able to help."
Human connections exist everywhere, but Americans tend to focus more on interests; that doesn't mean they're completely devoid of personal ties.
As for Catherine, she was considering whether she should take revenge on those hateful Catholics.
In any case, a few years later the anti-war movement and the hippie movement would emerge, and Christianity's influence in the U.S. would plummet. On top of that, the film rating system would be established. Catherine wondered whether she should make movies that mocked Christianity, like The Da Vinci Code.
Of course, that was a matter for the future. The Catholic Church was still very powerful at present, and its influence on American cinema wouldn't begin to decline until 1963, nor would it fully collapse until 1968.
That said, it seemed that something significant happened between 1961 and 1963.
"The Cuban Missile Crisis!"
Catherine's eyes lit up. Her intuition told her she might have a chance to get involved.
"Kate?"
Lily asked. As Jenny led them into the living room, she saw Catherine standing there, lost in thought.
"Yeah—I'm coming!"
Catherine hurried to follow her.
They didn't seem to be the main focus of the party; after all, it was being hosted by Jenny's grandfather, Old White. Who knew what he was planning? In any case, it had nothing to do with their little group—they just needed to enjoy themselves with Jenny.
Still, Catherine's mind kept drifting back to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
It was a symbol of the Cold War at its peak—but unfortunately, Khrushchev hadn't followed through and dropped a couple of nuclear bombs on the United States. She'd heard that Khrushchev's "Tsar Bomba" was the most powerful nuclear weapon in the world…
That was Catherine's greatest regret in her previous life. But to be honest, she didn't want any nuclear explosions to happen in this one.
"Oh, right…"
It seemed another major event happened in 1962.
The Sino-Indian War?
She shook her head. Beating up an easy target like Ah San didn't seem like much of an achievement. What she needed now was opportunity.
Every business opportunity she could possibly seize.