Chapter 14

There was no need for Lev and the others to spread the word; with a whole busload of students as witnesses, the next day, a fresh rumor quickly spread throughout the school:

"Phyllis Collins and VIY are dating!"

It was like a deep-water bomb had exploded, and the boys and girls were all abuzz with talk, saying all sorts of things. The boys were either envious or jealous, as Lily was widely recognized as the next high school beauty, and what kind of luck did Ye Wei have! The girls were even more complex; some mocked Lily for being desperate, and the half-quirky, half-cool Ye Wei wasn't exactly a hot catch; others angrily denounced her, saying that as soon as Wei became famous, she immediately attached herself, relying on her own status! Bitch!

Of course, there were also those who offered their blessings, especially Ye Wei's friends, who were all very happy.

The rumor spread so quickly and widely that even the teachers knew about it, but Harvard-Westlake did not manage students' dating and relationships, so nothing happened. They just didn't think it would last, seeing it as just a result of teenagers' excessive hormones. They thought, "Wait a week, a month, and see? They won't even be friends."

Only a very few people knew the truth: the two were not dating.

Lily Collins might have had her own thoughts, but Ye Wei was truly too busy to care about these things, as there were more important matters at hand.

Today was Friday, and "The Wedding Date" had already premiered at midnight at a cinema's midnight show!

This independent film, with a production cost of $2 million and a distribution cost of $180,000, aimed to earn over $10,000 in the "13 Cinema" at "Beverly Center" within a week to secure a second week of screening.

At $6 per ticket, they needed to sell 1,667 tickets.

The "13 Cinema" had 13 screening halls, located in a shopping center with plenty of foot traffic and advanced hardware, though it was a second-run theater, it was still not a third-run, and it was bustling, which seemed like an honor for a self-distributed film.

This was the brilliance of Kevin Thomas's deception; the film's screening here would satisfy the investors, making them feel he had done his best.

But Ye Wei knew that "The Wedding Date" was actually not suitable for screening here, as there were too many choices for the audience in such a bustling place!

Second-run theaters screened films that had been successful or well-received during their first run, and they wouldn't introduce a losing, lousy film. This made it difficult for those not specifically targeting a film to notice an unknown one on the poster wall. "The Wedding Date" premiering here? What is it?

On the contrary, if it were screened in a single-hall cinema in a remote area, the box office might be better, regardless of whether it made a profit.

Entering the "13 Cinema" was like entering a coliseum, with a bunch of other well-known films competing for the audience.

1,667 tickets, for a blockbuster like "The Lord of the Rings," would be the box office of just two or three screenings; but for "The Wedding Date"... it was an astronomical number.

The Ye family stayed at home as usual in the early hours of the morning, not making a special trip to check the occupancy rate, but it probably wasn't good, as there was no news from the cinema.

The "13 Cinema" didn't care; they had already collected $6,000 for a week's screening in one hall. Apart from the necessary screening fees, they wouldn't take any box office share, and the cinema manager didn't expect anything, thinking it was just a bunch of amateurs messing around.

The performance of "The Wedding Date" was too important, and at this point, though Ye Wei was mentally prepared, he still harbored a faint hope. The poor performance of the midnight show couldn't immediately doom it; the daytime might be better, and tonight was the decisive moment!

That day, Ye Wei spent the day in a state of ripples amidst the calm.

After nightfall, the entire Ye family went to Beverly Center.

Many others were also on the move; the 20:45-22:15 screening was a pre-arranged "premiere," with Ye Haogen's colleagues and friends, other investors' relatives and friends, and Ye Wei's close friends... all invited, totaling over a hundred people ready to support, without needing to buy tickets.

Regardless of how the box office would turn out, the Ye family's SUV was filled with joy, with all four dressed up, and Toto wearing a red bow tie around his neck.

Ye Duo happily sang children's songs, her chubby face beaming with innocent smiles, clapping and saying, "Our movie is showing, our movie is showing!"

Infected by her daughter's happiness, Ye Haogen and Gu Qiao also smiled, with Ye Haogen exclaiming like a child, "We are movie moguls!" Toto barked, wagging his tail, "Woof!"

Sitting on the left side of the back row, Ye Wei looked at his family and smiled, everything would be fine, he promised...

When the Ye family arrived at the "13 Cinema" ticket hall, it was just 8:00 PM, and the guests hadn't arrived yet, but a few investors' families were already there.

They had invested real money and were naturally concerned about the film's distribution, puzzled by the reason for Kevin Thomas's dismissal, of which they knew very little.

One of them, a middle-aged convenience store owner named Mike Schwartz, glared with his bull eyes and pressed Ye Haogen, "I have $100,000 in this, I have the right to know what the hell happened, right? I invested because Thomas was a professional producer, and now..."

"Mike, this is complicated... Thomas... he..." Ye Haogen was at a loss for words, stammering.

"It's actually very simple, that bastard screwed everything up, completely and utterly!"

Ye Haogen turned to see Ye Wei walking over, his voice heavy with anger. Schwartz seemed to appreciate his blunt response, nodding slightly.

Ye Wei continued seriously, "What we need to do now is clean up the mess. Uncle Mike, you know what you need to know, and knowing more won't help. The investment contract is clear, a five-year profit and loss! So don't worry, it will be fine."

"How will it be fine?" Schwartz frowned.

"I don't know yet, but don't forget, our family invested $1.8 million! If anyone should be nervous, it's us! Have you seen us crying like babies?"

Ye Wei smiled, "What, did the $100,000 scare you into wetting your pants?" Schwartz burst into laughter, "Yes, it scared the shit out of me." Ye Wei punched him playfully, smiling, "Not yet, pull your shit back in, and let's enjoy the movie tonight, our movie."

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Wei, I'll listen to you." Schwartz nodded, laughing.

"Ha, ha..." Ye Haogen also laughed, feeling relieved, looking at his son with satisfaction, Wei had truly grown up...

As the time approached 8:30 PM, guests began to arrive, each with their own reception, while Ye Wei welcomed his four close friends and walked to the screening hall, chatting and laughing.

"Bro, look at this, Beverly Center!" Lev walked, gazing around the luxurious surroundings, "Our movie is showing here! This is so cool, I envy you. I've been telling my old man to invest in movies for a long time, but he's a miser, even Harpagon is better than him!"

His family was in the book business, running a bookstore with a bit of money.

"Yeah, my dad is the same, Brother Wei, your dad is so cool!" Bud said, munching on popcorn, his family in the restaurant business, running a small restaurant.

Chen Nuo and Colewyn also nodded; who didn't aspire to be in movies?

"He is cool, a dream chaser," Ye Wei smiled, murmuring, "the most adorable dream chaser."

As they entered the dimly lit screening hall, Lev, who had been talking about how cool it was, stopped, and Bud and the others were also stunned. The hall, which could seat hundreds, had only a few guests in the front rows, a few scattered in the middle, and the rest of the seats were empty. Counting the entire hall, there were only about a dozen ticketed viewers, and it was unclear whether they were there for the movie or for a date...

This occupancy rate seemed very bleak...

"It hasn't started yet! Wait a bit, the audience will come," Lev forced a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah!" Bud echoed, and Colewyn and Chen Nuo also gave Ye Wei encouraging looks.

"Thanks, guys, I'm fine, let's watch the movie!"

Meanwhile, at the poster wall in the cinema ticket hall, audiences without a specific target came and went, making choices for their two-hour entertainment.

A young white couple noticed the poster for "The Wedding Date" in the corner: a newlywed couple in wedding attire holding a knife, surrounded by guests, all in shock as a huge wedding cake toppled to the ground.

The names of the cast and crew on the poster were very small, almost requiring a magnifying glass to read, but the promotional slogan was huge, catching the audience's attention:

"The funniest wedding movie ever! The wedding date is near, but are you really ready?"

Actually, the original promotional poster for "The Wedding Date" showed a newlywed couple sweetly watching the sunset on a Florida beach. The current poster was redesigned by Ye Wei over the past few days, but due to the lack of poster photo material, it was a bit rough and awkward, which was unavoidable.

"Looks interesting, George, how about this one?"

"Are you kidding? Who are these actors? I don't recognize any of them. Forget it, haven't we seen enough wedding movies in the past two years? Let's watch 'Kill Bill'?"

"No, I don't want to watch a violent movie. How about... 'School of Rock'? It seems interesting too."

"Good, I heard it's great. A friend recommended it to me, saying Jack Black's performance is awesome!"

The couple chose their movie and walked to the ticket window, buying two tickets for "School of Rock."

Many viewers were like them, finding the scene of the wedding cake falling interesting but not enough to make them spend $6. Why? An unclear director and producer, unknown actors, and a completely unheard-of movie... it felt like a homemade sugar water mixed in a box of Coca-Cola, no interest.

Of course, some viewers were attracted, like a white family of three, the parents and a little girl, who were excited and ready to laugh.

They entered the screening hall, surprised by the large number of empty seats, but it was good, and they chose the best middle seats, with previews of other movies playing on the screen, a few minutes before the start.

The first few rows were the liveliest part of the hall, with all the guests gathered, adding life to the hall with their laughter and chatter.

The four members of the Ye family sat in the center of the first row, with Dodo holding Toto and Gu Qiao taking care of her, smiling gently.

Ye Wei's attention was on his father, who he could see was very nervous, about to step onto the rainbow bridge he had dreamed of for years, eager to run but afraid of falling...

His heart was also tense, knowing that the next few days were crucial, and he must not let anything happen to his father.

"Wei, do you know?" Ye Haogen suddenly sighed, gazing at the large screen in front of him, "When I was a child, I dreamed of this day! Although 'The Wedding Date' wasn't produced or directed by me, I feel... my dream has come true.

Some say that the older a person gets, the smaller their dreams. I think maybe it's because older people have hopes in addition to dreams."

He turned to his son, pride in his smile, and continued, "I've thought it over. I'm not cut out for making movies, I'm not good at socializing, and I'm getting old. I'll just be a good dentist. But you're different, Wei. You have talent. If you have a movie dream, go for it. Dad will support you fully."

Suddenly, Ye Wei's eyes blurred with tears. He understood that in that dream, it wasn't just "The Wedding Date" that killed his father, but also him.

This answered another question that had long troubled him: why did his optimistic and cheerful father have a stroke? It wasn't just the huge investment loss and the shattered dream, but more importantly, he had no hope...

He couldn't see hope in his son, that spoiled and unruly little wastrel, how could he become anything? How could he carry on the family legacy? He couldn't see it.

But now, it was different. His father saw hope in his son.

"I will," Ye Wei said, his lips trembling, "I will, Dad, I will."

"Son, no matter what, I want you to understand one thing," Ye Haogen patted his son's shoulder, "I am always proud of you."

Ye Wei's tears couldn't be held back, finally understanding that his father's despair in the dream wasn't because his son wasn't making progress, but because he couldn't provide his family with as much love as before, couldn't satisfy his son's whims like "a $20,000 vintage comic book" anymore...

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[End of Chapter]