Chapter 23

Yewei, it's Yewei again!

This phrase has long been the nightmare of the faculty at Harvard-Westlake Middle School. Whenever someone says this, nothing good ever happens, and now, this phrase has resurfaced!

And this time, he wasn't playing any pranks, wasn't demanding more cooks in the cafeteria, or asking the school to plant more holly trees... but...

"What!? Is he crazy!?" Old Headmaster Tom Hednutt almost fell to the ground when he heard the news, shocked, anxious, and angry. Yewei had started a crowdfunding campaign in the middle school, and over a hundred students had already joined!

What on earth is happening!

Middle School Principal Jenny Hebrich, who was reporting the situation, also looked helpless. Perhaps they were really getting old and couldn't keep up with the pace of the young.

"Teacher Grace Esh was the first to discover it. This crowdfunding has actually been going on for several days. Teacher Esh said Yewei had already prepared the investment contracts and was planning to photocopy and distribute them today. She tried to persuade the students to think twice, but they were too excited and wouldn't listen to anything except Yewei."

"How did this happen?" Hednutt's face turned red with excitement, his lips trembling. "Call Yewei in immediately... call him in right now! Oh my God!!"

While chaos reigned in the headmaster's office, the news quickly spread throughout the middle school.

Yewei had also told his friends that there was no need to hide anymore. At this stage of signing contracts, the news would inevitably leak through the parents, so they might as well be open about it!

In less than a morning, the entire campus was in an uproar. In classrooms, the cafeteria, the library, the music hall, the theater, the sports field... everyone was talking about it!

"Crowdfunding 500,000! Dollars!?"

"Wow... I knew VIY would turn things around, he's just that kind of person!"

"I know some people might disagree, but Yewei is really cool this time!"

"Of course I disagree. Cool? What are you talking about, this guy is a genius! Oh my God, no, I have to join the Dream Alliance, I want to be part of it..."

"Hurry up, if VIY raises 500,000, we won't be able to join even if we want to."

The members of the Entrepreneurship Club were almost in tears. They weren't like the kids from public schools who had never seen the world. They had always participated in school-guided simulated and real entrepreneurship, such as selling simulated products or setting up soda and ice cream carts, and some of them even made a little money.

But it was more about playing than learning, the main goal was to add color to their resumes to have an advantage when applying to Ivy League universities...

Some things are worse when compared. Compared to Yewei's grand crowdfunding of hundreds of thousands, they felt like kids playing in a sandbox, contentedly building their castles, only to turn around and see someone build a real house.

The members of the Film Production Club were no better. They also did crowdfunding, but only for a thousand or two to make a few-minute short film... What was Yewei planning? Crowdfunding 500,000? To invite Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet to star?

People were shocked, people were envious... Among the 60-plus student clubs in the middle school, no one dared to do this, and no one could do this! No one... except the Dream Alliance.

"Lily, have you heard?"

After an art class, it was already noon. Lily was walking to the cafeteria, not yet leaving the academic center, when Trist walked up excitedly, "About Yewei."

Hearing this name, Lily's expression immediately became unnatural, her tone stiff: "What, that jerk... what did he do now?"

Her mind was in a mess. On Tuesday afternoon, they had a nice walk, had a lot of fun, and seemed to become friends. Then, after that evening, until now, almost two days later, Yewei hadn't contacted her again, as if he had disappeared, as if nothing had happened.

She didn't know what had come over her, but she found herself checking her phone from time to time these past two days, seemingly expecting something... like a missed call, a text message...

But... what was this? Just a walk? Or did he have some complaint? He seemed happy and wanted to continue...

Then why did he do this? What does he really want! Whether to have a second date, no, a walk...! Is this how you develop a friendship? They lived so close, and they had each other's phone numbers! Did she have to take the initiative to ask him out? Send a text message, "Hi, Wei, I'm crazy, I'm thinking of you"?

So confusing! She couldn't understand what Yewei was thinking, or what she herself was thinking. Why was she thinking about these things, why did she care? Damn it! They were just newly acquainted friends, it was normal not to contact each other frequently! Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it, he's just a jerk, didn't she know that already...

These conflicting thoughts were driving Lily crazy, as if there were several versions of herself, one telling her to do one thing, another telling her to do something else.

Now, at the sound of Yewei's name, Lily felt her heart tighten, making it hard to breathe, so it beat fiercely.

"He's done it again!" Trist said, unaware of the change in Lily and Yewei's relationship, thinking they had just met and exchanged the doll, still holding the impression of their previous animosity.

Lily's eyebrows shot up, as if she heard Yewei's laugh, "I told you so," crowdfunding 500,000 to make a movie! He was really doing it!

"The latest news is that he's been called to Headmaster Hednutt's office, we don't know if it will continue," Trist's tone was full of curiosity and anticipation.

"He will." Lily blurted out, her mind filled with that confident face, those determined words. She laughed, "He will, that's VIY!"

In the administrative building, the spacious headmaster's office was now filled with faculty members.

The judge was the headmaster of the entire school and the middle school principal; the jury included Yewei's responsible teacher, Grace Esh, the two deans, Colby Plath and Eric Kim, the assistant coach of the soccer team, Matteo Carioni, math teacher Karen Salerno, psychologist Susan Koh, and art teacher and Dream Alliance club advisor, Joe Schenk...

A formidable lineup, almost all the faculty members responsible for Yewei were present.

"Wow!" Yewei couldn't help but be surprised by the scene as he walked into the office, laughing loudly, "Is this an Old-School party?"

He was still joking! The teachers were all a bit heartbroken, how could they educate this devil student?

"I like it, it's fun..."

"Yewei, be serious!" The old headmaster's face was stern, no joking around. "What's this about your crowdfunding? Tell us in detail."

"OK, our goal is to raise 500,000, then, first, buy a good movie script..."

Yewei sat down in the chair prepared for him and gave a brief explanation, not emphasizing that the 500,000 was all for buying the script, "It's not illegal, not immoral, and doesn't violate our honor code. Isn't it great to create achievements beyond academics?"

Everyone looked at each other, all feeling helpless. This was VIY's usual style. You say he's wrong, but he argues that it's what you encouraged him to do...

The old headmaster felt he had already been trapped, sighing, "This kind of achievement is too early for you. You can start with school activities and projects."

"Sir, I really can't agree with you. How old was Shirley Temple when she won her first Oscar? 7 years old? Should we call her and ask?"

Everyone was speechless at Yewei's rebuttal. Temple was an alumnus of Westlake School, and after the merger, she became an alumnus of Harvard-Westlake.

"'They can because they believe they can.'" Yewei quoted the school motto, his voice growing heavier, "I know our dreams are hard to achieve, but we can't give up because of that, it's impossible."

He then took the lead, "Actually, I think you can help explain to the parents. Besides the risk of losing a few thousand dollars, this project has only benefits! If you want a great resume, this is the way to go. Look at the whole country, how many middle school students can do what we're doing? Whether we succeed or fail, we are excellent dream chasers."

When he finished, the headmaster's office fell silent. The faculty had been prepared for his rebuttal, but they were speechless...

A serious VIY was a billion times more difficult to deal with than a mischievous VIY.

"You have a point, but you also need to understand that 500,000 dollars is not a small amount! This money is actually your parents', it shouldn't be used as your play money." The old headmaster looked serious, as if saying, "I can't just watch you squander your family's wealth."

"This isn't a game!" Yewei became a bit agitated, thinking of everyone's enthusiasm, "We joke that it's a game, but what is it really? Youth, dreams!"

The old headmaster nodded slightly, "I know some students have been unfriendly to you recently. We will criticize and punish those troublemakers, and we need to do better in eliminating peer pressure. If you have any stress, you can talk to us, or join the peer support club..."

"Please!" Yewei had to rudely interrupt, finding it ridiculous. Peer support? A bunch of nerds sitting in a circle, saying, "I'm depressed because I'm unpopular," "I'm unpopular because I'm a nerd," "It's okay, we're all like that"... What nonsense!

What he was doing now was rescuing those nerds!

"Headmaster, I think the worst thing you're doing is not truly understanding us. Dr. Koh, you're a psychologist, you should understand how much students want to break free and express themselves! Do something, not sit in a circle complaining and crying like a bunch of losers!

And don't punish anyone, I don't need it. Students have their own ways of solving problems, and your intervention will only put me and my friends in a more awkward position.

I know you mean well, but the Dream Alliance Film Company will definitely be established, and our project will continue to move forward. This is my 100% serious declaration."

The situation was developing completely differently from what was expected! The faculty's feelings were complex, but today's VIY seemed different from before. His seriousness was evident to Susan Koh, to Teacher Esh, and to the others.

Among them, Coach Carioni was the most familiar with this serious side of Yewei. He loved that serious, cold look, which meant VIY was angry, and his opponents were in trouble.

"Ugh!" The old headmaster was very troubled. After so many years as a headmaster, teaching so many students, he rarely felt this troubled.

The school motto wasn't fully quoted, at least there was one more line: "Their age exceeds 20!" A 15-year-old film producer? This must be a joke! But if Yewei insisted, the school couldn't force him to give up.

At this moment, Teacher Esh frowned, "Yewei, your academic performance has always been dangerous. You haven't been doing homework recently, and you've been frequently absent from the soccer team. Now you want to start a film project. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Right! Your academics are a big problem." The old headmaster nodded quickly, and Math Teacher Salerno agreed, "You almost failed the last test."

"Ha ha." Yewei smiled mysteriously, looking around, "Maybe it's time to show you a truth, I'm a genius."

"I don't do homework because I don't need to, doing it is just a waste of time; I get C's in all subjects because I want to be a cool kid, not a teacher's pet. If I wanted to, I could complete all the 9-12 grade academic courses ahead of time. Do you believe me?"

Of course, no one believed him. Yewei had said this before, and they just thought he was boasting.

But Yewei insisted on having a few teachers test him, just as an experiment.

"So, x squared - 5|x| + 4 = 0, what is the sum of all real roots..."

"Teacher Salerno, are you kidding me? Even if I were a fool, I'd be a Rain Man kind of fool. The answer is 0."

Seeing Yewei answer so confidently, Teacher Salerno was a bit surprised. The math talent of Asian students was showing? Let's try again!

But several questions later, Yewei either answered immediately or solved them correctly after a bit of calculation on paper. He couldn't be tested!

Then, English Teacher Esh also asked a few questions, and Yewei answered them as well. There were no other subject teachers present, but Yewei talked about some biology and history knowledge. If he was half-knowledgeable before, he was now at least 7/10 knowledgeable, leaving everyone stunned!

"Then, language, the requirement is to study at least one language to level three, right? I chose Chinese, listen."

Yewei switched to Chinese mode, speaking fluent Mandarin: "Hello, can you understand? Dr. Koh? Dean Kim? Oh, Dean Kim, you're Korean, mi an ha mi da. I grew up learning Chinese, taught by my grandfather and parents... reaching level three? Do you know how to say it, it's a piece of cake, a breeze!"

He made a flipping hand gesture and repeated what he said in English.

Everyone felt even more stifled. Teacher Esh knew he was telling the truth. Yewei's mother, a bachelor's degree holder in East Asian languages from UCSF, had taught Yewei not only fluent Chinese but also some Korean and Japanese. Despite this, he ignored French and Spanish, choosing to study Chinese and only getting a C, showing how lazy he was in his studies...

After a while, the old headmaster made a decision. Yewei's genius demonstration was over, and his parents joined the meeting by phone.

Yehaogen and Gu Qiao were also shocked. Did they really raise a genius son? But they knew better than the faculty that their son had changed a lot. Gu Qiao thought, maybe they should let their son take the plunge... and Yehaogen would support him!

He didn't know how big his son's plans were, thinking 500,000 was the total cost, so he applauded, "As long as you do it legally, there's no problem." He then reassured the teachers, "Yewei's plan is astonishing, but doesn't it show courage, creativity, and ability? I think we should support him."

The old headmaster and others looked at each other, extremely conflicted. They should encourage him, but they also had to consider reality...

After a long discussion, they finally reached an agreement, with the school making significant concessions and a major change in Yewei's educational plan!

The film project could proceed, but it would be under the school's supervision and guidance. No one wanted a sudden "SEC arrests Harvard-Westlake young financial criminal" news.

Regarding Yewei's academics, if he could complete his grade-level academic responsibilities ahead of time, he could choose to skip a grade or maintain his current status. His homework would be reduced to a minimum, and he would have more X time for extracurricular activities.

This wasn't special treatment; every student could do this, so smart students often had more time for various activities. In high school, there were even more advanced activities, like overseas exchange programs, mountain village experiences, and hiking expeditions.

But he had to be a true genius. If his academic performance couldn't support this teaching model, his time would be reassigned.

As for his idea of quitting the soccer team if time got too tight, "I'll just meet the minimum requirements for the PE class," it was strongly rejected by Yehaogen and Gu Qiao. A teenager under 16, in the prime of development, couldn't have any reason to neglect sports! No way!

Yewei thought about it and didn't want to ruin his looks. To continue waking up to his own handsomeness every day, he dismissed the idea and decided to manage his time better.

He was eager to prove that his studies were not a problem, so the school arranged several exams for him that afternoon.

"Damn... damn!"

Soon, the old headmaster looked at the A-grade test papers, his face full of disbelief. How could this happen, how could there be such a student! Damn!

"Isn't A good enough? I don't like A+, no one is perfect."

Looking at the usual carefree Yewei, Headmaster Hebrich, Teacher Esh, Teacher Salerno... everyone couldn't believe it, but they had to believe it. The facts were right there. The bad boy VIY had proven with action that he had no pressure in his studies. With his academic level, he could already be in 10th grade, or even higher...

Before school ended, the latest news spread like lightning: Yewei's crowdfunding production project had been approved by the school! He could do what he wanted!

A great victory for the Dream Alliance! All the dream-chasing students were沸腾了！

They were boiling with excitement because the future was full of hope, because they were doing the coolest thing, because of VIY's group text message:

"Never let anyone or anything stop you from chasing your dreams, never!"

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