Chapter 4

As dusk fell, in Brentwood, the bus stopped at a station on the east end of St. Vincent Avenue. The doors opened, and Ye Wei quickly stepped out, rushing towards North Great Torrington Street. Looking at the lush coral trees and breathing in the sea-scented breeze, he thought, "Home, sweet home!"

The residential area was lined with green trees, and beautiful, upscale houses stood side by side. Children and dogs played on the lawns, exuding a sense of joy.

The area had a population of about 40,000, with 80% being white, 9% Asian, 6% Latino, 1% black, and 4% other. More than half of the residents had a college education or higher, 16% were professionals like doctors, and only 5% had a high school education or less.

It was a well-deserved high-education, high-income, high-quality, and low-crime area, with a history of famous residents like Marilyn Monroe and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Shortly after Ye Wei's birth, his parents took out a loan to buy a house here to provide the best possible environment for their son.

Ye Wei grew up here and could walk back to the two-story house with a gray roof and white walls surrounded by flowers and trees even with his eyes closed. However, after that dream, he felt a sense of long-lost familiarity, as if a wanderer who had been adrift for years had finally returned home.

The house was not far from the bus stop. He ran for a few minutes and was almost there...

He had already called home earlier. The front garden was still on high alert, with his father, Ye Haogen, and his mother, Gu Qiao (Jo-Ku), both present.

A black-haired little girl and a Cairn Terrier puppy were playing and chasing each other, their laughter echoing. They were his sister, Ye Duo, and the pet, Toto, both the joy of the family.

"Woof woof!" Toto noticed him first.

"Brother!" Ye Duo saw him too, her cute face beaming with joy as she ran over with open arms.

Ye Wei rushed forward, put down the bag of documents, and picked her up with a smile, spinning her around, "Oh oh--"

Seeing her innocent smile, he also smiled broadly, "Hi, Dorothy! Toto!" He kissed his sister's forehead and put her down, then hugged the dog wagging its tail excitedly, "I miss you all so much..."

Toto licked his face enthusiastically, its tail wagging so fast it was a blur. It was a young dog, only three years old.

Ye Duo was also a little girl of three, enjoying her carefree childhood. She wasn't the little adult from the dream, collecting coupons and saying, "Mom, I won't go to college anymore. Don't save money for me. I want to give all the money to my brother for his graduation project."

It was so good.

Ye Wei led the way to the lawn, but a stern rebuke came, "Wei, what's wrong with you!?"

It was his mother, the elegant and beautiful middle-aged woman.

Gu Qiao also had a college degree, a graduate of the East Asian Languages Department at the University of California, San Francisco. She could have had a great career, but she was a family-oriented woman. After marrying Ye Haogen, she became a full-time housewife, with the family being her entire world. Because of their comfortable life, the years had not left many marks on her.

Seeing her, Ye Wei's emotions surged, and tears almost welled up. He called out, "Mom!"

In that dream, his mother had a hard life. Because of her age and only half a year of work experience after college, she couldn't find a job in her field. She had to take on multiple part-time jobs to take care of Ye Duo and him.

In the evenings, she took on translation work, staying up until two or three in the morning, and getting up before six to go out...

Such a work schedule would wear out even an iron man. By the time he woke up from the dream, she had just been hospitalized due to sudden fainting. The doctor said that due to long-term fatigue, she could die at any moment if she didn't rest properly...

"Don't try to pull that on me." Gu Qiao looked both amused and angry, scolding him, "What did you do at school today? Ms. Esi has already called me and told me everything! How could you be so rude? What were you thinking? And faking illness to skip school, what's that all about?"

"Mom, I'm wrong, I really am wrong..." Ye Wei choked up, "I'm wrong for making you bear so much, but that won't happen, it won't."

Gu Qiao was puzzled by her son's reaction and softened her tone, "Tell me, what happened?"

Behind them, Ye Haogen quietly gave his son a thumbs up, "You have a plan!" Ye Wei couldn't help but smile.

This made Gu Qiao turn around, and she was immediately angry, scolding both of them, "You've spoiled him, and when he can't even get into college, we'll see if you still laugh! And you, don't think your dad will protect you, you need to reflect on your mistakes and be a good student. We only have good students in our family."

Duo Duo was so anxious that she finally said in a childish voice, "Mom, don't scold brother! It's my fault..."

They all paused and couldn't help but laugh. Gu Qiao asked, "What did you do wrong?" Duo Duo lowered her head, "I ate all the candies, it's not brother's fault." Gu Qiao scolded, "Oh, so it was you!"

Duo Duo confessed and was scolded, and Ye Wei was scolded even more. However, his attitude was completely different from before. He was willing to listen and admit his mistakes.

Faced with his son's strategy, Gu Qiao was helpless. At his rebellious age, he should have argued back, like before. Then she could have imposed a stricter punishment. Now, she could only make him do some housework.

"OK, I'll take care of the housework today." Ye Wei smiled, picked up the bag of documents, and followed his parents, leading Duo Duo and Toto back home, "I'll cook a big dinner, just me in the kitchen, and you all just eat."

Ye Haogen and Gu Qiao exchanged glances, both looking puzzled, "So obedient?"

"Yes, you'd better get used to it. This is who I am from now on."

Ye Wei spoke seriously, silently vowing that no matter what happened in the future, Dad, Mom, Duo, Toto, everything would be fine. He promised to protect their happiness, even if it meant going to hell as long as they could go to heaven.

"Let's see how long you can keep it up for a week." "Will I really get cavities?" "Sweetie, Dad can tell you, if you eat that many candies, I'll pull out all your teeth."

They laughed and talked, but no one knew how serious he was at that moment.

...

Under the night sky, South Great Torrington Street was brightly lit. After a joyful dinner, the Ye family gradually quieted down.

Ye Wei thought it was time to talk to his father. He took the bag of documents and went to the study. The study was lit, and his father's slightly worried voice could be heard, "Kevin, is this really the only way?" He knocked on the unclosed carved wooden door.

In the large study, bookshelves lined the walls, and Ye Haogen was pacing by the window, talking on the phone, "Not going to the film festival? We haven't done much promotion yet..."

Ye Wei walked over quietly and could faintly hear the voice from the phone, "The film industry is very complex. It's not like dentistry, where you find a cavity and pull it out. The trend of wedding films is almost over, and we don't have time to spend on those film festivals. Besides, our budget is limited. But we still have many opportunities. Don't forget, our main distribution target is not theaters but various copyright sales..."

"Yes, I know, I know, but..." Ye Haogen frowned, unable to find a counterargument.

Ye Wei silently cursed Kevin-Thomas, "Dad, you don't know!"

"The Wedding Date" not attending the film festival wasn't because of some trend; it was just too bad to show! It couldn't even get into major film festivals, and it would be a laughingstock at smaller ones.

So, its copyright was hard to sell. In that dream, Kevin-Thomas's previously boasted connections and resources, knowing big shots and overseas distributors, all turned out to be false. After four or five years, nothing was sold, and they had to sell all the North American and overseas rights to a small distributor for $300,000.

It had cost $2 million to produce and $200,000 to distribute, and the six investors, including the Ye family, lost everything.

The Ye family, who had invested $1.8 million, suffered the most.

Ye Haogen did have a plan for dealing with investment failure. He had intended to pay off the $1.5 million debt slowly as long as his dental clinic was still running, even if it meant working harder and having no savings.

But what happened later was unexpected...

However, Ye Wei had to say that investing in a movie with a loan was undoubtedly a gambler's mentality. His father had been blinded by his long-suppressed dream of making movies and Kevin-Thomas's sweet talk.

Now, his father was still living in a dream, and "The Wedding Date" was his third child. No matter how it turned out, a good parent would always love their child. He could watch "The Wedding Date" and laugh, saying it "wasn't as good as 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding,' but it was still okay."

He was a respectable and pitiable dreamer.

"Hao-Gen, film distribution is a professional job, leave it to me. You can't help much."

"Okay, I can't do much, alright, goodbye."

Beep, Ye Haogen put down the phone, scratched his head, and sighed, then looked at Ye Wei, forcing a smile, "Did you finish your homework?"

"Dad, we need to talk." Ye Wei's expression was serious, and he got straight to the point, "Kevin-Thomas is a damn liar."

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