Chapter 5

"What...?" Ye Haogen was stunned, "What are you talking about?"

Ye Wei placed the bag of documents on the desk, took out one of them, and unfolded it to show him, "Look at this, 1500 dollars to rent a Steadicam for a day! How ridiculous! Dad, I have concrete evidence that this is a fake expense. The actual amount is 600 dollars."

At that moment, he explained the entire process of his investigation clearly.

Ye Haogen's face changed as he held the expense sheet, his voice a bit hoarse, "Are you serious?"

"I don't joke about this." Ye Wei took out several more documents, "It's not just this fake expense. There are too many, too many problems with the entire production process. Going to Florida for location shooting? Just to shoot a few scenes of a honeymoon? Come on, Malibu, Long Beach, Santa Monica—no one can tell if the beach is in Florida! We're making an independent film, not a documentary!"

Ye Haogen's expression grew even more grim. He wasn't a fool and wasn't completely ignorant of film production. He had always been skeptical about this location shoot, but he trusted Kevin Thomas's professional expertise...

"There are too many problems." Ye Wei sighed, "We've wasted so much money."

"How did you find out?" Ye Haogen couldn't understand how his son could spot such professional financial errors and investigate them so thoroughly.

"Do you really think I'm a stupid wastrel?" Ye Wei shrugged, not wanting to dwell on the issue, "I'm your son. If you don't trust me, trust your DNA. Besides, just a quick browse on eBay would show that a Steadicam doesn't need to be rented for that much!"

Ye Haogen gave a bitter smile and paced a few steps, "Maybe... maybe it's just a mistake? What reason could Kevin have?"

"Dad, you're just too good-hearted, but this is a treacherous world." Ye Wei took out his phone and said, "Listen to this, and you'll understand."

He turned the phone's volume to the maximum and played a recording: "Hey, Wei!... Kevin, where are those documents?... There's a yacht party on Santa Monica Beach tomorrow night, with a lot of models... You absolutely can't tell your dad, can't tell anyone..."

After listening to the clear recording, Ye Haogen was instantly furious, his eyes blazing with anger, "How dare he!! You're just a 15-year-old kid, how dare he...!!"

"Calm down, calm down!" Ye Wei quickly comforted him, fearing that his father might have a heart attack, "I haven't gone yet, Dad, calm down!"

Ye Haogen couldn't calm down. These truths were like a thunderbolt. He took deep breaths, walked to the chair behind the desk, and sat down, looking pained. Ye Wei hurriedly handed him a glass of water and continued to comfort him, "Now we know, and we can still take action. Calm down."

"Um..." Ye Haogen took a sip of water, his face full of self-mockery, disappointment, and frustration, and smiled bitterly, "I'm such a fool. Look at what I've done! I gave 1.8 million to that scoundrel to mess around... How stupid can I be! Damn it!"

Ye Wei didn't say anything, just held his father's shoulder, silently offering his support.

After a long while, Ye Haogen slowly calmed down, sighed deeply, and asked, "Do you think there's any chance that 'The Wedding Date' will do well at the box office?"

Ye Wei knew he couldn't give his father any more illusions and said seriously, "Ask your reason. What's the quality like? In my opinion, it's a terrible movie."

Ye Haogen still found it hard to accept. A few days ago, when the whole family watched the final cut DVD, Wei had said it wasn't good, but the "terrible movie" evaluation...

"It's not that bad, right?" He held his forehead, his smile bitter and sour, "I know it won't be a box office hit, but if it can make 3 million, that... wouldn't be a very high number..."

"No!" Ye Wei shook his head decisively, "For 'The Wedding Date,' that's a very, very high number! The film industry is complex, but in simple terms: the winner takes all, the loser gets nothing! If we don't make 30,000 in the first week in those three theaters, our theatrical release will end. There will be no profit, neither for us nor for the theaters. This movie is definitely a loss."

Ye Haogen couldn't argue, picked up a copy of 'Vanity Fair' magazine from the table, and the stars on the red carpet looked glamorous. He held the magazine tightly, as if trying to grasp the flying dream...

"Dad, I hope you understand that losing money on independent films is very, very normal. Not losing money is the exception. This isn't something to be ashamed of. We should accept it calmly. At least we have a movie."

Ye Wei spoke in a light tone, continuing, "But we can't just sit by and watch. Handing it over to Kevin Thomas will only make things worse. Dad, once you calm down, we'll talk about the next steps."

"Wei, VIY..." Ye Haogen looked up at him, his smile finally showing some relief, "What's happened to you? Unbelievable! Where's that bad boy?"

"Oh oh! Old man, watch your words, I'm right here." Ye Wei made a few exaggerated faces and laughed, "Everyone grows up. I just feel it's time for me to grow up."

"You make Dad very proud." Ye Haogen nodded, patted his hand, "I'm fine. I can handle this. Tell me about your next steps?"

"Losing money is certain, but how much we lose is uncertain. We'll try to get back as much as we can..."

Ye Wei's eyes had a demonic gleam, but his calm voice was chilling, "First, we need to take care of that bastard Kevin Thomas..."

He detailed his plan, and the more Ye Haogen listened, the more shocked he became. Such a thorough, professional, and ruthless approach—could this really be what Wei had thought of? He couldn't help but feel that he couldn't see through his son...

...

Kevin Thomas was in a good mood. Over the past year, he had been living quite comfortably, thanks to that big fish with movie dreams. This was why he loved movies!

He was really looking forward to the yacht party tonight. With that little wastrel around, he didn't even have to pay for women. If things went well, he'd be sleeping with a hot girl tonight, just thinking about it made him excited.

As for the release of 'The Wedding Date'? Don't be silly, that party has nothing to do with the release.

Distribution and promotion were complicated, and he wasn't going to waste his energy. The film was already a mess, with no value. After this self-funded release to make the investors say, "My movie is in theaters," the project would be thrown in the trash.

The most important thing was to find the next big fish. Although the film's loss would damage his producer's reputation, fortunately, the world was never short of fools, especially those who thought they were lucky, and their foolish sons, ha ha!

Kevin Thomas spent the morning wandering on Santa Monica Beach, looking at the attractive tourists, and thinking about the party tonight...

When he had just finished lunch and hadn't left the beachside restaurant, his phone rang. It was Ye Haogen calling.

"What does this Chinese guy want to nag about now?" He muttered, pressing the answer button with a look of annoyance but a warm tone, "Hi, Haogen, good afternoon."

"Kevin, come to the office right now. We need to resolve some issues." Ye Haogen's voice was cold, clearly suppressing his anger.

Kevin Thomas was puzzled. Could it be that the invitation to the party with the little wastrel was exposed? He wasn't afraid; if it was exposed, he could say it was just a joke or because he "spoiled" Ye Wei too much.

Not wanting to affect his mood, he said, "I'm about to go handle some distribution matters. Let's talk on the phone."

"Whatever you're doing, come to the office right now." Ye Haogen's voice was very firm.

"Alright, I'll be there." Kevin Thomas had to agree, got up, paid the bill, and left. The big fish still had some value, and he couldn't let it slip away.

On the way, he kept muttering and cursing, "So many problems, a family of idiots, FUCK..."

When he arrived at the office building and then at Wei Duo Image Office, things seemed different from what he had expected. Four people were sitting on the sofa: Ye Haogen, Gu Qiao, Ye Wei, and a middle-aged man in a suit with glasses, who he didn't know...

The expressions of the three Yees were very unfriendly, as if they saw him as an enemy.

"Everyone..." Kevin Thomas was puzzled, walking up and asking, "What's going on?"

The person he least expected to stand up was not Ye Haogen or Gu Qiao, but Ye Wei. The boy smiled and said, "I'll tell you what's going on."

Ye Wei took out his phone and played a recording...

It was really because of this! Listening to his conversation with Ye Wei from yesterday, Kevin Thomas's face changed. He pretended to be embarrassed, but inside, he was shocked and furious. When did the little fool record this, playing a trick on him? A prank? He really wanted to strangle this little pest!

When the recording finished, he put on a bitter smile, "Haogen, Qiao, I'm very sorry. I spoiled Wei too much. You know, teenagers think of all sorts of things. I saw he wanted to go, and I got soft and decided to take him. It was a proper social event, and I would have kept an eye on him. Nothing would have happened."

He thought this explanation was enough, but Ye Haogen and Gu Qiao's gazes didn't soften; they became even sharper, as if they wanted to kill him.

"Enough." Ye Wei didn't want to see Kevin Thomas's poor, disgusting act anymore, "This recording just proves what kind of person you are. Do you think it's just this? 1500 dollars to rent a Steadicam for a day, is it a superhero's armor!?"

He suddenly roared, raised a document in his hand, and pulled out a rental contract from Ed's Photography Equipment Company, speaking calmly, "Unfortunately, your fake expenses have been exposed, and the fact that you're a fraud has been exposed. Need a reminder, Kevin Thomas? You're finished."

"What... what...?" Kevin Thomas looked at the two documents in a daze, still not understanding the situation. Steadicam? Fake expenses?

Suddenly, some memories surfaced in his mind. He remembered, and his face turned pale, breaking out in a cold sweat...

How did they find out?

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