Chapter 57

Under the starlit night sky, the Ye family was already in a state of tranquility.

The photography equipment used throughout the day was now neatly placed in the hall, but their temperature had yet to cool down.

The afternoon shoot was very intense, and almost everyone, including Lev and his classmates who came to help after school, was exhausted. They continued shooting until 18:00, using up all 10 hours of the scheduled shooting time for the day, before the crew announced the end of the day's work.

The process was laborious, but the results were splendid. At that moment, on the community street where the exterior scenes were shot, Ye Wei looked at the checklist with all the shots crossed off and laughed wildly.

In fact, the usable footage shot today exceeded expectations, including many of Anna's impromptu performances and his own improvisations, all of which were of "Gone with the Wind" quality.

He was laughing, and the college students were looking at him as if he were a demon... This guy was too crazy, shooting without regard for his own life. They really couldn't match him in this aspect. Other aspects? Well...

Only Anna still felt that she hadn't had enough and wanted to continue shooting for a few more hours in the evening. Ye Wei did not adopt her suggestion. Was he not afraid that a child welfare worker might show up?

Moreover, he needed to let his brain rest and nurture his creativity as a director.

It was around 7:00 PM, and on the second-floor terrace of the house, he sat in a rocking chair, gazing at the glittering night sky, feeling the cool breeze, and clearly sensing his body and mind relax.

Since he had already made plans in advance, there was no need for him to do any writing work, which was handled by Darum. In the afternoon, he asked Lev and his classmates about the school gossip, which, as expected, was rampant, but the situation was still manageable. He had sent emails and text messages to clarify, and the trust people had in him outweighed their doubts, with everyone responding that Focus Films could go to hell.

However, there was an unexpected event in the afternoon: Lili, who had planned to visit the set, did not come. She only sent him a text message: "My mom insisted on taking me out to play, so I can't visit the set today. I'm sorry! :-("

With a few beeps, Ye Wei called Lili, and the call was almost immediately answered. "Hey, beautiful, have you got a moment to chat?"

"Sure, good evening. I just got home and was about to call you," Lili's clear voice came through the phone.

"Then we were on the same wavelength just now?" Ye Wei exclaimed with a laugh.

"Maybe, haha," Lili laughed, but she wasn't entirely happy, and with a tone of apology, she said, "Wei, I'm sorry, I broke our appointment this afternoon. It was your big day. My mom... she really overthinks things! She doesn't want me to meet you for now... Oh, don't mind, she'll understand eventually."

"Will that affect you bringing Lamor over tomorrow afternoon?" Ye Wei asked, showing his concern for this matter first.

"No, I just didn't want to argue with her this afternoon. She can't stop me tomorrow," Lili said firmly.

Ye Wei breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, just bring Lamor over. I only care about her." Lili let out a "Hey" and retracted her pout, then said with a scowl, "If you keep being so bad, I might break our appointment again." Ye Wei asked, "Is that a threat?" Lili replied, "Yes, I'm threatening you. What's wrong with that?"

"Of course I'm scared! Jane, Lamor isn't important, you are the key person." Ye Wei's voice was deliberately gentle, "My little Jane."

"Oh, stop it, I'm going to throw up...!" Lili burst out laughing, and after a while, she asked, "How did the shooting go today?"

"Pretty good, there were some issues in the morning, but the afternoon was great, and we're on schedule. Anna did well, Bella too, almost everyone! Even my neighbors, a few of them acted as extras, I love them."

"How are you feeling?" Lili asked with a smile, as if conducting an interview.

"Host, I want to live forever on the set. There, I'm a king, I can command anyone, it's amazing!"

"Be serious!" Lili chided, not knowing why, but she really wanted to know his true feelings, maybe to share in his joy...

Ye Wei said "OK," gazing at the starry sky, recalling the day's events, and spoke from the heart: "You know, this short film has already carried a lot of things, our expectations, goals, hopes, needs... It means a lot, it's heavy...

Before today, even before I shouted 'Action,' I felt it was heavy, but interestingly, after I shouted 'Action,' I realized what it truly is. It's not something weighing me down; it's my shoulders!"

"Hmm?" Lili's heart was touched, yet she was a bit confused, "Are you saying you've truly accepted it?"

"I'm saying that sometimes dreams are heavy, so heavy that they make you feel suffocated, but it's precisely because of their weight, the significance, the pressure, the things they carry, that we love dreams and love pursuing them.

Dreams are never weightless; a weightless dream is just a fleeting enthusiasm. The heavier the dream, the more it is a dream!

When we pursue it, regardless of success or failure, it becomes a part of us, a part of our soul, and it will become eternal..."

"So," Ye Wei smiled, feeling both thoroughly relaxed and a surge of passion, "my current feeling is: having a dream is great."

"Having a dream is great..." Lili murmured softly, the more she savored his words, the more her heartstrings were touched, "Yes, you will make your dreams come true, we all will..."

...

After a long night, on the morning of the 13th, the "Dance of the Angel" crew gathered again, just like yesterday.

Today's morning shoot was back at Ye Wei's house, filming the scenes from the second act of Anna's home. The set was still bustling, but there was a new addition to the props: a brand new small wheelchair, which the prop master Job Chazak had bought and would return after the shoot, costing nothing.

Anna had just finished her makeup. In today's story, "Anna" had already lost her right calf and had not yet regained her spirit, so her makeup made her look somewhat haggard, hiding her usual liveliness. Her outfit had also changed to a colorless white T-shirt and gray wide pants.

When she sat in the wheelchair, she would cover her right leg with a gray blanket to reduce the number of special effects shots needed.

At that moment, in the front garden of the house, Ye Wei called her aside, seeing his serious face, Anna couldn't help but ask, "Wei, what's wrong?"

This moment had finally arrived. Ye Wei felt a bit reluctant but was also eager to see her reaction, feeling very conflicted. He said solemnly, "Anna, I have some bad news to tell you. I'm sorry, this news came out two days ago, and I waited until now to tell you, I'm a jerk..."

"What! You and Lili are now a couple and can't date other girls?" Anna exclaimed, her big eyes widening.

"No..." Ye Wei rolled his eyes helplessly and became serious again, "Anastasia, you didn't make it to the third round of auditions for 'It's All Daisy's Fault.'"

"Ah..." Anna was stunned, her expression falling, "Really?" Ye Wei nodded. She frowned, pursed her lips, and couldn't hide her disappointment, her voice trembling, "But... Ms. Juen said I had a good chance. Did I do something wrong?"

She looked at him, then glanced at her parents, who were watching from a distance. No wonder they seemed to be hiding something from her these past two days.

Ye Wei shrugged, "They thought your performance was over-the-top and didn't meet their casting requirements."

"But I'm...!" Anna was flustered, then deflated, biting her lower lip, "Oh, they don't know how much better my performance has become... I really like the story of 'It's All Daisy's Fault'... But there's nothing I can do about not making it, it's okay, I've been through this 20 times, I'm used to it... Wei, I'll try for the next audition."

She smiled faintly, comforting others and encouraging herself.

Seeing her obedient demeanor, Ye Wei's heart softened, and he said, "Anna, you have a chance now. They promised to watch 'Dance of the Angel' before making their final decision."

"So, they will watch! They will see my current performance!" Anna was pleasantly surprised.

"Wait, don't get too excited yet," Ye Wei saw her becoming more lively and regretted telling her the good news. Why did he adjust the shooting schedule? To lower her spirits! If he made her happy, it would be all for nothing.

He quickly guided her, "Anna, I want you to sink into the disappointment you just felt. You are very sad, very sorrowful. You feel like you've lost everything, that life has no hope, that the world is unfair to you!"

Anna blinked, understanding immediately, "You want me to perform with emotion! I do feel very sad."

"Exactly, don't let your sadness go to waste," Ye Wei stared at her, speaking hypnotically, "You are very sad! You are also very angry! Think about it, they actually eliminated you, while Taylor Durey made it to the third round, and you didn't! Your parents and I even deceived you, using your sadness to achieve our goals, they are all bad people, you've been abandoned by the whole world, your dream is over, you are very sad, you are very sad..."

He kept repeating, his voice gentle and penetrating.

"I am very sad..." Anna nodded, muttering to herself, focusing on that feeling of loss, the more she thought about it, the sadder she became, so many auditions, so much effort, yet nothing to show for it...

"Everyone thinks you can't act, and you feel the same way. You overdo everything, you can't even speak a sentence properly, you can't change anything, you can only be very sad..."

"I am very sad..."

When Ye Wei finished directing, Anna walked back to the performance area with her head down and a faltering step. The little angel was gone, and wherever she went, it felt like a black-and-white movie, and everyone could feel her sadness.

Then, very quickly, when she sat in the wheelchair and completed the first few shots of the day... it was stunning!

Everyone was amazed; Anna's performance was even better than yesterday, a complete outpouring of genuine emotion! She wasn't acting; she was revealing herself! This was the quality of a top-tier actor! How could this be! Darum and others couldn't understand how she could improve so quickly. Was she a genius? What was her limit?

Only a few people knew why. Ye Wei secretly gave a thumbs up to Anna's parents, his smile somewhat mischievous, everything was under control!

David and Janet smiled back at him, but their smiles were forced. At the dinner party, they had already heard from his classmates about the "VIY" nickname, which seemed to fit him well...

...

In the afternoon, as soon as the school bell rang at Harvard-Westlake Middle School, Lili hurriedly left. She had already told her mother not to come to pick her up today, not to cause any trouble!

As Lili just arrived on the main road outside the school, a black Lincoln limousine slowly drove up, the rear window rolled down, and Lamor's lazy face appeared, "Get in."

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