Chapter 71

Las Vegas is opulent; the Venetian Hotel is like a paradise, preparing to launch a grand fireworks display at midnight to add excitement to the sleepless nights of tourists. Las Vegas is also ugly; not far from that paradise, there is a low, two-story motel called Mirador, with only about 30 rooms and a parking lot, nothing else.

In one of the rooms on the second floor, though simple, it was still tidy, and Ye Wei spent the night there.

He lay on the single bed in a star shape, his excited mood gradually calming down. He held his phone and chatted with Lily, naturally starting with the short film.

Lily's clear, cheerful laughter came from the phone: "Their expressions were so funny, my dad, he was completely stunned, as if asking, 'What's going on? What's going on?' Haha! My sister and brother, they couldn't believe it either, and they couldn't help but praise the short film and you. Nicholas cried, and Orion was very moved...

When I got back to my mom, I asked her, 'Mom, what do you think?' She couldn't speak, not even a word! But she must know how wrong and foolish her previous views were. Oh, Madam Chairwoman, you made a mistake! Don't make it again, this is your daughter's advice, hahaha!"

"Awesome! Smart!" Ye Wei, hearing Lily's excitement, couldn't help but be moved and asked with a smile, "What about you? Really didn't cry?"

"No..." Lily's laughter paused, her tone playful, "Just a little, my eyes got a bit moist."

"I knew it! I knew you're not a cold-blooded animal!" Ye Wei cheered.

In Manhattan, New York, it was already the early hours of the morning, but the streets were still bustling. In a luxurious suite at the five-star Waldorf Astoria Hotel, one of the bedrooms was brightly lit.

Lily lay on the grand bed, covered in a white blanket, her long, dark brown hair scattered on the pillow. She held her phone and laughed loudly, "New York is so cold, it's turning me into a cold-blooded animal... Oh, it's past midnight here, Wei, Merry Christmas!"

"It's not yet... I have a brilliant idea, if we keep moving west, wouldn't we celebrate Christmas every day? Wow!"

"But the Earth is round!"

As they were joking, she suddenly heard some faint noise from his side, seemingly coming from outside the room. He said he was staying at the Caesar's Palace Hotel, so why was this happening? She frowned in confusion and asked, "Where are you really staying?"

"Um, you heard it... A few drunk guys walked by outside. Actually, I'm in a small motel, but the environment is pretty good."

"What?" Lily suddenly sat up, looking around at the opulent, classical decor, and the beautiful moonlight visible from the balcony. Everything was so high-end... She felt a pang of sadness for him. He deserved to enjoy all this, but now, she could only say softly, "Be careful."

"Don't worry, I already yelled at them, and no gangsters came out to fight. You should be more careful, there are a lot of gangs in New York."

"I don't know, there are a lot of police in New York, right?"

Ye Wei didn't say much more on the topic, and with a "heh," he said excitedly, "I haven't told you about Willis's reaction yet. At first, when he saw me, he almost wanted to kill me..."

Lily was of course very interested and listened for a long time. Although she was often amused, she could also feel the intensity of the process. When he finished, she said with both anticipation and admiration, "You really did a great job persuading him. I wonder when Willis will respond?"

"At the earliest, we'll have to wait until after this holiday, but it probably won't be quick. Willis needs to consider and consult with his company partners and agents. If we're lucky, I might get one or two meetings to convince them."

"I have a feeling you'll convince them! That way, you'll really create a huge miracle!" Lily was now more optimistic than he was, looking forward to the future. "The youngest film director... compared to you, my dream of being the youngest talk show host is really far behind."

She said this with a touch of self-mockery, "I talked to my mom, and she said I can think about working when I turn 18, no matter what I want to do, I shouldn't think about it before 18."

"Sometimes you have to admit, not everyone is a genius."

"I admit it, you're a narcissistic genius."

"But the short film made you cry a little..."

"Just a little!" Lily laughed, turned over, and lay on her stomach, kicking her feet lightly. "If Willis agrees to work with you, what will happen next?"

"Hmm, let me think... That would be great, and there's so much to do. A superstar joining is just the beginning. Then we need to figure out how to raise funds, whether to do overseas pre-sales, and look at the specific cooperation plan. I want to shoot with a digital camera, which will make it easier for others to trust me. Film sounds too serious and old-fashioned, and there's not much difference. Even 'Star Wars: Episode I' used digital! Hehe, with that, raising 3 million dollars should be enough. Of course, the more money, the better, the first goal is 5 million! Then comes the pre-production..."

Ye Wei got excited as he spoke, putting aside his concerns and immersing himself in the beautiful prospects.

"With Willis joining, it will be much easier to find other famous actors. We might even create an all-star cast! Think about it, De Niro as the grandfather, Roberts as the mother! Haha, Tim Roth as the uncle? Cool! 1900, I love his performance!"

In the past, Lily would have thought he was exaggerating and wouldn't have been happy, but now, she shared his dreams, "What about Johnny Depp?"

"Please, of course not, I don't want to be the second most handsome person on set."

"Haha, do you think I'd still say you're the most handsome? No! Depp is the most handsome!" Lily laughed, and Ye Wei's laughter came through the phone: "Then his daughter, Lily Depp, is prettier than you, right?" Lily laughed, "Maybe, but her eyebrows definitely aren't as thick as mine, hahaha!"

Just as they were laughing, Ye Wei suddenly said, "Wait, someone's knocking on the door, I'll check..."

"Be careful!" Lily exclaimed, imagining scenes of burglaries and murders, "If they're wearing black, don't open the door!"

"I'll check, oh..." In the motel room, Ye Wei looked through the peephole and saw a young woman in revealing clothes standing outside. She was plain-looking, and he had no interest in opening the door to chat. He shouted, "I don't need anything," and walked back to the bed, smiling into the phone, "Not black, it's a prostitute. She asked if I wanted any services."

"Ah!? Don't agree! Don't agree!" Lily's nervous voice came through.

"Of course not, why would I agree?" Ye Wei jumped back onto the bed, and Lily on the other end laughed awkwardly, "Who knows, you have so many porn magazines..." Ye Wei called out, "I've given them all away, the POR-MAN (Porn Man) is now a POOR-MAN (Poor Man)."

Lily laughed a few times and asked, "Are you going back to Los Angeles tomorrow?" He confirmed, and she couldn't help but say, "The holiday is still long, but I kind of want to go back."

"Why?" Ye Wei was puzzled. Why leave the bustling New York for the rural Los Angeles? He asked, "Is something wrong? You can tell me."

"No, it's just cold here." Lily didn't want to say anything sad, nor did she want to say she missed him...

"Then wear more clothes. My holiday plans need to be adjusted. 'The Wedding Is Coming,' that lousy movie from my family, Willis already knows about it. If he finds out how bad it is, it will affect my image. So I need to work quickly to re-edit it and produce a better version, ready to clear my name at any time."

"Great preparation, do you have any ideas?"

Ye Wei blinked and warmed up his thoughts, then answered, "Not many options. Since it's so bad, let's go all the way! I want the new version to be a parody, a ridiculous, idiotic, low-quality wedding cult film. That's how it is; when a movie is bad enough, it becomes good."

"I don't quite understand, good luck, and show me when it's done."

"Let's have a date and watch it together, how about that? But we can't go to the cinema, we'll have to stay in a room with a TV..."

"Haha... OK!"

"Hey, girl, let's talk about Christmas, the fun we had in the past. You know, one year, my socks stunk so bad they knocked out Santa Claus, and he fainted by my bed."

"No way?"

"It's true! When he woke up, he grabbed me and said, 'Dude, can you not? At least wash them, these socks are worse than the Red Sox!'"

They laughed and chatted about the past and the future. Lily's phone was running low on battery, so they continued on a landline. It was already the early hours of the morning in Vegas and the middle of the night in New York, but they still hadn't had enough to talk about, getting more and more excited, savoring the joy of success, the festive spirit, and the sweetness of youth.

"Haha! Don't say that, oh no... Don't, I'm not talking to you, hahaha..."

A soft murmur of conversation came from the daughter's bedroom, which had been going on for hours. Tavorman had to intervene, frowning and knocking on the door, "Lily, are you still awake?"

"Shh..." In the bedroom, Lily shushed and covered the phone, looking at the door without answering. But her mother's voice came again, "I can hear you on the phone." Lily reluctantly replied, "Mom, leave me alone, why aren't you sleeping?"

"I was woken up by you, it's 3 AM! Stop talking and go to sleep."

"Okay, I know!" Lily pretended to agree, waiting for her mother's footsteps to fade away before releasing the phone and whispering, "Are you still there?"

"Yep."

Lily continued to laugh, "That wasn't my fault, actually..."

"Lily!!" In the hallway, Tavorman suddenly heard the conversation again and walked back, angry.

"Mom, you're so mean!" Lily shouted, forgetting to cover the microphone, "It's Christmas, can't you just leave me alone and go to sleep?"

On the other end, Ye Wei realized something, "Oh, I forgot, it's past 3 AM in New York, Lily, goodnight! Wait... someone's knocking on the door again, it's a prostitute! Just kidding, goodnight!"

"No, Wei, don't hang up..." Lily said urgently, waiting for her mother's footsteps to fade away again. She turned her eyes and covered herself from head to toe with the blanket, placing a few pillows on top of her head, and whispered very softly, "Are you still there?"

"Still here, but it's really late where you are."

"Let's talk for another half hour, let me finish this..."

"Okay, I want to know the truth too..."

Outside in the hallway, Tavorman silently returned, listened at the door, and couldn't help but shake her head and smile. But this time, she didn't say anything, turned around, and went back to her room.

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