Chapter 83

After a day that was destined to be unforgettable for the rest of his life, the next day, Saturday, Ye Wei returned to campus.

What had changed? This was the information age; it only took one night for almost everyone in the junior high school to know about the changes.

VIY was undoubtedly the most popular person in the school over the past few months. The recent, very credible rumor that "VIY's talent moved Bruce Willis, and they are going to collaborate on a movie!" made him seem like a god descending from heaven. He was not just any ordinary actor or celebrity, but a superstar like Willis!

So as he walked through the campus, everyone looked at him—admiringly, enviously, curiously. Being his friend became the coolest thing.

And now, with the changes, it was truly a case of those who loved him being in pain, and those who hated him being delighted! Many students adored VIY, and many others despised him.

John Williams and his friends belonged to the latter group. They nearly died laughing when they heard the news last night. Early this morning, they, along with a few fiery and attractive girls like Christina, specially waited on the street outside the school gate.

Every time a member of the Dream Chasers Alliance walked by, they burst into laughter. They didn't need to say much; just laughing was enough.

When a Brentwood Sunset Route school bus pulled up, and soon after, Ye Wei and Lily walked out of the bus talking to each other, it was a big catch! Two big catches!!

"Ha ha ha!" John Williams and nearly ten others immediately surrounded them, laughing heartily and strangely, "Oh oh ha ha!"

Seeing them, Ye Wei and Lily both frowned. The other students who got off the bus mostly hurried toward the campus, not wanting to get involved in what was happening.

"Mulan, I heard your movie project got Bruce Willis to join? You're going to collaborate?" Williams deliberately asked, as if viciously tearing open a wound on Ye Wei and sprinkling salt on it! Chinese Mulan, cry, cry now!

The surrounding crowd burst into laughter. Girls like Christina laughed and grimaced, as if they had seen Ye Wei fall from a hundred-story building. They couldn't bear to watch, but how could it feel so good?

"Leave VIY alone!" At this moment, four or five Asian students, also members of the Dream Chasers Alliance, angrily walked over.

"Guys, don't pay attention to them," Ye Wei said, stopping his friends with a calm expression. "They don't know anything except attacking others. They can't do anything, they're just idiots. Don't get angry with them."

Although this was true, the anger was hard to dispel. Lily's eyes were blazing with fury. These people were really... bastards! They enjoyed bullying others every day. What kind of mentality did they have? How could they be so evil, so disgusting...

"What's wrong? Why are you staring at me? Can't I care about my little friend?" Williams pretended to be surprised, his joy barely concealed. He asked again, "Is that news true or false? Did Willis say you're a genius?"

Christina couldn't hold back anymore. Her face twisted into a mocking smile as she said, "Wei, you're a failure now! There's nothing great about you!" She looked at Lily, "And someone is now a copycat (lapdog) of a failure, a British long-haired cat."

"Ooh... a failure?" Williams feigned surprise, then couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Scary, really scary, ha ha! Mulan, how about this: my family isn't poor, we have some spare money. Tell me about your project, see if you can impress me and make me your boss?"

Just as Ye Wei was about to say something, Lily tugged at his hand and whispered, "Wei, let's go." Ye Wei nodded; he couldn't hit them, and he wasn't in the mood for a verbal spat today.

If she could hit them, Lily would have. Despite her disdain for these stupid teenagers, they were on a completely different level from Wei. Their thoughts, words, actions, and aspirations... were all on a different level!

As the two were about to leave, Williams and the others couldn't stop them. They continued laughing and following, their voices clearly audible:

"Let me tell you a story. There was a kid who dreamed of making movies. He thought he had the talent to impress a superstar, but... he was just a failure!"

"Maybe Mulan revealing she's a girl will change Willis's mind? Hey, where's your Mushu?"

"Isn't that right? A thick-browed version of Mushu!"

Ye Wei's anger suddenly flared up, and he was about to turn around to make them shut up, "You damn idiots!"

"Wei!" Lily held him back, afraid he would do something rash. Ye Wei said urgently, "I can't let them hurt you like this!" Lily didn't let go, dragging him quickly toward the academic center building while laughing, "They can't hurt me. Who are they?"

"OK..." Ye Wei nodded, letting her drag him away, but he was still upset: "It's just... I've made everyone lose face. It's my fault."

His friends, all members of the Dream Chasers Alliance, would have a tough time for a while. They wouldn't be the coolest people anymore; they would be mocked as fools and failures...

"Not at all!" Lily tapped his forehead, "The mistake is just this thought. Now I've shattered it! Actually, the ones losing face are those who dare not dream. They lose face every moment, like my dad... never mind."

She didn't tell Wei about seeking her father's help, but her father had told her that Willis had agreed not to retaliate and would call off people like Loewitt. So she felt much more at ease, believing that Wei would definitely shine again with the light of achieving his dreams!

...

After spending the whole day at school and playing with his friends, that evening, Ye Wei didn't go out. He sat at his computer desk at home, busy working on a new financing plan. If the celebrity endorsement route didn't work, he would honestly follow the "Blood Simple" crowdfunding route, taking the project proposal, short film, and other promotional materials to raise funds door-to-door.

He had already planned the timing: this summer.

But this path was not easy. At least one of the Coen brothers was a film school graduate, while he was just a teenager in the eyes of ordinary investors. Making a movie? Out of ten people, nine would probably kick him out, and the one left might be trying to scam him.

Despite this, he had to prepare, because the more prepared he was, the more opportunities he would have.

"Go, go, goal! Ale, ale, ale!" His phone suddenly rang. Ye Wei picked it up and saw it was Chen Nuo calling. He answered, "Hi, Noah."

Chen Nuo, who usually spoke calmly, was now a bit agitated, "Bro, you're on IMDb news, but... it's not good news."

"What?" Ye Wei's heart skipped a beat. IMDb news! He quickly opened the webpage and asked, "What's going on?"

"I've been keeping an eye on the internet news about our movie. I search every day. Just now, I googled 'Dance of the Angels + Ye Wei' and found a related news item on IMDb that was updated today."

Through the search, Ye Wei quickly found it and clicked in. The title was "High School Student Pranking Hollywood?"

This was a rumor, linking "Because of Daisy" and AnnaSophia Robb. It said that a reliable source claimed that the student short film "Dance of the Angels," in which Anna starred, was a prank by a group of USC students to fool Hollywood. The method was to have a middle school student named Ye Wei use it to swindle people, and Bruce Willis almost fell for it, which was both laughable and ridiculous.

This news wasn't a hot topic; it couldn't be found on the homepage. It was just an unverified piece of gossip.

But it could have a huge impact on Ye Wei! Initially, Kevin Thomas was so scared that he quickly compensated 500,000 because he was afraid of being on IMDb, on the internet! Investors, producers, peers, fans... everyone could see this news!

Although it had fewer than ten clicks, mostly from Ye Wei and Chen Nuo themselves, imagine if, after much effort, an investor suddenly saw this news, was surprised, had doubts, and changed their mind. How much time and effort would he have to spend to clarify and convince them? How many would succeed?

Rage was burning! If he wanted to hit people during the day, now he wanted to kill them!

Ye Wei was shaking with anger. This pile of dog-shit was clearly the work of his enemies, the Willis team!

"Damn them, damn them..."

If not for him, Willis wouldn't even know what "Little Miss Sunshine" was. Focus Features was still hesitating about whether to buy or produce it, and there would be no Oscar opportunity!

He created all this, without harming anyone, and they were so despicable, trying to kick him out, trick him, and steal the project. Now that he wasn't playing with them anymore, they were still纠缠, using these low-down tactics! Damn!!

"Noah, don't worry. These people have miscalculated. Too many people know who the real creator of 'Dance of the Angels' is. It's too easy for me to prove. They won't get what they want!"

...

In a luxurious Malibu villa, Loewitt was also furious. How could this become news in just one day, and even make it to IMDb?

This was not part of his plan! He wanted it to spread in a small circle, to be a joke among industry insiders, not a public news story. Otherwise, it might really lead to the situation Rifkin was worried about: failing to get back at the kid and instead boosting his reputation.

Who spread this? Who put it up? Didn't they understand that he didn't want it to be exposed?

He thought for a moment. From last night to now, he had told about ten people, which was already too many. Those people would tell others, so he wouldn't know who did it, as long as they covered their tracks. Maybe it was just an accident? But he had a feeling that someone was working against him...

Damn it, the most important thing now was to contact media friends, first to delete this rumor, and second to stop reporting on related topics, hoping the kid hadn't found out yet.

He probably didn't know yet, after all, the rumor had only been up for less than three hours. If not for his assistant closely monitoring these things, he wouldn't have known either.

But soon, his phone rang, and it was Ye Wei calling! Loewitt answered with a cold laugh, "Kid, changed your mind?"

"You despicable scumbag, do you need me to personally curse you to feel better?" Ye Wei's angry voice came through the phone, "It's useless, you fool! All the original documents of 'Dance of the Angels' are there to prove the truth! You're giving me an opportunity. If I contact the media and clarify this, I'll become famous. Thanks! Bastard!"

Despite being a sly old fox, Loewitt couldn't help but be enraged by a kid's curses. His eyes behind the round glasses changed, but his tone remained calm, "Kid, what are you talking about? Wasn't that short film your prank?"

He wouldn't say anything rash, to avoid any phone recordings. He laughed, "It seems you didn't learn anything from me. Hollywood people aren't so easily fooled! I'm telling you, your trick is over. I'll contact my media friends and expose your scheme.

Tell those USC students that pursuing art is good, but this is going too far. That's it. You don't need to look for any British or German people to help you. No one can help you with this! You're finished!"

With that, Loewitt hung up the phone and laughed coldly again, changing his mind. He wouldn't spread the news. He wanted to see what media the kid could contact! Ha ha ha!

The consequences of offending a big shot are that you don't know why you're dead! Kid, what can you do to me?

That's how the world works!

...

In Brentwood, Ye Wei took a few deep breaths, gazing at the night outside the window, trying to calm down. He was a bit puzzled by the other party's words, "don't need to look for anymore." British people? Lily! Did she seek her father's help?

It must be so. He was very grateful, but Phil Collins couldn't really help him unless he openly stood up to the media and said, "I discovered a young genius," which clearly Phil Collins wasn't interested in doing.

No matter what, even if the road ahead became harder, he had to keep going! Ye Wei, in the pursuit of his dreams, never gave up, never!

Ye Wei nodded determinedly, returned to his computer desk, and continued working on the project financing plan.

Not long after, the phone rang again with the "Go, go, goal!" ringtone. Ye Wei picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number, answering hesitantly, "Hello."

"Hello, is this Ye Wei?"

"Yes, who is this?" Ye Wei asked, wondering who it was. The deep, steady voice seemed familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere. At that moment, his gaze fell on the Woody toy in the glass cabinet by the wall. The voice sounded a bit like...

"I'm Tom Hanks."