Chapter 97

In the bright morning sunshine of Santa Monica, in the simple meeting room of the Preton headquarters, several stacks of contracts were laid out on today's conference table.

At this moment, only Gary Gozeman, Ye Wei, and Solton the lawyer were present; Hanks and Brian were still on their way.

Ye Wei had come so early, naturally, to carefully read through the contracts. Although there was no mysterious letter this time, and Hanks' team had been very fair, he still had to suppress his excitement and carefully examine each clause.

Especially the clause clearly stating that the project would be produced and directed by him, and the clause stipulating that all funds must be in place within two years!

They were all there, written down!

The more Ye Wei read, the more his blood boiled. This time, there was no problem, it was great...

After an unknown amount of time, Hanks and Brian walked into the meeting room together. Leslie Dart was too busy to come, so she sent a female assistant, and she herself participated via a phone call.

Hanks said, "How's it going?"

"Hey, Tom." Ye Wei looked up at them, "Hey, Brian, hello!" His eyes returned to the contracts, "These contracts are excellent, very professional." He twirled the golden pen in his hand, looked at Solton the lawyer's proud poker face, and smiled, "No problem, guys, no problem."

Excitement welled up from his heart and spread to every cell in his body. His hand holding the pen trembled slightly, then tightened, feeling solid and firm. This was the feeling of a dream coming true!

In the past three months, though not long, so much had happened. The scenes that flashed before his eyes were more vivid than any moment in the previous fifteen years.

There had been success, there had been failure, and now, here he was! Ye Wei's heart beat fast, but strangely, there was also a sense of calm. He signed his name in several places on the two joint production contracts for "Little Miss Sunshine," and with each signature, the feeling of a dream coming true became more real, more intense, and more tangible.

Then came the contract for "The Wedding Date," and then the employment contract...

He signed "Vigor-Yeah" over and over again, as if declaring to the king of the dream kingdom, "My dream princess now belongs to me! She is mine!"

He could see himself picking up the director's megaphone, see his name on the big screen, see the audience captivated, see so much...

The pen he wrote with glinted with a golden light.

After a while, the pen finally stopped, and Ye Wei's smile was radiant, "Done, signed! Thank you, thank you for everything!"

Hanks, Gozeman, Brian, and Solton the lawyer were all very happy. Perhaps a cinematic miracle, a new idol, was born from this moment.

"Tom, thank you, it's been a pleasure working with you." Ye Wei stood up and extended his hand to Hanks first, the person he most needed to thank in this matter was undoubtedly Hanks.

"Likewise." Hanks shook his hand and smiled, "But Wei, this is something you fought for, something your work fought for."

Brian said, "Keep it up, you'll have a bright future."

"I will!"

...

A little while later, Ye Wei and Solton the lawyer, holding a briefcase full of contracts, walked out of the Preton office building and onto the Fifth Street outside.

Bathed in sunlight and caressed by the sea breeze, Ye Wei's eyes suddenly felt a bit moist, a warm sensation welling up, he couldn't believe it.

He blinked, as if speaking to the lawyer or to himself, "If you ask me if I ever thought this day would come, I'll tell you the truth, I didn't. Even I didn't think Tom Hanks would be the answer.

I didn't know what the answer was, I just kept telling myself to pursue this with passion, to believe I would succeed, and to keep going no matter what!"

"Then, I got here." He raised his hands, shook his head, and laughed, "Now when I look back, I really feel like an idiot. I mean, look at what I've done, how many people I've involved, hahaha! But I'm also very happy, very satisfied, very proud..."

"Lawyer, it's just the beginning, look back for a moment, then immediately move forward. We're just starting out."

"Yes, we're just starting out." Solton the lawyer nodded heavily, a whole new world awaited them!

...

These contracts needed to be taken home for Ye Haogen and Gu Qiao to sign as guardians before they would have legal effect.

But this didn't stop him from sending a joyful text message to everyone, which had been delayed for almost a month, finally reaching their inboxes: "Signed successfully, no problems, we really did it! This time, the princess called 'Dream' is firmly in my hands, like King Kong holding onto Dian!"

The moment they saw the text, everyone smiled with joy, the young people cheered, "We did it!!"

In Louisiana, on the set of "Because of Daisy" in a quiet town, the scene was bustling.

The crew was setting up equipment to shoot the scene where "Opal" rides her bicycle past.

The 12 Picardy Sheepdogs playing "Daisy" were either resting on the side or being trained by the animal trainer, Mark Forbes. They looked so kind and adorable that Anna couldn't get enough of them. She was training with Bella by her side.

But now she stopped, looking at her new phone, suddenly exclaiming, "Wei did it! Wow, he did it!"

Since Wei hadn't said not to tell anyone, the excited Anna sent a text message and then ran around, telling her mother, the crew, and the "Daisies," "I have some great news, my good friend and date, Wei! He signed a contract with Tom Hanks' company to make a movie, and he's only 15!"

"What?" "Really?" Except for Janet, everyone just laughed, thinking Anna Sofia was joking. This little girl was quite mischievous.

"Director Wang, I have some good news for you!" At this moment, Anna ran to Wang Ying, who was standing near the camera, and said excitedly, "Wei is going to be a movie director soon!"

Wang Ying was stunned, realizing this might be true, "Anna Sofia, you're not joking?"

"Of course not!" Anna quickly showed him the text message on her phone, "Look, 'like King Kong holding onto Dian, do you know what that means?'"

"Meaning..." Wang Ying's old face turned red with excitement, "Meaning he's firmly grasped it, he's a genius..."

Perhaps soon, the world would see another great Chinese talent! A never-before-seen teenage genius in film history!

...

The contract was signed, they were really going to collaborate! As long as one inquired, it wasn't a secret. Lowitt's face was ashen, as if he had just been castrated, his face turning red and then pale, watching something precious leave, feeling powerless, unable to do anything.

Willis had been furious so many times recently, almost causing a falling out. If it weren't for the start of the production of "Standoff," his first time as a producer, which kept him busy with production affairs and left him with no spare time, who knows how angry he would have been.

But the anger of this screen star was building up, and if his demands for awards and fame were not met, it would eventually erupt.

"Little Miss Sunshine" was such a great opportunity... Damn Ye Wei! Damn Tom Hanks, Spielberg... Damn it all!

...

When Arndt received the text message, he immediately slumped in his office chair, his soul seemingly ascending to heaven. Finally, it was settled, it was really going to be produced! After a long time, he let out a long breath, four years, finally!

At the same time, in a place in Los Angeles, a mysterious face was smiling faintly.

...

In the afternoon, Ye Wei returned to school, and his arrival, along with what he brought, immediately caused a sensation. Students in and out of class were quickly spreading the latest confirmed news!

"Extra! Extra! VIY is really going to collaborate with Hanks!"

"Absolutely Tom Hanks, VIY brought their photo, I saw it, it's not a fake computer composite! He even brought a lot of signed posters!"

"Hanks even wrote some words of encouragement for the Dream Chasers Club, oh my God, Hanks! Why didn't I invest back then... I was so stupid, oh my God!"

"Ha ha ha! Buddy, look at this, Hanks' signature, and my name, 'To Bab,' ha ha!"

The entire campus was buzzing. The front-page news of the middle school newspaper "Spectrum" a few days ago, "Genius VIY and Foolish Gump's Miraculous Collaboration!" was not in vain, it was true!

The students were shocked and excited, and the teachers were the same. This was something that had never happened since the merger of the two schools! No, not even before the merger of Harvard Boys' School and West Lake Girls' School! The old principal, upon hearing the news, laughed so hard he showed his teeth, another proud student for Harvard-Westlake!

"The headline for the next issue is, 'VIY's Dream, Realized!'"

"No, it's 'VIY and the Dream Chasers' Dream, Realized!'"

At the headquarters of the Dream Chasers, the storage room was shining with the personal blessings from Hanks and the stack of signed posters, bustling with people. Students went in empty-handed and came out with a precious signed poster, smiling.

Who doesn't like Gump? Even Einstein liked Gump!

By the time school was out, the excitement had shifted somewhat as Ye Wei and his group left the storage room and headed towards the academic building. The football second team had a match today, playing at home against Loyola High School. This was the second-to-last match of the season, and Harvard-Westlake was at the top of the league, having already secured the championship, while the varsity team was only in the middle of the league.

"Loyola High is pretty weak, no problem taking them down. I'm so happy today, I won't let them ruin it." "Bro, create another massacre!" "Yeah, not too much, 7-0 is fine!" "You guys are heartless, but I like it!"

Perhaps this was called a clash of paths. As the group of teenagers, laughing and chatting, came to the front hall of the building, about to go to the football field to meet up with Ye Wei.

Suddenly, they saw John Williams and others coming from the other side, also heading out. Upon seeing them, the nearly ten people's faces changed.

How could they not change? Now everyone knew VIY hadn't lied, so the ones who became the laughingstock were Williams and the others, the fools who had mocked VIY! They were almost in tears from being taught a lesson by reality!

Williams and the others were like stone statues, not speaking, and were about to quickly walk past; but Ye Wei and his group were unhurried, Ye Wei smiling, his glance making them feel utterly depressed, as if being whipped naked.

Lily didn't even bother to look at them with a victor's gaze, but she noticed the ghostly makeup on the faces of Christina and the other girls, and felt really satisfied...

"I want to sing a song!" Suddenly, Lev called out loudly, dramatically running to the front of the two groups, blocking the door, head up, face full of pride, waving his hands: "Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase!"

"Hakuna Matata!" The classic song from "The Lion King," which Williams and the others often used to mock them.

But now, as the song played, the ones laughing and cheering were the members of the Dream Chasers!

It seemed they had rehearsed, and Bud immediately sang in a rough voice, "Hakuna Matata, it's a no-worries kind of zeal!"

"It means from now on, your life will be worry-free," Lev waved his hands and continued singing. Then Bud: "It's our 'no problem' philosophy!"

"Hakuna Matata—"

"Ha ha ha!" Seeing this amusing scene, everyone laughed heartily. Tris, Connie, and the other girls smiled, and the passing students also laughed, while Williams and the others' faces turned black. They couldn't run, and at a normal pace, they couldn't shake off the bouncing Lev and Bud.

They sang a few more lines, and suddenly another person rushed up, Ye Wei!

He swayed his head and sang, "It means from now on, your life will be worry-free—" Bud harmonized, "Yeah, sing it, Bro." Lev also swayed, "It's our 'no problem' philosophy, Hakuna Matata—"

The three of them comically reenacted the scene from "The Lion King" where Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa sang and marched forward, and the audience's laughter grew louder. Williams and the others were so angry they trembled, and finally, they ran away like they were escaping, still not saying a word.

Lily also smiled, Wei, is this what it feels like to have a dream come true? It's great!

"Hakuna Matata, Hakuna Mat