Chapter 579 - 379: Congratulations, Mr. Li Wei

Chapter 579: Chapter 379: Congratulations, Mr. Li Wei

Jin Heon’s chopsticks stopped in midair.

"Oh my goodness, your accent is pure Seoul! You sound just like a broadcaster!" The proprietress clapped her hands together, her face full of pleasant surprise. "Were you born in Seoul?"

"No," Li Wei said. "I am a Celestial Dynasty person."

"My goodness, then your Korean is absolutely incredible!" the proprietress exclaimed, looking even more delighted. "You must have learned it specially for your girlfriend. That really wasn’t easy."

Muttering about bringing them another dish on the house, she headed back into the kitchen.

Jin Heon looked at Li Wei, whose face was completely calm as if nothing had happened, and recalled her earlier phone call with Park Su-yeon.

"You..." She stared at him, struggling to speak. "When did you learn Korean?"

"I learned it recently when I had some free time." Li Wei picked up a slice of pork belly and placed it on the grill. The moment the meat touched the iron plate, it let out a SIZZLE that perfectly matched the internal screaming inside Jin Heon’s mind. "I was too bored, so I just picked it up."

Jin Heon felt like she was suffocating.

"Did you... just now..." she said. "Did you hear... everything?"

Li Wei flipped the pork belly with his chopsticks without looking at her.

"The pork belly seems to be almost ready," he said. "Do you want dipping sauce or salt?"

Jin Heon put down her chopsticks and buried her face in her hands. Her frustrations with work and everything else no longer mattered at all. She would never feel joy again.

If there were a hole under this table, she would dive right into it without hesitation, burrowing all the way from Washington to New York, then from New York back to Manhattan, right into her home, where she would hide from the world for the rest of her life.

"Alright," Li Wei said. "Let’s talk about some serious business."

"I don’t want to."

"If you don’t look up, I’m going to finish all the pork belly."

"..."

Jin Heon didn’t know why, but even though she had forcibly trained herself to only need one meal a day without feeling hungry, she always felt like she could eat an entire cow whenever she saw Li Wei.

A RUMBLE echoed from her stomach. Her stomach was staging a full-blown rebellion.

She sighed and kept her head down, refusing to look at Li Wei, fixing her gaze solely on the grill.

"Besides wanting to prove yourself and believing that hard work leads to success," Li Wei said, "does this also have to do with Mr. Mark and Arthur? You are the COO, and you have to lead them, but they think you’re too young, so you want to prove yourself to them?"

Jin Heon snapped her head up and looked at Li Wei.

Although this team was built around Li Wei, LW Beverages was a company with a valuation exceeding 3 billion USD, boasting a staff of over a hundred people across its legal, HR, finance, consulting, and marketing departments.

Everyone revolved around Li Wei. If Li Wei was the emperor, then the people around him were his ministers and attendants. Naturally, who was closest to him and who held the most speaking power was a matter of quiet debate.

This was exactly what troubled Jin Heon. Her position was the highest, but her seniority and experience were the shallowest. She could only make up for all of this through sheer hard work.

"It’s fine," Li Wei said matter-of-factly. "I’ve already had Uncle Don Quixote go and talk to them about this."

He turned his head and looked at Jin Heon. "I believe in you. You don’t need other people’s approval to prove yourself. You only need my approval.

"My approval is enough," he continued. "I’m the boss, aren’t I? The COO only needs to answer to the boss."

Was this a confession? Jin Heon felt dizzy, entirely at a loss for words.

After spending two days in New York accompanying Anya and Elizabeth, Li Wei returned to Los Angeles to continue filming.

Lily also had a rare few days off and flew to Los Angeles to visit him on set.

"Sigh, it’s almost finals week again, and I have to spend time with Anya and Liz," Li Wei said, somewhat helplessly. "Plus, I have to come back and film. I feel like there simply isn’t enough time."

"That’s what you get for womanizing," Don Quixote said dismissively, holding a popsicle. "Lily, join me in criticizing your Brother Li Wei."

Lily was almost fourteen now, blossoming into a proper young lady. She had her own social circle and close friends, and she had even blocked Don Quixote from seeing her social media updates, which left him feeling a bit hurt. However, Li Wei could still see them.

"Well done, bro," Lily said, also holding a popsicle, giving Li Wei a thumbs-up. "I support you. Bring both of them back."

"Who’s to say there are only two..." Don Quixote said faintly.

Li Wei rubbed his nose.

"There’s more that I don’t know about?" Lily’s eyes widened as she looked at Li Wei. "Bro, you’re amazing."

"Learn something useful for once," Don Quixote said grumpily. "You are definitely not allowed to learn this from your brother."

"Like hell I’d learn that," Lily rolled her eyes. "Boys nowadays are way too stupid. They act like absolute idiots."

"Lily Cervantes!" Don Quixote roared. "Watch your language!"

As Li Wei’s wealth climbed further, he didn’t feel it very obviously himself, but things were constantly changing for Don Quixote and Lily’s high school prospects.

Leman Manhattan School was no longer a suitable high school choice for Lily. Horace Mann, the private school Anya attended, had sent Don Quixote an invitation letter a year and a half in advance, inviting him to send Lily to study there after she graduated from middle school.

Back when Li Wei was merely an athlete, Lily probably wouldn’t have even gotten an interview at Horace Mann, let alone an invitation to enroll.

On her second day in Los Angeles, Lily accompanied Don Quixote and the others to visit the set. Unfortunately, she didn’t run into any famous celebrities, which meant her high hopes ended in disappointment. After all, even on vacation, a middle schooler still had to return to New York for tutoring classes.

During this time, Li Wei managed to completely push the movie’s plot past the halfway mark.

"All departments, get ready! Scene F-1, Take 1!"

[Lovi’s squad stands at the entrance of the Dragon’s Lair.]

[The four-person squad files inside.]

The next few shots were progression scenes inside the tunnel.

Del Toro had set up two traps in the tunnel. The first was a traditional collapsing floor trap. The new storyboard designed by the martial arts choreographer required Li Wei to grab the actor playing the thief and roll backward the moment the floor trap was triggered, entirely without the use of wirework.

The second trap involved shattering rolling stones inside the Dragon’s Lair. Li Wei had to dodge a foam rolling stone within a 0.3-second window right before it hit his face.

The first trap was manageable, but the requirements for the second trap made even the professional stunt doubles shake their heads, deeming the martial arts choreographer’s design far too extreme.

"This is impossible," a new stunt double said. "Reaction and initiation take at least 0.5 seconds. Your design is way too extreme."

"Which is exactly why you aren’t a Super Bowl MVP," the martial arts choreographer replied without even looking up. "This shot wasn’t meant for you guys anyway."

"Nobody can do this," the stunt double said indignantly. "Not even if he is a Super Bowl MVP."

"Care to make a bet?" the martial arts choreographer offered. "How about 500 bucks?"

Director Del Toro glanced at the martial arts choreographer. "Are you trying to use this opportunity to win back the 500 bucks you already lost?"

The martial arts choreographer glared at Director Del Toro for undermining him but said nothing.

Li Wei walked up to the green screen and signaled the director with a gesture.

The mechanical arm activated, launching the foam prop.

At the very last millisecond, Li Wei’s waist arched backward with blinding speed until his upper body was almost parallel to the ground. He executed a perfect bridging backbend, completing the maneuver perfectly within the designated time frame.

"Don’t blow my cover, man," the martial arts choreographer sighed. "How am I supposed to get my 500 bucks back now?"

According to the script, the end of the tunnel opened into a massive lava cavern—the lair of Giant Dragon Aurora.

This scene obviously couldn’t be shot practically; it had to be composited using green screens and post-production special effects.

The dragon prop model had already been set into a specific pose. Under the lighting, its scales shimmered with a dark golden glow.

"Scene F-3, Take 1! Action!"

[The four of them narrowly traverse the tunnel and lay eyes on the slumbering giant dragon.]

[Everyone halts their steps.]

[Thief: "Is... is this the giant dragon?"]

[Knight Commander (trembling slightly): "It’s bigger than I imagined. So much bigger."]

[Elf Mage raises a hand, signaling the group to freeze: "Wait, I think I heard something—"]

The mechanical team hit the switch, and Aurora’s massive head slowly turned as the sound system pumped out a synthesized, bone-rattling roar.

[The giant dragon opens its jaws.]

[The Knight Commander bellows: "Scatter!"]

"Cut!" Director Del Toro yelled into the microphone. "Next take!"

The next shot was Li Wei’s solo performance. It was a continuous long take that required him to execute three consecutive jumps and a mid-air spin, all without the use of wirework.

[Flames spewed by the giant dragon reflect in Lovi’s pupils. Remembering his village destroyed by the beast, he advances instead of retreating.]

[He launches himself off a pile of Gold Coins, steps on the dragon’s claw to flip onto its forearm, and attempts to thrust his sword into the gaps between its scales.]

[The Longsword scrapes across the scales without leaving a single mark. The giant dragon whips its tail, sending Lovi flying.]

[The four of them flee the cavern in a pathetic state. They regroup and conclude that Longswords, spears, and arrows cannot inflict any damage upon it.]

[Lovi raises his head: "Below its left chest, right where its reversed scale is, there is a gash."]

"Cut!" Del Toro shouted. "Let’s do one more for safety!"

Another quest window popped up in front of Li Wei’s eyes, notifying him that [Dragon’s Heart (5)] had been completed.

[Quest: Dragon’s Heart (5) Complete]

[You faced the Gold-tier giant dragon in the time-space fragment and successfully discovered its weakness.]

[You received: 0.1 free attribute points]

[Quest: Dragon’s Heart (6) Initiated]

[Quest Objective: Discover the cause of the giant dragon’s injury.]

After shooting two more takes, Del Toro yelled in satisfaction, "Cut! That’s a wrap for today’s scenes!"

The entire crew burst into applause, with the new stunt double clapping the loudest of them all. Being Li Wei’s stunt double was genuinely the best job ever. He got a full day’s pay without having to step onto the set even once.

"Twenty-nine storyboards," Del Toro said, giving a thumbs-up. "Shot in less than a day. You just saved me an entire week’s budget."

"If that’s the case," the martial arts choreographer chimed in, "could you give me back the 500 USD from our bet?"

Del Toro pretended not to hear him and continued, "Now we’ll have a bigger budget for post-production special effects."

"Post-production?" Li Wei asked. "Are we starting on that right now?"

"That’s right. The time and money for post-production are actually the biggest chunks of the pie," Director Del Toro said as he watched the crew packing up. "Originally, we were only going to start post-production alongside the final wrap-up phase in July before moving into promotion and distribution.

"But because of you," he looked at Li Wei, "we can finish shooting the content almost two months ahead of schedule, and we’ll save 20 million USD just on this stretch of filming costs alone."

"To be honest, whether it’s sports, acting, or action stunts, there’s nothing you’re not good at," the martial arts choreographer remarked with a sigh. "You really are a monster, Li Wei."

"I only did what I was supposed to do," Li Wei replied rather modestly.

He tucked the [Deceiver’s Mask (silver)] into his inventory.

It was time to call it a day. The crew bustled about, laughing and chatting in a harmonious atmosphere.

Li Wei called over Don Quixote and Jason Miller, planning to go grab something to eat, but just then, his phone rang.

Li Wei took it out to check the caller ID and raised an eyebrow at Don Quixote. "It’s a call from Washington."

"The General from the Pentagon?" Don Quixote walked over briskly and asked in a low voice.

Li Wei nodded.

"Answer it," Don Quixote said. "Let’s see what kind of game he’s playing."

Li Wei nodded and answered the phone. "Hello? This is Li Wei."

"Mr. Li Wei," William Stone’s voice came through the receiver. "Congratulations. We... had a discussion and unanimously agreed that LW Beverages is highly suitable for inclusion in the military’s procurement list."

Li Wei was taken aback and exchanged a bewildered glance with Don Quixote.

"May I ask what happened?" he inquired.