Chapter 493 - 323: Sudden Good News, Return to New York

Chapter 493: Chapter 323: Sudden Good News, Return to New York

"Aren’t you coming with us?" Anya asked.

"I have something to take care of," Li Wei said, patting Anya on the head.

"Alright then," Anya said, linking arms with Daria. "I’ll have Auntie Kaja bring my plane over."

...

「The next morning.」

Beneath the portico of the Bel Air Hotel, two Cadillac Escalades were parked neatly in the circular driveway.

Li Wei, Jin Heon, and Chen Haisheng were getting ready to leave for the airport.

Jason Miller stood by the car, holding an iPad and making final confirmations.

"Mr. Li Wei, it’s about a 25-minute drive from the hotel to the airport," he said. "Your flight is scheduled to take off at 10:15, so we have plenty of time."

"Good," Li Wei nodded. "Let’s get in, Mr. Miller. Take us to the airport. We can talk on the way."

The Cadillac Escalade pulled out of the Bel Air Hotel and headed north along Sunset Boulevard.

"Mr. Miller, how many years have you been working in Hollywood?" Li Wei asked from the back seat.

"This is my tenth year," Jason said, turning his head from the passenger seat. "I’ve been in NBC’s liaison department the whole time, working my way up from assistant to liaison producer."

"You seem to know a lot of people," Li Wei observed. "From Warner to Netflix, you know them all."

"I’ve dealt with most of them," Jason said. "Warner, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Disney, plus the on-site teams for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon. I know everyone I need to know."

"What about Director Del Toro’s team?" Li Wei asked next. "His crew for *The Last Flying Dragon*—can you get in touch with them?"

Jason thought for a moment. "I haven’t worked directly with Del Toro’s crew before, since he hasn’t had any blockbusters out in recent years. But he’s renting a studio from Warner, and I’m on very good terms with Warner."

"Do me a favor," Li Wei said with a smile. "Keep an eye on them for me. If there’s any movement on the casting, especially for the Dragon Slayer role, just notify Chen Haisheng immediately."

"No problem," Jason nodded at once.

"Also," Li Wei added, "the next time I’m in Los Angeles, can I ask you to host us again?"

Jason Miller paused for a beat. "Thank you for your trust, Mr. Li Wei. I’ll be sure to prepare in advance."

The Cadillac Escalade entered the private aviation section of the airport and stopped at the entrance to the tarmac.

Li Wei got out of the car. Jin Heon and Chen Haisheng had already gone ahead to coordinate with the ground crew.

As Jason helped carry Li Wei’s personal luggage to the edge of the tarmac, Li Wei called out to him.

"Mr. Miller."

"Yes?"

Li Wei took a checkbook from inside his suit jacket, wrote a number on a check, and handed it over.

"Thanks for your hard work these past few days," he said. "And I’m counting on you to keep an eye on Del Toro’s project."

Jason took the check and looked at it.

’Holy Mother of God, 100,000 USD!’

His hand trembled noticeably.

"Mr. Li Wei, this is too much," he said, looking up, his tone a bit strained. "Hosting you is part of my job. NBC will reimburse me for any extra expenses from the last couple of days."

"Take it. It’s from me personally," Li Wei said with a smile. "You did a great job these past few days. Besides, keeping an eye on Mr. Del Toro’s crew is an extra task. Just take it."

Jason Miller’s throat bobbed. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

’He was just offering too much.’

Li Wei patted him on the shoulder and boarded the private jet.

Jason Miller stood at the edge of the tarmac, watching the Gulfstream G650ER taxi to the runway, accelerate, lift off, climb, and finally disappear into the blue Los Angeles morning sky.

He stood there for a full minute before turning and walking back to the parking lot.

He took the check out of his inner suit pocket and examined it carefully.

Instead of going straight home, he went to the bank first.

After waiting in line for over 20 minutes, the teller verified the check. Once federal tax, California state tax, and self-employment tax were deducted, 67,700 USD was deposited into Jason Miller’s bank account.

For Jason Miller, this was undoubtedly a colossal sum of money. He might not have been able to save that much even in 15 years.

Just after 3:00 PM, Jason’s Camry pulled into the driveway of his home in the San Fernando Valley.

As he inserted the key into the lock, he heard the sound of running water from the kitchen—Megan was washing dishes.

"Jason?" Megan peeked her head out. Seeing him home at this hour, a flicker of surprise crossed her face. "How come you’re home so early today?"

"The job’s over," Jason said, tossing his car keys into the bowl in the entryway. "The guest I was hosting left."

"Oh." Megan wiped her hands on her apron and pointed to a few cardboard boxes stacked in the corner of the living room. "Since you’re back, move those boxes of Jack’s old clothes to the garage. I’ve been asking you to do it for a week."

Jason didn’t move the boxes. Instead, after closing the door, he walked right up to Megan.

"What are you do—"

Before Megan could finish, Jason had already wrapped an arm around her waist, his other hand going straight for the elastic waistband of her lounge shorts.

"Are you crazy? It’s the middle of the day!" Megan slapped his shoulder and took a step back, but he still had her pinned against the edge of the kitchen island. "If you have this much energy, you should use it to think about paying the bills, the heat—"

Her words were cut short as his mouth covered hers.

Because while he was pulling off her shorts, he took a stack of paid bill receipts from his inner suit pocket and slapped them down on the nearby dining table with a sharp sound.

Among them was a confirmation letter that the credit card was paid off, receipts for the stormwater fee, road maintenance fee, and heating bill, a receipt for their son Jack’s summer camp, and even an appointment confirmation to replace the garage door spring.

Megan’s gaze swept over the pile of receipts. Her mouth opened, her complaints dissolving into delight.

Her hands relaxed, then wrapped around Jason.

With a wiggle of her hips, her shorts slipped right off.

...

「The next morning.」

He opened his eyes and glanced at the time on his nightstand. The sun was already casting warm stripes of light on the wall through the blinds.

Megan’s side of the bed was empty, the covers casually pulled aside.

He lay there for a while, savoring the memory of yesterday’s wonderful experience. It was the best they’d had in nearly five years, for both of them.

For a moment, he felt like he had rediscovered his youth.

Hearing noises from the kitchen, Jason got out of bed, walked into the living room, and passed the row of photos and posters hanging in the hallway.

Same hallway as always, same photos. Jason stopped beside them to take a look.

One of the photos was of Megan in her mid-twenties, standing on the set of a low-budget horror film. She was wearing a white T-shirt stained with fake blood and flashing a peace sign at the camera.

He looked at it for a few seconds, then continued toward the kitchen.

Megan was making breakfast. It wasn’t a feast, but there were fried eggs, bacon, and two slices of toast with honey butter.

"You’re awake?" she said without turning around.

"Yeah."

Jason sat at the dining table, scrolling through his iPad as he spoke:

"The leaky pipe under the kitchen sink, the garage door spring, the two broken fence panels in the backyard, the sofa cushions, the AC filter... what else?"

"That’s it for the house," Megan said, wiping her hands. "There’s also the Lego set Jack wants for his birthday, if there’s any money left over—"

"Buy it," Jason said succinctly. "I’ve been putting that off for three months already."

Megan leaned down, gave him a kiss, and patted his cheek. "Hurry up and eat. Go wash up after, and don’t be late for work."

"By the way, didn’t you always want to start taking acting classes again?" Jason said, forking a piece of bacon. "I can pay for you to go."

Megan pulled open the refrigerator door and said, without turning back, "Now that we have money, let’s be smart about spending it. At my age, aren’t acting classes just a waste of money?"

Though she said that, with her back to Jason, a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

This time, when she closed the fridge, the wedding photo album on top of it didn’t move an inch.