hollywood billionaire

Chapter 470 Birthday Party (Part )

"So, if I'm not mistaken, this was all Kevin's idea, right?"

It is still dusk, and the afternoon sun in Los Angeles is penetrating the glass curtain wall of 864 Stradella Road at an almost extravagant angle. This modernist masterpiece designed by architect Paul McLean is like a transparent crystal suspended on the ridge of Bel Air, taking in the breath of the entire city.

In the distance, the buildings of West Hollywood look like silver building blocks scattered by children, gleaming with a metallic gleam in the sunlight. The Hollywood sign looms between the folds of the Santa Monica Mountains, like a page of old film lifted by the wind. Further south, the azure blue of the Pacific Ocean blends with the skyline at the end of the sight, and the white trails of yachts are like dotted lines drawn by God with chalk, pointing all the way to the vague outline of Catalina Island.

Nearby, the water of the infinity pool is greedily devouring the light from the sky. The moment the water overflows the edge of the black basalt, it unexpectedly resonates wonderfully with the neon sea of ​​the Los Angeles Basin below the mountain - it is still daytime, but those glass curtain wall buildings have already refracted the honey gold of dusk in advance, as if thousands of prisms have composed the sunlight into a fugue of light. A mountain breeze blows by, and the California laurel planted in the courtyard rustles. The shadows of the olive trees flow on the limestone floor into an abstract painting, quietly communicating with the geometric light spots cast by the gray-washed mortar walls indoors.

When Han Yi's eyes swept across the perfectly manicured greens of the Bel Air Country Club and landed on the spires of the Century City Twin Towers, a sense of time and space dislocation suddenly struck him. Sixty years ago, this place was full of citrus groves, but now it has become a utopia made of steel and glass.

And he is now the master of this utopia.

At the end of the lawn, Mad Decent label owner Diplo was controlling a mobile DJ booth made of crystal panels, his fingertips drawing a tropical monsoon-like rhythm on the mixer - the sticky drum beats of Mountbatten and the electronic rainforest sounds of Rio Funk intertwined into liquid sound waves, wrapped in champagne bubbles and palm tree shadows, creating a psychedelic resonance field in the afternoon air. On the dance floor spontaneously demarcated by the party crowd, female artists from Han Music, led by Billie Eilish, Madison Beer and Dua Lipa, were the most eye-catching scenery.

Inside the salon, the chrome coffee table reflects the hip-hop totems of the Han Music Empire: Quavo's diamond cufflinks and 21 Savage's gold chains sparkle in the cold mist of the ice bucket, and the conversation is all about the street life in Atlanta. Managers from various departments of record companies and copyright distribution companies hold tequila glasses in their hands, accurately inserting business jargon and industry anecdotes between the bass. The air here seems to be denser than on the dance floor, mixed with the smell of cigar ash and confidentiality agreements.

In the dining area separated by a wall, time and space suddenly diluted into a champagne-colored slow motion. The Californian sun cut in through the glass curtain wall, casting a light golden contour on the Carrara marble countertop. Although there are no clear regulations, and there are no hidden rules under the countertop that need to be followed, the marble wall between the salon and the dining area naturally divides the various people in the Han Music system in terms of class.

All the important players close to the core circle gather here.

A few steps away, Lou Taylor, Jordan Bromley, Karen Kuo and Christopher Stewart were chatting and laughing around Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Lionel Richie. Standing in front of Han Yi, seeing his speechless expression and laughing so hard that his expression was a little deliberate, was his closest partner in the film and television sector, Kevin Hart, who was planning a new project with Dwayne Johnson and his ex-wife, Danny Garcia, CEO of Seven Blockbuster Pictures, and a new friend he just met today, Trevor Noah.

"Yes, that's him." Dwayne Johnson pointed his index finger downward at Kevin Hart. "If a joke is mean and hurtful, it must be his idea."

"Hey, you can't blame me for this! I didn't know about this until very late." Kevin Hart put his hands on his chest, widened his eyes, and tried to justify himself. "A few days ago, Madison called me and told me, 'Hey, Kevin, we are holding a surprise birthday party for Yi, I wonder if you are free to attend'. At that time, I knew that today was your birthday. I was filming in Honolulu at the time, how could I have time to plan these?"

"No, no, tell the truth, Kevin." Dwayne Johnson raised his hand. "I was right next to you. What did you talk about with Madison?"

"I asked her where she was going to hold the party, and she said at your house. I said if we held it here, Yi would definitely know. She said no, she would tell your housekeeper to keep it a secret and not tell you. When I heard this, I told her directly, I said... Girl, you don't pay the housekeeper, do you think he will listen to you or his boss? She thought about it for a while and agreed with my theory."

"And then?" Dwayne Johnson drew a few circles in the air with his index finger, signaling Kevin to continue.

"Then, I said, if you really want to give him a surprise, you have to put a disguise on the surprise... You have to let the butler fully perform his duties, so that he can become our helper."

"Is that so, Corey?" Hearing this, Han Yi turned his head and looked at Corey McIntosh who was busy in the open kitchen with a smile.

"Mr. Han... my first priority is to make sure you understand everything that happens around the property and to make sure that everything that happens is in line with your decision." Corey's embarrassed smile was just right, "But as long as this condition is met, I think it's harmless for you to enjoy some fun with good friends who really care about you. I just hope that our mansion management team won't be involved like this time... Our position is really a bit awkward."

"Your butler... Corey, right? Corey is awesome. He's good at talking and doing things." Kevin Hart gave Corey McIntosh a thumbs up. "He deserves credit for tricking you."

"Mr. Hart, if you keep talking like that, I'll lose my job." The words were very serious, but there was no sense of panic in Corey's tone. Having worked for Han Yi for so long, Corey had already figured out his employer's temper. On matters of principle, there was no room for compromise or negotiation. But for a well-intentioned prank like this, as long as it didn't happen too often, he wouldn't get really angry at all.

He has a rich sense of humor, ample empathy, and most importantly, a strong and stable spiritual core. Corey knows very well that a big shot like his boss will not mind these little things.

In other words, what Han Yi gained from this prank was not the negative emotions that had just made him confused, but the genuine care and love for him from all the participants behind the scenes.

This “cognitive alchemy” of transforming emotional conflict into emotional resonance is perhaps one of his most valuable qualities as a leader.

"No, I'm serious. I'm not kidding. Where should the guests enter, where should they hide, where should the catering team prepare food and drinks, how to arrange the movement so that you won't find any clues..." Kevin Hart spoke very quickly, and listed a lot of Corey's advantages. "You are very lucky, Yi, the employees you have are very efficient and reliable. In addition, their acting skills are amazing!"

"I agree." Dwayne Johnson laughed and agreed, "I was watching from the side and almost laughed out loud. I didn't expect them to act so seriously according to the script and make it so real and believable."

"We should give them some speaking parts in Jumanji."

"We should do this." Johnson nodded. "We should find a way to fire Jack Black and let Corey play his role."

"He should have been fired a long time ago. That old fart can't even remember his lines."

The two had worked together many times and had already formed a tacit understanding. As they sang in unison, the atmosphere in the conversation circle became very lively, even attracting the attention of other people in the dining area.

Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson, a pair of partners with strong contrast effects but full chemistry, can arouse countless heartfelt laughter both inside and outside the camera.

"So... when you first mentioned this surprise party to Corey three days ago, you told him the whole plan, right?" Amidst the laughter, Han Yi asked the question he most urgently wanted to know the answer to.

"Correct."

"So Corey called me and told me that when Grace and Madison were planning my birthday party, they knew what was going to happen."

"Mr. Han, I have to emphasize again." Corey raised his hands in surrender, "a little party never killed anybody."

"Look, I really like this British guy...he always cares so much about grammar." Kevin Hart laughed.

"It's okay, Corey, don't be too nervous. To be honest, I really like this surprise... There are twists and turns, but as long as the ending is good, that's enough."

As long as it wasn't "that thing three days ago" between him and Barbara.

"But I was still curious, who got Trevor in on this prank? It did worry me a bit when I saw how angry he was about my car."

"What do you think?" Dwayne Johnson continued to criticize, "It's Kevin."

"I've always had a good relationship with Trevor. I was a guest on his first show on The Daily Show." Kevin Hart's extensive network of contacts was fully demonstrated at this moment. "In order to successfully complete this prank, I knew I needed to get someone you don't know involved, and who better than the neighbor next door?"

"I shouldn't have agreed to this in the first place." Trevor Noah sighed exaggeratedly. "I'm sorry, Yi. I know you were on the verge of exploding, but I can't blame you. I really acted like a jerk... Kevin coached me."

"Damn, man." Kevin shook his head with a look of regret. "Look what I created. I created a monster."

"Don't be sorry, Trevor, we all had a good laugh in the end and that's what matters... Actually I should thank Kevin for introducing us. We've been neighbors for a year but have never met."

"Really? I was just telling them that I should have come to visit you earlier." Trevor Noah's full and upturned mouth corners and bright eyes, coupled with a relaxed and sincere facial expression, fully convey his affinity as a comedian. "I've heard a lot of discussion about you in Hollywood these days...even in New York."

"Really? What do they talk about me in New York?"

“A young billionaire takes over the music industry by storm, Great Gatsby style.”

"I knew it wasn't true because it sounded too much like a headline from The Daily Show."

With his eyebrows slightly raised, Han Yi unconsciously rubbed the condensed water droplets on the glass with the tip of his left index finger.

He knew that Trevor Noah's words were a common compliment in social occasions, but at the same time he also understood that it was an indisputable fact that he and Han Music were indeed receiving more and more attention.

How to make good use of this attention and transform it into resources and potential energy that he can use to drive his own efforts is the focus he needs to focus on in the next few months.

"I can vouch for him." A voice came from behind his head. Han Yi turned his head and found that Dr. Dre joined their conversation with a whiskey glass. "Wherever I go, people keep talking about us. Lucian called me a few days ago to discuss Kendrick's album, which will be released next April. When the conversation ended and we said goodbye to each other, Lucian suddenly asked me, Hey, Dre, have you heard of Han Music? What do you think of them?"

"I said, I don't have any opinion for now. I'll tell you after I become the CEO of their group and work for a while."

Hearing these words, Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson and Trevor Noah all made the same sound and took the same posture - a drawn-out exclamation and clenched their right hands into fists, pressing them against their lips.

"Did you really say that?" Han Yi also grinned, his smile full of surprise.

How dare this old man?

"No... but I will say this. When the news of my appointment appears in the newspapers, I will call him personally."

Having said that, Dr. Dre gently placed his hand on Han Yi's shoulder, swept his eyes across a half circle in front of him, and greeted everyone with a smile.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you all, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal our birthday boy away from you for a few minutes now."

"There's a cake waiting for him to cut, and a speech waiting for him to give."

(End of this chapter)