The Best Director

Chapter 391: Chapter 391 Worldwide Cheers (Seeking Monthly Pass)

The afternoon sunlight was splendidly bright. A gentle breeze moved the window sheers, causing the lush balcony plants to sway uncertainly. In the room lay a tall and well-built man with black hair, lying face-up on the hospital bed. His right hand was in a cast and bandage from a fracture. His cheeks had grown slightly gaunt, and his eyes were closed without the slightest response to the outside world.

“Yang! Wake up! What’s going on? I clearly heard you speak…” Jessica’s entire being was in a frantic state, constantly pushing his body, her heart pounding wildly, her mind almost a blank slate! Although she had dreamt of his awakening every day for the past week, that sound of “uh-uh” she just heard was definitely real! It was not an illusion! Jessica held her breath as she recalled, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! What is the key point? She turned her head to look at the TV screen, where the DV short clip he named “Who’s the Good Cop? Who’s the Bad Cop?” had just finished playing.

Yes, it was this DV clip!! Jessica quickly grabbed the remote and pressed play again, intensely watching Wang Yang, her heart filled with a complex mix of emotions—surprise and joy, hope, anxiety, and impatience…

“Don’t move, don’t move… Can you get Danny to roll over?”… “Woof—woof woof woof, woof woof woof—”

Wang Yang remained motionless until the stage where Danny was barking when he suddenly furrowed his brow and made an “uh, uh” deep sound again. “Oh!!” Jessica’s eyes widened, her hands instinctively raised, her eyes instantly regaining their former brightness, and she burst out laughing, “Yang! Haha, Yang—” Thank God, she knew it, it was Danny’s bark! Danny’s cries could stimulate him!! She was so excited that her body trembled, even feeling a dizzying nausea, “Woof woof, woof woof—” Listening to Danny’s voice, she clutched Wang Yang’s hand and mimicked the barking herself, “Woof woof, woof woof—”

“Danny!! Oh my God, where’s Danny!” Jessica realized that imitating the dog’s bark was useless and frantically replayed the DV, and soon Danny’s voice came again.

“Uh…” Wang Yang, who had been in a deep, unresponsive sleep, twisted his mouth again and then quietly mumbled in his dream, “Jessie, Jessie…” Hearing her name clearly, Jessica couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Oh God! How lucky she was not to have agreed to that jerk Joshua’s horrible idea! Tears welled up in her eyes again as she shook him vigorously, crying and laughing, “Yang, my dear, I’m here! I’m right here!! Come on, wake up! Yang, please, wake up— I’m here! Wake up quickly—”

In a sudden move, she reached out to pry open his eyelids, and the sunlight filtering through the sheer curtains hit his eyes.

“Oh! FUCK! Oh…” Wang Yang’s eyes snapped open, and he suddenly sat up with a start. Where is this!! The light was so glaring it made it hard for him to see the world around him—a room, a woman, what’s going on, what’s happening! He clenched his teeth and covered his head, as a throbbing headache took hold…

“Ah—!!” Seeing her beloved finally awake and sitting up with such spirit, Jessica screamed in excitement, and with it came delightful and vigorous movements from within her—the baby joyfully kicking and punching inside of her, “Oh my God!!” Jessica cried and laughed as she sat on the bed and hugged Wang Yang, that feeling of happiness and exhilaration swiftly re-filling every cell in her body; she was so overjoyed that she was at a loss for words, “Oh my God, oh my God!! Thank God, thank Jesus!!…” She held onto him, unwilling to let go for even a second.

Good Lord! Stunned, Wang Yang stared at her, his vision gradually sharpening, and his cleaved-headache slowly beginning to think once more. He looked around in confusion, “What happened? Where is this? Hey, don’t cry, what’s wrong?” He gently wiped the tears from her face, then suddenly felt a heavy pain in his right hand!

“I’m not crying. You’re awake now, why would I cry…” Jessica gave a tearful smile, wiping her tears with his hand, but as happy tears kept streaming faster from her eyes, she gazed at his clear, distinct eyes—the whole world regained its color, all beauty and hope returned! She suddenly had an epiphany, “What is a beautiful world? A world with you is a beautiful world! It’s colorful, lively, warm, and filled with love…”

At that moment, Wang Yang questioned again, “Where is this?” Jessica answered with a choked voice, “UCLA Medical Center. You suffered a severe concussion and cerebral contusion, and have been in a coma for 7 days.” UCLA Medical Center? In a coma for 7 days? No, that can’t be right! Why don’t I remember any of this? Puzzled, Wang Yang looked around, then suddenly held his aching forehead reflexively, “My head, my head hurts so much… Oh my God!! I can’t remember why I’m here…”

Seeing him tormented by the headache, Jessica’s heart raced with urgency and pain. Consciousness returning with a headache was a symptom of a cerebral contusion, and amnesia—it hit her heart. Could Yang have forgotten me? Jessica asked with bated breath and wide eyes, “Yang, do you remember who I am?”

“`

“What?” Wang Yang asked in astonishment, amused by her adorable nervousness, and pretended to think hard before saying, “Oh, oh! In fact, beautiful lady, who are you? I don’t quite remember…” Jessica’s face instantly turned pale, and Wang Yang immediately knew this wasn’t the right time to joke. He quickly ended the trick, “Are you Jessica?” Jessica nodded energetically, regaining her spirits, and Wang Yang teased her, “Jessica Bell? Jessica Simpson? Jessica Parker? Hey! Of course, I remember you, silly! Do you remember me?”

“Ha ha!” Jessica laughed and cursed as she slapped his thigh. She was nearly infuriated, scolding him, “What are you playing at!! This isn’t the right time, this isn’t funny, idiot!” Wang Yang apologized while laughing a few times, then suddenly felt another headache and frowned in pain, “But, I seem to really have forgotten something. Has ‘Firefly’ been released?” Jessica nodded in surprise, “‘Firefly’ has made 1.6 billion worldwide!” Wang Yang’s eyes widened in shock, “Wow—” Jessica hurried to get out of bed, “I’m going to call the doctor, I’m going to call the doctor…”

“Wait, sweetheart, wait!” Wang Yang pulled her to prevent her from leaving, and shushed her, demanding silence, “Shh—!!” Jessica looked at him nervously, her eyes not blinking. He stayed as still as a rock, and after a while, she finally asked softly, “What’s wrong?” Wang Yang said uncertainly, “It seems like memories are rushing back, just wait…”

Indeed, ‘Firefly’ had already been released! He had also been to the hospital for the baby’s first ultrasound…

The ward was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Wang Yang took a deep breath, and like flashbacks in a film, past moments flooded back to him. He had embarked on his journey to Asia and fully experienced the crazy enthusiasm of fans from various places. On the way back, the plane encountered clear air turbulence, and he had been almost killed by two sudden drops. Then he spent over two months in a dream’s apocalyptic world, where Danny got infected with a zombie virus…

“Huff, huff!” Wang Yang was drenched in sweat from the memories, but he felt as if all his soul had returned without missing a bit, finally able to see his family again! It had only been 7 days! He couldn’t help but be overjoyed, “Oh my God, I’m back! I’m back!” Jessica asked with a mixture of shock and joy, “Do you remember everything?” Wang Yang nodded while asking her urgently, “The plane didn’t crash, did it? Did anyone die?” Jessica choked up as she explained the situation in detail.

Thinking of the apocalyptic feeling brought by the plane’s violent turbulence before he fainted, and the long nightmare that had just ended, Wang Yang was filled with mixed emotions. But looking at his beloved’s worn-out appearance beside him, his heart was soon filled with only burning love. He couldn’t help but hug her tightly, “I missed you so much, I missed our baby…”

“I missed you too, SO-MUCH, SO-MUCH-MORE…” Jessica’s voice shook more and more. Feeling the warmth and strength of his embrace, the world’s best haven, various negative emotions she had accumulated over the week finally erupted, and she started crying out loud, “Am I dreaming? Tell me, Yang, I’m not dreaming! I missed you so much, woo woo… I missed you…” She sobbed as if she was a pear flower in the pouring rain, “I was so scared, Yang, you scared me to death, I—I…”

“I love you.” Wang Yang’s heart ached more acutely than his headache right then. He regretted the joke he had just made so much that he wanted to kick himself! He couldn’t imagine how much sorrow and stress she had endured during the week, how many times she had cried? This was the least thing he wanted to happen, but now her eyes were swollen from crying! He moved closer to kiss away the tears on her face, and continued to kiss her forehead, eyes, nose, and other places, until her soft and moist lips, pecking and rubbing gently.

Wang Yang supported her haggard but beautiful face, looking into her eyes, he said softly, “Don’t cry, I’m back. I know you’ve always been with me, calling out to me, thank you, I don’t know what to say, I love you.” Jessica slightly curled her lips into a smile, her hoarse voice so affectionate, “Just those words, I love you too.”

The two didn’t say much more, communicating their feelings through passionate kissing and caressing, dissolving the painful longing.

“Ah!” Outside the ward, in the hospital corridor, Joshua sighed as he walked toward Wang Yang’s room. When will you finally wake up, Yang? If you don’t wake up soon, that woman will cry her eyes out! He casually knocked on the door, then pushed it open and entered the ward, only to jump up and scream as if electrified, “Ahhhhh————”

The piercing scream could be heard throughout the entire UCLA Medical Center!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Marvelous Yang! I beg of you, you can’t be in trouble!”

Although it was Saturday, Kevin Reilly, the president of NBC’s entertainment division, was not in the mood to enjoy the weekend. He had lost over three pounds in these 7 days. His beautiful life had cracked because of Wang Yang’s fall! Now, NBC’s primetime evening lineup was counting on Marvelous Yang. Even though he had withdrawn from the third season of ‘Prison Break,’ what about the second season of ‘The Big Bang Theory’? Both series had an average viewership of over 20 million last season! The 18-49 viewership ratings were even more impressive! Without a doubt, they were the pillars of NBC!

“`

As well as the once wildly popular “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” whose viewership had stabilized at 15 million. And it wasn’t just the “Firefly” TV series in the pipeline, every single person at NBC looked forward every day to him rolling out more amazing shows; on the other hand, as a friend, as a partner who had saved his own prospects at NBC, how could Kevin Reilly possibly want to see a tragedy happen? With the new fall season launching next month, how could the magical Wang Yang become a vegetable!

Just as Kevin Reilly was sighing heavily at home, his cell phone suddenly vibrated. He answered it and immediately burst into ecstatic laughter, “What! Really! Wang Yang woke up!! That’s fantastic! YEAH! YEAH!!—”

“Great news! The magical Wang Yang is awake, and his mind is all OK—”

Many people’s phones were ringing!

“Thank God!” Mark Strong took off his glasses, wiped his moist eyes, and the Flame Group’s high-speed train was back on track! Executives from Flame Films, Blue Sky Studios, and Image Engine, upon receiving the good news, couldn’t help but clench their fists in joy; in San Francisco, Chen Shijun from YouTube, Blogger, Evan Williams, and others all beamed with joy, without his “I have a plan” behind them, they all felt a bit aimless and lacked confidence, but now, their drive to reach for the skies had returned!

Seeing this latest news, Helen smiled and exhaled a breath of relief, genuinely happy for him. She gently stroked the wedding ring on her left ring finger and murmured with a laugh, “I just knew that bastard couldn’t be so fragile, hehe, he must be busy charming people right now…”

“That’s wonderful!” Different places, the same smiles, Valerie Fest laughed loudly into her phone, “I certainly don’t want to go back to taking family portraits for others, haha!” Margaret Goodspeed kept thanking God; Jan Kaczmarek was so delighted that he was inspired to play the piano, putting down his phone and heading to the piano in the living room; Joss Whedon, like a child, punched and kicked in the air, belting out the theme song to “Firefly”; Annie Fletcher happily danced around…

“Yay!” Hearing her excited brother Tye’s words, Chloe Moritz jumped and hopped around joyfully, Wang Yang is okay! Wang Yang is okay! She asked, “When can we go visit the magical Wang Yang?”

“I still have to learn Kung Fu!” Seeing Jaden’s expectant eyes, Will Smith laughed heartily; “Yes, yes! Dad will also ask him about working together, oh—! Wang Yang is so popular.” Little Robert Downey Jr. laughed hysterically and ran towards his pregnant wife Susan Levin, “Honey, Wang Yang is awake—”, Michelle Williams, watching Heath Ledger laugh nonstop, was also very happy, tenderly caressing her bulging belly, now everyone can finally sleep well.

Annie Darren was sure she would sleep very sweetly tonight, she’d been worried and sending her blessings to that man who had supported and motivated her all this time, and this call let her entire body relax, “Wuuu… Wang, you’re finally awake! You scared me to death!” Big fat Harry George joyfully shed manly tears, wetting his beard, his round cheeks quivering with sobs. “Beautiful!” Nancy Reno grabbed her bucket hat from her head, laughed, and threw it into the air, perhaps the magical Wang Yang was giving her more time to hunt for original paintings? She’d found them, haha!

“Phew, could there be better news than this?” Michael Pitt pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, Wang Yang’s awakening was even more thrilling than smoking ten thousand cigarettes at once. Zachary Levi immediately started dancing, twisting his hips; Joseph Gordon Levitt, Daniel Wu, Tom Willing… everyone who had pleasantly collaborated with Wang Yang all showed joyous smiles, Wang, well done! “I was suspecting that the magical Wang Yang had been cursed in Asia, but it looks like everything is fine!” James Wan shared the good news with Leigh Whannell.

“YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!” Lin Yibin clenched his fist and swung his elbow back, so worried Wang Yang would end up causing sighs like Bruce Lee did, it’s good that he’s okay, it’s good! “Oh! That’s great, yes…” Even though Ang Lee was extremely excited internally, he only had a slightly shy smile on his face.

Film critic Roger Ebert gave two thumbs up; he wasn’t done watching that kid’s movies yet. At 25, he wasn’t even at the average age when directors make their screen debut with their first feature film, let alone thinking about bowing out early! Go on and make good movies for this world! “This is more like it! He shouldn’t waste his life on a sickbed!” Robert Zemeckis was very relieved and happy because, on one hand, “Firefly” was Wang Yang’s peak since his debut, and on the other hand, it was just the beginning, he’ll have greater film achievements than anyone else.

“So, did he reveal whether ‘500 Days of Summer’ will be released as scheduled?” Cinema owners across America and the world were delighted, without Wang Yang, it was like losing the most stable and profitable gold mine! Everyone was looking forward to making a fortune at the end of the year with his new movie as their Christmas gift, he’ll make it, right? IMAX Film Company’s president Greg Foster was happy; they were all waiting for Wang Yang to give the go-ahead, to produce more IMAX and IMAX-3D films that drive the industry’s development, he absolutely cannot fall, absolutely must not stop!

“Wang Yang is awake!! That’s fantastic!” Charlize Theron excitedly told her boyfriend Stuart Townsend, and many women and girls who were on good terms with Wang Yang were equally thrilled—Ellen Page, Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Blunt, Michelle Rodriguez, Evangeline Lilly, Kaley Cuoco, Megan Fox… Even those who were recently bummed out about a new film flopping were now beaming with smiles. His awakening was truly great news!

“FUCK, SHIT…” Natalie cursed as she put down her phone. She really wanted to rush to UCLA Medical Center to see him, but… never mind, it was already an honor that this busy sleeper had personally called her, perhaps.

“Wow! Yang, hearing your voice is so good, I’m so happy, haha!… Yes, yes, I’m your fan.” Rachel’s face lit up with a smile as she listened to Wang Yang’s spirited jokes on the phone, and when she heard him laugh, “I’m thinking, did the plane see Rachel McAdams? Did she really take my advice and change into a Bruce Lee & Superman costume to fly into the sky and make money? Otherwise, why would the plane suddenly go into a steep descent?” Rachel couldn’t help but laugh, “Alright, all the bad stuff was done by Rachel McAdams.”

Some cross-industry figures from music, sports, books, and comics, etc., also felt happy for him upon hearing the news. Although they didn’t have much of a relationship with Wang Yang, they all had a very good impression of the young director and thought there might be opportunities for collaboration in the future.

“Magical Yang wakes up!”—Yahoo; “Wang is awake!”—America Online; “Magical Yang regains consciousness!”—Lycos; “Wang Yang wakes up after a week in a coma!”—Sina; “Magical Yang is awake!”—NetEase, BBC, Tencent, Sohu, Naver, Yahoo Japan…

The media that had reported on Wang Yang’s coma and had been following the development of the situation naturally followed up with the latest news. First came an overwhelming amount of online news reports, and the public gradually received it. Excluding the Yang-haters and those who were indifferent, regardless of whether they were Asian, African American, white Jews, Latinos, Native Americans, all who liked and supported Wang Yang—Evelyn, Clair, Alice… countless millions of people broke into smiles.

“That’s awesome!” “Haha!!” “God bless Magical Yang!” Movie fans and supporters were jubilant, and the whole world cheered. Planet Earth had not lost Magical Yang! What luck for this planet!

At UCLA Medical Center, in a spacious hospital room filled with laughter, Wang Yang’s father, mother, Mark, Kathy, Joshua, and others were present, all chatting enthusiastically with Wang Yang, who from time to time would exclaim, “My dear family, it’s so, so great to see you all!”

For them, it had been 7 days, but for Wang Yang, it was 70 days. He really didn’t understand why he had entered a world similar to “I Am Legend.” Perhaps it was the sense of impending doom just before he lost consciousness that led to it happening. And then he became The Last Man on Earth, with only the non-human Danny for company. When Jessica played a recording of Danny barking the phrase “Who’s a good cop? Who’s a bad cop?” he felt something was off—Danny was clearly dead! So he woke up. Dreams were truly fascinating.

“Yang, I thought about it over and over and couldn’t figure out how it was Danny who woke you up!” Joshua leaned against the wall, shaking his head and looking somewhat schadenfreude at Jessica by the bedside, “None of us can match up to Danny, huh!” Jessica, for her part, wasn’t bothered and even appeared rather proud, “That’s my good child!”

Wang Yang, half lying in bed, burst into laughter. He scanned the smiling faces around him and said mysteriously, “It’s not like that, not at all, you’ve all misunderstood! The truth is… oh, this is terrible!” He turned his head towards the intrigued Jessica and apologized, “You know, finally having a chance to leave my wife and go play in Asia for a week, and with beautiful flight attendants on the plane, I just went ahead and turned your volume down to the lowest.” Jessica rolled her eyes at him with a smile, while Kathy on the sofa joked, “Yang, you didn’t do anything bad, did you?” Wang Yang’s mother reached out with a laugh and scolded, “Monkey, what did I teach you!”

“Ladies, I was wrong!” Hearing his mom bring out a nickname that hadn’t been used in a thousand years, Wang Yang quickly apologized and took Jessica’s hand, smiling at everyone, especially his dad and father-in-law, “Guys, this story teaches us that no matter what, you just can’t put your wife on silent mode, or you might lose your life at any moment.”

“Son, I already knew that.” Wang Yang’s father waved his hand as if to say he didn’t need to be told; Mark Alba pretended to be serious and made a much-missed joke, “But it seems like you even put me on silent, Yang, which is a bit more dangerous.” Now that they were all so happy, Wang Yang whispered conspiratorially, “No no, Mark, what I mean is, whenever you’re up to no good, if you put Kathy on silent, remember to get a dog to keep you posted at all times.”

“Hahaha!” No matter what he said now, Jessica would burst into uncontrollable laughter, and everyone was brought into fits of giggles, “Hehe!” Watching his sister’s joyful expression, Joshua laughed with his arms crossed, only Yang could make her smile so brilliantly. It was great to have everything back! (