The Best Director

In the early morning, along the shaded pathways of the neighborhood, Wang Yang, dressed in a tracksuit, jogged steadily forward. He suddenly saw Joshua walking towards him with Danny on a leash and waved to greet him, shouting, “Hey, Joshua!”

“Oh, Baby-Baby! How-was-1-supposed… huh!” Joshua, sporting a Lakers jersey with number 34, stopped singing the moment he saw Wang Yang, and exclaimed, “Hey, Yang, when did you get back to Los Angeles?” Danny wagged his tail excitedly, eager to rush over and catch up with Wang Yang. Joshua pulled hard on the leash, turned to jog alongside Wang Yang, and laughed, “Weren’t you under the control of the New York police?”

“I escaped, just got back last night,” Wang Yang replied with a smile, petting Danny’s head as he jogged. He teased Joshua, “You don’t suit Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey; you lack the domineering presence.”

The two laughed as they jogged for a while until Joshua’s tone turned persuasive, “Hey Yang! I was hoping to borrow your house for a night, any day this week will do. You know, to throw a party.” Wang Yang didn’t even think before bluntly responding, “No!” Joshua immediately put on a sorrowful face, pleading, “Please, lend it to me! I’m pursuing a girl right now, so I need to show off! It’s a wholesome party; otherwise, do you think I’d choose a place just a few hundred meters away from my house? I need a venue!”

Wang Yang gave him a dubious look, “Joshua, aren’t you also studying at a performing arts school? How come I never heard of you attending auditions? You’re always chasing girls, and now there’s another one.”

“Oh, uh… wow!” Joshua blinked and ran his fingers through his hair as he explained, “Actually, I did go to a few auditions, but I never made it. Miranda hasn’t arranged any new auditions for me in a long time.” Wang Yang frowned, “Oh, Miranda is your agent too? That figures; she’s terrible.” He laughed and ’ added, “Joshua, stop blaming others. You didn’t audition for ‘High School Musical 2.’ There were a bunch of student roles there; I even got one.”

Joshua coughed and looked at Wang Yang seriously, “Maybe I should go audition for ‘Juno?’ Is there a role for me?” Wang Yang sized him up, “You? Maybe, as a student passing by in the corridor. But ‘Juno’ is planned for next year. Right now, I’m about to shoot ‘The Pursuit of Happyness.’ I even have to visit Will Smith’s house later.” Seeing Joshua’s indifferent expression, Wang Yang frowned and chuckled, “Buddy, don’t you like acting? Oh, your face says it all.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it; I just never thought about making it big.” Joshua shook his head, panting slightly as he jogged and laughed, “The reason I’m at performing arts school is to look after Jessica. Suddenly, she went crazy and said ‘I want to go to performing arts school, I want to go to performing arts school!’ Fine, I’ll go too. She may be the older sister, but she needs protecting.” Yang, you should thank me. I’ve protected your girlfriend for ten years!” Joshua said with an emphasis on his words, and then his eyes lit up, “So, as a way to show your gratitude, lend me the house!” Wang Yang sped up his pace, looking back at Joshua lagging behind, and laughed, “Thanks for that, but lending you the house, no way!”

Grinding his teeth, Joshua caught up, while Danny ran with his tongue hanging out. He continued to plead, “Yang, you can’t do this! I’m serious this time; that girl is so wonderful. She’s passionate, and she looks a lot like Britney!” Wang Yang could tell the emphasis was on the last point and couldn’t help but laugh, “Looks like Britney? Why don’t you just go after Britney herself? I’ve got her number. You want it?”

“What! You have her number?!” Joshua’s eyes went wide; he hurriedly caught up and nervously asked, “You got her number?” Wang Yang, struggling to keep a straight face, nodded calmly, “Yeah, we met at a dinner.”

Realizing the implications, Joshua reacted with elation, “Oh my God! Why would you get to know her? Does my idiot sister know about this?! Ha, if you want me to keep it a secret, give me Britney’s number right away.”

Seeing his reaction, Wang Yang burst into loud laughter, mischievously cackling, “Kidding, I don’t have Britney’s number. Haha!”

“Damn!” Joshua deflated like a punctured ball, looking utterly dejected as he cursed, “Yang, you got my hopes up for nothing! What a rotten morning!” He let out a long sigh and added, “But never mind, I’m not Prince William or some young billionaire, not someone extraordinary; why would Britney care about me?”

Wang Yang slowed down, patted Joshua on the shoulder, and encouraged him, Joshua, you should strive to be that extraordinary person you mentioned, for Britney! For yourself!”

“Fine, Yang, but I have to catch that girl first.” Joshua confidently clenched his fist and turned to beg, “just for one night, just the first floor of the house, okay?” Wang Yang stopped, no longer joking, and seriously said, “You have to ask Jessica, if she says it’s okay, then it’s okay. She’s in charge at home.” Almost all the furnishing in his home was Jessica’s idea, and she had a lot of her stuff there – the bedroom, the living room, the kitchen – it wasn’t just his house, having a party would need her consent.

Hearing Jessica’s name, Joshua helplessly slapped his forehead and said, “Shit! How could I forget that, that’s definitely not going to happen! That woman’s attitude towards her little brother is worse than towards a pet!” He tugged on Danny and complained, “At least she buys stuff for Danny all the time, but she has never given me a present, she’s so stingy and violent – a real mad woman! Dude, why can you stand her?”

“Joshua, I heard it all, and I’ll report it to her as is,” Wang Yang laughed heartily and continued to run ahead. Standing still, Joshua shrugged at Danny and said, “Then she’s definitely going to beat me up.” Danny, beside him, was panting with his tongue out.

After finishing their morning run, Wang Yang had breakfast and then drove to the Smiths’ house in the north. The Smiths’ mansion was a sprawling estate of tens of thousands of square feet, with a man-made lake, a swimming pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, a mini-golf course… and a massive residential complex surrounded by lush trees and picturesque scenery, almost like a palace.

When Wang Yang parked the car and looked up at the super mansion in front of him, he couldn’t help but exclaim softly, “Wow, it’s so big!” Then he saw the Smith family standing on the front lawn; he greeted them with a smile, “Hi, Will!” and walked over.

“Hey, buddy!” Will Smith, wearing a knit sweater, greeted him with a big smile and gave Wang Yang a hearty hug, “Welcome to my house!” Behind him, his wife Jada Pinkett Smith was holding Jaden Smith, who was wrapped in a scarf; next to him was a little boy, none other than Terry Smith (nickname, original name Willard C. Smith III), who was Will’s child with a former wife and was now in Will’s custody following their divorce.

Wang Yang hugged Will and then greeted Jada, touching Jaden’s head and making a funny face to make him laugh, “Hey, little buddy, my name is Wang Yang, Young—” Jaden stretched out his hands, trying to hit him while mumbling, “Yang, Yange…” Wang Yang was surprised and looked at Will and Jada, excitedly said, “Oh my god, he spoke, he’s talking!”

“Haha, Yang, he likes you,” said Will and Jada, both very happy, laughing. Jaden had just started learning to speak, and usually, mumbled when addressing mommy and daddy, but today he followed and said the word ‘Young.’

“Come on, try to say director, Director-,” Wang Yang said enthusiastically several times, but Jaden just kept giggling and didn’t speak again. Wang Yang laughed and gently pinched his cheek, then turned his head to Terry, his eyes lighting up – the little guy’s size and fluffy hair, his cute and lively looks, it was all perfect! Wang Yang extended his hand to Terry and said, “Hey, handsome, nice to meet you!” Terry naturally high-fived him and said in a tender voice, ’ “Hi, I’m Terry.”

Will Smith looked at his son and introduced him, “Terry, this is your Uncle Yang.” Wang Yang leaned back helplessly and said, “Oh, not an uncle, just a friendly big brother!” Terry’s little face immediately showed an amusing smile and he purposely said, “Uncle Yang.” Everyone laughed, and Wang Yang seemed to remember something and said, “Wait a second!”, then quickly walked back to his car, grabbing two presents from the back seat.

“This is for Jaden.” Wang Yang walked back, smiling as he handed one of the presents to Jada. Jada, teasing her son, said, “Baby, say thank you, thank you.” Wang Yang then handed the other present to Terry, smiling, “Hey, Terry, hope you like it!” Terry looked at the box in his hands, curiously asking, “What is it?” Wang Yang replied with a smile, “Open it and see.”

Terry began unwrapping the colorful paper with interest, while Wang Yang watched his expressions intently, sensing good camera presence, he knew the boy’s reactions would look great on film.

“A football?” Terry, seeing the brown football lying inside the box, said somewhat disappointedly, “I like footballs, but I already have several.” Will and Jada both smiled helplessly, and Wang Yang chuckled before spouting some nonsense, “This is a special football, it has materials from a mysterious tribe, it’s going to make you faster, stronger! You’ll see when you play with it.”

Terry held the football from the box, looking at it skeptically, feeling no different from his other ordinary footballs.

Next, Wang Yang, guided by the Smith family, had a good look around the mansion. Both the interior and exterior were very luxurious and beautiful. Wang Yang liked the swimming pools and basketball courts, but when it came to huge residences that resembled palaces, he still preferred smaller, more elegant villas where not too many rooms were needed; otherwise, they were left unoccupied and felt empty without that warm sensation.

After touring the house, Terry remembered what Wang Yang had said and wanted to play football with him on the lawn. Wang Yang gladly accompanied Terry to the spacious golf lawn, while Will and Jada were personally preparing lunch.

“Hey, Terry, catch!” Wang Yang tossed the football to Terry in front, who caught it steadily before tossing it back. Wang Yang threw it again and laughed,

Terry, let’s play a different game first!” Looking puzzled, Terry asked, “What game?” Wang Yang explained, “The game is called ‘Instant Reaction.’ I say a word, or a situation, and you have to act it out. Like if I say angry…” He made a glaring face and laughed, “How about that?”

“OK,” Terry nodded indifferently, holding the football and walking over. Wang Yang and he sat on the lawn, and Wang said, “Happy!” Terry immediately beamed with a smile; “You lost your favorite toy, sad!” Terry instantly made a sorrowful face; “A very anxious expression!”…

After nearly ten consecutive instant reactions, Wang Yang was pleased because he concluded that Terry had great acting talent! He had also specifically watched the music video of “Just-the-two-of-us” yesterday. The song was written by Will Smith last year for Terry, and they both starred in the music video, where Terry’s performance was quite good. Combined with the talent he was now showing and facing his dad, acting out the role of son “Christopher” would be no issue!

Watching Terry waiting beside him for the next prompt, Wang Yang smiled slightly. You’re quite interested in acting, aren’t you? He asked, “Terry, you know what a film actor is, right?” Terry nodded and said, “Of course! Like dad.” Wang Yang smiled and said, “Well, are you interested in trying acting? Being a movie actor!”

“No!” Terry immediately shook his little head and said, “I love football, I want to be a football star!” Thinking about Terry’s enthusiasm while playing the game just now, Wang Yang pressed him, “Not at all interested? Really, not at all? Terry suddenly hesitated, and Wang Yang internally smiled. The child definitely wasn’t completely disinterested in acting, which was good. He thought for a moment and then tempted him, “Football is fun, but you know what? Acting is also very fun!” Terry asked doubtfully, “How is it fun?”