The Best Director

High above in the sky, a plane sparkling with lights roared by, swiftly traversing the boundless expanse of the Pacific Ocean below. It set off from Los Angeles, stopped over in San Francisco, and headed straight for Beijing, scheduled to arrive on the morning of the 11th, Beijing time.

The private jet’s passengers included Wang Yang, Natalie Portman, and Rachel McAdams from the ‘MIT-21-TEAM’ publicity crew, along with a host of assistants, bodyguards, and the like; while the film’s leading man, Daniel Wu, departed from Hong Kong, meeting up with the mainland’s publicity team in Beijing. The overseas promotion wasn’t exclusive to China; Alexis went to Mexico for the local premiere, and Jay Baruchel headed to the United Kingdom.

This trip to China was naturally mainly for work. Following the Hollywood movie publicity and premiere process, the four main creators attended the premiere on the 12th. On the same day, they joined the media-packed premiere press event, photo ops, and journalist Q&A. With that, the crew’s official duties for the China trip essentially concluded. Whether to accept other exclusive interviews was up to personal preference.

But Wang Yang also had a lot of personal agendas, like fan meet-and-greets. For him, this visit to China was not only for the promotion of ‘MIT-21-TEAM,’ but also served as an intimate embrace between him and his Chinese fans, enhancing mutual understanding and knowledge. Therefore, he was willing to accept some activities arranged by the Chinese film authorities and even made some requests.

“The question is, whether to choose a grand setting, or to share the romance quietly, just the two of us? In public or not in public…”

In the plane’s leisure area, Wang Yang was reclining on a white sofa, stroking his chin while looking at Rachel, who was reading in another seat. He pondered this question. There’s a distinct difference between the grandness of the setting, and a private or public marriage proposal. Some people prefer to propose during a halftime show at a sports event, in front of tens of thousands of spectators; like Tom Wilin, who proposed publicly during the ‘High School Musical 3’ celebration dinner.

As for a private moment, Wang Yang thought that he and Jessica preferred that kind. But after their fake breakup, he developed a more objective way of thinking. For such a specific matter, might a girl’s thoughts differ from usual? If he had doubts about some matters, he would honestly consult her, and she did the same. Communication increased between them, but this was something he couldn’t consult her about.

Perhaps she would be happy with either approach. Just buying a ring, kneeling on one knee, and saying, “Will you marry me?” might suffice. But he truly, deeply desired to offer her the greatest surprise, the most romantic and unforgettable memory. Proposing was a once-in-a-lifetime affair! For her and for him.

“Hey, Rachel!” Wang Yang called out as he pondered. Could there be some commonality between girls? When he saw Rachel looking over, he asked, “What?” Wang Yang wiped his forehead and then shook his head with a smile, “No, it’s nothing.” How could he ask? “What kind of marriage proposal do you like?” didn’t seem quite right, and besides, whatever Rachel’s answer was, it wouldn’t be of use since he wasn’t proposing to her…

Rachel probably liked something private. She was a quiet environmentalist by nature, who found Los Angeles too noisy and still lived in Toronto even after graduation. In some ways, she was even more homebound than Jessica, such as when she had a television addiction as a child, skipping classes to watch soap operas at home…

If it were a proposal, Wang Yang imagined picking a sunny day, cycling to the countryside with her, and then having a picnic under a big tree, with the ring conveniently “falling” from above…

“Yang, what’s up?” Seeing him staring in a strange manner, Rachel asked with a puzzled smile, putting down her book and spreading her hands, “Is there something funny about me? Tell me, Yang!”

“No, no, I was just thinking about something related to women, you know, ‘The Devil Wears Prada,'” Wang Yang said with a smile, finding a fine excuse. Rachel responded with an ‘oh’ and a nod, then rolled her eyes playfully, “Fashion? I don’t know, I’m not a fashion girl; simple is good for me.” Wang Yang agreed with a smile, “Yes, simple and natural is good.”

At that moment, Natalie, holding a drink, walked over from the kitchen area. She greeted with a “hey guys” and sat down on the white sofa, asking, “What are you talking about?” Rachel shrugged and replied, “The Devil Wears Prada.” Natalie instantly went ‘oh,’ and sizing Wang Yang up and down with a frown, she remarked, “Aren’t you tired? Not even sparing the dozens of hours on the plane, you maniac.”

“OK, I’m a maniac,” Wang Yang laughed it off nonchalantly. Watching her sipping her drink, he sighed, “You didn’t even get me a drink; that’s not friendly.” Natalie raised an eyebrow indifferently, “Don’t you know Jews are stingy?” At that, all three softly chuckled. Such ethnic jokes were harmless only when one commented on their own, like Black people referring to themselves with a certain term, or Chinese people calling themselves rigid; otherwise, it could hurt feelings or cause big trouble.

“I was just thinking… you know, if women have something in common when it comes to certain things,” Wang Yang said in a roundabout way, thinking that the two girls talking about films would simply agree by saying, “Of course.” Natalie replied, “Men share commonalities too. Many of human emotions and psychology are influenced by various hormones, the principles are the same.” Rachel laughed and said, “That’s putting it too broadly, it depends on what it is.”

“Thank you, I’ll give it some more thought,” Wang Yang glanced at Rachel who had resumed reading her book, then turned to look at Natalie. Commonalities, he thought, this guy also likes to be in a world of two, but Jewish parents are just as concerned and interfering in marriages as Chinese parents, so it’s best to secure the approval of future in-laws surreptitiously first, then announce the successful proposal all at once for an added surprise and warmth.

Although Jessica was Latina, should he discuss it with Mark and Kathy first? As Wang Yang was lost in thought, Natalie suddenly chuckled, propping one hand on her waist, “What are you looking at me for?” She looked at Rachel with a smile and asked, “Do I look especially pretty today?” Rachel nodded with a laugh and said, “Yes, and he seems especially lecherous today.” Natalie hummed with laughter, “I get it, someone here might be thinking of doing something naughty.”

“Oh, come on!” Wang Yang burst out laughing, covering his forehead in embarrassment. Such jokes were only made among close friends and brothers. And the two women were indeed close friends, one an environmentalist and the other a vegetarian for environmental reasons, which meant that the set of ‘MIT-21-TEAM’ was always abuzz with conversations about conservation.

He stood up and walked away from the entertainment area toward the rest cabin, ready to think quietly about the marriage proposal, laughing, “I’m scared of you guys.”

Watching his retreating figure, Natalie kicked at him playfully, laughing amusedly, “Haha, aren’t you angry now? A shy little boy, are you mad?” Rachel closed her book, her face bright with a smile, as she continued to tease, “Yang, I’m so sorry, you were deep in thought!” Wang Yang raised his hand and laughed, “I was!” Natalie added, “A shy little boy.”

More than ten hours later, under a clear morning sky, the medium-sized plane finally touched down smoothly on the tarmac at Beijing Capital International Airport. The group went to Terminal 2 for immigration processing. Since the SARS epidemic had just ended, the entry inspections were especially strict, and they encompassed numerous items, but naturally, everyone passed through smoothly in the end.

“Magic Yang comes to China,” along with two Hollywood stars, not a single media outlet or fan squad didn’t want to be there to receive them—to snap the first photos, obtain the first interview, make the first contact with Magic Yang… The China Film Group had communicated this, asking if they wanted to organize a reception for their arrival.

Though Wang Yang was touched and fond of the enthusiastic fans, he didn’t really prefer the tumultuous airport receptions that caused chaos and disrupted the normal order; moreover, both Natalie and Rachel had expressed their wishes against a lavish welcome. After more than a dozen hours of flight, they were all quite worn out, so Wang Yang declined the offer of a large reception, deciding that there would be no media events scheduled for the 11th.

Only a few executives from Flame Films in Beijing and a special car had come to transport Natalie, Rachel, and the others to their hotel for some rest, while Wang Yang and a few assistants and bodyguards remained in the terminal’s VIP room because not all media were denied the chance of an airport reception. He had agreed to an exclusive interview at the airport with BTV’s daily entertainment news program, “Entertainment Scene,” which has an average viewership rating of 4%—the highest in China for its category.

“Mr. Wang, hello, hello! My name is Shen Xing, I am honored to interview you! May we use Chinese?”

Before recording had begun, with a broadcast camera set up in front of the sofa and the crew getting ready, Shen Xing, the interviewer in charge, could hardly suppress her excitement at having Magic Yang, her idol, right before her—this great director who was two years her junior was her biggest idol, and she admired him from the bottom of her heart for his movies, personality, eloquence, handsome looks… He was a legend!

“Of course! Hello, Miss Shen,” Wang Yang said with a smile, shaking hands with the tall and beautiful black-haired reporter who exuded a friendly charm. He added, “My Chinese is fine, and my English too, you decide.”

Shen Xing laughed softly, gesturing for him to take a seat on the sofa while expressing her admiration excitedly, “Mr. Wang, I adore your movies so much. The first time I heard about you was five years ago when I was a junior in college, and I thought you were amazing…” Wang Yang took his seat next to her, laughing happily, “Thank you! And don’t miss ‘MIT-21-TEAM.’ Shall we start the show? I can’t wait to greet everyone.”

“Sure!” Shen Xing nodded naturally and, looking toward the camera, smiled at the cameraman, “Let’s start!” As the camera started rolling, Shen Xing introduced with a beaming smile, “Hello, everyone watching. Look who’s sitting next to me? Wang Yang, Magic Yang! He’s come to China!”

Wang Yang waved at the camera, visibly happy and excited, and said, “Hello everyone, I’m Wang Yang! I am delighted to meet all of you!” (