14 The Pizza and the Cakes (1/2)

”There's pizza? Awesome!” Zachary was overjoyed when he heard about it. He twirled around on his toes and sang drunkenly, ”Pizza… pizza… pizza… Where are you? I'm so hungry I could pass out.”

Wang Yang and Rachel, who were sitting on the sofa, gave each other a ”what am I going to do with him?” look and laughed.

Jessica didn't keep them waiting for too long. It hadn't even been half an hour since she went out when the doorbell rang. Wang Yang, who was discussing with Rachel and Zachary about their performance, clapped his hands, stood up, and smiled. ”Jessica's here. It's time for dinner!” Then, he went over and opened the door. As expected, Jessica was standing outside with a large box of pizza in her hands.

There was something very chic about the way she looked that day. It was the way her slender collarbone peeked from beneath her low-cut t-shirt and black leather jacket; the way her curves popped vividly through her form-fitting black leather pants; the way her wavy, olive-colored hair smelled sweetly of shampoo; the way her gorgeous face glowed underneath a thin layer of blush. She'd clearly made an effort to look good before coming to the apartment.

Upon seeing Wang Yang at the door, Jessica's eyes lit up immediately. ”Hi, Yang!” she said with a toothy grin.

”Hi, Jessica!” Wang Yang greeted. He was completely astounded by how good Jessica looked that day. It was as if Nancy from Sin City were standing in front of him, in all her beauty and allure. Soon, scenes from Sin City were reliving in his mind.

Whenever Wang Yang become engrossed in the visions inside his head, his expression became calm—almost deadpan. Jessica felt a tinge of disappointment when she saw Wang Yang's face.

”Hey, buddy!” At that moment, someone appeared from behind Jessica. Someone tall, well-built and youthful-looking, clad in a windbreaker and jeans. He was Jessica's little brother, Joshua. Joshua stepped in between Wang Yang and his sister and gave Wang Yang a hug. No aggressive squeezes this time. Just an appropriate amount of force followed by a timely release. He gave Wang Yang a wink, then said, ”I came here to see you. Aren't you happy?” in a playful tone that suggested there was some shared secret between them.

Wang Yang snapped out of his daydream, looked at Joshua, and smiled. ”Yeah, welcome to my apartment.” He waved at both his guests with a smile on his face and said, ”Please, come in.”

As scenes of Sin City flashed across his mind, it suddenly hit him. Since he was stuck with his film project, why not take a few minutes to review the classics of horror films inside his mind? He might be able to find the solution to his problem in one of them.

”Okay.” Jessica waited until Wang Yang was gone before she grabbed ahold of Joshua at the entrance, stared into his eyes, and said in a tight voice, ”Joshua, remember what you promised me? You'd better watch your mouth!”

Fed up with his sister's reminder, Joshua slouched his body lazily, rolled his eyes, and said, ”Please, I know, I know! Don't worry. I won't embarrass you, okay?”

Joshua muttered in his head, ”Isn't she just some girl from Canada? What's her name again? Rachel? A harmless, little, female sheep? Then why is Jessica acting like it's a competition? Jeez, she spent the whole day making pizzas and putting on makeup. Jessica has gone nuts for this guy!”

”I'm glad you remembered!” Jessica gave him a death stare before entering the apartment with the pizza.

But, as soon as they entered the apartment, Joshua said something that made Jessica almost trip over her own feet. Feigning astonishment, Joshua looked at Rachel and blurted out, ”Wow, you're so pretty! Yang, is she your girlfriend?”

Rachel laughed out loud while Wang Yang shrugged his shoulders and said, ”Nope, not mine. She's Kevin's girlfriend.” Then, in a rare attempt at humor, Zachary Levi said innocently, ”I'm Kevin.”

The entire group cracked up in laughter. What could have been an extremely awkward situation had now been kept at bay.

While everyone was busy catching up with each other, Jessica took the box of pizza to the kitchen, laid it on the dining table, and announced cheerfully, ”Dinner time! Get it while it's still hot!” As she opened the box, a tantalizing aroma wafted from the pizza and into the room. ”Don't forget to wash your hands!” she reminded with a smile.

”Oh, God, this smells so good!” Zachary let out a cheer and rushed to the bathroom to wash his hands. Rachel and Joshua followed suit.

As Jessica stared at the scrumptious-smelling pizza on the table, her lips curved into a smile. She'd really gone to town with the pizza's toppings: barbecued meat, bacon, a medley of fresh vegetables, and her special cheese sauce. With such amazing flavors, it was bound to be a showstopper! It was her masterpiece, and she was confident it'd win a praise or two.

She tucked her hair behind her ears, humming softly as she turned on the tap in the kitchen sink and washed her hands. Then, she gave the pizza knife a good wash and called out to the gang with a smile on her face, ”Have you guys washed your hands? Come and get it.”

After washing their hands, Zachary, Rachel, and Joshua made a beeline for the pizza. Jessica picked up the pizza knife and made two perpendicular cuts across the pizza before splitting two of the slices into four equal, smaller slices. ”Come and get it,” she said, beaming.

Just the smell of the pizza was enough to make Zachary's mouth water. He snatched a slice and tucked in before anyone else. Then, Rachel took a slice, thanked Jessica, and went to the balcony to enjoy her meal. When the turn came for Joshua to grab a slice, he looked sour, contemptuous of his sister's seemingly inflated sense of self-worth.

Zachary stood by the dining table and took a bite of the pizza. As he chewed on it, his eyes widened in amazement. ”Oh, my God, this is delicious!” He looked at Jessica with a look of awe and exclaimed, ”Good Lord! Jessica, your pizza is even better than Pizza Hut's. God, how did you make it? I can't believe how good this is! Wow!”

”Oh, really? Thanks!” Jessica replied casually. Her eyes, however, were fixed on Wang Yang, who was sitting on the sofa. Seeing as he'd yet to try her pizza, she called out to him, ”Yang! Come and get some pizza.”

”Just a minute, just a minute!” replied Wang Yang. He was deep in his own mind, skimming fervently through all the horror classics. When he heard Jessica's voice ringing faintly in his head, he paused the movie in his mind, got up, and walked to the kitchen. ”I'm coming,” he said cordially.

As soon as she saw him coming, Jessica's mouth curled into a smile again. She lifted a large slice, which was a quarter of the whole pizza, and gave it to Wang Yang with a smile. ”Here.”

Wang Yang took the pizza with his cleaned hands, thanked her, and took a bite. There was a sudden glint in his eyes as he chewed it, followed by a satisfying ”mmm” as he swallowed it. He looked like he was about to say something! Jessica's heart lurched with excitement and anticipation as she looked at him with both her eyes not blinking.

Wang Yang burst out excitedly. ”Oh, my God! Rachel! I've got it! I've got a great idea!” He turned around with his pizza in his hand and skipped toward the balcony, all the while screaming, ”Rachel, you've got to hear about my new idea…”

Jessica felt a lump in her throat. The smile on her face suddenly froze up. As she peered at the balcony and saw the enthusiasm on Wang Yang's face when he talked to Rachel, her hands clenched into a tight ball.

”Man, this is great!” Zachary was still standing beside her, eating her pizza and raving about it. Before she knew it, he'd already finished a big slice. He looked at Jessica apologetically and asked, ”Say, Jessica, can I have another slice?”

”Oh, sure,” said Jessica, forcing a smile. ”Help yourself. If you like it, eat it.” With that, she grabbed a slice, sat down on the sofa grumpily, and began gnawing at her pizza.

”Look over there…” said Joshua, who was sitting beside her at the sofa, taking delight in his sister's misery. He directed her gaze toward the distant balcony and said, ”Look at them. Look how much fun they're having talking to each other! A director and his lead actress… They're quite the match, don't you think?”

The lump in Jessica's throat swelled. She shoved him aside and said through gritted teeth, ”Joshua, you'd better shut your mouth right now! Otherwise, I'm going to throw you out!”