49 Its a Wrap! (1/2)

After two more days' shooting, only the scenes in the basketball gym, in the auditorium, and of duets during the new year's holiday were left in the musical part. The scenes in the basketball gym and the auditorium were both very important, in which several songs and dances were involved, including Troy Bolton and his teammates' training, all of the auditions, and the chorus at the end of the film. The scene in the basketball gym would be shot in East High again, while the auditorium part would be shot in the auditorium of Murray High School, another high school in Salt Lake City.

However, the crew had had to suspend all the work because Christmas was coming. The cast and crew had been given three days' vacation so that they could go home to celebrate Christmas. Of course, they certainly could have chosen to stay in Salt Lake City, like what Michael Pitt, Harry George, and some others had done. They had chosen to stay and celebrate Christmas in Salt Lake City because they'd wanted to avoid traveling expenses.

Those with better salaries had certainly chosen to go back home to celebrate the holiday with their families.

Rachel had gone back to Toronto. She had been even colder to Wang Yang in the past two days. With no intention to air her opinions on work, she'd just been listening to him most of the time. Tom Welling had gone back to New York. Jessica and some others had gone back to Los Angeles. And Wang Yang had flown back to San Francisco. He'd wanted to forget about all the work during the holiday and spend some quality time with his family.

Buildings with red walls and yellow-tiled roofs could be seen everywhere in the Chinatown of San Francisco. Chinese cultural elements were everywhere. As Christmas approached, the whole Chinatown was decorated with lanterns and streamers as well as Christmas ornaments. Wang's Restaurant also embraced the holiday atmosphere by placing a Christmas tree hung with colored lights at the restaurant's gate.

Wang's Restaurant was a small, two-story building. The restaurant was on the first floor, and the Wangs lived on the second floor. Wang Yang involuntarily took a deep breath when he walked into his own room and seen all those familiar things. The air was familiar. The smell was familiar. All this gave him a warm feeling. He felt extremely tranquil.

The room was actually pretty small. The four walls were all dusted, but Wang Yang felt pretty comfortable there. He threw his backpack somewhere in the room, walked two steps ahead, and jumped onto his bed. Covering his face with his pillow, he said in a muffled voice, ”Oh, God. This feels great!” He stayed there like this for some time. Not until he started to find it hard to breathe did he get to his feet quickly.

Breathing hard, Wang Yang glanced around the room with a smile. This was where he'd grown up. He had a lot of good memories here.

The room was not big, but it was packed with all kinds of stuff. The book closet by the wall was filled with books on a variety of topics, in English or in Chinese. A few trophies and medals, all earned for strange things, lay on the top layer of the closet. On the desk next to the closet, there were many models, including camera models and action figures. And there was a basketball, already inflated, in a corner of the room.

Movie posters covered the whole wall on this side, making it look like a movie poster wall in cinemas. Not even one tiny space was left vacant.

Wang Yang walked up to a wall to appreciate those posters. Forrest Gump sitting on a wooden bench, the smiling faces of Alfredo and Toto from Cinema Paradiso… these were all his favorite. Wang Yang touched these posters gently. None of them was dusty, which meant someone must have cleaned them. He said with a smile, ”Thanks, Mom.”

He turned around and walked a little. Then, he picked up the backpack he had thrown onto the ground and took out a brand-new movie poster—a poster of Paranormal Activity.

Holding the poster in one hand, Wang Yang opened a drawer of the desk fluidly and took out some glue. He put the glue on the edges and the corners of the poster. Finding one vacant space on another wall, he pulled a chair over and stood onto it to glue the poster onto the wall.

”Good job!” Jumping off the chair, Wang Yang looked up at the poster, smiling and satisfied. Thinking of what he had experienced in the past whole year, recalling those memories, bitter or cheering, he stood there for a long time with a smile hanging on the face. The shooting of High School Musical would be over very soon. There might be another new poster to be glued here in the near future.

He suddenly recalled the day the shooting of Paranormal Activity had been officially completed. Back then, a lot of emotions had arisen in him because he wondered when he could call ”Action”, ”Cut” again. Then, he thought of Rachel. Shaking his head suddenly, he said to himself, ”Stop. Stop thinking about her!” He would not disturb Rachel's life again. She was right. Things had changed. He could not go on playing dumb and hurt this girl without realizing it. That was nothing but self-deception.

So, Wang Yang looked around, trying to find something that could draw his attention. However, he suddenly frowned. He murmured helplessly, ”Come on!” Walking up to the bedside cabinet, he picked up a wooden photo frame standing on it. In the photo in the frame, a blond girl was holding his arm. They were leaning against each other, both showing a happy and sweet smile. It was the Golden Gate Bridge behind them.

”Yang, you are a jerk! I hate you. Go to hell…”

Wang Yang walked to the desk quickly. He opened the base cabinet of the desk, which was used to keep odds and ends, and threw the frame into it. He slammed the cabinet door closed. Spreading his hands, he said, ”Now it's clean!” He took the phone out of his pocket and made a call. With a smile, he said, ”Hi, Jessica. I'm home now. Yeah, home, sweet home…”

They caught up a little bit. All of a sudden, he heard his mother calling from downstairs. ”Yang, come down for dinner!”

Wang Yang answered in a loud voice, ”Okay! Coming!”

On the other end of the phone, Jessica said confusedly, ”What did you say, Yang?”

Wang Yang burst out laughing. Then he explained to her over the phone, ”Oh, it's Chinese. My mother told me it's time for dinner. All right, Jessica, see you then! Wait. Give me a kiss.”

Smiling, Jessica said, ”No! Let's see whether Danny wants to give you a kiss. Huh, he doesn't want to do that, either. Bye!”

Wang Yang put his cell phone away with a smile and then went downstairs.

After spending a pleasant and relaxing Christmas holiday in San Francisco, Wang Yang returned to Salt Lake City. The crew of High School Musical gathered again to prepare for the last phase of shooting.

In the cafeteria of the hotel, Wang Yang said ”Ta-dah!” to Jessica, sitting opposite him in a loose sweater. He was getting something from behind and was going to show it to Jessica. Jessica looked curious and expectant. Then, he finally put the gift on the table. With a mysterious smile, he said, ”Christmas gift!”

”Thank you. What is it?” Jessica looked at him happily. She took the gift and unwrapped it. Then, she smelled a fragrance of food. With her brow knitted together, she said, ”This smell…” She opened the gift box. Her heartbeat suddenly accelerated. She said in surprise, ”Oh, my God!”

Looking at that box of pastries, Wang Yang said with a smile, ”Yeah, Sweetheart Pastries. I made them for you myself.” This time, he was telling the truth. He'd made those pastries himself in an old pastry shop, indeed. The boss of the shop was a good friend of his father's. He'd kneaded dough, mixed it with eggs, and put the pastries into the oven. He'd done everything literally by himself. He'd wanted to make up for that lie he had told Jessica a few years ago. Looking at Jessica, who was pleasantly surprised, he said with a smile, ”Although they are not hot, they are still fresh. You want one now?”

”Of course!” Jessica nodded, very happy. She took one and took a bite out of it. She immediately exclaimed with excitement, ”Wow, that's really delicious! Yang, you are a great baker.”

Shrugging, Wang Yang said with a smile, ”A piece of cake. Don't forget, I'm the son of a chef.”

Looking at him, Jessica said with a sweet smile, ”Yang, that's very nice of you.”

Wang Yang teased her, ”Oh, it's all that you could say? I want my Christmas gift, too. What happened? How could Santa forget about me?”

Laughing, Jessica rolled her eyes at him. She stood up and approached him. Throwing a quick glance around, she bent down to kiss Wang Yang on the cheek. Then, with a charming smile, she said, ”This is your gift.”

Wang Yang touched the cheek where she had kissed. He said emotionally, ”Wow, thank you. What a nice gift! But, Jessica…” Faking a laugh, he went on, ”I'll definitely beat you because I've got another gift for you!”

Struck dumb, Jessica said, ”Another one?”

Smiling, Wang Yang took something out of his pocket. He said, ”Of course. Compared to other Santa, my version of Santa is very professional.” He pulled out a long jewelry box from his pocket, and then took out a silver necklace from the box. He said seriously, ”What do you think? You like it?”

Jessica looked at the necklace and then looked at the pastries. She understood how sweet and attentive Wang Yang was. A feeling of happiness suddenly welled up inside her. Nodding, she said with a sweet smile, ”Thank you. The necklace is very beautiful.”

”Come here.” Getting to his feet with a smile, Wang Yang said excitedly, ”I'll help you put it on. Let's see how it will look on camera.”