The Best Director

Chapter 418: Chapter 418: The Most Perfect Cut

“Yang, Yang, my dear, oh! My belly hurts so much…”

On the early morning of December 10th, Wang Yang and Jessica finally reached the moment they had been anticipating for ten full months of pregnancy: the signs of pre-labor that started in the middle of the night indeed indicated that it was time!

In the living room, the sound of light and relaxed music played while the two of them sat on the couch together, reading a parenting book. As her contractions grew more severe and her face intermittently flashed with pain, Wang Yang glanced at the clock on the wall and stood up restlessly, “It’s time. Let’s go to the hospital, I’ll call right now.”

“But…” Jessica winced in pain, gently stroking her large belly with a slightly reluctant pout, “Today is the 10th.” Wang Yang helplessly spread his hands. She wasn’t scared of the imminent labor but had been fixated on the baby’s birth date. As he took out his phone to call the doctor and family, he said with a laugh, “She likes today.” Jessica whined disconsolately, just two days short, just two days! She leaned her head back against the couch, banging it against the backrest repeatedly, “Oh my God! My angel, why wouldn’t you wait just two more days! Baby, mommy’s heart is broken… Yang, it’s all your fault!” She glared at him, “Your ‘Twelve’ scared her…”

“Oh my goodness!” Wang Yang sighed speechlessly. Now was not the time for these things, was it? But he understood her feelings—the kind of mother who wanted to give her baby the best of everything, not even sparing the birth date. He consoled her, “The 10th is very good. What’s most important is that the baby is born healthy and grows up happy, right?” Jessica nodded with a grievous expression, just two days short, 12-12 would have been so nice! She mourned to herself: “I knew it, a daughter won’t listen to everything her mom says, this rebellious girl…”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

She still clung to a slim hope against reality, “Could it be false contractions?” Wang Yang was scrolling through his phone’s contacts, “I don’t think so. This time it’s different from before, what do you think?” Jessica closed her eyes, “I also think it’s real…” After Wang Yang finished several phone calls, Jessica suddenly came to terms with it, 12-10 it is, then! She smiled with teeth showing, clapping her hands energetically, “Yes! You’re right, today is very good, today is World Human Rights Day! Even better than the 12th, that’s what our baby wants!”

“I am so glad you feel that way, I’m proud of you,” Wang Yang smiled, helping her rise to her feet. He was never worried about this issue. Even if it had been the 9th or the 11th, it would have been better than the 12th. She always finds a reason, or rather, there’s no need for one, as this is already the best day.

“I’ll carry you to the hospital.” Seeing him squat down in a lifting gesture, Jessica burst into laughter. Supporting her waist with one hand and cradling her protruding belly with the other, she laughed, “Haha! You can’t carry me, I’ve got a whole Earth on me now.” They shared a few laughs, grabbed their bags and things, and headed towards the garage, hand in hand, “Actually, I might be able to, I am a black hole.”…

In the apartment living room, a deafening roar suddenly erupted: “It’s time!! Oh my God—” Joshua burst out of the bedroom and—BAM! He stumbled over something on the floor and crashed down hard, whimpering in pain, “It’s time…” He struggled to his feet, hastily putting on his coat and shoes, and just before dashing out to the hospital, he let out another shout: “It’s happening—Oh my God—”

Their close friends, too, received the news. Natalie read the text message with a smile, exhaling softly. The little princess was finally going to be born, wasn’t she? What a joy. She silently wished them well, “Everything goes smoothly!” At the same time, Rachel also blessed them with a radiant smile, “You got this!”

The weather in Los Angeles was incredibly clear today, and under the azure sky, the two drove to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at the UCLA Medical Center to get ready for delivery. To fend off paparazzi harassment, bodyguards and assistants were all mobilized. Soon enough, family members also arrived one after another.

The next step was just waiting for the cervix to fully dilate, which, naturally, varied in duration from person to person. Jessica, who always focused on physical training, never missed a beat with dance and fitness, kung fu, yoga, and even continued prenatal yoga and exercises throughout her pregnancy. Therefore, she wasn’t at all scared of childbirth; she believed that it would be an easy delivery. Wang Yang, on the other hand, was so nervous that he was all over the place. All the experience he had acquired from filming “Juno” seemed to have vanished, but luckily, they had the help of both mothers.

“Ah… Baby, please.” In the warm home-like birthing room, Jessica, now in loose-fitting clothes, walked back and forth through the pain of contractions, working to speed up the dilation of her cervix. Wang Yang, Kathy, and Wang’s mother were at her side offering help and encouragement.

Seeing her sweat profusely from pain, Wang Yang felt extremely heartbroken and anxious, yet at the same time, very excited and thrilled. He had a suffocating feeling in his chest. Why isn’t it happening yet! He couldn’t help but hug his mother nearby: “Mom, now I understand your greatness.” Wang’s mother patted his shoulder with a chuckle, thinking, “Yang, wait till Jessica has given birth to the baby, and you’ll say these words again. This is just the beginning.” Jessica also praised Kathy a few times, then said, “The greatness of mothers! I’m proud of myself! Oh ah…”

By the time the cervix was fully dilated, Jessica was taken to the delivery room for childbirth at 11 o’clock. Wang Yang and Kathy followed inside to accompany her. As celebrities and tycoons, they enjoyed some special treatment. The obstetrician and the nurses had all been carefully picked by the couple for the team, with emphasis on those with no scandals and potential background issues, to protect their privacy more effectively.

At that moment, the bright delivery room was filled with a warm yet tense atmosphere. Jessica was lying on the delivery bed giving birth, while Wang Yang and Kathy, who had gone through the disinfection process, stood by the bed offering praise and encouragement. The medical staff, wearing masks, caps, and gloves, were all clad in sterile blue gowns. The Caucasian female doctor oversaw the delivery, directing the team and the mother, “The water broke, good, start pushing!” “I see the baby’s head, she’s coming, almost there! Great job!” The midwives hurried back and forth, and an Asian nurse coached, “Breathe, push, breathe…”

“Ugh ah… Ugh ah ah…” Jessica bit down and pushed hard despite sweating profusely from pain, keeping her voice down so as not to lose momentum and strength. Her legs gave another strong kick: “Ugh ah…” Wang Yang held her left hand tightly; their hearts felt as if they were fused together, sharing the pain and joy. He whispered words of encouragement gently: “Keep going, keep going! You’re so strong, so brave, fantastic, so cool— keep going, keep going! I’m right here, keep going—”

“Yang…” Jessica’s eyes swiveled towards him, the peculiar pain couldn’t mask the overwhelming happiness in her heart, memories of warmth and sweetness filled her with strength. Baby! Yet another dream of hers was about to be realized…

With the midwife’s permission, Wang Yang leaned over slightly, smiling at her, “To tell you the truth, I used to think the delivery room was terrifying— a woman lying on the bed screaming wildly, as if being dissected, surrounded by cold machinery, and peculiar doctors…” Jessica kept pushing without stopping while Kathy, the nurses, and even the doctor all glanced at him.

“But I’ve realized I was wrong! Not just us, everyone is so amazing! This completely changed my view of the delivery room!”

Wang Yang glanced around the room, squeezing her hand firmly, looking into her eyes with encouragement, “It’s not you, look at yourself, you’re so strong, so brave! Sweetheart, I think you know how proud I am of you, so keep it up, finish this sprint with the baby, keep going! I’m here, we are champions!” Jessica mustered a still sweet smile, her heart filled with nothing but happiness. She nodded and continued to push through gritted teeth, her legs pushing hard: “Ah um… Oh ah—”

“Jessica, Mom loves you.” Kathy patted her daughter’s right hand. The doctors and nurses were in good spirits; Wang Yang sure had a sweet mouth! Energized by the encouragement of her loved ones, Jessica unleashed her strength, feeling the baby pressing outward: “Ah ah—” Then she heard the doctor’s voice: “I’ve got her, she’s out, push!” Wang Yang and Jessica exchanged a look filled with joy and exhilaration; her left hand was squeezed tight, his heart skipped a beat, “The baby’s out!”

Cries of a newborn echoed loudly through the delivery room, the baby’s wails met with everyone’s laughter and cheers— a new life was born!

The Caucasian nurse gently lifted the baby from the birthing bed, and everyone instantly turned their gaze toward the baby. Drenched in sweat, Jessica also raised her head, and the baby appeared very healthy and strong, all dirty and wrinkly, with the umbilical cord attached to its little belly, a head of sparse black hair, chubby swollen face, eyes tightly shut into a line, opening its mouth wide to cry: “Wah, wah…”

In Wang Yang and Jessica’s eyes, the unsightly newborn was the most beautiful sight in the world, their own Angel! So gorgeous, so adorable! Both of them felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and happiness that was beyond words.

“That’s wonderful!” The crowd continued to laugh and cheer. The new grandmother, Kathy, was almost trembling with happiness. She looked at her granddaughter and praised her daughter, “Jessie, you’re amazing! You’ve made mom so proud…” The female doctor smiled and said, “Congratulations, the baby’s cry is really strong! She’s very healthy!” The nurses also offered their blessings: “She’s so beautiful.” “Congratulations to you.”…

“Now you can cut the umbilical cord. Kung Fu Hustle, do you want to do the honors?” After a while, the Caucasian nurse placed the baby on a clean white cloth on the birthing bed, while another African American nurse asked. It was a pre-arranged task, and it seemed Kung Fu Hustle wouldn’t chicken out. Wang Yang nodded with a beaming smile, eagerly stepping forward: “Of course! Guys, I’ve been doing this since I was a kid, you know, Chinese cuisine has some animal gut dishes, I’ve cut tons of those…”

This bit of humor once again caused some to feel embarrassed, making the atmosphere in the delivery room a bit awkward. But Jessica, still catching her breath, burst out laughing. Wang Yang put on sterile gloves and a mask, went to the end of the birthing bed, took the sterilized scissors handed to him by the African American nurse, looked at the wailing chubby baby, and laughed: “Then, when she gets older, I’ll be directing movies, yelling CUT on set all day, and then CUT again in the editing room, I have a wealth of experience…” Everyone couldn’t help but laugh. Jessica muttered with a smile, “This is a GOOD-TAKE…”

Under the guidance of the female doctor, Wang Yang took the umbilical cord near the baby’s belly with his left hand, aimed the scissors about 10CM away with his right hand, and began to cut vigorously, slowly severing the tough umbilical cord, detaching the baby from the mother, leaving only a short piece on the belly. This was the most perfect CUT he had made in his 25 years!

Amidst the cheering of everyone, Wang Yang turned to glance at Jessica; the love between them mingled in each other’s gazes and smiles. He then turned back to look at the crying baby, barely suppressing the impulse to kiss her, “Welcome to the world, baby.”

The subsequent work of tying off and disinfecting the umbilical cord was left to the doctors and nurses, and that small piece of the cord would fall off the baby’s navel after about a week. Without an episiotomy or tearing, the delivery was exceptionally smooth, both mother and baby were safe, and the baby weighed 7 pounds. Soon, the medical staff left one by one, only the Caucasian nurse stayed, cleaned the baby, wrapped her up again, and placed her next to Jessica’s shoulder, now both of them could look more closely at their child. By this point, the little Angel had stopped crying and seemed to be sweetly sleeping in a perfectly quiet and adorable way.

“Dear, she’s so cute, so beautiful…” Jessica turned her head to look at the newly born baby, her smile radiating with maternal love was so beautiful. Wang Yang sat by the birthing bed, holding her and the baby, nodding with a smile, “Yes, indeed…” They reached out to gently touch her face, her tiny, pink lips, nose, ears, their hearts melting with joy. This was fantastic! The crystal of their love, the continuation of life, the most perfect creation, the most amazing thing…

Kathy held the camera, already prepared in advance, capturing these memorable moments, and took a DV camera to film, directing the lens toward the head of the bed. Watching the tender and sweet scene of the family of three in the DV screen, her heart almost melted, wonderful!

“What’s her name?” Jessica teased the baby’s cheek, her eyes looking to Wang Yang, who smiled faintly, leaned down to kiss his wife’s forehead, and had already found the answer in the list of names for the baby due on December 10th, “Her name will be HOPE, HOPE-JUNO-WANG, her Chinese name is Wang Ke.”

“HOPE, HOPE…” Jessica murmured the name several times, sweetly nodding her head in agreement. Today was Human Rights Day, a symbol of hope in the world, and their baby was their hope as well. Both brought beautiful hopes and confidence to people. She had already explained the meaning of Ke, a type of jade that symbolized a girl’s beauty. Smiling at the baby, she said, “HOPE, mommy loves you.” Wang Yang also smiled and said, “HOPE, daddy loves you.”

Little Ke, surrounded by her parents, slept very sweetly, the family of three, joined by Grandma, basked in warmth and affection for a while. Seeing that it was time, the nurse took the baby in her arms to the stroller to transport her to the nursery for a comprehensive health check. Kathy followed the nurse out, and Wang Yang stayed to accompany Jessica.

“Oh! My heavens—” The family in the waiting area outside the room had long known about the good news and cheered joyfully at the time. Now that Joshua saw the nurse and the mother’s silhouette, he couldn’t help but shout aloud with excitement! The baby was there! Right on that stroller!

Mark Alba, Mr. Wang, and Mrs. Wang immediately walked up with extreme happiness: “This is our Angel!” Mr. Wang said joyfully, “Hey, Sweetheart! I’m your grandpa… I’m a grandpa now!” Mrs. Wang laughed with her hand over her mouth, “I’m a grandma now.” Mark and Kathy embraced for a moment, watching the wrinkled, black-haired, mixed-race baby in the stroller. He showed a never-before-seen tender smile and said, “Hey, Sweetheart…”

Everyone laughed and talked about the birth and the baby’s condition, following the nurse towards the nursery with the help of two bodyguard assistants.

Meanwhile, Joshua, who had stayed behind, suddenly came to his senses and dashed excitedly forward: “Baby, I’m here—” He caught up with the stroller, took one look at the baby on it, and “Oh” deeply inhaled, stunned and stopped in his tracks for several seconds. As everyone gradually walked away, he exclaimed in surprise, “She’s really beautiful!! Like a big mouse… Wow!! So beautiful. So, I’m an uncle now? Cool, wow, cool!” He suddenly hastened his steps and ran after them.

After the busyness, the labor room returned to calmness, and even with only two people, it was filled with warmth.

Wang Yang and Jessica held hands tightly, intimately sharing their feelings through smiles and laughter, waiting for the placenta to be delivered. Jessica laughed and said, “What were you saying just now? About the cold machines, the peculiar doctors… I almost got scared.” Wang Yang gently stroked her still slightly damp hair, laughed, and said, “I swear! I was even more nervous than you at that moment! Otherwise, I would have definitely used the word ‘ghastly.'” Jessica rolled her eyes at him, “Then you went on about animal intestines.” Wang Yang shrugged and laughed, “I thought it was interesting…” Jessica hit him lightly and laughed, “I didn’t say it wasn’t!”

At that moment, a Caucasian nurse entered the room, bringing a large bowl filled with icy treats—milk, jelly, shaved ice, ice cream, and so on—all of which looked extremely delicious.

Jessica, exhausted from the smooth birthing process, immediately directed Wang Yang to start eating, nodding enthusiastically as she devoured the treats with gusto, gulping down a big bottle of milk and stuffing her mouth full of jelly, smiling at him with her mouth full, “So delicious!” Feeding her, Wang Yang touched his mouth, his tongue peeking out to lick his lips, yearningly asking, “Can I have some?”

“Mhm!” Jessica, with a beaming smile, waved her hand and said, “Go ahead, I’ll share some with you.” Wang Yang laughed, savoring a spoonful of ice cream, relishing the burst of coolness that refreshed his soul, and couldn’t help but say, “Really delicious!” (