Chapter 389: 389: Is it a Blessing in Disguise? (Seeking Monthly Votes)

“RUN, Danny! RUN—”

In Los Angeles, anxious and indignant shouts echoed through the deserted streets as a man and a dog burst out of a supermarket. Wang Yang, clutching a big bag of food, dashed towards the Hummer, while Danny followed closely behind. From inside the supermarket, terrifying roars bellowed: “Wah, a-wah—”

Beep, beep, beep…

“Wang Yang has been in a coma for three days and has not yet regained consciousness, with fans around the world spontaneously holding prayer vigils.”

According to reports from multiple media outlets citing Wang Yang’s official spokesperson, the 25-year-old Chinese American director has been in a coma since July 31 (Los Angeles local time) for three days now, with no signs of waking up. The possibility that he might become vegetative is a cause for concern.

“Wishing Magic Yang a speedy recovery and quick awakening!” People from all over the world gathered spontaneously to hold various kinds of prayer activities for Wang Yang; naturally, the internet was abuzz with prayer posts. Traffic to Wang Yang’s blog, YouTube channel, and personal website surged.

“God bless you.” In Los Angeles, America, fans gathered outside UCLA Medical Center to pray. In San Francisco, people gathered in front of Wang Yang’s childhood home in Chinatown, where the always-open Wang Family Restaurant was swamped with customers. In New York, Chicago, Honolulu… In Beijing, China, groups of people lit candles and prayed. In Hong Kong, Yang’s fans wore T-shirts saying “Young Master Yang, love you for ten thousand years!” and sang songs while praying. Many even went to Kowloon to pray to Wong Tai Sin for Wang Yang. “Praying to Lord Guan for Yang brothers’ blessing!” In Taiwan, temples like Xingtian Temple and Bao’an Temple saw an influx of Yang’s fans. In Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu…

“Lord Yang, you must get better!” In Japan, amidst a wave of fervent support for the magical Yang, many Tokyo female fans who had gone crazy for him were in tears. In Osaka, Sendai, Fukushima… “Lord Yang, please be safe and sound!” In Seoul and Incheon, Korea, Yang’s fans, feeling deeply remorseful for not seeing him off with enough force, though criticized by fans from other countries online, earnestly prayed with hands clasped in Busan, Daegu, Gwangju… In Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada…

Earlier, the White House in Washington expressed concern and good wishes. White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said at a press conference on the 2nd: “The plane accident is upsetting, and it is fortunate that no one lost their lives. The President expresses his concern and best wishes to all the injured. We know Wang Yang is among the injured and he’s still in a coma. Wang Yang has shared many great stories, bringing us unbelievable miracles, and has been a role model both professionally and in personal life. He’s transcended the film industry itself, becoming an icon in America and globally. We sincerely hope he makes a swift recovery.”

He’s only been in a coma for three days, does the whole world need to be so anxious? The issue is, of the six passengers brought down from the plane on stretchers, the other three who had been in a coma have all woken up, leaving only Magic Yang still asleep.

This even drew irresponsible questioning online, as Wang Yang appeared so robust, only to reveal his true frailty upon injury.

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In fact, of course, it was Wang Yang who was the most seriously injured. Brian Hastings, an emergency doctor at UCLA Medical Center who was in charge of the rescue operation for this accident, told the Los Angeles Times in an interview that due to professional ethics and privacy regulations, he couldn’t disclose the detailed condition of the marvellous Yang, but he said, “Wang Yang was the person closest to death among all the victims. He was the only one with a head injury from the impact. As everyone knows, brain injuries are not related to physique, and that’s all I can say.”

Indeed, for example, professional athletes who are big and strong in sports like football and basketball, if they suffer from severe concussions, who can stay conscious without fainting? And brain contusions are unpredictable in how they develop. A minority of people in the know are aware that after the hospital conducted several detailed re-examinations, the two minor bleeding spots in Wang Yang’s brain showed no signs of spreading, and today he was moved out of the ICU to a regular ward. However, it’s unclear whether any nerves or brain tissues have been damaged, preventing him from waking up.

During this time, there was also a piece of bad news that made Jessica, Wang’s father, Wang’s mother, and others shiver: The examination found that Wang Yang’s cerebral cortex consciousness activity was at a very low level. Dr. Laurie Garabrut said, “This is very rare.” His injuries clearly weren’t severe, and his cerebral cortex functions should have been undamaged, as evidenced by his good respiratory and heart rates. According to his condition, generally speaking, one would not remain in a coma for more than a day, often drifting in and out of consciousness. There are also cases where people take days, months, or even longer to wake up, but those are within the range of a light coma. Wang Yang, however, had slipped into a state similar to deep coma.

Garabrut could only say, “The brain is filled with wonders, and there are too many unknowns in this field.” It’s known that there are cases where comatose individuals have been discovered after more than twenty years to have cerebral cortex consciousness activity at a normal level, and it was later found that for all those years their minds had been awake. They could hear every conversation around them; they just lost control over their bodies.

Now Wang Yang’s situation was just the opposite, almost in a vegetative state, and there were no strong and effective medical treatments in the world.

Garabrut spoke to them seriously, “You need to face this situation positively, provide more stimuli to his nerves, calling, talking, singing, massaging, and such. This could form a positive stimulation to the cerebral cortex and help his consciousness to recover. Although these tasks can be done by the nursing staff, brain tests tell us that humans are more sensitive to voices from loved ones, which is more effective for patients.”

As Jessica and the others nodded through their tears, Garabrut added with regret, “But you really need to be prepared mentally; this may be a prolonged battle. It’s not accurate to say Wang is in a vegetative state now, but around the world, many cases of awakening someone from such a state have taken months, years, a dozen years, or even decades. Wang may have his day of awakening, soon or far, so you must not always be too sad, especially for pregnant women. Excessive sorrow can lead to miscarriage, and it’s very easy to cause permanent brain trauma to the fetus.” She said to the misty-eyed Jessica, “Mrs. Wang, try to keep yourself in a calm and happy state of mind.”

Although the outside world wasn’t very clear about Wang Yang’s specific condition, there were more and more speculations and statements online, with some even saying, “Yang’s this trip to Asia is a cursed journey.” The movie Firefly featured Top-Captain’s heroic death, whereas in reality, Wang Yang suffered severe injuries and fell into a coma. Including the airport incident that happened in Tokyo, Japan, a total of 65 people were hospitalized, along with another 25 flight accident victims, making a total of 90 people “involved.”

But it must be said that there seems to be a bit of a “blessing in disguise” flavor to this incident. Although Wang Yang and Firefly had already been creating buzz around the world for some time, the news of his severe injuries and unresponsive coma still caused the storm to suddenly intensify. Of course, whether this is a blessing is still hard to say clearly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Over the years, the White House spokesperson hasn’t mentioned Wang Yang very often in regular press briefings. He was referred to as “a strong hero” previously during the shock of Paranormal Activity and described as “a perfect interpretation of the American Dream” and “an uplifting achievement.” Now there’s no doubt about the factor of Firefly becoming the new box office champion in North American film history. This sci-fi epic has reached its most glorious moments.

Just this past weekend in North America, July 29-31, Firefly still hadn’t been much affected by the news of Wang Yang’s severe injuries, but it nevertheless captured $7.85 million in box office revenue, ranking sixth (2,905 theaters averaging $2,702 per cinema, -736 houses), bringing its North American total to $607.7 million!

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It surpassed the original North American box office champion, Titanic, which had a gross of $600,788,188, in just 42 days, and is currently leading all North American films with $607,713,572. After adjusting for inflation, it now ranks 14th in movie history, surpassing Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Jedi. Just above it in 13th place is the classic film Benure (1959), and in 12th place is Star Wars Episode II: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), with a difference of about 21 million US dollars in current value between the three.

On the weekend of July 30-31 in Japan, Firefly swept through 756 cinemas in this nation, including 11 major cities!

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) had an opening weekend in Japan with 1.5482 billion yen (14.67 million US dollars, averaging 20,133 across 729 cinemas), ultimately earning 9.896 billion yen (93.81 million US dollars) without breaking into Japan’s top ten; Harry Potter 2 averaged 19,437 US dollars per cinema, finishing with a total of 17.3 billion yen ranking seventh; Harry Potter 1 ended its run with a whopping 20.3 billion yen (152.9 million US dollars) in third place, with Titanic in second at 26.2 billion yen (201.3 million US dollars), and Spirited Away leading at 30.4 billion yen (229.6 million US dollars).

Firefly has now secured the guaranteed blockbuster opening box office of 2.1405 billion yen (19.02 million US dollars, averaging 25,168 per cinema across 756 cinemas)!

Without any surprises, the average box office per cinema for the interstellar cowboys of War of the Worlds, Star Wars: Episode III, Pokémon, and others, who were all beaten into retreat, huddled around 2,500 US dollars. Just like no one knows when Wang Yang will wake up, no one knows what the final tally for Firefly will be in Japan, nor how high its global box office will soar, as the so-called “blessing in disguise” is taking effect. Wang Yang, as if having dialed Earth, set to vibrate + ring mode, has attracted the attention of not only movie fans but also members of the public who never follow entertainment news in these past few days.

Firefly might very well become the last film of the remarkable Yang??! Fans only know that on the fourth day, he still hadn’t woken up…

At UCLA Medical Center, the work to awaken Wang Yang is being done from morning till night, sometimes by his father and mother, Mark and Kathy, sometimes by Joshua, sometimes by familiar faces and friends who come to visit, and always by Jessica, who has steadfastly guarded and taken care of him from the first day.

The radiant morning sunlight of early summer was warm and pleasant. Jessica had already gotten up early in the spacious and elegant suite, as usual performing prenatal yoga to exercise and nurture the baby. After finishing, she hummed a cheerful tune aloud while washing his face, laughing as she spoke, “My dear, good morning! Today is the fifth day, it’s time to wake up! Hehehe!” She playfully slapped his cheek, prying open his eyelids to reveal the whites of his eyes, and joked, “You’re setting a really bad example for the baby. What if she wants to stay in bed all day too?…”

After their little “chat,” Wang’s mother and Kathy came in with a nutritious breakfast. While Jessica ate, the nurse also administered the first bottle of nutrients for the day to Wang Yang. Watching the nurse skillfully insert the needle into the port on the back of Wang Yang’s left hand, Jessica patted his thigh, laughing, “Yang, come on! Does it taste that good? Get up, I’ll make your favorite dishes! I promise they’ll be even tastier than Mr. Zhou’s restaurant…”

After breakfast, Jessica walked around for a while before returning to the bedside where Wang’s mother was massaging his legs and feet. Jessica smiled at her and picked up today’s newspapers to start reading to him, “My dear, which section do you want to see first? You’re in the Los Angeles Times entertainment section again, haha, big star! Big star! Oh, they say I’ve been crying my eyes out, do I look like it?”

Compared to the tear-streaked face on the first day, Jessica had indeed become more and more cheerful and optimistic, almost always wearing a smile throughout the day. Wang’s mother comforted her, “Jessica, I’m proud of you.” Jessica nodded with a smile, “I’m fine, Yang is just sleeping too soundly.” She picked up another newspaper and unfolded it, laughingly reading, “You little mischief, let’s take a look at the San Francisco Chronicle sports section first, shall we? There’s a rumor about a trade involving the Warriors Team! Oh my god, Michael Jordan is making a third comeback! Joining the Warriors Team! Yao Ming is going too, and also…and also…”

After reading the newspaper for today, Jessica took over from Wang’s mother and started to sing to him while massaging him, and sometimes continued their conversation, “You still aren’t getting up, my ‘World of Warcraft’ character level is going to surpass yours! Haha, I’m going to beat you!” Soon after, Jessica turned on the TV and discussed and laughed with Wang’s mother as she watched, and when it was time for the IV to finish and the baby to kick, she took his left hand and placed it on her belly to feel the baby move together. She looked at his face and said with a smile, “Do you feel that? The baby is telling you to get up and kiss her…”

The morning seemed to pass both slowly and quickly. Despite Jessica’s various antics and temptations, Wang Yang still lay motionless and silent, entirely unresponsive.

After two o’clock in the afternoon was the time for visitors, Jessica believed that she couldn’t let everyone disturb him all day, but she couldn’t stop people from visiting either. Relatives and friends came to talk to him, who knows, maybe it would play a key role? Today, she always joked with everyone, “I need to find out who owes him money. Then I’ll get that guy to tell him, ‘I’m not paying you back,’ and he’s sure to jump right out of bed, ‘What!!!?'”

“He’s not Jewish.” Hearing Jessica’s jest, Natalie burst into laughter again as she visited once more. Jessica continued in a rough voice, “But he would say, ‘That’s my baby’s milk money!! Her mother is not Jordan!'” Natalie laughed while glancing a few times at her chest, clicking her tongue in appreciation, “To me, that’s already the case.” Jessica laughed heartily, then Natalie suddenly sighed and hugged her shoulders, looking over at Wang Yang on the bed, who lay like a dead pig, and called out loudly, “Hey, Yang! Buddy! Are you still going to film ‘500 Days of Summer’? If you’re not, I’m going to another set! Hurry up and wake up!”

Now no one expects ‘500 Days of Summer’ to be filmed and released as scheduled. Flame Movies has already announced to the media and the public that, for reasons well known, it is highly unlikely to be released by the end of the year, and the specifics will have to wait until Wang Yang wakes up. Although movie fans are very disappointed, what else can they do but sigh? This legendary romantic movie seems likely to remain in legend forever.

“Yang, it’s time to get up!” Rachel said with reddened eyes as she sighed looking at the lost spark and vigor in Wang Yang’s face on her next visit. Jessica pursed her lips tight and suddenly rolled her eyes at him, smiling helplessly and shrugging her shoulders, “Rachel, what should I say about him? The doctors have never seen a case like this before; does he have to be different even when he’s sick? Haha!” Rachel couldn’t help but smile bitterly, “That’s his style.” Jessica nodded and said with a laugh, “Sometimes it really can drive you crazy.”

In addition to his close female friends and bromances with Michael Pitt and little Robert Downey Jr., colleagues from the film industry like Valery Fister who are his right-hand men, young talent he intended to groom like Harry George, Nancy Reno, and high-level executives from the Flame Group like Mark Strant, as well as good friends he’s close with like Lin Yibin, James Wan, Christopher Nolan… Outside the film and entertainment industry, the visitor list over the past few days also included IT celebrities like YouTube partner Chen Shijun; past film collaboration partners like Chris Gardner, Jeff Ma, who were also part of Wang Yang’s investment team of advisors, sometimes operating trades by his instructions; and friends from San Francisco who rushed over to visit… Jessica always greeted them with immense warmth and cheer, “Thank you for caring, Yang often says about you…”

Occasionally, she felt the sudden realization, “I never knew he did so much.”

The afternoon quickly passed by, too, and the hospital room regained its silence. Jessica, having eaten the nutritious dinner brought by her parents, began another round of night-time attempts to wake her husband. As night fell and only the two of them were left in the room, Jessica knelt beside the bed to pray to the holy figure on the bedside table and stood up to kiss Wang Yang’s cheeks, forehead, and lips before whispering, “Yang, good night, you have to wake up tomorrow,” and then she lay down on the single bed next to him.

The quiet hospital room was dimly lit as tears silently streamed down from Jessica’s closed eyes, her shoulders trembling incessantly until they gradually calmed down. She fell asleep in a daze, but her brows remained furrowed, the pillow stained with new and old tear marks.

On the fifth day, Wang Yang still hadn’t woken up. The sixth day came as expected, and the weekly North American and global box office rankings were freshly released — ‘Firefly’ inconsequentially took advantage of the world’s concern for the miraculous Yang. (