Where the Moon meets the Sun

Chapter One

She has often been mistaken for a young pubescent girl.

"Our apologies, Signorina", the manager told her when they returned her ID.

A waiter asked for it when she ordered a Mimosa.

Standing at five feet two, slender from head to toe, her face hair parted in the middle, and a face like that of a doll, Shen Yue cannot blame people even if the reality is that she just turned 28 and is contemplating saying no to an engagement proposal.

"You are at the peak of your career and we are still too young, after all", her best friend, Xiao Wen, told her over video call now.

"The truth is, although I worry about that, I know that I wouldn't care about all of it if I truly loved him. Right?"

She remembered the inconceivable panic that came over her when she overheard her parents talk of their agreement to give her away to her boyfriend and the ensuing need to just escape for a while as she tried to understand why she reacted the way she did.

Shouldn't she be happy?

Shouldn't she be over the moon?

Shouldn't she feel something else that isn't dread, fear, and trepidation?

"So, are you saying you don't love Nian Zhen?"

A deep sigh came out of her. "That's the thing. I love him. I really do. But at this moment, I am not thinking of marrying him just yet."

"And if you reject him, he won't understand it?"

"Exactly."

She thought of the young business man who had come in to her life three years ago and utterly changed it.

He understood her schedule, supported her career, kept everything as private as he could, and was always right beside her

She relied on him and he relied on her to be his escape from his domineering father, his own hectic schedule, and the constant repetitiveness of business meetings.

"You've become the new reason why I look forward to mornings", he even told her once before.

It melted her heart then but she worried about it now.

Because as of late, she and Nian Zhen have been traversing different paths in their relationship.

He has gotten much more serious and has even talked of marriage.

Whereas, she knows that she does want to marry him and cannot imagine herself with anyone else BUT... she hopes for it to happen in the next five years, NOT NOW, AT THIS MOMENT.

"You're afraid that if you reject his proposal, he will break up with you?"

"I am. Of course, I am. See, I don't want to break up with him but I don't want to marry him just yet. Am I making sense?"

Xiao Wen laughed and then abruptly stopped. "Sorry. Sorry. I shouldn't have laughed but it is so typical that you will be the one who has this kind of problem between the two of us."

That made her smile. "You're no help at all!"

"Hey!!!!!! I'm listening to you aren't I?"

"You are! You are!", her smile widened as her heart simultaneously felt a bit lighter.

It's hard to just stay in a serious conversation with Xiao Wen.

"Well... try not to think about this too much and enjoy your vacation, ok? You're in Italy! You should have fun! Walk around more! Truly spend the day like the romans do! Stop hanging out in a cafeteria and sulking over your soon to be ex-boyfriend!"

"XIAO WEN!!!!"

The other woman laughed. "Seriously though, please don't sulk and think of Nian Zhen just yet. Enjoy these first few days. Who knows? You just might receive the answer you are looking for."

***

When she informed her Manager she would like to take two weeks off and just go on vacation, she did not expect that the woman would say yes so easily.

"Oh my God finally! You haven't taken a rest in eight years! It's about time!"

"What do you mean I haven't taken a rest? I go on vacations!"

"For three days!!!"

"Those are still vacations!"

"Where you review scripts?"

OK.

So maybe she really hasn't stopped and maybe she still does work even during vacations.

But there were so many things she wanted to do and so many shows she wanted to be a part of that it's difficult to just pause.

"I didn't know you worried this much about my vacations."

"I worry about a lot of things", her manager told her before happily working on her schedule, opening up a planner that had all of her commitments.

"Also... is it possible that you do not tell anyone this is actually a vacation?"

That did not even raise a brow or ilicit any reaction from the other woman. "I will tell everyone you are at work."

"Even my family, please."

"Even your family... and I assume, even your boyfriend, then?"

Now, THAT made HER raise her brows. "You are not surprised or weirded out by my request?"

Her manager was so casual.

"Yue Yue, you are not the first and only artist I handle, and I have handled. I am actually amazed that you asked this of me just now. Burnouts can happen anytime and I have been waiting around for you to have one since three years ago."

She held her tongue in so as not to comment anything that might change her manager's perception of why she is asking for a leave.

If she has not found any explanation yet for how confused she is feeling, she knows she should not be letting other people know about it.

"Thank you", she responded instead, "Truly, thank you so much."

"I will talk to the whole team and let them know that no one is to contact you so promise me you will enjoy it, ok?"

She made a promise then and she also gave her word to Xiao Wen just now that she will start enjoying herself this time.

BUT... this is her first time out of the country on her own (LITERALLY) and she doesn't even have any idea about where she would like to go or what she should do.

Yue decided that Italy would be a great place to visit for her supposed "burnout vacation" but standing in front of her hotel in Rome, she feels lost and somehow bewildered.

There is so much to see and yet she feels like going back inside the hotel's cafe and just people-watch.

"Stai attento bambina!"

"Signorina!"

"OI!!!!!!!!"

It initially did not sink in to her that she is the one people are fussing over but when she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her away from the roadside, her eyes widened in surprise and she would have tripped over if a sturdy chest had not cushioned the impact of the pull.

The pavement gave in from right under her and a couple of birds decided to chirp very closely to her ear.

An almighty crash sounded just to her right and a voice she did not expect at all asked her in a thick English accent, "Miss, are you ok?"

She looked up then.

"Didi?!?!?"

The handsome and almost aristocratic actor's eyes almost popped out of his face when he recognized her.

"Yue Yue?!?!"

How in the world...