From Reel to Real

XII. Hualien 3

The next morning, Dylan woke up feeling fresh. Was it because of the sea breeze? He threw his comforter aside and groggily walked out.

There on the balcony, he thought he saw the most beautiful creature. She stood there under the morning soft light, with a coffee mug in her hand, messy hair, no make up, with a dreamy look, looking out towards the ocean. In his white hoodie. His heart raced like crazy. He stared at her, absorbing her natural beauty, her slim and slender looking legs and all.

There was no turning back. He wanted to wake up each morning to this sight. Everyday. All his life. He could not ignore this gnawing feeling and desire. He wanted her. He had thought his feelings for her was shallow but now it came back twice as much, stronger as before, as certain as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. I love her, his heart told him.

She turned around and smiled at him. "Morning Didi! It's a beautiful day." She then took a sip of coffee. "Thanks for your sweater. I was cosy whole night."

Dylan was still staring at her. She touched her face lightly. "Is there something on my face?"

"Shen Yue, you are so beautiful."

She beamed. "Really? That's so sweet of you, Didi. I will work extra hard today. Jia you!"

She winked at him and skipped a beat back to her room, leaving him wordless. He sat down, catching his breath. She almost killed him with a heart attack. And she did not even realize it.

Xi Ze came out and stretched his arms and saw Dylan sitting down looking daze.

"Hey bro, are you okay?" He said shaking his arm.

Dylan looked up and muttered "Xi Ze, I love Yue."

"Huh, what?" He asked.

"I said I have fallen in love with Yue Yue."

He said. "Oh wow."

"Uh-huh..."

They both sat in silence.

"What are you going to do, Didi?" Xi Ze asked breaking the silence.

"Tell her."

"And then?"

"Date her. I dunno. I just want to be with her."

"When you are on top the game, the rising star in China and you're not supposed to date??"

"Fvck it" when realization hit him.

"I'm just displaying the facts to you. Unlike me, the media will be on you. And then there's Ying-jie."

"We could keep our relationship in secret."

"Like Jia Qi and I? "

"What?!" Dylan straightened up. Xi Ze realized he should not have spoken so much. But now that the cat was out of the bag, he heaved a sigh of relief.

"No one was supposed to know. But yeah, I'm dating secretly. And it has not been easy," he confessed, touching the nape of his neck.

Dylan grabbed his neck and knuckled his head. "You think we are Xiong Di and you never shared this!!"

"I couldn't! I have to protect her, you know."

Dylan let him go and grinned. "I'm happy for you, my friend. Your secret is safe with me." He said doing a zipping motion on his lips.

"So, what are you going to do now, Didi?"

"Like what Daoming Si would do. Make her fall in love with me." He smiled. "I'm not going to miss this chance again."