From Reel to Real

XXII. The Plane Ride

No one knew Dylan was still in Chengdu when he travelled back. He was glad he had the space he needed on the trip home. He wore his mask as usual as he boarded the plane and took his seat. Hao-ge sat next to him.

"This is for you." He handed a phone to him.

Dylan looked at him in surprise. "Isn't this her phone?" Hao-ge nodded. "She wanted you to have it. And she asked you to watch the first video in the folder." Hao-ge knew Dylan needed private space so he turned his body slightly away from him.

Dylan waited till the plane took off before plugging in his earphone.

She was at the riverside. Her hair was messy from the wind. She must have taken this when he went to get the car. "Wang He Di. I will never trade the last 6 months for anything else. If I were to do it again, I will still choose you." She smiled. "Do you know that I fell in love with you since Phuket? I have loved you since then. I'm eating my own words." She paused.

"Sometimes I think the universe is playing a game with us." She was shifting her feet and looking down. "But I also think that God or the higher power had bind us together that even if distance and time separates us, no man can come between us. What do you think?"

She looked directly at the camera, her eyes misty. "Promise me that you will not call or text me. Because if you do, I will come running back to you. And I won't be able leave you anymore." She whispered. "Do you know we only have one photo together? Let's take more next time. I love you. I will wait for you."

The video ended. He held his breath and started scrolling the folders. Thousands of photos of him taken at the airport, Phuket, Shanghai, Hualien and some events he attended. Some were Tik Tok videos they recorded together. She had compiled everything of him since the first day at the airport. His heart swelled.

One two three four five seconds passed. His tears started streaming furiously down his cheeks, wetting his mask. His sobs grew louder. Hao-ge looked at him concerned and handed him a pillow. He took it and buried his face on it. "Yue yue, how can you be so cruel?" Being apart was already killing him, now she wanted him to stop communication.

He could not remembered the rest of the flight. When they announced touchdown, he got up from his seat, not feeling better at all. At the arrival hall, he stood at the luggage belt motionless and expressionless. An old couple caught his eyes. The man was carrying a bag for his wife. She linked her arm around his and looked at him adoringly. Old man patted her arm and they walked to the exit together.

Something in him stirred. Moving himself away from the crowd, he found a private corner. He took out his phone and pressed the icon video. "Shen Yue..."

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Dylan took on every single endorsement projects he could get hold of in the next few months. His filming would start in a month's time and in between photoshoots and events, he attended acting classes. Anything to keep his mind off her.

"Wang He Di tong xue, would you like to do this role play for this scene? I remembered you said you have difficulty crying in your drama." Teacher Chen said.

The class started to whisper. Dylan stood up and smiled. "Okay, I will try." It was a scene about the girl leaving a boy to save him from danger. The background setting was in front of her house. The girl had her luggage and he was supposed to stop her from leaving.

Dylan walked out with heavy legs. He knew how this scene would play out in his mind. All needed to do was imagined his role play partner was Yue Yue. His mind went back to the time they played in Phuket, when they strolled in Hualien market, when they kissed, the way she laughed, her smile would go right to her eyes. The last night at the riverside where they pledged their love and commitment to each other. Dylan could feel his eyes getting misty.