The room was on the twenty-third floor overlooking the city. He was seated at a conference table along with the others who would be part of F4.
He stood up and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Wang He Di, my English name is Dylan."
"Hi, I'm Wu Xi Ze, Caesar."
"Hi, I'm Guan Hong, Darren."
"Hi, I'm Liang Jing Kang, Connor."
Connor and Dylan already knew each other. They were both participants in Super Idol, which Didi had won after 10 episodes. Connor, too, had made strides by appearing in Super Idol. He had scored some modeling appearances in Paris and in publications. Still, Connor felt lucky to be part of the Meteor Garden remake.
"Hey DiDi."
"KangKang! Good to see you, bro."
"You, too."
They exchanged bro hugs and everyone sat down again.
Ceasar: "How do you know each other?"
Dylan: "We were on a variety show together, Super Idol."
Ceasar: "Oh, nice. How was that?"
Connor: "It was great. This guy here was the dark horse."
Dylan: "All right, all right. Enough about us. How did you both find out about this project?"
Ceasar: "Casting call. I think they partially chose me because I am able to sing, but from what the producer told me, I fit the role really well."
Darren had been quietly observing and pleasantly smiling at them this whole time.
Dylan: "What about you, Guan Hong?"
Darren: "I have been on a couple of shows. The producer also thought that I fit the role really well. I am looking forward to working with you all."
Dylan: "You're not from the mainland, are you?"
Darren: "No, I am from Taiwan."
Dylan: "Ah, that sounds right. Your accent is not from around here."
Just then, they sensed movement from the doorway.
A petite girl with short hair walked in. She looked like the girl next door type, a little nondescript, but the more you looked at her, the prettier she seemed.
They all stood up to greet her.
"Hello, everyone," she said shyly. "I am Shen Yue. I am going to be Dong Shancai."
The boys were all friendly and greeted her politely and each in turn introduced themselves.
She had immediately gravitated towards Ceasar as she recognized him from her neighborhood.
"Xi Ze!" she exclaimed. "What role do you have?"
"I'm going to be Xi Men." He clasped her elbow and smiled at her.
"That's a perfect role for you. I can see it," she said to him fondly.
Dylan immediately said: "You should guess all of our roles!"
"Oh, okay," she said, her cheeks reddened a little as she was a bit embarrassed to be put on the spot.
She took her time looking at the remaining F3 members. She first looked at Darren.
She studied his face like it was a piece of art. In truth, he was very handsome. All of the boys were good looking, but Darren also had a sense of mystery to him, like looking at a tranquil pool, and not realizing that the depths of the pool were deeper than you could possibly imagine.
"You must be...Hua Ze Lei," she said.
Darren smiled easily. "That's right," he said. "How could you tell?"
She looked a little sheepish. "You have a presence about you, like you are able to express a lot without saying anything, but also, you seem like you hide a lot of your emotions."
Darren laughed. "All that, just by looking at my face?"
Shen Yue reddened a bit more. "Sorry, I hope I didn't offend you."
Darren: "Not at all. Thank you for the compliments." He gave her a friendly smile, which she gratefully returned.
She was hoping that they would forget about her guessing the others' roles, but Dylan immediately said: "So what about the rest of us?"
They all could tell that she was thinking: "So you're not letting me off the hook that easily," and they all laughed at her.
"All right, all right!" she said. She turned to Connor and Dylan. The only remaining characters were Daoming Si and Mei Zuo. Daoming Si was an overbearing bully and leader of the F4, who eventually turned out to be kind and protective. Mei Zuo was an easygoing jokester.
Up to now, Connor hadn't actually said anything, but Dylan was the one who instigated that she guess who they all were.
She turned to Dylan and said: "You must be Daoming Si," and then she looked at Connor. "You are Mei Zuo."
The boys were all impressed. "How'd you know?" Dylan asked.
She turned to Dylan. "Who else would be so commanding?" she teased.
Dylan laughed. "You got me!"
Dylan thought to himself, she is so down to earth. She's not what I expected at all. I thought she would be like other girls I have met, but she has such a sweet and gentle demeanor. She was even on that show, A Love So Beautiful. I can't believe I was anxious about meeting her. Not going to lie, I was a bit intimidated, but I think we will get along just fine. He was relieved. This was going to be his first acting role and meeting the leading actress and the other F4 members had put him at ease.
Connor, not one to be left behind, said, "And me? You don't think I am commanding, and let's not forget, good looking?"
Shen Yue laughed nervously. "Not at all. You are very handsome. You all are very handsome," she said, looking at them all. She turned back to Connor: "You have a boyishness about you that I think goes with Mei Zuo's character."
Connor was appeased. "All right, all right."
Angie Chai walked into the room. "Great!" she said. "You have all met. Let's go over the lines for the first scene."
With that, they took their seats.
They had no idea how big Meteor Garden would really become. Even Angie Chai could not imagine the heights to where this version of Meteor Garden would go.
