When Wang He Di leaves the small village he grew up in, to find work in the streets of glamourous and dangerous Shanghai, the first thing that catches his eye is the beautiful Shen Yue, a young woman also trying to make her fortunes in the "Paris of...
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The curtains close and Yue turns back to the ladies, congratulating them on the electric performance. She quickly rushes off the stage, eager to have a drink. It's a New Year, a New Decade, and a New Beginning! Touring with the show is taking its toll on her, and she is thinking of finding a way to talk to Zhang Yong about the possibility of staying in one place permanently... maybe have a regular gig a few times a week, and a place she can call home.
Living out of hotels, while initially exciting, has begun to lose its appeal. She wants to hang her silks and her fans up again, make decorations with her pressed flowers and add to her collection of books. Right now all her stuff is in Zhang Yong's house, back in Shanghai. After he became her manager they immediately started to tour. When the rent money which had been paid up for the year ran out, Zhang Yong insisted that it didn't make sense for her to waste money on rent when she would barely be living there. He had a big house, having been a successful music promotor since his twenties, and most of the chorus girls also stayed there, so why not move her stuff in? She finally agreed and ended up moving her trunks to his place.
On the way to the dressing room people are giving her bouquets of flowers and complimenting her on her amazing performance. She smiles sweetly, tipping her head towards them in acknowledgement of their admiration. A journalist wants to do an interview with her later. He must talk to her manager and set it up, she tells him, dazzling him with her smile. What does she think of Hong Kong so far, he quickly asks? She only arrived yesterday, but intends to sight see in the morning, and the people have been so friendly, she says. She finally reaches the corridor where the people who aren't performing can't go any further, unless they are on the guest list. The bouncer smiles at her and lets her through. It will be good to get a few minutes of quiet in her changing room, before she heads out to join the party and try to look for Chao Xing.
Her relationship with her sister has significantly improved since their father's funeral. Chao Xing, feeling badly for Yue's obvious heartbreak over He Di, decided to be more decent towards her sister. She dropped by from Nanking unannounced one day, when John had some business in Shanghai, only to find Yue lying on the floor in hysterics, unable to cope with the idea that He Di was gone. And that's when Chao Xing's sisterly instincts finally kicked in. She couldn't bear to see Yue in such a state, someone she had believed to be so strong and indestructible, was now so helpless, dejected and on the verge of collapse! It had shaken up all her silly notions that her sister was the lucky one, and that Yue was somehow to blame for whatever misfortunes befell her. She swore to herself that if she ever wanted any kind of redemption from the choices she has made, the one person she would never betray or take for granted ever again would be Yue. After all, they only really have each other in this world, both of them not really happy with their mother.
Chao Xing stayed with Yue for a week, holding her at night as they slept, wiping her tears while affectionately scolding her for being such a cry baby, and encouraging Yue to do fun touristy things with her, like eating ice cream on the board walk, taking a boat ride on the river, and mildly flirting with sailors at the dumpling bar. Yue, needing the comfort, gave her one more chance, and even though Chao Xing is still selfish and can say outrageous things nearly all the time, she is no longer malicious towards Yue. In fact she is rather fiercely protective of her, there is no one she will defend more than Yue, despite not really openly showing it to her.
