Look What The Storm Brought In.

Xiuying's obsession over the rebellious rock-star, Zhang Yixing, takes another turn when she crosses paths with him coincidentally.

 

Genres: Romance

Word Count: 8055

 

 

“I hope the tea is brewed to your liking, sir.” Xiuying smiled politely while she carefully set the porcelain cup down. Her smile turned into a frown as soon as she turned her back from the customer, who had sent his tea back thrice since it wasn’t brewed correctly. At times, she had to fight the urge to pour the contents of the scalding hot cup on their heads; these picky customers always seemed set on bothering the hard-working waitresses like her.

 

Xiuying worked at a small coffee shop on the only main road of their unknown little town. Nothing ever changed there; the town had been the same ever since she could remember. It was as if their town had an aversion towards development and modernization. Occasionally, a few youngsters, who were lucky enough to visit the bigger cities like Beijing, would come back in attempts to refurbish the town, to match up to those places. But it was all in vain –the elders in town, who comprised of more than half the population, being an active part of the town council, never allowed it. They were a bunch of orthodox, conservative folks who did nothing other than sing praises about Mao Zedong and communism.

 

Now, Xiuying never really had a problem with that, except her father was also one of them. And that posed a huge problem for her and her one and only obsession – the rebellious rock star, Zhang Yixing, who was a huge inspiration for the youth in China, including the ones in her dingy little town.

 

He was the Prince of Changsha, who had taken over the country like a storm. Apparently, his visit to the United States of America had granted him an exclusive opportunity to learn from the best – the one and only, Neil Young. Although, Xiuying had no idea who the said person was, she chose to believe he might have been a big deal. All she knew was he was some long-haired bloke who knew how to play guitars. Now, she couldn’t care much about the North American musician, it was Zhang Yixing she was interested in.

 

Rock as a genre of music wasn’t even popular in China, but with Zhang Yixing’s sudden arrival in the music scene everyone was awed. Well, not everyone – there were mixed reviews. Obviously, the elders, Xiuying’s father included, completely disapproved of it, citing that it should be banned. The youngsters, on the other hand, were stirred. Zhang Yixing was their new hero, the boys wanted to be just like him, while the girls wanted a piece of him.

 

Xiuying was one of his fans and she would proudly admit it. She couldn't remember a time where she had failed to purchase his records or signed photographs, even though it had exhausted her entire allowance. Her father had criticized it as merely money-making tactics, so that young and stupid girls like Xiuying herself, as quoted by him, would be fooled. And Xiuying had responded to her father like always, she had simply ignored him.

 

Xiuying was an ardent follower of his; the walls in her room were filled with his signed photographs and posters - her favorite being the one where Yixing was wearing nothing but a leather jacket, that minimally covered his toned torso and skin-tight pants, with a pair of sea-green aviators and a cigarette perched between his plump lips.

 

In fact, the poster was placed right opposite her single bed; so naturally, it was the very first thing she set her eyes on when she woke up in the morning. She would sigh dreamily and admire his features for a minute or two, but then her father would yell from downstairs to remind her that she was tardy.

 

One can already imagine how appalled her father might have been to open the door to his beloved daughter’s room, and finding a huge poster of a half man, smoking a cigarette. Her father had to convince himself for days after that incident, that he had indeed managed to raise her well, even in the absence of her deceased mother and that her obsession was just a phase which would pass. Alas, he could only hope.

 

 

“Mimi,” Xiuying whispered, flailing her hands when the other waitress failed to hear her. If anyone had to describe Xiuying, they’d probably tell that she was fairly awkward but endearing in her own way. Her eyes were her charm; she had big, brown, sparkly eyes that always gleamed whenever she mentioned Zhang Yixing. “Mimi,” she whispered more loudly this time. And thankfully, the said girl turned to look at Xiuying, who had been looking back at her rather expectantly.

 

“What?” the other girl asked in a clueless manner.

 

Xiuying placed her hands on her hips and glared at the other girl through her russet eyes. She had her mother’s eyes, her father always reminded her. But the only thing she had seen of her mother was the tattered monochrome picture taken on their wedding day, which didn’t really let her appreciate her mother’s features.

It was quite an unfortunate accident which had cost her mother’s life, but they had moved on. Her father never remarried and devoted himself to taking care of his precious daughter. And needless to say, he was very protective of her. Xiuying sometimes hoped he wasn’t, she was never granted enough freedom like the other girls of her age - who had grown up in a household with so many children, that their parents had lost track of them.

“Did you forget? I have to leave early,” she hissed.

 

Mimi, who finally remembered what the girl had been trying to convey, grinned sheepishly. “Of course, Mrs. Zhang,” she teased, causing Xiuying’s cheeks to flush. Mimi had been a fairly good friend of hers and she knew all about her obsession over the Rock-star. “Aren’t you already late, though?” Mimi asked while glancing at the clock. As far she remembered Xiuying should have left an hour ago.

 

“I know,” Xiuying huffed. “The grumpy old man simply couldn’t drink the tea I served him. And what’s worse, the only record store is miles away. I hate this town!”

 

“Oh hush, Xiuying, I’m certain you’ll find a way to get a copy,” Mimi asserted. Xiuying was supposed to head down town, to the only record store, and buy Yixing’s new album. In fact, the girl had been repeatedly gushing about it since the last week, ever since she read one of the newspaper articles. And Mimi knew for a fact that Xiuying saved all of those articles and piled it up in her secret stash. Mimi found Xiuying’s obsession fascinating.

 

“It’s not the record I’m worried about,” Xiuying replied. “They are giving away free tickets to every tenth customer until they reach a hundred and I really want those, Mimi.”

 

“Oh, you mean tickets to one of his shows?” Mimi questioned. “But how’d you go, they are always held in those big cities. And you and I both know your father will never let you.”

 

“I’ll convince him somehow, but first I need to get my hands on those darn tickets,” Xiuying exclaimed.

 

“Woah, calm down, Mrs. Zhang, you’ll get to meet him, don’t worry,” Mimi chuckled. “Now, take a deep breath and go, I’ll cover for you here. I’m certain you’d get those tickets, you and Zhang Yixing are destined for each other,” she teased.

 

Xiuying finally grinned. “You really think so?” she whispered, a faint blush covering her cheeks.

 

“Yes, now leave!”

 

“Alright, alright, thanks Mimi.”

 

Xiuying hastened her steps as soon as she reached the side-walk; the evenings had started to get chilly and the weather forecast had predicted a possible storm coming her way. She pulled the two ends of her overcoat closer, hoping to keep her slightly warm. Thankfully, a bus arrived the minute she reached the bus-stop. She hopped on to it gleefully, and she was just a step away from her destination.

 

Xiuying frowned the minute she reached the record store; there was huge queue outside, which almost led to the end of the street. Groaning softly, she walked past all the people, hoping the reach the end of the line. This never happened to her, she was always one of the first few people to arrive whenever his albums were sold. But, never once had they had promised free tickets to his show along with her purchase. And now that they had, her chances of getting them seemed bleak.

“Chen?” she exclaimed the minute she walked past the last person on the line. It had been her neighbor, who often annoyed her whenever he found the chance.

 

The said guy turned around, his eyes gleaming pleasantly. “Xiuying? I thought you might have bought the first copy or something,” he said, examining her warily. He then placed the back of his palm on her forehead. “Oh, you seem slightly feverish,” he frowned. “I’ll tell your father that you aren’t keeping yourself warm, where’s your scarf?” he nagged like a mother.

 

“Oh, please, spare me, I’ve been having a bad day as it is and now you-” Xiuying grumbled. “Anyway, what on earth are you wearing?” she snorted while she finally got a glimpse of Chen’s outfit. “Wait, is this is a cheap imitation of what Yixing wore in his Guangzhou show?”

 

Chen scowled, displeased by the girl’s remark. Sure, she had been right, he had been trying to copy his idol’s outfit but sadly he ended up looking like a clown. “This was the closest thing I could find,” Chen huffed, crossing his arms while Xiuying giggled more.

 

“It’s alright, Chen,” Xiuying cooed. “I’d still commend your effort though, but only my Yixing could pull off this outfit,” she said, examining Chen’s fake leather jacket closely.

 

“Oh, please,” Chen scoffed. “You speak as if you know him personally, when he doesn’t even know about your existence.”

Xiuying merely sneered in response and peeked to the front to see if the line had been moving. It had taken them almost an hour to get inside the shop; forget getting the tickets, Xiuying was afraid if the records would be sold out.

 

Meanwhile, she pestered Chen now and then, they hummed along to Yixing’s new song and she spoke about her bad day at the café. They were fairly comfortable around each other, for they had grown up together but Chen annoyed her so much at times, that she refused to call him her friend.

 

 

Xiuying wanted to cry, the number on her bill said 102 while Chen’s was 101. They had missed out on the tickets by a very narrow margin. However, it seemed as if the heavens heard her pleas and the shop-keeper interrupted her thoughts unexpectedly.

 

“Congratulations Miss!” She heard him say. She stared at the man blankly, waiting for him to clarify what he meant. “You’re our hundredth customer,” he smiled.

 

“B-but,” she stuttered and looked at the purchase statement, it clearly said no. 102.

 

“Oh, that, one of the sales-boys, made a mistake in computing, we had to discard the first two. So that means you’re the hundredth customer.”

 

Xiuying screamed with joy and thanked the man profusely as he handed over the ticket to her.

 

“Here you go, Miss, we hope you enjoy the show.”

 

 

☁ ☔ ☁ 

 

 

“Father,” Xiuying exclaimed happily, skipping towards her father, who had been reading the newspaper with his spectacles, balanced on the tip of his nose, like usual. She shook her head slightly and pushed his glasses back.

 

“What is it, Xiuying?” her father asked in a stern voice. He knew she was up to something; she never really used that shrill voice unless she needed something.

 

“I’m your one and only, precious daughter, right?” she grinned.

 

“Get to the point, child,” he sighed. Xiuying was undoubtedly quite a handful to handle, but she was devised new methods to make him agree to things he didn’t want to. He supposed he loved her too much to say no.

 

“Okay, so I’ve been given this very rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she began.

 

“Xiuying,” her father stressed.

 

“Okay, fine, I’ve won a ticket to a music show,” she immediately replied.

 

“And do I want to know what kind of music show it is?” her father asked hesitantly, dreading the worst. He would be glad as long as it didn’t have anything to do with that cigarette-smoking rebel whose cacophony was regarded as ‘music’.

 

“Father,” she wheedled. “It’s a, uhmm…it’s a Rock music show.” She bit her lips gently, fearing her father’s reaction.

 

“Does it have anything to do with that -man in your room?”

 

“Father,” she protested. “He isn’t for goodness sakes, it is called fashion. And I really want to go, can I go, father?  Please,” she begged. She had been waiting for this day, she had been dying to go to one of Yixing’s shows and meet him. And maybe she would catch his eye, and then they would fall in love and get married. A girl could dream, right?

 

“I do not see how any of those sewed up rags make ‘fashion’,” her father remarked. Xiuying groaned and slouched on the sofa, she knew her father wasn’t going to stop now.

 

After another few minutes of going on and on about Yixing was nothing but a bad influence on the kids these days, he finally gave her his answer.

 

“You are not going to that so-called music show, Xiuying. My answer is final,” he said sternly.

 

“But, father,” she whined.

 

“No, Xiuying, it’s not going to work on me this time. The other girls your age are getting married and starting a family, while you’re obsessing over that mutineer. You’re already twenty, your mother got married when she was eighteen,” he retorted.

 

Xiuying got up from the couch, throwing a fit. “He’s not a mutineer, father. And I’m not marrying anyone other than Zhang Yixing,” she huffed and walked towards her room to slam the door shut.

 

“Then I’d rather you stay a spinster throughout your life,” her father yelled. He then crumpled the newspaper in annoyance when he found another article about Zhang Yixing.

 

‘Please give me some strength, Weiyu’ He thought about his wife. ‘This Zhang Yixing is set on ruining all the fathers’ lives.’

 

 

☁ ☔ ☁ 

 

 

Xiuying smoothened out the creased newspaper. She smiled widely as she read Yixing’s interview.

 

“I don’t date ugly girls because I believe they don’t exist.”

 

“My goodness, Mimi, even the way he articulates his sentences is captivating,” she sighed dreamily. “He could start his own religion and I’d be his first disciple,” she giggled while Mimi shook her head at the girl’s antics.

 

“You’re crazy, Xiuying, do you know that? One day, when you grow older, you’d realize how fanatical you were and have a good laugh,” Mimi taunted. “Anyway, there was a mad rush, after you left yesterday. Did you at least get the ticket?”

 

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Xiuying beamed, but soon frowned when she remembered that small altercation with her father. “But I don’t know if my father’s going to let me go,” she exhaled softly. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to agree. I will pester him until he agrees,” she grinned in triumph. “I still have a week to convince him. And if he doesn’t, I’ll just sneak out of town and leave him a note.”

 

☁ ☔ ☁ 

 

 

A week had passed by in a blur. Xiuying had tried on several occasions to convince her father to let her go. She had even promised to make him dinner every day, help him water the plants and do the household chores. But to no avail, her old man simply refused.

 

“Father, why are you being so difficult?” she whined. “Not everyone gets a chance to meet their hero and you’re wasting mine.”

 

“Oh, I don’t know,” her father huffed rather childishly. “I thought someone was going to get married to this Zhang Yixing. What’s a mere music show compared to that?”

 

“Father! How on earth am I supposed to marry him if you won’t even let me meet him?” Xiuying sulked, puffing her cheeks and crossing her arms. Her hair had been neatly braided in two pig-tails; so she ended up looking like a little school girl.

 

“Aw, look at you,” her father cooed. He was reminded of the time they both had struggled to tie her hair up for school, he had given up in the end and chopped her hair short. Xiuying had been a very lovable child growing up; she had never really troubled him much. In a way, it had helped him cope with his beloved wife’s untimely death. His daughter gave him strength to carry on and he’d secretly admit that she had grown up in to a wonderful, well-mannered young lady. But, it was just certain tantrums like these, which she threw often, had him sighing in exasperation.

 

Xiuying’s eyes gleamed brightly. “See, father, I’m still your precious, little daughter…you should let me go to that show.”

 

“Not a chance, child,” her father answered sweetly. “If it were someone else, I might have considered but this Zhang Yixing. I don’t know about him, he seems like the type of guy who would take advantage of naïve, young girls and spread around Herpes.”

 

“Father!” Xiuying groaned.

 

“What? Haven’t you seen the news? There’s been a recent surge in the incidence of these venereal diseases and I say, these so-called ‘rock-stars’ like Zhang Yixing are to blame. They think it’s trendy to follow the West and their culture. Whatever happened to morals and family ethics?”

 

“Goodness, father, you’re embarrassing me now. And I’m not going to offer myself to Zhang Yixing, I’m merely going to watch him sing and play music.”

 

“Yes, dear, it isn’t you that I don’t trust. It’s him,” her father answered.

 

“Father, that’s preposterous. There will plenty of other girls there; he’s not going to do anything to me. In fact, I will be standing at a twelve feet distance from the stage. Now, will you let me go?”

 

“I’m sorry, my child. Your old man is simply worried about leaving you alone in a new place, who knows what would happen? I would have accompanied you, but you claim to have only one of those ‘tickets’.”

 

Xiuying softened slightly at her father’s words. She knew it was hard on him; after all she was the only family he had. She remembered how distraught her father had been after her mother’s death; she had been merely four years old and couldn’t comprehend the seriousness of the matter. “All right, father. I won’t go.”

 

 

☁ ☔ ☁ 

 

 

Xiuying sighed dejectedly, there weren’t many customers around and their manager had been out of town. She and Mimi were chatting about trivial things when the girl suddenly brought the whole topic about Yixing’s show.

 

“I won’t be going, Mimi,” she informed the girl. “I’ll probably just give the ticket to Chen. He can at least blend in with the hundred other oddballs who’d walk in those fake, mock-up leather jackets.”

 

Mimi frowned slightly at the girl’s words. A week ago she had been really excited to go to Yixing’s show; she had even devised plans to blackmail her father into letting her go. She wondered what had happened because the Xiuying from last week would have given anything to meet the rock-star. “You’re giving up?” Mimi raised her eye-brows. “What happened to badgering your father until he agreed?”

 

“It isn’t worth it, he’ll get anxious for no reason and I don’t want that,” she muttered.

 

“Well, aren’t you the most filial daughter?” Mimi joked. “Don’t worry, maybe you’d find another way to meet your Prince,” she teased.

 

“Maybe,”