The only problem for Kris is that he now actually has to become to gardener. The thought didn't bother Kris until... 

"This is our backyard garden," Aunty Zhao announced in a little dramatic way. Kris's jaw dropped. Rather than calling it a garden, it should be considered as a field. The vast green grass is endless with the peaks and troughs of hills; he can see a substantial size greenhouse, a little garden dedicated to garden vegetables, a small patch of flower field with different flowers - all placed strategically to look aesthetically pleasing. At the end of the vast green grass, is the edge of a lake, with a little small boardwalk built over the water extending into it. 

Can I do it? 

Tang Xia's voice broke his thought bubble. "He looks scared, Aunty Zhao," she laughed, "Kris, it's okay. You don't have to do it. I know Aunty Zhao is extremely pushing. 

This girl was doubting his abilities. It hurt his pride. "I'll do it. It's not a problem." 

Xia smiled, "Yeah, only for a few days. You don't have to go too far to take really good care of the vegetable garden and flower patches. Just help us cutting the grass would do." 

"That solves it then!" Aunty Zhao's cheerful voice appeared, "Come, my child," she tugged Kris's arm, who jumped in alarm. He definitely is not used to people touching his skin like that. After going through a really rough crowd of fans during his interview on street segment scarred him. He now hates being touched by people unannounced. It scares him. 

"S-sorry," he apologized, "I'm just a little ticklish." He lied just as he bit his tongue.. 

Aunty Zhao's studied his face in worried expression before smiling gently, "Let me show you to your room." 

"My room?" he asked, slightly confused. 

Aunty Zhao nodded, "Where do you think you're staying? On the street?" 

He laughed, "No, I don't think it's appropriate for me to stay here since I'm an employee. Also, Tang Xia is here..." 

"Nonsense!" she shot his statement down, "we're a family now. We live together. I also live here so it's nothing to worry about. Let me show you to your room." 

She led him upstairs again and showed the way into the room he was originally in. "This is going to be your room. There'll be towels in the wardrobe and a lot of other necessities in there, such a toothbrushes and etc. If you need anything, just come talk to me. I'll arrange everything for you." 

'That's a lot of hospitality for a few days," Kris thought as they both headed back down to the kitchen. Tang Xia was already in the kitchen, chopping vegetables. 

"Where are you staying right now?" she asked so casually as she dropped the knife and slowly scooped them into a bowl.

Kris hesitated, "At the inn." His reply was short. 

"Oh, that one!" she clapped her hands, "do you want to go get your stuff and come back here? The Inn is very expensive for such lousy service, you know." 

Kris started to get worried again for he felt like he was being tied down by both Aunty Zhao and Tang Xia. They both were acting like they don't want him to leave. "I..I..I can go get by myself." 

Xia laughed, "It'll take you one hour to walk there, you know. I'm just helping you. Why are you so tense?" She spoke as if she had seen right through him, which made him feel a little embarrassed, "are we being over-bearing?"

"Just a little," he muttered and diverted his eyes away from her.

Xia laughed, "Don't worry. You'll get used to it. Come," she took off her apron at the speed of light and went to the side of the kitchen where keys were dangling off little hooks, "I'll drive you. You can also go get extra things you need from the shopping mall. I'll take you there tomorrow."

"NO!" his voice came out a lot louder than it was supposed to be. Shopping mall is definitley not the place that he wants to be in right now. 

"O-okay," Xia squeaked. She looked a little worried and a little scared. 

Kris needed to save himself before he gets exposed, "I just don't like crowded place. Aunty Zhao said I can ask her to get things for me so I think I'll do that."

Tang Xia smiled, "Yes of course. Come, come!" she smiled and ushered him towards the garage at the side of the house.

Tang Xia's car suited her. It is a small, black mini-cooper - just like the girl herself; small but energetic.  She apologized him for small leg room in her car since he is practically a human giant. He said it was okay.

"Nice car," Xia exclaimed as soon as she saw his Aston Martin parked outside the Inn. "I wonder what kind of person is staying at the Inn. Let me tell you a little secret, Kris. Sometimes, they have celebrities coming to stay here but the receptionist doesn't know a thing because she's too old. The only celebrity she knows are probably from 1950s." Kris's insides twisted up in fear, since he is still a celebrity, technically, and he was using the Inn as a hideout. He smiled uncomfortably before telling her to wait for him in the car as he paid the bills and gathered his belongings - his weekend bag.

After having paid the fees, and a little more for the fees for using the outdoor car park for his Aston Martin while he is away, he was back in Xia's car. "You sure do have an expensive taste for a gardener, Kris," she smiled as she carefully drove the car through the woods, on a dirt car path. 

"Ah this," Kris wanted to hit himself because the weekend bag he was carrying was none other than limited edition YSL, which costs a small fortune - something that a gardener would not necessarily buy. "I got in on my graduation day. To reward myself." 

"Oh," she exclaimed, "where did you graduate from?" 

"Royal Institute of Agriculture and Landscape Planning," he recalled the script from the gardener character he played a while back, "in London." He knew it was a lie but he couldn't help it anymore. He's already too deep into playing the lie. Tang Xia smiled at him and he felt guilty for she looked like she completely bought his lie. 

~~~

The next day was hell for Kris. He never knew that actually being a gardener meant so much work. 

His body was aching and his skin is now looking the most tanned that he had ever been, which reminded him of his day during teenage years, when he was obsessed with playing basketball under the scorching sun. 

"You're a natural, Kris," Aunty Zhao praised him one evening, a few days after he arrived, "you are so good at this." He felt slightly proud at his work in maintaining the entire backyard garden. "Have you ever considered working with us for a long time even though it hasn't been that long?" 

He hesitated. He misses his home - especially Rourou. But, he is scared of returning back to reality. He really should be back but there was something that was holding him back from facing the reality face on. He didn't answer Aunty Zhao's question. 

"Aunty Zhao," he decided to distract the woman from constantly bombarding him with questions that he does not want to answer, " Where is Xia? I haven't seen her all day?" 

The older woman looked at him, "Tang Xia?" he nodded, "Xia is at the vineyards." 

"Vineyard?" his mind was confused. 

"She owns a vineyard a few miles away from here," Aunty Zhao explains as a matter of factly, "she goes there almost every day to oversee the work and run it." 

Kris hesitated. Ever since he got here, he thought she was a rich heiress, or worse a secretly kept mistress, who lives in a secluded area with her own nanny to live together - which was something that was not uncommon for him as far as he had witnessed. However, he was proven to be wrong. "Kris, do you like wine?" Aunty Zhao asked all of a sudden. 

"I occasionally drink it, why?" 

She beamed, "I can call and ask Xia to bring a few of the bottles home. She always brings back some for nights when we want to celebrate. Chilled wine on a summer night is quite refreshing!" 

He definitely still has to get used to their excessive hospitality. 

That night, he decided to take a walk after dinner, to let his mind settle into things. 

"Oh!" he heard a girl's voice and it was Tang Xia, who smiled at him as soon as she saw him walking on the path. 

"You just got back from work?" Kris asked her as he saw her clicking a button of her remote. 

Xia smiled and nodded, "Yeah! I would have gotten home earlier but I got held up at work since it's the time when a lot of orders come through. Have you eaten?" 

"Aunty Zhao fixed something for me to eat," he replied. 

She pursed her lips, "Do you still have some space in your stomach?" 

Kris hesitated, "Ermmmm.." he does not know how to answer to a question like this. This is so weird. "Maybe?" 

"Goood!" she beamed, "because I went to the town to get some dessert - for you, me, and Aunty Zhao!" 

He really wants to get used to this kind of hospitality without feeling awkward and pressured. He just needs to stop treating everyone in suspicion. 

"Where are you going?" Tang Xia stopped on her tracks and looked at him, who clearly looked like he was going on a walk. 

Kris frowned a little since he didn't know what to answer. He fidgeted slightly, "Just here and there." 

"Will you be all right by yourself?" 

He's not five. Kris thought that to himself but nodded to be polite since the girl looked very earnest as she looked up at him in bright eyes. "Don't take too long, okay? We all need to have dessert together." Kris nodded again before both people left the place in opposite direction - him away from the house and her into the house. 

Kris walked for a while before he reached a spot, somewhere he didn't know but it looks like an ideal place to just sit and relax. It was a place at the edge of a green wood and it had little branches forming a small roof, where he sat down underneath and sighed. The area was too quiet, which is actually his favourite place to wind down. 

It only had been a few days since he left the city but it felt like a few years. Being at a place away from technology and bustling crowd really makes a huge difference on the way time passes. Just as he was thinking, he realized that he needed to go back to face the reality. Whenever he thought about it, it made his stomach sink very low. He asked himself questions on why he wanted to run away from the scandal. It was not that he did not want a child; he wants a child of his own, so badly. However, he does not want doubts over an unborn child when he is very doubtful about his ex-girlfriend. 

Kris took a deep breath and switched on the phone he had been carrying in his trousers pocket. As soon as the phone was on, his phone started to bleep continuously due to the influx of message and missed calls. He wanted to throw the phone away in frustration but did the otherwise, he listened to all the messages that were left on his number, most of them from his managers, asking him to come back at once. When he had gotten to the last message, he was caught by surprise. 

'Yifan,' his manager whispered, 'I have taken care of the press and media here. Try to stay low from being found out for now. The press statement that says you're away in Canada while the negotiations are being made with your ex-girlfriend to settle. The director said she wants the best for you so she's now assembling a good legal team for you. Stay low for now.' 

His lip curled up in the corner. He felt relieved for now, knowing that his director is trying her best for him, after that panic struck him. 

He doesn't have anywhere to go! 

He could sneak out and go to Vancouver. However, his passport was in his apartment. He couldn't possibly sneak into his apartment. It would be a foolish move to turn his stealth mode on to go back into his apartment now that he was sure that his over zealous fans would be circling around his house like a group of hyenas around an injured deer. His thought reminded him of his friend Luhan and he chuckled a bit. 

With a frustrated, he leaned back onto the tree truck and looked at the view in front - it was the view of the house, brightly lit inside and there were fairy lights twinkling inside the wall creepers on the house's wall. It looked like the house was taken right outside of a fairy tale book. Just as he was watching, the door from the kitchen opened and a figure appeared. 

As he kept watching, the silhouette appeared sharper and he realized that it was Tang Xia. "Kris," she spoke to him as she approached, "why are you still out? You'll get mosquito bites." He smiled. He is starting to enjoy the hospitality of this household even though he is not entirely . They are too nice to what he is used to. She stook before him with her arms relaxed on her side, she offered him a hand, "Come on, you'll get mosquito bites." Kris looked up at her - her face was void of negative intentions. He smiled and gingerly grabbed onto her hand. As soon as his touched her skin, he felt slightly weird. What was that? 

"So, Tang Xia," he initiated a conversation as they both walked on the little pavement towards the main house, "Aunty Zhao was telling me about this vacant gardener position." 

She nodded, "Uh huh," she turned sideway and looked at him as she tried not to step on the dirt with her slippers. 

"Can I apply for the position? As full-time?" Kris closed his eyes and muttered his words. It took a lot of courage to say that some weird reason. It was like an attempt to start in a new life. 

Kris kept walking until he noticed that the girl had stopped. She was staring at him, "Kris Hu, are you sure?" He slightly winced internally at the fake identity he put up but he nodded. "Of course you can! You're hired!" 

He wanted to choke. She's not going to ask him anything? "Xia. Xia," he called her name as she walked towards him, "are you not going to ask me for criminal records etc? I mean, it's important." 

"Real criminals don't ask employers to check their criminal records," she replied casually as she walked past him, "besides," she opened the door and jerked her head, asking him to walk in, "I'm sure it's great to have a man around the house. I'll tell Aunty Zhao that you took the job and we'll send more stuff into your room so that you can settle in." 

He still wants to get used to this kind of hospitality. 

That night, Kris made a call to his manager. He didn't pick up but Kris left a voice message, "Manager, I already have a place to stay. Don't worry. Tell mom not to worry. If anything progresses, send me a message. Don't call. Take care of Rourou too. Bye." 

He suddenly felt free - away from everything. No more privacy-invading stalker fans, no more schedules, no more late nights, no more early call-ins. This truly feels like a vacation for him - except he has to learn how to be a proper gardener. 

~~~

[Author's monologue:] This was going to be a 3 parts but... I think this is going to be 5 parts at least because #LifeChoices