“Kris Wu, have you been hiding here all along?”

 

“Why were you hiding?”

 

“When are you coming back?”
 

“Are you coming back?”
 

“Who is that girl sitting near the waterfall?”
 

“Is that your secret lover that you hid away from the public?”
 

“Is that why you dumped your girlfriend, who is now pregnant?”
 

“Is it also why you’re not acknowledging the baby?”

 

Myriad of questions were thrown at Kris, who was flustered near the front gate, where the reporters were swarming around him. He wanted Xia to get away and go back into the house but Xia did the opposite, “Kris, what is happening? Who are they?”

 

“Xia, can you please go back into the house? It’s quite a difficult situation,” he requested exasperatedly as he tried to get away from the reporters.

 

Xia walked forward in front, between the reporters and himself, majority of her face was covered with the hat and she tried to hide herself even further by pulling the brim down onto the sides of her face. For a moment, Kris thought Xia wanted a shor lived fame like other girls, until -

 

“What are you guys doing here?” Xia asked, “I don’t think it is right to disturb peace like that in front of someone’s house.

 

A reporter quipped that they all have the rights to ask him question.

 

Xia replied, in a very calm voice, “That is true, sir, but if you are not aware, this is a private property. If you come in one more step and invade the place, I’ll have to take evidence of it and will have to sue you. Please be aware.” The reporters all shunned after she spoke. Kris was surprised at how calm and composed she sounded that it took him by surprise because a normal girl wouldn’t react this way.

 

Xia reached for Kris’s hand and walked back toward the main house, there was a flash, who took evidence of the couple and he was sure that it would make a front cover on famous tabloids the next day.

 

Once they had reached inside the house, Xia made him sit in the living room before she went into the kitchen and came back out with a cup of tea in her hand. “Here,” she handed the cup to him, “it will calm your nerves.”

 

“Thanks.” He immediately took a small sip from his tea cup and loosened up a little.

 

Xia didn’t ask him anything and Kris was not sure whether she was giving him some time to think or she was too shocked to ask him any question. He wanted to explain to her but it also meant that he would be uncovering everything about him - including the fact that he had been lying to her all along, his identity, his job, his everything.

 

“Xia,” he whispered her name, hesitantly while scanning her face for possible reaction. Xia’s face was exceptionally calm as she sat on the sofa in front of him. The room was so quiet that he could possibly hear if a pin falls onto the ground.

 

She took a deep breath, “Yes?”

 

“Are you annoyed?”

 

She smiled gently, “No, not really.”

 

“Are you surprised?”

 

“Do you want me to answer the truth?” Kris nodded. “Not really,” she replied, “Kris Wu. I know you, ever since you appeared on the doorstep of my house.”

 

Kris’ eyebrows raised slightly. All this time, Xia had known of his identity and decided to play along with him. “I knew who you were but I did not know what the reason was behind your appearance. However, a few internet searches did the trick.” He smiled sheepishly, like a kid who was caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

 

“Why did you play along?”

 

Xia tittered slightly, “Well, you started with Kris Hu and I realised that you wanted to hide your identity. I am not the type of person who enjoys poking into other people’s history. Besides, why would a famous actor come to a small village and try to hide his identity?”

 

Kris nodded. When she put it that way, it made sense.

 

“So, what are you going to do?” the  question Xia asked him next was unexpected. He looked at her, who was peering into his face.

 

He sighed, “I don’t know... “ Truthfully, he really did not know. A part of him had developed an attachment to this house - mostly Xia, and a part of him kept telling him that he cannot hide from reality forever. The reporters were just a sample taste of what could follow. If things get worse, they really might camp outside of this house, disrupting the peaceful and quiet neighbourhood, just to get his news.

 

Aunty Zhao came into the living room, mumbling something about reporters squashing her perfect bag of bean sprouts to Xia and fell silent upon seeing Kris and Xia sitting quietly, apart from each other. It didn’t take her long to figure that something serious had happened. Turns out that Aunty Zhao was also aware of his status and identity but decided to play along under Xia’s instruction. To Kris, it was a bittersweet feeling for he felt really grateful that they accepted him as a person and a part of him couldn’t help but wondered whether they would have reacted the same way if that was another person but he decided to put away the unnecessary feelings.

 

The dinner that night was quiet. Usually, they all would talk about something that happened to their day - Kris would talk about the plants, Xia chooses to talk about her vineyard, and Aunty Zhao about the new recipe she wanted to try out. That night, nobody said anything. Everyone seemed to be in deep thought. Kris bade farewell early and retired into his bedroom.

 

He couldn’t sleep that night.

 

He knew that he would have to go back but he really did not want to. If he would not, Xia and Aunty Zhao’s privacy was at risk. It took him very long to make a difficult decision to go back home, back to the city, to face the reality and take on the day as it goes. He still needed to figure out how to break it to Xia, and he wanted to know her reaction towards actor Kris.

 

~~~

 

Xia’s expressions remained unreadable at the breakfast table the next day. Kris was surprised at how exceptionally calm Xia had became; maybe it is her coping mechanism she develops upon learning shocking news to deal with it. She smiled at him when he walked into the kitchen. Kris couldn’t help but notice how her eyes had developed a dark tinge underneath and her face slightly gaunt, as if she had not caught a wink of sleep. Her breakfast was quick before she went to work, after trying to get past a small sea of reporters at the front gate. Kris felt apologetic about it.

 

His entire day felt very off. Aunty Zhao hardly spoke to him. Kris felt like he was being outcasted and he could sense that things have changed permanently and that they will not go back to where it was. It greatly saddened him.

 

Over the next few days, Xia didn’t try to meet with him and she would always avert her gaze whenever his eyes caught hers. Kris had been rearranging his life again. He had spoken with his agency that he would be coming back soon. His agency was not happy that he was caught that way because a lot of news outlet had been reporting that Kris had been two-timing between his ex-girlfriend, and the mysterious girl in the sundress. If he could, he would punch each and every one of the outlet for reporting false accusations.

 

It took him great mental strength preparation to break the news to Xia and Aunty Zhao - to tell them that he would be going back to where he was from initially. When he handed over his gardener uniform, all pressed and neatly folded, to Aunty Zhao, he didn’t miss the way the old woman sobbed and stealthily tried to wipe away her tears as he told him that he would be going back to the city the next day.

 

“Xia, can we go for a drive?” he asked earnestly at the girl, getting ready to get rejected but Xia nodded. She nodded and went upstairs to grab a shawl, since summer evenings have started to turn cooler.

 

Kris drove out of the house, trying to ignore so hard at the reality of the reporters trying to snap their pictures together. Xia remained unperturbed, as she successfully hid her face behind over-sized sunglasses while wrapping the shawl around her head like a headscarf. He couldn’t help but applaud at the girl’s ability to adapt well.

 

“You know, you’re such a natural at hiding your face.”

 

Xia’s answer was short, “My father told me a lot about him and mom. I learned a few things from them.”

 

Kris laughed, feeling like it was the first time he laughed after a long stretch of days without any. Xia didn’t ask where he was driving towards but he was sure she knew where he was heading - the country house he had bought.

 

The girl’s jaw dropped as soon as she stepped into the house. She looked around the cozy-looking living room, the kitchen and the bedrooms as he gave her the tour. The entire house had been renovated. Kris hired the best interior designer he could find and told him how he wanted the house to turn out and the designer delivered the results. Then, he led her to the swings, which had now be strengthened and made it into a double seater instead of a single.

 

Xia sat on it, he joined by her side. They didn’t say anything but kept swinging back and forth.

 

“The house turned out very nice. I’m guessing you bought it?” Xia broke the silence first. Her eyes didn’t meet his.

 

Kris hummed in agreement, “Yeah, I feel like this is a house with great values. I really like the neighbourhood.”

 

The two fell silent again.

 

Kris had been trying to talk to her but he couldn’t bring himself to over the past few days. If he couldn’t tell her what he had been arranging in his head, he really wouldn’t be able to verbalise them anymore. “Xia,” he took her hand and placed a key on her palm. She looked at the key and then him.

 

“What is this?”

 

His hand reached for the back of his hand and scratched it, “This…” he started to look for words, “this is the key to the house.” Xia frowned and studied at his face as she seemed like she couldn’t fathom what he was saying. “I told you I like this house, didn’t I?” She blinked in agreement. “To be honest, I want this house and I was actually thinking of starting a new life here with you.”

 

Xia’s eyes widened slightly as she stared at him, “Oh dear,” she exclaimed, “this escalated quickly.”

 

“Listen to me,” he stopped her mid-way. He was scared that he might lose the courage, “So, I bought this house and renovated it. I didn’t think things through and I was not aware that they would find me here. What I was thinking was that I would quickly take care of what happened back home and then live here after I retired.”

 

“And?” she prompted.

 

Kris took a deep breath in, “And I was hoping you would move in with me as well.” Just as he spoke, he felt like his heart was going to sink to his feet and he couldn’t breathe well. Never had he ever been scared of listening to a response this much.

 

Xia looked away from him. She folded her arms and rubbed her bare arms before throwing the shawl over her and him as well. Kris took a hold of one side of the shawl while she took the others. She kept looking away into the distance for a long time before she spoke, “But what about the ex-girlfriend?”

 

“We

have nothing to do, Xia.”

 

“I’ll consider,” her response was quiet but firm and short at the same time, “I’ll keep the key.”

 

~~~

 

Xia and Aunty Zhao bade goodbye to him the next day. He couldn’t read Xia much because she just looked calm while Aunty Zhao was sobbing her heart out. He hugged the two women and left the place. Also, he had a talk with the reporters to make them clear out the area since he wouldn’t be living there anymore.

 

The next few days of trying to re-adjust to his old life was quite torturous. He kept expecting to see Xia whenever he walked out of his room or stepped into the kitchen or exchange smiles as they passed each other at the bathroom entrance but the reality was the entire opposite. It was quite difficult to get used to living alone and he was glad that he was going to get busy again.

 

“Kris, you have a meeting with your lawyer team today,” his manager informed as he stepped onto the van.

 

“Good,” he exclaimed, “I need to talk to them and tell them to be quick with whatever they’re doing.”

 

“Good afternoon, Mr.Wu,” A tall guy greeted him as soon as he stepped into the lawyer’s office. He had met the guy a few times but he never caught the name as he was distracted all the time. The guy has smooth tanned skin, strong jawline, monolid with smoldering eyes, and a raspy voice.

 

“Hello,” Kris extended his hand, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t catch your name before.”

 

The guy smiled, “Zitao. Huang Zitao. Call me Mr.Huang or Zitao. I’m one of the lawyers in your team.”

 

“Right. Right,” Kris walked hastily alongside him, “can I go into the meeting now?”

 

Zitao smiled, “Of course,” he stepped into the elevator and motioned Kris to follow. He pressed a button towards 12th floor and smiled, “You’re so lucky today,” Zitao spoke, “our team leader is in office.”

 

“Oh good,” Kris exclaimed, “I thought I was spending a lot of money on a person that never showed up for meetings.”

 

Zitao let out a hearty laugh, “Team leader likes to work remotely from home, but don’t worry she’s a specialist a celebrity cases.” He stepped out of the elevator and waited for Kris to follow.

 

“Team leader is a woman?”

 

“Yeah yeah, it surprises a lot of people because it’s a woman but she’s very trustworthy. She has won so many cases.” Along the way towards the meeting room, Zitao kept gushing about how the team leader is really experienced and how they have the chance to win this case and save Kris’ reputation.

 

Zitao walked into the meeting room first, “Team leader, our client is here with us. Shall we start?”

Kris walked in behind Zitao and looked around the room. The oval shaped table was filled with people; suited people on one side and other casually well-dressed on the other. All of them were busy either typing on laptops or looking through sheets of paper. One of the suited figures stood up as soon as Kris walked in, whom he assumed as team leader.

 

“Hello,” the alleged team leader smiled, “I’m so sorry for the absence in the previous meetings, Mr.Wu,” she bowed a sincere ninety degrees. “My name is Xia. Tang Xia.”

 

Kris stretched out his right hand, his brain had honestly left him with shock, to shake hands with the girl in front of him, who was dressed in clean black and white ensemble. She took his hand firmly and shook it for a while.

 

“I look forward to work with you on this case. Please have faith in me and my team,” she beamed gently as she blinked.

 

~~~