[Flashback]

The soup was still warm when he unscrewed the lid. Jiro tried to inhale the smell of the soup despite his blocked nose. What a pal that Danson was, he thought as he happily took a sip. His head was not so groggy though he still had a stuffy nose.

 

The bathroom door opened and Danson stepped out only with a towel wrapped around his waist.

 

“You are awake finally. How are you feeling?”

 

“Much better. Don’t know how you cooked this but I’m so touched my dear Danson. I never knew you cared so much about me.” He made a kissy face towards his roommate. That got him a pillow thrown in his direction.

 

“Very funny. I couldn’t less be bothered with you. Ella brought it over.”

 

He swallowed, surprised.  “Ella?”

 

“Yes. Late last night early this morning.”

 

Danson saw nothing wrong with Ella showing her concern for her sick co-star and carried on his grooming. The other boy finished the rest of the soup in a gulp and laid back on his bed, full of wonder. It was true, Ella was extremely close to both cast and crew and in turn, they all adored her for the fact that she never acted like a diva and was like they all had grown to see her as one of the guys.

 

Sweet, pretty girls had always been his cup of tea, though as celebrities always insisted to the media that they had no time to date, this was a hundred percent true in Jiro’s case. Like every hormone driven male, he sometimes had short flings. On hindsight, those were probably some dubious encounters sometimes crossing over to the unsavoury side but at that point of time, it seemed like a good idea.

 

He shut his eyes. Although in Hanazakarino Kimitachihe, Xiu Yi did his share of pulling the laughs and contributing to the comedic scenes, what impressed him about his character was how he was willing to take the chance for love. He might have tried to suppress his feelings for Rui Xi but in the end, he still bit the bullet to declare his attraction to Rui Xi. Yes, his affections were over the top but it was really touching especially since he didn’t expect anything from Rui Xi. Xiu Yi just needed Rui Xi to know how he felt.

 

All throughout this past month, he has been observing Ella as she interacted with everyone in and out of character in order to be able to portray the hapless Xiu Yi who was completely smitten with her. Like the rest, he found her extremely amicable.

 

His mind drifted over to that scene that they had filmed last week. Where Rui Xi had fallen asleep sitting on the floor and Xiu Yi chanced upon him. In a bid to wake Rui Xi up, he had gotten really close to the latter’s face and had to fight against his urge to kiss the smaller boy.

 

During the scene, for some reason, the air had stood still when he got within two feet’s distance of Ella’s face. Everything slowed down and Ella appeared like an innocent child that you just wanted to protect and make sure everything around her was alright. That scene had been remarkable easy and they wrapped it in just two takes. Suddenly, Jiro saw her in a different light. A tiny attraction towards the tomboy had sprouted but he had found it easy to squash it. Afterall, acting was all about expression and letting your emotions overflow, so whatever the actors felt could be just a figment of their imagination. Plus it wasn’t the first time he had felt this way about a co-star.

 

“You are still under the weather.” Danson observed, waking him from his reverie.

 

Jiro just gave his buddy a lazy smile. “I just need another nap and I will be ready for the next scene.” Lying down properly this time, he reckoned he was just feeling the effects of the flu and what not that he had and was determined to squash all irreverent thoughts out of his mind.

 

That morning’s incident had almost slipped his mind until he reached their room at the end of the day and another thermal pot was sitting on the table waiting for him.

 

 

When did Ella find the time to boil these things? She must have a crockpot in her room, Jiro mused. The effort though truly touched him. Taking his time to savour the soup, he took in all the homemade goodness bit by bit. It had been some time since he had a homecooked meal at home.

 

Danson and one of their fellow actors, He Xian stumbled in, laughing and talking. One look at his roommate and Danson remarked, “Someone’s looking blissful.”

 

Jiro blushed. Before he could say retort, He Xian quipped. “You look much better! That’s great. We got a busy day tomorrow.”

 

The next morning, Jiro made his way to the sports complex before his call time. They were filming on location at National Chi Nan University that explained them having to stay in the dormitories. A tiny lone figure made its way around the running track as he approached. Rui Xi was a really quick runner and to look more convincing in her role, Ella had been training every early morning. Whenever they were preparing for their concerts, Selina, Hebe and her would become fitter by virtue of the dance routines and jumping around the stage but being an athlete was a whole new ball game.

 

The great thing about being part of this drama series was that they were always wearing track shoes or trainers so they were always ready for any kind of action. As she turned round the bend into the last 100 metre straight stretch, Jiro hastened and fell into step with her.

 

She was running in her own thought, plugged into her iPod shuffle. Only after a few seconds, did she realise Jiro was next to her. Unhooking her earphones from her ears, she looked at him curiously, slowing down her pace.

 

“Da Dong, what are you doing out here?” She panted. “It’s far too cold here for you, get back in!”

 

The 1.8 metre tall man stayed abreast with her easily with his long strides. “I’m well! Just wanted to say thank you for the soup.”

 

Coming to a stop, Ella smiled widely. Her cheeks were flushed like two red apples from the activity. “It’s no big trouble. As long as you are feeling better.”

 

Her abrupt stop caused Jiro to stumble a little. He finally slowed down a distance in front of Ella and turned towards her. She noted that he had his jacket open and reached to zip him up, “Here. Stay warm. We don’t want you to get sick again.”

 

Jiro stood there dazed a little. Her small action had stunned him to silence. Ella cocked her head to the right, concerned. “Told you, it’s too cold for you out here!”

 

He couldn’t stop himself from engulfing Ella in a bear hug. She was taken aback by this gesture, more characteristic of his zany on screen persona than his more reserved real life person. “Haha, is this Xiu Yi or Da Dong?” She exclaimed as she thumped on his back. Her laughter was boisterous and contagious, not like the usual sweet tinkling like most ladylike girls. Maybe that was what set her apart from the sea of girls.

 

She turned and ended up facing him straight on. The close proximity caused Jiro to be shy and dropped his arms immediately. He must still be suffering from the effects of the flu. He stuttered. “Er, I got to go now. We have a scene.”

 

Ella nodded, understanding. Pushing him by his back, she shooed him. “Go now! I can hear the director calling you.”

 

She was stationary for awhile as he walked off and returned to finishing her lap and more. He reached the top of the slope where they usually filmed the parts where Rui Xi was watching Yi Quan training his high jump and turned slightly to see Ella from the corner of his eye. She was now sprinting around the track as though her energy was renewed.