“Sometimes, the slightest things change the directions of our lives, the merest breath of a circumstance, a random moment that connects like a meteorite striking the Earth. Lives have swiveled and changed direction on the strength of a chance remark” –Bryce Courtenay

June 16^th. 12:23. “I’m telling you. He’s not here. Well he isn’t” It’s been a few minutes since she was on the phone with her brother before she hang up, informing her brother that she was in fact at the café during the time she has told her yet no one has arrived that looked remotely like the one in the photo her brother has sent. She wasn’t blind. She knew exactly who she was supposed to be looking for. This is what I get for letting my twin set me up on a blind date, she thought, looking around the café once more to see if the person she was supposed to be meeting had arrived but to no luck. It’s been nearly two hours.

She had gotten up rather early that day, wanting to go all out and make a good impression because her brother had told her to so being the somewhat obedient sister that she was, she did. She woke up earlier than she usually does, drawing herself a full-scented bubble bath and getting into her full skin care routine right after followed by her make-up and choosing the perfect outfit which took her at least an hour to do. Needless to say, she spent a whole lot of time to get ready and look perfect only to get blown off by a guy she didn’t even know and haven’t met. It pissed her off. Moreover, her brother doesn’t even seem to know why she was getting blown off.

“I can’t believe I skipped a good sleep and dressed up only to get blown off” she mumbled under her breath, running her fingers along the brim of the cup of frappe she had in front of her. This was the first time she had ever been stood up by any date before. She’s heard this happen to other people but she never thought it would happen to her. She was feeling pathetic right about now. Anyone who would pass by her could tell she was dressed up for a date that never showed. Worst of all, it was raining outside so she couldn’t leave the café. She had no umbrella with her.

“I can’t believe this. People are probably staring and I can’t even leave” she mumbled under her own breath, eyes fixed on the window beside her. She loved the rain. She has always thought it was peaceful, the sounds of rain drops coming into contact to anything solid was soothing for her. Although in this situation, it was just plain annoying. What a great day to decide not to bring any umbrella with her. Or a car. Her brother was so confident about the guy showing up that she didn’t even bother taking her car with her. Which at this point was stupid.

“You could always sit with me. I kind of got stood up too” She snapped out of her thoughts, turning her head to see a guy at the next table, smiling straight at her. Normally, she’d just ignore any stranger who would strike a conversation with her but this guy’s different. There was absolutely nothing suspicious about him. She couldn’t understand why anyone in their right minds would actually want to blow this guy off. I mean, this guy was attractive. From a scale of 1-10, he was an 11. His brown eyes, his perfectly sharp jawline, his soft and perfect hair, his clear pale skin, everything about this guy screamed absolute perfection. Even his clothes were to absolute perfection.

He didn’t mean to eavesdrop. He really didn’t but their tables were so close to each other. It was hard to miss. So she was blown off too. That makes the both of us, he thought. He had sacrificed his rest day to meet someone in this café as a favor for one of his friends. He didn’t mind though. He wasn’t one to complain anyway.

He had entered the café some time after she did, slightly drenched from the rain outside. Perhaps it was because it was June but it has been raining quite frequently lately. Unexpectedly too. If I had known, I would have brought an umbrella with me, he thought, making his way to the counter to get himself something hot to match with the cold weather outside. Besides, he has a feeling he’ll be here for a while. He’s been out and about enough to know that it takes quite some time for the rain to slow down or subside. Might as well get something. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t notice her when he first decided settle down on the table beside her. She was familiar. He just didn’t know where he has seen her from. But then, he meets a whole lot of people every day, day in and day out so she probably was one of those people. With the amount of people he sees on a daily basis, it was a bit hard to keep track of the names and where he met them sometimes.

Thinking there was no harm in doing so, she got up, gathered her stuff and moved to the table beside her, flashing a small smile towards the stranger. It felt a bit uncomfortable sitting beside him but it felt warm at the same time. This day is certainly full of surprises, she thought. Who would have thought she would find herself sitting with such a guy she had just met after being blown off by some guy she was supposed to meet? He did seem a bit familiar though. She just couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Like him, she met with a whole lot of people on a daily basis but she would certainly remember his name. Perhaps he was one of those people she never really met personally, she thought. It was the only explanation.

“Okay. I’ll bite. Who in their right mind would even think about blowing you off?”

“Well, I should say the same thing to you. It seems like the guy you were supposed to be set up with blew off a very attractive girl such as yourself” I’m asking myself the same thing, she thought. Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t conceited or anything. She’s just fully aware of the good genes being passed down at her. Both of her parents were A-list models back in the day plus her three older brothers were also in the entertainment industry so she had very good genes. Although initially, she never really considered following the footsteps of her parents or her siblings for that matter, but things just somehow ended that way. And to think, she wasted the only day she was cleared of schedules to see a guy who never showed up.

“Oh where are my manners. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Xukun by the way. Cai Xukun”

“I’m Yuyan. Lu Yuyan”

It didn’t take them much effort to get a conversation going. They were familiar with each other’s work, often seeing them on Weibo or Instagram or on Billboards or TV. It was like they clicked instantly, talking about common interests and what they could have been doing right now instead of being blown off by their blind and being stranded inside the café because of the rain. They had a lot of things in common, it seems like. From favorite shows and places they’ve been to. They both shared a love for the stage, sadly she just didn’t like the idea of having to be restricted by a company to be on stage so she chose being on other platforms instead. There wasn’t much difference. Other than not being able to dance, she was still able to showcase her singing through the OSTs of the films and dramas she’s in. Plus, it was fun for her to be able to go to different places for photo shoots or whatever.

Halfway through their conversation, they noticed that the rains had yet to show any signs of slowing down but that didn’t bother them that much anymore, lost in their own world as they continued talking about the most random things, from their daily routines to their weekly schedules. They found it very interesting that they have been to almost the same places but their schedules never to have seemed to overlap but instead, Yuyan has worked with a few of his good friends. But then, China was big and so was the entertainment industry. Despite being both in the industry, they were in different parts of it so perhaps that was the reason why they have never met before.

“You’re kidding. Really?”

“Yeah. I’m not kidding. I have been on photoshoots with members of Nine Percent or your friends from Idol Producers as my partner. Let’s see… I think that was Justin, Nong Nong, Jeffrey, Cheng Cheng and Yanlei” Xukun’s ears perked up at the sound of the names of his good friends. He hadn’t seen much of them lately since they were busy with their own schedules so to hear that they have been doing good and making a good name of themselves outside the music industry made him glad.

“If I had to choose, I’m closest with Yanlei. I see him the most since he’s mostly a model these days” Ah Yanlei. He hasn’t seen him in a while. Heck, he didn’t exactly have much interaction with him during the show compared to the other names she had mentioned but he was also a good friend. He was that very goofy friend who didn’t know much but was still very determined to do whatever it was they were doing. Despite having absolutely no knowledge of it. It was very admiring.

It has been nearly 2 hours since they started talking and the rain has yet to show any signs of stopping or slowing down. At this point, their conversations started having silences in between. It wasn’t the awkward kind though. It was a comfortable silence. At this point, they have found themselves getting closer to one another. As if they had known each other for quite some time. But first conversations could only get them so far when they were just getting to know each other. At one point, you’re bound to run out of things to talk to and at this point, they were slowly getting there. It didn’t matter all that much to them though. What mattered was the longer they stay stranded inside the café, the more chances they had with getting caught and being seen with each other. Which for obvious reason, wasn’t something they wanted to deal with.

“At this pace, our face will be all over the news”

“Tell me about it” It was a Sunday and it was nearly 4pm. That was usually the time when huge groups of teenagers or college students would start swarming in and when they do, they know they would have to get out of there as soon as possible.

“I swear. The minute I get out of here and lay my hands on Wen Yan, he is dead meat” She had mumbled under her breath. At this point, he had a grudge against her brother for dragging her into a café for a blind date that never showed, getting her stuck inside a café for nearly six hours.

You’d think it was rude to stay in the café and only order a drink. Yes, that was rude but they didn’t do that. Throughout the course of six hours, they found themselves constantly getting up to buy yet another drink, a snack or something to fill their stomach. Especially her considering she had arrived at the café way before lunch time. The amount of money they manage to spend for being stuck inside the café because of the strong rain, well, needless to say someone was definitely reimbursing them both for all of that.

“Wait. Did you say Wen Yan? How do you know Wen Yan?”

“He’s my twin… why?” Was Xukun asking about her brother, she thought. Did they know each other? But then it wasn’t that surprising. Unlike her, her brothers were in the film and music industry so there were more chances of her brothers and Xukun knowing each other than she and Xukun did. She couldn’t quite put out what the look on Xukun’s face meant exactly. It was like he just realized something but then he didn’t quite get what it was that he realized just yet. She watched him pull his phone out and dial a number.

“Hey, (Bro). I’m here with Yuyan. Don’t tell me— So I was right. Uh no. She looks mad. Uh-huh okay. Yeah sure. Okay” He knew something was off. Especially when they made him come here, promising that he wouldn’t get blown off. They weren’t the type of guys who would set him up with someone who would blow him off especially when they knew it was his only rest day. Plus the fact, they used to talk about their sister a whole lot to him, telling him how they would like to set them up but it would be hard. They never mentioned a name so Xukun didn’t suspect it to be the girl at the next table. He had to give them props though. They certainly weren’t lying when they said they were going to hit it off.

“Is that Wen Yan?”

“It’s uh—Zhi Jie”

“Lu Zhi Jie?? Give that to me”

“Uhm.. He hang up. He said to tell you that they’ll see you at home” What exactly did Xukun know that she didn’t? She crossed her arms, leaning back as she faced him. He was keeping something from her, something her brothers told him and she wanted to know what. She was sure he knew what was going on and why she had to sit in a café for hours on end because of the rain, waiting for someone who never showed up. She was going to get answers.

“What did they tell you?

“Nothing”

“I think you’re lying” He looked at his phone then back at her, biting his inner cheek. He was torn between telling her or protecting his friends from a possible beating of a life time. She may not look like it but he had heard stories of how hard and how painful it was to receive her punches and he certainly wouldn’t want that for his friends even though it was technically their fault for not being up front with both him and their sister.

“Well?”

“Okay. Okay. So apparently, your brothers have been meaning to set us up but they were afraid you would refuse because I’m from the entertainment industry. So technically, I’m your date today…And I’m not late” Well maybe he was. A little bit. It wasn’t his fault though. The meeting went on longer than expected so he wasn’t able to leave at the time he had planned to. But still, given that she probably thought that she had been waiting for nearly two hours before he talked to her, he was only less than 15 minutes late. But the time he had rushed in, she was already seated on the table beside him. Although that time, he didn’t know that she would be his date for the day. They didn’t exactly give him a photo of who he was supposed to meet, only told that the girl would be the one to approach him and that they already sent a photo of him to her. Who would have known they were going to send her a photo of some other random guy and leave them waiting for each other.

He watched her heave a sigh and cross her arms once more, wondering what to do with that information. She found her very hard to read at this moment. She wanted to get mad but after thinking about it, her brothers were right when they told her that they would hit it off and she would have no problem with trying to break the silence if there were any. She hated her brothers for lying to her, making her enter their trap completely blind but she wasn’t complaining all that much. At least now she knows she wasn’t blown off. And that was somehow more important for her. She hated getting blown off by anyone. Besides, it would be a lie if she said she didn’t enjoy the past couple of hours talking to him to pass time and wait until the rain had subsided. There was something about him that was very welcoming and very easy to talk to. Plus they have a whole lot in common. It wouldn’t be right to blow him off now. As much as she hated her brothers and only planned on coming her to meet the guy and blow him off, she did have fun with him.

“Well…Alright. I mean we’re both here anyway. Plus talking to you was fun. And hey look. The rain slowed down” They averted their attention outside. Well, that was certainly good timing. The rain had finally calmed and slowed down after a couple of hours. Finally. They could finally leave the café and head somewhere where they didn’t have to worry about getting caught by anyone. And Xukun knew exactly where to go.

“Great. And since I wasn’t actually blown off, I can take you to go where I planned to take you” He’d be lying if he didn’t have anything planned. Most times when Sunday came, he would usually stay at home to rest so now that he was able to go out, there were a few things he wanted to do and he always thought it would be better to do things with other people. He barely got out of his place to do things he wanted to do so this was a golden opportunity for him.

“Really? Where are we going?” She got up from her seat when he did, cleaning up and keeping her stuff back into her bag. Like him, she usually spends her Sundays resting or sleeping or catching up on a few shows on Netflix so she was equally excited. She actually enjoyed going out whenever she could but she hated walking around alone. Every time she did, she usually would just end up at some café somewhere and stay there to watch Netflix until she decided it was time to go back home.

“There’s this movie I haven’t been able to watch yet. I know a good private place to watch a movie. One of my friends told me about this movie theatre that most celebrities frequent. So I figured we could go there”

“Oh cool. What movie?”

“End Game” He watched her laugh. It wasn’t like music to his ears but it was a nice sound. Something about it made him feel warm. He wasn’t sure why she laughed but at this point, he didn’t really care why. She was enjoying herself, it seems like so why spoil it right? He lead the way out, making sure she was right beside him. He had her wait by the door outside the café as he went to hail a cab. It was still raining so he didn’t want to risk walking to their destination. Neither of them had umbrellas with them. Once he managed to get a cab, he made his way back to her, taking his coat off to hover it over her head, leading her to the cab, opening the door for her and waited for her slide in before doing so himself, telling the cab driver their destination.

Well, he’s certainly a gentleman, I give you that, she thought. That to her was plus points and was very important. She hated dealing with rude people and she’s had her fair share of them in the industry. Mainly staff members or a few cocky runway models here and there. They always thought they were better than other models so it pissed her off at times. She’s lost count of how many times she almost got herself into an altercation with a few of them before a runway. Despite mainly modelling for clothing brands or products or magazines, she would get invitations to walk the runway sometimes and she’d be lying if she said they were all very welcoming.

It didn’t take them that long to arrive to their destination. It was just a couple of minutes away by car but then it was raining. Xukun didn’t want to risk either of them getting sick considering that they probably had a full schedule the day after. Well, he didn’t know about her but he certainly did. He was rather busy filming a few things here and there nearly everyday and if he wasn’t filming, he would usually find himself isolated in his studio, writing a new song or something. Either way, he was really busy and the only time he had to himself was on Sundays. He didn’t complain having to spend his only rest day with her though. She was fun to be with. Besides, this was a fresh pace. Most people he spent time with were usually from the entertainment industry and if it were a female, the was usually big enough as to not involve themselves into a dating rumor but this was different. For once, he could feel the thrill of getting caught.

“Have you seen this before?”

“Yeah. I have, actually”

“Oh. Do you want to watch something else?”

“Nah. It’s alright. I actually love it so I don’t mind re-watching it” He was relieved. He really wanted to watch the movie and if she had said she wanted to watch something else, they would have to choose something else. He could always say no but that wasn’t in his nature to do so. He would have silently agreed to watching something else. That was who he is. He couldn’t avoid. And she knew that. She didn’t know Xukun personally but she knew what kind of person he was based from the time they got to know each other. It sounds stupid, she knows. But she had a knack out of reading a person’s personality trait. Perhaps it came from studying Behavioral Psychology for such a long time.

Soon enough, they found themselves inside one of the theatres. This movie theatre was different than most. It had the concept of a movie house except it was in the set-up of an actual movie theatre. The movies they showed would change everyday and thankfully, when he looked up the schedule for the day, he found the movie he wanted to watch. They weren’t the only ones there though. As he has mentioned, it was a somewhat private theatre where most celebrities go to watch movies so there were a few celebrities, friends or couples, spread around the movie theatre but it was a silent rule among them to act like they didn’t see each other even though there’d be some eye contact, accidental or not.

They had settled themselves on a seat at the very back, away from most of the people who had settled themselves somewhere in the middle. They wanted a clear view of the entire screen without being disturbed or having their lift their necks up too high. Thankfully there wasn’t much people in the theatre so they didn’t have to worry about the back of people’s heads getting in the way or anything. Yuyan always hated that. She admit. She thought this day was going to be filled with dreadful disappointments and that there was no way to make the day better after the fiasco that went on inside the café but she was glad she was wrong. It’s been long since she went out to watch a movie in a theatre . She absolutely loved the feeling of sitting in a dark area, watching a film on the big screen but she hated going alone even more. It was comfortable. It had all the aspects of her ideal first date without the awkwardness or nervousness. Well, except having to wait for hours inside a café in the rain, wondering who her date actually was.

“What?” She hadn’t even noticed that she had been staring at him the moment they had settled themselves at the back of the theatre, waiting for the film to start. Well that’s embarrassing. She thought. She shook her head, telling him it was nothing before she turned her head to face the huge screen in the front. She could hear Xukun chuckle from beside her. He didn’t take her as the type who would space out and unconsciously stare at people. It was cute though, for him. He didn’t mind. Although he was curious as to what she was thinking that time.

“Oh it’s starting. I can’t wait. I waited so long for this”

“Uh-huh. Clearly”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing” The trailers had started to play right about now, taking it as a sign for her to put her phone on silent mode. Which was a smart thing because quarter way through the film, her phone started to vibrate on her lap. It was her brother. Took them long enough to call, she thought as she excused herself and made her way to the very back of the stairs in the center, just outside the bathroom. From this point, she was overlooking the entire theatre, Xukun included.

“Yeah?”

“Still want to get away? Our schedule’s done and we can pick you up if you want to get out of there right now. We’re done for the day so we can go order take out and watch movies at home” That did seem like a good idea. It was what they always did when they had time together. But this was different. She turned her head over to where Xukun was, immersed in the film. He had taken his eyes away for a couple of seconds to face her, a smile on his face and silently asking what was wrong. She shook her head, motioning him to focus on the movie as she turned her attention back to the phone call.

“Uhm.. I think I’m going to have take a rain check on that. This is actually more fun than I thought”

And he who learns to accept the sudden changes in life will know the thrill of seeing the consequences when it comes to accepting the unexpected