“I’m not his cup of tea and he is not my cup of tea.” She had said that in an interview more than two decades ago.

Indeed he is the cup of local Hong Kong milk tea. Thick with a strong aroma. The immediate pick me up. 

She is the English afternoon tea. Foreign, elegant and refined. She is not just a cup of tea. She comes with the full works - the ambience, the teapot set, the scones, the cream and jam. 

Of course, the local milk tea goes well with a polo bun. 

It wasn’t that she was not his cup of tea, She was a cup of tea who was out of his reach. You need time to relish an English afternoon tea. It is not just a fill-me-up but a connection. There is an exchange of words and views to keep the conversation going. The tea and refreshment are companions to this exchange.

While his fame was rising rapidly through his industrious efforts in music, movie and tv industries, he hardly had any time to eat a proper meal. So how could he still find time to enjoy an afternoon tea? He used to wonder how she had the luxury to go for afternoon teas with her mates then. Now he realises, not without admiration, that she had recognised the need for focus and fellowship earlier than him. 

Nevertheless, he knows that “no-time” is the weakest excuse a person can make. If something (or someone) matters enough, you will prioritise and make time for it. It was the connection that he feared. To open your heart and share your thoughts and feelings with someone and subjected yourself to her judgement. It would be easier if you know that the other person has similar thoughts but she seemed to come from another planet. Her ideas and behaviour seemed so open and westernised then. 

She wasn’t like any girl that he met before. She wasn’t those girls who made a fuss over the kissing and hugging scenes. When they kissed, it didn’t feel like that they were acting. He could feel her melting into him and he would fold her into him. She would be the first to offer a smile when they broke off when filming was cut. It was her way of letting her co-stars know that she didn’t perceive them as taking advantage of her. He was appreciative of and comfortable with her.  

When she mentioned that she had fallen for him when filming with him, he wanted so much to believe in it. Then again, he hesitated. He couldn’t be sure that she didn’t feel the same way with her other co-stars. It took him years later to understand that she always has a clear mind about who she loves when the filming is over. She is just immersing herself in each role that she played and enjoying each filming opportunity and process. She lives for the moment, and he admires her for it. 

Indeed their thoughts are not so much different from each other. Her views seemed so alternative then because she had already seen the world from another perceptive. But her values are never very much different from his - work hard, being family-oriented and socially-responsible.      

As time passed, the status of Hong Kong milk tea has elevated. It is now sold in speciality cafes overseas and its price is multiple folds more in those places. Nonetheless, its popularity is still limited very much in Asia and the chinatowns of the non-oriental cities.  Even though the Hong Kong milk tea has raised its status and the English afternoon tea has lost some of its following, the refinement of English afternoon tea is still something for the self-made Hong Kong milk tea to contest with. 

He had received a couple of invites from Hollywood but she is the one who accepted and  participated in a Marvel movie. He continues to raise in his status and promote the local movie industry in Hong Kong while she is the free spirit gaining the different experiences. He couldn’t help but admires her. But is she reachable? 

He laughed at his thoughts. This comparison had played in his mind more than once. They are so different yet so similar. Perhaps, instead of being each other’s cup of tea, they are chicken soup nourishing each other’s soul.

(10.08.2020)