Star - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Guardian Angel

He turned to his side, and tried to close his eyes, but it seemed that he can'tsleep. He turned to his side again, but still, he couldn't sleep. He stood up from his bed and sighed... He was just with Kelsi a while ago, but he started missing her. It seems like agaes since he have heard her voice, and kissed her lips. He reached for his phone, then dialled her number.

One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.

He was about to hang up when he finally heard her voice. He was not able to speak as soon as she heard her say hello. He smiled to himself as he listens to her voice. "Yi Quan?" she finally said. He blushed as she speaks his name. He felt like a school boy having a crush on his girl classmate. "Yes, I am here, Kelsi..." he finally said.

Kelsi smiled as he speaks. "Why are you still up this late? Don't you have to film your new series tomorrow?"
"Well... I can't sleep..."
"And why can't you sleep, Mr. Zuo?"
"I miss you..."

Kelsi pause, and smiled to herself again. She could feel her cheeks blush as he said that. "Didn't we just had dinner a while ago? And now you're starting to miss me?" she teased him. "Well, don't you miss me, Dr. Ramirez?" he asked. "Yes, I miss you too..."
"I bet you can't sleep as well..."
"How did you know?"
"I can feel it."

Sometimes, it makes him wonder how he could read her mind. It's as if whatever he feels, she feels as well. "Can you sing me a lullaby so that I can sleep?" he cooed. Kelsi gave a faint laugh upon hearing his request. "You're a big boy, Yi Quan... why do I have to sing you a lullaby?" she said. "Because I want you too!" he said in his most childish voice. "Pretty please? with sugar on top? Please, please, please?" He heard Kelsi gave out a sigh. Then, he heard her laugh again. "OK, ok... I'll sing to you, just this once.." she said, giving in to his request.

"ai wo fei ni mo shu
wo zhi yuan shou hu you ni gei wo de xing fu
ai wo fei ni mo shu
ye xu hui xiao zhe ku dan na ren shi ni suo yi bu pa ku"

"That's beautiful..." Yi Quan said as soon as she ended the song. "Do you think I should have a duet with you in your next album?" she asked in between laugh. Yi Quan laughed as well. "That's a good one... I'll ask my manager if I could have a duet with my girlfriend on my next album... but I'm scared that once you become a star, all the guys will steal you from me."
"You don't have to worry about a thing, Quan... you know I only have my eyes on you..."

Quan then plopped into his bed. This is all he needed to have a goodnight sleep, and maybe this is all he need to start his day right tomorrow. "It's getting late, Quan... you better sleep now or you'll be late for tomorrow." Kelsi said. "Aye, aye captain... Wan an..."
"Wan an.."
"Kelsi..."
"Hmmm?"
"Wo... wo ai ni..."

Kelsi became silent upon hearing that. She smiled to herself, silently thanking God for giving her this chance with him. She was silently thanking whoever it is that gave Yi Quan to her. "Wo ai ni, Zou Yi Quan..." And that's all everything she needed to keep on going...

--

Yi Quan woke up the next day to find Ya Se, Xiao Yu and Xiu Yi in his pad. As usual, he found Xiu Yi by the kitchen, ready to raid his ref. "Good Morning, Quan!" Xiu Yi cheerfully said. "Hope you don't mind... Mei Ru let us in..." Quan just nodded his head, and left Xiu Yi to hog all of his food. Meanwhile, he found Ya Se and Xiao Yu by the living room. The two looked at each other before the latter stood up to join Xiu Yi at the kitchen. "What's up, bro?" Ya Se said as Quan joined him in the couch. "Nothing..."
"I can see you have some good night sleep, Quan..."
"You bet! By the way... why are you all here? Don't we have to film the series or-"
"They cancelled it. Technical problems."

Silence.

"Actually..." Ya Se began. "We came here because we want to talk to you about something..." Quan gave him a confused look. "Well... there's this news..."
"Ya Se..." Quan interrupted. "If it's about Ah Sa, I don't give a damn about her."
"No, Quan. This is not about Ah Sa... it's about the girl that you're constantly dating..."

Yi Quan turned his gaze at the opposite direction. So the news about him and Kelsi is finally out. Sometimes he wonder, when can he have the joy of privacy. "Yi Quan, tell me... that girl... she's not a rebound for Ah Sa... right?" Ya Se asked. Quan looked at him. "Why are you asking?"
"I just want to know... I just want to know that there won't be complications with you and this girl... I just want to know that you won't hurt her... I want to know that you're not using her to forget Ah Sa..."

He paused. After Ya Se posed that question, he became unsure of his answer. He admits before he met Kelsi, Ah Sa was his life. His world revolved around her, to the point that he forgot himself. He have put her into a pedestal, only to find out that she will just break his heart. When Kelsi came to his life, it's like he immediately forgot all about Ah Sa. Everything seemed to be like a whirlwind - everything happened in a snap. Yi Quan closed his eyes. He was quite confused. He knew he love Kelsi, but a part of him knew he have not moved on.

"She... I... I'm..."
"Quan, listen to me. If you are just using her to forget Ah Sa, then you're making a wrong move. In the end, you're the one who's going to hurt more, as much as you're going to hurt her. If she's just a rebound girl, then let her go..."
"Ya Se, it's not like that. I love Kelsi. I do..."

Ya Se smiled upon hearing that. "I'm glad to hear that..." he said. "I'm sorry to barge into your love life just like that. It's just that we don't want you to be like Xiu Yi... and we don't want you to make the same mistakes that I made before... you knew the story, right?" he said. Quan nodded his head. He smiled at his friend, but at the back of his mind, he had a lot of questions to answer for himself... about him, and his feelings for Kelsi.

--

It was late in the evening and Kelsi was walking back to her apartment. As she walked through the dark street, she could sense that someone was following her. She looked back to find a shadow about to approach her. Scared, she was walked as fast as she could, but she could sense that the one following her was keeping up with her pace. Then, she decided to run. While trying to run, she tried to reach for her mobile phone to call either Jian Hua or Yi Quan, but before she could, someone reached for her shoulder.

"Kelsi!" she heard him call her name. His voice was familiar. She looked up to see Yi Quan, wearing his usual disguise of shades and cap. She sighed with relief. She thought her life's in danger. "You... you scared me..." she said while panting. "Sorry to scare you... I was trying to follow you, but you were walking too fast..." he said. She looked up at him and smiled. Yi Quan, hugged her tight. "I'm really sorry... I should've picked you up at the hospital, but I saw some paparazzis there..." he explained.

Kelsi understood him. That afternoon during her shift, Ren Jie and Xin Lei told her that there were some reporters and paparazzis hounding the hospital ground. Good thing their security was strict, and they were not able to get in. It can't be helped, she thought. She was dating a superstar, and dating Yi Quan means that everything that she does will be of interest to these reporters. "How about a late dinner?" Yi Quan suggested. "If we go to a restaurant, wouldn't those reporters be able to follow you?" she asked. Yi Quan gave her a smile, and then winked at her. "Don't worry, I took care of that."

--

"Don't tell me you reserved the whole restaurant just for the two of us..." Kelsi asked Yi Quan as soon as they entered a five-star restaurant in a hotel. Yi Quan looked at her and smiled. "Exactly... you know superstars like me deserves some privacy, you know..." he said proudly. Kelsi couldn't help but laugh at him. "I just want spend just a few hours with you alone... I hope you wouldn't mind me doing this..." he said. Kelsi looked up at him and smiled, then gave him a kiss on his nose.

They had their dinner, and after they finished eating, Yi Quan asked Kelsi to dance. "Shall we?" he said. He stood beside her and held out his hand to her. Kelsi nodded her head, and took Yi Quan's hand. and stood up from her chair. Yi Quan put his arm around her waist, and then they began to slow dance. "This is weird..." Kelsi said. "We're dancing, but there's no music..." Yi Quan moved his face closer to her, then smiled. "There is... can you hear it?" he said huskily. Kelsi shook her head. Then, Yi Quan began to hum. "i can hear it now..." she said in a low voice. She closed her eyes as they dance, she listened to the music that's been playing in her ears.

Then, they stopped dancing. Yi Quan stared intro her black orbs, and slowly, he moved his face towards hers. Without hesitations, he kissed her... and it was a long kiss. At that moment, Kelsi could really here the music in her ears.

--

What they didn't anticpated was a bunch or reporters waiting for them outside the hotel. As soon as they got out, their eyes were blinded by the flash of cameras surrounding them. "What are we going to do?" Kelsi asked Yi Quan, who was hounded already by the reporters. Yi Quan looked at her, and squeezed her hand. "Trust me, OK?" he said. Kelsi just nodded her head. She could hear the reporter questioning him about her, if she is his girlfried, if she is the girl who replaced Ah Sa in his heart. He never answered the question. He just squeezed her hand and then pulled her. "Run..." he in almost a whisper, enough for her to hear. Then, they began to dash and get out amidst the crowd. They were almost near the parking lot, when Yi Quan felt Kelsi's hand let go. He stopped running and saw Kelsi down on the floor. "Yi Quan... help..." she said. He went back to get her. He took her hand, and then carried her. The reporters still following them. When he saw a paparazzi's camera too close to Kelsi's face, he took his camera and threw it on the ground. Yi Quan was able to sigh with relief as soon as they were inside the car.

"Are you OK?" he asked Kelsi. She just nodded her head. "I'm glad to hear that..." Kelsi looked up to him. "Yi Quan, you don't have to be that harsh to the reporter..." he said, pertainig to the one who's camera he threw on the ground. "He was about to hurt you... I'm sorry I have to do that..."

"You don't have to say sorry to me, Quan... you have to say sorry to that reporter..."
"But -"
"Yi Quan... you did something wrong to that guy. You should apologize."

Yi Quan just sighed. Kelsi's right. He did the man wrong, and he should apologize for his actions. He's sure that the news about that will come out the next day. "OK, OK... I'll apologize to him... I promise..." he said. Kelsi smiled at him. "You know what, you should be thankful to him... to them... because if they didn't follow us, you wouldn't carry me..." Kelsi said. Yi Quan, put his hand on her cheek, and gave her a kiss on the lips.

--

The next day, Ah Ken stormed into his pad and angrily put a tabloid on the coffee table. His bandmates, who were there for a visit, took a look at it. "'Zuo Yi Quan harrases reporter for girlfriend'" Xiu Yi read. Then he looked with disbelief at Yi Quan. "Wow... man I never thought you could do that!" he said. Yi Quan remained silent. "What's this all about, Quan? Care to explain it to me?" Ah Ken said. "The paparazzis... I was scared they're going to hurt her... so..."

"So you have to hurt the reporter for this girl, huh Yi Quan? Didn't you ever think your reputation as an artist?" Ah Ken said. Yi Quan stood up from his seat and faced him. "I don't care!" he shouted. "I don't care what people would say about me after that incident. She needed me... I have to protect her! Can't you see that, Ah Ken?"
"Tell me, what is it with this girl that you would risk everything that you'll worked for? What is she to you, Zuo Yi Quan?"

Yi Quan looked away from Ah Ken. "I love her... I love this girl..." he said in a low voice. "And I'll do everything to keep her by my side..." Ah Ken sighed with disappointment. Lately, Yi Quan's becoming too stubborn. It started when he dated Ah Sa. "Yi Quan, listen to me..." he said more calmly. "We don't want you to get hurt... and we don't want you to go through that phase again. It's better if you just break up with this girl. Who knows, maybe she's just using you..." Yi Quan looked at him, and shook his head. "Don't tell me to break up with her. You know I will never do that, Ah Ken. Don't ask me to do something you know I can never do. You just have to accpet that..." Then, Yi Quan retreated back to his room.

--

That night, Yi Quan went to Kelsi's apartment. He knew he's still on duty at the hospital, but he decided to stay and wait for her. He fell asleep waiting for her. By midnight, he was awaken by a slight nudge by his shoulder. "Yi Quan..." he heard someone say his name. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Kelsi standing by his car. "Quan.. what are you doing here?" she said in a worried tone. "I wanted to see you..." he said.

Kelsi got inside his car so that they could talk. "I heard the news... about that paparazzi... I'm sorry to cause you problems..." she said in a low voice. "No, Kelsi... I'm sorry that you have to get into this circus..." he said. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Sometimes I wish I am not doing this job... that I am not a superstar... then may be we can have a peaceful life..." Then he looked at her.

"Do you think, if I am not an artist, we would still meet?" he asked her. Kelsi looked up at him and smiled. "Yes... if God would allow us to meet... if it's destiny... then we would meet..."
"And we'll still fall in love with each other, right?"
"I would still fall in love with you, Quan... though you're not a star anymore"

Yi Quan smiled to himself, then looked at Kelsi again. "You trust me, don't you, Kelsi?" he asked. "Of course, I do trust you..." she answered. Then, he started the engine of his car, then looked at her again. "Let's get somewhere... let's runaway from here even for just a day... come with me Kelsi... I just want to be with you..."