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Chapter 8

As Xia Mo watches every girl prepare for the final audition, she flashes back to when Pan Nan approached her and offered to be paired only with her. Although Xia Mo appreciated the gesture, she turned down Pan Nan because she hoped to get by on her own efforts. What will happen if they both do get chosen? Will Pan Nan continue to help her forever? Pan Nan then wished Xia Mo luck as she would do her best in the finals; Xia Mo also expressed the same sentiments.

However, come time for everyone’s performances, it is clear that Xia Mo and Ke Xin are quickly becoming overshadowed by the other three girls. Thinking fast, Xia Mo runs up her own stage and calls out to everyone, perfectly setting the stage for Ke Xin’s performance – come listen to the new and wonderful Ke Xin! Yes, she is new so she is kind of nervous but once you hear her sing, you will be pleasantly surprised!

Jam and the other judges are impressed by Xia Mo; although Pan Nan remains the strongest contender, Xia Mo was able to draw audience members to their stage with her sincerity and warm personality.

Ke Xin satisfactorily finishes her song but is so plagued by nerves that she only manages a stammered introduction for Xia Mo in return. Xia Mo takes to the stage, quietly but emotionally singing the song, “Diamond.” Jam is pleasantly taken aback; this song was once very famous in the bars. Composed and sung by a bar hostess longing for her love to return, record companies had clamored for the rights to sign her but she had resisted, claiming that this song was only sung for her love and so fans had to go directly to the bar in order to hear it. However, when the bar hostess eventually pa.s.sed away, her coworkers chose to not sing it anymore in honor of her and the song has not been sung since. So how did Yin Xia Mo learn this song??

Meanwhile, Ou Chen sits in his car caught in the traffic resulting from the nearby singing compet.i.tion, winegla.s.s in hand having just finished some work en route to his business meeting. Butler Shen is with him, thinking that Young Master used to not drink so much but since his car accident five years ago, has developed a taste for it. As Ou Chen stares out the window, the green silk scarf tied around his wrist – slightly faded but still retaining its former beauty – flutters softly in the wind.

As Xia Mo is still singing, she is suddenly seized by a panic attack. Forget the people! Forget the people! Xia Mo has never told anyone… how afraid she is of people… especially those in the pitch black darkness…

It was her seventh birthday and the first time she ever stepped on a stage. Mom had drunk herself into oblivion and although the boss had relieved her of performing, she had been insistent anyway. Getting on stage, she began to sing “Diamond,” drunkenly dancing along with the lyrics. Even as small as Xia Mo had been, she understood that Mom was singing this song for that Uncle who had left – since then, Mom has never been happy again.

Tears start falling down her mom’s face as she continues her song, trapped in the pain of her love having left her. Staring at Xia Mo and yet not really seeing her, she reached out – and collapses, plummeting off the stage. As Xia Mo rushes to the edge of the stage, her mom lies still and unmoving like a broken doll, blood slowly dripping from her mouth. Xia Mo stares out into the abyss, seeing only her mom… just one more step and she’ll be able to join her mom too…

Ou Chen catches a glimpse of that girl singing on stage – and it is as if all the sun’s rays are directly emitting from her and her alone. In the sunlight, her hair s.h.i.+mmers and her complexion is like a mermaid’s in the midst of a bubbling fantasy. She sings as if she can see no one – but all he can see is her.

Butler Shen tries to get Young Master’s attention – if they continue to dawdle in this traffic, they will surely be late to the meeting – until he too, catches sight of the girl and his eyes widen in shock.

Although the judges are impressed by Xia Mo’s singing ability, it is not enough to redeem her – a singer needs to be able to perform at her best in public and it is still obvious that Xia Mo struggles with that aspect. One of the judges, Cai Ni, shakes her head sadly but crosses out Xia Mo’s name with a red X.

The audience members begin to leave the area and Xia Mo realizes that despite her best efforts, she was still unable to control her fear. As she prepares to finish her song and step down from the stage, the remaining people are thrown into a frenzy and Xia Mo freezes as she catches sight of the reason causing the growing excitement.

Ou Chen strains his head to find what – who? – SHE is looking at and spots a smiling and handsome young man walking towards her. Is she staring at this man? For some reason, Ou Chen feels a growing sense of jealousy at seeing this man; he tries to chase the feeling away but it continues to sting painfully at him. Butler Shen also sees this man and quickly checks Young Master’s reaction; luckily, he does not seem to recall anything. However, what a day it is to see both of them here…

To the amazement of everyone, Luo Xi jumps onto the stage to join Xia Mo. He announces to everyone that Xia Mo is his good friend and that one day, she will become a great singer; please remember her name and support her! Taking Xia Mo’s hand in his own, Luo Xi begins to sing and it is as if every song is sung specifically for Xia Mo. Feeling the strength in his grasped hand, Xia Mo remembers that other time when she leaned on Luo Xi – his left arm holding onto her and his right holding onto Xiao Cheng…

The judges are astounded and the other girls are seized with jealousy, although Pan Nan remains expressionless. Since meeting Luo Xi in England two years ago and hearing of his story with Xia Mo, she has always admired this girl…

Butler Shen tries one more time to sway Ou Chen’s attention away from Xia Mo and Luo Xi. To Butler Shen’s horror, Ou Chen tonelessly tells him to cancel his meetings – and to find out all he can about that girl singing on the stage.

Chapter 9

Luo Xi’s public performance with Xia Mo has rocked the media and now every news station and broadcaster is clamoring to book Xia Mo even though she is not even officially signed yet. While Pan Nan is a sure pick, Sun Company is still undecided about the remaining spot; given Xia Mo’s instant shot to popularity overnight, it would make the most financial sense to promote her now. But can a singer who cannot sing in public be considered a singer?

Luo Xi and Xia Mo are at their usual French restaurant as Luo Xi studies her closely; he was sure that she was going to throw a temper at him about interfering with her auditions but yet here she sits, silently eating her dinner. Doesn’t he warrant any kind of reaction from her? Does she really hate him that much? True, he wasn’t always the nicest person before but at least to her, to Xiao Cheng and to their parents, he can honestly say that he never once did anything to truly hurt them.

As Xia Mo quietly stares back at Luo Xi’s serious expression, the truth of his words ring in her head. And Xia Mo sincerely apologizes to Luo Xi. Just three little words, and Luo Xi feels as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders, the childish glee in his smile glaringly obvious.

The image of that girl holding hands with that man continues to burn in Ou Chen’s mind – and the nightmares have returned. They are all the same; every time he reaches out to her but all he can ever see is her departing silhouette. Calling out to her and begging her but she never once turns around again, only leaving him alone in the darkness.

The next day, Xi Meng (a.s.sistant and father figure) reports back to Ou Chen – that girl’s name is Yin Xia Mo. Yin Xia Mo… how is it that this name is so unfamiliar but yet still triggers something deep within his heart?

Xiao Cheng has learned of Xia Mo’s intent to become a singer and he vehemently opposes such a decision; if she is worried about making money, then he will start taking on jobs himself. In fact, he has already decided to give up on pursuing art and will be working in construction from now on. When Xiao Cheng remains insistent and continues to disregard Xia Mo’s advice, she angrily slaps him. If he does not continue onto art school, then he can forget about calling her “older sister”.

When Luo Xi sees that Xia Mo is bound and determined now to become a singer, he takes her to an empty stage and begins to play “Diamond” on the piano. Luo Xi asks Xia Mo to sing for him, since it’s just him right now.

Understanding Luo Xi’s intent, Xia Mo hesitatingly begins to sing, continuously chanting in her mind to not be afraid, to not be afraid…

Hearing the nervousness in Xia Mo’s voice, Luo Xi gently commands Xia Mo, “Look at me. I am your only audience member. You sing the song only for yourself, not for anyone else. If you need to look at something, then look only at me.”

Xia Mo looks at Luo Xi’s peaceful smile and his sparkling eyes – and is taken back to that night five years ago as they laughingly shared drinks together. Filled with a sense of peace, Xia Mo continues to sing, and the nervousness slowly ebbs from her voice. In the darkness of the auditorium, a single person silently walks in – it is Pan Nan who claps enthusiastically for Xia Mo at the end. Xia Mo keeps singing the song over and over, and slowly the auditorium begins to fill with people. First it is Ke Xin, then Jam and the other prior judges and then strangers until the auditorium is completely filled. And Xia Mo continues to sing.

Pao Mo Bar (also could be known as Bubble Bar).

Ou Chen silently broods alone as he downs one drink after another. The bartender tries to control his drinks but is stopped short by a single glare. Ou Chen cannot stop thinking about Yin Xia Mo… who is she? Did he forget something from five years ago? Ou Chen has tried asking Butler Shen about it, who said that there wasn’t anything special about those past events anyway, so what’s the point in remembering? Knowing that Butler Shen was not being completely honest, Ou Chen had even tried hiring a private investigator to uncover his own past but to no avail. And so he had slowly given up on ever knowing. Until he saw her – and now his unknown past continues to plague him again.

Smiling beautifully, a girl runs up on stage and announces that she will be singing a song called “Remember to Forget.” As she begins to sing, the few people in the bar are instantly entranced by her melodic voice and emotional performance. Ou Chen cannot believe his eyes – the girl who has been plaguing him… Yin Xia Mo… she is standing on that stage!

Finis.h.i.+ng her song, the crowd calls for an encore but Xia Mo gently declines, thanking them for their support. As she walks off the stage, Ou Chen sees her head towards a man waiting for her in the corner. Xia Mo smiles up at him as Ou Chen continues to tensely watch them both. The man lean towards Xia Mo and whisper something – her smile becomes brighter – and the two walk out of the bar.

It is essentially the middle of the night now and there are barely any people or cars on the road as Luo Xi and Xia Mo walk back together. Smiling up at Luo Xi, Xia Mo thanks him for being with her these past few days and for helping her get over her stage fright. Having gone to endless bars to perform tonight, she is confident now that she can sing without fear in public.

Luo Xi replies that he should be thanking her – thanking her for liking him. Xia Mo freezes and Luo Xi continues on; because of liking him, she forcefully sent him away five years ago. Because of liking him, she’s never forgotten him all this time. Because of liking him – she can trust him and sing for him. Xia Mo doesn’t respond although Luo Xi can see the battle of emotions playing on her face. Teasing her, he comments that it’s not much fun to be too logical about things.

Turning away from Luo Xi but then realizing that he may take that as silent a.s.sent, Xia Mo turns her head back around to face him – and is captured lightly by Luo Xi’s kiss.

Admit that you like me, Luo Xi urges. Is it really so hard to admit it? You and I are the same, that’s why we like each other, that’s why we’re always drawn to each other. We were meant to be together, Xia Mo…

Xia Mo knows that Luo Xi is mesmerizing her right now; entrancing her with his perfect looks and his pretty words… but she can’t seem to maintain her former calmness and nonchalance anymore…

Luo Xi again captures Xia Mo in a deep kiss but whereas the last kiss had been soft and gentle, this one is filled with pa.s.sion and intensity. Xia Mo can only close her eyes as Luo Xi continues to kiss her deeper and deeper, gathering her tightly against his body. Luo Xi dimly realizes that he probably shouldn’t be kissing Xia Mo like this right now; he had only wanted to break down her wall of coolness and calm control. However, now that he is finally kissing her – truly kissing her – he can no longer control himself. He’s going crazy with wanting her – she’s like poison to him but by G.o.d, he will keep kissing her even if it means his death!

The two are rudely brought back to reality when they hear the roar of a sports car coming down the road. As she pulls Luo Xi off to the side, she catches a glimpse of the driver’s hands ruthlessly gripping the steering wheel although she cannot see a face. Breathing heavily, Xia Mo starts when she realizes that she is leaning against Luo Xi for support; he lightly chuckles.

You like me. Let’s be together.

The sports car pulls to the side of the road as Ou Chen sits in the driver’s seat, his hands still tensely wrapped around the wheel.

Chapter 10

After that night, Luo Xi and Xia Mo’s relations.h.i.+p has became a little more complicated. Regardless of where Luo Xi is – the recording studio, in the car on a business trip or right before going to bed – he would always call Xia Mo. Asking her out every so often, casually kissing her when the mood strikes him, while she would always tightly close her eyes during those kisses. Xia Mo never promises him anything but neither does she deny anything.

Sun Record is asking Xia Mo to attend the tryouts for Lei Ou Cosmetics model of the year. Although Pan Nan has been officially signed on with Sun, the second representative has not yet been chosen. However, a contract with Lei Ou Cosmetics is a guaranteed ticket to instant stardom and it is one of the most coveted positions in the entertainment world; the company has always chosen the most beautiful and successful actress, model or singer to represent their products. It is rumored that the most likely successor will be Yao Shu Er, now that Wei An’s reputation has suffered from her scandal with Jam. However, Yao Shu Er is in for a rude awakening when she realizes that Shen Qiang has also been invited by Lei Ou Cosmetics. Although Shen Qiang entered the entertainment world a few years after Yao Shu Er, she quickly became one of the most sought after actresses after just a year while Yao Shu Er has continued to bring in mediocre success.

Shen Qiang is also the rumored girlfriend of Luo Xi.

Once at Lei Ou Cosmetics, Yao Shu Er attempts to place herself higher than Xia Mo by introducing her as her personal a.s.sistant while Zhen En has also accompanied them. There is a brief moment of tension when Yao Shu Er casually drops the fact that Luo Xi publicly performed with Xia Mo, and Shen Qiang instantly turns and measures her. However, before the situation gets even more awkward, they are interrupted by the arrival of Lei Ou’s heir. Lei Ou Cosmetics is simply another branch under the Ou Family Corporation.

Young Master has returned from France.

When Zhen En catches sight of him, she cannot stop a loud gasp. She quickly checks Xia Mo for her reaction, whose face has gone completely white, the blood completely drained from her lips. Although Xia Mo knew of Ou Chen’s connection to Lei Ou Cosmetics, never in a million years would she have thought that he would return to specific branch. Or that she would also be standing here.