15 December 2021

A trailer, Beijing

Once we finished filming the last scene, our stylists fetched us and proffered sleeping masks. I wondered if this was a prank unique to the studio as I secured the elastic band around my head. Shida, the guy in charge of my make-up and wardrobe, then stepped next to me, and I held onto his sleeve as we walked.

"I hope there's nothing nasty waiting for me in the trailer," I kept an ear on his pulse, sensing a spike in his heartbeat.

"Quite the opposite," he removed my fingers from the arm of his hoody and I heard a metallic creak as the door opened. As I walked up the steps, the artist flicked the light switch on and I felt the faint warming up of the room. I took that as an indication to remove the makeshift blindfold. There were no monstrous costumes behind or on either side of me so I looked ahead.

The mirror Shida used to dress my face was covered with pieces of paper of all sizes and colours. My inquisitive fingers reached for one: a message of thanks for brightening their grey world. Tears filled my eyes as I took another, appreciating my debut with Seventeen. One thanked me for changing the face of Mandopop; the next wished me well for the future.

A note told me how I showed potential in all the movies I had starred in when I was younger; another about how they were already excited for Exclusive Fairy Tale; more asked me to consider further series and movies. The stylist handed me a manila envelope and I placed each love letter within after reading them. Sentimentality painted every memory golden.

After each character of ink had passed my adoring gaze, he sealed it and handed it to me. The rest of the cast was probably already done and when we met again, we did a final dance cover of Rock with You. We were driven to a restaurant and revelries lasted well into the night. I texted my family that I would fly back a few days from now and they understood my need to rest.

As the red fingers of dawn waved good morning, I woke up hastily, a plan being hatched a few seconds ago. I dressed up and replenished my bag of snacks at the vending machine in the lobby, asking the receptionist to call me a cab. She notified me when it arrived and the shoes that Vernon had gifted me scuffed the floor.

I notified the driver of the destination and paid a generous deposit. The white car wended easily through the empty motorways and we arrived at the shrine faster than expected. "I might be here for an hour so call me," I handed him a card with my phone number. My bag was lighter on my shoulders, as I ate candy bars and chips for breakfast.

As I walked the path, I bowed to any monk that I came across. I didn't stop to ask for directions as my feet led me down a path I had walked over a millennium ago. The insects buzzed lazily in the shrubs I passed while birds flew above me. I eventually stopped at a building that was rarely visited because no one praised Caishen much anymore.

"It's a pity but what can I do?" The voice came from the golden statue and not in my brain. Save for myself, I was the only one in the vicinity, as He had no doubt planned. I took a handful of joss sticks and let the fragrance infiltrate the shrine. "The solution I have in mind for you and your beloved's problems will be solved in this ritual."

I closed my eyes and let the vision play out. Once it was done, I viewed the real world again and bowed before the statue. "It will sure be an interesting proposal, once I get around to it," I had no words about the rare show of affection I had witnessed. "Honestly, I am intrigued about what the sensation would feel like but I am hesitant because of concerns."

"I, too, would ask a whole lot of questions if I were in your shoes," the deity understood. "This is not an easy request to make of a lady but the key to fulfilling the requirements of the Vermilion Honeymoon is to become of one mind and then one body. I should also inform you that that day will be the last you hear My voice but I will always heed yours."

I ruminated on what I had seen and the implications thereof as I made a final bow, one that had me on my knees. The car was waiting for me and I noted that I had returned a few minutes earlier than expected. I finished my snacks during the trip back to the hotel, chewing mechanically and failing to savour the taste; I had much to deliberate.