Hi there! First things, first! I need to give a big thanks to my new beta reader: Elaine Afanador!

She is awesome! Thank you so much, Elaine.

Second, thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews! You guys rock!

Last, but not least, here is the much-awaited chapter!

Siren

Adrien was preparing a snack when Lucie got home from her afternoon classes.

"Welcome home!" he said cheerfully and resumed making his ham and cheese sandwich, singing under his breath.

"Someone is in a good mood today!" she said, smiling and placing her computer bag on the ground near the umbrella bin. "Something happened?"

Adrien shrugged, but his grin widened. "Not really."

"Adrien…" she insisted, amused.

"I'm serious, Lucie! Nothing happened," he answered, chuckling. "I'm just happy," he added, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Okay!" Lucie replied, her face expression letting him know she wasn't convinced, but she wasn't going to pry further.

She was right, though. Something had happened.

Buggzhinette had told him yesterday that she wasn't going to wear his dress on the Hollywood Mulan's premiere after all. She'd apologized many, many times for it, claiming that the gala organizers had created a special themed dress for her and that since she was part of the entertainment, there was nothing she could do.

And for Adrien, that had been quite the relief. Of course, he wasn't happy to know she was still lying to him about her identity, but at least she wasn't Zhi Ruo. She kept claiming she was, but now it was obvious she wasn't. She had invented this excuse of being a part of the entertainment, before the movie started, because she wasn't who she claimed she was. He hadn't realized that some part of him was actually considering that she might be his ex until now.

Making sure that she wasn't Zhi, tonight, would be a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

That was why he was so happy: he was pretty much positive that Zhi Ruo wasn't his Lady.

"By the way, Adrien, there's no need for you to keep searching my online boyfriend," said Lucie, taking off her shoes to make herself more comfortable.

"Really? Why?" he asked surprised and blushing slightly. He had completely neglected his job as a detective in this past month because of everything that had happened.

"Because we ended things. We both moved on," she answered with a shrug and a smile. "Online dating doesn't really work, does it!?" she added, looking sheepishly at him.

He snorted. "How would I know? I never dated online!" He couldn't help feeling relieved that she wasn't dating online anymore. And that she hadn't gotten hurt.

"Oh! You haven't, have you?" she chuckled, looking incredibly amused.

Adrien frowned confused, taking another bite of his sandwich. She was being ironic, but he couldn't quite figure out what about. "No… I haven't..?"

She giggled. "I'm hungry. Make me a sandwich, will you?" She asked as she picked up her shoes and computer bag to set them in her room.

He shrugged. "Coming right up!"

The matter was dropped, until later that night.

Mulan's premiere was going to be broadcasted live on E! TV and he wasn't going to miss it. What if Zhi appeared in the premiere with his dress? He had to make sure she didn't. Only then he could finally breathe.

The premiere started at six in the afternoon in LA. That meant that the broadcast in London would start at 2 AM. He had plenty of time to spare.

Adrien kept looking at his phone. All that lightness he'd felt that morning and early afternoon, by learning that she wasn't Zhi Ruo Léi, was gone. His Lady hadn't sent anything since she woke up and went off to work. He knew she probably couldn't check her phone, but it was tearing him up inside. He was so used to her presence by now, that he was having a hard time controlling himself not to send any more texts. More than ten texts unanswered would start to look like he had some kind of a mental problem.

He was nervous and a wreck.

And it was hard to hide it from Lucie. She'd become quite perceptive.

Now that his father had gone to bed, claiming that it was late and they should all go (it was around midnight, and they all worked/had classes tomorrow morning), Lucie decided to finally strike him with questions.

"Geez, Adrien, you don't look good… Why so nervous?" she asked with a teasing smile on her face, sitting beside him on the couch, as he zapped through the TV channels.

He didn't look at her, but his gaze flickered in the direction of his phone. "I'm not nervous, Lucie," he answered, pretending to be cool.

"Well, I really don't understand how you are such a good actor," giggled Lucie, shaking her head. He was obviously trying not to look upset and failing miserably.

He stopped zapping and looked at her, with an eyebrow raised. "Is that supposed to mean something?" he asked, looking annoyed.

Lucie laughed. "Someone is upset!" He sighed and turned his attention back to the TV, "Trouble in paradise?" she asked, trying not to sound amused, but she was. He didn't respond and she sighed. "Why don't you go to sleep, Adrien? Everything will look better in the morning, you'll see."

"I wanna watch something on TV." He blatantly replied.

"You can record it and watch it tomorrow…" offered Lucie.

He shook his head. "I want to see it live."

Lucie remained quiet for a minute. He wanted to watch the Mulan's premiere. He hadn't told anyone he was going to, but she had researched about it and knew it was happening today. Was he hoping to see 'his Lady' on TV? He'd mentioned that the girl worked on the movie industry, but he didn't even know what she looked like… Plus, Zhi Ruo would be the face of the event.

She exhaled, resigned.

Even though she thought her eight hours of sleep were very important… Adrien was more. And he shouldn't be alone for this.

"Can I watch it with you?" she asked with a shy smile on her lips.

"Sure," he gave her a dull shrug.

"I've heard this premiere was going to be great! I think it requires popcorn. Want some?" she asked happily, while she got off the couch and walked to the kitchen to make salty popcorn, since for some weird reason she didn't like them sweet.

Adrien's heart jumped on his chest, but he said nothing.

Of course, Lucie knew what he was waiting to watch… He shouldn't even be surprised. He wondered if he should tell her everything and ask for her advice. After all, she had figured him out even before he had. He had way more feelings than he should for this mystery girl. And now he felt like he was doomed. Right down the rabbit hole.

Telling Lucie that was like confirming it to the world and that would make it even more real. He didn't want that.

The closer the premiere became, the more nervous he felt.

On one side, he was terrified that Zhi Ruo Léi would appear with his gown on the red carpet. Even though LB had already told him that she wasn't going to use it, he couldn't help but wonder... What if...?

I love you. He heard on his head once again.

The world couldn't be so cruel, could it?

I mean! What are the odds?

On the other side, Buggzhinette had kept him talking to himself all day… He missed her, and that wasn't doing anything for his nerves. He knew it was silly, but somehow he hoped he would recognize her on TV if he saw her.

"Sure," he let out, looking at his phone again, as he heard the microwave working. The hours didn't seem to pass by. It was making him go crazy! He fell backwards on the couch and rubbed his hands on his face, letting out a frustrated groan.

Lucie came in the living room with a light chuckle. "I know they are not as good as Charlie's, but it's the best I can do!" she placed the bowl with popcorn on the coffee table and looked at him. He was still covering his face between his hands. "Considering how happy you looked this morning, something must have happened," she said placing a popcorn in her mouth, "Wanna talk about it?"

He did.

He wanted to talk about it.

But what would he even say?

The girl I might be in love with is a liar that keeps posing as Zhi Ruo Léi?

Better: I might be falling in love with Zhi Ruo Léi again because I didn't believe it was her when she told me and now I have no way to know but wait for someone other than Zhi to wear the dress I made in this Mulan's premiere?

Fuck my life.

What would Lucie even say?

Anyway, he was glad she was with him. It was easier to face the past with a friend by his side.

Adrien let out a long breath and slowly shook his head. "No, Lucie. I really don't feel like talking right now…"

Lucie nodded and didn't push it further. "It's two hours before it starts, and you don't feel like talking... Let's see a movie!" she said, grabbing the remote and starting to look for movies on Netflix. "Uh! This one looks cool! What do you think?" she asked, looking at him.

His smile didn't quite reach his eyes as he said: "Looks good. Let's watch that one."

Lucie hit play and the movie started.

Adrien was having trouble paying attention to the movie, but he forced himself to watch it. The time would pass faster if he did.

In the middle of the movie, his phone buzzed, making him jump at it. Lucie laughed at his reaction, but he didn't care.

[01h03 Today]

Buggzhinette: My god. I'm having lunch NOW! At 5 PM! That's how they treat me! I'm going to sing for them and THAT's how they treat me!

He exhaled, relieved that she finally answered and grinned at the phone.

If she was going to sing, she was a performer... And that meant she wouldn't be working behind the cameras. He might actually see her tonight. He felt a wave of excitement run through his body. She had left a clue! How many people sing at a premiere!? In the Miraculous premiere only Laura Marano had sung, and that had only happened one time.

Lucie said nothing as she pretended to watch the movie, but kept peeking at his phone following the conversation.

[01h04 Today]

Buggzhinette: I'm sorry if I woke you up! I'm just so pissed and was finally left alone, so the first thing I did was text you. My manager is so furious! I've never seen her like this. It would be fun to watch if I wasn't so hungry.

[01h04 Today]

Buggzhinette: And I'm sorry I didn't answer any of your texts until now, Kitten. I've had a really busy day.

By that point, neither he nor Lucie were watching the movie. He hadn't noticed it yet, of course. If he had, he'd have shooed her.

With his heart lighter, he typed on his phone with his grin slowly growing.

[01h06 Today]

Chat_Noir999: Don't you dare die of starvation, Bug. Eat up!

[01h06 Today]

Chat_Noir999: Don't worry, you didn't wake me. I'm with Tikki watching a movie. We're waiting for the premiere to start on TV. Can't wait to see you! Tho, I really don't know what you look like. Give me another clue, purretty please?

"You're with Tikki watching a movie?" Lucie let out, unable to control herself, she sounded very curious.

His head shot up to look at her. "Why are you reading my private messages?" he asked, his face looking absolutely shocked.

Lucie shrugged unashamed. "Why not?"

"Because… It's private?" he chuckled, not mad at all, but still a little surprised that she'd do that.

His phone buzzed again.

Lucie giggled. "You can see it as payback for reading my private messages. Now, let me see what she answered."

She had a point. And there was no harm in letting her see them dance for a while. He turned his phone to their faces.

[01h08 Today]

Buggzhinette: You're watching the premiere?

He smiled. She was nervous too.

[01h09 Today]

Chat_Noir999: Of course! I wouldn't miss it! Lose the chance to catch a glimpse of you in worldwide television? Are you kidding, Princess?

[01h10 Today]

Buggzhinette: But isn't it starting at 2 AM there? You are aware that it will be at least 3 hours long, if not more, right?

[01h10 Today]

Chat_Noir999: I really don't care about that. I don't mind losing my sleep for you, M'Lady.

[01h11 Today]

Chat_Noir999: Where's my clue to find you, Boogaboo? I want to see you! Are you the only person singing tonight?

Adrien was well aware of Lucie looking over his shoulder, as eager as he was to see what Buggzhinette would answer. And she sure was taking her time, this time.

He knew she didn't want him to find out who she was yet. Otherwise, she wouldn't have hidden her face with that Catphone of hers, or she would have found a way of wearing the gown he had made for her.

[01h15 Today]

Buggzhinette: I won't be the only person on the stage singing.

[01h15 Today]

Buggzhinette: I have to go. Break time is over. I have less than an hour to get ready. Crap.

[01h16 Today]

Chat_Noir999: Break a leg! :*

He sighed, defeated. She clearly didn't want him to know who she was.

"Well, at least you know she'll sing…" Lucie said, rubbing his shoulder. He responded with a single nod.

At least she had said something...

"Why did you call me Tikki?" Lucie insisted, hoping that if she could change the subject slightly he'd forget that last part. The girl didn't sound happy with him trying to find out who she was.

"We have this joke between us…" He started, a little endearing smile appeared on his lips, "I'm Chat Noir and she is Ladybug. We started naming our friends with Miraculous names. You are Tikki and Simon is Plagg, obviously."

Lucie giggled at this concept, "I guess you couldn't have found better names for us!" He nodded, as his grin grew wider, "What about her? Who's she friends with?"

"She only talks about one friend, her best friend, and she calls her Chloe Bourgeois, but from what she's mentioned about the girl, she doesn't sound like a Chloe Bourgeois to me. She is way too nice."

"Well, Simon is way nicer than Plagg…"

Adrien snorted and Lucie did the same, starting a burst of laughter between the two of them.

"Shhh" she said between giggles. "We're going to wake your father!"

They struggled to control their laughter.

You know when you can't make any exuberant noises and a silly thing or word makes you start laughing with your friend? After that, there's not much you can do. The more you try to hold it in, the harder it is to do it.

When the laughter finally softened, they were both struggling to stand.

"Ahh-" sighed Lucie, rubbing her eyes with the hands, to clear off the tears. She looked at the screen of the TV. The movie was probably ending, but they had missed most of it.

They stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, simply enjoying each other's presence and trying to recover from all that laughter…

Adrien broke the silence. "I think she is a bit lonely, you know?"

Lucie turned her head towards him and he did the same. They looked at each other and after a moment he sighed. "Chloe is the only friend she ever talks about," he paused to think and looked at his phone that was still in his hand. "Chloe lives here in London and Ladybug lives in Paris. She talks about her parents too, sometimes, but they don't live in Paris either. Other than that… There's no one else," Adrien looked back at Lucie. "She is a workaholic, and that isn't good for her social life either, I'm sure…" he chuckled and smiled fondly at his phone. "It must be lonely."

Lucie gently placed her hand on his forearm and he smiled at her. She gulped, worried. This boy was waaaaay over heels for this girl. It was painful to watch. He didn't seem to notice her distress, because he kept going.

"She doesn't talk much about it, but I know that she has been hurt," he smiled with regret as if it was his fault. "Whenever I try to figure her out, she pushes me away."

"Adrien," called Lucie, looking very serious. "It's not your fault she is lonely or that she has been hurt, so don't act like it is." He swallowed and she continued. "You like this girl and I understand that you want to help her, but you are not to blame if she doesn't accept your help. Are we clear?"

He smiled sheepishly and slowly nodded. "When did you become so wise?"

"I'm a timeless god, remember?" she squealed as if she was playing the actual character and giggling afterwards.

"Oh right! How could I forget!?" he chuckled lightly and she kept giggling.

"Now, let's turn on E! TV, it's almost time!" Lucie said happily, controlling the television with the remote, and turning to E! TV. Feeling Adrien's discomfort, she asked: "Are you nervous because you might see that online Lady of yours"- she pointed his phone with her chin- "or the actual Ladybug actress?"

Adrien gaped at her, astonished. He had to stop underestimating her perception of things.

"Both?" he said with a bashful smile.

Lucie giggled and nodded, happy that he had answered truthfully. Adrien felt a tiny bit guilty. He really was nervous about that, but what was driving him crazy was not knowing if 'both' meant they were the same person.

Time to find out, because the broadcast was about to start.

There was a moving logotype they used for premieres filling the screen. When the logo disappeared with a small animation, there were several helicopter footages showing the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the local where the premiere was to happen. The imposing building stood beautiful and filled with posters from the movie. Zhi Ruo Léi's face staring fiercely in several billboards, in scale a hundred times bigger than her actual face. Adrien gulped, silently, his insides feeling like they were fighting each other. She was stunning. Even with her face covered with fake blood and dirt, that girl was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

There was a tiny crowd on the red carpet, entering the theatre and a huge crowd surrounding the fences, eager to get a glimpse of the cast or any other famous actors that were invited to attend the premiere. Inside the perimeter, but still outside the theatre, there was still a fence, where a crowd of journalists and photographers stood.

The shot changed and a journalist with brown hair and red framed glasses appeared facing the camera holding on to a mic with E!'s logotype. She stood still until someone Adrien couldn't see gave her the thumbs up. She was on air. She smiled and started narrating with her reporter's intonation, "Hello everyone, this is E! TV. I'm Samantha Marks and I'm here on Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, to guide you through the Disney's Mulan premiere that is about to start!" Behind her was a giant picture of Zhi Ruo Léi falling in Ki Hong Lee's — the actor who played General Chang — arms. Adrien felt a lump in his throat. Lucie held his hand and smiled encouragingly. "Mulan has been one of the most awaited movies from Disney's studio ever since Zhi Ruo Léi was announced as the actress to portrait our beloved main character: Mulan. As you could see from the helicopter footage in the beginning of this broadcast, the streets surrounding the Grauman's Chinese Theatre are full of fans, people who arrived here hours ago just to find a good spot and catch a glimpse of the cast!" The crowd outside started to scream and roar, and the reporter looked at the camera with a mix of surprise and excitement, that for someone like Lucie and Adrien was an obvious fake and planned reaction. She turned around to the theatre's doors and looked back at the camera. "It's starting!" she said, and that time, the excitement was real. The camera turned to record the entrance, as the members of the cast started to arrive. First entered the secondary characters of the movie, whose name appeared on the red info stripe that was suddenly on the screen. The camera changed to the outside helicopter view again, and they could see that the cast had arrived all at the same time, but some had managed to pass without too much reaction from the public outside. "As you can see, the cast has arrived, and the fans are bursting with excitement." The reporter's voice could be heard along with the footage of the outside of the theatre.

Slowly the actors started to come inside, and, soon, there were only four people still signing out autographs outside. Two men and two women, judging by the outfits.

The next half hour was spent like that, with the camera switching from the reporter interviewing secondary actors that passed by her, to the people signing out autographs outside.

"This is boring," Lucie said; her head was pending on her arm and she was obviously struggling not to fall asleep. Adrien understood her point of view, but for him… it wasn't boring. It was painful. Torture like. He could never sleep feeling like this.

After a while, the camera filmed the reporter and the entrance of the theatre again, and the remaining members of the cast started to enter with the director.

Camera flashes started to shoot as Niki Caro, the director of the movie, walked through the doors. She waved politely and started to answer some questions to the first reporter that engaged contact with her.

Eddie Murphy, that once again was casted as Mushu, entered together with Ki Hong Lee, and the cameras were going crazy once again.

"That guy is a piece of cake," mumbled Lucie, unfiltered, struggling not to fall asleep.

Ki Hong Lee waved at the cameras. Adrien knew Lucie was right, the man was very good looking, but he couldn't find it in him to say it out loud. Adrien didn't know him, but from the moment the cameras started to follow Ki Hong Lee, he knew he didn't like the guy. He had no reason, whatsoever… He just didn't like him.

Adrien remembered how exhausting, yet rewarding, was to attend the premiere of a movie he starred. He remembered with a shiver the last premiere he had attended. It had been a nightmare. Right after Zhi and him broke up. Right after Zhi's name almost being dragged to the mud. His hands formed fists and he firmly shut his eyes.

"Eddie Murphy!" called the reporter. Adrien opened his eyes in time to see Eddie Murphy come closer to the reporter. "How are you doing tonight?" she politely asked.

He smiled. "Very good, thank you very much! This is all very exciting!"

"Indeed! Tell us, Eddie, it's your second time playing Mushu! How do you feel about that?"

"I feel amazing, obviously! Mushu was one of my favourite characters to voice act, back in the day, and to get to do that again… I was very happy when Niki Caro called me!"

There was a wave of continuous camera flashes and E!'s camera turned to film Zhi Ruo entering the theatre.

To Adrien's great relief, Zhi was wearing a dazzling traditional Chinese hanfu, with a long red skirt full of golden details and a soft pink top. It looked beautiful on her, but it wasn't his design. Her hair was tied in a ballerina hair-do and frosted with golden hairpins. She smiled gently and waved at the cameras.

E!'s camera turned back to Eddie Murphy and the reporter asked a last question, in an attempt no to be rude with the arrival of Zhi Ruo. "Eddie, one last question: without giving anything away, what's your favorite line of dialogue?"

The actor chuckled a little and said, "This line wasn't a part of this movie's script, but instead of the line I was supposed to say I went like 'My little baby, off to destroy people!' and there was this explosion of laughter on the studio. Niki Caro asked me to do it again, and now it's in the movie. This new Mushu has a quote from the original Mushu and it made me love the movie even more."

"Thank you so much, Eddie!" she said to her mic.

"Thank you!" he said, and then he walked away to be interviewed by another reporter.

E!'s camera pointed at Zhi Ruo, that was being bombarded with questions from different reporters, when Niki Caro passed in front of it. E!'s TV reporter didn't miss her chance, "Niki Caro!" she called and the director turned to her. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm great, thank you!" she answered, grinning widely at the camera.

"What a beautiful dress!" the reporter pointed out.

Niki looked down as if she was surprised, and then she looked back up. "Thank you so much."

"It's not a masterpiece," commented Adrien, shrugging. It wasn't. She was the damn director. She should be shining at least as much as Zhi was.

Lucie, who'd fallen asleep, woke up and quietly asked: "Did I miss something?"

"Not much, no." He answered while the reporter from E!'s TV kept going: "Niki, what sort of person is going to love this movie?"

"Everyone, hopefully!" Niki laughed. "This is a movie for families, for boys, for girls, for everyone around the world really. And even more with the performance of our beautiful Zhi Léi!" she pointed at the girl and the camera followed. Zhi was now posing with Ki Hong Lee and Eddie Murphy for the cameras besides them. "And our amazing Eddie Murphy and Ki Hong Lee of course!" she added.

Adrien let out a defeated sigh: Zhi Ruo Léi. Always the favorite. Always the person that everyone loved. He thought bitterly.

"Wow," said Lucie, suddenly awake. "Zhi looks stunning!"

Adrien said nothing and Lucie bit her lip feeling guilty for not being able to control her big mouth.

"How is this production bringing something new to the story?" asked the reporter, and the camera turned to see Niki's answer.

"Well, we all wanted to stay true to the original. Because it's a classic, you know? You don't want to ruin that… But you also want to give people something different. I can't say much at this point, because it will spoil the movie for everyone. But in the end, it's Mulan," she said shrugging.

"Thank you so much, Niki! We are hanging on the edge of our seats for this movie!"

"Thank you." Niki Caro walked away to be interviewed by another person.

"And here comes our star!" The reporter squealed to the camera, sounding more excited than ever.

Adrien rolled his eyes, trying his best to look and feel indifferent.

"Zhi Ruo Léi!" called the reporter, when Zhi stopped talking to another reporter. The girl looked at her and then at the camera and smiled lovingly. That felt like a punch in Adrien's gut.

"Hi!" Zhi greeted, with a kind smile on her face.

"You look so beautiful!" the reporter said impressed. "That dress is just gorgeous!"

"Yeah... It is." Zhi answered, and Adrien immediately could tell she didn't really like it.

So could the reporter, "You don't sound very convincing…" the reporter chuckled.

Zhi bit her bottom lip, having the decency of blushing. "Well…" she looked both ways and then came closer to the camera and pretended to whisper. "You can't tell anyone, but they made me wear this dress! Like they made Eddie and Ki wear those outfits too," she pointed at them between giggles. "Everyone's outfits have been censored!" The camera quickly refocused on her when the reporter asked, clearly surprised:

"You don't like it?"

"No! Yes, I like it!" she quickly said, looking slightly embarrassed. "It's not that!" Zhi paused with a bashful smile. "I mean, I understand why I have to wear it… It totally matches the theme and it's soooo damn breathtaking!" Another pause. "But…"

"But?"

Zhi sighed, still wearing her shy smile, "First of all… It's pink." She giggled and Adrien unconsciously smiled. Zhi Ruo used to say she loved pink until she had to wear it on a daily basis for four years while playing Marinette Dupain-Cheng. "And I can't tell you why right now, but I'm gonna be wearing a lot of pink for the next months," she chuckled and Adrien's grin became wider with an evil plan slowly forming in his head. "Second, I had this beautiful, beautiful gown at home, that I bought for this event and I was really looking forward to wearing it." Adrien's smile dropped. She sighed looking wishful. She looked at the camera, as if she had forgotten it was there, smiled warmly, and struggled. "I really wanted to wear it, that's all!" she repeated with another shy giggle.

He tried to ease himself.

So what? She bought a dress for this premiere and didn't get to wear it! So did many, many people, she said it herself! My Lady included.

"It makes sense! Maybe on the next premiere you attend you can wear it?" the reporter asked and Zhi nodded and shrugged. "Tell us, Zhi Ruo, what was the biggest challenge about taking on this role?"

"I'm gonna get some water," Adrien said, still wondering about his evil master plan in his head.

Lucie nodded, not taking her eyes of the TV.

Zhi smiled. "Everything was challenging… and also very rewarding and fun to take part in. But if I have to choose a moment where I struggled, and most of the people of the cast will tell you the same for sure, it would be without a doubt the avalanche scene. It was so cold, everyone was freezing, and snow was falling everywhere… It was crazy," Zhi frowned as if she was imagining it.

"One more question!" asked the reporter.

"Sure!"

"You've seen the movie, right?" asked the reporter.

"Yeah, a few days ago, yes. We all did," answered Zhi Ruo with an excited smile.

"Your fans in Europe want to know: what did you think about it?"

Zhi's smile fell and she glimpsed at the camera, visibly swallowing.

Lucie narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, extremely interested in that unusual reaction.

"Ah-..." Zhi smiled, obviously trying to recompose herself from whatever it was that had caught her off guard. "I thought it was amazing." Adrien sat back on the couch, placing his glass of water on the table. Zhi seemed to forget her own discomfort and started answering with excitement. "I loved every bit of it! It's funny, it's romantic, it's full of adventure… But most of all, it's about the journey of a young woman to find herself! Mulan is beautiful, strong, brave…" Her voice flickered when she said 'brave', but she cleared her throat and continued "She's the hero of her own story! And girls all over the world will want to be like her. I want to be like her!"

"Thank you so much, Zhi Ruo," the reporter politely concluded.

"Thank you!" she said, waving and smiling at the camera.

Zhi went away, and the camera focused on the reporter. "We are very sorry we couldn't talk to the handsome Ki Hong Lee today, but in about fifteen minutes the show is going to start, so I have to head inside." She pointed at the building beside her. "And while I find my seat, we're going on a short break."

The E! publicity logo appeared and the commercial break started.

"Well, if I knew there would be a break, I would have waited one more minute to go fetch some water," complained Adrien.

Lucie nodded, grabbing her own phone to check the time. "Damn, your friend was right… It's three thirty! This is definitely not ending at five."

"I just want to watch the performances before the movie starts and then we can head to bed," he said, checking his phone for incoming texts. There were none. He was not surprised, but couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

"I think I'll get more popcorn. I need sugar if I want to stay awake," explained Lucie getting up and walking to the kitchen.

"Okay," said Adrien, but realizing what Lucie had just said he leaned on the back of the couch and said: "Wait a minute; you don't like popcorn with sugar! You will make salty ones!"

Lucie giggled and nodded unashamed. Once she was back by his side of the couch, with a popcorn refill and a blanket covering both of their legs, the broadcast finally resumed.

There was no reporter talking to the camera right now, only the footage of the stage and a giant screen that showed Zhi Ruo Léi as Mulan, in a dark red background with some pink flowers floating around her. Her face looked fierce and her blue eyes pierced the screen with breathtaking strength.

Niki Caro stepped on the stage with a mic in her hand and the audience clapped politely.

"Hello everyone! Aw! Look at that!" she said pointing to the official image of Mulan at the giant screen. "It gives me chills!" she turned to the audience. "Are you excited?" They cheered. "Yes!? You should be! Welcome to this premiere of Disney's Mulan!" The crowd cheered again, and she chuckled with excitement. "I'm Niki Caro, and I had the tremendous pleasure of directing this film! We started creating this movie in mid-2016 and finished giving it the final touches a couple of weeks ago. Now, I must tell you, I'm so, so proud of what we managed to accomplish here. And I owe it all to the team that made this possible:" She started to enumerate names, and the audience cheered, another name… more cheering. She kept going through the names and explaining what they had done for the movie for almost ten minutes.

Adrien turned to Lucie to roll his eyes and express his boredom but she'd fell asleep again. So, he sighed and turned on a game on his phone.

Once every name had been called and referred to, Niki said: "Now, before we start the film, we have a little surprise for you." The soundtrack of Mulan started being played, and a giant Chinese Dragon appeared on the stage. The crowd cheered with excitement and Niki got to the side of the stage to let the dragon dance. Soon it was joined by several dancers that were dressed as Chinese warriors.

The dance was dramatic and thrilling, captivating the audience in the right way. Lucie woke up when the dance was almost over and watched it closely, trying not to succumb to sleep again. The crowd was going wild.

For the ending, the dragon disappeared, revealing five beautiful ladies, dressed with blue and pink hanfus and all with a hairdo similar to Zhi's but without the hairpins. The stage fog filled the platform and warriors walked away from the stage as the music slowed down until it came to a stop. The lights dropped, and five single spotlights appeared above the hanfu dressed girls.

The audience eventually became silent, eager to see what the ladies were going to do.

Adrien leaned forward. One of them could be her. They all had dark hair and none of them had his dress on… Why had he thought he would recognise her anyway? He didn't have a clue if she was one of them. His romantic heart had deceived him again. He couldn't recognize her if he had never seen her before! Not even having strong feelings for her.

When there was no noise whatsoever, the five girls breathed in at the same time and started to sing. There was no instrumental, only the voices, creating a beautiful song, full of harmonies and soft vibratos. It was breathtaking because they were singing together as one. There were no words, no vocalist… nothing to distract you from the music. Somewhere along the way, the instrumental was softly added, amplifying the delicate and fragile song onto a powerful one.

Somehow, to the sound of that song, he couldn't find it in him to feel sad, or frustrated. He was filled with warmth as they sang their way into his heart. He desperately tried to memorize all of their faces, but soon they disappeared. The five spotlights converged into one above Zhi Ruo's head, making the chorus girls vanish, but still heard. He felt a tiny bit of resentment that soon evaporated too, leaving him with longing. For his Princess that had just vanished from the screen, and for the girl he thought he had known.

He swallowed dry, feeling his arms and back filled with goosebumps.

And then, when he thought that nothing they'd do could make the music sound better... She started to sing.

He felt his chin drop, as the camera filmed her serene face. The song wasn't new to him, because he'd seen Mulan more times than he could count when he was a kid, but everything about the arrangements, the instrumental, the background voices… Her voice. Everything sounded completely different now. It was unlike anything he'd ever heard.

He knew Zhi had a good singing voice. They used to joke around about it when they got together for karaoke sessions, but he didn't remember her voice being like that. She sounded like a siren or a mermaid, chanting for the sailors that dared to cross her dangerous waters. Her voice rose with love and suddenly he felt as if she was singing… to him.

When the song ended, there was a split second where no one dared to breathe, still trying to wake up from the enchantment Zhi Ruo had just put them all in, that was then followed by a roar of applause. Zhi smiled affectionately at the audience, her eyes flickered at the camera, while she quickly rubbed the back of her hand on her face, clearing the dropping tears away. That was when he noticed, he'd been crying too.

So, now you know! Buggzhinette didn't wear the dress to the premiere... And I honestly think that Adrien fell in love yet again with Zhi Ruo Léi. Muahahah!

Tell me your thoughts! Did you like the chapter? Is it TERRIBLE? Amazingly good? XD just let me know, purretty purrease!

Love you all! Thanks for reading! xoxo