OBLIVION
This is not Hua Ze Lei, she thought. In the background she could still hear sounds from the party, and although she could not hear the voice clearly, she was pretty sure it was not Lei.
"Hello?" she said hesitantly, her voice sounding weird to her ears. "Lei?"
The guy at the other end spoke just as a burst of applause was heard. "I'm sorry, he's at the rest room right now."
"Oh..." was all she could say.
"You can leave a message," the guy offered, "or you could try calling a little later."
"No, no...I'll just try later.." Remembering her manners, she said, "Thank you."
"Sure," he just said and Aisha ended the call.
When she laid the handset down, she suddenly felt like a heavy load was taken off her shoulders when she hung up. Confused about the swift tumult of emotions that assailed her when she spoke to that guy, Aisha closed her eyes, trying to search within herself.
What just happened?
The caller hung up abruptly and surprised, Mei Zuo looked at the mobile phone, as though the face of the lady who called would appear on the screen.
Hua Ze Lei arrived at the table and Mei Zuo looked up. He handed the cell phone back to this friend and said, "A call just came through...Ash." His frown deepened. "What sort of a name is that? Short for Ashleigh...Ashanti?"
Lei took the phone from Mei Zuo. "It's just a nickname," he said, wondering why she would call when just minutes before they spoke. Deciding to call her later when he's at a quieter place, he turned to find Mei Zuo looking at him strangely.
"What?" he asked, noting the suspicion in his friend's eyes.
"Wait a second..." Mei Zuo's eyes crinkled with a smile. "Was that...Was that the lady friend we keep hearing about? Nameless?"
Lei only smiled and turned away, brushing off his friend.
"Aha!" Mei Zuo laughed aloud. "Finally! She has a name! No longer nameless! So it's Ash, is it? Let me guess - Ashleigh...Ashanti...Natasha...?"
"Your imagination astounds me," Hua Ze Lei joked and stood up. "I'm getting a drink. Want one?"
Mei Zuo kept laughing, recognizing his friend's attempt at luring him away from the subject of his lady friend.
When hua Ze Lei left the table again, Mei Zuo leaned back on his seat, recalling the brief conversation he just had with Lei's special friend.
Now he's getting really intrigued about this girl that finally managed to capture Lei's attention. Something only two people were able to do: Jing with her quiet grace and elegance. And Shancai with her tough mettle and guts.
Silently he wondered what she's like, this...Ash. The noise from the party hindered him from hearing her perfectly, but he instantly noted she had a melodious voice.
All he knew about the girl Hua Ze Lei was seeing was that she was a rising star in the Japanese music scene. No doubt about it. She sounded good.
Still thinking of possible names that would fit the Ash nickname, Mei Zuo waited for Lei to return to the table with their drinks. He would bug his friend later. Anyhow, sooner or later Lei would introduce this Ash to them.
At the other end of the room, Hua Ze Lei came up to Xiao Qiao, who was speaking with a couple of girl friends. Xiao Qiao smiled at him and looked pointedly at the couple of glasses in his hand.
"Mei Zuo's," he said and Xiao Qiao nodded. After introducing him to her two companions, Lei drew her slightly to the side and spoke in a low voice.
"Thank you for keeping it a secret," he told her and she smiled at him.
"No need for that," she replied. "I'm still wondering why you are keeping this from them."
"I'm not keeping it from them," he clarified. "Call me selfish, but I do not want to share her just yet."
Xiao Qiao nodded. "You must know I still don't feel too good keeping a secret from Mei Zuo."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I really appreciate this, Xiao Qiao."
"Well," Xiao Qiao sighed, "at least I get to meet her first." Her smile grew wider. "I am really intrigued."
Hua Ze Lei smiled without saying a word and walked back to the table, glasses in hand.
"A cello!" Yuki exclaimed, nodding as Abby, one of the British songwriters, discussed the song she has penned. Beside her, seated on the plush cushioned sofa of the suite where the conference was taking place, sat Aisha, quietly listening to everything that is being said.
Abby nodded. "I know this is new to you, but it has been done more than a few times by other foreign artists, and it has worked."
"But the Japanese market has associated Aisha with upbeat music from the start. You think using the cello as an accompaniment would be a good idea?" The manager certainly looked doubtful.
Aisha spoke for the first time during the discussion. "I think it'll be something else."
Yuki turned to her and Abby's face lit up, seeing a potential ally.
"You think so?" Yuki inquired.
Aisha nodded, nervous in expressing her thoughts with such experienced musical minds but pushing through all the same. "This is new, all the more reason for the audience to be interested to listen to it. Let's experiment."
"We cannot experiment with your career, surely you know that," Yuki reminded her.
"We should not worry about that," Aisha said with a small smile. Weird, she thought to herself. Hua Ze Lei's optimism must be rubbing off on her.
Abby put her hands together. "See?" she told Yuki. "Even your talent is willing to give it a shot." She glanced at her watch. "My friend should be here soon. I asked her to fly in from Taipei to write the piece with me since she plays the cello professionally."
"Taipei!" Aisha's exclamation did not betray her excitement at the mention of the place. Yuki slid a small smile in her direction, one that made her blush instantly.
"Yes, dear. Taipei. Where Hua Ze Lei is right this minute." Yuki laughed as Aisha grew redder in the face.
To Aisha's relief, a knock came on the door and Abby got to her feet to answer it. "That must be her."
The first thing Aisha noticed about the new arrival was her height. She's quite tall, and very beautiful, with a face that, as the Greek tale would tell, could launch a thousand ships.
Yuki and Aisha stood up as Abby came forward to introduce her friend, who was also looking at Aisha with interest, making the latter feel slightly uncomfortable.
"This is Arita Yuki, and our singer, Mimura Aisha."
Instantly the newcomer extended her hand towards Aisha with the friendliest smile. "Hi. Call me Xiao Qiao."
Furtively Xiao Qiao observed Aisha as the four of them launched into discussion. She could see why Hua Ze Lei would be attracted to Aisha.
Mimura Aisha has charisma, certainly that's her biggest draw among the fans, one that would work fully to her advantage. If what Mei Zuo had told her before was true about Hua Ze Lei falling in love with Shancai and Teng Tang Jing, then Aisha would come across as some sort of a shock to her.
After all, Aisha seemed different from those two ladies. She looked more...naive...with that wide-eyed innocence. And the fact that she speaks Mandarin quite well, albeit haltingly, came as a surprise to Xiao Qiao.
Mei Zuo and the rest would surely adore Aisha once Hua Ze Lei introduces her to them.
And Xiao Qiao made sure Aisha knew about this when they later talked as both Abby and Yuki went to check on their luncheon. Aisha was pleasantly surprised when she told her she was a friend of Lei's.
"Everyone back home is interested about you, do you know that?"
Aisha looked up in mild surprise and confusion. "Me?"
Nodding, Xiao Qiao replied, "Yes. You. Everyone has been curious about the girl our dear Hua Ze Lei has been spending a lot of time with. Not a lot of people can do that to him, not even his brothers. They cannot hold his attention for very long. He is quite the loner."
"Yeah, I noticed," Aisha replied and both ladies laughed, an easy camaraderie forming between them.
"Well, we were all quite surprised when we heard he's seeing someone. And naturally we all wanted to meet her. Luckily, I was the one to meet you first."
Aisha shifted nervously in her seat as the prospect of meeting people Hua Ze Lei knew since birth sprang before her. She had always been used to Lei only...Lei and her alone.
"Ok, you just made me nervous," she said with a shaky laugh.
"Why?" Xiao Qiao asked with amusement. "They'll love you, I'm sure of that. Like I do."
Aisha glanced up and met the other girl's eye. When she smiled, it was of pure relief and warmth.
"If all his friends are like you, then I doubt I'd be having a hard time," she said.
The rest of the day went by smoothly, with the four of them coming to terms with the songs they all wanted. At the end of the day when Yuki and Aisha stood up to say goodbye, Xiao Qiao smiled at Aisha.
"I look forward to having you sing to my music," she said and gave Aisha a hug, much to the latter's surprise. "It was a pleasure meeting you."
"You, too," Aisha said and smiled back at the other woman.
"By the way, you'll be at my engagement party, right? Lei told you?"
Aisha nodded. "Yes. I'll be there."
Xiao Qiao nodded in satisfaction. "Good. See you then."
When Yuki and Aisha were already inside the car towards home, she said, "Xiao Qiao is very nice."
Yuki slid a sideways glance at her. "I heard she's a friend of Lei's. And the two of you seemed to hit it off well."
"She's very nice," she agreed.
Very nice, she thought to herself, smiling.