Chapter 41
NO WAY OUT
The minute Hua Ze Lei stepped off the plane and smelled the all-too familiar air of Tokyo, he knew he was home.
Funny. He was born in Taipei and spent most of his formative years in that city but now, it seemed there is no place else to call home but Tokyo.
What brought on that change of mind and heart, he could not entirely be sure.
Lugging a lone suitcase and a backpack he walked straight out of the airport and hailed a cab. After giving the driver the address of his pad, Hua Ze Lei sat back for the thirty minute or so ride.
Nobody knew he was coming back. He had not told anyone.
They reached the outer parts of the city and about to enter the main business district when Hua Ze Lei saw something that made him sit up straighter at the back of the cab.
Through the rearview mirror the Japanese cab driver noted his passenger's reaction and smiled when he realized what the young man spotted.
"It was put there almost a week ago," the cab driver explained, stopping at a red light. "Pretty, isn't she?"
Hua Ze Lei could not take his eyes off the large billboard that overlooks the highway.
"Yes. Beautiful," he whispered, gazing up at Aisha's smiling face that loomed over him. It was huge, and vividly captured Aisha's exuberance.
Below it are written the words: ASH: The Debut. Above her face ran a large stopwatch-like clock that is counting down the days and hours before her first album comes out.
The cab driver was talking as the red light turned to green and they moved along with the traffic.
"My daughter is a huge fan of that Ash. Posters of her are splashed all over the walls of her room, and Ash's album is not even out yet! Looks like my pockets will suffer when her CD does come out." He laughed nervously. He looked at Hua Ze Lei once more through the mirror. "Are you a fan?"
Hua Ze Lei took his time before answering. "Yes. Huge," he added, borrowing the term the driver used earlier.
This elicited another smile from the driver. "That is no wonder. A lot of young men I know adore Ash. Why, a lot of them even trooped to the airport a couple of days ago, just to catch a glimpse of her doing a commercial for Japan Airlines! They were - "
"Whoa! Hold up!" Hua Ze Lei leaned forward, his brows meeting. "Did you just say...Japan Airlines?"
The driver nodded. "Sure did. Ash is the new face of Japan Airlines, or so I hear."
Hua Ze Lei wondered why he was not informed of this. After all, he owns Artiste, and Aisha is Artiste's very first contract star.
The cab driver was oblivious to Hua Ze Lei's musing as he went on with his endless chatter.
"You could just imagine the ruckus that came up at the hangar at the airport, what with Teng Tang Jing and Aisha being there at the same time."
His frown deepened. "Teng Tang Jing?"
The cab driver regarded Hua Ze Lei with something akin to incredulity. "Goodness! Where have you been, man?" he demanded jokingly. "Don't you know Teng Tang Jing? She used to be the model for the Airlines, but now she is running it. She - "
Again Hua Ze Lei cut him off. "She is running what? The Airline?"
The driver nodded. "It was all hush-hush, but I heard she took over about a month ago, when her father had a stroke."
Hua Ze Lei's mind was now spinning. He had only been gone a while and when he comes back he is having a bad case of 'new information' overload.
Jing is back in the country, she had taken over the reins of the Airline...and Aisha is now working FOR the Airline.
He shook his head as though to clear it, not quite believing the turn of events.
Coincidence?
Again he shook his head, not really believing in coincidences.
He was thinking so hard that he barely noticed they have reached their stop. He only seemed to come around when he was in the silent confines of his own bachelor's pad. Dumping his stuff in the corner, he reached for his phone.
After a few rings, someone picked up.
"Sachiko," he said. "Yes, it's me. I just got back. Get me Yuki."
Aisha glanced around the lobby of her apartment building, scanning for any sign of Yuki. Saddled with her oversized tote bag containing her clothes for the rehearsal, she glanced at her watch.
Where is she? she thought, referring to Yuki, who was supposed to have been here five minutes ago to pick her up.
Aisha walked up to the guard.
"Excuse me," she said. "Would you happen to know if Yuki already came?"
The guard nodded. "She arrived a few minutes ago. There she is," he said, pointing at something.
Turning, Aisha spotted Yuki by the potted plants, talking to someone on her cell phone. Murmuring her thanks to the guard, she sauntered to where her manager was standing.
As she drew nearer she could hear Yuki was explaining to someone on the phone in a harried voice.
"...admit it, this is a good promotion for her as well! Everyone at Artiste agrees to it, so I did not see the need to inform you!" Yuki paused, obviously listening to the other person talk.
Aisha stopped a few feet away from Yuki, wondering who her manager is speaking with.
Yuki sighed on the phone. "Well, it was not my ultimate decision. We were just following orders and the superiors said to take the deal, so we did!"
Aisha could see Yuki was on the verge of losing her temper but, for some reason, she is trying to control it. That, in itself, is a weird thing, since Yuki was not known for controlling her temper. She could be the spitfire when it comes to it. Well…except perhaps in cases when she is speaking with higher people.
"Talk to him yourself! Look, Aisha and I are going on a video shoot and we are already late! We'll just talk later. Until then, talk to the President."
With that she hung up the phone and, with a heavy sigh, turned around. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Aisha standing there.
"Aisha!" she exclaimed. "How long have you been standing there?"
Aisha shook her head and watched as Yuki strode towards her. "Not long. Who were you talking to?"
Yuki opened her mouth to answer her but instantly shut it again. Instead she gave a smile at Aisha.
"Never mind that. It's no big deal." She took Aisha's bag. "Let's go?"
Aisha could only look after her manager with curiosity. Deciding it must be none of her business, she shrugged and raced to catch up with Yuki.
A good two hours later, Aisha glanced at her watch.
Seven in the evening.
She looked at the set, marveling at how easily the crew managed to have this portion of the subway all to themselves for the night.
She had just gone over her scenes with the director of the music video for about a hundred times. Well, at least that's how it seemed to her.
For the nth time, Yuki glanced at her own watch. For the past couple of hours Aisha had been noticing how uncomfortable her manager is, constantly shifting her gaze from the entrance to her wristwatch, then back to the entrance again.
Finally she could not help but ask, "Yuki, is something bothering you?"
Her manager looked at her, shaking her head. "Of course not! Why would you think that?"
"You have been quite restless. Are you waiting for someone?"
Yuki sighed. "Yes, I am. And don't you go on asking further. The less you know, the better. I am in hot water as it is."
"Hot water?" she echoed.
"Yes, hot, BOILING water. One of the big bosses seems to think I am overworking you, accepting that stint with the Airline."
Aisha laughed, finding it incredulous. "But that is silly. I am not complaining!"
Yuki rolled her eyes. "Tell him that when he gets here!" She stood up and excused herself before Aisha could get the chance to ask any more.
Aisha looked towards the entrance of the train car, watching some of the crew fussing over Xiao Qiao's shots.
She marveled at the other girl's grace amid the flurry of activity surrounding them. One look at Xiao Qiao and one would instantly think she is not cut out for this sort of thing. But from where Aisha is standing, Xiao Qiao is doing pretty well.
It came as a huge surprise to Aisha when Xiao Qiao agreed to appear on the video of their song with her cello.
Aisha watched as the director yelled a cut for them to grab a bite for dinner.
She smiled in gratitude as one of the utilities came forward and handed her a burger and a tall Coke. She remained in her seat even as Xiao Qiao made her way towards her, holding her own food.
"Could I sit here?" Xiao Qiao inquired.
Aisha moved a little to the side. "Sure," she said, wondering why Xiao Qiao would want to be anywhere near her.
They sat in silence for a moment, taking bites from their burgers. It was Xiao Qiao who spoke first, her eyes fixed on some of the crew lounging around with their own food.
"So this is what it is like." she asked. "It's very...strenuous."
Aisha shrugged. "You are holding up pretty nicely."
Xiao Qiao smiled uncomfortably. "I could never get used to all those cameras."
Aisha turned to look at Xiao Qiao, interest in her eyes. "You know what? Me, too!"
Xiao Qiao looked at Aisha dubiously. "I don't believe you. You are such a pro at this!" She looked at Aisha almost in awe. "I just had the most interesting conversation with a couple of cameramen and a director about how good you are!"
All her reservations towards the other girl momentarily forgotten, Aisha said, "It's only because I have to do it. But I still get uncomfortable around cameras and all these people...I don't think anyone ever really gets used to this sort of thing. Sometimes it gets...stifling."
"Then you have more ahead," Xiao Qiao said. "The director said this is just the tip of the iceberg for you. Once your album gets out, then things will get rougher."
Aisha grimaced. "Now that you mention it, everything is beginning to look grim. Should I get out of this?"
"Oh, no," Xiao Qiao quipped. "I won't let you leave my song hanging in the air!"
Soft laughter mingled between the two girls and comfortable silence settled.
Suddenly a slight commotion came from the stairway leading to the subway and the two ladies looked towards it.
"What is going on?" Xiao Qiao asked.
"I don't know," Aisha replied, craning her neck to catch a glimpse of what caused the furor. "I think somebody just arrived."
A few seconds later, she saw who it was that arrived. Yuki was talking to him as he strode in.
And their eyes met across the length of the subway station.
Hua Ze Lei.