Monday, July 5, 2010

Novel - Summer's Desire Chapter 6 & 7

Chapter 6
Zhen En cannot contain her excitement – the chance to perform with Luo Xi! But why isn’t Xia Mo more excited about this possibility? It’s Luo Xi! However, Xia Mo remains calm and tells Zhen En that what’s in the past is the past. Those memories no longer carry much meaning; what’s most important is the future now. Xia Mo clearly recognizes that out of all the candidates, she is the weakest one and most likely will not be chosen. However, she hopes to do her best anyway. Zhen En completely supports Xia Mo and if she were to decide that the entertainment world is not for her, then they can go back to working together!

Luo Xi broods silently in his room while his personal assistant of two years, Jie Ni, watches him. In all her time with him, she has never seen him act like this before. However, she also knows the reasoning behind his moodiness since she previously reviewed the candidate list and saw a very familiar name. Luo Xi then tells Jie Ni that he wishes to personally visit auditions the next morning.

At the auditions, it is clear to the other judges that Xia Mo is the weakest candidate; they ask Jam why he would have let her in. Stumbling a little, Jam informs them of Wei An and Shu Er’s rivalry; he could not allow Wei An’s cousin to participate without also accommodating Shu Er. However, Xia Mo does have her own strengths as she is not only extremely beautiful but also dedicated, possesses great stamina and is a fast learner – her weakness is that she suffers from stage fright, which becomes painfully apparent every time she sings.

Luo Xi’s appearance at the auditions surprises everyone and they are consistently blown away by his handsome perfection. Luo Xi tells Jam that he wishes to personally observe auditions because one of the candidates has a personal tie with him; she once helped him in the past and now he has a chance to pay her back for that favor. Jam is besides himself with excitement; of course, Luo Xi’s friend is his friend also!

Stopping to directly face each girl, Luo Xi bequeaths each one with his trademark smile and manners. Stopping in front of Xia Mo, he intently stares at her and lifts her face up to his own. As Luo Xi continues to hold tightly onto Xia Mo’s chin, the two stare intently back at each other, neither saying a word.

“I’m Luo Xi.”

Smiling, Luo Xi moves onto Pan Nan where he excitedly calls her name and enfolds her in a big hug. People are abuzz with excitement; Pan Nan must be the one Luo Xi was talking about!

When Xia Mo is later walking back home after auditions, she is stopped by the sound of a car horn. As Luo Xi steps out and says hi, Xia Mo repeats the favor in turn and the two smile back at one another on the street.

At a restaurant later, Luo Xi again repeats his name to Xia Mo and she tells him that she remembers him. Luo Xi comments that he was really worried that she would forget him, since she had told him five years ago that she would forget. He once hated her. Hated her for not resisting at all before deciding to send him out of the country, like an old toy that she was no longer interested in playing with. However, now he’s just extremely thankful to her for treating him that way; without her, he wouldn’t even be basking in his current success and glory.

Xia Mo is clearly aware that this man sitting before her is no longer the Luo Xi from five years ago; he has grown up to become someone else. Luo Xi laughingly asks Xia Mo although there is no humor in his eyes; why does she think he hated her? Did she really not know how he felt about her five years ago? And by the by, where is that wealthy and pompous Ou Chen now? When Xia Mo calmly tells him that she has also not seen Ou Chen for five years, Luo Xi laughs that he would so quickly fall out of love with her after going through so much trouble to send him out of the country; it must be karma.

When Xia Mo moves to leave, Luo Xi quickly grasps her hand and apologizes, surprising Xia Mo. The Luo Xi from five years ago would never have apologized to anyone. Changing the subject, Luo Xi sincerely asks Xia Mo if she wants his help with her auditions.

“You are my friend,” Xia Mo says simply. “Do not help me because I am not your friend. But I hope to have the chance to help you because YOU are my friend.”


**********************************************************************************


And the drama continues! Ou Chen has finally surfaced again and we realize why he hasn’t contacted Xia Mo these past five years. However, his timing may be a little too late as Xia Mo continues to grow closer and closer to Luo Xi.

I do have to say though; I came into this novel liking Luo Xi because of the drama series’ preview but now am torn between him and Ou Chen… In their each separate way, both love Xia Mo enough to give up everything for her. Although candidly speaking, both exhibit macho, possessive tendencies toward Xia Mo (“I am man, hear me roar”) that sometimes grates on my secretive, hardcore feminist side…

And yes, I totally analyze every nuance for scenes between Xia Mo and Luo Xi, and Xia Mo and Ou Chen.

**********************************************************************************
Chapter 7
The entertainment world is thrown when it comes out that Wei An has supposedly been having an affair with Jam, a married man with children. Rumors begin circulating about Wei An, as people being to wonder if she used this affair as a way to increase her own success. Since Shu Er is the direct rival of Wei An, the paparazzi accost her at the HBS Studio lobby to get her perspective on the scandal and Xia Mo tries her best to protect Shu Er. Amidst the pushing and shoving, Xia Mo ends up falling to the ground and receives a bleeding wound to her head for her efforts and scattering the contents of Shu Er’s makeup box everywhere.

Although Shu Er tries to help Xia Mo, she tells her to hurry on to her recording session as she will be late. As Xia Mo starts gathering the items, she fails to notice that the lobby area has suddenly become deafeningly quiet and that even Shu Er’s footsteps have stilled. Reaching over to pick up a tube of lipstick, Xia Mo notices a slim hand entering her sight of vision as it picks up the lipstick first. Slowly raising her head up, Xia Mo sees Luo Xi bending over her, his concentration completely focused on her wound.

Shu Er rushes over to thank Luo Xi for his help while everyone is frozen watching him and Xia Mo. Curtly acknowledging Shu Er but his eyes never leaving Xia Mo, Luo Xi then continues his way and the reporters rush to follow him instead.

After Shu Er’s recording session is over, she is confronted by Wei An, who angrily slaps her across the face. Wei An accuses Shu Er of trying to ruin her reputation; Wei An promises her that she will not underestimate her again! Xia Mo notices the questionable stiffness in Shu Er’s body but she quickly composes herself again and denies Wei An’s claims in a piteous voice. Wei An promises Shu Er that it won’t be so easy to ruin her.

Jie Ni later approaches Xia Mo to accompany her to the hospital. At Xia Mo’s quizzical expression, Jie Ni explains that Luo Xi had asked her to go with Xia Mo; he would have come himself but had scheduling commitments that he could not push back. Xia Mo thanks Jie Ni but explains that her head wound is nowhere near serious enough to warrant a visit to the hospital. As Xia Mo walks away, Jie Ni wonders if Xia Mo will remember who she is.

It is the day of the final auditions and each girl will have her chance to perform individually. However, the three strongest girls – including Pan Nan – have been assigned to perform on their own stage while Xia Mo is paired with the next weakest candidate. One of the judges wonders if the group is split too strongly apart although Jam is confident that the strongest possibility will stand out regardless of whether she is in the “strong” or “weak” group. It’s up to each girl now.