Stellar

6 - Supernova

"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars"
– Augustine Mandino

~~~

*flashback*

A year and a half ago...

"You're finally coming home!" Jia Qi and Xiao Wen squealed over on video group chat.

"I know, you girls! I don't think I've been this excited to get on a plane." Yue put her phone closer and made a face, making her two best friends laugh.

After months of shooting her new Netflix drama in Singapore, Shen Yue was finally coming home.

This has been the longest she has been away from Beijing. Normally, she'd fly back and forth for commitments and events, but this drama needed to launch as soon as possible and all the actors were required to stay in Singapore to finish it.

Her rom-com drama entitled "Love on Contract" was about a Chinese girl forced by her parents on a business deal to marry a billionaire bad boy from Singapore. Yue was the lead star, alongside American-Chinese-Malaysian Actor, Ross Butler.

This was Shen Yue's second international project. Her first was a small role in the Crazy Rich Asian's sequel a few years ago, which paved way for more opportunities for Yue.

The bustling, rushed crowd of Changi Airport passed her by as Yue waited patiently for her flight. She was all covered up hoping no one would notice her presence.

It was because she wanted her coming home today to be a surprise, especially to one person. She even didn't bring along Yangjin-jie and had her bags fly separately to remain discreet.

"Don't worry, Yue. No one told Dylan you're on your way home! He still thinks that you're staying there for at least a month!" Xiao Wen assured her.

"I pity him though, he's been missing you so bad!" JiaQi said. "XiZe told me he was throwing tantrums and didn't want to attend Tao-jie and Wang Ke's anniversary party because you weren't coming."

"Aww, poor big baby. He's so lost without you, Yue Yue!" Xiao Wen teased.

The thought of a pouting Dylan made Yue smile and unconsciously touch the ring around her finger. It was Dylan's pinky promise ring that he gave her when they heard she got the part for "Love on Contract".

"Well he better come because I'm heading straight there. You better tell XiZe to force him." she told Jia Qi.

Oh, how she misses that boy. Although they really did well with hiding their relationship, this long distance set-up wasn't as easy for them.

Lately, they have been arguing a lot, getting frustrated over things that usually didn't bother them with their secret relationship: distance and no time for each other. What made it worse was they were both working on romance dramas so both of them had to talk lovey-dovey about their co-stars.

It also didn't help that Yue's series was a highly promoted international show that never shied away from misleading gossip about the lead stars.

Unlike in China where couples aren't promoted as much, with this project, tabloids about Yue and Ross having a secret relationship would come out every day.

Photos of them just walking to the set were made into stories of them strolling around Singapore, behind the scenes footage of them kissing on set was made to look like stolen kisses while on a date.