Fan Fiction |
by Naomi
Dao Ming Si opened his eyes and squinted as the sunshine filtered through the sheer white curtains and lit up the walls of the room. He was lying on the bed with his precious Shan Cai, who was still sound asleep, wrapped gently in his arms. Never in his life had he felt so warm and comfortable; to be able to hold the woman he loved in his arms all night, without even the smallest distance or barrier between them. Shan Cai’s pale, creamy skin felt so soft and beautiful against his own body that he wanted to keep her undressed and in his embrace forever. If space and time froze at this perfect moment, he would not complain. As he thought of spending the rest of his life doing this with Shan Cai, a cheeky smile sneaked onto his face. She was his own; his wife to love, cherish and protect forever.
Dao Ming Si lifted the blanket off her shoulders and traced his eyes over the tantalising curves of her body. He had never come across anything more sweet and alluring to his senses, than the melting softness of her form, clinging to him as she slept. He adored her too much. He ran his hand through her long, smooth hair and twirled the ends around his fingers. He could not stand another second without knowing that she belonged to him alone. She was his princess; so perfectly beautiful, fragile and innocent that he could not possibly hurt her ever again. Shan Cai was delicate to his heart.
Holding her against himself, Dao Ming Si turned over and placed her ever so carefully down on her back. He lowered himself over her and kissed her neck lovingly, sliding his hands under her back to lock her in a tight cuddle. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” he muttered against her ear. He kissed her cheek affectionately and smiled to himself, still amazed at the freedom of intimacy between them; he could almost do whatever he wanted with her.
Shan Cai pouted childishly, and after opening her eyes slightly for a few seconds, squeezed them shut again. She could not understand why she felt so weak and unenergetic. She often had trouble waking up in the morning, but not this much trouble! “I’m still asleep,” Shan Cai whimpered quietly and fell right back into her dreams again.
“You’re not a hardworking vir–”
“SHUT UP, DAO MING SI!” She returned to herself in full force, gaping up at the pigheaded face that was no more than half an inch above her own – not to forget that they were both stark naked under the blanket.
“–hardworking virgin anymore,” he teased her, unable to stop grinning. “I wonder what Xi Men and Mei Zuo would say when we’re back in Taiwan.”
“Pighead.”
“From now on, you’re Mrs Dao Ming. The little one, of course.”
“I want to ask you something,” said Shan Cai, trying to change the topic before her cheeks exploded, “Where did you get the two rings from? Why did you have them with you?”
He laughed softly and rubbed their noses together playfully. “Let’s just say that I’ve had them with me…for a long time.”
Shan Cai smiled at him shyly. “How long?”
Dao Ming Si reciprocated her smile. “Since…around the time of…Jing’s ball.”
She poked him on his dimpled cheek. “You’re so cute.”
“Of course,” he said smugly, “I’m the cutest man in the world.”
Shan Cai’s face paled as her eyes fell onto the hands of an analog clock on the wall facing her. “Dao Ming Si, when we arrive in Hong Kong, we’ll definitely need to present our passports and visas in order to get through the gates. They’re very strict about preventing illegal migrants from China.”
Dao Ming Si sighed in frustration. “We were really lucky to get onto the ship so easily in Xiamen. I don’t know what happened. The door steward didn’t even realise that both our tickets had ‘F’ for ‘Female’ and didn’t check the names with our passports.”
“Do you have any idea how we’re going to get into Hong Kong?” she asked, a wave of fear beginning to rise up her spine.
“Let’s start thinking,” he suggested hurriedly. “We have an hour. Shan Cai, we’ve come this far. No matter what happens, we can’t lose.”
“But what if –”
“If we lose, it means I lose you.”
**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
F4 was never the same without its pigheaded leader and his stupid girlfriend. But that did not stop them from having their usual breakfast meeting at Ying De cafeteria with Xiao You, Xiao Qing and Aisha. It was Monday morning; the beginning of a new week for everyone.
“I wonder if Ah Si and Shan Cai saw the meteor shower last night,” Xiao You began the conversation with her infectious smile.
“I hope they did,” said Xi Men with a naughty grin, “It would be a very romantic night for them. I wonder if Shan Cai would come back still a virgin. OUCH!” He rubbed his sore head after being whacked by Xiao You.
“Serves you right!” she blared, pulling an angry face at him. “Anyway, ignore this idiot. What about everyone else? Did you guys see it?”
“We did,” Hua Ze Lei and Xiao Qing replied in unison.
“So did we,” Mei Zuo added, gesturing to Aisha.
“Wow!” Xiao You exclaimed excitedly, “That’s really…strange!” She narrowed her eyes at Xiao Qing and Aisha. “Girls, we’ve got some chatting to catch up on.”
Xiao Qing’s mobile phone rang. She picked it up and began speaking in Cantonese to a friend from Hong Kong. As if on cue, Mei Zuo bounced onto his feet and stood gaping at everyone in horror. “Oh no, that just reminds me. Ah Si and Shan Cai should get to Hong Kong at nine o’clock. I told them to use a payphone to call us once they arrive.” He checked his watch. “It’s eight o’clock now. If we don’t get a call in about an hour, then they’re either stuck on the ship or they didn’t get on the ship at all.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“WHAT IF THERE ARE RATS IN HERE?!” yelled a terrified Shan Cai as Dao Ming Si pulled her into the basement of the ship where the cargo was stored.
“Shhhh!” he silenced her, bringing a finger to his lips. “I thought you saw ‘Titanic’ a zillion times. Don’t you remember that part where Rose’s fiancé and his men chased Rose and Jack all over the ship? Jack took Rose all the way down to the basement and –”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Shan Cai cut him off with a smirk, “And they had sex in that little blue carriage.”
Dao Ming Si blushed furiously. “Listen, last night was fantastic. Really fantastic, Shan Cai. But we’re NOT about to repeat it here in the basement. Like you said, there could be rats –”
“AHHHmmmmggggrrrr!” Her scream was cut short by Dao Ming Si’s large hand clamping over her mouth.
“You have to listen to me whether you like it or not,” he chastised her, without intentions to let her breathe anytime soon, “Because you chose to marry me.”
Shan Cai wrenched his hand off her mouth and hissed, “Pighead.”
“I wonder if you can get through just one hour without calling me that.”
“But you ARE one!” she insisted. Then she looked at him impatiently, “Now get on with this masterplan of your’s before it turns into mission impossible!”
“You’re still using that ringtone on your…okay, okay, I’ll get on with it. Actually, I don’t have much of a plan. But maybe we can hide in some of the cargo?”
“YOU PIGHEAD! All the cargo will have to go through quarantine! That’s even worse!”
“Oh.” Dao Ming Si scratched his head and frowned helplessly. “I forgot about that.”
Superstar Virgo loudspeaker announcement: “Attention, passengers. We will arrive in Tsim Sha Tsui in fifteen minutes. Please gather all your belongings and be ready to exit with your passports and visas in hand. Thankyou for your co-operation.”
Shan Cai fired her eyes at him. “It’s too late! Let’s just get back to our room first!”
As Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai turned the corner to their corridor, they realised that they were not the only ones heading to their room. Two men, wearing the crew uniform, stopped at their door and turned around, eying them suspiciously.
“Are you Mr Dao Ming Si and Miss Dong Shan Cai?” one man asked.
Their hearts stopped beating. They swung their heads around to look at each other, speechless. It felt like the sky had just collapsed on them.
“Are you?” the other man prompted.
“Yes,” replied Dao Ming Si calmly while squeezing Shan Cai’s hand. “We are.”
Superstar Virgo loudspeaker announcement: “Attention, passengers. Please check that you have taken all your belongings with you before you queue at the exit. Thankyou for your co-operation.”
Shan Cai’s breathing accelerated as Dao Ming Si clasped her hand even more tightly, as if ready to flee any second – even if it meant jumping into the water. You jump, I jump, he thought as the Titanic scene flashed across his mind. No, they were caught.
“Please go into your room and take your luggage,” the first man instructed them.
Dao Ming Si slipped inside and pulled out the two suitcases, handing one to Shan Cai as he met her teary eyes with a lost, painful expression. It was over. They both knew it.
“Follow us this way,” the second man instructed them, gesturing his hand down the corridor.
Superstar Virgo loudspeaker announcement: “Attention passengers. The Superstar Virgo has arrived in Tsim Sha Tsui. Please keep your passports and visas in hand and present them at the arrival gates after you exit the ship. We hope you enjoyed your stay with us and we look forward to seeing you again.”
Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai were taken to an empty, spacious waiting room where the rest of the crew were preparing to alight the ship. They were adjusting their uniforms and packing the last few items into their travel cases which were bursting at the seams. The crew were all speculating the couple’s presence and whispering the possibilities to each other. Even the two men who took them there did not seem to know why they had to do so, besides to follow the orders they were given.
A tall, meticulously uniformed man with a sailor’s hat entered the room and held out his hand at Dao Ming Si. “Mr Dao Ming, nice to meet you. I’m Captain Liu Guan Sheng.”
Dao Ming Si agreed to a brief handshake, while his other hand was still holding Shan Cai’s hand very tightly, as if afraid that he might lose her any second.
“Everyone, please listen,” the captain spoke loudly to his crew, “These two are my good friends and they’ll be walking with us. If we’re all ready, let’s head to the exit.”
At the arrival gates, the last of the passengers were still lining up at the registries. The crew joined them with their identification documents, while the captain took the couple to a side registry. The captain spoke a few words to the girl at the desk, who then disappeared into a back room for a few minutes. She reappeared with a middle-aged man who was wearing a black business suit and a nametag. “Lee Kar Wai,” Shan Cai read to herself, “Tsim Sha Tsui Wharf Manager.”
“How are you today, Captain?” Mr Lee gave his friend a warm greeting, “Haven’t seen you for a week!”
“It’s been a busy one, Lee,” the captain replied with a grin, “Superstar Virgo’s maiden voyage. We’re halfway there.”
“When are you leaving again?”
“In two days. The journey will finish back in Beijing where it stared.”
Mr Lee smiled briefly at Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai before turning back to face the captain. “Just these two?”
“Yes,” the captain replied with a slight nod, “Undercover of course.”
“These youngsters are lucky, aren’t they?” Mr Lee shook his head in disbelief, “Well, lucky this time.”
“I’ll meet you at the Lounge Bar,” the captain said to Mr Lee before turning around and walking towards a coffee shop.
“Come this way, you two,” Mr Lee said to the couple as he opened the door to the back room which turned out to be his office.
Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai pulled their luggage along and entered the room as they were instructed, both completely clueless as to what was happening.
“Just straight through that door over there,” Mr Lee continued, pointing to a door at the far end of his office, “It’ll take you out to the other side of the gates. Once you get out, don’t let anyone know how you got out.”
Shan Cai stood rooted to the ground, unsure of whether to panic or to celebrate. What was happening? Dao Ming Si squeezed her hand and pulled her towards the far door. He stopped. Listened. All he could hear from the other side of the door was what he heard before he entered the office – the noise in any public place. He let go of his suitcase, raised his hand up to the doorknob and turned, desperately praying that he would not come face-to-face with a dozen policemen once he opened the door.
There was no one. Each heaving a huge sigh of relief, they pulled their suitcases through the door and officially stepped into foreign territory.
“Whatever happens from here has nothing to do with me,” Mr Lee warned. Then he added thoughtfully, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Worried?”
Xiao Qing’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of Hua Ze Lei’s voice. He smiled and sat down next to her at the Ying De rooftop. His cheery expression was a direct a reflection of the warm, sun-drenched morning in Taipei.
“It’s ten o’clock,” Xiao Qing muttered in despair, “They still haven’t called us. I wonder if they got onto the ship at all.”
Hua Ze Lei shook his head and reassured her, “If they didn’t, they would’ve been caught and brought back to Taiwan by now.”
“Ah Si and Shan Cai will be together, right?” she asked him, trying to comfort herself by doing so.
“They already are,” he said with another smile.
“They won’t get separated, right?” she tried again, fiddling with her fingers. “All they need to do is call us.”
“How do you know they haven’t?” he asked, sounding a little too confident. “You’ve been up here by yourself for at least half an hour.”
Xiao Qing noticed that even his eyes were smiling and she looked at him tentatively.
“Silly boy,” Hua Ze Lei teased, poking her playfully. “I came up here to tell you that they just called Mei Zuo. They were let into Hong Kong and they don’t even know why.”
“That’s great news!” she exclaimed, followed by a long-awaited sigh of relief. “What do you mean by they don’t even know why?”
He shrugged. “That’s what I want to know.”
They looked past the university campus below and breathed in the view of the distant blue sky. It has been a while since the Ying De rooftop became ‘their’ place during freetimes. Hua Ze Lei never welcomed anyone else, except for his friends. But Shan Cai and the other guys would rarely come to the rooftop. Although Xiao Qing was the one who always liked to find Hua Ze Lei, recently, he would actually come up to look for her instead. They just never went there together, even though they usually finished their lessons at the same time.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was obvious that someone has discovered Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai’s route and was overseeing their journey. It could not have been possible to get on the ship at Xiamen, and now off at Hong Kong, without someone planning ahead of them. As to who this mysterious person could be and his or her intentions, neither of them had any idea. They could only hope with all their hearts that they were not falling head-first into a deadly trap.
After calling their friends back in Taipei, Dao Ming Si immediately began searching through the streets for a five-star hotel. Before long, they found themselves on Mody Road and arrived at the grand Nikko Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon. Shan Cai suggested that they should look for somewhere less prominent and prestigious to stay because they could be caught in no time. However, Dao Ming Si reminded her that the most dangerous place was also the safest place.
The lady at the reception greeted them with a welcoming smile and asked, “Have you already booked a room? What are your names?”
“No, we haven’t booked yet,” Shan Cai answered in Cantonese. Suddenly, it struck Dao Ming Si’s mind that he had heard Shan Cai speak in Cantonese to Xiao Qing before. He realised how useful his wife’s knowledge of this language would be while they were in Hong Kong.
“Executive room,” he whispered to Shan Cai.
“Can we please have an executive room?”
“We only have one executive room left for $1480 per night. It has one bed, an en suite, a living room, a kitchen and also a deluxe harbour view.”
“That’s fine.”
“How long will you be staying?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Shan Cai replied, nudging Dao Ming Si with her elbow.
“This room is only free for two more weeks.”
Dao Ming Si whispered, “We’ll find somewhere else later if we need to.”
“Two week please,” said Shan Cai.
“Do you want to book the room under your name or this gentleman’s name?”
“Umm…my name.”
“Can I have a photo ID please?”
Dao Ming Si’s eyes widened as he silently castigated himself for forgetting such a simple and necessary part of the procedure for registering customers. For goodness’ sake, his mother is the CEO of the International Maple Hotel Enterprise! But he was even more surprised when he realised that Shan Cai showed no signs of panic at all. She bent down to open the front patch of her suitcase and pulled out her wallet.
“Shan Cai, what are you doing?!” Dao Ming Si whispered desperately, holding her arm ready to pull her out of the hotel.
She ignored him and opened her wallet to take out an official Hong Kong Identity Card.
“Xu Xi Yuan,” Dao Ming Si quietly read off the card. “Your name is Xu Xi Yuan?” It was not expired and the small image of Shan Cai only appeared slightly younger than she was next to him!
“My name is Tsui Hei Woon.” Shan Cai said to the lady as she handed her the ID card.
The receptionist lady received the card and entered the details into the computer. “Would you like to pay now or at the end of your stay? We accept both cash and credit card.”
“We’ll…we’ll pay…later,” Shan Cai stammered, wondering where they will get the money.
With a courteous smile, the lady returned the ID card along with a key tag for their room. “Please take the lift to the top level then turn left. Your room is number 462. We hope you enjoy your stay with us.”
As they walked away, Dao Ming Si could not decide whether to feel amazed, afraid or annoyed. “You need to tell me everything about you,” was all he managed to say to Shan Cai before they walked into the lift.
They dumped their luggage into the room, and before either of them had said a word, he took her hand and pulled her out to the balcony. Overlooking the famous Victoria Harbour, all that was visible from the deluxe harbour view room was a sickly, grey smog-saturated skyline. Despite all the picturesque ‘Hong Kong City of Life’ postcards created from this panoramic view, the lively spectacle was no more than an overly polluted waterway which could barely be seen.
“Shan Cai, why do you have a Hong Kong ID?” Dao Ming Si questioned her uneasily, “How come you’ve never told me about it? When did you come to Taiwan?”
“Why are you so worried?” Shan Cai questioned him back, trying not to giggle at his half-concerned-half-annoyed tone of voice. “You know that I’m from Hong Kong.”
“But I didn’t know that you still have a valid ID,” he persisted, “And being your husband, I didn’t even know you had another name! I only heard you speak Cantonese to Qing Qing a few times.” He turned away and directed his eyes out towards the hazy sky. “I…I just suddenly feel like…I don’t know you.”
Shan Cai realised how frustrated he really was, and began to feel slightly guilty for not informing him about her past. Honestly, she never felt that it was necessary – perhaps until now. “Dao Ming Si,” she called softly as she moved behind him and slid her arms around his waist. “You have the rest of our lives to get to know me.”
He turned around to face her and held her face gently with his hands, bringing his loving kiss to her lips once again. “Then tell me about you from the day you were born.”
Shan Cai’s mouth curved into a shy smile as Dao Ming Si pulled her back into the room and straight towards the bed. He kicked off his shoes, flicked away the blanket and climbed into the bed, holding out his arms for his wife.
“I thought you wanted to know my life story,” Shan Cai reminded him teasingly. She kicked off her shoes as well, then climbed right into her husband’s arms, pulling the blanket up to their shoulders.
“I have a feeling it’s going to take a while,” he said naughtily, “So let’s do it –”
“Do what?!”
“–somewhere comfortable and warm.” He propped up two pillows against the bedhead and they leaned back comfortably, with Shan Cai still wrapped protectively in his arms. Then he grabbed a tray of snacks from the bedside cupboard and dumped them onto the blanket. Opening a packet of potato chips, he told her with a sheepish grin, “Now you can start.”
“Pighead,” Shan Cai began with the predictable, “It’s really not that big a deal.” She dug her hand into the packet of chips and shoved its contents into her mouth. “My parents and I were all from Hong Kong. I was born in Hong Kong and my –”
“Which hospital?”
“Queen Elizabeth Hospital,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, my grandpa –”
“Were you as cute as now? How much did you weigh?”
“Haven’t you seen my baby photos?!” Shan Can pouted at him childishly. “I’ll show them to you once we get back to Taiwan. I was a very small baby. Only three pounds.”
Dao Ming Si grinned like a ten-year-old birthday boy and pinched his wife’s already rosy cheeks. “Were you breastfed?”
“Umm…yes.”
“Will you breastfeed your children?” WHACK! “Oww! What was that for?!”
“Just let me get on with this story you wanted to hear!” Shan Cai hollered, her flaming cheeks ready to explode. “My grandpa – my dad’s dad, that is – also had a younger daughter. Dad and my aunt were very close and they grew up doing everything together. He was a really caring older brother and she was a really sweet younger sister. They even went to the local fish market everyday to –”
“What’s this got to do with you?”
“Anyway, my grandpa owned a business and dad took over when he was twenty-five. They had a lot of overseas clients so they travelled around all the time. They mainly went to –”
“Did you go with them?”
“Dao Ming Si! I wasn’t born yet! Dad wasn’t even married!”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“ANYWAY! Dad and grandpa mainly went to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. On one particular business trip, dad went to Taiwan alone and he fell in love with a woman. Mum, that is. They got married without permission from their parents –”
“It runs in the family.”
“My parents are more than willing to let me marry you! ANYWAY! Dad brought mum back to Taiwan and my grandparents were really angry. Dad’s family wasn’t very rich or famous or anything, but mum was from an extremely poor family. She didn’t have a good education and my grandparents looked down on her. I suppose they expected their son to find a wife whose background was similar to him, and probably a woman from Hong Kong.”
“This sounds a lot like our story,” Dao Ming Si commented, somewhat uneasily.
“Not quite. Although my grandparents looked down on her, they were actually angry with their son. They were angry that dad didn’t even introduce mum to them or ask for permission to marry. They were angry that they couldn’t hold a big wedding banquet for their son and invite all their relatives and friends. I suppose they felt hurt and unwanted because their son didn’t include them in making such an important decision. Grandpa was so angry about the marriage that he took the business from dad and handed it over to his daughter instead.”
“Can’t blame that poor man. His pride must have been shattered too.”
Shan Cai nodded in agreement. “What happened was, mum had fallen pregnant soon after she met dad, which was why dad married her without permission. He was afraid that his parents would refuse the marriage. After dad lost the family business, he and mum opened a small restaurant. I was born later that year, and because my grandparents were so eager for grandchildren, dad won their favour again. But the following year, my aunt gave birth to twins – a daughter and a son. You know what it’s like with Chinese people and these ‘dragon-phoenix babies’. My grandparents turned their favour to their daughter again, and dad was very upset. Meanwhile, the restaurant was far from making profit and my parents were actually losing a lot of money. By then, my grandparents didn’t just look down on my mum, but also on my dad. However, they still loved me a lot since I was their first grandchild, and this helped them to keep an acceptable relationship with dad. I stayed in Hong Kong for five years and enjoyed my childhood with my cousins and friends. Life wasn’t bad until the restaurant business collapsed and my parents were bankrupt. My grandparents refused to offer any financial support. Out of bitterness, dad took mum and I out of home and we sailed to Taiwan.”
Dao Ming Si, who was still trying very hard to register his wife’s words into his mind, could do nothing but stare at her. Does she feel that her parents’ past will be repeated in our future?
“Dad deliberately changed our names and cut all contact with our relatives in Hong Kong. He never mentioned them again. I can’t even remember my relatives’ names. However, he made sure that I’d go back to Hong Kong every few years to renew my ID. I suppose there was still a part of him that wanted to be connected. Dad really missed his sister and he knew she missed him a lot too, but he had no choice. He was so bitter that he wanted to start a completely new life in Taiwan. He worked as a labourer and mum worked at various supermarkets. I started primary school and met Xiao You. She helped me to learn Mandarin and was my best friend. She still is.”
Dao Ming Si remained silent for a long time, hardly able to believe that this simple girl he had fallen in love with had a childhood that was anything but simple. “Are your grandparents still in Hong Kong?”
Shan Cai shrugged. “I suppose so.”
“You know what? If you don’t mind, we should try to look for them.”
Shan Cai sprang into his lap and smiled eagerly when his idea hit her. “Actually, that would be really good! If we could stay at their house, it will take much, much longer before anyone finds us!”
Dao Ming Si pinched her nose and laughed. “Not such a stupid woman anymore.”
Shan Cai’s smile suddenly disappeared. “Actually, we have a problem. How are we going to pay for the hotel? In fact, how are we going to pay for anything? I’m sure your parents would’ve blocked all your accounts by now!”
Dao Ming Si climbed out of the bed and opened up his suitcase, pulling out a smaller suitcase from inside. He brought it back to the bed and gave it to Shan Cai. “Remember this? It’s your birthday money from Xi Men. We have two million US dollars. We can exchange it for Hong Kong currency any time.” Then he pulled his wife into a tight cuddle and added with a sheepish grin, “I’m sorry, Shan Cai. But we’re going to live off your money for a while.”
17-Aug-2005