by Pauline Loh
Even though the costume was extremely gaudy and not quite his style, Ricky managed to look super cool. He was glad he did not rebuff Aquarius and make things more strained between the two of them. When he slid on his doll head, the stylists cooed that Rick Wa Wa was “cute enough to eat”.
He was an instant sensation. He hammed it up in front of the cameras, and at the end of his explosive performance, he bounced up to a camera and said, “I bring you love from Singapore.” Unmasking, he revealed his handsome face and pursed his lips to blow the TV audience a kiss. By that evening, a video of his kiss had gone viral on social media and was captioned “Rick Wa Wa ♥ Taiwan”.
Photos of Ricky flooded Instagram over the subsequent days, and some of them were taken with Sassy as their publicity schedules coincided quite a few times—Sassy was promoting her new television drama, Superchick, while Ricky was making his debut with Hot.
Ricky wondered where some of the photos had been taken as he did not recall having seen cameras on those occasions. He mentioned this to Sassy while they were waiting for a TV interview to start. Sassy tilted her head at an ornate statue in the centre of the dressing room.
“It’z normal to mount hidden cameraz in drezzing roomz—didn’t you know?”
Ricky went near the statue. He spotted a tiny lens camouflaged in the statue, and his jaw dropped.
Feeling paranoid, he tried to recall all he had said and done over the past days. Did I say anything politically incorrect? Did I diss Taiwan? He was shocked at how there was no privacy in the entertainment world.
Then his phone buzzed with a message: “Meet me outside.”
CHAPTER 38
A COLD-BLOODED DATE
The message was from Sassy. He turned around, but she was no longer in the room. He went out to the corridor and saw her standing in a corner.
“There are still places we can be private,” she said. “I have a proposition for you, Rick Wa Wa.”
Ricky noted instantly that her lisp was gone. She now sounded mature and businesslike. “You’re only in Taiwan for a while, and you have to make full use of your short time here. And I have a drama to promote. I can help you and you can help me back. Shall we have a bubble tea in Dong Dae Mun tomorrow afternoon?”
Ricky thought fast. “I don’t know what to say, Sassy. You’re very kind, but I’ll have to look at the Hot schedule and…”
“You’ll find that you are free,” Sassy interrupted. “Boss Ang has given his approval. Check your phone.”
Ricky pulled out his phone and read the message that had just arrived.
“Sassy Kwan should have spoken to you. Go ahead. Bill it to me.”
The feeling of being manipulated by Boss Ang and Sassy was not pleasant. But it’s only for the next few days and it’s just bubble tea, Ricky hoped. He would have to agree if he wanted to stay in Boss Ang’s good books.
He laughed ruefully and said to Sassy, “Looks like we have a date. What flavour do you like?”
Dressed casually but snazzily, in an outfit put together by Aquarius, Ricky made sure to have Sassy’s favourite matcha latte ready by the time she appeared.
“Ooh, you’re zo zweet and thoughtful, Wa Wa,” she cooed. There were no cameramen around, but Ricky knew that their outing would not go unnoticed.
Rumours immediately starting zipping through social media. “Sassy of Superchick and Singapore’s Rick Wa Wa an item?” the gossip mill went. Netizens uploaded photos of them at Dong Dae Mun café and claimed to have spotted them on “secret dates” at the fashionable Ximending shopping hotspot as well as the Wistaria Tea House in Daan District. Ricky shook his head in amazement. He had not even heard of the names of the places at which he was supposed to have been seen with Sassy. His schedule was so full that he would have been grateful if he had had the time to sleep!
He wondered how Ying Ying might be doing, but quickly quashed the thought.
CHAPTER 39
THE STARS COLLIDE
On top of the punishing publicity schedule in Taiwan, the Hot boys rehearsed through the nights to ensure a flawless performance in the showcase. Tempers were running short. Ricky had passed out gratefully on the gym floor for a short nap but was rudely awakened by shouting.
“I’ve had enough of Orion!” Leo shouted at an unfortunate intern. “I’m not having my debut performance in Taiwan ruined ’cause the Hunter is too busy chasing girls to turn up at rehearsals!”
Orion rushed into the gym at that moment, ducking his head in apology. He saw Leo’s fuming face and mistakenly decided to tease Leo out of his black mood. “Your saviour is here! What would Leo do without his Orion?”
Leo snarled and launched himself at the startled Orion. Orion hunkered down, avoiding Leo’s fists and going for his waist. He had lifted Leo so often as part of their act that he did it as a reflex now. He used Leo’s forward momentum to throw Leo effortlessly over his shoulder, but he had not checked what was behind him as he did so. Leo’s head slammed down on a vaulting horse with a sickening thwack! as bone met wood, and he bounced onto the ground, unconscious.
Everyone stood motionless in horror. Then somebody shouted: “Call an ambulance!” Another person shouted back, “No! Call Boss Ang, now!”
Ricky had the sense to yell at the members already surrounding Leo’s inert body, “Don’t move him! His spine might be injured!”
They clustered around Leo helplessly while an intern scrambled to the nearest clinic to fetch a doctor to the gym. The doctor arrived just as Boss Ang rushed in, his fists bunched in anger.
The doctor examined Leo’s head, neck and limbs with firm fingers. Leo moaned and opened his eyes blearily. The doctor held up three fingers in front of Leo and asked him how many he could see.
“This boy has a tough head,” the doctor finally said. “But he should go to a hospital and get an X-ray. He is definitely not fit to perform for the next few weeks.”
“No hospital!” Boss Ang barked. “I’ll handle it.” He handed the doctor a thick wad of cash and demanded that he keep mum about the house call. The doctor shrugged and prescribed strong painkillers for Leo. In the end, Boss Ang arranged for the heavily medicated Leo to leave on a predawn flight, accompanied by an intern, and be taken straight to a private hospital in Singapore.
After he had settled Leo’s crisis, Boss Ang turned wrathfully to Orion. “You’re paying for Leo’s ticket and medical bills.”
Orion paled. “How much will that be?”
Boss Ang barked, “That depends on how badly you’ve injured him. I know there’s bad blood between you, but I’ve told you before to suck it up and be professional!”
Ricky could not help thinking that Shifu would have handled such a situation in a more understanding manner. It had, after all, been an accident. He could see Orion’s genuine remorse.
Boss Ang continued, “Now, what’re you going to do about tomorrow’s showcase?”
Orion looked nonplussed. Boss Ang glared at the other boys. He pointed at Aquarius and Cygnus, who paired up as the second lion. “You take Leo’s slot!”
Aquarius protested, “But Leo and Orion are in charge of the pillars. Cygnus and I take care of the floor. Cygnus is too heavy to get up on the pillars.”
Cygnus saw the look on Boss Ang’s face and said hurriedly, “I’m trying to lose weight, Boss.”
But it was obvious to everyone that Cygnus would not be ready for the pillars overnight. In frustration, Boss Ang slapped the back of Cygnus’ head. “What kind of a swan can’t fly onto a pillar?! I should have named you ‘Porky Pig’ instead!”
Boss Ang still looked furious, and the boys were stumped. But the words “fly” and “pillar” sparked an idea in Ricky’s head.
“Boss Ang, if you think that I am ready to take up the lion head just for tomorrow’s show, then please excuse my poor performance and accept my service.”
Orion looked startled. It was obvious from his face that he did not think Ricky was competent enough to fill Leo’s shoes.
Aquarius sneered, “Get lost! You don’t even know what Leo’s routine is!”
Cygnus piped up, “Yeah! You’re just a doll!”
Ricky did not bother to defend himself with words. He settled into Leo’s beginning stance and went into the first move of his choreography. Orion’s eyes widened as he recognised Leo’s routine and joined in. They did not flow seamlessly, but at least they did not crash or trip each other up.
Boss Ang watched the whole routine with his arms crossed. “It will have to do,” he said darkly. “No sleep for the two of you tonight. Practise until you get it right!”
It was 4am that night, or rather, early the next morning, when Orion and Ricky finally broke for a rest. The gym was silent and, outside the window, the city had long gone to bed. It felt to Ricky and Orion as if they were the only ones in the whole of Taipei who were still awake.
Leo’s choreography was brutal—he did not believe in taking shortcuts or even breathers. Ricky panted, “What is he? A robot?”
“Nope, he’s an ugly zombie,” Orion groaned. “Let’s face it. We can’t perform all of Leo’s routine.”
Ricky took a deep breath. “You’re right. We need something to jazz up our act. You know that bit in the finale where we dismount and leap back on the pillars again? How about we try this instead?”
Ricky got up and stood in front of a sturdy stool. He would be disobeying Shifu, but he had to try something radical if he wanted to salvage tomorrow’s performance. Ricky closed his eyes and imagined himself as Lung San. Then, he turned around until his back faced the stool. He gathered his breath and leapt upwards. In mid-air, he twisted gracefully and landed in a handstand. Pushing off again, he sailed through the air and landed on the stool. A minute adjustment of his leg, and he was facing front.
He almost fell as he landed and hastily put his other foot down to steady himself. He said quickly to Orion, “I just need to practise it a few more times. I can get it right.”
But Orion already looked impressed. “What do you call that move? I’ve never seen it before.”
Ricky smiled. “It’s called Lion Skips like the Ram.”
CHAPTER 40
THE LION’S DEBUT
The day of the competition dawned balmy and clear, just right for the outdoor competition held at Taipei 101.
Everybody in the troupe was in an excellent mood, buoyed by the good weather, but Ricky felt sick to his stomach. He drew on his years of discipline and refused to allow his mind to dwell on the possibility that he might mess up.
A fortune had been spent to make the showcase an impressive one. The site had been designed to resemble a Roman coliseum where prisoners used to be thrown to lions for sport. Ricky felt like one of those prisoners today. In the amphitheatre, there were seven pillars of varying heights in the centre of a ring of seats that could accommodate 500 spectators. Cameras from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and other countries loomed over the arena.
Ricky squared his shoulders and limbered up. He looked at Orion, who had dark circles under his eyes. Ricky wondered how his own face looked. Then Orion grinned and held up a hand for a high five. The audience knew Ricky and Orion were ready to begin their performance, and burst out in a dutiful round of applause. The clapping seemed to say, You must be good to appear at this showcase, but we haven’t seen what you’re capable of yet.
All thoughts of the Legends, Hot—and even his own self-consciousness—disappeared as Ricky became the lion, and the lion became Ricky. He reflexively flowed into Leo’s routine.
A double somersault got Ricky and Orion onto the starting pillar. They dashed madly yet accurately down the entire column, did an elaborate about-turn, and dashed back up again. When the audience expected them to end on the last pillar and pause for breath, the duo suddenly screeched to a halt.
The halt was so abrupt that Orion crashed into Ricky and the audience gasped, expecting the Singapore lion to tumble to the ground. But it turned out that the collision was a choreographed move and Ricky “fell” from the pillar, only to be swung in a graceful arc to land on the pillar behind Orion. The audience gasped and clapped, but the volume of the applause indicated that it was not impressed yet.
Other lions usually make an elaborate fuss about cai qing, “picking the greens”, a required routine in pillar performances. A bunch of leaves or flowers would be attached midway on a pillar and a lion would crouch down, remove it and dance with it, before depositing it in front of the audience.
Sometimes, a lion would draw out this segment until the audience got bored, but not in Leo’s routine. It was a snatch, a toss, and then the Singapore lion flew into a double somersault, followed by a mid-air leg split and a powerful leap that crossed two pillars. The audience gasped at the lion’s skills and its disdain for convention. But the lion was not done yet. Ricky slid out smoothly from his lion skin and dismounted.
A hush descended on the ring of spectators as Ricky turned his back to the pillars. Ricky could no longer see the pillars, but he concentrated his entire being on his objective. He could imagine the shape, size and being of the unseen pillar reverberating back at him. He launched powerfully into Lion Skips like the Ram.
In a skilful move that appeared effortless, he landed on his right leg in the centre of the pillar. A strange expression flitted across his face but it was gone before anyone noticed. With perfect balance, Ricky put his other foot down, planted his hands on his hips and lifted his chin.
The audience leapt to their feet in a standing ovation. The lion dance analysts seated in the front row looked confused, yet excited. Somebody started thumbing through a manual, trying to find the origin of the move.
CHAPTER 41
A LION’S FALL
Ricky stood ramrod straight, not moving. Orion quickly surmised that something was wrong, but he had confidence in his partner and threw the lion head to him. Ricky caught it and, in an instant, Orion was robed and on the pillar behind him. The Hot drummer, Crux, plunged into a flurry of beats.
“Orion, I can’t move.” Ricky’s voice was thin with pain. “I…I landed wrongly.”
“Okay, I’ve got you, partner. Trust me,” Orion said.
Ricky had no choice. When he had been in mid-air, he felt on top of the world. Then he had landed and all he felt were daggers of pain in his leg. Whatever consciousness he had left was focused on keeping his balance and maintaining a calm façade; every other fibre in his body was screaming with white-hot pain.
But…he was on the pillar and he still had to dismount. His leg hurt too much. He would never be able to make it out of the arena—they would have to stretcher him out, and the negative press would be catastrophic.
While this black thought was still on Ricky’s mind, Orion had already thrown him into the air. To the audience, it looked like Ricky had leapt up on his own accord. Then, Orion’s arms were there again, catching him on his way down. Ricky put his weight on his good leg.
As they had rehearsed, Orion dismounted first. Ricky panicked—there was no way he could jump down from the pillar with his injured leg. The lion costume connecting them pulled at him; Ricky felt, rather than heard, Orion whisper again, “Trust me.”
Ricky allowed himself to fall. He was in too much pain to even fake a graceful descent. But Orion’s strong arms swung Ricky in a graceful half circle before setting him on his feet gently.
“One, two, three.” Orion gave the cue for disrobing. Their costume came off fluidly and the two boys received the crowd’s applause. Orion lifted his partner as if doing a victory dance with him when he was actually taking Ricky’s weight on his shoulder. Then, arm under shoulder, Orion led him out of the arena while distracting the crowd by waving wildly at them. Ricky, too, blew kisses at them, his eyes bright with unshed tears. The audience thought that he was feeling emotional from his superb performance, and clapped even more passionately.
Ricky was, in actuality, weeping from pain. He and Orion escaped into the merciful dimness of the corridor lea
ding to the dressing rooms. Orion swept him into a princess carry and hurried to the Hot dressing room.
When Orion had kicked the door shut, Ricky yelled, “Hoi, put me down!”
“Sure!” Orion grinned and dropped Ricky on the sofa. Ricky yelped and clutched his leg.
Orion’s triumph changed to concern. “It’s that bad, huh?”
Ricky nodded, unable to speak.
“Should we get you to a hospital?”
Ricky shook his head. “We can’t afford to have two guys in hospital. Boss Ang will blow his top. Do you know how to bandage a leg?”
“Sure, we’ve all been taught basic first aid.” Orion unpacked the medicine box.
“Make it really tight,” Ricky said. “We still have the post-showcase press conference.”
Orion rolled Ricky’s pants up above his knee and cursed. He could see that the injury was bad. Even in the brief interval since the performance, Ricky’s ankle and knee had begun to swell.
Orion started applying a strong liniment and although he tried to be gentle, Ricky sucked in his breath sharply. To take his mind off the pain, Ricky asked, “Do you think the audience saw my mistake?”
“Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure we carried it off perfectly.”
“You’re strong,” Ricky told Orion.
Orion rolled his eyes. “I have been carrying a set of barbells for years; it’s called fat Leo. And you’re definitely lighter than he is.”
Ricky laughed weakly.
Orion gave him an evil wink. “That girl, Sassy—she has the hots for you, huh?”
Ricky shook his head vehemently. He told Orion about Sassy’s cold-blooded deal. Orion shuddered but said philosophically, “Yup, I’ve met that kind of girl. You know how I’ve survived all these years? I protect my heart.”
Almost reflexively, Ricky’s hand strayed to his chest. He rubbed the spot on his left rib.