Finally, the mystery was removed and the light shone on the performer. Blair could now be seen in the middle of the stage. She was dressed in a light-purple, strapless bubble skirt, with numerous shining paillettes sewn onto the hem. It looked like an unreal dress, complemented by the beautiful stage lighting. She had originally refused to change into the dress, but the worker on the back stage had kept on pestering her till she agreed.
There was also a simple crystal crown shining on her head under the silver light, and she looked like a beautiful princess from a Disney movie.
Wesley couldn't take his eyes off her. Here was something new again! What could this woman not do? Usually, she was dressed in casuals, or in office uniform. Perhaps the only sexy thing that had ever happened with her was her night dress. And now it was this!
Blair continued to sing, "I'm waiting for you, though I know you're beyond my reach. I hope I have the wings to fly to you. Oh…love is bitter and sweet, with laughs and tears…" There wasn't much to rhyme in the song but that was supposed to be the beauty of it. Blair's own eyes were brimming with tears as she sang the sentimental lyrics; the audience was far too excited to notice that though.
The truth was, she was suddenly feeling like this emotive song had struck a chord in her heart, since she had faced the same emotions when Wesley had refused her proposal. And every time she missed him in the middle of the night, under the cover of darkness, the same feelings struck back. She had often looked up at the starry night with tears blurring her vision.
Thinking about those memories made her put much more emotions into her song. A teardrop finally fell from the corner of her eye, shining like a crystal under the bright light. The audience was too far out back but Wesley, who was sitting in VIP seats, noticed it since he was deeply focused on her. He felt his heart ache.
His phone still kept buzzing but now he wasn't replying to the barrage of messages from Megan anymore; instead, he had put it back into his pocket and his sole center of attention was the woman on the stage. Beautiful, shining, singing…
A few minutes later, she slowly ended the song on a mellow E note, which faded into the hall gradually. The music stopped. She smiled and bowed to the audience. "Thank you."
And she left the stage under a rumble of thunderous applause.
It didn't take her long to change back, but Blair didn't go back to her seat. She needed a little time to compose herself.
She had originally expected to be racked with nerves, but for some reason, things had turned melodramatic; she had been overwhelmed by sadness instead of nervousness.
Her performance also attracted a lot of single soldiers' attention. They were smitten by her beauty and by her voice.
When Wesley came around backstage, he found Blair was still there and that she was being besieged by a group of young men, all talking and laughing happily with her. Immediately, he pulled a glum face. For some reason, he didn't like seeing that.
But he didn't go over to interrupt them; instead, he walked towards a dark corner where he could hide, leaned against the column and began to smoke.
Blair was under the impression that the conversation with these young men would end in a few minutes. However, since her performance was almost at the end of the show, more and more soldiers began to leave the venue and joined the conversation with her. They wanted to know all sorts of things and some wanted to hit on her.
She tried a few times to excuse herself and take her leave, but failed. They kept asking her a plethora of questions. She had no choice but to chat with them, wearing a helpless smile, and trying to dodge the flirting.
Half an hour later, a phone call saved her from further torture. Orion was calling her so late. 'What is it now?' she wondered.
She sighed with relief and swung her phone in front of the group, apologizing, "Sorry guys. I gotta take this. Excuse me."
Reluctantly, the enormous group of soldiers allowed her to walk out of ear-shot.
Picking up the phone, Blair walked into a corner. "Hi, Orion. What's up?"
"Hi, Blair. Have you gone to bed? Did I wake you?" Orion's voice sounded chirpy despite the late hour.
"No. I'm still playing outside. What's up?"
"Well, I'm having a party with my friends. Would you like to come? I am not so far away from your apartment…"
Blair checked the time. It was over ten. "Thank you so much Orion. But I am sorry. It's really late now. How about we take a rain check on the treat?"
Orion insisted, "Come on, it's just a little past ten. This is when the night life starts anyway. By the way, I heard that you quit your job in the Jin Group. Would you like to come work at my company? I have positions open all the time for you. I'll even double your salary. What do you think?"
That was a really tempting offer, but Blair decided against it. "Orion, you know that I don't have much of working experience yet. I'm not capable enough to be rewarded with such a high salary. Please don't give me special treatment just because we're friends. If your grandpa finds out, he's going to be furious and you'll have to suffer because of me."
Thinking about his grandfather, Orion touched his chest to calm down. "Hey, not cool! Don't mention my grandpa. And come on. Look I'll pick you up now. It's okay if you don't want to play with my friends. We can talk about work. I really want to invite you to work in our company and you don't need to be so modest. The certificates you got make you worthy of what I am offering…"
Blair hesitated, and then finally nodded, "Okay. Where are you now? Who's with you?"
"I've rented out a private booth in a small, friendly pub. There are three girls and four boys. They are pretty good friends of mine. I think you even know one of the girls here. She's our schoolmate." Orion and Blair had known each other for the better part of two years now. He was fully aware of the fact that she was an Oriental girl with traditional beliefs. So he told Blair that they were in a booth with some other girls to make her feel relieved and convince her to come.
After a little hesitation, Blair finally agreed, "Alright, but I won't stay long."
"I'll come pick you up." Orion became excited when he heard her agree.
"Don't bother. Just send me the address. I'll hail a cab." Blair thought that Wesley would be busy now. Chances were that he wouldn't be able to drive her there, so she would hail a cab herself.
But Orion insisted again, "No. No. No! You yourself said that it's late. I'll be worried if you take a taxi. Let me pick you up."
"Alright fine. I'll send you my location." A gust of wind blew over as she ended the call and she stamped her feet, trying to relieve herself of the shudder.
"Okay. I'm setting out now. Wait for me." Blair heard Orion grab his car keys on the other end and rush out. He was always so full of energy.
She smiled helplessly and reminded him to drive carefully. Then, she finally managed to hang up.
When she turned around, she saw that Wesley was standing against a wall nearby, smoking a cigarette.
She had wanted to go look for him after talking to Orion since she needed to tell him about the party. Now that he was there, she quickly trotted towards him. "Wesley, I need to leave now."
He put out the cigarette and asked, "Why? Is everything okay?"
"I'm going to see a friend." She suddenly remembered that she needed to send her location to Orion, so she pulled out her phone again. It took her only a few seconds to send her current location and then she looked up again. Wesley wanted to know more about the party.
"Who?" he asked in a calm voice, betraying no emotion.
"We met when I was studying in England. Tonight, we're going to meet and talk about my job offer," she told him honestly, holding back no information.
"He or she?" Wesley asked again.
"He…A boy called Orion. Don't worry. He's a good guy. His family just opened a company in Y City. You know, his mom treated me very well when I was in England. They made my staying there much easier." Blair flashed a smile.
Wesley threw a glance at her. Then without saying anything, he turned around and began to walk forward. This man was impossible to read!
Blair was confused. She followed him and added, "I've sent my location to him. He's going to come pick me up. I didn't want to bother…."
Her voice trailed off as the man in front of her suddenly stopped walking. It was so spur of the moment that she almost collided with him head on.
He turned around and stared at the confused woman. "That's okay. I'll drive you there."
"No, don't bother. You're going to be busy. I'll wait for Orion at the gate." She really didn't want to disturb him and stop him from working. From the day she had come to know him, he had been busy like a bee every day. The day they were having fun in Happy Valley was the only time that she had been able to stay with him all day long. Most of the time, she rarely saw him and could rarely manage to talk with him for a long time even though they lived in the same apartment.
Wesley's face fell. "Do you trust him?"
What kind of a question was that? Blair didn't realize Wesley's emotional change. But it was reasonable that he would be worried about her since it was already quite late. So she assured him, "Yes. He helped me a lot in England. We're good friends. Wesley, please don't worry. I'll try to be back inside the apartment before midnight."
'It won't take too long to talk about job, ' she thought.
Pressing his lips into a thin line, Wesley remained silent and turned around to walk on.
