Forty-five days later.
I worked on my music and spent time living with Zai, and then the day to film my music video arrived.
Zai actually came to the filming studio with me, which was a relief.
He finished our driving lessons, and after 5 trips, controlling the car became a lot less scary. So I had gotten used to going to work alone.
"Snowe, this way, we have to work on your makeup," a girl I didn't know called.
Then she pulled me away from Zai, who was busy scanning his surroundings.
I was taken into a dressing room where 3 people applied makeup to my face.
"Wow, your skin is so clear," one commented.
"Your lips have such a pretty natural color that I thought you had lipstick on already!" another chimed in, and I was blushing too much to respond.
Why are they bombarding me with compliments?!
There were four different costumes for the video, and I was told to lip-sync to my song completely in multiple sets.
"You can sing along if you really want to, but we'll remove the sound from the video and insert the album version of the song," Mark explained to me.
Before instructing me to sit on the hood of a car in front of a green screen.
"The best scenes we shoot today will be used in the final product. Once he finishes, we'll watch it together," he informed.
I nodded, then waited for them to signal me that they were filming again.
My song played faintly in the background, and I sang along so the video would look as natural as possible later.
It was the song that I wrote for Zai. It's pretty nerve-racking having him in the room, listening to me sing it over ten times.
I hope all this makeup hides how red my face is.
As I was wrapping up, I saw one of the assistants bring Zai a doughnut and coffee...
If it were a guy, I probably wouldn't care, but seeing it was a young girl, I feel pretty ticked off.
Especially because of the way she's staring at him.
He still seemed half asleep but accepted the food with a smile.
"I need a break!" I shouted, getting up from the scene we were shooting without waiting for a response.
I then immediately rushed over to Zai.
"Can I have a bite?" I asked, looking at the doughnut in his mouth.
He leaned forward close enough so I could bite the other side, then chuckled when I actually did it.
"I didn't realize you were still hungry after that big breakfast we had," he remarked.
"I could say the same about you," I retorted.
He rewarded my sass with a kiss, and then placed what was left of the doughnut in my hand.
There was a commotion, and all the workers headed to the studio entrance.
I watched the scrambling around for a moment before I stood on my tiptoes to reach Zai's ear.
"Did Mark tell you what's going on over there?" I whispered,
"No," he replied.
His focus was fixed on me, and his eyes scanned over me.
My heart pounded as I considered running away.
Zai casually cuddled me close while sipping his coffee.
So, to maintain some composure, I stuffed the remaining doughnut into my mouth.
The makeup artist will just have to fix my lipstick later.
"Snowe! Come here." Mark called, and then Zai and I both came in unison.
"This is Michael. For some scenes, you'll be posing with him since this is a love song."
Michael was handsome, with light brown hair and fair skin. He was tall but not as tall as Zai... and looked scrawny standing next to him.
Dang it!
I need to get my mind off my husband for a second.
It's cruel to compare everyone to him, but it's hard not to.
"Oh... nice to meet you, I look forward to working together," I stated stiffly while offering him a handshake.
He lifted my hand up to his mouth and kissed the backside of it,
"My pleasure," he replied.
Zai stepped in between us and stared down at him coldly,
"... I was just being polite, calm down. I didn't realize she was your girlfriend," he stated with a chuckle.
Where does Michael get his confidence to talk back to Zai like that?!
Maybe he's overconfident and unself-aware at the same time.
"I am calm," Zai corrected, then he walked away and sat in his seat near the director's.
We started filming after Michael got his hair and makeup done.
I was told to sing to him while staring into his eyes.
30 minutes later...
"No, not like that! There's no passion! Imagine you are in love, Snowe! At least look like you can tolerate him!" the director shouted, and then we had to restart the scene that was only going to be 20 seconds of my video. Each time Michael touched me, I felt nauseated and couldn't help glancing back at Zai.
"Cut! Snowe, come here. Let me chat with you," he muttered.
I reluctantly came to his side with my head down.
"Listen, Michael is already well established. Having him featured in your music video and song is big for a newcomer like you. So show some gratitude toward him. I care what you have to do, but at least fix your face for the video," he scolded.
"... I understand," I replied quietly.
Apparently, I'm a terrible actor.
During the next run, I instead focused on mouthing the lyrics perfectly and pretending Michael didn't exist.
Things were going well, and the director appeared satisfied... until he put his hand on my waist and whispered,
"You should look at me."
For a second, a memory with Zai flashed into my mind, then guilt, and when that vision passed, all I saw was Michael.
I actually did throw up.
He screamed and cursed at me, while Lisa rushed over to ask me if I was okay.
It was mortifying; I wished I could just disappear.
Zai whispered something to the director while everyone else hurried over to Michael to help him get changed.
I rushed to the bathroom to wash my face and rinse out my mouth. Zai was waiting for me outside the door with a bottle of water.
"You were doing so well earlier... What's troubling that little head of yours, now?" Zai asked.
I chugged down the water and puffed out my cheeks, pouting.
"Aren't you jealous?" I asked.
"Should I be?... Do you like him?"
I shook my head no.
"Oh... so it's already escalated to love ?" he teased.
"I, definitely, don't love him, Zai!" I shouted, causing him to laugh and pat my head.
"This is for your work... I want it to go well. So, I'm not jealous."
That doesn't make me feel better...
How is he more rational about this situation than I am?
I wish I could be so level headed.
Then Zai snuck one of his signature kisses onto my lips, filling my stomach with butterflies.
"You got this, Snowe..." he assured.
After that, I felt like I was floating on air, and I was able to finish filming with no mistakes.
When it was over, Michael seemed eager to get away from me, thank God.
"See, I knew you could do it," Zai stated while stepping onto the stage.
"Thank you... You really helped me a lot," I replied softly.
He laid his forehead on mine and held my waist.
"Of course... I'll always help you."
"It was hard making goo-goo eyes at another guy with you watching the whole time," I remarked. We kissed, and he laughed, saying,
"Oh, so you can do it when I'm not looking?"
I giggled. Our lips met again.
"Not even when you're not looking," I corrected.
Zai held my cheeks and muttered,
"Stop... you're turning me on, and I promised to behave in public."
My temperature skyrocketed.
My expression seemed to trigger something in him, and he pressed against me, kissing me once more. This time parting my lips and massaging my tongue with his.
Someone loudly cleared their throat, interrupting us, and that's when I noticed the crowd standing around watching.
I forgot we weren't alone!
"It's about time to wrap up!" Mark yelled while walking away, his face flushed.
Michael was also in the crowd watching. He frowned in our direction, and Zai wore a smile.
"I have no reason to be jealous," he said under his breath, just before letting me go and exiting the set.
Zai strolled away with Mark and the director to talk.
I headed down by myself, and Michael was waiting for me.
I knew he was because everyone, other than me, had already left.
"I didn't know you were sick... I'm sorry. But you should have warned me or something."
I'm not sick...
"You're right," I replied, deciding to go along with it.
"Make sure your boyfriend knows I apologized," he emphasized before walking away...
Did Zai talk to him? When did he get the time?
I headed to the lobby, where Lisa hugged me and said,
"Are you okay? Do you have a fever?" she asked while touching my forehead to check herself. I smiled as I replied,
"I'm fine!"
"You actually feel cold... are you sure you're okay?" she said worriedly.
I nodded.
"I... think it's just nerves from being on camera." I lied, my temperature is always naturally a few degrees lower than a human's.
She frowned.
"It's not like this is your first time on camera... Well, anyway, we're all going out for drinks. Do you want to join us, since you're not sick?"
Over the last few weeks, Lisa and I have gotten close, but I don't know about drinking with other people.
"I'll... see if Zai wants to come," I answered, and she pouted.
"If he doesn't, you should come without him! It'll be fun. I'll text you the address!" she reasoned.
Back on Infaniya, I went to parties after Ibij, and I became friends.
Ibij is an Elite Class on Infaniya, called Celestial Nobles, so he had a much larger house and better resources than most.
He was also an extrovert who had parties at his house 4-5 days a week.
Parties can get crazy, so I know it's not somewhere I want to be without Zai.
"I'll tell you if I'm on the way," I responded.
Then she waved bye to me, and soon Zai was at my side,
"Are you ready to go home?" I nodded, and he smiled, saying, "I have a surprise for you..."
I gasped and bounced on the balls of my feet.
"What is it?" Zai laughed as he stroked my cheek affectionately.
"You'll have to wait and see," he answered.
"Um... before that... Do you want to go to a party?" I asked.
My question caused him to make a puzzled expression.
He gave me a blank stare.
"What?" he muttered, confused.