Chapter 8: Decision

Momentarily lost as I was, enjoying that grin in the flesh, a sudden thought struck me and I exclaimed:
"Yikes! I hope those pappz are not following us!"

I hurriedly checked the rearview mirror to see if there was any sign of their car. It was difficult to be certain, though, as I remembered that it was white and to my dismay, I realised that half the car population on the road behind us was that particular colour and with the rain, it was even more difficult to see clearly.

A disquieting thought had also occurred to me that my little pink car would be all the more prominent too and easier for them to notice and tail.
I pushed it to the back of my mind and shrugged....we'd cross that bridge if and when we came to it.

Jay was still staring at me when I shifted my attention back to him to answer to his questions but at the same time, I was ruminating over what sort of excuse I should come up with for missing the Girls Night Out (and not liking the visual of Steph's face when I got round to telling her!).

But I mean....come on!
The situation now was absolutely surreal yet there was no denying that it was happening for real.

I, Dr Ashley Chan, was, in some weirdly serendipitious way, chauffeuring Jay Chou, King of Mandopop, along Orchard Road and he had just asked me where I was going to bring him.
I mean, what are the odds of that occurring EVER to any mere mortal???
Darn if I was going to miss out on the chance of a lifetime and anyway, Steph already had doubts about my sanity....what difference was this going to make?

Yes, my mind was already made up but I was not going to let His Royal DIAOness think he could just charm his way to an obvious fangirl's heart and disrupt her plans like that so easily.


"Don't you think you're being a little presumptuous, Mr Chou?" I shook my head disapprovingly at him as I continued talking with one eye on the road and the other on his face which was fast losing the cheeky grin to be replaced by a sheepish look.

"My girlfriends are waiting impatiently for me to join them in a delicious steak dinner and I'm late as it is. Should I tell them I won't be able to make it? They'll be very upset with me!"

"Aiyo...I'm so sorry for this! Yes, you are right. It was quite selfish and inconsiderate of me to take your kindness for granted. Ok, then you better drop me off somewhere along the road and I'll find my way to meet Darren somehow....".
Jay's voice trailed off with a definite note of uncertainty which tickled me a little and I had to stifle a giggle.


"Well, you wanted to experience travelling alone without all your entourage, right? I think that's very good for you! I trust you have some money, even if you don't have a credit card? Singapore should be very easy to go about on your own and Darren will find you soon enough."

"I guess so...but can't you just ask your friends if they'll let you off the dinner just this once...please?

"OUCH!"
Jay and I both yelped as I jam-braked to avoid hitting the Lambo which had stopped suddenly.
He because he had stretched out his sprained left hand on the dashboard and I when the bruised spot at the back of my head hit the headrest with a jerk.

"Stupid Lambo driver!" I shouted as I sounded the horn and winced a little from the pain, my left hand reaching for the tender spot and rubbing it.

"What happened to your head? Are you hurt?" Jay asked worriedly as I flicked on the indicator lights and prepared to filter into another lane after waiting a few seconds as the cars behind me started honking as well.
The Lambo was not moving on. Black smoke appeared to be coming out of its exhaust. Had it broken down? So much for fancy sports cars!

I gave Jay what I hoped was a convincing 'I'm all right' look as I waited for a chance to get into the next lane.

"Nah, some guy ran into me at the underpass earlier and I fell. It's okay; just a bruise."
No need to tell him about Mr Pink Hoodie, right? 

Jay reached out with his right hand to where the bruise was and felt around it gently with those long, elegant fingers, saying, "That's a big one. It's worse than my wrist injury. You're sure you can drive properly? Maybe I should take over."
The warmth of his hand in that unexpected gesture startled me a little but wow, it was a *moment* indeed.
I would have died and gone to Heaven happy right there, right then.

"And not all Lambo drivers are stupid, you know." he protested as he withdrew his hand and pursed his lips into an adorable pout which brought on another stifled chuckle from me.

"Haha...oops! I forgot who I'm sitting next to. Your mother really pampered you with that for your birthday, didn't she?" I told him teasingly after a kind driver gave me a chance to get into the adjacent lane and continue down the road past Takashimaya Shopping Centre.

"I think I deserved that after all my hard work on The Viral Factor! I nearly died of fright jumping off seven storeys!" came his sardonic reply.

"So how about it? Could I please ask you a big favour to be my guide in Singapore for a little while? I'll even explain to your friends, if you think that will help."

"Uh...no, no...that won't be necessary, I'll text them myself," I told him as I pictured Steph's expression if she should receive a call out of the blue from Jay asking for permission to excuse me from Girls Night Out. She would just wonder if she was crazy too.

"So you're really okay with this?" he asked again, hopefully.

"Ok, fine. I'm only doing this because I know how helpless you can be without your assistants and besides, what if you run into those dogs again? Who's going to help you escape?" I tried to sound condescending as that cute grin lit up his face again.

"And how's your wrist? Is it still hurting?"

Jay massaged his left wrist a little, flexed and extended it slowly and said, " Seems alright. Just a little sore. I'll still be able to play the piano...I think. I've had worse injuries when filming action scenes."

"Glad to hear that." I said with relief.

"You still haven't told me your name yet....?" Jay asked once more.

"Oh! I'm sorry...I'm Ashley but all my friends call me Ash. And I know exactly what I'm going to let you try whilst you're in Singapore. Are you ready?"