After a long moment, Chen Fei'er finally came back to her senses. She turned her head, opened her bright eyes, and asked weakly, "Where did you learn to do this? It's incredible."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Lu Chen poured a little medicated oil into his palm and smiled. "I knew an old massage therapist years ago. I picked up a few techniques from him. Feeling better now?"
After spending half the day suspended on wires at the film set, Chen Fei'er had returned home utterly exhausted. She had barely managed to lie down before losing all her strength to get back up.
Once she changed out of her costume, bruises covered almost every part of her body. Seeing them made Lu Chen's heart ache.
He found a bottle of medicated oil in the medicine cabinet and began gently rubbing it into her skin.
The oil was a famous old Hong Kong brand he'd bought while shopping a few days earlier. As for the massage technique he was using, it came from the memories he had inherited from Mo Ran.
Mo Ran had practiced martial arts since childhood, where bruises and sprains were a part of everyday life, so he had learned a complete set of massage techniques to treat them. Now, Lu Chen was putting those skills to good use, and the results were surprisingly effective.
As he worked the medicated oil in, the swelling beneath the bruises gradually eased. Most of the injuries had been caused by hours of hanging from the wire rig, while the rest came from the minor bumps and knocks she'd taken during filming. None of them were serious, but leaving them untreated would only make her recovery take longer.
Chen Fei'er quietly watched Lu Chen as he carefully massaged her arm, her eyes overflowing with happiness. As her body relaxed completely, sleep washed over her like a tide, and her eyelids slowly drifted shut.
Before long, her breathing became slow and even as she fell fast asleep, a faint smile still lingering at the corners of her lips.
Lu Chen gently laid her arm down, tucked a light blanket over her, and dimmed the bedside lamp to its lowest setting. Only after making sure she was comfortable did he quietly step out of the bedroom.
He still had plenty of work to do.
---
The next day, when Chen Fei'er opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Lu Chen walking into the room carrying a tray with a bowl of hot egg porridge.
He walked over to the bedside with a smile. "You're awake. I was just about to wake you."
Sitting up in bed, Chen Fei'er looked at the breakfast he'd prepared. "What time is it?"
Lu Chen laughed. "It's already noon. You must be starving by now."
"Noon?" The moment he mentioned it, she realized she really was hungry, and her cheeks flushed slightly. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?"
Lu Chen chuckled. "You were sleeping like a little pig. How was I supposed to wake you? Besides, it's not that late."
Chen Fei'er wrinkled her nose. "You're the pig!"
Oddly enough, although she was several years older than Lu Chen and had debuted much earlier, she loved acting like a spoiled girl whenever she was with him. Being pampered by him made her feel warm and safe.
Lu Chen reached over and lightly pinched her nose. "Eat first, then go wash up. This afternoon, I'm taking you to a gathering."
Curious, Chen Fei'er asked, "What kind of gathering?"
"The Clock Tower Music Salon in Lan Kwai Fong. Ye Xuan invited us."
Ye Xuan was a well-known Hong Kong singer, somewhere between second and third-tier in popularity. When Lu Chen first visited Hong Kong, he had gone to Lan Kwai Fong for fun and happened to perform at La Dolce Vita 97 right after Ye Xuan. That was how the two of them met.
The song Lu Chen performed that night, 'Favorite in Life', remained one of the top three most-requested songs on Hong Kong radio stations even now, earning him a large local fanbase.
Ye Xuan had an excellent reputation within the music industry, so Lu Chen had accepted his invitation without hesitation. Since today was a day off, he planned to bring Chen Fei'er along so they could enjoy the event together.
More importantly, the Clock Tower Music Salon held a unique place in Hong Kong's music scene.
"The Clock Tower Music Salon?" Chen Fei'er nodded. "I've heard of it. Someone invited me once when I came to Hong Kong before, but I was busy performing and couldn't make it."
The Clock Tower Music Salon had been founded in the late 1980s. Several of Hong Kong's leading singers at the time had proposed creating it, with the gathering held at the Clock Tower Bar in Lan Kwai Fong.
The salon wasn't held on a fixed schedule. Its guests were invited by recommendation and included accomplished singers, producers, composers, lyricists, musicians, music critics, and other respected figures in the industry. Anyone with genuine talent had a chance to receive an invitation.
Among Hong Kong musicians, being invited to the Clock Tower Music Salon was considered both an honor and a recognition of one's ability. It was also an excellent opportunity to make new connections.
The salon had originally been founded for one simple purpose: to exchange music, share ideas, and connect with fellow artists. It had always carried an air of artistic prestige.
---
By the time Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er arrived at the Clock Tower Bar in Lan Kwai Fong, it was already past three in the afternoon.
There was a good reason for the delay. After yesterday's exhausting shoot, Chen Fei'er hadn't woken up until noon, and determined to attend the gathering looking her best, she had spent quite a while getting ready.
The effort had certainly paid off: she looked radiant, with no trace of the exhaustion that had nearly caused her to collapse on set the previous day.
Among Lan Kwai Fong's many bars, the Clock Tower Bar wasn't the largest or busiest, but anyone familiar with the area knew its history.
Long before Lan Kwai Fong became famous as Hong Kong's nightlife hub, the Clock Tower Bar was already standing. It occupied the first and second floors of the historic Clock Tower building, which was how it got its name.
Today, the Clock Tower itself was a protected historical landmark in Hong Kong, and the bar had become part of that legacy, making it a popular spot for tourists and regulars alike.
However, starting at noon today, the bar had put up a 'Closed for Private Event' sign.
The Clock Tower Music Salon was underway inside, and several of Hong Kong's most famous singers were expected to attend.
(End Of This Chapter)
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