Chapter 138 - Sweet Sixteen (2)

Scarlet touched down at Paris and smiled. She still recalled the first time she went overseas by herself with her manager from Jupiter Records. Pamela was supposed to help Scarlet find her escort but the airport was too complicated and neither of them spoke French. Their luggage was stolen and the hotel they booked made a double reservation which left them stranded.

Thankfully, Alex was in the area for work and offered her sister help. Claire gave Pamela some tips and contacts to help the fellow manager who broke down in thankful tears. While Jupiter Records was big, Pamela didn't have many opportunities to travel overseas because she had only ever been an event manager who coordinated for concerts. Britannia was the very first artiste she nurtured but back then, they had the help of Jenna. After the disbandment and Scarlet went solo, Pamela had to learn to do everything by herself. Scarlet didn't blame her manager. In fact, Pamela was a great manager who learnt fast even if she was slightly more inexperienced.

"I've booked the ride, let's check into the hotel first and put all these down before we go to Le Beau's, shall we?" Pamela asked and Scarlet agreed. It had been a long flight from her last shooting location in Beijing. Still, it wasn't the longest flight that Scarlet had been on. Eleven hours was still manageable but Scarlet knew that she would be sleeping at the beauty parlour later before Alex arrived. According to her sister, the talk show would end at around five in the afternoon so Alex would swing around by seven. They would attend the gala dinner event at nine and stay till about eleven before leaving together.

After checking into the junior suite room that she would be sharing with Tina and Pamela, Scarlet took a picture and uploaded it to the chatroom.

Lin Lin: Wow! Luxurious room indeed. How long will you be staying in Paris?

Scarlet: About a week. I'll swing by America to see Jasper and Elfie too before I return to Beijing.

Lin Lin: Darn… we'll miss each other. I'm currently on my Europe Classical Tour and I'm stuck in Rome until two weeks later. You'd be gone by then…

Scarlet: Hahaha! Don't worry, we can still meet up once your Europe Classical Tour is over. Pamela said that they want us to start thinking about the concept of my next album. I was thinking about making a classical-rock fusion instead of the normal EDM-rock that we've always done. What do you think?

Lin Lin: That's a great idea! I want to record the acoustics live if we're doing it. Oh, do you think putting in an orchestra will be an overkill for the next album's main theme?

Scarlet: … I have no idea. You're the composer.

Lin Lin: HAHAHAHA you're right! I'm going to put in traditional Asian instruments in the album so that we can compete for the track to be used in your next drama. I heard the casting auditions went well?

Scarlet: *victory sign* I'm playing the lead support as the bandit king's sister this time. They're going to start training me in martial arts once I return to Beijing.

Lin Lin: Ew… ok, good luck. When you're done with the lyric drafts, as usual, send them over and I'll have a look. Really want this stupid classical tour to be over… I'm so bored of playing Vivaldi!

Scarlet laughed at Lin Lin's rant and Pamela looked over curiously. It wasn't an uncommon scene to see Scarlet laughing over the phone. She knew that Scarlet was in close contact with the ex-members of Britannia and even if they were no longer in the music industry, Scarlet kept them updated about her activities. The manager admired that close friendship Scarlet had and wished that it would be that way for a long time.

After the luggage was settled down and the clothes for the gala chosen, Pamela escorted Scarlet to Mr Le Beau's beauty parlour. It was only four in the evening but seeing as the dinner gala would be very late, Tina decided to buy a little something so Scarlet could snack on after her beauty treatment before she left for the event. Likewise, Tina knew that Claire would be doing the same for Alex who would join them later.

Leonce's beauty parlour was a rather small shop on an upscale street in the middle of Paris. The street was full of high fashion boutiques, upscaled stylists and master shoemakers. While Leonce was a world-renowned beauty guru himself, he didn't really fancy a big shop. In fact, unlike the other beauty masters, Leonce didn't take on many students and didn't want to open a school. Alex had always tried to convince the stubborn stylist otherwise but he was adamant. On the other hand, Scarlet loved the man's convictions and how he remained true to his philosophy.

The bell chimed and Leonce smiled. "Miss Scarlet! It's always a joy to see you. I heard that you're doing very well in China right now. Have you been eating and resting well? Oh my, you're still as small as I remembered you to be. You truly are an angel frozen in time."

Scarlet felt slightly annoyed that her favourite stylist was teasing her. It was true that Scarlet stopped growing, unlike Jasper and Scarlet. Jasper had grown to be a stunning six foot (182cm) and Alex wasn't that far behind him, standing at five foot nine inches tall (175cm) without heels. Scarlet sometimes felt like a dwarf standing beside both of them. She disliked milk but drank lots of it when the two of them started their growth spurts. Sadly, it did nothing for the petite girl who now stood at only four foot and nine inches (145cm) without heels. It was one of the things Scarlet disliked about herself and she made it a point to always wear boots with platforms or wedge heels of at least five inches in height whenever she was in public. Still, the height difference between Alex and her could clearly be seen whenever they hung out together. Usually, her sister would wear flats or sneakers to lessen that difference in height but tonight, Alex had no choice but to wear heels, increasing their height difference once more.

Leonce was giving Scarlet her facial spa to prepare her skin for the make-up when Alex arrived, looking very worn out and exhausted. At once, the reliable stylist turned on the humidifier with relaxing lavender essential oil for the tired Wilde princess. Alex greeted Scarlet and they chatted while Claire and Tina prepared snacks for the girls.

"Sis!" Alex smiled when she saw Scarlet and went up to hug the small girl who was caught off guard. She hadn't slept for a long time now thanks to the flight and was about to take a nap but Alex arrived before she could do so. Still, it was a pleasant surprise to see her sister so quickly.

"Alex! How long has it been since I last saw you? Have you grown taller again?"

The teen model laughed and pointed to her feet. Scarlet caught a glance of the kitten heels Alex wore and sighed, looking over to her stilettos. Even for gala dinners, Alex was still considerate enough to find something that was shorter than the ones she normally wore for Scarlet's sake. The singer felt happy and slightly sorry that Alex had to go through so much because of her.

"Come, let's eat something first. You must be famished after such a long day," Scarlet suggested and Alex agreed.

Leonce came back to attend to Alex when he saw the sisters chatting while munching on avocado sandwiches. Claire had prepared enough for the two girls and Tina decided that she would save the boxed meals for later. It had been such a long time since the girls saw each other so Tina and the managers decided to leave them alone with Mr Le Beau.

"Alright ladies, I know it has been a few months since you last saw each other but I only have three hours to pretty up two very important people for tonight's gala dinner event. Miss Alex, why don't you finish that up quickly so that I can get started on your skin spa?" the gay stylist suggested and Scarlet waved to her sister with a smile. They had a week to catch up after all so she wasn't too worried.

Once Alex was gone, Scarlet felt the fatigue seep into her bones. She finished her sandwich quickly and found a good spot to take a nap. The skin spa would take a while so for now, the young writer thought she would get some shut-eye. It really was different whenever she was in the company of people she knew. Throughout the six years, Scarlet had never once stopped fighting the invisible war. She worked hard to gather information about Anastasia and planned her moves with Elfie's help. Jasper somehow found out and Scarlet had no choice but to let him in on her plans. It was difficult for them, even with the help of the Special Class and E.C. Class. Still, the only blessing was Alex's ignorance and decision to enter the showbiz.

After fighting for so long and laying down the foundation to their plans, Scarlet was very tired. She wanted to rest from time to time but it was difficult. Whenever she met someone she knew, it would be like this for a week and then it would be long, arduous months of working towards the goal. Closing her eyes, the young writer finally relaxed for the first time in a long while.

Home was not a fancy house. Home was with the people you loved and for Scarlet, she was finally home after a long while.