For the record: I’m writing this down in detail because asya and fangirlishness are complete enablers. š
So, last night, just as I was about to head to bed, I saw something on Tumblr about Shen Wei himself, Zhu Yilong, attending the watch & jewelry fair Baselworld. In case you don’t know – I live in Basel, and I might have lost it a little bit when I realized that at this very moment I was only a couple of kilometres away from this gorgeous creature… (That’s the suit he’s wearing today.)
Fast-forward through a restless night with little sleep and a long morning at work, where I managed to get my grubby fingers on a free ticket for the fair. I mean, I do have some dignity, I was not going to pay CHF 45 without even knowing if I was going to catch a glimpse! š
Good call, too, because the booth of Chopard watches (which ZYL represents) was only accessible by appointment. I did take advantage of not appearing to be part of the horde of fangirls that were camped out in front (and speaking some French) to ask security, but couldn’t see ZYL. And then I lucked out – I’d only loitered around for a couple of minutes, wondering if I should just leave and posting a picture of the crowd, when excited squeeing alerted me to the fact that the elusive object of my little excursion was emerging.
Then it was on. Everyone had their phones out and was trying to get in front of ZYL and his entourage. When seeing pictures this morning, I thought the security around him was a bit exaggerated, considering he’s completely unknown here – but I’d forgotten how many international guests we get for the fair, many of them Chinese. He definitely needs the human shield, even if the fangirls altogether were respectful – no screaming, no attempts to touch him, nothing really embarrassing. Still, the non-Chinese visitors were staring at the spectacle, and I was trying very hard not to feel too ridiculous, keeping to the edges. *g*
I did catch a few tantalising glimpses – and boy, he is just as beautiful in real life as he is in pictures! That flawless porcelain skin, those big eyes, that fucking perfect profile… He’s pretty tall, too, and he seemed very calm and collected, barely even glancing at the crowd around him – serene would be a good word, actually. (I assume that’s a coping mechanism, otherwise every time he has to take this walk would a) take forever and b) be very draining.)
The whole horde walked across the square to the hotel, where I waited a second and then used my local advantage and simply marched inside while the rest of the fangirls stayed outside (again, very respectful!). I also kept it cool and, once in the lobby (which is also a cafe, so I wasn’t doing anything wrong, just to be clear), did not follow him up the stairs (which would have been wrong). I just went to the loo, wondering about my life choices. š
The fair is still going on for another few days, but I’m not going to camp out there for a repeat of this experience as ZYL makes his way back and forth between exhibition and hotel. I will, however, keep my eyes open when I’m in town, in case he decides to take a break from working and go sightseeing. After all, I have in the past managed to run into some celeb faves* while traveling, so maybe my luck will hold in my own hometown… Wish me luck!
Overall, this felt a very weird for a regular afternoon off – I’m obviously a bad stalker, but I’m pretty okay with that. *g*
*I have to tell this story, because it never gets old: I literally ran into Dominic Monaghan (Merry from LotR, my favourite hobbit) in the fucking BATHROOM, when he was filming for his wildlife show in a sanctuary in Wellington, NZ. He’d forgotten to lock the door and was still zipping up his fly, so I figured this wasn’t the moment to squee and ask for a picture – lucky for me, the next day I saw him again. This time on the street, and even better: he was with my other favourite hobbit (and half of the best OTP ever), Billy Boyd. The light even turned red, so I had no qualms about asking for a picture then. Best moment EVER!
The other time I ran into Spencer Smith, my favourite from Panic at the Disco, when he was on a Starbucks run in Perth, Australia. (Not quite so surprising because I did have tickets for their show that night – otherwise I probably wouldn’t even have realised it was him.)