XIAN Lim (left) and Kim Chiu
“There’s a proper time and place to admit it … not in a press conference where the move can be interpreted at different angles,” said actor Xian Lim when asked about the real score between him and his “The Story of Us” costar, Kim Chiu.
At the press conference of their latest drama series on ABS-CBN, show biz scribes prodded Kim and Xian, who remained tight-lipped about their relationship.
This was despite the recent admission of “On the Wings of Love” stars, James Reid and Nadine Lustre, that they are officially a couple. The two announced this during their “JaDine in Love” show at Araneta Coliseum.
“Before this, I already apologized to most of you who are probably already tired of hearing us say ‘we’re happy together’ or ‘there’s something special between us,’ or that our relationship is ‘leveling up.’ But Kim and I don’t want to say anything more, for fear that this might complicate things between us,” Xian told reporters present at Tuesday’s luncheon held at the ABS-CBN studios in Quezon City.
The actor added: “I’m not afraid to publicly say that I love Kim, but my personal take on this issue is that, people might react negatively (once we admit to something). We fear that the wrong story would be printed … I just want to protect Kim. I don’t want her to get hurt.”
Xian said that “since it would not be nice for Kim to talk since she is a girl,” he would simply speak on her behalf. “To those who want to know our story, yes, we love each other. We simply refuse to put a label to it,” he insisted.
Kim, meanwhile, said she had long healed from her previous painful relationship. “That happened more than half a decade ago. I’ve long forgotten it. Xian and I are happy now,” she said in Filipino.
Kim and Xian first worked together in the 2011 romantic comedy TV series, “My Binondo Girl.” Xian said he was amazed at how similar they are in terms of personality. “We share the same dreams. We get along really well. When we go out, we prefer intimate chats than going to parties. We hang out in places where we can talk about our plans for the future.”
According to Xian, they also have misunderstandings, “but we make sure to patch things up before the day ends.”
In “The Story of Us,” Macoy Sandoval (Xian) and Tin Manalo (Kim) are childhood best friends-turned lovers.
Kim said she was able to relate to her character in many ways. “Like me, she is the breadwinner (of the family she grew up with in Palawan). She provides for her stepmother and brother. She prioritizes family over her love life. I can relate to her because, for me, family comes first before anything else.”
“Macoy is driven. He has dreams, which he is working hard to fulfill,” Xian shared with reporters. “While working on the series, I was able to meet interesting people like the fishermen in Palawan who earn a meager P200 a day, but are still happy. I also met people in the US who told me about their struggles there. I can relate to them because I once lived in the US with my mom.”
The production team spent 10 days in New York City, where Kim said working had been tough because of the extremely cold weather.
“I feel my toes and fingers get frozen each time we’re outdoors. Xian was so kind to get me earmuffs and buy me hot drinks every so often,” she recalled, adding that it helped that Filipinos living there were so accommodating. “Some of them would ask their photos be taken with us, then come back (to our set) with boxes of pizza.”
“The Story of Us,” which premiered on Feb. 29, is codirected by Richard Somes and Will Fredo. It also features Aiko Melendez, Zsa Zsa Padilla, John Arcilla, Zaijian Jaranilla and Alyanna Angeles.