On a cold and warm night in December 2002, 40-year-old Anita Mui opened the medical report alone. Cervical cancer, these words were clearly printed on the paper and hit her hard.
She sighed softly, her eyes beginning to bewilder.
She has always been very arrogant and good at hiding her emotions, but she can't control the turbulent waves in her heart at this time. That terrible illness had taken the life of her dearest sister, and now that it was her turn, Anita Mui felt more vulnerable than ever.
She lit a cigarette with a trembling hand, and in the smoke, her mind was full of images of her last time with her sister—emaciation, weakness, and eternal parting.
Anita Mui took a deep breath and held back her tears. She didn't believe that the doctor said that "it will get better naturally", and she knew too well the viciousness of the disease. But she still poses as an optimist to outsiders as always, because she doesn't want everyone to worry about her.
She began to keep herself busy, trying to numb herself with her work and not thinking about those terrible futures. In fact, she was already scared, this time, I was afraid that the day of parting would really come.
One day in April 2003, a bad news crushed the originally sick Anita Mui - her closest brother Leslie Cheung chose to end his life. When the news came, Anita Mui was sitting alone at home.
She jerked to her feet, staring at her friend in horror. "No way, you're lying!" She shouted, her voice full of desperation.
Tears burst out of her eyes, and she fell to the ground and began to cry loudly. She had completely collapsed at this time, and she hugged her head and cried, tears soaking the ground.
Her friends at home also whispered softly with tears in their eyes, but no words could heal the great wound in her heart.
In the following days and nights, Anita Mui knelt in front of the Buddhist shrine all day and night, chanting and praying for Leslie Cheung. She was not allowed to eat and rest, and her body was getting thinner and thinner, leaving only her bones.
She blamed herself deeply and could no longer let go. She kept asking herself if she had cared more about Leslie Cheung at the beginning, would she have prevented him from going to a dead end. All kinds of regrets are intertwined, and Anita Mui's whole person has fallen into unprecedented grief, and she feels that she has no courage to continue living.
In September 2003, Anita Mui, who was sitting on a hospital bed, finally made up her mind to face her illness. She smoothed her crumpled light blue hospital gown, took a deep breath, and walked to the media camera.
"I had cervical cancer. When the words came out of the microphone, the venue was in an uproar. Anita Mui curled the corners of her mouth and smiled lightly, as if she wanted to appease everyone.
Although her palms were sweaty and her legs were trembling slightly, she still put on a strong posture as always.
"I'm going to defeat this demon. She said in a trembling voice, firm and powerful. The fans in the audience were sad, and Anita Mui comforted them: "I just temporarily interrupted my acting career for a short time...... When I recover, I will stand in front of you again and bring you more good songs. After saying this, she held back her tears and left the scene almost as if she had run away.
In November 2003, it was the beginning of winter in Hong Kong, and the air was full of bitter chills. But the heat was raging in the Hung Hom Stadium, and fans held up glow sticks and gave warm applause to the queen of the upcoming song.
Wearing a brightly colored red dress, Anita Mui slowly stepped onto the stage. Her body was weakened by days of chemotherapy, and her steps were staggering, but she still had a confident smile on her face.
"I love you guys!" She shouted to the audience, and before she could finish speaking, a few autumn leaves-like hair fell in the wind. She brushed it away with her hand, as if she hadn't noticed.
In the next 8 concerts, Anita Mui sang with her life. She was already terminally ill and in pain every day, but she danced on the stage with her voice up.
This is a life-and-death duel between her and the disease, and she does not allow herself to fall in front of her fans. When she sang "Sunset Song" in a wedding dress, the scene resounded with tsunami applause.
Countless people burst into tears and paid their last respects to this shining superstar.
In December 2003, Anita Mui, who was terminally ill, came to Tokyo. The cold wind in a foreign country made her shiver, who was already weak, but the moment she saw her old lover Kondo Masahiko, her cold body suddenly warmed up.
"You're getting old. Anita Mui smiled and patted Kondo's gray-haired head. Kondo also smiled wryly back, and the years left mottled marks on both of their faces.
Thinking of the bits and pieces of young love back then, Anita Mui couldn't help but reddened her eyes - after all, fate made people, and they couldn't be together.
In the few days she spent revisiting Kondo, Anita Mui carefully concealed her illness. She is afraid that Kondo will worry about her, and she is also afraid that these dark and painful truths will ruin the sweetness of the reunion between the two after a long absence.
On the night of leaving, Kondo couldn't help but reddened her eyes when he hugged her tightly in his arms. The secrets and tears that had been hidden for a long time finally filled their eyes at this moment.
When the return plane passed through the sea of clouds, Anita Mui, who was sitting in the cabin, suddenly felt unprecedented cold and tired. She looked down at her shriveled and aging hands and sighed secretly.
On her first day back in Hong Kong, she hurried to work. Friends advised her to slow down and recuperate, but she ignored her. The round-the-clock filming work made it difficult for her to sleep all night, and her body was failing day by day, but her heart was still soft and tenacious.
She tried her best to give the audience more works in her lifetime, even if she sacrificed herself. Because for her, the stage and career are everything to her.
Sometimes between filming, Anita Mui would hide alone in the corner of the dressing room and cry quietly. She looked at her increasingly haggard self in the mirror, and her heart was like a knife. She knew that this body could not support it for long, and all she could do was to sacrifice her life and forget about death, and work hard until the last moment of her life.
On the last day of 2003, the cold wind of parting blew through every corner of Tokyo. In the ward, Anita Mui looked at the friends gathered by the bedside, and the corners of her mouth were dry.
She remembered the first thorny years of her life, the splendor on the stage later, the love and hatred, and the short forty years, she lived a chic life without regrets.
Her friends had red eyes and held her weak hands, just like when she said goodbye to her teacher. She shook her head slightly, signaling everyone not to be upset. In fact, she has already seen that the world is like morning dew, and the gains and disgraces are nothing but smoke.
That night, she closed her eyes peacefully in her hospital bed. As in the last days of her life, she left so calmly. There was no fear, no hatred, just gently, with a turn, and left this world.
47-year-old Anita Mui died in the tearful eyes of her friends and in the mourning of countless people. She turned into a cloud on the horizon, beautiful and free.