KimXi: The way they are

MANILA, Philippines - Kim Chiu can talk kilometric about the good traits that she sees in Xian Lim. And even without much prodding, she can easily reveal what she likes best in him.  “He’s always there for me and makes an effort to know my family. He treats women with respect. His willingness to wait cannot be denied.”

Same with Xian, who has been consistently vocal about his admiration for Kim since he started in showbiz. The two were initially paired in the ABS-CBN primetime series Binondo Girl and then followed by Ina Kapatid Anak.  

“Not a lot of people understand me but Kim is different. She understands me and cares to listen to me. She’s every guy’s dream girl,” said Xian during the presscon for their first movie team-up Bakit Di Ka Crush ng Crush Mo? under Star Cinema.

Still, Kim and Xian couldn’t tell loud and clear if there’s something romantic going on between them off screen. With his eyes seemingly fixed on her, all Xian could say was that Kim inspires him to do his best.

Asked if they are exclusively dating, Xian replied, “It’s not fair to put any label. All I can say is we get to know each other better every single day that we’re together; ‘yung di ko nakikilala sa kanya, mas nalalaman ko na.”

Kim, when asked to elaborate on their closeness, sounded a bit defensive. She preferred not to elaborate on anything about love. Still, members of the entertainment press wanted to know and insisted for an answer.

“Let’s not make it a big deal — whether we are on or not,” began Kim. “Sabihin man naming kami o hindi, wala rin namang mangyayari at wala rin namang mawawala sa inyo. A label is not important as long as we have shows, napapanood naman kami at napapasaya namin ang mga tao.”

Kim doesn’t want people to base the strength of their love team on whatever it is going on between them away from the cameras. “Hindi importante yung ‘Ah, sila’ o ‘Ah, di sila.’”

Besides, Kim added, she takes everything slowly but surely, especially now that a lot of things have been happening in her life. Thank God, Kim is coping beautifully with the loss of her dear mom. She sincerely appreciated the support of people around her, including Xian who never left her side during her moments of grief.

The movie was nearing its final shooting days when Kim’s mom died. But direk Joyce Bernal and the rest of the production team were kind enough to allow Kim to take a break.

“I’m happy because I felt the respect on the set. They always asked me if I’m okay. I admit it’s not easy to continue my work after what had happened. It’s like telling myself, ‘Hey, you need to make people laugh, you need to smile.’”

And just like anyone feeling the pain of losing a loved one, Kim found it too tough to perfect those “jolly and ligalig” scenes.

“I kept telling myself, ‘You can do it,’ because I don’t want our movie to be affected because of what I’m going through. Parang sandali lang naman; magte-take lang ng ilang minuto tapos balik na sa normal na Kim.”

As much as possible Kim doesn’t want to talk about that painful part of her life but “it cannot be helped because it’s part of life — that every day you have to learn to cope with whatever that brought you pain. I’m glad that there were people who stood by my side, sa kanila ko kumakapit. At natapos ng maayos ang pelikula.”

Bakit Di Ka Crush ng Crush Mo? is a romantic-comedy based on a self-help book written by Ramon Bautista who is also part of the cast. The story revolves around the lives of brainy ugly duckling employee Sandy Veloso (Kim) and his rich, dashing boss Alex Prieto (Xian).

Both Kim and Xian shared that the movie will not only bring out laugh-out-loud moments but also lessons about life and love.

Did they experience having crushes who just ignored their feelings?

“Yes, I had many crushes back in the States but they never seemed to care,” Xian answered.

“I also have so many crushes in Hollywood like Zac Efron but they never knew,” laughed Kim.

Bakit Di Ka Crush ng Crush Mo?, directed by Bb. Joyce Bernal, opens on July 31 in theaters nationwide.