18
8 DAYSNew Ch 8 drama While We Are Young
may star Ah Jie Zoe Tay, and Ah
Jie-in-waiting Rebecca Lim, but it was the
younger actors who stole the limelight at
the drama’s recent press meet. [Ed: Or
maybe it was ’cos Zoe was MIA ’cos she
had injured her lower back.] The coming-
of-age drama, which centers on a group
of teenagers count several second-gen
stars such as Calvert Tay, Chen Yi Xin,
Chantalle Ng and Marcus Guo as its leads.
For the uninitiated, they are the kids of
Zheng Geping and Hong Huifang (Calvert),
Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun (Yi Xin), Lin
Meijiao and Huang Yiliang (Chantalle), and
Guo Liang (Marcus). The show also stars
up-and-comer Zong Zijie, who’s signed to
Dasmond Koh’s NoonTalk Media, Joanna
Theng, daughter of famous ophthalmologist
Dr Julian Theng, and Singapore-based
Malaysia-born actress Denise Tan. These
kids be enjoying their newfound fame,
but life wasn’t a bed of roses for the cast
during their growing up years.PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CH 8Turns out the cast of
new Ch 8 coming-of-
age drama While We
Are Young were bullied
in school. But they also
show that life really does
get better.Bully
System
REBECCA LIM
“I was bullied ’cos I was overweight. I was made
president of the Trim and Fit (TAF) club as I was
there the longest, from Pri 3 till Sec 2, and people
always made fun of my size. Guys would make
me pass small presents to my girlfriends and told
me not to sit on them in case I break them. In Pri
6, there was a guy who refused to hold my hand
in church for a group activity ’cos I was fat. It was
especially hurtful ’cos I had a crush on him. The
funny thing is we met at a friend’s party during
university, and he asked for my number. Of course
I didn’t give it to him! (Laughs)”CHEN YI XIN
“I got bullied in school ’cos of who my parents
were. My classmates ostracized me and said
that everything I achieved was because my
mum is Xiang Yun and my dad is Edmund
Chen. It was a tough period. My classmates in
Singapore Polytechnic now are different. They
told me that they even pretended not to know
who my parents were initially so that I won’t
feel too uneasy in school. I think that’s really
nice of them.”scene & Heard