Spend a little longer looking at these photos of Qi Yuwu, because they took a lot of hard work, on his part as well as ours.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we wanted to see how the A-list actor and star of movies like 881 and The Home Song Stories would scrub up in playfully romantic fashions. Unfortunately, the shoot came at the end of a long day for Qi. And, let’s face it, a broody mug doesn’t paint a terribly romantic picture.

“It’s really difficult,” he grimaced, after we asked him to smile for the umpteenth time. “It’d be easier for me if you asked me to cry.”

Don’t get him wrong. It’s not that he’s a gloomy or lachrymose person. He has always greeted us with a big smile and has often been boyishly cheeky, if the mood takes him. It’s just that, well, he hates posing for the camera.

“I’ve always felt that smiling was difficult,” the 36-year-old confessed. “It’s not because I’m not a happy person. I just feel that each expression needs a reason behind it.”

It’s also why, when it comes to photography, this art lover and Singapore Art Museum board member likes candid shots. In his first art exhibition at the Worlds Apart Fair held two weeks ago, for example, his photos of everyday objects were digitally integrated with the oil paintings of contemporary Chinese artist Feng Zhengjie. Why such a technique?

“I prefer that because it’s life,” he said. “As opposed to, ‘Let’s take a picture’.”

For Qi, such “life” shots are, in a way, similar to acting. “Because every expression has a reason and it’s not just a surface expression. I’m always attracted by movie stills because I feel that every picture has a story. It has something to tell, an emotion.”

The “emotional story” that Qi likes is also why he said he is looking forward to watching C.L.I.F. 2, the sequel to the highly rated MediaCorp TV Channel 8 police drama.

“I liked the developing relationship between my character and Joanne (Peh)’s in the first season. This time, there’s a little more drama.”

‘THERE’S USUALLY A NEW DISCOVERY EVERY TIME I TAKE A SHOWER’

What goes through the Guangzhou native’s head, then, when his colleagues tease him — as they constantly do — about being expressionless?

He shrugged. “It’s true, I am. Although I don’t know what expression they expect from me when I’m not feeling much of anything. I’m not angry, but I don’t know how to react. When they joke with me, I’m fine with it, but I don’t know how to keep up my end of the game.”

If you really want to catch Qi at his most uninhibited state, it would be — by his own words — in the shower.

“Every time I’m in the shower, I start thinking about a whole bunch of things,” he chuckled. “I just think about the people around me, or what I did and experienced, and how I felt then.

“There are a lot of flashbacks. And I discover a lot of new things. I don’t think I’m a careless person, but when I’m taking a shower, I pick up on a lot of things that I previously missed. ‘Why did this person do that today? How come I didn’t realise it at the time?’ There’s usually a new discovery every time I take a shower. It just feels like I’m summing up the day and giving it a conclusion.”

As for summing himself up, Qi said he’s heading towards simplicity. “I’m getting increasingly simple. I don’t want to think about things that are too complicated,” he elaborated. “In the past I would do that unconsciously … Perhaps I was too focused on outcomes, especially when it came to my career and relationships. I really wanted to find a sense of security. It’s not that security isn’t important to me now — everyone needs it. It’s just that perhaps I can give myself security. I need security from others, too, but my biggest source of security is myself. It’s easier to be happy that way, you could say.

“Now I’m able to connect more with my own feelings. I try to look at things a bit more broadly and I don’t try to control them as much. I feel less burdened.”

‘THE ONLY ROMANCE THAT LASTS IS A REAL ROMANCE’

Of course, that may make him sound like a loner, but the 2011 Star Awards Best Actor doesn’t actually like going solo.

“I need to be with friends,” he clarified. “But I think it depends on what kind of people you associate with. With some people, you feel more clear-headed; you understand things and yourself and life; you’ll be more grounded and settled. But with other people, I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

So, what about when it comes to a romantic partner? “I have been looking for someone all this while! This stuff is up to fate. If it comes, it comes. If not, it doesn’t,” he said, before adding: “I think I am a romantic person, but my idea of romance might be a little different from public perception.”

Back when he was a schoolboy, for example, he climbed up a tree and picked some flowers for a girl he liked ... anonymously. “She didn’t know the flowers were from me,” Qi admitted sheepishly. “I just put them in her drawer. I never dared to tell her I liked her. Just seeing her reaction made me really happy.”

Unfortunately, after graduation, they never saw each other again. “I think we all do things like that at some point. It’s sweet, but those things never last. I think the only romance that lasts is a real romance.”

No surprise here, but as a lover, Qi prefers being the strong, silent type, as opposed to someone who’s overly effusive in his romantic expressions.

“Romance is a mental thing to me, and not an action,” he explained. “Not that you shouldn’t have actions — if it’s in your mind, there’ll naturally be actions — but I think the mental part, how you feel, is more important. Romance should come from the way you feel about a particular person, and not from a set of rules to follow.”

He continued: “Sometimes I see an elderly couple going for an after-dinner stroll. I think that’s very romantic. If I have that kind of good fortune, to live to that age and be able to walk hand in hand with my other half, then, do you still need to send flowers? Is that still important? Going for a Valentine’s Day dinner? Is that important?

“Some things are no longer important. But actually, every little thing is important. Do you understand what I mean?”

Yes, we think we do. But we might need some time in the shower with him — just to be sure.

Catch C.L.I.F. 2 starting Feb 18 at 9pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.

Photography: Jason Ho

Styling: Zhang Weifang

Hair: Nigel Woo, Passion Hair Salon

Make-up: Joanna Ang, Sono Bello (HP: 9695 3772)

Prices unavailable unless otherwise stated

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