KINUMPIRMA mismo ni Xian Lim na matutuloy na ang taping ng naudlot na drama romance series na Love. Die. Repeat. nila ni Jennylyn Mercado sa GMA-7 ngayong 2023.

Matatandaan na natigil ang lock-in taping ng proyektong ito ni Direk Irene Villamor nang ipagbuntis ni Jennylyn ang panganay nila ni Dennis Trillo nu’ng kasagsagan ng Covid-19 pandemic.

Sa renewal ng contract niya bilang Viva artist, sinabi ni Xian na, “Matutuloy po siya, ‘yung Love. Die. Repeat. ‘yung title po nu’n. Nagpadala na po sila ng schedule. They’re ready to shoot Love. Die. Repeat. in a couple of months pagtapos po nitong Hearts on Ice. So I think we’re around 40-50 percent done. Iniisip ko siya, eh, gaano karami pa ba ‘yung natitira, but around there. No, I don’t think so (na magre-reshoot).

Baka? I don’t think naman na, marami-rami na rin kaming na-shoot, around 50 percent, so maybe, dahil shinoot po namin siya nu’ng kasagsagan ng pandemic at bawal lumabas, this itme around, there might be some sort of revision sa story dahil ngayon pwede na tayong umikut-ikot at magkaroon ng iba’t ibang locations. Yes, it’s still a go. This year po.”

Sa bilis ng panahon, tapos na pala ang five-year contract ng aktor sa Viva kung saan una niyang ginawa ang mga proyektong Hanggang Kailan at ang blockbuster hit adaptation na Miss Granny kasama si Sarah Geronimo.

“Ang bilis ng panahon, ang bilis ng orars. And I guess because masaya rin, eh. I’m having a lot of fun and parang naglalaro lang at the same time ang daming natututunan. It feels wonderful to be part of the Viva family.

“I didn’t really expect it to be that way, parang siguro it was a very busy five years. Akala ko kasi parang, baka ‘di ako magamit. May mga ganu’ng initial thoughts before I started. But then they stayed true to their promise and dire-diretso trabaho and I felt like my efforts were appreciated. And ‘yung oras at kumbaga, ‘yung pagod at puyat na binibigay ko to study the role, and because of the respect that I have for the audience, napapansin naman ‘yon ng mga bosses sa Viva. It really exceeded my expectations. Nakakatuwa lang na here we are after five years.”

Bale tatlo ang kontrata na muling pinirmahan ni Xian sa Viva at ito ay para sa film, directing at artist management.

Wish niya na makasama na sa mga susunod niyang proyekto ang directorial job kung saan artista niya ang real-life GF na si Kim Chiu.

“The next five years? Naku, abangan n’yo po. Directing Kim? Naku, depende po ‘yan sa kanya. But definitely, sana makasama po ‘yan sa plan because she’s a great actress and she’s really fun to work with.”

Last year, nagkasama sa Viva ang KimXi sa Pinoy adaptation ng K-drama na Always. Nakapagdirek din si Xian ng Hello Universe na pinagbidahan nina Janno Gibbs, Anjo Yllana atbp.

“It’s a healthy relationship with Viva,” ani Xian. “Ang daming challenging roles na nabibigay. It feels like a really nice learning process para sa isang artist because you get to do new things.

“It’s something I really didn’t expect na I would be this busy and I would do different types of projects as promised. Kadalasan naman dito sa industriya, hopes and expectations medyo nale-let down and that’s the truth. But with this company, they really stayed true, Boss Vic, Ate VR, Boss Vincent stayed true to their promise na I would be very busy and they would provide me with a variety of roles and projects na pinapangarap ko and things that I didn’t expect… film given katulad ng Untrue? That was very unexpected para sa akin but natapos po namin ‘yung pelikula and I learned a lot. So it’s just a quick taste of my first five years sa Viva.”

Tapos na ng aktor ang pelikula tungkol sa reincarnation na Sa Muli ni Direk Fifth Solomon at kung mabibigyan ng pagkakataon, type niya ring makatrabaho ang Viva artists gaya nina Anne Curtis, Nadine Lustre at marami pang iba.