This is because being out in the sun makes her break out in a painful rash, and catching a respiratory infection can lay her low for two weeks.
Yue Rou has systemic lupus erythematosus, which causes her immune system to attack her own body’s tissues. In her case, the autoimmune disease has also developed into lupus nephritis, potentially severe inflammation of the kidneys.
The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 15 per cent to 20 per cent of people with lupus nephritis will require either a kidney transplant or long-term dialysis to stay healthy.
Ninety per cent of those with lupus are women.
The eight pills Yue Rou takes each day keep her condition under control, but lower her immunity as they suppress her overactive immune system.
Some of her life-saving medication like prednisolone, a steroid which reduces inflammation, can also affect her vision over the long term. She has blood and urine tests every six weeks, on top of yearly eye and heart scans.
For a time, if her parents or 10-year-old brother fell sick, they would stay with relatives to avoid infecting her. For the same reason, the family avoids crowded indoor places, preferring parks instead.
Yue Rou also has to steer clear of her favourite sashimi and many other kinds of raw food.
And while she wanted to have braces fitted, her parents held off after her doctor said the procedure comes with the risk of infection.
Lupus reared its ugly head during her PSLE year in 2024. A healthy child up till then, she complained for two months of her shoes being too tight, but her parents thought she had simply outgrown them.
When she woke up one day in May 2024 with bad joint pain and swollen eyes, face and body, her family rushed her to the National University Hospital (NUH).
As she lay in hospital for 10 days, receiving intravenous medication, her doctor told her parents about Make-A-Wish Singapore.
GRANTING WISHES
The children’s charity fulfils life-changing wishes for children aged three to 18 who have critical illnesses – including chronic conditions with extreme long-term complications – to enhance their quality of life.
The organisation, which works with hospitals, focuses on children assessed by a doctor to be in a critical state.
A team of volunteer “wish granters” works with each child to design and fulfil the wish.
This gives children an enjoyable distraction from their treatment, and helps them feel empowered by actively helping in the creation of their wish.
Yue Rou’s wish was to sing the theme song of Moonlight Mystique, a 2025 romance drama about a governor’s daughter who encounters a demon king on her quest to seek immortality.
Dates were pinned down for an audio recording in March, as well as a music video production in May, and volunteers got to work, hunting for venues, costumes and production crew.
A star for a day
May 17 – the day of Yue Rou’s much-anticipated music video shoot had finally come.
Her first stop was Dressed Up Dreams Photo Studio, which specialises in hanfu portraits – stylised shoots featuring traditional Han Chinese outfits.
In the studio tucked away in an industrial park, she took her pick from an array of flowy floor-length gowns, settling on one in pink and purple.
Her hair was woven into two braids, enhanced by a thick wig of long, black hair. With her eyelids and white cheeks dusted a rosy pink, she could channel her idol, Bai Lu, the Chinese actress, model and singer who starred in the Moonlight Mystique series.
Yue Rou’s mother then drove her to the Peranakan Mansion in Joo Chiat for the shoot.
When her recording was first played over the speakers, however, she blushed. “Some parts are out of tune,” said the teen, who loves singing and will compete in the National Schools Xinyao Singing and Songwriting Competition semi-finals in July.
Filming the music video proved nerve-racking. She had to lip-sync and perform, but froze under the gaze of the three-person crew.
“What do I do?” she asked volunteer Xie Shangyi, who came up with a sequence for her: slowly stroke her long hair, arrange her sleeves, and look into the distance.
“Why not we press ‘Record’ and then go hide?” joked one of the video crew members.
But Yue Rou relaxed over the course of the four-hour shoot. Instead of attempting to dance, she later adapted her practised taiji movements to the song.
On occasion, she flapped her airy sleeves like wings, hugged her mother, and joked with her father and restless brother.
“She takes time to warm up, but she’s actually very san ba (crazy),” her dad Er Wee Loon said with a laugh.
The reveal
When the final cut was ready, Yue Rou’s parents surprised her with a watch party for her music video at Trehaus @ Funan on June 21, attended by her friends and teachers from Bukit View Primary School, relatives from Kuala Lumpur and her doctor.
She was also persuaded to take the stage, together with her best friends from primary school, for an impromptu performance of Big Fish by Zhou Shen, with her parents looking on proudly.
The event’s emcee was one of Yue Rou’s wish granters, Ms Stefanie Loh – herself a beneficiary of Make-A-Wish after she was diagnosed with nasal cancer in Secondary 3. Not only did Ms Loh get the laptop she asked for, she also got to meet one of her favourite musicians, local singer and Singapore Idol runner-up Sylvester Sim.
Now 33 and a music teacher, Ms Loh said Yue Rou reminded her of her younger self. “She’s shy but she dares to dream big. She can seize opportunities and rise up to sing, play the piano, and share her talents. She taught me to live fearlessly.”
Ms Loh, who started volunteering with Make-A-Wish when she turned 21, also hopes to address the misconception that Make-A-Wish fulfils “last wishes”.
“It can be a push for a kid, so they can actually see through an illness and find hope and light in it.”
Also at the party was Dr Pauline Chan, Yue Rou’s doctor and a consultant in paediatric allergy, immunology and rheumatology at NUH, who had referred Yue Rou to Make-A-Wish.
Dr Chan said: “Having a chronic illness is really not easy to deal with, and I feel that having the opportunity to find spark and delight in the journey is really important in the recovery.
LOVED
“I wanted her to also feel that she could do things that other children could do, and to remind her that she’s loved by everyone.” – Dr Pauline Chan
Dr Chan said she always saw Yue Rou studying for her Primary School Leaving Examination while she was in hospital.
“I thought that showed resilience, and it was really inspirational for me. It reminds me why we do this for the patient.”
Mr Er said he has seen his daughter grow in confidence since recording the song, for which Yue Rou practised for weeks.
“I hope she continues to work hard, and knows that with the help of her parents and others, she’ll be able to make more and more wishes come true,” he said.