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Chen Yixi: Hard to escape being constantly called ‘Edmund Chen or Xiang Yun’s son’

Growing up as the son of a celebrity power couple in Singapore can be tough.

But if anything, the 21-year-old son of household names like Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun is far from pompous and arrogant.

Instead, Chen Yixi leads a well-adjusted perfectly normal teen life, and makes school his priority.

Having already stopped taking allowance from his parents, he admits his parents — veterans of the acting scene and stars of top-rated Channel 8 series like "Double Happiness" and "The Little Nonya" -- remain a big influence over him.

Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore in a recent interview at Caldecott Hill, Chen says he was taught at a young age to be careful of the public limelight.

"One thing for sure, I definitely have to portray myself nicely when I'm outside and that's the most important thing. I can't go around shouting, kicking and rolling on the floor in public," said Yixi, who is also very conscious of what he tweets or post on Facebook.

Last year, Nicole, the 20-year-old daughter of local actor Huang Wenyong, caused a stir online when she posted suggestive photos of herself online, sparking an angry rebuke from her father.

But the hardworking boy, who's currently pursuing a degree in Art Design & Media at Nanyang Technological University and lives in one of the halls there, says that "personally, (he's) very lazy when it comes to social media".

But he admits fame does have its (small) perks — the handful of friends who know who his parents really are will "go to him for spoilers if Edmund Chen or Xiang Yun happen to act in a particular show".

Admitting it's hard to escape being known as "Edmund Chen's son" or "Xiang Yun's son", he said, "Sometimes people even forget my real name. It's impossible to escape. I want people to know me as 'Chen Yixi' but in a way it's good that people know I'm their son because they're big in the media industry."

Showbiz not for him

Chen made his first tentative foray into acting this year when he starred in a local Mandarin mini web series by MediaCorp called "i. Rock", which was a drama based on three youths' dreams and passion for music. He played a geeky teen with an "obscene haircut and spectacles" in the series which ran for 15 five-minute episodes.

So will Chen follow in the footsteps of his parents and go into showbiz?

"I do admit that acting has its perks because people recognise you and doors open for you but I always ask myself if it will be worth it for me in the long run. I rather pursue my passion and besides, I can't act! Even my parents laughed at me when I was practising my lines for the mini web series," said the bubbly undergraduate.

While he does not rule out an acting career, Chen said being in front of the camera makes him "nervous" and he would prefer being an "animator, illustrator, scriptwriter or even a filmmaker".

That's why he said acting in "i. Rock" was great exposure for him.

"In order to do any of that, I need to understand the emotions of actors and how they act, then will I be able to succeed in of any of the above. You need to know what a director sees," he said, who added his parents leave it to him to decide his future career.

Chen, whose regular past-time is gaming, says his biggest passion is drawing.

"I found myself an outlet which was in drawing. Whatever I saw in my games, I drew and it becomes my own story in a sense; it is a visual representative of what I've went through but instead of the game, I draw it out. Art, Design & Media allows me to do that as well, I get to express in so many different ways," he said.

Cosplay fever

Chen, who along with teen star Kimberly Chia is the ambassador of gaming-cum-cosplay-event The Games Xpo (TGX) 2012, recently dressed up as "Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade", to get into the cosplay mood.

"It was my first time cosplaying and I chose to be Jin Roh. The organisers asked me to try out skin-tight costumes from Fantastic 4 characters and the Spiderman costume," he confessed.

"If I had a really buff body then I would have considered that but in the end I went for Jin Roh!"

Chen said he's looking forward to checking out the games at TGX because "it is one of the biggest cosplaying events and as there aren't many platforms for cosplayers, TGX will be a good a good place for them to get exposure and show what they've got."

TGX 2012 will be held at The Singapore Expo from 7 to 9 September and admission is free.