“Aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!! Hahahhahaaaa!!!! Ahhhhh!!!” Seven years away from showbiz has done nothing to dull the power of Fiona Xie’s vocal cords,as she squeals up a high-pitched storm at the 8 DAYS photo shoot. We’re not sure if she’s screaming to psych herself up, out of sheer nervous energy or just ’cos she can, but it doesn’t matter. Our ears hurt, but our eyes are getting a treat. The divine Miss X, despite exclaiming that she hasn’t done a photo shoot in years, has still got it. She shakes and shimmies, arches her back, flips her hair and pouts like it’s second nature. Sure, she has to be reminded to “chin down” and “relax your mouth” here and there, but it’s obvious that she loves the camera, and the camera loves her. And the results are, well, vintage Fiona.

Trust us, the brief for this photo shoot wasn’t “sexy.” We didn’t tell the photographer and the stylist, “Make her look like a sex kitten.” After all, that image of Fiona Xie is so… seven years ago. We were gonna go with a sensibly chic denim theme and then go with the flow. But when Fiona Xie steps in front of the lens… let’s just call it the FX effect. Jackets somehow slide off her slim shoulders, pants get hitched down, that cleavage pops — the girl just can’t help it. She’s got sexy oozing out of her pores, and as Justin Timberlake says, she’s bringing it back.