there's something about li-lin   Her diva reputation may precede her but in reality, Li-lin is enigmatic, funny, and somewhat of a perfectionist, says JUSTINA TAN.     You may have read or heard stories about Li-lin’s reputation for being diffi cult, outspoken and arrogant. But meeting her for the first time turns out to be less daunting than we imagined. Breezing into our studio, right on time for her photo call, the impossibly lithe mother-of-two is all smiles. The 36-year-old is nothing like your run-of-the-mill actress, nor is she an ingratiating celebrity who censors her words, twice over. She’s professional and polite, witty and confi dent, pausing on occasion to deliberate before speaking her mind. She articulates her thoughts intelligently and honestly – so you’ll understand when we say Li-lin is incredibly appealing. STILL A STAR Thirteen years after her TV debut on the Englishlanguage series Triple Nine in 1995, Li-lin is still very much on top of her game. The Fly Entertainment artiste snared the lead role in both local movie The Leap Years, released in February, and a German-made telemovie, Love Under The Sign Of The Dragon, which premiered last month. She’s also the spokesperson for Novita water purifi ers and True Yoga. So you’d half expect Li-lin to tell you it takes work ethic, discipline and guts to survive so long in the entertainment industry. But no, she attributes it all to luck. FOCUS ON THE FAMILY Perhaps that’s because her career is taking a backseat, for now. Her main priority is her daughter Sage, 4, and son Jonas, 2. So committed is she to being a mum that she gave up her stint as a DJ on a local radio station as there just wasn’t time. “My main priority is my family – cooking for them, looking after them, spending time with them and doing everything with them,” she says. The former ballerina, who won a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in England when she was 16 and started a ballet school in 1992, now fills her days chauffeuring her kids to and from pre-school, and playing with them. “After my kids come back from school, I let them take a nap if they want, or play with them until bedtime. Then, I pass out,” Li-lin says with a guffaw. “Parenting is one of the hugest and most responsible tasks entrusted to anyone, and I don’t want to mess it up. I don’t take it lightly at all,” Li-lin adds seriously.   PHOTOGRAPHY AIK CHEN ART DIRECTION MARIANNE LIM STYLING PATRICK SIN HAIR YOU/PASSION HAIR SALON MAKEUP ANDY LEE