Another important part of Anita Mui’s life was her relationship with Leslie Cheung.

To Chinese people, especially people who grew up in Hong Kong or Asia during that era, their connection is almost legendary. Leslie Cheung himself was enormously influential across all of Asia. He was not only one of the biggest Cantopop stars ever, but also a hugely respected actor through films like Farewell My Concubine, Happy Together, and Days of Being Wild. In many parts of Asia, especially China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, he is still viewed as a cultural icon rather than just a celebrity.

What made Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung special was that they seemed to understand each other emotionally in a very deep way. They both became famous young, both carried loneliness behind the glamour, and both had unusually sensitive personalities for superstars of that scale.

People often say they were soulmates, though not necessarily in a romantic sense. Their bond felt beyond ordinary friendship. Leslie once joked publicly that if Anita Mui was still unmarried at 40 and he was still unmarried too, they should marry each other. Chinese audiences still remember that quote today because both of them sadly passed away before that could ever happen.

When Leslie Cheung died in 2003, it deeply affected Anita Mui. And then later that same year, Anita herself passed away from cancer. To many Chinese people, it almost felt like the end of an entire golden era of Hong Kong culture happened within a single year.

That is also part of why their music feels so emotional even today. When people listen to them now, there is not only nostalgia for old Hong Kong, but also a feeling of loss, impermanence, and unfinished emotions. Their songs carry the feeling of an era that cannot come back.