Chapter 33: Lasting Impression
Feng Jiu sprawled across the bed, refusing to get up. Her whole body was feeling stiff after the sports-meet yesterday, and she didn't sleep well at all.
She stretched and yawned, and then she finally decided to wake up.
On the second day of their orientation training, everyone was required to attend a 6-hours SOP class, which would also include some team building activities.
Everyone was divided into different groups, which consists of ten people per group. As there were only three people in Si Ming's team, they were grouped up with people from the Accounting Department.
Throughout the whole orientation training, a guy named Xuan Yue from the Accounting Department kept staring at Feng Jiu. It seems that he had taken an interest in her.
Xiao Yan noticed him staring at Feng Jiu, and he whispered to her, "Hey, Feng Jiu. I think you got yourself a secret admirer." Then he nudged her to look at Xuan Yue.
Xuan Yue immediately turned away before their eyes met, and Feng Jiu whispered back to Xiao Yan, "You're spewing nonsense again, Xiao Yan!"
Then they continued their training.
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After six long hours, the training was finally over. They were told to study for an SOP test, that would be held two days later. Those who failed in the test would have to retake it. If not, they won't be able to complete their training.
Then they decided to head over to the cafe for some drinks before dinner, as it was still early.
"Why do we still have to sit for an SOP test?!" Xiao Yan protested.
"Oh well, many applicants were competing to join Tai Chen Group, so they have to be very strict on their hiring process, especially after that recent plagiarism incident." Si Ming replied calmly.
Suddenly, Xuan Yue walked over to Feng Jiu and said, "Hi Feng Jiu, would you mind sparing me some time to talk privately?"
Xiao Yan instantly turned to Feng Jiu, and whispered, "I told you so! And you said I was spewing nonsense!"
Feng Jiu then lightly pushed Xiao Yan away and replied, "Umm... Um, I'm sorry, but we were actually heading to a cafe for a tea break now. So...."
Before she could finish her sentence, Xiao Yan interrupted, "No! She's free now. Go ahead, Feng Jiu. We will head to the cafe first. See you later!"
Xiao Yan then raised his eyebrows at Feng Jiu, as he quickly pushed Si Ming to leave.
Feng Jiu then turned to glare at Xiao Yan with her squinting eyes, and then she silently mouthed the words 'You better watch out!'
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Feng Jiu and Xuan Yue headed up towards the roof terrace. They bought some canned drinks from the vending machine and sat down on a bench.
They didn't realize Dong Hua was lying down on the bench behind them, as a tall bush blocked it. Dong Hua noticed them sitting down, but he kept quiet and eavesdropped into their conversation, as he was curious.
"The view is so beautiful up here." Xuan Yue tried to break the ice between them.
"So, what do you want to talk to me about?" Feng Jiu immediately replied as she wanted to cut the conversation short.
It caught Xuan Yue by surprise, and he stuttered, "Uh... So... I know this might sound weird, but I actually liked you since the first time that I saw you, back at Qing University. I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me so that we can get to know each other better?"
Feng Jiu instantly knew where this was going, as she had encountered this situation countless times, back in school. "Not another one," she silently thought to herself.
With Feng Jiu's quick thinking, she immediately replied, "Oh, I guess you haven't heard about it."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Xuan Yue was confused.
"Well. Back then, I made a name for myself for being a 'Competitive Eater,' and I even won a few competitions in a row. I'm hungry all the time, and I eat a lot, so I'll definitely make you bankrupt."
"You don't have to worry about that, Feng Jiu. I will be earning quite a decent amount of money after I start working at Tai Chen Group, so I can definitely afford to feed you."
"Oh, and I forgot to mention one more thing. When I'm hungry, I tend to be bad-tempered." Feng Jiu immediately replied.
"Oh... Bad-tempered...?" Xuan Yue mumbled to himself, and he was already having second thoughts.
"Well. You said that you want to know more about me, right? I'll tell you more about myself now. I'm good at sports, especially kickboxing. Should I show you some moves now?"
"Umm... Sure?" Xuan Yue nervously replied. Then he opened his canned drink, and he started to sip on his drink.
Dong Hua, who was eavesdropping on their conversation, quickly sat up to peek at what they were doing. Dong Hua wasn't the type to care about others' affairs, but somehow this piqued his curiosity.
Feng Jiu started with some hard kickboxing moves, as she was trying to scare Xuan Yue off.
It seems that Feng Jiu's tactics were working, and Xuan Yue appeared to be afraid. Feng Jiu noticed that he was nervously sipping on his drink, and she swiftly kicked the canned drink out of his hands.
The drink spilled all over on Xuan Yue's clothes.
"Omg, I'm so sorry! Why am I so clumsy?" Feng Jiu faked concern.
"I'm going to excuse myself now. I'm so sorry. This is so embarrassing!" Then Xuan Yue quickly stood up and ran away.
"I will show you more of my kickboxing moves, the next time we see each other!" Feng Jiu sarcastically replied, then she giggled loudly to herself.
Dong Hua, who was still watching Feng Jiu, gave a half-smile. He thought to himself, "This girl is intriguing." And he continued to look at Feng Jiu, trying to see what she would do next.
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Feng Jiu slowly sat down and leaned her head back against the bench. She stretched out her legs and looked up at the sky. She loved the smell of the fresh air and the cool breeze running through her hair.
"What a beautiful day!" she murmured to herself, and she closed her eyes.
While she was enjoying the breeze, she suddenly thought about the SOP test and Xuan Yue confessing to her. She started kicking her legs, but her eyes remained closed as she was still feeling exhausted after the SOP course.
"I'm so tired, but I still need to study for that SOP test. Whoever came up with that strict SOP must be crazy! No wonder Xuan Yue dared to do this, he must be crazy after learning all that SOP today. And now it's driving me crazy too! Hmph!"
Feng Jiu was thinking out loud because she thought that she was alone on the roof terrace, and nobody would hear her grumbling. Little did she know, Dong Hua was listening to every single word she said, from the start.
Then Dong Hua silently walked over to where Feng Jiu was sitting, and slowly sat down beside her. Feng Jiu was startled and immediately opened her eyes after she felt the bench moved a little.
A look of shock crossed her face as her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open slightly.
"Dong... Dong Hua?!" Feng Jiu exclaimed.
"The crazy person that you're referring to is me. I wrote the SOP." Dong Hua replied sternly.
"You... You heard that..?" She stuttered.
"You were being loud."
"I'm so sorry! I'll leave now! Sorry to bother you, pretend that I didn't say anything!" Feng Jiu bowed her head continuously to apologize to Dong Hua, and she tried to leave.
"Sit here." Dong Hua tilted his head slightly towards the empty seat beside him and gestured her to sit down.
Feng Jiu slowly sat down, but she was afraid to move, so she stayed still.
"Am I that scary?" Dong Hua curiously asked after he noticed her sitting so still.
"Um... Not really. I think?" Her nervousness grew, with every passing second.
"You look scared. By the way, why did you call me Dong Hua? Nobody dares to call me by my name unless I allow them to."
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to disrespect you! I won't do it again."
"No, keep it. I never liked people to address me so formally anyway."
Feng Jiu smiled nervously, and she didn't know what to say to Dong Hua. Then Dong Hua turned over and took Feng Jiu's unopened canned drink.
"Hey! That's my drink!" Feng Jiu immediately replied.
"It's mine now." Dong Hua opened the can and started drinking.
"But you can get your own drink! Not like you can't afford it." Feng Jiu protested.
"But I don't want to. I wanted to drink yours." Dong Hua shamelessly continued to sip on the drink.
Feng Jiu thought to herself, "Dong Hua is still so shameless!"
Then Feng Jiu's stomach started to growl, and she tried to hide it. But it was too late; Dong Hua heard her stomach growling.
"Oh, I see. 'Competitive Eater' is hungry." Dong Hua sarcastically commented.
"Wait?! You heard that too?! Were you eavesdropping on us?!" Feng Jiu anxiously replied, and she glowered at Dong Hua.
"Bad-tempered, of course." Dong Hua had a smug look on his face.
Feng Jiu instantly felt embarrassed, and her first natural reaction was to clench her fists.
"Are you going to show me some kickboxing moves now? But first, I'll make sure to put my drink down." Dong Hua sarcastically said, after noticing her clenched fists.
Feng Jiu's face immediately turns red with embarrassment. Then she sprang up from her seat and ran away.
"Stupid Dong Hua! He's always teasing me. He's the worst!" She thought to herself while she was running.
On the other side, Dong Hua was smiling to himself. He didn't know why he felt pleased after teasing Feng Jiu, and he also wanted to know more about her.
For the first time in his life, Dong Hua felt curious about a girl.
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