Chapter 68: A Pleasant Surprise
Dong Hua stayed back in the office until 11 PM. Before he left the office, he turned on his phone, and he noticed Feng Jiu messaged him again. He thought to himself, "I miss Xiao Bai already. But... I just don't know how to face her now. I have so many questions, but I don't know how to ask her about it too."
Dong Hua then decided to head home first before thinking of a way to ask her about Su Moye. He also picked up some takeaway food on the way back since he didn't eat anything the whole day. He thought to himself, "Xiao Bai would be worried about me if I don't eat. So I need to eat something."
While he was eating his supper at home, he decided to search Su Moye up online. He wanted to know more about his competitor before knowing how to 'win' him in chasing Feng Jiu.
Dong Hua mostly found articles of Su Moye being one of the top 3 bachelors in the country and how charming he was. Although Dong Hua made it #1 on the list of 'Most eligible Bachelor of the year,' he still felt insecure about himself.
Dong Hua never thought that he would ever feel this way one day. He was always confident in everything he does, but Feng Jiu managed to get him off his high horse. When it comes to Feng Jiu, Dong Hua often felt lost and had a lot of self-doubts.
Su Moye was ranked #2 behind Dong Hua, mainly due to him being rumoured to be a womanizer. Dong Hua also had more 'fans' because he was mysterious and aloof.
Then he came across a public website that shows leaked pictures of the top 10 eligible bachelors and their 'partners.' Usually, people would submit photos on the website if they caught bachelors with their partners.
Dong Hua clicked onto his 'profile' on the website, and as expected, there weren't any pictures of him with another girl. He even read some of the comments written on the website under his profile.
Anonymous1: If the President of Tai Chen Group was spotted with another girl, I'm confident that the girl would be his future wife. We 'followed' him for years, and he was never seen with another girl.
Anonymous2: Totally agree! How I wish I'm his future wife, she would be the luckiest wife ever since he doesn't even look at other girls.
Anonymous3: I saw him once in a private gala event, and he didn't talk to anyone except a few important male guests. If he has a girlfriend, he must really love her a lot.
Anonymous4: Sometimes, I wonder if he's gay.
Dong Hua laughed and thought to himself, "I have never expected myself to fall so deeply in love with Xiao Bai too."
Then he clicked on Su Moye's profile to see how many girls he was caught photographed with.
It appeared that someone from the private forum ripped off the picture of Su Moye and Feng Jiu, and then anonymously submitted it to the public website.
Dong Hua immediately lost control of his emotions again upon seeing the first post. Dong Hua saw a picture of Su Moye and Feng Jiu."Su Moye and his new rumoured girlfriend?"
He started massaging his temples since it was giving him a slight headache. He felt immense frustration and jealousy at the same time. "Why? Why is Xiao Bai with Su Moye? I thought we are progressing well. I can't even get rid of him, and we still need to work together often. I don't know if I could even face him. What should I do?"
Dong Hua then went into the shower to try to cool himself down. "Xiao Bai, what is Su Moye to you in your heart?" He lightly punched the wall, and then he stood under the water for a long time.
He tossed and turned the whole night, and he barely slept a wink. By the time he shut his eyes, the sun was already up. Dong Hua then texted Chong Lin to let him know that he would head into the office late today. Then he quickly took a nap as he had a headache from not sleeping all night.
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Feng Jiu woke up and checked her phone again. "Seen?" She noticed that Dong Hua had seen her message, and he still didn't reply back to her. Then she thought to herself, "This is so unlike Dong Hua. I need to talk to him and see what he's thinking."
Feng Jiu then brought along a packet of her favourite milk candy and the 'gift' that she wanted to give to Dong Hua yesterday with her to work.
Then she arrived at her office and heard from Si Ming that Dong Hua won't be coming into the office early today. Si Ming said that he met Chong Lin on the way up to the office, and he also said that Dong Hua was rushing his work at home.
Feng Jiu thought to herself, "Maybe he was just too busy? I hope he ate his meals."
Lunch-time quickly arrived, and Feng Jiu decided to head down to the cafeteria today. She wanted to have lunch with her friends since she was eating at her desk alone for the past few days.
She went to lunch with the gossip duo and her whole team. While they were walking to the cafeteria, Dong Hua walked into the building. The gossip duo then greeted him politely, and Feng Jiu smiled brightly to Dong Hua. But he was still feeling upset about last night's incident after he saw the picture of Su Moye and Feng Jiu. Dong Hua then ignored their presence and continued his way up to his office.
The gossip duo then made a cold joke, "Did he ate charcoal for breakfast? His face is as black as charcoal." Then they continued their way to the cafeteria. The gossip duo also didn't notice that Dong Hua was acting any different since they assumed that he didn't want to be obvious about his feelings towards Feng Jiu in front of so many people.
Feng Jiu thought to herself, "Dong Hua is so cold to me. What's wrong? I really need to find a chance to talk to him."
During lunch, Feng Jiu was thinking about how to find a chance to approach Dong Hua since he was ignoring her messages. She barely even ate her lunch since she didn't have any appetite.
Xiao Yan then noticed it and asked worriedly, "Is there something wrong, Feng Jiu? You barely even touch your food." Feng Jiu then shook her head and replied, "I'm fine. I just don't really feel hungry today. It's okay, I still have snacks under my desk, so I can eat them if I'm hungry later on."
Jie Lu then replied concernedly, "Yeah, Feng Jiu. I noticed that you're in a daze since morning. Like something is bothering you."
Feng Jiu then put on a fake smile and replied, "No, no! I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little tired. I probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It's Friday anyway, so I'll have a good rest on the weekends."
The gossip duo guessed something was wrong, but they didn't want to expose her. Everyone then continued their lunch.
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While heading back to work, the gossip duo walked beside Feng Jiu. Lian Song then asked concernedly, "Hey, Feng Jiu. Are you sure that you're feeling okay? I know I'm usually a joker, but I noticed that you're not yourself today."
Si Ming also nodded his head and replied, "Yeah. Nothing can go through our eyes. You might be able to bluff them that you're feeling fine, but you won't be able to hide it from us."
Feng Jiu then smiled and replied, "You guys know me too well, huh? I mean, I'm just feeling a little bothered. Did you guys noticed that Dong Hua seems a little cold today?"
The gossip duo nodded their heads, and Lian Song replied, "Yeah, he's somewhat back to his old cold self. I thought it was because Xiao Yan, Jie Lu, and Meng Shao were around."
Si Ming also replied, "Yeah. He only shows his true side when it comes to close friends. I mean, he obviously shows more of his true self in front of you as compared to us."
Feng Jiu furrowed her brows and replied, "Yeah. He's even ignoring my messages now."
The gossip duo raised their eyebrows at each other and thought to themselves, "Oh. They are still texting each other often. Good progress."
Then Lian Song asked Feng Jiu, "Hmm... Did something happen between the both of you?"
Feng Jiu pondered for a while and replied, "Well... I don't think so? I mean, I was making him a cup of coffee when he came to our office yesterday. Then I told him to wait for me while I get something for him. But I was caught in a conversation with Su Moye. Dong Hua then left the office after that."
The gossip looked at each other and smirked. Their minds telepathed again, "Jealousy."
Si Ming then replied to Feng Jiu, "Maybe he's jealous of Su Moye?"
"Jealous? Why would he be jealous?" Feng Jiu asked curiously. She was totally clueless at this point.
Lian Song then replied, "Well. You have to ask him why. We won't know what he's thinking."
The gossip duo then tried to encourage Feng Jiu to ask Dong Hua about it since it would also pull them closer. They also knew that if they told her about Dong Hua's feelings, she wouldn't believe it too. The best way is to get Dong Hua to confess to her directly.
"Okay. I guess I'll take your advice and try to find a chance to ask him about it."
Then they all went back to their offices and continued working.
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Feng Jiu was distracted at work. She couldn't stop thinking about Dong Hua. Usually, he would text her every day to show her that he was eating or just having random conversations. But this time, it was total silence.
Feng Jiu also didn't dare to message him again, in fear of disturbing him from his work. Then she forced herself to continued working and not to think about it.
Soon, it was 6 PM, and everyone was leaving the office. Xiao Yan, Jie Lu, and Meng Shao were heading to the Phoenix Bar as usual. It seems like it was their regular routine to head there every Friday night now. Meng Shao and Meng Qi were also starting to progress their relationship, and they began to text daily as well. It was sooner or later that they would start dating too.
Si Ming then walked over to Feng Jiu's desk. "Are you heading home or going out tonight?" He asked.
"Hmm... Probably just head home. I don't know if I'm getting older, but I don't like going out on Friday nights anymore." She smiled.
Si Ming chuckled and replied, "I feel the same way too. Luckily, Yu Xi also enjoys staying at home now. I'm heading over to her place, and she's making dinner for me tonight."
"Oh, wow! It seems like she's really into cooking now. I remembered she didn't even know how to cook back then. Love really does change someone!" Feng Jiu patted Si Ming's shoulder.
Si Ming nodded his head and replied, "Yeah. She's so good to me. I'm so blessed and lucky to have her. By the way, I hope you're feeling better. Maybe you can go up to Dong Hua's office to look for him. I heard from Lian Song that everyone had left the office, and he's alone up there."
"Yeah. I heard that Lian Song is meeting Cheng Yu tonight for dinner. I hope those two don't fight over dinner like what they usually do. Let me tell you a secret; Cheng Yu is actually starting to open up to Lian Song. She did say some good things about him to us." Feng Jiu smiled.
"Oh? I'm glad that they are progressing well. Hopefully, we will have a new couple soon. But the couple that I anticipate to see is you and Dong Hua. Good luck trying to talk to him, Feng Jiu. I'll be leaving the office now and have a good weekend!"
Si Ming promptly left the office, and Feng Jiu also started packing up to leave. At this point, she was the only one left in the office since everyone ran out of the office as soon as the clock hits 6 PM.
"Friday night, huh? I should be joining Xiao Yan and gang at the pub, but I don't know why I'm feeling this way. It's like I can't even cheer up, and this is so unlike me." Feng Jiu thought to herself.
She entered the elevator and looked at the floor buttons. "Should I press 1 or 48?" She pondered.
Then she closed her eyes and hit the button for the 48th floor. "I need to talk to Dong Hua. I can't let him continue to ignore me like that. I actually missed talking to him too."
When the lift arrived on the 48th floor, she slowly popped her head out of it, trying to see if anyone was around. Then she nervously walked out of the lift after noticing that everyone had left their office.
Feng Jiu walked to Dong Hua's personal office, but she realized that the door was locked as it should be. She forgot that she didn't have an access pass to his office, and she could only wait outside for Dong Hua.
At the same time, she didn't want to knock loudly on it because she was afraid Dong Hua would be mad if she disturbed his work. She knocked softly while saying, "Dong Hua? Dong Hua, it's me." But they weren't any response. It appeared that Dong Hua couldn't hear her at all since he was on a conference call with his headphones on.
Feng Jiu frowned and stood outside his door. "Dong Hua is really ignoring me." Then she paced up and down outside his door, waiting for him to come out.
Feng Jiu kept looking at her phone to check the time, and then she noticed her phone was on 1% again and it turned off eventually. She sighed and thought to herself, "Do I have to wait the whole night? Is Dong Hua even in there?"
Feng Jiu eventually sat down on the floor since her legs were tired from standing too long. At this point, it was already almost 8 PM, and she didn't know how long more she has to wait for him to come out.
On the other side, Dong Hua just ended his conference call. He checked the time, and it was 8.30 PM. Then he decided to head out to get a drink from the vending machine since his throat was feeling dry after talking so much during the online meeting.
Feng Jiu was still leaning against the wall, right beside the door. She was feeling hungry and tired, but she didn't want to move away from there since she was afraid that Dong Hua would leave his office while she was gone.
Finally, Dong Hua opened the office doors and walked out. He didn't notice Feng Jiu sitting on the floor since the door was open, and it was blocking her from his view. Feng Jiu immediately grabbed onto one of Dong Hua's leg and looked up at him with a pouty face. "Dong Hua."
Dong Hua immediately widened his eyes with shock and replied, "What are you doing here? And why are you sitting on the floor? Stand up now." Feng Jiu then held out her arm, and Dong Hua pulled her up to her feet.
Feng Jiu then pouted and replied in a soft voice, "I was waiting for you."
Dong Hua immediately forgot all about his anger and jealousy when he heard that. He replied back in a soft tone, "Why?"
Feng Jiu then grabbed onto his arm and replied, "Are you mad at me, Dong Hua? I don't like it when you're ignoring me." She frowned.
Dong Hua's heart melted, but he replied calmly. "Why did you think I was ignoring you?"
Feng Jiu looked at Dong Hua with sad puppy eyes, "Because... you didn't reply to me at all. And at lunchtime, you were cold to me. I don't like it when you're so cold to me, and I also missed talking to you. I thought we were good friends." Then she bowed her head.
Dong Hua smiled and patted her head gently, "Silly Xiao Bai. I was just busy with work." He didn't want her to know about his jealousy, and he couldn't bear to ignore her anymore.
Feng Jiu smiled and replied, "Oh! I also guessed that you were busy at work and that you're not ignoring me on purpose. Right?"
"Of course. Why would I ignore you on purpose?" Dong Hua smiled.
Right at this moment, Feng Jiu's stomach growled loudly, and she quickly tried to hide it.
Dong Hua shook his head and replied, "Oh. Guess who didn't eat her meals? You can't do that, Xiao Bai. You said that I have to eat my meals, so why are you not eating?"
"I did! I mean, I didn't have much appetite. I thought you were ignoring me, so I was thinking about it the whole day. But now that I know you're not ignoring me, I suddenly feel so hungry!" Feng Jiu smiled sweetly.
Dong Hua tried his hardest not to smile upon hearing her say that she was thinking about him the whole day. He thought to himself, "I guess I mean more in her heart than Su Moye. I'm so stupid, why am I even jealous of him and I hurt Xiao Bai by ignoring her?" Then he said to Feng Jiu, "Hmm... I'm getting a little hungry too. Should I order some food to my office and we can eat it together? What do you want to eat?"
Feng Jiu started hopping around in excitement after hearing about food, and she was also happy that Dong Hua wasn't mad at her. Then she replied excitedly, "Anything! You pick! Let's go into your office now. I want to see the night view again!" Then she dragged Dong Hua by his arm into his office.
Feng Jiu then ran towards the glass window, and she looked out of it to admire the view. Dong Hua then ordered food online from the nearby Chinese restaurant since he didn't want her to wait too long to eat.
Feng Jiu then ran over to Dong Hua's desk and said excitedly, "Oh yeah! Before I forget it again, I have something for you." Then she walked towards her bag that was placed on the sofa.
"Oh? Something for me?" Dong Hua sat on his chair and looked at her with his side-eyes, trying to see what it was.
Feng Jiu hid it behind her back while walking towards Dong Hua.
"Show me." Dong Hua smiled.
"Ta-da!" Feng Jiu presented it in front of Dong Hua. She got him a neck pillow with a built-in massage function. She also put the packet of her favourite milk candy on his table. Then she added on, "The milk candy is my favourite, but I'm giving it to you now."
"Oh? A neck pillow." Dong Hua took the pillow from her, and he put it around his neck. He also took one milk candy from the packet and ate it. "Your milk candy tastes good."
Feng Jiu smiled warmly and replied, "Well. I noticed that you're always spending late nights in the office, and you're also staring at your computer screen all the time. I feel like a neck pillow would be useful, and it even has a massage function! You just have to put in two batteries, and it would massage your neck while you work."
"Oh? Let me try it then." Dong Hua then took out some new batteries from his drawer and put it in. Then he turned it on and enjoyed the massage.
Feng Jiu smiled and asked, "Is it nice? I actually bought it for myself some time ago, but I didn't get a chance to use it. Then I thought of you, and I think this would suits you more."
Dong Hua then smiled and replied, "I love it. Come try it too, Xiao Bai." Then he took it off and put it on her neck. Feng Jiu felt a little ticklish, and she laughed out loud. "It's ticklish!"
Right at this moment, Dong Hua started to have flashbacks again. "Ticklish? Why do I remember having a tickle fight with her, and I almost kissed her too? We are in Xiao Bai's room? What's happening?" Then he stared at Feng Jiu.
"What's wrong?" Feng Jiu asked concernedly upon noticing that Dong Hua was deep in his thoughts and staring at her.
"Xiao Bai. Be honest with me. Did I ever forget something that I shouldn't have forgotten?" Dong Hua asked in a serious tone.
Feng Jiu froze and thought to herself, "Why is dong Hua always asking me such weird questions? Did he really remembered something?" Then she replied carefully, "I'm not sure what you're referring to."
Dong Hua then stared at her intensively and asked, "You said that I didn't go to your house before, but I kept having blurry visions of me living in your house. Why is that so?"
Feng Jiu panicked and thought to herself, "Even if I tell Dong Hua the truth now, it wouldn't even change a thing." Then she calmed herself down and sighed, "I'm sorry, Dong Hua. Yes... You have been in my house, and I lied because I didn't know how to explain to you..."
"Why?" Dong Hua asked calmly.
"Because... that would ruin our friendship. I took care of you when you lost your memory, but now that you recovered your memory, I didn't think it was necessary to tell you about it. I mean, I was just doing what's right, since you saved me from getting attacked that night." Feng Jiu said.
"Then how did I end up back at the hospital? And why would it ruin our friendship?" Dong Hua continued staring at Feng Jiu, but she didn't dare to look him in the eye.
Feng Jiu then nervously thought to herself, "How do you expect me to tell Dong Hua that he was my 'boyfriend' and we dated for a few weeks? I mean, Dong Hua didn't remember anything back then, so technically that relationship doesn't even count."
Then she replied to Dong Hua, "Because... I don't want you to feel indebted towards me just because I took care of you. I like the friendship that we have now, and I don't want anything to change. We also ended up at the hospital because we got into a car accident while we were leaving the hospital after your check-up."
Dong Hua then thought to himself, "I don't want things to change too. She's probably right about it ruining our friendship since I would definitely feel indebted to her if I found out about it from the start. Our friendship wouldn't reach this point since I would try to make it up to her, and knowing her character, it would definitely turn her off."
Then he replied to her, "I love the friendship that we have now, Xiao Bai. I never had something like this before, and I'm afraid to lose you too. I now understand why you were keeping it from me. It must be hard for you also."
Feng Jiu then smiled and replied, "You won't lose me. I already promised you that we would be good friends forever, and I will keep my promise. So, now that you know the truth, I hope you won't feel indebted towards me. I don't want our friendship to become unequal, like you trying to make it up to me all the time. That's not how real friendship works. We should be equal, and we would help each other out without feeling indebted after receiving help from one another."
Dong Hua also smiled and replied, "You're right, Xiao Bai. I don't want that to happen too. I mean, everyone was scared of me, and nobody dared to tell me off. You're the only person who dares to be 'equal' with me, and you taught me so many things in life. You're important to me, and I don't want to lose you."
Then he thought to himself, "Someday, I'll make her my girlfriend, but for now, I'll take it slow and not confess my feelings first. I don't want to scare Xiao Bai off. I guess I won't ask her about the kiss since it might make her feel uncomfortable too."
Feng Jiu instantly felt relieved after telling Dong Hua about the 'truth' even though she hid the part of them dating. To her, it was just like a dream, and she didn't even dare to think of dating Dong Hua for real. She knew that if she told him about it, it would cause some awkwardness between them. Their friendship had reached another level of comfort, and she didn't want to lose that.
At this time, the delivery man knocked on the door, and Dong Hua went to pick up the food.
Then he swiftly brought it to the table and told Feng Jiu to start eating. She immediately begins eating since she was feeling famished from not eating much during lunch break.
Dong Hua looked at her and smiled. "Eat more, Xiao Bai. You can have my share too."
Feng Jiu then turned over to Dong Hua and swallowed her food. "No! You have to eat it too!" Then she took a piece of chicken and fed it to Dong Hua. "Eat!" She said.
Dong Hua then opened his mouth to eat the piece of chicken that she offered. Feng Jiu smiled sweetly at Dong Hua when she saw him eating, and she said, "The food is so good! Even better than my cooking!"
Dong Hua then shook his head and replied, "No. Nobody can beat your cooking. It's the best in the whole wide world."
Feng Jiu then smiled brightly, "Really? So if you have to pick between my cooking and a famous top chef's cooking, who do you pick?"
Dong Hua then replied without thinking, "Of course I'll pick yours. I ate all kinds of good food from renowned chefs all over the world, but I still think your cooking is the best."
Feng Jiu pouted and replied, "I know you're just bluffing! Don't just say that because I'm your good friend. Wait, didn't I say that you shouldn't try to do or say nice things to make it up to me?!"
"No, I'm not. I honestly think your cooking is the best." Dong Hua smiled.
"Fine. I'll believe you, for now!" Feng Jiu stuck her tongue out at Dong Hua.
Then they continued eating slowly.
Feng Jiu then nudged Dong Hua to go back to work if he needs to. "I'll accompany you tonight to stay in the office since it's Friday, and I don't have work tomorrow." Feng Jiu said.
"Oh? What if I stayed overnight?" Dong Hua replied sarcastically.
"Then I'll just sleep on this sofa, but I probably won't get a good sleep though." Feng Jiu replied.
Dong Hua then passed her the massage neck pillow and told her to relax while waiting for him. "I'm kidding. I will try to finish up my work as soon as possible, and then I will send you home."
"You want to drink something?" Feng Jiu asked. Dong Hua then nodded his head and replied, "Tea would be nice. I already had 2 cups of coffee today."
Feng Jiu then went to the vending machines to get two cups of tea since it was already late, and she was afraid to head to the pantry alone on the other side of the office.
After she got back to the office, she started walking around the office and keeping herself entertained. Dong Hua looked at her with his side-eyes from time to time to see if she was bored. Then she eventually sat down on the sofa and started watching dramas on her laptop.
Dong Hua smiled while looking at her, and he thought to himself, "I love spending time with her, even when we are just doing our own things." Feng Jiu then turned to look at Dong Hua. She smiled and thought to herself, "It's nice to spend time with Dong Hua like this."
"I'm glad that we cleared up some misunderstandings."
- Feng Jiu and Dong Hua
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