Chapter 70: Secret Santa
Disclaimer: *There is a picture included in this chapter but webnovel doesn't allow me to post any. Check Wattpad for the pictures - https://www.wattpad.com/879095696-against-fate-eternal-love-of-dream-pillow-book **
After spending half a day with Su Moye, Feng Jiu decided to cook dinner for herself. Then she checked her phone before cooking, and there were still no messages from Dong Hua. "He must be really busy." She thought to herself.
It was clearly bothering Feng Jiu since she wasn't used to Dong Hua not texting her. "I'm expecting too much from him. I was fine by myself before we became good friends, so I'm sure I'll be able to handle it." Then she tried to distract herself from overthinking and started cooking.
While she was cooking, she can't help but think about Dong Hua again. "Is he eating his meals? He would love to eat my home-cooked meals, right?" Then she shook her head and reminded herself, "Don't worry about Dong Hua. He's a grown man, and he can get his own meals."
Right at this moment, her phone rang, and she ran towards it. Deep inside, she was hoping that it was a call from Dong Hua. Much to her disappointment, it was actually Si Ming calling her.
Feng Jiu: Hello?
Si Ming: Hey, Feng Jiu! I hope I'm not disturbing your Saturday. Remember I asked you if you were free on Christmas Eve?
Feng Jiu: Don't worry, I'm free right now! Oh yeah, I remembered that. Why?
Si Ming: Oh, so we planned a potluck gathering to celebrate the handover of this project on this coming Friday, and we don't have to work on that day as well. It would start at 6.30 PM. Since it's Christmas Eve, we also held a Secret Santa event, and we had already matched everyone to their recipients. Names would be released on Monday, but I just wanted to tell you beforehand so that you have time to shop for a gift during the weekend. As luck would have it, you're Dong Hua's Secret Santa.
Feng Jiu: What?! I'm Dong Hua's Secret Santa? I don't even know what to get for him!
Si Ming: Yeah, that guy has everything he needs. Maybe you can make something for him since you're good at handicrafts? — just a suggestion.
Feng Jiu: I guess I'll see what I could do then. Thanks for letting me know early and I could spend my Sunday finding a gift. It would be harder to do so on weekdays. I'll also have to think of what food to bring to the potluck.
Si Ming: That's true. So I'll see you on Monday. Oh, by the way, I heard the competition details would be released on Monday as well.
Feng Jiu: I already knew that since Su Moye told me about it.
Si Ming: Su Moye? Did you meet him?
Feng Jiu: Yes, I just happened to bump into him downstairs since his good friend stays three doors away from mine. Purely a coincidence.
Si Ming: Oh. He would be one of the judges in the competition. There would be three judges for this competition, and Dong Hua is the other one. You might have a good chance at it then.
Feng Jiu: Oh well. Hopefully, I could even get into the competition. We shall see how it goes. Alright, I'm going to eat my dinner now before my food gets cold. See you on Monday!
Si Ming: Have a good weekend!
Then they hung up the phone and Feng Jiu sat down to have dinner.
"Hmm... What should I get for Dong Hua?" Feng Jiu thought to herself over dinner. Then she started looking around while eating too. All of a sudden, she noticed the balls of yarn on the coffee table. "Oh! I could knit a scarf for Dong Hua! Since I'm good at knitting, I'm sure I'll complete it in a few days if I start now.
Feng Jiu immediately cleared the dishes and went online to search for ideas for her scarf. Then she decided to knit a simple grey Scarf for Dong Hua.
Feng Jiu then spent the whole night knitting, and she eventually fell asleep while holding on to it.
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The next morning, she woke up with the scarf and blanket on the floor. She quickly picked it up, lightly dusted it, and continued with her knitting. Feng Jiu thought to herself. "I'm going to spend my whole day knitting."
On the other side, Dong Hua spent his whole Saturday completing his work. He only finished it at 5 AM the next morning, and he checked his phone before he went to bed. "No messages from Xiao Bai. Should I text her? But what should I say?"
While thinking about what to say to Feng Jiu, he fell asleep while holding on to his phone. Dong Hua then slept all the way till late afternoon, and he quickly checked his phone after he woke up. At this moment, he received a message from Lian Song.
Lian Song: So, about that gathering that we were hosting this coming Friday, you're still coming, right? Let me know as soon as possible since we held a Secret Santa event for the gathering too. You were selected to be Feng Jiu's Secret Santa by the way.
Dong Hua's eyes lit up, and he immediately replied to Lian Song's message upon seeing that. "Yes, I will be attending the gathering."
Then he got up and took a quick shower. "What should I get for Xiao Bai? I need to go to the mall and find a gift for her. I know she likes food, so I'll get some food vouchers for her." He thought to himself.
After his shower, Dong Hua quickly got changed and headed out towards the shopping mall. He walked around, but he still didn't know what to get for Feng Jiu. "I know Xiao Bai wouldn't like branded bags or clothes, and I already got her shoes the other time. Should I get her jewellery then?" Then he walked into a renowned jewellery store.
"Good afternoon, Mr President. It's such a great honour for us to have you patronizing our store. How may I serve you today?" The saleswoman immediately recognized Dong Hua as the President of Tai Chen Group, and she bowed politely.
"Hmm... I'm not sure, so I'm just looking around." Dong Hua replied coldly, and he started looking around.
The saleswoman smiled politely and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, are you getting something for a female friend? Maybe you can tell us more about her, and we could give you some recommendations." Then she showed him the way to the VIP Room. The manager also came into the VIP Room shortly, and the saleswoman ran out to get a drink for Dong Hua.
The manager waved for a few other salespeople to bring in the expensive stuff for his selection. Dong Hua shook his head while looking at the diamond necklaces and bracelets. The manager then asked nervously, "Is there nothing here to your preference? We have more stuff, and we also provide custom-made services. Just let us know what you need, and we would work something out for you.
Dong Hua then thought to himself, "Xiao Bai wouldn't like all these since she's such a simple and traditional girl. It wouldn't suit her, and I don't even see her wearing much jewellery other than that simple bracelet." Then he said coldly to the manager, "If a woman is simple and traditional, what do you think she would like?"
The manager smiled politely and replied, "You may want to consider Gold since it is considered ideal among the traditional thinking people. Gold wouldn't lose its value over time as well." Dong Hua nodded his head in approval and replied calmly, "I was thinking about gold too. So you said that your store provides custom-made services?"
"Yes, Mr President. Do you have a design in mind?" The manager asked politely.
**There is a picture included here but webnovel doesn't allow me to post any. Check Wattpad for the pictures - https://www.wattpad.com/879095696-against-fate-eternal-love-of-dream-pillow-book **
Dong Hua smiled and replied, "I want a traditional hairpin with a fox design on it." Then they discussed more on what Dong Hua wanted, and he made payment for it after that.
"We would send someone to deliver it personally to your office before Friday afternoon." The manager said to Dong Hua while he was leaving and he also bowed politely.
Dong Hua then thought to himself, "Hopefully, Xiao Bai would like it since she mentioned once that she liked antique stuff too. Okay, so now I need to get her some food vouchers."
After 30 minutes, he couldn't decide which restaurant to get the vouchers from so he decided to get her a Digital Gift Card. Then he topped up 2888 RMB (Approx. 400 USD) into the gift card. "I think this would be enough to feed Xiao Bai?"
Dong Hua then left the shopping mall and headed home to do more work.
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Sunday quickly went by. Dong Hua spent his whole weekend buried in work and Feng Jiu was occupied with knitting as well. They laid in their beds and thought of each other. "Should I text him/her? What should I say?"
Eventually, they both gave up on thinking about what to say to each other and decided to go to bed. "I'll see him/her tomorrow anyway." Then they both closed their eyes and fell asleep.
The next morning, Feng Jiu bumped into Dong Hua while she was walking into the office building. Since she arrived extra early at work, there wasn't anyone around except for the both of them.
"Good morning." Dong Hua said softly. Feng Jiu bowed her head and smiled, "Good morning." Then they both said at the same time, "Did you sleep well?"
Feng Jiu and Dong Hua then replied at the same time again, "Yes. How about you?" Then they both broke into a huge smile after that happened. Feng Jiu then replied, "Did you managed to finish your work?" Dong Hua then nodded his head and replied, "Yes. I spent my whole weekend working. How about you?"
"Oh. Nothing much. I just did some spring cleaning and slept a lot." Feng Jiu smiled. Dong Hua then smiled and replied, "Bet you ate a lot as well."
Feng Jiu then pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "No! I actually didn't eat a lot this weekend."
"Why?" Dong Hua asked concernedly. Feng Jiu tried to hide the fact that she missed talking to Dong Hua and replied casually, "Oh. I wasn't hungry, that's all."
"You need to eat more, Xiao Bai. You look so tired as well. Look at those panda eyes." Dong Hua pointed at her eyes.
"What?! Where?!" Feng Jiu panicked, and she ran into the elevator to check her face in the mirror. Dong Hua then followed her into the elevator.
"You lied! I don't have panda eyes. You have panda eyes!" Feng Jiu pouted and pointed up at Dong Hua's eyes. Dong Hua also quickly turned back to check his face in the mirror and realized that Feng Jiu was teasing him back.
Dong Hua then lightly pressed down on Feng Jiu's head. "This is what you get for teasing me, Xiao Bai." Feng Jiu then struggled and pretended to use her kickboxing skills on Dong Hua. "How dare you press on my head?!"
Dong Hua then stepped back while continuing pressing on her forehead so that she couldn't reach him to 'kick' him.
"Let go! I need to show you my kickboxing skills!" Feng Jiu continued struggling, but her arms and legs were shorter than Dong Hua so she couldn't reach him at all. She kept whining, "Let me go if you dare! I'll show you how powerful I am!"
"Oh?" Dong Hua instantly removed his hand from her head, and Feng Jiu immediately fell right into his chest. "Ahhhh." Feng Jiu yelled out while she fell, and Dong Hua hugged her to prevent her from falling.
Their hearts started pounding as they were hugging each other at this point. Feng Jiu could even hear Dong Hua's heartbeat since she was lying on his chest. Dong Hua started moving his hands slowly towards her back, and he hugged her tighter. Feng Jiu's hands also slowly wrapped around his waist.
They stayed like this for a good 10 seconds and all of a sudden, the elevator doors opened. The security guard on duty standing outside the elevator was shocked to see them hugging. "I'm so sorry for disturbing! Please continue!" Then he quickly bowed politely and immediately ran away.
Feng Jiu and Dong Hua also immediately let go of each other and stood at one corner each. Their faces were red like tomatoes, and they both didn't dare to look at each other. Feng Jiu then looked at the lift buttons and she quickly pressed the button for the 28th floor. Dong Hua also promptly pressed the button for the 48th floor after her.
Then they both bowed their heads and kept quiet until the elevator arrived on the 28th floor. Feng Jiu said shyly, "Have a good day at work, Dong Hua." Then she quickly tried to run out of the elevator.
Dong Hua gently pulled her back and replied, "Xiao Bai. I'll be very busy for the whole week, so I apologize first if I'm not able to talk to you as much. Don't be mad at me, okay?"
Feng Jiu then turned around and smiled at Dong Hua. "I won't be mad since I know that you're busy. But you have to promise me that you'll remember to eat something despite how busy you are."
Dong Hua patted her head gently and replied, "I promise." Feng Jiu then waved goodbye and quickly ran into her office. Dong Hua also smiled to himself while looking at her leave and then he pressed the 'close' button to shut the elevator doors.
"We just hugged. A real hug!" Both of them thought to themselves, and they held their palms up to their pounding hearts.
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The security guard ran and hid behind the wall. He peeped out from behind the wall and checked if Dong Hua and Feng Jiu were gone. His heart was pounding as well, and he thought to himself, "Oh my gosh. I almost had diabetes from that. This is even more exciting than watching the latest drama series. Even though I'm a guy, I wished I was Top Beauty FJ at that moment. I need to update everyone on the forum." Then he squealed with excitement.
He quickly took out his phone and logged onto the forum.
GuardsSeizeThem123: Breaking news, Ice Monk was seen hugging Top Beauty FJ! I swear with my life that I'm not lying! I'd be strike by lightning a million times if I were lying about it. I can't breathe, and it's too sweet that ants are biting me now! I can confirm that they are dating!
PaparazziPizza29: What?! They hugged?! Where?! Any pictures?! Share some sweets, please!
NosyAunty174: Wow! All my Monday blues disappeared upon hearing this good news!
GuardsSeizeThem123: It was in the elevator! I have no pictures, and I would lose my job if I shared the captured footage from the elevator. But I promise everyone that I'm not lying, and I saw it with my own eyes!
AntiJH184: Yes! I believe GuardsSeizeThem123's words. Oh my gosh, I guess we have a winner. Top Beauty FJ is our next lady boss!
NewFanOfFJ666: Really?! I'm so excited now! I wonder when they would go public on their relationship.
At this moment, Ji Heng checked the forum as it was part of her daily routine. "WHAT?! They hugged? No way, I don't believe it. It must be fake, and there's no evidence of it." Then she decided to head to the control room and check the Surveillance cameras footage in the elevator.
Ji Heng then went up to the control room after she arrived at the office building. She acted friendly with the IT employee in the control room and made an excuse to view the footage. "Hey, I need to check the footage in the elevator from last night to this morning since my staff said she dropped her file in the lift. This concerns the company's reputation since it's an important document, and we can't lose it."
The IT employee immediately complied with her requests since she was an executive manager, and he was worried that he would lose his job if he didn't follow her orders. Ji Heng sat down beside him while he was playing back the footage from last night.
Then the IT employee accidentally played the video footage from the wrong date, and Ji Heng saw Su Moye and Feng Jiu whispering to each other in the elevator. The IT guy immediately apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry. It's the wrong tape. I'll change it now."
Ji Heng quickly opened her bottle of water, and she 'accidentally' spilled it on the guy's shirt. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! You should go to the washroom to dry your shirt first. Then she pointed to another tape and said, "That's the latest tape, right? Don't worry, I can check it on my own. I'm good at IT too."
The IT employee then nodded his head and replied politely, "Yes, that's the one. Sorry about the mess, I'll head to the washroom first." Ji Heng then replied, "Don't worry, take your time. No rush anyway. I'll leave once I'm done here too." Then the guy quickly ran out of the control room.
Ji Heng rewinds the current tape to the footage of Feng Jiu and Su Moye. She paused at the part where they leaned in to whisper to each other since they looked really close to each other there. Then she quickly took a screenshot and downloaded it into her thumb drive for future uses.
Then she changed the tape to the latest one and rewound it to this morning. She started at 7 AM since she knows Dong Hua usually comes in before 8 AM.
"What are they doing?" Ji Heng thought to herself when she realized that Dong Hua and Feng Jiu walked into the elevator. Usually, no sounds were recorded from the elevator's Surveillance Cameras.
Ji Heng squinted her eyes and continued watching. Then the moment of truth came, she saw Dong Hua and Feng Jiu hugging each other. Her eyes widened with anger, and Ji Heng clenched her fist before slamming it down on the table loudly. "Arghhhhhhh" She screamed internally. Ji Heng angrily thought to herself, "Wait till Dong Hua sees the pictures of Su Moye and Feng Jiu. The photoshopped picture of Xiao Yan and Feng Jiu would be useful too."
Then she deleted that footage of them hugging and stormed out of the control room. She also rolled her eyes and avoided looking at Feng Jiu while she was walking towards her office.
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Lunch-time arrived. Feng Jiu decided to eat in the office since she was feeling a little lazy today. She also didn't message Dong Hua since he already told her that he would be busy, and she didn't want to bother him.
The gossip duo then had lunch together as usual. They got their food and sat down before taking out their phones to check the forum.
By this point, everyone was spamming and discussing about Ice Monk and Top Beauty FJ hugging in the morning.
"What?! They hugged?!" Lian Song exclaimed. Si Ming then shook his head lightly, "Why are you acting so surprised? At this point, nothing can surprise me anymore. I will make a bet with you that they would start dating soon."
Lian Song raised one eyebrow, "Oh? What makes you this confident suddenly?" Si Ming then smirked and replied, "Well, think about it. GuardsSeizeThem123 caught them red-handed hugging, and he still got to keep his job. Why is that so? It means that Dong Hua indirectly admits their close relationship. Why do you think he was rumoured to be a monk? He tolerates no mistakes, and he also wouldn't allow any girls to be around him. Two years back, didn't a girl got fired on the spot for accidentally touching his arm?"
Lian Song smirked and replied, "You're right, and it makes sense now. If he's not explaining their relationship, it definitely means that he has feelings for Feng Jiu. I guess it's time for us to sit back and wait for our red packet."
Si Ming raised his eyebrows and replied, "Remember our Plan G? Plan G-athering and Plan G-ift? Maybe they would confess their feelings to each other on Friday?"
Lian Song raised his eyebrows and got into his acting role as Dong Hua again. "Oh, my Jiu-er. If only I could dig out my heart and show you, then you'll know how much I love you." Then he pretended to dig his heart out and passed the imaginary heart to Si Ming. "Jiu-er, here's my heart. Keep it safe and don't break it."
Si Ming then accepted 'his heart' and replied lovingly, "Oh, my Dong Hua. You actually dug your heart out for me. I won't ever break it, and I'll keep it in my heart." Then he pushed the imaginary heart into his chest. After that, he blew a flying kiss to Lian Song.
Lian Song then caught his 'flying kiss' and put it into his mouth. "I caught your kiss, and it tastes so sweet." Then they winked at each other and started laughing out loud.
Lian Song then asked Si Ming, "So what gifts did you get for me since you're my Secret Santa?" Si Ming then replied, "You still need gifts? Your thick skin is already a gift from God."
Lian Song then rolled his eyes and replied, "Guess what I'm getting for you?"
"How would I know that? Isn't it supposed to be Secret Santa? Do you know the meaning of 'Secret'?"
"Who cares about that? Just make a guess." Lian Song nudged Si Ming.
"Two first-class flight tickets and an all-paid trip to Europe." Si Ming said sarcastically. Lian Song then replied sarcastically, "Yeah, you have better luck at that if you joined the upcoming competition."
Then Lian Song rolled his eyes and added on, "I bought you restaurant vouchers from Lang Man (浪漫) Restaurant. You can redeem a Candlelit dinner for two on Christmas Day, and it comes with a free bottle of wine too."
"What?! I actually got you the same thing." Si Ming replied.
"Wow! Bros for life! I just thought that you guys have been dating for some time so it would be nice to have a romantic Christmas dinner together." Lian Song raised his eyebrows.
Si Ming then nodded his head and smiled. "That's what I was thinking too. Maybe you and Cheng Yu would have some progress after the romantic dinner."
Then they did a fist pump and continued eating their lunch.
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Before lunchtime ended, the competition details were posted in the main lobby for everyone to see. Everyone gathered at the large notice boards and started talking among themselves.
Feng Jiu then came down to get a drink from the cafeteria, and she also went to the boards to check it out.
"Architecture design competition, and the theme is 'My Dream Home'?! Wait. So they are planning to build luxury family homes based on the winner's design drafts. The first round is drafts submission, and the second round is the presentation. Then they would only select two people to enter the final round. Wow, sounds tough and competitive." Feng Jiu thought to herself.
Then she continued looking at the boards, and as expected, she saw the minimum requirement to enter the competition, 'Worked in the company for more than two years'. Feng Jiu sighed and thought to herself, "I already knew it. Hopefully, Su Moye would be able to get me into the competition. I'm really interested in it, and architecture design is my greatest strength." Then she sighed and walked away.
Ji Heng, who was standing behind Feng Jiu, saw that she was keen to attend the competition. She decided to join the competition so that she could show off to Feng Jiu since she couldn't join it. Ji Heng also thought to herself, "Winner gets to work closely with Dong Hua and Su Moye, so I would get more chances to be closer with Dong Hua if I won."
Then Ji Heng went back to the office and immediately signed up for the competition on the registration website listed on the boards.
Feng Jiu sat down on her desk, and she received a text message from Su Moye.
Su Moye: Hey, Feng Jiu. I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I just want to let you know that I have submitted your name into the system for the competition. Maybe you can ask Dong Hua to help you out too? You'll definitely get into the competition if he said something on your behalf.
Feng Jiu: Hey, Su Moye! Thanks for helping me out, and I really hope that I get into this competition. Oh? I'll find a chance to ask Dong Hua about it, but I don't want to bother him too much since he's busy at work this whole week. Thanks again for notifying me.
Su Moye: That's what friends are for, right? Just text or call me if you need any help. Meanwhile, work on your design drafts first so you can submit it immediately once you're entered into the competition.
Feng Jiu: Yes! Okay, I'll work on my drafts as soon as possible. Hopefully, I'll get a chance this time. I need to start working now, so we shall talk soon! Have a good day at work.
Su Moye: Sure. Don't work too hard!
Feng Jiu then smiled and set aside her phone. Then she continued working since the project handover was due in 3 days.
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Ji Heng looked through the forum again after signing up for the competition. She thought to herself, "I hate Feng Jiu! Why does Dong Hua even likes her and not me?!"
Then she continued her usual routine of being an online hater and talked bad about Feng Jiu online. She even had a blog dedicated to Feng Jiu, hating on her there.
Ji Heng then came up with another evil plan. "If Dong Hua found out that Feng Jiu has another 'boyfriend', he would never forgive her. I know Dong Hua too well, and I'm sure he wouldn't give her a chance to explain it also."
She decided to head to a cybercafe on Friday afternoon, before heading to the potluck gathering. Then she would send an anonymous email to Dong Hua with the photoshopped picture of Xiao Yan and Feng Jiu holding hands.
Ji Heng had a big grin on her face while thinking about her evil plan. "Can't wait to ruin their sweet relationship."
Will Ji Heng's plan finally succeed this time?
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