Capítulo 38: Taking Back What's Mine
Feng Jiu searched high and low for her missing bracelet that was given by Ye Qingti. Then she traced back her memories, trying to recall where she left it at.
"Hmm... When is the last time I took my bracelet out? I usually only take it out during showers." She pondered.
Suddenly, Feng Jiu remembered that she took it out before dipping into the hot spring last night. Then she quickly left her room and headed straight for the hot springs. Unfortunately, nobody saw her bracelet, not even the cleaner who cleaned the area this morning.
Feng Jiu then continued to look for her bracelet at the General Lost and Found counter, but it wasn't there too. After searching for a while, she began to lose hope.
Then all of a sudden, she thought of Dong Hua. "Could it be Dong Hua who took my bracelet? But how do I ask him about it?"
Feng Jiu immediately came up with an idea, as she remembered that Dong Hua's jacket was still with her. Feng Jiu was going to use that as an excuse to meet up with him, and then she would confront him about her bracelet.
She went back to her room straight away and grabbed Dong Hua's jacket. After that, she started going around, asking about Chong Lin's whereabouts because she wanted to ask him about Dong Hua's schedule. Once she found out where Chong Lin was, she headed straight to the Resort's lobby to look for him.
"Hi, Chong Lin. My name is Feng Jiu, and I am from the design department. I would like to ask you about our President's schedule. Please don't get me wrong, I just need to return a jacket to him, and I want to thank him personally as well."
Chong Lin hesitated, as he was skeptical about what Feng Jiu just said. Upon noticing his hesitation, Feng Jiu immediately took out the jacket from her backpack and showed it to him. Chong Lin recognized the jacket right away because it had a unique logo on it, and it was specially tailor-made for Dong Hua.
"Oh, this is certainly his jacket! Alright, give me a minute, so that I could check his schedule. Hmm... It looks like he would be having a short 20 mins break, in between meetings at 2.00 PM later on. So you will be able to find him at the Meeting Room 2."
Feng Jiu then thanked Chong Lin and left the area, to go meet up with Si Ming and Xiao Yan. As the SOP test results would be released today, everyone had to gather at the auditorium hall, and they would also be receiving their test results there as well.
Everyone gathered anxiously at the hall, waiting for the results to be released. Then the person-in-charge announced that everyone had passed the test, and they were all officially part of Tai Chen Group now.
"I feel so relieved after knowing that I passed the test! Now, I can relax and focus on preparing for tonight! Feng Jiu exclaimed.
As this was their last night in the Resort, Tai Chen Group hosted a Celebration Gala tonight.
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"I'll see you guys at 6 PM before the Celebration Gala starts! I'll head back to my room first, to get ready for it." Feng Jiu came up with an excuse to leave so that she could find Dong Hua. She then swiftly excused herself and made her way to where the meeting rooms were.
Xiao Yan frowned and turned towards Si Ming, "It's only past noon, why does she need such a long time to get ready for the Gala?" Si Ming smirked and shook his head lightly, "Girls."
Afterwards, they proceeded to the nearby restaurant to have lunch.
Feng Jiu patiently stood outside Meeting Room 2 and waited for Dong Hua to finish his meeting. Everyone then started coming out of the meeting room a while later. Feng Jiu thought to herself that this was her only chance to ask Dong Hua about the bracelet.
She waited for everyone to leave the meeting room before she slowly crept towards the door. Then she silently opened the door and noticed that Dong Hua was standing alone in the room, with his back facing her.
Upon noticing that Dong Hua was alone, Feng Jiu yelled, "Hey! Was it you who took my bracelet?!" He then turned around slowly, and calmly replied, "What are you doing here? And what makes you think that I took your bracelet?"
Feng Jiu was rendered speechless by his question because she didn't have any evidence of him taking her bracelet. She immediately softened her tone and replied, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, but I was just wondering if you took my bracelet? At the same time, I wanted to return the jacket to you as well."
Right at this moment, the management team started to walk into the meeting room, and Ji Heng was there too."Are we here too early...?" One of the managers cautiously asked as he realized that they interrupted their conversation.
"It's fine, everyone can take their seats first, and we will start the meeting in 5 minutes." Everyone swiftly went towards their seats and settled down.
Feng Jiu then tried to escape from the situation, and she turned her back right away and started to walk out of the room.
"Where do you think you're going?" Dong Hua gently grabbed on to Feng Jiu's arm and stopped her from leaving.
He then smirked at her and said calmly, "Oh. Yes, you forgot your bracelet last night, and I kept it for you. Are you here to return my jacket from the other night too? Leave it on the table then."
Everyone then turned to each other and whispered among themselves, "They spent nights together?" "What is their relationship?" Ji Heng also bitterly thought to herself, "Last night? What did they do exactly?"
Feeling embarrassed, Feng Jiu stuttered nervously, "I think you got the wrong person, and I went into the wrong room. I'll leave immediately." Then she tried to run away, but Dong Hua pulled her back again.
Dong Hua said calmly in front of the whole management team, "You don't have to feel shy about it because we have nothing to hide. Here's your bracelet, and thank you for washing my jacket." Then he took the bracelet out from his pocket and handed it over to Feng Jiu. He also held out his hand and gestured her to pass the jacket back to him.
Everyone started gossiping again, "She washed his jacket!? They must be dating!"
Feng Jiu's face instantly went red, and she was filled with embarrassment. She immediately snatched the bracelet from Dong Hua's hand, pushed the jacket towards him, and sprinted out of the meeting room.
"Why did Dong Hua say that? He is so shameless, and what if Ji Heng misunderstood? Ahhhh! I don't care anymore; this is too embarrassing!" Feng Jiu ran as fast as she could, back to her room.
On the other side, Dong Hua couldn't hold back his smug smile when he thought of how he teased Feng Jiu. He also knew that this would probably cause rumours to spread, but he couldn't care less, and he was secretly feeling happy about it too.
Ji Heng, who saw everything, was fuming with jealousy. She noticed Dong Hua treating Feng Jiu differently, and he wasn't cold to her at all. She had never seen Dong Hua being so warm to anyone else before and she was determined to get Feng Jiu fired at all costs.
"We shall start the meeting now." Dong Hua replied sternly, and he went back to his cold, usual self.
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Feng Jiu pondered on what to wear to the party, as it was unlike her to get dressed up for such a formal event. She also took a long time to get ready because she couldn't stop thinking about this afternoon's incident.
Then she decided to go with a simple black dress. The dress was comfortable yet hugged her curves in all the right places. Feng Jiu glanced at the time and realized it was already 6 PM, and she was already late.
Quickly, Feng Jiu threw her hair up in a messy low bun with a couple of strands framing her face. Then she put on a light layer of tinted moisturizer, some mascara, her signature red lipstick, and flew out the door.
"Sorry I'm late! Thank you for waiting! Let's head over to the ballroom now!" Feng Jiu apologized, upon seeing Si Ming and Xiao Yan waiting for her.
"It's okay, Feng Jiu. We didn't wait that long anyway. By the way, you looked absolutely stunning in that black dress." Si Ming smiled at Feng Jiu.
"I agree with Si Ming. You look so pretty when you're all dressed up!" Xiao Yan said, and then he added on, "I wonder what Ji Heng is wearing tonight."
"Stop drooling, Xiao Yan. You're going to flood the city with all those saliva." Si Ming replied sarcastically.
"Don't talk about me; talk about Feng Jiu's suitors! If they see her in this dress, I bet that the whole world would be flooded from all of their saliva combined."
"Aww! I'll take that as a compliment! We should get going now before it gets too late!" Feng Jiu smiled sweetly. Then the three of them headed towards the ballroom.
"Hey, I'll be going to the washroom first, you guys can head in first!" Feng Jiu said to Si Ming and Xiao Yan when they arrived at the ballroom's entrance.
"Alright, go ahead. Our table number is 38, come find us when you're done." Si Ming replied, and they both went into the ballroom.
Feng Jiu took quite some time in the washroom, trying to fix her hair. By the time she came out, everyone had already proceeded into the ballroom, and the doors were shut.
She then hurriedly tried to make her way in, because she knew that she was already late for the party. Feng Jiu pushed the heavy doors open, and the door made a loud scraping noise as it rubbed against the floor. Everyone immediately turned their heads and stared at Feng Jiu upon hearing the loud sound.
"I'm sorry!" Feng Jiu said embarrassedly, and then she hid her face and crept towards her table.
Her actions immediately caught Dong Hua's attention. It was the first time he saw her in such a beautiful dress, and he was mesmerized by her effortless beauty. "She gets more beautiful every time I see her." He silently thought to himself, and he couldn't keep his eyes off her.
But at the same time, Feng Jiu's beauty also caught the attention of many other guys.
"What took you so long?" Xiao Yan whispered to Feng Jiu.
"I had to fix my hair! I'm feeling so hungry now, pass me some food!" Feng Jiu replied.
"We heard a new rumour, just before you came into the ballroom, Feng Jiu." Xiao Yan said.
Feng Jiu lifted her head, swallowed her food, and said, "What is it?! Tell me!"
"Well. So everyone was spreading that our President has a secret girlfriend. I wonder who she is? But anyway, it's good news for me! Ji Heng will finally belong to me!"
Si Ming also added on, "Yeah, the whole management team saw it, and I overheard them talking about it just now."
Feng Jiu was already emotionally numbed at this point, and she wasn't surprised by this news. But she was totally oblivious of the fact that the 'rumoured girlfriend', was actually referring to her.
Looking at how happy Xiao Yan was, she silently thought to herself, "I already knew Ji Heng was his girlfriend. But I'm Sorry, Xiao Yan. I don't know how to tell you the truth because I can't bear to hurt your feelings."
Feng Jiu then continued stuffing herself with food, and she started to notice many people staring at her. She turned over to Si Ming and asked, "Why is everyone staring at me? Is there something on my face?"
Xiao Yan immediately interrupted, "Yeah, Feng Jiu. There's actually some sauce on your face!"
Feng Jiu immediately took the serviette from the table and tried to wipe the sauce off her face. Xiao Yan kept looking at her while she was cleaning her face, and he replied, "It's still there! On the right side of your face!"
"Where is it? I don't have a mirror, so I can't see it!" Feng Jiu whined.
"Come nearer, and I'll wipe it off for you. You're such a messy eater, Feng Jiu!" Then Xiao Yan took the serviette from Feng Jiu and started wiping her face.
Dong Hua, who was still staring at Feng Jiu, immediately felt sour upon seeing Xiao Yan getting so close to Feng Jiu. But he still couldn't understand why he was feeling that way, and it was the first time that he felt this 'sour feeling.' Then he started to notice a few guys staring over to Feng Jiu's table, and he felt even worse.
Ji Heng, who was seated in the next table, was also staring at Dong Hua. She then stormed out of the ballroom in anger, after noticing Dong Hua couldn't keep his eyes off Feng Jiu. She couldn't bear to see that sight anymore, and she decided to leave the gala.
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The dinner reception ended, and the after-party was starting. There were free alcoholic drinks provided, and the DJ started playing some songs. Everyone eventually went towards the dance floor, and they began to have fun dancing.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the dance floor now, Feng Jiu?" Xiao Yan asked.
"Yeah. I still feel quite full from the dinner, so I'll rest for a bit, before joining you guys at the dance floor. Go ahead and have fun!"
Then Xiao Yan and Si Ming proceeded to the dance floor. Feng Jiu sat alone at their table, and she started to drink some champagne while looking at them having fun.
Dong Hua wanted to get closer to Feng Jiu, but it was unlike him to approach someone, so he just sat there and observed her from afar.
Out of nowhere, a tall and buff guy stood near to Feng Jiu. She seemed to pay no attention to him, even as he stood right next to her. Then he approached her, "Hi, would you like to dance with me?" Feng Jiu then politely rejected his request, and she continued drinking.
Dong Hua smiled after he saw the guy leaving. He was feeling pleased that Feng Jiu rejected the guy, but his smile quickly turned into a frown when he noticed another guy approaching Feng Jiu. "She's really popular, huh?"
The guy approached Feng Jiu and said, "Sorry if this sounds weird, but I just want to say, you look absolutely stunning with that dress. Would you like to dance with me?"
"Thanks. But I would like to be left alone if you don't mind." Feng Jiu replied coldly.
A few guys also tried their luck and asked Feng Jiu to dance, but she rejected every single one, as she wasn't interested at all. Dong Hua smiled, and he felt pleased when he saw everyone getting rejected. But at the same time, he was still feeling sour about it.
Then Dong Hua noticed another guy approaching Feng Jiu. Much to his surprise, she actually started to engage in a conversation with the guy, and she didn't chase him away. Dong Hua instantly felt uneasy upon seeing Feng Jiu smiling and talking to this unknown guy. Then he got up and immediately walked over towards Feng Jiu, trying to get her attention.
Feng Jiu was so engrossed with her conversation that she didn't even notice Dong Hua walking towards her. He didn't like the fact that she ignored his existence, and it made him felt so uneasy. "What are they talking about? Why is she not noticing me?"
Then he pretended to be on the phone, and stood behind Feng Jiu, trying to eavesdrop into their conversation.
"Oh, you joined the competition too? I think I remember you!" Feng Jiu excitedly said.
"Yes! You were famous back then; in fact, you were my idol!" The guy replied.
Dong Hua thought to himself, "Competition? Idol? Who is this guy?"
Feng Jiu then started to get more excited, "Oh no, I wasn't even that famous. I just really enjoyed eating, and I just tried my luck at the competition. I didn't expect to win the competitive eater competition!"
"You're just too humble, so which department are you in?" He replied.
"I'm in the design department. How about you?"
"Oh, I'm in the HR department. Guess we won't be seeing each other often in Tai Chen Group, as our offices are so far apart."
"You'll always see me in the cafeteria!" Feng Jiu laughed heartily.
Then they continued talking about school-related stuff.
Dong Hua kept sipping on his water, and he loosened his bow-tie as he was starting to feel warm. "Why is she telling him about her whereabouts? This guy needs to get lost now."
Suddenly, Dong Hua came up with a brilliant plan. He walked over to Chong Lin and said, "Go tell the person-in-charge to lower the room temperature. I'm feeling hot, and it's stuffy in here."
Dong Hua planned to turn the room temperature way down, and then Feng Jiu would eventually leave the ballroom because it would be too cold in there. Then he will use this chance to leave the ballroom as well and bump into her outside. He also hated the fact that Feng Jiu was talking to this guy.
Then he sat there, patiently waiting for his plan to unfold.
"I don't understand why I'm feeling so sour, but this is the first time that I ever felt this way."
Status de energia semanal
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