"Good Morning, everyone!"

Feng Jiu excitedly walked into the office. She was in good spirits, and she also bought coffee for Si Ming and Xiao Yan. She felt even better when she found out that Ji Heng won't be in the office today as well.

"Thanks, Si Ming. I appreciate everything that you have done for me, and I'm so glad to be back at work!" She thanked Si Ming.

"Hey, that's what friends are for. But getting free coffee is nice too!" He smiled at her and sipped on his coffee.

Xiao Yan then ran into the office, "Feng Jiu! I missed you, and it was so boring in the office when you're not around! I'm sorry that Ji Heng fired you, and I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose." He frowned and then he turned over to Si Ming and asked excitedly, "Where are the other two new colleagues?! Can't wait to meet them!"

"It's okay, Xiao Yan. It's not your fault, and I missed you too! Wait, new colleagues?" Feng Jiu asked curiously.

"Oh my! I forgot to inform you that there would be two people joining our team, from today onwards." Si Ming replied to Feng Jiu. Then he turned back to Xiao Yan, "There's no need to be this excited, Xiao Yan! They came earlier on, but they went down to the Administration office to get their work passes."

"Oh! That would be nice, and I hope that they will be easy to get along with!" Feng Jiu replied excitedly. "Don't worry about that. They are really nice people, and they used to work for me at my previous company too. Tai Chen Group managed to clinch a big project from Fan Yin Investment, and our team was assigned to it, so be prepared to be busy for the next two months."

"It's fine, Si Ming. I needed the extra money anyway, so I don't mind staying back late."

The two new colleagues walked into the office and entered Si Ming's office. Then Si Ming called for Xiao Yan and Feng Jiu to come into his office too.

"Meet your new colleagues. Go on, introduce yourselves." Si Ming said.

"Hi! Welcome to our wonderful team. I'm Yan Chiwu, but you can just call me Xiao Yan! Our team is the best, and we have a 'top beauty' in our team too. It's Feng Jiu! But if you're thinking of chasing her, I would have to wish good luck to you." Xiao Yan then pointed towards Feng Jiu, and she blushed.

"You're spewing nonsense again, Xiao Yan! And yes, my name is Feng Jiu, as mentioned by Xiao Yan. It's nice to meet both of you, and let me know if you need any help! I heard that both of you used to work under Si Ming, so I'm sure you know how it's like to work under his team! We should definitely go to dinner together to welcome both of you to the team. Tonight perhaps?"

"I don't mind having dinner together, and I'm free tonight anyway! Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jie Lu, and it's so nice to meet you too! And this is my cousin, Xiangli Meng, but everyone just calls him Meng Shao." Jie Lu then pulled Meng Shao over and asked him to introduce himself.

"Hi... Feng Jiu. I actually know you back in school. It's nice to meet you finally..." Meng Shao was visibly shy.

"Oh? Do you know me? Hey, don't be nervous! We are all friendly!" Feng Jiu patted Meng Shao's shoulder, and he flinched. Jie Lu then whispered to Feng Jiu, "He's just shy, don't worry about it. It would take him some time to warm up."

Feng Jiu then whispered back, "Ah. That would make sense. Don't worry. I'll give Meng Shao some time to warm up!"

Xiao Yan then added on, "Yeah, friendly. Only friendly until she meets her suitors."

"Oh? Why?" Jie Lu asked curiously, and Meng Shao tried to hide his nervousness.

Xiao Yan laughed out loud, and replied sarcastically, "Because she would harshly reject every single one. If you want to date Feng Jiu, I suggest that you should just give up. It would be easier to climb Mount Everest."

Feng Jiu then stuck her tongue out at Xiao Yan and replied, "Stop spewing nonsense, Xiao Yan. Let's just ignore him and decide what to eat tonight!" Feng Jiu suggested Korean BBQ and asked everyone for their opinions.

"Yes! Yes! I want Korean BBQ!" Xiao Yan started hopping around in excitement."Sounds good to me." Si Ming replied. Jie Lu then replied, "I love Korean BBQ too!" And Meng Shao stuttered, "Sure...? It sounds like a good idea."

Then they left Si Ming's office and started their day at work.

----------------------------------------

After work, they headed to a nice Korean BBQ restaurant near their office.

"I come here often, and this restaurant is excellent!" Feng Jiu said.

"I can't wait to eat! Let's hurry and order some food." Xiao Yan replied excitedly.

"Don't worry; it's a free-flow buffet. You can eat till you drop." Feng Jiu smiled as she loved buffets. It's a wonder how she remained so thin, despite eating so much.

Their food arrived shortly, and everyone began to cook their food on the grill.

"Hot! Ssss! Hot!" Xiao Yan huffed, and he spat out the food onto the tissue paper. The food was piping hot, and it burned his tongue. "Eat slowly, Xiao Yan! You're so gross." Feng Jiu nagged at him. "Gross? Not as gross as the fact that you like Dong Hua." Xiao Yan rebutted. Feng Jiu then glowered at him.

"I'm sorry, Feng Jiu. I went too far. Don't be mad, and I'll get you more food." Xiao Yan apologized and started to cook more food for Feng Jiu, to appease her anger.

"You like Dong Hua too?" Jie Lu immediately replied."Too...?" Feng Jiu asked with a confused look. "Yeah... I also have a crush on him. But it's more of idolizing him because I admired how he turned Tai Chen Group from nothing, into what it is today. I'm sure it wasn't easy to build something from scratch." Jie Lu replied shyly.

"Not another one. Why does everyone like Dong Hua?! But you should just give up, Jie Lu. He already has a girlfriend, although nobody knows who she is now." Xiao Yan pouted.

"Well... actually I already know who that girl is. I'm sorry, Xiao Yan. I have to break your heart now. Ji Heng is most likely his rumoured girlfriend." Feng Jiu frowned.

"What?! That Ice Face is dating my Ji Heng?!" Xiao Yan immediately stood up and yelled, and then everyone turned over to look at him. Feng Jiu quickly shushed him and told him to sit down. Then she replied calmly, "Yes... Back then when I was working in Tai Chen Group, there were already rumours about it. But after hearing those rumours back at the resort, I concluded that they are dating now."

"I don't believe you! But even if they were dating, I won't give up too! At least they ain't married, so I still have a chance." Xiao Yan knitted his brows and pouted.

"Eww! You like Ji Heng? Back when we were working at our previous company, we had already heard bad things about her. Because there was one time she came over to our company for a meeting, and she reprimanded the cleaner in public. And it was just because she accidentally swept the broom over her shoes. Such a black-hearted woman! You're so blind, Xiao Yan!" Jie Lu gave a thumbs down and had a disgusted look on her face.

"You're not any better! You like Ice Face, such bad taste! At least Ji Heng is better than you!" Xiao Yan stuck out his tongue at Jie Lu.

"No way! I'm way better than her. At least I'm kind-hearted!" Jie Lu and Xiao Yan started bickering, and everyone else laughed and continued eating."Just let them 'flirt' with each other, who knows they might end up dating each other." Si Ming said sarcastically.

Then Feng Jiu noticed Meng Shao stayed quiet the whole time that they were there. "Hey Meng Shao, are you okay?" She asked him in a concerning manner. He then avoided eye-contact, and replied shyly, "Yeah... I'm just enjoying my food."

"Hey. You can always join us in talking, don't be shy! Anyway, why don't you tell me more about school? You said you know me back then, right?" Feng Jiu tried to make Meng Shao feel comfortable so that he would open up and talk more.

"Uh yeah..." Meng Shao still avoided eye-contact and continued eating. Feng Jiu felt a little upset because she didn't know what else to say. Jie Lu then whispered to her, "Well. My cousin has a huge crush on you since a long time ago when he first knew about you back in school. But don't worry, he's a nice guy, and he won't dare to do or say anything."

Feng Jiu then whispered back, "No wonder he's acting this way. But sadly, I'll have to break his heart." She frowned. Jie Lu then nudged Meng Shao to talk more, so that he wouldn't be seen as being rude.

"You were popular back then, and everyone knows you. Well, we actually attended one class together, but I don't think you'll remember that." Meng Shao said. Feng Jiu then replied cheerfully, "Oh! I'm sorry if I didn't remember you from back then! But now, I'll definitely remember you as we will be working together. Don't worry; we will be good friends for sure!

"Good friends? Oh! That would be nice, and I look forward to working together with you. I hope I don't cause any trouble for you too." Meng Shao replied cheerfully, and he seems to open up more. Then he thought to himself, "I know Feng Jiu likes Dong Hua, but it's okay because I'm happy with just being good friends with her."

Then everyone continued their dinner, and they had a lot of fun. They bonded with each other, and this was a new start to their friendship.

By the end of the night, Meng Shao had started to talk more, and he felt comfortable around Feng Jiu. Xiao Yan and Jie Lu were still bickering over their crushes. Si Ming just ate his food and watched all of them have fun. Then he silently thought to himself, "When will I meet someone interesting?"

After they were done with dinner, Si Ming paid for the bill. It was a treat from him to welcome the new people on the team. Then they bid goodbye and went their separate ways.

----------------------------------------

Si Ming then got on to his car, and he prepared to start driving. Suddenly, an unknown woman opened the car door on the passenger side and sat on to the passenger seat.

She bent down and tried to hide, and then she yelled to him, "Go! Drive! Please don't ask why and just drive off!" The woman was visibly panicking, and she was panting heavily as well. Si Ming looked at his rear mirror and noticed two men wearing black suits looking around, and they seem to be looking for someone.

After they drove for a distance, Si Ming stopped at the side of the road and asked, "So why were the two guys chasing you?" At the same time, he felt like he had seen her around before.

"How did you know?" She replied shockingly.

"Common sense." Si Ming replied coldly.

"Oh. Guess it's pretty obvious then. Eh? Ain't you Si Ming from Tai Chen Group?" The woman asked.

"How did you know my name? Who are you?" Si Ming was shocked that she knew his name, but he remained calm.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She took a deep breath before adding on, "I'm Yu Xi, daughter of the CEO of Fan Yin Investment. Well... I actually heard about you since a long time ago, and you're well known to be a walking encyclopedia. It's a pleasure to meet you finally, and thanks for saving me!" Then she smiled widely at Si Ming.

"Oh, no wonder I felt like you looked familiar. It's nice to meet you too. So now, can you tell me why you're running away from them?" Si Ming replied calmly.

"The truth is... my dad is forcing me to get engaged to a wealthy man's son, to unite the two families with marriage. But I don't even love him, and that is why I'm running away! Those two men back there were my bodyguards, and they were escorting me to the engagement dinner with his parents. Then I escaped on the way there, and now thanks to you, I managed to escape successfully."

"You're so daring, going against your parents' will, but I'm definitely impressed. So what are your plans now? You can't even go back home, right?"

"Yeah... That's what I'm thinking about now. I mean, I still have some cash on myself to survive for the next few weeks, but I don't have a place to hide. My dad would definitely hunt me down by searching every hotel in the country, and I'm sure he would freeze my credit cards too. Not like he hadn't done it before."

"Tough being a rich man's daughter, eh? Let me help you think of a solution... hmm..."

"Yeah, tell me all about it. Sometimes I wish I was born in a simple family, and in that case, I'll finally have some freedom to make my own choices."

"Well. You can still make your own choices, but firstly, you need to learn how to be independent and survive on your own. It's not easy for sure, and I know best. I left my hometown since I was 21 years old, and I had survived alone since then." Si Ming smiled as he reminisced his past and remembered how he climbed up to where he is today.

"I don't mind working hard if I could get to make my own choices. My dad restricted me from everything since young, and I can't even do the things I love. This is the first time I did something like this, but at the same time, I'm so glad that I finally did something!" Yu Xi smiled proudly.

"Oh! I suddenly thought of a place that you might be able to hide at, but let me give my friend a call first."

----------------------------------------

Si Ming then called Lian Song.

Lian Song: What's up! Why are you calling me at such a late timing, you missed me?

Si Ming: You're talking nonsense as usual. No wonder Cheng Yu doesn't like you.

Lian Song: I need to create more cold jokes, to put out her fire. You won't understand, you don't even have a girl!

Si Ming: Yeah, yeah, forever alone. Well, so I was just wondering if my friend could temporarily stay at your other empty apartment? The one that was supposed to be for you-know-who back then, but then he decided to move to Feng Jiu's apartment.

Lian Song: Oh, of course! It's empty anyway, and I'll text you the passcode for the main door lock after we hang up the phone. But it still needs to be spring cleaned, and I'm sure it's full of dust by now. Wait! Friend?! Who is it?! I know all your friends, Si Ming. Is it a lady?!

Si Ming: It's none of your business, Lian Song.

Lian Song: Come on, tell me! We are best friends, aren't we?

Si Ming: Nope, we don't even know each other that well.

Lian Song: You're so petty! Tell me, or I'll drop by the "empty" apartment when I'm back, to spot check. As a landlord, I demand to know who's living at my apartment!

Si Ming: Fine. It's a new friend that I made, and her name is Yu Xi. Don't worry; it's just temporary until we figure something out."

Lian Song: A girl?! We?! What are you up to recently, Si Ming?! Tell me more!

Si Ming: It's getting late, and you need to rest early for your flight tomorrow morning. Bye.

Lian Song: No! Tell me more about it first!

Then Si Ming hanged up the call on Lian Song, and he drove Yu Xi to Lian Song's other apartment.

----------------------------------------

They arrived at Lian Song's apartment, and it was indeed dusty. Although all the household applications were still working well, they still needed to get some basic essentials for Yu Xi. Si Ming then quickly cleaned up the bedroom and he also put on the bed sheets for her.

"Thanks for your help, Si Ming. I'm sorry if I'm troubling you, as I don't know how to do anything. But I'm sure I'll learn how to do them eventually, so you don't have to worry about me." Yu Xi said shyly.

"No worries. This is nothing to me, and I do them all the time. We still have to get some basic essentials stuff for you, so I'll just head downstairs to grab some for you first. We can do the rest tomorrow evening since it's so late now, and you need to rest soon."

"You're coming tomorrow as well? Isn't it too troublesome for you, and why are you helping a stranger like me?"

"Yes, I'll be coming back here tomorrow after my work ends, to help you clean up the place. Well, I know how hard it is to live and do everything alone. I figured that I would lend a helping hand unless you don't feel comfortable about it."

"No, not at all! I'm more than happy to have you around to help me. I don't know anything, but I promise you that I won't have a princess attitude and learn some from you!

Si Ming then quickly went downstairs and got some stuff for Yu Xi. Then he made sure that she felt comfortable in the apartment before he felt at ease.

"Okay, you should leave now. You still have to work tomorrow."

"Are you sure that you're okay now? By the way, I wrote my number down on this paper, so you can call me anytime if you need help. Call me using the landline here, so that your dad won't be able to track down your location through your own phone." Si Ming passed the piece of paper to Yu Xi.

"You're so smart, Si Ming! Thanks again! You need to get going now, it's getting late." Yu Xi smiled brightly.

"Yes, princess. Stay safe and remember to lock the main door."

Then Si Ming turned around and went into the lift.

"He called me Princess." Yu Xi couldn't help but smile to herself, and her heart skipped a beat. She silently thought to herself, "Wait... Why did my heart skip a beat?! Noooo, Yu Xi! It's way too fast! I only met him today, even though I heard about him since a long time ago. I must be too tired, I should go to bed now." and then she passed out on her bed and slept soundly to the next morning.

"She's interesting and beautiful. But she is definitely out of my league." - Si Ming