45. Gossip Duo

Lunch-time was soon over. Feng Jiu stretched herself while sitting down at her desk before getting back to work. "That heavy lunch that I just had is making me so sleepy!"


Everyone else was also back at their own desks, and they began to continue working. Lian Song and Dong Hua got back to the office shortly after, and Ji Heng's team was attending a meeting at another company.


"I'll get some tea from the pantry first." Lian Song said to Dong Hua, and then Dong Hua continued his way back to the meeting room. Lian Song then walked past Si Ming's office and told him, "I'm getting some tea from the pantry." Then he winked at Si Ming and continued his way.


"Getting some tea" was their secret code to hint each other that it was time for some gossiping session and also to find a place where nobody could hear them talk. At the same time, it was also to make it less obvious that they were slacking during work hours.


Si Ming then got up and went towards the pantry to meet Lian Song, who was already there waiting for him. Upon seeing Lian Song alone in the pantry, Si Ming immediately said, "Spill the tea!"


"So... this morning, Dong Hua seems to be jealous of Feng Jiu and me. He mentioned that I was flirting with her, and then he tried to find out our relationship by asking if we were close."


"Interesting. That Ice Block could actually feel emotions? I guess jealousy will be a good way to test him out. What should we do next?"


"Okay, so I have two plans. Plan A (attack), I'll find an excuse to get her to switch seats with me later on so that they would have to work together in the same room. Then they would definitely have a conversation, and we will observe them from afar. And if Plan A fails, we will 'get more tea from the pantry.' What do you think?"


"Smart. We shall go according to your plans then."


They smirked at each other, and they left the pantry. Lian Song then walked back to the meeting room.


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"You took so long to get a cup of tea." Dong Hua said sternly.


"I only took 5 minutes, and you already missed me?" Lian Song said cheekily.


"Do you want to work in the pantry?" Dong Hua replied coldly.


"Aww. You're chasing me away, as usual. It's okay; I was about to go talk to Xiao Yan and Meng Shao about the website design for the project. Hmm... It seems like there aren't any seats for me there, and I might take some time to discuss the final layout. Would you mind if I got Feng Jiu to switch places with me? So I can sit at her workstation, and she could sit here." Lian Song stared at Dong Hua's reaction.


Dong Hua continued looking at his work documents, and he replied with a serious face, "Go ahead." Lian Song gave a smug smile, knowing that the first part of his Plan A succeeded. Then he quickly packed up his laptop and documents and headed over to Feng Jiu's workstation.


Dong Hua looked up at Lian Song while he was leaving the room, and he thought to himself, "I guess giving Lian Song a pay raise was worth it after all." Then he smiled to himself and continued reading his documents.


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While walking towards Feng Jiu's workstation, Lian Song walked past Si Ming's office. He winked at Si Ming, and gave him a thumbs-up, notifying him that the first step of their plan succeeded.


"Hey, Feng Jiu. Would you mind letting me use your work station today? As I'll be discussing with Xiao Yan and Meng Shao about the final layout for the website, and it would be easier for me to liaise with them by sitting here." Lian Song said politely.


"Yeah, sure. I don't mind, and you can use it for however long you like. But I'm just wondering where would I sit now?" Feng Jiu said.


"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I have already found you a seat. It's in the meeting room."


"Meeting room? Does that meant that I have to share the room with Dong Hua?" She whispered to Lian Song, as she didn't want anyone to hear her.


"Yeah. But don't worry, the room is spacious so you won't have to squeeze with him. I know it's inconvenient for you, but that's the only best way for now."


"It's okay. I'll just focus on completing my work and pretend that he's not in the room."


Feng Jiu then packed up her laptop and work documents, before heading over to the meeting room. Dong Hua immediately tried to act calm when he saw Feng Jiu coming his way.


*Knock Knock* Feng Jiu knocked on the door lightly.


"Come in." Dong Hua said sternly.


"I'm sorry to bother you. Lian Song wanted to switch seats with me just for today, so I have to share the room with you. Don't worry, I'll just sit in one corner and do my work, and I'll make sure not to disrupt your work too." She said politely.


"Don't worry about that. I don't get distracted easily." Dong Hua replied coldly. He secretly glanced at Feng Jiu, and then quickly look down to continue reading his documents.


Feng Jiu then walked over to the other end of the room and picked the seat furthest from Dong Hua. Then she settled down and continued working.


"Sitting so far away. Avoiding me, huh?" Dong Hua silently thought to himself. Then he started to roll his chair slowly bit by bit over to Feng Jiu's side while trying not to make it obvious.


After some time, Si Ming then walked over to Lian Song, and then they both stared into the interview room. "Do you notice anything different?" Lian Song whispered to Si Ming.


"Hmm... not yet. I mean it's Dong Hua, I'm sure he's good at being subtle." Si Ming smiled.


"So weird. They are not progressing or talking at all! I think it's time for us to get some tea from the pantry."


Then the both of them headed towards the pantry.


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"It's time for Plan B (bait), the art of jealousy. So we will send Xiao Yan over to the room to pass some documents to Feng Jiu. Knowing Xiao Yan, he would definitely get close to Feng Jiu. This would then trigger Dong Hua's jealousy. Remember the cafeteria's incident? He won't be able to hide his jealousy at all."


"That sounds like a brilliant plan. Lian Song, if you used your brain more while chasing Cheng Yu, you would have gotten her long ago." Si Ming replied sarcastically.


"Thanks for the compliment, Si Ming. But you should worry about yourself, and you're not getting any younger too." Lian Song replied sarcastically, and then he patted Si Ming's shoulder.


Si Ming then shook his head lightly and smiled, "Yeah yeah. Let's start our Plan B now." Then they both walked back to Lian Song's seat.


"Target spotted." Lian Song whispered to Si Ming, and they both looked towards the meeting room.


"Send bait into the enemy's base." Si Ming whispered back.


Lian Song then walked over to Xiao Yan's table. "Xiao Yan, would you mind passing this file to Feng Jiu, for her to go through? Oh ya, I need a favor from you too. We were planning to go for dinner tonight, would you mind asking Feng Jiu if she's free tonight too? Just making sure before we plan things."


"Oh, sure! I'll go pass it to her now!" Xiao Yan excitedly stood up and ran towards the meeting room.


"Send important information to test the enemy's reaction." Lian Song said, and then he gave Si Ming a high-five.


From afar, they watched closely as Xiao Yan knocked on the door and then entering the room. "Bait made contact with the enemy." Si Ming whispered, upon seeing Xiao Yan entered the room.


On the other side, Xiao Yan, who was the 'bait' walked over to Feng Jiu. "Lian Song told me to pass this document to you so that you can read through it."


"Thanks, Xiao Yan." Feng Jiu replied cheerfully.


"Oh, are you busy now? I have something to ask you, but I don't want to bother you if you're busy." Xiao Yan asked curiously, and he sat down beside Feng Jiu.


"No worries, you're not bothering me at all. It's nice that you're here, at least you warm up the room with your cheerfulness. It's so cold in here." Feng Jiu said sarcastically, and she briefly glanced over to Dong Hua, who was engrossed in his work.


What Feng Jiu didn't know was that Dong Hua had been paying attention to their conversations, and he was only pretending to be busy. "Cold? Is she referring to me?"


Then Xiao Yan asked, "Uh, so I was wondering if you're free tonight?"


Dong Hua immediately sat up still, blinked his eyes a few times, and then tried to act calm. "Why is he asking her that? Are they going on a date?"


Feng Jiu noticed Dong Hua looked uneasy, but she brushed it off as nothing and replied, "Yeah, I'm free tonight. Why?"


"Oh! Lian Song and Si Ming told me to ask you if you were free. Because they were planning a dinner tonight and wanted to see if everyone was free."


Dong Hua was a smart guy, and he immediately knew that Lian Song and Si Ming sent Xiao Yan over, with a motive. He quickly turned his head and saw them staring at him from afar.


"Bait blew his cover, retreat!" Lian Song said to Si Ming, upon noticing Dong Hua staring intensively at them. Then they quickly pretended to look away and acted busy at work.


"Are you done talking?" Dong Hua said coldly, cutting their conversation short, and then he continued to read his work documents.


Feng Jiu then replied coldly, "Get back to work first, Xiao Yan. We will talk more after work. Somebody here hates hearing noises." And she glowered at Dong Hua.


"Alright. I'm busy at work anyway. I'll talk to you after work! Bye!" Xiao Yan then happily left the room, and Feng Jiu went back to typing on her computer.


"She has a lot of misunderstandings against me. I wonder why." Dong Hua silently thought to himself. Then he noticed Lian Song and Si Ming stealing glances at the both of them.


He slowly walked over to the glass panels and shut the blinds, so that they won't be able to stare into the meeting room.


"Enemy counter-attack. Plan B failed." Lian Song shook his head, and then he said to Si Ming, "Let's get back to work before Dong Hua serves us sweet and sour fish."


Si Ming shivered at that thought. The last time he ate Dong Hua's sweet and sour fish, he vomited and had the runs for two days straight. His legs went wobbly and numb from being on the toilet for so long. It was so bad that he was literally hugging on to the toilet bowl and couldn't leave for more than 15 minutes. He also got so sick that he couldn't get up from his bed by the end of the two days. Dong Hua's sweet and sour fish was deadly. Deadly in the way that it would make you suffer slowly, and you'll wish that you're dead instead.


It was a miracle that nothing happened to Feng Jiu after she ate the whole plate of sweet and sour fish. I guess she was the 'winner' of them all, indeed the only one who could 'survive' Dong Hua's deadly signature dish. If that wasn't meant to be, then what is?


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"Why did you shut the blinds?" Feng Jiu asked in a semi-annoyed tone.


"It's too bright. Why do you ask? Are you afraid that others would misunderstand our relationship?" Dong Hua replied calmly.


"Why would I be scared of that if I'm not doing anything?!" Feng Jiu then folded her arms and pouted.


"Oh. So you're not afraid of people misunderstanding our relationship?" Dong Hua teased Feng Jiu, but at the same time, he wanted to hear an answer from her.


"That's not what I meant!" She then bowed her head and avoided looking at Dong Hua.


"So, what did you mean?" He replied casually.


"I meant, I won't be doing anything to you. So you don't have to worry about that." She replied, and then she murmured under her breath, "I'm more worried about you doing something to me."


"You're worried that I'll do something to you. Were you secretly hoping that I'll do something to you?" He smirked and replied sarcastically.


"Wait! He heard me?! I wasn't even that loud. Oh no, or maybe he can read minds?!" She panicked internally, and then she calmed herself down and replied calmly, "Why should I be worried about that? Not like you could do anything to me."


"Oh? Because you know kickboxing?" He gave a half-smile and teased Feng Jiu.


"Dong Hua is still teasing me about Xuan Yue's incident! Hmph!" She silently thought to herself, and then she replied sarcastically, "Yes. Of course. I'll kick you if you come near to me."


"Wow, I'm so afraid. I better stay away from you then. Luckily, you're sitting so far away from me." He replied sarcastically.


"Glad that you know." Feng Jiu gave a smug look, and they both continued working.


Feng Jiu then noticed Dong Hua staring at her. "What are you staring at?" Feng Jiu said. Dong Hua smiled and replied sarcastically, "Oh? How would you know I'm staring at you if you didn't stare at me too?"


"............."


Feng Jiu was rendered speechless from Dong Hua's shamelessness. Then she told herself just to ignore Dong Hua for the rest of the day, and just focus on doing her work.


Dong Hua then continued to secretly glance over to Feng Jiu every few minutes, trying to see what she's up to. At the same time, he was struggling with his thoughts internally.


"Why am I feeling so distracted lately? I can't even focus on my work. Nothing could have distracted me from my work in the past until I met her." Then he tried to avoid looking at Feng Jiu, but he couldn't stop himself from looking. "She's cute when she's doing her work so seriously."


"Focus. Dong Hua, you need to focus. If you continue like this, you won't be able to finish your work." He reminded himself. Then he shifted his laptop and moved his seat so that he's not facing Feng Jiu directly.


"That's better, no distraction now." Then Dong Hua buried his head into his computer, and he finally managed to get some work done.


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After a while, Feng Jiu started to feel cold, and she began rubbing her hands together and blowing hot air into her hands. As the central air conditioning system controlled the meeting room temperature, they were unable to adjust it manually.


Dong Hua noticed her feeling cold, and he casually said, "Are you cold?" Feng Jiu then replied rudely, "How did you know? Were you staring at me this whole time?"


"No. The noise that you made by blowing hot air into your hands caught my attention." He replied calmly, and then he stood up and walked towards Feng Jiu.


Dong Hua then slowly took off his suit jacket. "Wait. What are you trying to do?!" Feng Jiu exclaimed.


"What else?" Then he covered her with his jacket. Feng Jiu then tried to get the jacket off her, but Dong Hua replied firmly, "Keep it on. The noise that you're making is distracting me from my work."


"Fine. I'm only accepting it because I didn't want to distract you from your work. Nothing more."


"Nothing more? What more do you expect, huh?" He teased her again. Feng Jiu pouted and looked away.


Dong Hua then left the room after that. "Good riddance," she thought to herself.


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Dong Hua came back into the room shortly after, holding two cups of tea in his hands. Then he placed one in front of Feng Jiu and said, "Drink something hot, so that you won't feel cold."


"Did he went out just to get me a drink...?" Feng Jiu thought to herself, and she instantly felt guilty for being mean towards Dong Hua.


Then she asked Dong Hua, "This tea... Did you..." Dong Hua then interrupted her before she finished her question, "I wanted some tea for myself, and I accidentally made two cups. I figured it would be a waste if I threw it away, so I brought one over for you."


"Accidentally? How does one accidentally make two cups?" She chuckled and teased Dong Hua. Then she thought to herself, "He's still so bad at lying. But now I feel bad because he actually went to get a cup of tea for me. Maybe I shouldn't be that mean to him anymore. I mean, if we can't be lovers, we could still be friends, right?"


Then she smiled brightly at Dong Hua and cheerfully replied, "Thanks for making me a cup of tea. No, I mean, accidentally making two cups and then giving me one to prevent wastage."


Dong Hua was taken aback because Feng Jiu was smiling at him for the first time in a long time. He couldn't even remember the last time she did that to him. For as long as he remembered, Feng Jiu was always cold to him.


Then he smiled brightly back at Feng Jiu and said, "You're welcome. Now I can do my work in peace."


Feng Jiu felt shocked as well, and she silently thought to herself, "It's been long since I last saw that kind of smile from Dong Hua. The last time was on their last date, before the car accident." Then she was reminded of her pain again, and she quickly stopped herself from having hopes for Dong Hua.


Then she reminded herself that Dong Hua's heart doesn't belong to her.


She quickly tried to distract herself from thinking, and then she continued working. It was easy for her to stop thinking about it since the new project was taking up all her time. And it seemed like it would be this case for the next two months.


"How do I get closer to Feng Jiu and make her not hate me? I would love to see more of that beautiful smile of hers."

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