The next day, Feng Jiu arrived to work early. She saw Si Ming standing in the pantry area with a blank face, and he had panda eyes.

"Your face looks terrible, what happened?" Feng Jiu asked concernedly.

"I couldn't sleep a wink last night. I think you won't get to see me anymore from next week onwards. I'm changing my name from Si Ming (司命) to Si Ding (死定)."

Si Ding (死定) - Dead meat/Doomed/Dead

Feng Jiu then asked worriedly, "Did something happened between you and Yu Xi?"

"No. Worse." Si Ming sighed.

"What could be worse than that?" Feng Jiu wondered, and she replied, "Tell me what's wrong. I'm worried about you, Si Ming."

"It's the... unspeakable deadly fish. One bite of it, and it could potentially send you straight to heaven. I'm already making a will. I'll leave you some money so you can buy food and help me take care of Yu Xi too."

Feng Jiu shook Si Ming's shoulder and exclaimed, "It's not the end of the world! Wait. Why is Dong Hua serving you sweet and sour fish."

Si Ming then replied with no emotions in his voice, "I need to start doing more good deeds throughout this week, to make sure that I go to heaven."

Feng Jiu saw Si Ming walking out of the pantry holding onto an empty cup, and he was in a daze. Feng Jiu then dragged him back and said, "How did this happen?"

"We drank too much tea and got caught. So now we have to face our punishment. I'm not drinking tea anymore, and I'm becoming a vegetarian."

"What?!" Feng Jiu was confused, and she felt helpless seeing Si Ming act this way. Then Lian Song came into the office to look for Si Ming, and he had the same exact blank face with panda eyes.

"Is this the zoo or what? Why are there two pandas?" Feng Jiu snickered.

"You don't know what we went through." Lian Song said.

"It's just sweet and sour fish. It wouldn't kill you even though it was bad." Feng Jiu replied.

"Oh... You have no idea how deadly that fish is. You're the only survivor, Feng Jiu. I only have one wish. If I don't make it this time, help me take care of Cheng Yu." Lian Song replied.

Feng Jiu then started laughing, "Gosh. Look at the both of you, acting so dramatic. Although you guys got caught slacking at work for drinking tea, I think that it shouldn't warrant a punishment like that. I'll try to talk to Dong Hua about it. Maybe, just maybe, he would listen to me because we are good friends now."

The gossip duo immediately widened their eyes and looked at Feng Jiu with their puppy eyes. "You will help us?! You're our life saviour, our one and only hope left." Lian Song said.

"Come on, that's what friends are for. Don't worry about it, and I'll talk to him about it this Saturday."

"You're meeting up with him this Saturday?!" Lian Song asked curiously. His natural instincts to 'drink tea' reacted and he temporarily forgot about his misery.

Feng Jiu immediately thought to herself, "Oh my gosh, I accidentally blurted out that I'm going to meet him on Saturday. I can't let Lian Song know this. He would misunderstand for sure."

Then she replied, "Oh, sorry. I spoke too fast. I mean, I'll text him on Saturday after he's back from his business trip. I don't want to disturb him when he's busy."

"Oh. That's true. Thanks for helping us out. I don't know how to repay you for that. Oh, by the way, if I didn't remember wrongly, it's Dong Hua's birthday this coming Saturday as well."

"Oh? It's his birthday? Guess I'll just wish him a happy birthday and then tried to see if I could change his mind about the fish."

"Phew. Thank god. At least we still have some hope. So, are we still going vegetarian?" Si Ming said to Lian Song.

"No. Who am I kidding? I can't survive without eating meat. We have Feng Jiu to help us now." Lian Song replied.

The gossip duo thanked her, and then they both went back to work.

Feng Jiu thought to herself, "Dong Hua's birthday?! I didn't even know that! Should I buy him a present?! But he has everything, and I can't afford anything expensive too. Maybe I'll bake for him a small cake? I'm good at that too. Oh, and also a birthday card. That would do, and I'll just do that then." Feng Jiu then smiled to herself and continued doing her work.

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Lunch-time arrived. Feng Jiu had her meal delivered to her desk as usual. Before she began eating, she took a photo of it and sent it to Dong Hua.

Then she texted him, "Eating lunch now. Are you eating yours too? Better send me a picture of it if you are."

Dong Hua immediately replied, "I'll get lunch soon, and enjoy yours. I'm in the middle of an important meeting now, so I'll text back later."

She quickly texted back before eating, "Okay, I'll text back later after I finish eating my lunch too. We will be going over to Zhi Yue Art Gallery after lunch."

Feng Jiu then set aside her phone and started eating. After she was done eating, Si Ming told her to pack up and prepare to leave, as they will be heading over to the Art Gallery now. "I'll go drive my car over to the lobby, so come down when you're done." Si Ming said before leaving.

Feng Jiu quickly threw out her leftover trash and started packing up. Then she swiftly grabbed her purse and went downstairs.

She then got up the car, and they left for the Art Gallery. Halfway into the car ride, she suddenly remembered that she forgot to text Dong Hua back. She looked into her bag and tried looking for her phone. She then realized that her phone wasn't in her purse, and she remembered leaving it at her desk.

She immediately told Si Ming to lend her his phone to call Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan: Hello? Why are you calling me, Si Ming?

Feng Jiu: Hey, Xiao Yan. It's not Si Ming, but it's Feng Jiu. I need a small favour from you!

Xiao Yan: Oh, Feng Jiu! What do you need help with?

Feng Jiu: Do you see my phone on my desk? I think I left it there and forgot to bring it along with me.

Xiao Yan: Oh, yes, I saw it. It's on your desk, so don't worry about it.

Feng Jiu: Oh. Luckily, it's there. Anyway, would you mind switching off my phone? Just in case someone calls me. I don't want it to vibrate non-stop and disrupt others from their work.

Xiao Yan: Sure! Okay, I already switched it off. I'll also put it in the drawer below your desk so that nobody would take your phone too.

Feng Jiu: Thank you, Xiao Yan. I appreciate your help, and I'll see you later!

Feng Jiu then hanged up after they bid goodbye to each other.

Si Ming asked, "Everything okay?" Feng Jiu then smiled and replied, "Yes, it's all good now. We won't be there for long anyway, so I won't need my phone."

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

On the other side, Dong Hua just finished his meeting, and he checked his phone to see if Feng Jiu texted him.

"What? She's going to meet Cang Yi?!" He thought to himself. Then he tried to calm down and replied, "Oh. I'm done with my meeting and going to grab some food for lunch now. I'll send you a picture of it later on. So how long are you going to be at the Art Gallery?"

Then he waited for her reply. Feng Jiu usually replies fast, but this time, she didn't reply at all. Not knowing that Feng Jiu left her phone behind in the office, Dong Hua sends another message. This time he sent a picture of his lunch and texted, "Here's a picture of my lunch as evidence to prove that I'm eating. How is your free lunch?"

Then he waited for another 30 minutes, and he kept looking at his phone. He pondered, "Why is she not replying to me yet? Usually, she replies really fast whenever I send her a picture of my food. And if she's back to work, she would let me know too."

Dong Hua felt impatient and uneasy because he knew that Feng Jiu was going to meet Cang Yi. This time, he actually felt threatened by it. "Will she change her mind about Cang Yi?"

He then continued waiting for her to reply. He didn't want to spam her with messages, as he was afraid to do so as well.

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Feng Jiu and Si Ming arrived at Zhi Yue Art Gallery. A manager came out to greet them instead of Cang Yi.

"Oh, Where's Cang Yi? We were supposed to meet him." Si Ming asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to mention it. Unfortunately, he won't be able to meet you guys today. He had been in the hospital for the past few days, so I'll be in charge today." The manager replied politely.

"Oh my gosh, is he okay?!" Feng Jiu exclaimed.

"He suffered from serious food poisoning. I heard he was having the runs and vomiting non-stop. It's quite bad, so we are not sure how long he would be in the hospital."

Feng Jiu and Si Ming then looked at each other, and they chuckled. Si Ming then whispered to Feng Jiu, "If you don't want me to end up in the hospital next, please help us to convince Dong Hua to let us off." Feng Jiu then patted his shoulder and said, "Leave it to me! I have my ways."

"I think you're the only person who dares to talk back to Dong Hua. Maybe that's why he likes you." Si Ming whispered.

"Yeah, he likes me as a good friend now."

"Or... maybe more?" Si Ming winked.

"Nah. I don't want to think too much and have any false hopes. I already know that we are not meant to be with each other. Sometimes friendships last longer than relationships, just like you and me!"

Si Ming then shook his head as he realized that he could never convince Feng Jiu. He knew that the only way was for Dong Hua to tell her about his feelings, but at the same time, he knew that that would never happen. Then he thought to himself, "Sigh, these two star-crossed lovers. Fate is really playing a game with them. I guess we can only wait for the right time and moment to reveal the truth to both of them. But now is not a good time to do so."

Then they both continued working.

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"It's been more than an hour, and she's still not replying to me. Is she really that busy at work, or she forgot about me because she's with Cang Yi now?" Dong Hua couldn't focus on his work.

Then he decided to give Feng Jiu a call, using the excuse of 'checking to see if she's slacking at work.'

"The phone is currently unavailable. Please try again later."

"What? She even switched her phone off? Hmm... maybe her battery went flat." Dong Hua pondered. Suddenly, he thought of something, "She should be with Si Ming, right? I'll give him a call then."

Si Ming then received a call from Dong Hua, and he immediately picked it up.

Si Ming: Hello, Dong Hua.

Dong Hua: Are you at Zhi Yue Art Gallery now?

At this moment, Feng Jiu spoke in the background, "Si Ming, I'll come back to find you later on."

Dong Hua instantly thought to himself, "Wait. I heard Feng Jiu's voice. Where is she going? Is she with Cang Yi alone now?"

Si Ming: Oh, yes. We are at the Art Gallery now. Why?

Dong Hua: We?

Si Ming: Oh. I'm referring to Feng Jiu and myself. Is there something wrong?

Dong Hua: No, just calling to check on the progress for the project. Oh, by the way, is Cang Yi there?

Si Ming: No, he's in the hospital. Been there since a few days ago and probably won't be discharged anytime soon as well. Do you need to talk to him? Maybe you can speak to the manager.

Dong Hua immediately felt a sense of relief.

Dong Hua: No worries, I can just email him. So what are you and Feng Jiu doing now?

Si Ming: I'm just checking on the lightings, and Feng Jiu just went to check the exhibition hall.

Dong Hua: Oh, I see. I need to ask her about something work-related, can you get her on the phone?

Si Ming: Sure. Let me go find her, give me a moment.

Si Ming then walked into the exhibition hall and passed the phone to Feng Jiu. He also told her that Dong Hua needed to speak to her. Then he raised his eyebrows and walked away to give them some 'privacy.'

Feng Jiu: Hello?

Dong Hua: Why is your phone switched off?

Feng Jiu: Oh! I told Xiao Yan to switched it off for me because I left my phone back in the office. Were you looking for me? I'm sorry, I forgot to bring my phone along with me, so I couldn't text back.

Dong Hua: Oh, I see. I just called to check if you're slacking. So how's the progress of the project?

Feng Jiu: I knew it! You only wanted to make sure I was working. But don't worry, I'm very hardworking. The project seems to be going well, so I'm sure everything would be okay.

Dong Hua: That's good to know. By the way, I already ate my lunch, and I also sent you a picture of it.

Feng Jiu: Good! I'll check it when I'm back in the office.

Dong Hua: How long more are you going to stay at the Art Gallery?

Feng Jiu: It shouldn't be too long, we are just checking some stuff, and we will head back soon. Okay, I need to get back to work now so that we can quickly finish up and head back. I'll reply to your messages later on when I have my phone.

Dong Hua: Okay, get back to work. I'm going back to work as well.

Feng Jiu then hanged up the call and went to look for Si Ming so that they could continue working.

Dong Hua felt relieved to know that Cang Yi wasn't around. "I guess sending sweet and sour fish to him was worth it." Now, Dong Hua can finally focus on doing his work.

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"So... what did Dong Hua say to you?" Si Ming smirked at Feng Jiu.

"Uh, nothing much. He just asked about the progress of the project."

"Oh? That's all?"

"Yeah. What else do you expect?"

"Maybe something sweet?" Si Ming raises his eyebrows.

"You're becoming more and more like Lian Song. He's such a bad influence!" Feng Jiu exclaimed.

"Fine, fine. I'll stop talking nonsense. Let's just continue working and then head back."

An hour passed by quickly, and they were finally heading back to the office. Feng Jiu then went through some of the work documents on the car, and she also sorted them out.

Then they arrived at the office after an hour's ride. "Go up to the office first, and I'll go park my car." Si Ming said, and Feng Jiu alighted the car and went back up to the office.

She sat down on her desk and took out her phone. She quickly switched it on to check if she had any missed calls or messages.

Then she realized that her phone was on 1% battery again. "I really have a bad habit of not charging my phone until it's totally out of battery." She thought to herself.

She quickly checked her phone and realized that Dong Hua called her twice, and he also left three messages for her. She opened up the text messages and looked at it. She started typing a reply to Dong Hua, but her phone switched off suddenly. It was totally out of battery at this point.

Feng Jiu didn't think that Dong Hua was waiting for her replies, so she decided just to wait till she's home to reply back. "He's busy at work anyway."

On the other side, Dong Hua was waiting for her message. He immediately sat up straight and stared at his phone when he saw the word 'Message Seen,' and then he impatiently waited for her reply when he saw the word 'Typing...'

All of a sudden, the word 'Typing...' disappeared. "Wait, why did she stop typing? Did I say something wrong in my text messages?"

Then he continued to stare at the screen for 5 minutes, but nothing changed. "Maybe she's busy at work?" Dong Hua felt so uneasy, and he had never felt this way before, like waiting for someone to reply to his messages. In the past, it was always other people waiting for him. I guess it's safe to say, 'What goes around comes around.'

Dong Hua kept looking at the time every few minutes. Finally, it was 6 PM. "It's time for her to knock off, and she's still not back at the office?"

Then he continued waiting again. What he didn't know now is that he would be waiting all night for her replies. Now he truly understands how it felt like to be missing someone. The anxiety of waiting was torturing to him.

Feng Jiu was just packing up to head home, and Xiao Yan asked her, "You want to join us for dinner?"

"Oh! Where are you guys going to?"

"The hotpot restaurant. Your favourite one."

"I'm coming!" Feng Jiu excitedly grabbed all her belongings and followed after Xiao Yan. Jie Lu, Meng Shao, and Si Ming also went along for dinner.

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"It's been quite some time since we came here together!" Feng Jiu said excitedly.

"Yeah. Everyone was tied down with this project recently. But don't worry, it will be over soon. Technically we are only left with about two weeks before the official launch. Then for the rest of the duration of the project, we would just be running backend support, so we won't be that busy anymore."

"Nice! Can't wait for this to be over!" Xiao Yan exclaimed. Si Ming then smiled and replied, "Don't be too happy yet. There would be a new upcoming major event, and I heard it would be a competition."

"Huh? What kind of competition?" Xiao Yan replied.

"I'm not too sure, I just heard about it from the management team. It would involve our department, so I'm guessing that it would be a design-related competition. If I'm not wrong, we will be working closely with West Sea Group to host this major event."

Xiao Yan, Jie Lu, and Meng Shao then started to talk among themselves.

"West Sea Group? Isn't that Yu Xi's fiance's company?" Feng Jiu whispered to Si Ming. He nodded his head and whispered back, "Yeah, it is. I have some insider info, and I would only tell you about it. I heard the first prize is going to be $50,000 in cash and an all-paid round trip to Europe for ten days. You could also bring one friend along with you as well. You should join the competition so that you can use the money to pay for Qingti's hospital bill."

Feng Jiu's eyes lit up after hearing that, and she whispered back, "I'm all in. Do you have any idea when the competition would be held?"

"Probably in a few months. We will have to wait for Dong Hua to come back to work next Monday to know more about it. By the way, you didn't forget about this Sunday's plans, right?"

"Yeah, I didn't forget. We will be meeting Su Moye at the 'The Dream Cafe' at 6 PM. Hopefully, things go well on Sunday."

"I hope so too. I'm more worried about Yu Xi getting caught by her dad. Anyway, don't forget to talk to Dong Hua on Saturday about you-know-what." Si Ming smiled politely.

"Don't worry, and I know what to say to Dong Hua! And yeah, I'm worried about that too. I think you need to park your car at the back entrance so that we could make a quick escape if it happens. I doubt Su Moye would inform her dad because Yu Xi did tell him not to. He's a womanizer, so I don't think he even cared about this engagement."

"We shall see how it goes." Si Ming nodded his head, and Feng Jiu patted his shoulder to console him.

Then they noticed Jie Lu and Xiao Yan teasing Meng Shao. Jie Lu cheekily said to Meng Shao, "So... What happened that night?" Feng Jiu immediately butted in, "What night?!"

Meng Shao then replied shyly, "Uh... Nothing much. I just send her home, but I swear nothing happened!" Feng Jiu leaned closer to him and answered, "Her? Tell us more!"

Jie Lu then interrupted, "Well. So you guys don't know about it because you didn't come along with us to the bar last Friday! We were drinking when the waitress accidentally spilled some beer on Meng Shao. And our gentleman here stood up and apologized to her instead!"

"Wait. Why did he apologize to her if she spilled it?" Feng Jiu asked confusedly. Jie Lu then laughed out loud, "That's just how Meng Shao is. He's too polite. So... The waitress felt bad and offered him another cup of beer. He then refused to take it and kept pushing it back to her, and guess what?! He spilled the drink on her!"

Everyone started laughing, and Meng Shao replied, "I felt so bad after that, so I offered to send her home. I don't know why I did that too." Xiao Yan then smirked and replied, "So did you get her number at least?"

"Yes, she gave it to me and told me to call her if I'm going back to the bar. But don't overthink it. She only said that because she wanted to give me a free drink to thank me for sending her home safely."

Feng Jiu then asked, "So did you text or call her yet?" Meng Shao then shook his head lightly and replied, "No. Why?"

Xiao Yan then replied, "You're so dense, Meng Shao! She gave you her number. She obviously has an interest in you." Si Ming then snickered and replied to Xiao Yan, "Talk about yourself, Xiao Yan. You're dense too." Then Si Ming briefly looked at Jie Lu.

Xiao Yan then exclaimed, "Why did you call me dense?! It's not like you have a girlfriend, so how would you know?" Feng Jiu then stopped Xiao Yan there, "Actually, he does."

Everyone widened their eyes and stared at Si Ming, waiting for his answer. Si Ming then replied shyly, "She's right. I have a girlfriend now." Then he smiled to himself.

"What?! Even an old block like Si Ming has a girlfriend, when is it my turn?!" Xiao Yan protested, then Feng Jiu countered, "When you open your eyes wide."

Xiao Yan then widened his eyes and replied, "Huh? How would that help?" 

Si Ming and Feng Jiu then shook their heads. At the same time, they noticed Jie Lu bowing her head, and she was quiet. Xiao Yan saw them looking at Jie Lu, so he turned over to look at her too. Then he said to her in a soft tone, "Do you still want more food? I'll order some if you're still hungry. I know you like the meatballs here."

Jie Lu then smiled at him and replied, "Sure. But I don't think I can finish the whole plate." Xiao Yan then replied, "It's okay. We can share." Everyone else then stared at the 'lovebirds' having a sweet moment. Jie Lu blushed when she noticed everyone staring, and Xiao Yan waved for the waiter to come over.

Then Feng Jiu nudged Meng Shao, "Hey, you should send the waitress a message. By the way, what's her name?"

"Her name is Meng Qi. Pretty similar to mine, so it was easy to remember. And I don't know if it's a good idea to message her. It would be somewhat weird, right?"

"Oh, similar names. Fated, huh?" She smirked at him and added on, "Yeah. Just say Hi and see how it goes." Meng Shao pondered for a while and replied, "I guess I could try. But you guys have to help me out with it, in case she replies, and I don't know what to say next."

Si Ming and Feng Jiu then began to help Meng Shao think of what to say. The three of them were also too engrossed in the conversation to pay attention to the 'lovebirds.'

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Xiao Yan kept giving food to Jie Lu, and her bowl was piling up with food. Jie Lu then tried to stop him from adding more, "It's too much! You eat some too." Xiao Yan then replied, "No, you need to eat more."

"I can't! I'll get fat if you keep stuffing me with food." She replied. Xiao Yan chuckled, "Don't worry, you won't get fat."

"That's easy for you to say. I have to exercise 3 times a week to lose weight." She rolled her eyes. Xiao Yan replied, "You already look good like this. Why do you need to lose weight?" He continued putting more food onto her bowl.

"If I get fat, no guys will want me, and that would be your fault." Jie Lu then took the food from her plate and put it on Xiao Yan's plate. Xiao Yan replied casually without thinking, "If you get fat and nobody wants you, I'll want you then."

Jie Lu instantly blushed and bowed her head. Xiao Yan then realized what he just said. Both of their hearts were pounding, and they pretended to be busy with eating. Jie Lu then replied shyly, "I know you said the wrong things. Don't worry, and I won't take it to heart." Then she smiled at him to ease the awkwardness.

"No. Actually... That came from the deepest part of my heart. I will take responsibility if nobody else wants you when you get fat." He then bowed his head and stuffed his mouth with more rice, trying to ease the tension too.

"You don't have to force yourself to do that, and I would understand. I know your dream girl is Ji Heng." Jie Lu replied sadly and gave a faint smile to him.

Then she stood up and walked away to the washroom to clear her thoughts. She was also afraid that the other three would hear them. But they were still too engrossed in their own conversation, and they totally didn't pay any attention to them.

Xiao Yan then stood up and chased after her, and he thought to himself, "I kept telling myself that I need to slow down and not rush things. But I really need to tell her my true feelings now."

He waited for her outside the washroom so that he could talk to her. Jie Lu was shocked to see Xiao Yan, and she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you." He smiled, and then he dragged her to a quiet corner. "Come with me, Jie Lu."

"Why did you drag me here, Xiao Yan?"

"I need to talk to you about something. Hear me out first." He said to Jie Lu, and she nodded her head to agree with it. "Actually... I don't have feelings for Ji Heng anymore. I thought I did, but now I finally realized who I really like."

He paused because he felt like he couldn't breathe, and Jie Lu also felt the same way too. She waited for his answer, but she couldn't help asking, "Who...?"

"It's... you." Xiao Yan looked away as he was too shy to face her now.

"Me too." Jie Lu blushed and replied softly.

Xiao Yan immediately turned back to look at her, "You feel the same too?! You're not joking with me, right?!" Jie Lu then smiled sweetly, "No, this time, I'm not joking around with you."

"So... Uh. Where should we start? I mean, I never had a girlfriend or anything. Wait, what are we? Sorry, I'm just rambling on because I'm too nervous." Xiao Yan's hand was shaking with nervousness.

"I think we should go on dates first and also take it slow from there? I'm not sure about it because it's my first relationship as well. "

"Relationship?! So we are in a relationship now?!" He replied excitedly. Jie Lu then nodded her head and replied shyly, "Yes. We are dating now."

Then they both happily walked back to their table. Xiao Yan wanted to hold her hand, but he was afraid to do so, and he wanted to wait for the right moment too.

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When they reached their table, everyone stared at them with a smirk on their faces. "So... Why are you both blushing?" Feng Jiu asked, and she raised her eyebrows at them too.

Jie Lu then bowed her head in embarrassment and stuffed herself with more food. Xiao Yan then replied excitedly, "I have good news! Jie Lu just agreed to be my girlfriend!" Then he smiled brightly at everyone.

Their jaws dropped, and Si Ming said, "You just went to the washroom single and came back with a girlfriend? What happened out there?!"

"Well! I actually have feelings for her for some time now, so I took the courage to confess to her." Xiao Yan replied proudly. Feng Jiu then gave him a thumbs-up, "Good job, Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Yan then gave Feng Jiu a high-five, and he spoke without thinking again, "When is your turn, huh?" Jie Lu immediately stuffed food into his mouth to stop him from talking more since they knew about her unrequited love. Xiao Yan quickly apologized to her, and Feng Jiu replied, "It's okay, Xiao Yan. Maybe someday it will finally be my turn. But as for now, I'm really happy to see all of you being in a happy relationship!"

Feng Jiu waved for the waiter to come over, and she ordered drinks for everyone. Then everyone continued eating and had a great time.

"Why is she not replying to my messages yet?"
 "And why is her phone still switched off?"
"Where is she?"
"I miss her."

- Dong Hua.