After spending a lovely Friday night with Dong Hua, Feng Jiu couldn't stop smiling to herself, and she eventually smiled herself to sleep. She laid in bed the next morning, rolling around and hugged her plushies. "I wonder what Dong Hua is doing today."

Then she checked her phone for any messages, and she received a message from Cha Cha.

Cha Cha: I'm visiting Qingti today. Do you want to meet me there and we can have lunch after that? It's been so long since we last met each other too!

Feng Jiu immediately replied to her message, "Sounds good! I'll see you there at 11 AM, and I can't wait to see you!"

Then she got up, went into the shower and she prepared to leave for the hospital.

She also quickly text Dong Hua, "What are you doing today? I'm meeting Cha Cha." But Dong Hua didn't reply to her message since he was still asleep.

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Feng Jiu took the bus to the hospital and waited for Cha Cha in the lobby area. Soon, Cha Cha arrived, and they both headed up to Ye Qingti's ward.

"How is Qingti doing recently? Sorry, I have not been visiting him as often. But I'm so glad that you're taking good care of him." Feng Jiu said to Cha Cha.

Cha Cha smiled and replied, "Still the same. The doctor said it would probably take some time before he would wake up. How are you doing, Feng Jiu?"

"It's going okay. Well... So... Me and Dong Hua are actually good friends now." Feng Jiu smiled and bowed her head.

"What? The last time you told us about Dong Hua, you said that you were trying to avoid him. What happened?!" Cha Cha replied shockingly.

"I'll tell you over lunch. Let's visit Qingti first. I missed him so much." Feng Jiu dragged Cha Cha into his ward.

The moment Feng Jiu saw Qingti, she started shedding tears. "Qingti, I'm here." Then she sat down on the chair beside his bed and held on to his hand. "Your hand feels so cold, Qingti. But it's okay, and I'll warm them up for you."

Cha Cha stood aside to allow them to have some 'alone time', as she knew that Qingti would be happy if he knew that Feng Jiu came to visit him. Then she told Feng Jiu, "I'll get some drinks from the vending machines for us. I'll also bring a wet cloth here to wipe Qingti's face later."

After Cha Cha left, Feng Jiu took out her handmade knitted mittens and wore it for Qingti. "Since Christmas is arriving, and it is the season of giving, I knitted this for you." Feng Jiu was good at knitting, but she stopped doing it ever since she graduated from school.

Feng Jiu kept trying to hold back her tears, but she eventually cried out loud. She held on to his hand tightly, and her tears were dropping on his arm.

Right at this moment, Cha Cha walked in, and Feng Jiu quickly wiped away the tears on her face. She also let go of Qingti's hand because she knew that Cha Cha had special feelings towards him.

Ye Qingti's fingers started to twitch a little, and it seems like he was beginning to have some reaction. But Feng Jiu and Cha Cha were too distracted to notice it. At this point, Ye Qingti appears to be able to hear what they were talking about, but he still couldn't wake up from his coma.

Cha Cha then noticed Feng Jiu's puffy eyes, and she said concernedly, "Feng Jiu, you don't have to hide your pain and tears. We are best friends, so you can feel comfortable around me."

Feng Jiu smiled and wiped away her remaining tears. Then she replied to Cha Cha, "How about you? Are you keeping something from me?" Then she smirked at Cha Cha.

"Hmm... Like what?" Cha Cha asked curiously.

"Well... I came the other day and overheard you talking to Qingti about something." Feng Jiu smiled. Cha Cha immediately blushed and replied, "You heard that? Oh my gosh, I feel so embarrassed now."

Feng Jiu then hugged her and replied, "What's so embarrassing about you having feelings for Qingti? He should feel lucky to have you. Look at what you're doing for him. You're busy at work, and you still come here three times a week. Hopefully, Qingti would be able to realize how much you like him, and he would reciprocate your feelings too."

Cha Cha frowned and replied, "I know he already has someone in his heart."

"Who cares? People fall in and out of love every day. Maybe you'll be the one in his heart someday. Once he knows what you did for you, he may even start to feel differently about you too." Feng Jiu then started sipping on her drink.

Feng Jiu was right this time because Ye Qingti indeed started to feel differently towards Cha Cha. Although he was in a coma, his conscious mind would always hear Cha Cha's voice. He knew how much she did for him and his feelings for Feng Jiu were starting to waver. He even started to doubt his feelings for Feng Jiu since he thinks it might be just a crush, and not love.

At this point, Qingti could hear them talk clearly. He overheard Cha Cha talking about her feelings for him, and his conscious mind said, "I need to recover and wake up soon. Wait for me, Cha Cha."

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After visiting Ye Qingti, they went to their usual hangout spot to get lunch.

"So... What happened between you and Dong Hua?" Cha Cha smiled brightly at Feng Jiu.

"Well... It's a long story, so where should I start? Okay, so the last time I told you about it, I was avoiding him in the office. But somehow, we kept bumping into each other. To be honest with you, I don't even know how we became so close." Feng Jiu lightly scratched her head since she didn't know how to explain their situation.

"How close are you both now?" Cha Cha asked curiously.

"Well... We actually kissed once. But! But it was by accident so don't think too much!" Feng Jiu blushed.

Cha Cha almost choked on her drink."What?! Feng Jiu! You kept it from all of us. Does Cheng Yu knows about it?" 

Feng Jiu then shook her head lightly and replied, "Not yet. Only Si Ming's girlfriend, Yu Xi, knows about it. Wait, you didn't meet Yu Xi yet. She's really sweet, and she actually reminds me a little of you."

"Oh! I would love to meet her someday. Yeah, It's been hard to meet up with you girls since I'm tied down with work, and I spent most of my free time visiting Qingti. I miss those schooling days." Cha Cha frowned.

"I miss my schooling days too. Me, you and Qingti would be sitting in the school cafeteria and having fun." Feng Jiu sighed.

Cha Cha let out a sigh as well and replied, "I miss those days too. Adulting life is hard. Anyway, tell me more about you and Dong Hua!"

Feng Jiu instantly had a huge smile on her face and replied, "Well. So he feels comfortable around me now, and our friendship is progressing. I mean... It's good and bad. Lian Song and Si Ming told me that Dong Hua might have special feelings for me but I'm not sure if that is true.

Cha Cha smiled and replied, "Outsiders see best. I know what you have been through and I know your fear. I also know that you felt guilty towards Qingti since the last time you followed your heart; it caused him to be in a coma. But you can't live your life like that forever. If Dong Hua likes you, you should learn to accept him again."

Feng Jiu frowned and bowed her head, "I know. I can't deny that I'm falling more and more in love with him, especially when I'm spending more time with him. But I can't possibly ask him about his feelings for me. What if he really treats me as a good friend and it ruins our friendship?"

Cha Cha also frowned and replied, "I know exactly how you feel. This is also the reason why I hid my feelings for Qingti from everyone, including Qingti himself. It would be awkward if he found out about it, and he would find it hard to reject me too. At least for now, I could be this close to him."

Feng Jiu smiled and patted Cha Cha's shoulder lightly, "I know. The closer we are, the harder to tell them our true feelings. Let's work hard together! I mean, I'm no longer avoiding Dong Hua, and if we are meant to be, we will eventually end up together too. I know that it would be easier if I just ask him about it, but I really don't want to take that risk anymore."

Right at this moment, Dong Hua replied to Feng Jiu's text message.

Dong Hua: I slept in today, and I just woke up. It was a good sleep, and I needed it too. What are you up to now? I will be busy during the weekends since I have three meetings to attend.

Feng Jiu immediately smiled upon receiving Dong Hua's message. Cha Cha then looked at her and said, "Is it Dong Hua?"

Feng Jiu then nodded her head shyly, and Cha Cha nudged Feng Jiu to give him a call instead. "Is it a good idea to call him now?" Feng Jiu hesitated.

"Of course! Just do it!" Cha Cha exclaimed. Feng Jiu then excused herself and called Dong Hua.

Dong Hua: Hello?

Feng Jiu: Oh..Ohh I just called to tell you that I'm out eating lunch with Cha Cha.

Dong Hua: Oh? You just called to tell me that?

Feng Jiu: Uh...Uhhh... I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. It's just my hands were dirty after eating so I figured it would be better to call you instead.

Dong Hua: Xiao Bai. I love that when you're calling me. It's nice to hear your voice the moment I wake up.

Feng Jiu: Really? I thought I was bothering you! So are you getting lunch before your meeting?

Dong Hua: I wouldn't even pick up your call if you were bothering me. I guess I could get something to eat soon. What are you eating, Xiao Bai?

Feng Jiu: Just having Creamy Bacon Carbonara. It's delicious!

Dong Hua: Oh? I guess I would have to try it then. Do they offer food delivery services?

Feng Jiu: I don't think so since it's just a small cafe. Wait! I can deliver it to you if you pay me a million bucks!

Dong Hua: Wow, that's expensive. I think I would be a real bankrupt after this.

Feng Jiu: I'm just kidding! I don't have anything to do later on too. Cha Cha said that she has to visit her parents after lunch anyway. I can send some food to you if you really want it.

Dong Hua: I don't want to trouble you, Xiao Bai. I will be busy today too. Maybe I'll try it next time.

Feng Jiu: Oh... I guess I won't disturb you from your work then.

Dong Hua: No, that's not what I meant.

Feng Jiu: Don't worry! Okay, bye! Have a good weekend!

Feng Jiu then quickly hanged up the call to prevent more awkwardness. Then she walked back to Cha Cha.

Cha Cha looked at her sulky face and asked concernedly, "What's wrong Feng Jiu?" Feng Jiu then gave a half-smile and replied, "I think I'm just setting myself up for disappointments. Before this, I didn't have any expectations, and I was handling it well. But now, I feel like I'm lost and out of control."

"What do you mean?" Cha Cha couldn't understand what Feng Jiu was referring to.

"Well... I can't deny that I have my motives to stay close to Dong Hua. I mean, I'm hoping he would fall for me, and I'm starting to have false hopes too. Sometimes, I also wishfully think that he has special feelings for me. But... It's just... I don't know. I'm feeling conflicted. I want to get closer to him, but it's giving me so many false hopes." Feng Jiu said.

Cha Cha patted Feng Jiu's shoulder to console her and she replied, "Did something happen when you talked to Dong Hua?"

Feng Jiu frowned. "I'll be honest with you then. So I made an agreement with Dong Hua that he would pay me to cook for him once per week. I mean, it's extra money, so there's no loss. I offered to bring him some food from here since we were talking about it, but he rejected me. I think I'm disappointed because I had expectations and I thought he would definitely agree to it. I told myself to step back, but I kept going closer with him. I don't even know what to do now."

"Maybe he has his reasons too?" Cha Cha replied concernedly.

"Yes. Dong Hua said that he was busy and I know that he's a workaholic. But... I just think maybe I'm stepping over my boundaries. I kept having false hopes that he likes me but..." Feng Jiu sighed. Then she added on, "You know what? I'm just going to step back a little so that I won't set myself up for more disappointment. I can't keep doing this."

Cha Cha gave a faint smile and replied, "Just do what you think is right, and just know that I'm here for you."

Then they smiled at each other and continued with their lunch.

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Meanwhile, Dong Hua kept thinking about what just happened. "Did I say something wrong?"

Then he took out his phone and texted Feng Jiu.

Dong Hua: Xiao Bai, I don't mean it that way. I'm just really busy at work.

Feng Jiu immediately read his message and started typing.

Feng Jiu: It's okay! You don't have to explain it to me. You should head back to work! I'm busy here so I'll talk to you soon!

Dong Hua then thought to himself, "What should I say now? I'm really not good at expressing myself."

He typed a few times and also deleted whatever he wrote since he couldn't think of anything else to say. Feng Jiu also kept her phone in her bag since she didn't want to overthink as well.

Both of them thought to themselves, "Do I have too many expectations? Should I step back?" Although they both wanted to talk to each other, they were in a dilemma as they had a lot of self-doubts. This is also what happens when there's a communication breakdown between two people.

Dong Hua then decided that he should focus on his work and he kept his phone away. Feng Jiu and Cha Cha also went their separate ways after their lunch.

Feng Jiu then peeped at her phone while she was on the way home and realized that Dong Hua didn't reply back.

"I knew it." She thought to herself. Then she got off the bus and walked home from the bus stop.

When she reached her building, she spotted a familiar car plate licence again. "Su Moye? What is he doing here again?" Then she walked up to his car to check if it was really him.

Su Moye immediately got out of the car upon noticing her. "Hey, Feng Jiu! We meet again."

Feng Jiu immediately smiled and replied, "Oh! It's really you, Su Moye! I noticed a familiar-looking car, and I was wondering if it was you. What are you doing here?"

"Oh. I'm just waiting for my good friend here. He wanted to pass me some tea leaves that he got from his business trip to Hangzhou." He replied politely.

Right at this moment, Feng Jiu's neighbour came down and passed Su Moye the tea leaves. Then he bid both of them goodbye as he was rushing to go somewhere.

Feng Jiu then looked at the bag he was holding on to out of curiosity. Su Moye smiled and said, "You like tea as well?"

Feng Jiu immediately replied, "Wow! How did you know that?" Su Moye then smiled politely and replied, "Well. You were looking at the tea leaves, so I'm guessing you're a tea lover too."

"I do like tea, but I'm not really picky when it comes to tea." Feng Jiu smiled.

"Oh. My family actually owns a Tea House, and I'm heading there now. Maybe you'll be interested in coming with me to visit our tea house? We have all kinds of tea there." Su Moye asked politely.

Feng Jiu replied excitedly, "Yes! I would love to visit it. I mean, I always wanted to visit a tea house, but I didn't get a chance to do so. My friends are not a big fan of tea."

"I guess now you have a friend that is a big fan of tea. If you don't have anything going on today, we can head there together now." Su Moye smiled.

"Sure! Let's go!" Feng Jiu excitedly got onto Su Moye's car. As usual, she forgot her seatbelts, but she quickly put them on after Su Moye reminded her to do so.

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*Picture was taken from Pinterest, all credits to the owners.*

Su Family's Tea House - Take A Sip

Su Moye brought Feng Jiu into a private tea room and said, "Take A Sip".

"You mean 'take a seat'?" Feng Jiu chuckled. Su Moye then laughed politely and replied, "Yes. I was just trying to make a joke, but I guess I'm bad at it. Our teahouse is named 'Take A Sip'."

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't catch on to that joke. But that's a nice name, and I love it!" Feng Jiu laughed. Su Moye then invited her to sit beside him so he could teach her more about making tea.

"Do you have any preference for tea?" Su Moye asked politely. Feng Jiu shook her head and replied, "No, I don't have any. I drink all kinds of tea and I mostly just drink Iced tea. But I know that it's not the same." She smiled.

"Don't worry about it. How about we try Long Jing (龙井茶) Tea? My good friend gave me some good tea leaves from Long Jing Village(龙井村), Hangzhou." Su Moye proceeded to take out his favourite Chinese Tea Set and begin brewing tea.

"Wow. I heard Long Jing (龙井茶) Tea is one of the most expensive teas around. I can't wait to try it!" Feng Jiu exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, it's authentic tea leaves too. But it's definitely worth it. After you try this tea, you might not even like other teas anymore." Su Moye smiled.

"Oh? I'll blame you for that if that happens!" Feng Jiu laughed out loud. Su Moye felt surprised in a good way, and he had never encountered someone like Feng Jiu. Most people he hung out with were too polite, or they don't speak their minds. To Su Moye, It was refreshing to meet someone like Feng Jiu, and he was starting to feel more comfortable around her.

Su Moye smiled and replied, "If you're addicted to the tea after drinking it, you can come here often, and I'll brew more tea for you. I have to be honest with you; I'm starting to feel comfortable around you. Maybe it's your outspoken and happy-go-lucky ways that are affecting me. I mean, it's good. Sorry, I'm not good at expressing myself, but I just want to say that I'm enjoying your company and friendship."

Feng Jiu then thought to herself, "Oh, wow! I guess I really do cheer others up. Su Moye seems like a nice person, but he's mostly reserved." Then she replied to him, "Just regard me as your good friend, and you don't have to be reserved around me. Friendship should be this way too! You once mentioned that you and Yu Xi don't have any true friends, I wonder how that would feel. I guess, sometimes the grass isn't greener on the other side."

Su Moye passed a cup of Long Jing Tea to Feng Jiu, and he replied politely, "Yes. Most of the time, they are just out to get something from us. Back in school, I would have people trying to be friends with me because my dad is one of the shareholders. Only her... She was different." Su Moye then smiled to himself.

Feng Jiu smiled and replied, "Her?" Su Moye nodded and replied, "Sorry, I mean my ex-girlfriend. Her name is Aranya." Then he sighed.

"I'm sorry for asking, and it reminded you of your past." Feng Jiu frowned.

Su Moye then smiled and replied, "Don't worry about it. It's been a few years, so I'm no longer in pain. Sometimes, I just think of the 'what ifs' but I'm glad that she's married to a great man now. His name is Chen Ye, and he treats her really well. I heard that he helped her out a lot when she first arrived there and he took great care of her. But it's too late for regrets so I could only continue to look forward to the future. Meanwhile, I'm just focusing on work."

"I wish I could do that." Feng Jiu mumbled under her breath, but Su Moye heard her. "Why did you say that?"

"Well. I'm hopelessly in love with someone who doesn't even know about my feelings. I don't even know why I'm telling you all this..." Feng Jiu sighed.

Su Moye replied with a huge smile on his face. "I'm glad that you're telling me about it because that means that you truly regard me as your friend now. You can tell me anything, and I promise that your secret would be safe with me. Well, have you tried to confess to him then?"

Feng Jiu shook her head and sighed again. "No, and I don't dare to risk it. If he doesn't feel the same way about me, it would definitely ruin our friendship. It's hard for me to be so close to him, but I still have to hold back my feelings for him. Some people said that he has special feelings for me, but I think it's just my own wishful thinking. I don't even know what to do."

"I think I know who you're referring to. It's Dong Hua, right? Well, I know him for years, and I have never once seen him interested in a girl. But the other day in the Cafe, he seems to be acting differently towards you. I always knew him as a cold and heartless person, but I saw a different side of him that day." Su Moye smiled politely.

Feng Jiu gave a half-smile and sipped her tea. "You're really smart, Su Moye. But that's because we are good friends, and this is why it's harder to gauge his feelings for me. As you said, he's not interested in anyone. Previously I thought he likes a girl in our company, and her name is Ji Heng. But as we got closer, I realized that he might not even have feelings for her. I had false hopes that he was interested in me, but now I'm not sure about it anymore..."

"Ji Heng? I heard about her, and she doesn't have a good reputation too. I hope it's not true about him having feelings for her. I wouldn't expect Dong Hua to have such bad taste." Su Moye chuckled.

Feng Jiu immediately sat up straight and lightly banged on the table. "Yes! She's a horrible witch! She stole all my credit for my work back then. Dong Hua even believed her, and I was so upset. She even tried to bully my good friend, and I splashed a cup of water at her! That would teach her a good lesson." Feng Jiu put on a shy smile after she realized that she over-reacted. She giggled and added on, "Sorry about that."

Su Moye then laughed out loud and replied, "Don't worry about it! I think that was cute, to be honest. I mean, I worked once with Ji Heng, and she was so fake too. She even tried to seduce a few of my managers. I would be disappointed in Dong Hua if he ended up with her."

Feng Jiu also started laughing out loud. "I know! I would just cut off my friendship with him! I'm just kidding, but I mean... Even if he doesn't like me, I also hoped he wouldn't be with Ji Heng. She's so evil, and Tai Chen Group would be in trouble if he married her." Feng Jiu squinted her eyes.

Su Moye started to feel even more comfortable upon seeing Feng Jiu like that, and he thought to himself, "I really like hanging out with her, and I can truly be myself. I can laugh when I want to, and I don't need to be mindful of my words." Then he replied casually, "I will help you out then. If I see Ji Heng getting close to Dong Hua, I'll distract him and get him away from her. I'm doing it for you out of our friendship!"

Feng Jiu smiled brightly and replied, "Yes! You need to be on my side since we are friends now! By the way, when will the competition details be released?"

"It would be released this coming Monday. I'll try to find a way to get you into it. I'm sure you'll get into the finals. But I won't play favours when it comes to judging for the competition since I need to be fair."

"I wouldn't want you to do so too! I want to win based on my own accord." Feng Jiu smiled warmly. Su Moye then asked, "You want more tea?"

Feng Jiu nodded her head enthusiastically, "Yes, please! I really love this Long Jing Tea. Now, I'll have to come here often to drink tea with you."

"It's my honour to brew tea for you. Just call me whenever you want to have tea, and we can come here." Su Moye smiled warmly.

Feng Jiu then tapped lightly on the teacup using her index and middle finger, after Su Moye poured more tea into it.

*Light finger tapping on the teacup is an informal way to express gratitude to the person who served the tea.

"Oh? You do know Chinese tea etiquette, huh?" Su Moye widened his eyes and smiled brightly. Feng Jiu replied proudly, "Of course! There's so much more that I know about and you'll slowly realize that." Su Moye laughed and nodded his head, "I look forward to learning more about you."

'Cheers to our new-found friendship.'
Feng Jiu & Su Moye.