C10 Her Friend Is Here! 

Chu Yinyin strolled out of the airport, taking off her sunglasses. The glittering city lights awaited her as she took a deep breath. "Ah, it's good to be back." She exhaled and turned to her phone. "How have you been?"

Du Xiaoxiao glanced up. A sheepish smile graced her features. "Well, a lot of things have come up." She chuckled. "I miss you, Yinyin. It's been so long."

"Please, don't do that." Shaking her head, she continued, "Where even are you anyway?"

"A lot of things happened, and I..."

"Are you still at home?"

"...Yes."

She didn't bother to explain any further. After all, nobody needed to know what had happened to her. Du Xiaoxiao turned to the side, fiddling with her blankets.

Luckily, Chu Yinyin didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she snorted and waved her hands. "I knew you'd bail me out like this," she teased. "Should've just driven myself–just make sure to wash up, okay? I'll pick you up in a bit for dinner."

After saying their goodbyes, she hung up the phone.

It was always like this. If anything, her friend always had a back-up plan, and she had always been decisive–the complete opposite of her quiet personality.

Around thirty minutes had passed when the older woman arrived at Du Xiaoxiao's residential area. The two of them went to a high-end restaurant–a favorite of hers.

"I'll have the steamed pork, the dumplings, the three-cup chicken," Chu Yinyin immediately started ordering, having already known the menu inside-out. After all, this was the first time they've seen each other for months! Might as well go big or go home.

As soon as she finished choosing all the dishes, she glanced up. "So? How have you been?" she started asking. "Is your work going well? Did you find any guy to fall in love with? Have you already eloped in Vegas?"

"Please, don't go too far." Du Xiaoxiao stuck out her tongue. She usually didn't hide anything from her, but the last thing she wanted was to relieve her memories with Gu Tianqi. Instead, she replied, "I've offended Gu Tianqi...and he caused me to lose my job."

Her fork clattered onto the plate.

"What did you just say? Are you dumb?" Chu Yinyin was close to clawing her eyes out. "He's Gu Tianqi! The richest guy in the country, and you offended him? Look, consider yourself lucky that you only lost your job and not your life. The guy's scary as hell."

"I know, I know–look, let's not talk about him anymore." She waved her hand, afraid that her friend would keep asking more questions. Glancing around, she lowered her voice, "But you know what happened next? Turns out Jiang Chen revealed his true colors–he had an affair with Alie a long time ago!"

As soon as Chu Yinyin heard Jiang Chen's name, her attention was immediately diverted. "What did that asshole do?"

Du Xiaoxiao resisted the urge to sigh in relief.

Luckily, her friend didn't ask so much. Otherwise, she would've died from the embarrassment. "He blew up on me–said he wasted his time and that he should've stayed in Alie's bedside. Like, could you believe that jerk?"

"Well, I'm not surprised." Chu Yinyin shook her head. "I knew there was something off about the guy–it's just...ugh, he creeps me out. I still remember you talking about him a few months ago! At least, now you know."

"True, and hey, it's not like we're together. It doesn't matter anymore."

Her friend nodded in agreement. "At least it didn't go further from friendship–now you know who to avoid. But, that's not the point. Right now, we need to find you a job." Just then, a thought occurred to her. "Hey, what do you think of working in this restaurant? I happen to know someone."

"Here?" Du Xiaoxiao furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't think they're hiring."

Her figners twitched.

"Just because they didn't say they're recruiting, doesn't mean they're not. They're just looking more subtly." Chu Yinyin winked. "Besides, your English isn't bad, right? And you even worked at a coffee shop before that reporting job of yours–I'm sure you'll do quite well here."

However, just as she was about to stand up, Du Xiaoxiao grabbed her hand. "No," she started. "If I don't do well here, wouldn't I be embarrassing you? Just–let me find a job for myself."

"Oh please, don't you want to accept help from a friend? You had the same excuse when you refused to work at my dad's company. If you're really my friend, you'd accept my help." Chu Yinyin shook her head, patting her friend's hand. "Look, it's not like I'm handing you the money, I'm just giving you the opportunity to work for it. Won't you accept my help just this once?"

"I..." At her pleading look, Du Xiaoxiao sighed in defeat. "Fine.."

"Now, see my magic." Raising her head, she stepped forward. "Just wait here, I'll go look for the general manager."

"Thanks, Yinyin."

Chu Yinyin scoffed. "What are you thanking me for? After all, I'm your best friend, aren't I?"

As her friend strolled to the back, Du Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and shook her head.

It was as if not a day had passed.

As she sat alone in her seat, Du Xiaoxiao finished all of the desserts and waited for her friend to return. "More for me, I guess," she murmured to herself, taking a bite from her slice.

Her gaze drifted aimlessly, observing the customers who were walking in and out of the restaurants. They were very well-dressed, but there was one couple that caught her eye.

The man's suit was well-ironed. Anyone could tell that the trousers were customized and hand-made. From his expensive tie to his classic leather shoes, he looked like he had just walked out of Italy. The woman's clothing definitely wasn't short on cash either.

And her shoes!

Her lips twisted into a smile. Those yellow high heels were quite a sight to behold, but if she were the designer, she would've embellished it with green gemstones–just to better highlight the outstanding color. Perhaps, it might even look better with a strap–

No. Du Xiaoxiao shook her head and looked away. The last thing she needed to think about was designing things.

Her gaze rose to their faces.

They were dressed very tastefully, so obviously, she was curious as to what they looked lile.

However, as soon as she saw who they were, a low and magnetic voice reached her eardrums. Everything inside her froze, and she flashbacked to the last time she had heard him.

Her fork clattered onto the plate, and she jolted.

Gu Tianqi?

That guy was Gu Tianqi?

How was the world so small that she had bumped into him? Were the heavens really that mad at her? Was she paying for something? Was this her punishment?

Why was this guy here?

Her hands clenched into fists. At this point, she just wanted to get the hell out of here.

It's a high-end restaurant, so she should've expected him to come here. She was the one who shouldn't have been here in the first place. Her fingers twitched repeatedly.

Instead of turning away, she decided to listen into their conversation.

"You're the one who they've called to meet up with me?" the man asked. "You look all right."

Du Xiaoxiao pursed her lips.

Was he going on a blind date?

"Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself." The woman nodded. "Since we're alone, would it be okay to call you Gu Tianqi, instead?"

"Go right ahead."

Du Xiaoxiao couldn't help but grit her teeth.

Did the woman really think he was interested in her? That wasn't even a compliment!

She didn't expect a guy like Gu Tianqi to know a thing or two about going out on blind dates. This must've been some sort of business partnership where both partners could benefit.

Thinking of this, her eyes lit up.

Maybe she could finally get her revenge!

She took a deep breath.

If she destroyed his blind date and ruined him in front of her, then he'd lose the business deal. Not only that, but he'd even lose his chance of ever meeting up with her again!

Within a few minutes, her mind was already made up as she quietly left her seats. Walking to the seat behind Gu Tianqi, she immediately listened in to what else they had to say.