Chapter Text
"I’m here for my dinner.”
Outwardly, Zheng Yu Nong exuded mildly playful confidence. Internally? She was nervous.
Only a bit though, she thought, focusing on maintaining her external presentation.
Fortunately, Song Shu He had stepped forward and readily agreed to it, only thinking a little about the timing. “Sure. Tonight then.”
Just like she had smiled in the moment, the memory of the exchange a mere few hours ago brought fresh joy to Jessica’s face as she left the meeting room, finally done for the day.
“Let’s go celebrate your newfound freedom!” smiled Shu He, lightly putting an arm around Jessica’s shoulders and guiding her out of the office.
As they walked out together, they caught sight of a shadowy figure pacing aimlessly by the building. They paused, and the figure seemed to notice them and move closer. Shu He moved her arm and stood in front of Jessica in a fighting stance - she’d trained with Shao Peng since they were kids, and considering this wasn’t a sneak attack, she felt fully confident in taking down the shadow that looked barely taller than Jessica. Phone in hand, Jessica frantically tried and failed a few times to open it to call the emergency services. Finally, a human was illuminated walking into the light spilling from the reception.
“Yang Zi Xiang?” scoffed Shu He, relieved but also a bit disappointed she didn’t get to show off her skills to someone other than her childhood best friend and his family. Slowly lowering her hands, she sighed as she relaxed her stance, looking him up and down.
Jessica breathed a shaky sigh of relief, deleting the half written number in her keypad, then whipped her head up and glared at Zi Xiang, “What do you want?”
He smiled slightly, pulling a small gift bag out from behind his back, holding it out towards her. “Congratulations for breaking free.”
“Huh?” Jessica slowly turned her head and squinted at him in an expression that wasn’t quite a side eye. She became even more confused when Shu He stepped aside with a small smile and nodded. Zi Xiang smiled wider and snorted a little at her expression, taking her hand and closing it over the bag handles. “Shu He told me, so I had to buy you a gift to celebrate as your oldest friend.”
Jessica scoffed slightly, and opened the bag to peek inside. Her eyes widened, and she looked up at him questioningly.
“I know you loved your mum’s custom stationery when we were younger, so I thought I’d engrave a pen and notebook for you,” he started, looking away with a tiny smile. “You found your freedom, and I’m so proud of you for it.”
Tearing up at the gesture, she looked back up at him and laughed slightly. “So much sweet talk - aren’t you afraid of making me fall harder for you?”
Zi Xiang guffawed like he’d heard the funniest joke ever. When he calmed down enough to breathe, he held her shoulders and looked her right in the eyes with a serious face. “I knew you were never in love with me, just the idea of easy freedom and working towards our common interests.”
Her eyes widened as she looked at Shu He accusingly. Zi Xiang followed her eyes and raised his eyebrows, scoffing, “Wait, you actually told someone that out loud? How shameless.” He tittered emphatically, wagging his finger at her sarcastically, unable to stop himself from bowling over with laughter again.
Actually, she kinda guessed it on her own, thought Jessica, but the thought didn’t linger for long.
“Says the one who was cheating on me before my own two eyes!” returned Yu Nong, scrambling to retort now that she had been exposed. She sighed defeatedly, looking back at him. “Am I that bad of an actress?”
“Nah, I just know you too well. You could easily win awards for your acting, and that’s not just me talking.” he replied, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Wiping a few tears, Jessica smiled ruefully and nodded, “You know me too well.” Taking a small step closer, she hugged her old friend tightly, feeling him wrap his arms around her. “Thank you for the gift. Also, tell your boyfriend I’m sorry for giving him so much grief.”
He moved a hand from her back to pat her head, then lowered his mouth close to her ear. “Go tell him yourself, silly.” As he pulled back from the hug, he smirked and winked at her almost knowingly. “No rush though, I predict I’ll be seeing you at dinner with us soon enough.”
Shu He stepped forward and raised her eyebrows at him. “What do you mean?” she yelled after him, as he skipped off with a giggle.
“You’ll know soon enough,” he said, turning back to wink at them. “I doubt I’m wrong about this.”