The two of them sat at a table in a cozy restaurant, eating and chatting casually.
Liu Mei set down her chopsticks.
"So," she said, "what did you want to talk about?"
Lin Feng took a bite of his food before responding.
"How have you been?"
"I've been doing well," she said.
"And your health?"
"Same for that too." She tilted her head slightly. "It wasn't something that bad. All the effects were practically gone the next day."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"You already know this. Why are you avoiding my question?"
Lin Feng exhaled.
"Are you okay?"
She stared into his eyes. He held her gaze without flinching.
Then she let out a chuckle.
"What?" he asked.
She continued laughing.
"What?" he repeated.
"I was worried about you, you know?" he said, but she just kept laughing.
"C'mon, people are looking." He glanced around nervously. "You're embarrassing me."
"Ha!" She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Is that what you were so worried about?"
"What? Should I not be worried?" He pouted.
She looked at him, amusement still dancing in her eyes.
"You always had that nonchalant air around you," she said. "Turns out you're still just a big baby."
"I'm no…" he began, but she reached over and placed a hand on his head.
"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."
He lifted her hand off.
"I'm not a baby."
He observed her. She still showed signs of laughter tugging at her lips.
He smiled. He supposed she was taking it well.
But still...
He knew there was a negative stigma about these kinds of things in the workplace - especially one like the campus that focused on being a "huge family." While people could criticize the perpetrator, they would still dislike the victim for coming out publicly.
It could be seen as "airing out dirty laundry."
This would lead to the victim being ostracized.
"Is everything really alright?" he asked, his tone more serious now.
Liu Mei shrugged.
"Well, you know how it is," she said.
She looked at him steadily.
"But you don't have to worry. Although you had ulterior motives for making me go through with this, it wasn't your fault that I did." She paused. "In fact, if it wasn't for you, I would've done it sooner."
Her expression softened.
"This time I was saved by you. But what about next time, with a different victim? There's no way I would let him have access to others." She shook her head firmly. "So don't think it's your fault. I would've done it either way."
"What about…" he began.
But she just smiled.
"It doesn't really bother me all that much," she said. "It's not like I got along with anyone there all that well. I'm much closer to you than I am to any of my colleagues."
She picked up her glass and took a sip.
"And since I'll be quitting soon anyway, what do their thoughts of me matter?"
Lin Feng exhaled slowly.
"The teacher is really strong." He let out a sigh. "I guess I was worried for no reason."
"I told you not to be so formal with me when we're outside," she said, raising her hand as if to deliver a chop to his head.
He moved defensively…
But then she stopped.
Instead, she caught the attention of a passing waiter.
"The bill, please."
Lin Feng was about to object when she held up a hand.
"I'll pay this time," she said with a smile. "I got to see a different side to you."
She stood up from her seat.
"I apologize, but I have somewhere to be." She gave him a small bow. "Thank you for the meal."
And then she was gone.
Lin Feng sat there for a moment.
He reached for his glass and downed the drink in one gulp.
Will she be okay? he wondered.
…
Lin Feng pushed open the door to the dorm room.
The three roommates were already seated inside. The moment he entered, all of them turned to look at him.
He paused, taking in their expressions.
"Did something happen?" he asked.
Chen Ming leaned forward eagerly.
"We heard the head of the incubator program was placed on administrative leave after a lawsuit."
Li Jun's gaze was steady. "Did you have something to do with it?"
Lin Feng scratched his cheek.
"I guess you could say that."
Their eyes practically began glowing with curiosity and admiration.
He shielded himself with his hands from the intensity.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you."
He took a seat among them. They all leaned in with expectant expressions.
He sighed, then began recounting what had happened that night they'd gone drinking together - finding Liu Mei being led away, intervening, taking her to the hospital, and eventually convincing her to file a formal complaint.
"Oh, so that's what happened," Zhang Wei nodded when he finished.
"So that's what you meant when you said it was your lucky day back then," Li Jun said.
Lin Feng blinked. "You still remember that?"
Li Jun tapped his temple. "My memory is quite good."
"As expected of you, Boss," Chen Ming said, admiration clear in his voice. "To think that you planned ahead and set up a safety net for us."
Lin Feng's expression turned serious.
"Well, we're not out of hot water yet."
The others fell quiet.
"All of this relies on Wang Zhenguo being a petty person who went after us because of my connection to the incident," he explained. "If he went through proper channels, things will still be bad for us." He paused. "Actually, even worse - since we haven't ceased operations and are still running the business even after receiving the notice."
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
Zhang Wei rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He does look like the kind of petty person who would do that."
Chen Ming nodded in agreement. "Definitely gives off that vibe."
At that moment, Li Jun's phone lit up.
He picked it up and glanced at the screen.
A smile spread across his face.
"Instead of worrying about that," he said, "how about we quickly finish up our registration?"
He turned the phone screen toward them.
"The name was approved!" Chen Ming read aloud, his expression lighting up with delight.
Lin Feng glanced at his own phone, which had also lit up. A message from Yu Shen.
It seemed Tianji Capital had also been approved.
He stood up.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go finish up the documents."
He had already gotten his seals, so he could invest in the delivery business as Fenghua Holdings. The only issue was that the delivery business didn't have any office space of its own. Luckily, since he was a major shareholder, they could use the holdings' office address for registration.
He looked at the others.
"Do you all remember your roles?"
They nodded firmly.
"Then let's go."