"Hi." Lan Chu greeted him shyly.
"I have the day off today, so I came to pick you up. How is your new job?" James asked with concern.
"Not bad, more interesting than serving coffee."
"Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" James asked.
"Let me think. I have to go home first, then grab a magazine, lie in bed, read it, and then fall asleep while reading..." Lan Chu replied.
"Uh... that sounds nice. But would you be interested in doing that some other time and having dinner with me instead?" James invited.
"Of course, no problem." Lan Chu accepted his invitation with great joy.
...
At Ross's place...
Ross was slumped decadently on the sofa, his hair a mess, chuckling foolishly at the maple sugar in his hand from time to time.
"Oh... hungry again. I need to go fry myself an egg..." Ross rose "smoothly" from the sofa, walked to the kitchen, turned on the stove, and then the house phone rang. He gave a soft hum and picked it up.
"Hey, Ross, do you want to come over? I've made a table full of delicious food." It was Monica's voice.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm... OK..." Ross hung up the phone. On the other end, Monica put down the phone, puzzled.
Ross packed a large bag of maple sugar and left the house, just in time to run into Lan Chu and James, who were taking a walk after dinner.
"Hi, Ella!" Ross greeted her blankly.
"Hi... Ross?" Lan Chu asked, looking at Ross's state, confused.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm great. Whoa, what a handsome man. Is this the James you always mention?" Ross asked with a silly grin.
"That's right. James, this is Ross." Lan Chu introduced them.
"Hi~"
"Hi." James extended his hand, and Ross playfully pinched it.
"What... are you doing?" Lan Chu asked with a forced smile.
"I... I ate too much sugar..." Ross replied innocently.
"Oh, oh! Ross! Someone's house in your neighborhood is on fire!" Lan Chu shouted, pointing at the house shrouded in smoke.
Ross looked over, his eyes widening. The feeling the sugar had given him instantly vanished.
"Oh, my god! That's my house!" Ross exclaimed in shock.
James quickly dialed the fire department. With the efforts of the public, the fire was extinguished, but the house was destroyed...
"Oh~ so many things burned away. Look at my Dinosaur... Oh, my fossil!" Ross wailed, holding his beloved items.
"Ross, I'm sorry about your Dinosaur, but isn't your fossil perfectly fine?" Lan Chu asked, puzzled.
"Who says? It's dirty~" Ross said, heartbroken. Lan Chu smiled helplessly.
"Alright... then what will you do today?" Lan Chu asked.
"I'll just have to pack up what's still usable and go crash with my little sister. She invited me to a big meal anyway. Oh, I'm such an idiot, how could I forget to turn off the stove before leaving!" Ross walked into his room.
Lan Chu looked awkwardly at James, who was standing to the side.
"Sorry, James. It looks like I have to stay and help him. You don't need to take me home; you should go back first."
"No, no, no, I can help too. You don't need to feel like you're bothering me." James patted Lan Chu on the shoulder.
"Thank you, James."
"Actually, there's something I want to tell you. I..."
"Oh! My Dinosaur shirt!" Ross's wail came from inside.
Lan Chu rubbed her temples.
"What did you want to say?" Lan Chu asked.
"I might have to..."
"Oh! It's all ruined! Everything is ruined!" Ross's wail came again.
"Uh... I'll tell you later." James lowered his head awkwardly.
A moment later, Lan Chu and the others appeared at Monica's door. When they went in, everyone was startled.
"Oh, my god, Ross, what happened to you..." Monica was the first to run over.
"My house caught fire..." Ross said dejectedly.
"Oh, why?" Phoebe asked.
"I forgot I was frying an egg when I left." Ross explained.
"Oh, then why didn't you turn it off? Oh, hi~" After scolding Ross, Phoebe turned to see James and greeted him in a fan-girl manner.
"Oh, you can just stay here with me tonight." Monica said.
Ross sighed softly.
"I'm really so hungry." Ross looked at Monica pitifully.
"The food has gone cold. Let me heat it up first." Monica said.
"Hey, James, right? You should stay and eat too." Monica invited.
"I won't, thanks. Ella and I have already eaten."
"Oh, you've eaten. Ella, I even made the sweet potato mash you like." Monica said, feeling a bit disappointed.
"Don't worry, Monica. My stomach is always open for the food you make." Lan Chu pointed to her stomach and then took the sweet potato mash.
"Wait, it hasn't been heated up yet." Monica tried to take it back.
"Mmm~ it tastes better cold~" Lan Chu had already taken a bite. Seeing Lan Chu eating happily, Monica smiled indulgently.
"Uh... Ella, could you come outside with me for a moment? There's something I haven't told you yet." James said.
Lan Chu looked at the sweet potato mash in her hand.
"Is it urgent? Will it take a long time?" She asked two questions in a row.
"It's very urgent." James said. Lan Chu looked at the sweet potato mash, reluctant to put it down, so she took the sweet potato mash with her and walked out with James.
Once outside, James hesitated for a moment. At that moment, Lan Chu's mind was entirely on the sweet potato mash.
"Uh... Ella, what I wanted to tell you is that I'm going on a long trip. I'm going to another country to be a doctor."
Lan Chu finally stopped eating and looked at James in surprise.
"What? You must be joking. Nowhere compares to New York." Lan Chu asked, confused.
"It's not about that. I'm going to Africa to share my experience in neurology. It has nothing to do with money or status; it's very meaningful." James said.
"Oh... this... it is indeed meaningful..." Lan Chu put down the sweet potato mash and looked at James.
"How long will you be gone?" Lan Chu asked, looking at him reluctantly.
"The initial plan is three years, maybe longer."
"Then... are you... not leaving until a year from now?" Lan Chu asked in a low voice.
"No... tomorrow. I... I wanted to tell you when we were taking our walk, but I didn't expect Ross to have an accident..." James replied.
"There's never a good time to tell me this... it wouldn't make me feel any better..." Lan Chu said.