Memory lane

The next day, the early morning sun rose and gently made its way into Feng Tian's room, causing her to groggily groan before peeling her eyes open. Considering the fact that she didn't get much sleep the night before, she decided her only schedule for the day was going to be enjoying her day off, contrary to Li Wei's agreement.

She was about to surrender to the call of sleep when she heard the familiar creak of her apartment door opening and closing

"Feng Tian, where are you?" Li Wei called out as he casually strode into her apartment.

Muttering a few curses as she climbed out of the bed, Feng Tian groaned before dragging herself toward the bathroom direction.

"Li Wei, you really need to get a life." Feng Tian muttered the moment she stepped out of her room, casting a sidelong glance at the bemused manager.

"I would if I didn't have to babysit you." Li Wei bites back.

"Touché, but seriously, even if you stop babysitting me as you said, you still won't get a life because you are a boring old man, period." Feng Tian said, lightly shifting her peripheral vision to gawk at the dumbfounded Li Wei before heading towards the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.

"Well, as much as I would love to be getting mocked by you on a Saturday morning, I'm afraid we will have to cut that moment short." Li Wei said before pulling out a card from his briefcase,

"This came in this morning."

"What is it?" Feng Tian asked, lightly setting down the mug in her hand before collecting the card from him,

"It's an invitation letter, apparently Samuel will be having a party in a few days, and he has invited numerous notable figures including us and the Wangs." Li Wei explained, and immediately Feng Tian smirked as an interesting idea pops into her brain.

"Alright, inform those that need to be informed and see yourself out, I have to go get ready for my outing." Feng Tian said before heading back to her room.

"Where are you going?"

"To Qi Yan, I have to ask him to be my date to the party, and I might most likely run into an old friend."

Two hours later, Feng Tian arrived at her destination, a smile lighting up her face as she took in the familiar building before her. After a brief moment of contemplation, she stepped out of her car and made her way inside.

Feng Tian inhaled deeply, savoring the nostalgic scent of her former neighborhood. Though the area remained largely the same as it was five years ago, she could spot a few subtle changes.

"Well, I'm glad you are still here old friends." Feng Tian said, lightly tapping the status on the nose.

As she approached the building, a young boy gaped in awe at her extravagant car, and she couldn't help but notice the child's starstruck expression.

Following the kid's line of sight, Feng Tian smirked, even she acknowledged that the conspicuous luxury vehicle stood out in the modest neighborhood

"Oh, Y-you are…" Jiayi who was just thinking about Feng Tian muttered in surprise on spotting her,

"Hello, Miss Jiayi." Feng Tian greeted, her eyes slightly shifting to the male standing beside Jiayi,

"M-miss Feng, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I came to pay someone a visit, what about you?"

"I live in this building," Jiayi said. Remembering she had yet to introduce Wei Gang, she quickly turns towards him,

"And…oh, this is my boyfriend, he runs a coffee shop upstairs."

"Pleasure to meet you," Feng Tian said before stretching out her hand to the dumbfounded Wei Gang, who drop the paper bag he was holding before slowly proceeding to accept the handshake.

"If Miss Feng would not mind, we make good coffee." Jiayi offered.

"Why not?"

Once inside the coffee shop, Wei Gang hurried to take her order, struggling to maintain a facade of professionalism. He fetched her coffee and laid on a charm that only served to amuse her, much to his chagrin. Realizing she was probably making him feel uncomfortable with her staring, Feng Tian then decided to shift her attention towards the other side of the room.

As she turned to survey the surroundings, Feng Tian was struck by the photographs adorning the cafe's walls. The images showcased her and Jiayi, along with her younger brother, evoking a bittersweet smile from Feng Tian. The photographs were a poignant reminder of her earlier life.

but the harsh reality of the things lost immediately destroy the thought.

"Here is your coffee, I hope you have a sweet tooth because…"

"It's alright, I like sweet things." Feng Tian muttered before slowly lifting the cup to her lips,

"The pictures are nice, aren't they?" Jiayi said with a sad smile,

" I had specifically requested for this part of the coffee shop for them, t-they are actually the only memories of my friend that I have left." Jiayi added, her eyes slowly scanning the pictures before brightening instantly the moment they landed on a particular one.

"We took this on the day we completed the renovation of this building, I actually own this building, I inherited it from my grandmother after her death, I remembered making a fuss about not wanting a run-down building but… she advised me to keep it, s-she didn't allow me to sell it, so I told her I was only going to rent it out to the person who was going to be my boyfriend." Jiayi said, briefly turning to take a look at Wei Gang.

"I'm sure if she was here, she would be quite surprised."

Feng Tian smiled as she stared at the pictures, recalling how naive she had been in her younger days. Shad remembered that they also took one a week after she got the job at YM entertainment, it was the day Jiayi caught sneaking her a peek at Wang Hai's photo on her phone, Feng Tian smiled at how naive she was then, she had remembered how Jiayi and her younger brother had teased her that day when she finally confessed she had a crush on her company's president.

Inhaling deeply and reluctantly pulling herself away from the images, Feng Tian hid her emotions behind a smile and turned back to Jiayi and Wei Gang.

"I should get going. It was nice seeing both of you."

"Wait, Miss Feng," Jiayi called out, prompting Feng Tian to stop in her tracks.

"May I ask why you rejected Nanchun press request for an exclusive interview?" Jiayi inquired, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Slowly turning to face Jiayi, Feng Tian raise a brow at her question.

"Look, if it's because of what I said at the meeting, I'm extremely sor…"

"What makes you think I rejected the request because of you?" Feng Tian asked, she had indeed received a request from Nanchuan press, and the reason she rejected it was because they mentioned that their star reporter will be interviewing her, and she definitely was not going to give away that kind of opportunity in Bai Yi Chen's name.

"W-well, I thought…"

"Miss Jiayi, how about this? I will tell your boss that I will only agree to the interview if you are going to be the one doing it." Feng Tian said.

Immediately she stepped out of the café, Feng Tian shuddered, feeling her eyes swell with tears that were threatening to fall, quickly composing herself, she sighed and made her way to Qi Yan's apartment. Qi Yan was in the shower and assumed it was Xiaorui when he heard the knocking at his door. However, realizing he hadn't simply walked in, he wrapped himself in a towel and made his way to answer the door.

When he opened it, he was met with a tearful Feng Tian, who didn't seem to care that he was in a state of undress. Stunned, Qi Yan stood still as she leaped into his arms without a word, seeking comfort.

"What's wrong?" he finally inquired, his concern etched across his features.

"N-nothing. Just stay still," Feng Tian replied, her voice trembling as she clung to him.