Ye Jie saw his phone on the counter and picked it up saying, "I forgot my phone here. I think I should leave now. It's quite late."
"Wait!" Hearing Zhu Chen's sudden cry Ye Jie stopped. "I mean let's leave together." Ye Jie smiled and nodded his head.
Both men left the bar and came out. "Where are you staying Dr. Chen? I can drop you," Ye Jie offered.
"I'm staying at the Imperial Grand Hotel. It's not far, I'll just walk." Zhu Chen said looking at Ye Jie with an indescribable look in his eyes.
"What coincidence, I'm staying there as well. Let's walk together," Zhu Chen agreed and both of them walked side by side on the roadside.
After reaching the hotel, Ye Jie was about to go to his room when someone tapped on his shoulder. He tilted his head and saw a man standing before him. "Master asked me to pass this to you," the man extended a box towards Ye Jie.
Ye Jie stared at the wooden box for a while before staring at the man in disbelief. He took the box from the man's hand and felt a tremble in his hand. His stunned state didn't go unnoticed by Zhu Chen who was standing right beside him.
"Is everything okay?" Zhu Chen asked with concern and Ye Jie looked at him in a daze.
"Yeah." He jolted awake saying, "I just didn't expect my best friend to send a present."
"Why not?" Zhu Chen frowned as he asked.
Ye Jie gave a sad smile saying, "Because I hurt her pretty badly."
Zhu Chen chuckled as he retorted, "A best friend is one who's willing to love you even when you hurt him. And true friends don't have a thing like the distance between them. Not at heart for sure." Ye Jie listened attentively to his words. Zhu Chen patted his back and added, "I believe this best friend of yours is like a four-leaf clover and that's very rare. Cherish it." With that, Zhu Chen went back to his own room.
Ye Jie brought the box to his own room and opened it to reveal a crystal perfume bottle. Ye Jie held the delicate looking bottle and opened the cap. An enchanting scent spread around in the room. Ye Jie couldn't figure out all the ingredients but a highlighted combination of lavender and lemon along with sandalwood and geranium enhanced the scent's allure.
He knew the reason behind Ru sending a perfume as a birthday gift. He was well familiar with Ru's sudden obsession with perfumes. "Scent is like a mystery. A mystery trying to play with one's heart to trigger a million emotions." She had told him at plenty of occasions, "A fragrance is part of memory. When the memory fades away, it leaves a scent behind. A fragrance has the power to turn a bitter memory into a memorable one. So, don't forget to wear the scent of mystery and feel this moment of freedom."
He shook his head at the memory as his eyes fell on the letter at the bottom. Ye Jie carefully opened the letter and started reading it out loud.
"Dear 'ex' best friend," Ye Jie chuckled and shook his head at that 'ex' part and continued reading, "When I planned to write this letter, I had a lot to say. But now that I'm holding a pen in my hand, I have nothing to write. It's like I'm blank. So, let's get to business. Happy Birthday! I know as an 'ex' best friend I shouldn't send you this gift and all but I'm still stubborn. I promised to wish you for the rest of my life and I can die rather than going back on my words. So, no matter if we talk or don't, I'll still be wishing you on your every birthday. Well, that's all I have to say."
Ye Jie smiled sadly after reading the letter. Without hesitation, he picked up his phone and texted Ru. He only sent a simple, "250!(*)"
Within a few minutes, he received the reply. "YA! Don't you dare call me that!"
Ye Jie smiled to himself and typed, "What else should I call you? Only an idiot would send a letter in this age and day."
Ye Jie waited for the reply but nothing came. After a while, he typed again, "Anyways, thanks for concocting such an amazing perfume just for me." He had already figured that Ru must have made the perfume herself. Since she had plenty of time to spare, she picked up some weird hobbies and perfumes was one of those.
Ye Jie didn't sleep as he felt a strange sense of happiness in his heart and decided to drive back to City Star. He completed the journey of 4 hours in only 2 and parked the car in the garage. He silently walked inside the bedroom and climbed on the bed right beside Xu Mey.
She was sleeping peacefully with a small smile etched on her lips. Ye Jie kissed her on the lips softly and pulled her back against his chest. Burying his face in her neck, Ye Jie closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Xu Mey felt a weight on her waist as she tried to move. She immediately opened her eyes and turned to see Ye Jie sleeping beside herself with his arm around her waist. "Ah-Jie!" Her voice and movement made Ye Jie open his eyes slowly. He gazed at Xu Mey's broad smile and felt that the world had brightened up.
"Hi, baby!" He said groggily.
Xu Mey pounced on him and kissed his lips hungrily. "When did you come back?"
Ye Jie let her use his body as her mattress and replied, "Hmmm... When you're sleeping."
Xu Mey glared at him for such an obvious answer but stayed quiet. She didn't feel anything amiss other than Ye Jie's bloodshot eyes but she thought it was because of the lack of sleep. She softly planted kisses all over his face saying, "I have so much to tell you."
Ye Jie smiled at her. "I'm right here to listen."
After messing around for a while, Xu Mey went to take a shower. Ye Jie picked up his cell phone and saw an unread message. It was from Ru. It read, "Since you have already chosen love over friendship, don't doubt your decision. There is no use in doubting. The worst that can happen is regret and even that is better than doubt."
Unknowingly, Ru had helped to ease Ye Jie's mind. There was no doubt in his heart that he loved Xu Mey and that was enough. When he was there to show his love than her not being so open about it didn't matter much.
(*): "250": in Chinese, 250 sounds like you're an idiot or you're foolish!