She sighed intensely. She was experiencing her own share of sorrow. She had just ended things with s.h.i.+ Fan Hai, the person her heart chose to love, and could never un-love voluntarily no matter what he did or what he had become.

She had plenty of time in her hands since she moved in Beijing. She had left her previous job in Hangzhou and was now living with her parents at the Teng Mansion, only doing freelance work with her pottery every now and then.

She sauntered across the streets, along some stalls, never really taking her surroundings in. It was around four in the afternoon. The stalls were busy and alive and buzzing, and the afternoon rays of the sun added to the vitality of the streets. However, Teng Man Rui failed to see the wonder around her. Most of the time she was gazing down. Her mind was rather empty, as was her heart. She was too tired to even think about how to proceed towards the future. The future seemed bleak.

She was seated on the park bench around half past four that day. While pa.s.sing the time, her phone rang.

She checked the screen. It was Xue Jinxu calling. "h.e.l.lo, Jinxu…" She answered.

"Man Rui. *sob* *sob*" Came Xue Jinxu's voice and cries. Teng Man Rui panicked at the sound of her friend at the other end. "Man Rui. I think I did something stupid." Xue Jinxu continued.

"Jinxu, are you alright? Where are you? I'll go to you." Teng Man Rui asked, full of concern. She stood up while trying to catch a cab by waving her hand.

"I'm at my apartment. Okay." Xue Jinxu said, still sobbing. She had hang up the phone.

It took only thirty minutes before Teng Man Rui reached Apartment 301. She rang the doorbell.

*Ding* *Ding*

Upon opening the door, and upon seeing her guest, Xue Jinxu threw herself into Teng Man Rui in a bear hug. She was still crying.

"What happened?" Teng Man Rui returned her friend's hug. "Let's get inside first." She led them both in.

"Calm down, Jinxu. Tell me what happened. What did you do?" Teng Man Rui asked her when they were both seated side by side on the couch.

"I pushed Chen Linyun away. We will be living separately for the time being. I requested for it, but it's hurting me. I know I need it, but still…" She explained in between sobs.

'Me too, I ended up things with him.' Teng Man Rui thought grimly but did not voice out. After all, it's not about her concerns. It's about Xue Jinxu.

She rubbed her friend's back trying to calm her. Then she stood up, fetched a gla.s.s and poured some water on it. "Drink. Calm down, Jinxu."

"I have nothing now. The only person I have – my husband – left this morning at my own bidding. I am all alone."

"I know I shouldn't be crying because this is what I wanted but I didn't think it would hurt this much. Me in an empty apartment doing nothing. Even my business is closed in the meantime, maybe for good."

"What am I doing with my life?" She poured all her thoughts out on her friend.

In actuality, she had been the behind-the-scene COO of Xue all this time, but since her partic.i.p.ation is limited, she still found lots of leisure time in her hands. She could even do the task with her eyes closed, so it wasn't much of a success to rely on it to keep her away from her troubles.

"Everything will be alright, Jinxu." Teng Man Rui was getting more worried for Xue Jinxu. More than worry, she was also feeling such high sense of guilt for someone she knew who caused her friend this suffering. She wanted to help negate the effects of that person even if they weren't together anymore.

"I want to help, Jinxu." Teng Man Rui suggested.

"If you want I can stay here with you. I'll take care of you. Mhmm?" Teng Man Rui urged her with a smile while clinging to her arm. "I'm not occupied in the moment as well."

"Regarding your business, why is it closed? Then, open it again once you feel refreshed and well-rested."

"It's not that simple. My ex-fiancé…"

Upon hearing this, Teng Man Rui slightly narrowed her eyes. 'What did he do this time?' She thought.

"My ex-fiancé was after Chen Linyun and had been threatening him, blackmailing him with my shop. I can't open it and be used as a tool against my husband." Xue Jinxu relayed what happened to her best friend, and even shared with her the contents and the gist of the threat.

Teng Man Rui was furious upon learning s.h.i.+ Fan Hai's scheme, but was trying hard not to lose her cool in front of her friend. "I have a suggestion for that."

"Why not redesign your shop altogether? What you want can be achieved without your business being a pasrty shop. Do your products need to be edible? You can create cute little inedible pieces, Jinxu. It still needs baking though, so your oven in the shop will still be useful. You can still create your masterpieces and still look the same using different material. I know a way."

Teng Man Rui explained further over some pizza they had ordered via phone.

"Really, it's possible?" Xue Jinxu's face brightened a bit. There seemed hope with regards to her business.

"Man Rui, say, when was the last time we spent time like this? I missed you so terribly." Xue Jinxu said while taking a big bite from her pizza. They were both seated with their legs and feet folded with them on the couch. They both changed into pajamas. Xue Jinxu lent a pair of hers to Teng Man Rui. They had opened a gla.s.s of white wine too, and had been binge watching on the television while catching up with their lives.

"Missed you too. So what do you say, I'll stay here with you? We can have more of this quality time, even everyday if you want." Teng Man Rui smiled brightly.

"Okay." Xue Jinxu agreed. "That'll be fun."

"Alright, I'll have some of my clothes and things delivered here. Let's schedule a girls' day out!" Teng Man Rui planned ahead with eyes twinkling with such excitement. 'I'll take care of you, Jinxu. I'll help you recover.' She added in her mind.