Recently, Teng Man Rui had always been receiving mystery gifts from a certain admirer with the initials of ZLQ. The gifts were wrapped in fancy purple packaging with purple curly glittery ribbons neatly tied around and on top of it. Although Teng Man Rui was flattered, she could not help but roll her eyes especially to the initials. It was so obvious who sent it!

But in all honesty, these little trinkets and efforts that the mystery man ZLQ poured into her really made her smile, and even made her day.

It did not matter what the gift was, it's really the thought that counts, and the perseverance the sender was portraying every single day. He never skipped a single day ever since he started, and always, always, each package had a single note to it.

It could be as simple as a reminder, 'Don't forget to smile, because your smile is a blessing to others who see it' or a more straightforward one, 'You are worth the wait.' Or a cheesy one like, 'Even if there's no gravity on earth, I'll still fall for you.'

Sometimes, it's a borrowed quote from a famous writer. For instance, he borrowed some from William Shakespeare, and in some days it was Shakespeare-themed. He sent, 'It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves' and at another day, 'I do love nothing in the world so much as you' and at yet another day, 'In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you' quoting Shakespeare everytime, of course.

Most of the time, it did the trick, and made the woman even laugh slightly at the severity of the notes and the person behind it. Most of the time, the lady ma.s.saged her head after reading, albeit the apparent mirth on her lovely face.

And most of the time, the sender of the gifts was only a few meters away, across the street, seated comfortably inside the library-café, watching intently the lady's reactions at his daily efforts.

Teng Man Rui was amused by the notes because of the sender. "If it had not been Zhu Li Qiang, I doubt that it will have the same effect. Maybe if it's not him, the gesture would have been annoying or overbearing. But because it's him, it's just… light, and sometimes, it's even comical." She shared with Xue Jinxu one day while slightly laughing at the memories of the past days, and slightly shaking her head. "It really depends on the sender."

On her part, whenever she received a gift, she always sent a message of thanks and acknowledgement to him, as simple as, 'Thank you for the gift, you don't have to.' In which he replied with, 'But I want to. Hope you like it.'

She had not felt treated so special. Even her ex-boyfriend whom she had dedicated all her love wasn't this thoughtful and sweet. She was not used to the constant attention.

It's because in pursuing Man Rui, Zhu Li Qiang had adopted two main principles: proximity and constancy. So far, as much as he would like to believe, it's actually working. Of course, it needed some sort of metrics or test to quite prove that it was indeed working. It all boils down to how the lady would respond eventually when he already a.s.sesses his disposition with her.

One day, he decided to deliver the gift himself. Actually the gift was just a bundle of snacks the ladies always eat, but still neatly wrapped with the usual purple packaging. He observed that they liked it while he was at the library-café. These past days, the library-café had become his workstation outside his company.

Upon seeing him, Teng Man Rui instantly broke into a smile. She was even laughing a little. "Hey, what brought you here?" She said, feigning ignorance.

"The delivery man is off today." Zhu Li Qiang jokingly said. In truth he was too nervous because he was doing the deed himself.

"Zhu Li Qiang…" She started, still smiling. "You know that I really appreciate all your efforts, I know you do… But…" She trailed off while keeping her gaze down.

'Oops.' A trickle of sweat droplet ran along his temple. 'Is this rejection right away? Again?' He was bracing himself.

"We-we-we-wait!" He stopped her while waving his hands in front of him frantically. "Are you free later? Let's have dinner!" He said hurriedly.

Xue Jinxu who was on the background couldn't help but laugh at the turn of events. "Hahahaha! Both of you are so cute. Come on Man Rui, why don't you accept his invite even as thanks? It's harmless, right Zhu Li Qiang?" The man nodded affirmatively. She sighed a happy sigh, "You look good together. I wish to marry you two right here, right now. Too bad I'm not authorized! Hahahaha!"

"The two of you suit each other so well. It's so obvious. I think I'm gonna go blind anytime soon. How dare you show off such quality dog food inside my shop! Oh my, Man Rui, you're the only one not seeing the light!"

"Jinxu! Hey, are you selling me out?" Teng Man Rui grabbed her friend's arms and gently shook some sense into her, but for naught, by the way.

Zhu Li Qiang gave Xue Jinxu a thumbs up when Teng Man Rui was not looking.

Xue Jinxu just laughed harder. "Go ahead, go on, go on… I'll be fine here. You should enjoy your dinner. Come on, Man Rui. Ap.r.o.n off." She instructed while helping her friend out of her ap.r.o.n and slightly pus.h.i.+ng her towards the direction of the store's exit.

It was actually still early for dinner. It was only around four in the afternoon.

Teng Man Rui looked back gawking at her friend in disbelief, while already being dragged by the man gently out of the store. Zhu Li Qiang was securely holding Teng Man Rui by her elbow.

Xue Jinxu sighed contentedly. And then she fetched her cellphone from her bag and drafted a message.

It said, 'Do you know Zhu Li Qiang and Teng Man Rui went out on a date! Hehehe, they're so cute. I hope they end up together.'

After a few seconds, her phone vibrated, notifying receipt of a new message. 'Do you want to go out too? Let's got out on a date.'

The lady's countenance flushed pink. She pursed her lips before replying. 'Okay.'