This particular sunny afternoon was no exception. He was on the phone.

"Boss." The other line greeted him.

"How's your a.s.signment going?" Chen Linyun inquired nonchalantly.

"I've obtained several samples already. I'll catch one of the flights later to Beijing." The person from the other line reported.

"Good to hear. Come back here at the shortest time possible."

"Yes Boss."

He hung up the phone. Earlier he was seated comfortably on the leather chair behind his big wooden desk.

He stood up and allowed himself to be drenched in the afternoon sunlight that managed to enter his lonely abode from the floor-to-ceiling window of his study. The sunlight danced and glistened with the dust particles in the air.

During this period his main hobby was to find anything worth noting in exacting revenge and anything that would make him closer to the estranged wife.

Good thing was that at this point, the estranged wife was getting better in coping up with their recent ordeal, and was even starting to open up again to him, her husband.

Just like now, when he was left with doing nothing exactly, or rather, nothing that needed his urgent attention, he received the most welcome message from, none other than, the wife.

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

He could sense that the wife was in a jovial mood. He decided to ride on. He responded, trying his luck, 'Do you want to go out too? Let's got out on a date.'

It was four in the afternoon. With empty eyes, he sent the message, not really expecting a positive response. But who knows? The opportunity already presented itself. How would he not grab it? He was a risk-taker, by nature, after all.

After a few seconds, he received her response. 'Okay.'

For the first time in what seemed like forever, he felt nervous and excited at the same time.

For the first time after their separation, fire ignited within his soul, as if a seed of hope had successfully pushed itself amidst a gra.s.s-filled soil, and a tiny tinsy little plant of new beginnings was promising to bloom.

For the first time, Chen Linyun appeared lively, and alive again, similar to a phoenix who rose from its own ashes.

'It's too early to rejoice.' He scolded himself from getting excited. It could end up prematurely, in which case it would hurt a hundred, no, a thousand-fold more. Better to keep himself in check.

While calming his restless heart, he grabbed his coat and keys, and left the dream house behind.

During the whole journey towards Komodo-toki, his heart was beating too fast, as if he was on the brink of palpitation. He inhaled and exhaled repeatedly, alternately. His heart was going berserk for the first time in a long while. It's the Xue Jinxu effect.

----

At the shop, the lady was pacing back and forth. She kept pursing her lips, while her lashes flickered with such femininity.

'Why am I so nervous? It's just a small… date.' She blushed while thinking about the word.

Suddenly, a little force pulled her skirt while she was busily pacing.

"Jie-jie, why are you restless? Are you unwell?" A kid or around four or five tugged her skirt, catching her off-guard.

"Huh? Ahh, hehe…" She scratched her head, unsure of what to say next to the cute little boy.

"You see, Jie-jie is nervous because her prince charming is going to visit. He will be here any minute now." She told the boy while squatting in front of him. "Jie-jie hasn't been with the prince charming because Jie-jie has been sad lately. Jie-jie wanted to be sad alone…"

And in her mind she added, 'and pushed the prince charming away…which made the prince charming even sadder and more miserable than me…' She felt a little tug in her heart.

"Are you till sad, Jie-jie?" The cute little boy asked while pouting a little.

"Not as sad as before." She said while ruffling his hair. At this moment, the main door of the shop opened. The chimes on top of the door rang like bells and notified the arrival of the guest… the prince charming.

The cute little boy ran back towards the play pen.

The lady stood up slowly. Her eyes were glued towards the door, her face flushed the lovely shade of pink, and her eyelashes flickered beautifully while her heart sang in a rythym, in the beat she was most familiar with before, a little while back. It was such a long long time ago, but the feeling was the same. Her heart happily cried, *thump* *thump* *thump* as if its owner had finally come home to it.

She threw the sweetest, most refres.h.i.+ng smile on her guest. It was the genuine smile she frequently wore when she was a lot younger – the one which reached her almond eyes, and which made her countenance glow with such serenity.

However, the man – the prince charming – wore such a wornout, hardened expression, albeit overall, it was generally still gentle and comforting.

'I did it to him.' Xue Jinxu could not help but flinch at the realization. 'I made life too hard for him.' She pursed her lips again. This moment was one of the million times she would have said sorry to her beloved. However, the man had abominably told him how he hated her saying sorry.

Therefore she could only keep the welcoming smile on her face.

"You're here." She greeted serenely.

"En."

She had not noticed before, but the man had brought flowers with him – tulips – her favorite.

Chen Linyun gingerly pa.s.sed the bouquet to her. "For you, Jinxu. I'm not so sure if you like it, though…" He said, remembering that once upon a time, Xue Jinxu rejected myriads of red roses from him. However, it was also the lady's answer in the survey. Tulips were her favorite.

"I like it!" Xue Jinxu exclaimed. "Hehehe." She added, a little more reserved. Her blush had not subsided yet.

Chen Liyun was being hesitant. He did not know how to proceed from here on. They were like teenagers who, for the first time, had met their lifelong crush face-to-face, as if this moment was a life-or-death, life-defining moment.

Chen Linyun kept a little distance from Xue Jinxu. Of course, the lady noticed.

"Let's go?" Chen Linyun urged.

They exited the shop one after the other. The shop was left under the supervision of her staffs in the meantime.