The three of them had gathered in Jia Li's room and were pulling each other's leg as always.
"Isn't this the same Jim Morrison tee that you used to wear during college days?" asked Chung.
"Yes it is. It was Tang's farewell gift to me, before he left for New York", she said with a nostalgic smile.
"Well I am not surprised she still fits into it. Remember, she resembled a well-fed cow during those days. She has lost most of it now, thankfully", teased Li Jie.
Jia Li had been chubby as a child and her baby fat had stayed with her till her late teens. Except Tang, they all used to tease her mercilessly for it and she had always borne it with good-naturedness.
"If you guys have finished your quota of pulling my leg, can we please start getting ready? Li Jie, you are going to take the maximum time out of all three of us, so I suggest you get to it", she said cheekily.
Her phone rang the minute she shut the door after pushing her friends out.
"Have you reached safely? Why didn't you call me post landing", asked Cheng Fu, her husband.
"My apologies, it slipped my mind. We were running behind schedule because of the flight getting delayed. Then I got caught up post reaching the event. Are you still at work?" she asked.
Fu and Jia Li had met during her post-graduation. She had moved to Beijing for her diploma in foreign languages. He had visited her campus as a career counsellor while he was working with the British High Commission at the time.
Being the alumni of the same campus, the dean had requested him to do this for a couple of Saturdays closer to the end of the course.
She had been really keen on the joining the embassy and had asked detailed questions throughout the session. One of the last ones to leave, she had nearly collided with him as they both got out of the classroom.
Six years ago
"Do you enjoy your work at the High Commission?" she had asked after both of them had apologised to each other.
"To be honest with you, it's more like a stepping stone for me. I want to gain some expertise and then go work for a MNC. My dream is to work with the World Bank one day", he said.
Inspired, she spoke, "it was a pleasure meeting you. Would you be coming next Saturday as well for counselling?"
Fu was trying hard not to stare at her and concentrate on her questions. He had struggled for the entire previous hour doing exactly the same. But the truth was, he hadn't seen a prettier girl than Jia Li and one who also seemed to possess her fair share of intelligence.
"Sorry, I missed what you asked. My attention had wandered", he said.
"I guess you were imagining yourself at the World Bank just now", she said with a laugh and repeated her question.
"Oh, I am not sure about that. I had taken out time today on Professor's request. But I can try to make it next week if you promise to be here", he flirted.
Oblivious to his overture, she spoke earnestly, "yes, of course, I am asking for my selfish reason. It will give me time to explore the options that you mentioned today during the talk and the opportunity to ask any follow-up questions regarding the same".
Fu had been unable to muster courage to ask for her contact details in that conversation but he did ask her out for coffee the next Saturday.
"Oh I would have loved to pick your brains further but I need to run for a pre-fixed commitment", she had replied to his invitation.
"No worries, at least give me your phone number or email address so that I can also fix an appointment with you for another time", he had persisted.
She had hesitated a bit but couldn't refuse in the face of a direct request.