Twenty-five years later…
The temperature in Capital City was turning colder.
Su Ruan tapped her pen on the table as she looked out the window and looked at the festivity atmosphere around her. The color was vibrant and the lights were fascinating. In a week, it would be Christmas, and everywhere around her was decorated to celebrate this festivity.
Her gaze darted towards the cafe across the street. The staff from Coffee Sanctuary was busy handing over some brochures of their latest promotion for Christmas. Su Ruan stared at the boy for a long time and became fascinated with the costume he wore.
Sensing that someone was approaching, Su Ruan finally turned around. Her friend, Lin Qing, set a tray of hot coffee on the table and took a seat in front of her.
"Sugar?" Lin Qing raised a brow.
"Just one." She watched as her friend dropped one cube of sugar into her coffee and stirred it well.
Lin Qing pushed the cup of hot coffee across the table and peeked at the drawing on her friend's notebook. It was filled with some doodles that she could not understand. "What are you thinking about?"
Su Ruan took a sip from her coffee and frowned. It was a little too hot. Her head turned to look at the boy in that costume across the street again. "Do you think that a human could grow horns?"
There was a brief silence between them.
"What nonsense are you sprouting?" Lin Qing did not know whether this was supposed to be a joke or what. She followed Su Ruan's gaze and saw that the man who was passing the brochure was wearing a dear antler's headpiece. Lin Qing decided that her friend was infected by the festivity mood that her mind started to think strangely.
Su Ruan turned to her friend again. "I have never told anyone about this but ever since I was a little girl, I often had this dream where a boy had suddenly grown horns."
The blurry image of a young boy with scales on his face and a short horn on his head reappeared on her head.
Now that she thought about it carefully, the horn was not a reindeer's.
The corner of Lin Qing's lips started to twitch. "Su Ruan, are you not awake yet? You should drink your coffee."
A heavy sigh escaped her. Su Ruan was fully aware of what her friend was thinking about her. She drank a mouthful of coffee and shrugged. "I know that it was just a dream. But I can't stop thinking about it."
"You're just too tired from work."
"Maybe." A frown appeared on her face as Su Ruan thought about her unreasonable boss again. "I swear that my boss, Gao Leng was trying to make things difficult for me. Last night, he asked me to accompany him to a business dinner." Her mood turned sour as she thought about the group of old men who tried to push more drinks at her.
Moreover, that Gao Leng… It was not the first time that he had asked her to do something like that. Su Ruan was aware that her boss was interested in her. That man has been asking her out ever since she had entered the company. However, Su Ruan had rejected him and had made it clear to him that she was not interested.
However, it did not seem as if that man understood her words. Gao Leng continued to pester her.
If it was not for the fact that Gao Leng was related to the big boss in the company, Su Ruan would report his behavior to the higher-ups. Unfortunately, his identity has allowed him to get away with a lot of things.
"He did not do something improper to you, right?"
"Of course not. It's not easy for him to get me drunk."
"Maybe you should consider finding a new place to work."
"I thought so too. However, I really like the company I'm working at. The atmosphere is good and my colleagues are great. Just that… Gao Leng is the only problem."
"My boss said she needed a new assistant. If you're interested, you can always tell me."
"Thank you. But I'm fine now."
Lin Qing pursed her lips into a thin line. She knew well that Su Ruan was not going to quit her job no matter what she advised her. As long as Su Ruan knew her limit and could still handle everything, she should not worry too much, right?
"Let's just forget about work," Lin Qing said. "You did not come to my place to talk about work anyway."
Su Ruan's face turned grim. "Actually, they are related. I am supposed to remind your boss that we're going to need a few new dresses for that photoshoot tomorrow."
Lin Qing snorted. "Alright. I got it. I'll tell my boss and let them send the dresses to your company tomorrow."
A bright smile bloomed on her face. Su Ruan took out a letter and pushed it across the table. "Lin Qing, you are the best!"
Lin Qing rolled her eyes. But if one sees it clearly, they would see the smile on her face. She took the letter and read it carefully. Once she was done, Lin Qing looked up again. "Then wait until my boss return. Let's go out and have dinner together."
Su Ruan naturally did not have an objection.
As her friend, Lin Qing busied herself to look after the boutique, Su Ruan sat in the lounge while waiting for her friend to clock out from work. There was a lot of fashion magazine on the table. Su Ruan took a few of them and started to browse through them.
Someone entered the boutique and Su Ruan raised her head and saw that Lin Qing's boss, walked in. The two women exchanged a smile and a polite nod before Lin Qin's boss walked into her boutique in a hurry.
Just in time, the phone beside her buzzed. Su Ruan picked up her phone and her face brightened when she saw the name on it.
"Su Ruan, I'm going back to Capital City in two days."
Her best friend's voice could be heard from the other line.
"You're coming back?" Her heartbeat accelerated as she thought of how she had not seen her best friend for more than a year when he was transferred to T Country for work.
"Uh-huh." There was a hint of laziness in his voice. "Su Ruan, let's meet up. I have something important to tell you."