Chen Shi pushed his hand against the box that Lin Dongxue was pushing over. "Why won’t you accept it?"

"I’ve already said that it is too expensive."

"Are you afraid that I’d want something in return for gifting you something? Don’t worry, I don’t have such intentions. I'm telling the truth. Tao Yueyue was sick and hospitalized before. Now that she’s not sick, I don’t need as much money anymore. When I saw this, I thought it looked pretty decent and bought it.”

"Is it not as you’ve said? Friendship has mutual benefits."

"Then you can give me a gift next time. My birthday is in October… No, March the 18th.”

"What kind of person can’t even remember their own birthday?” Lin Dongxue smiled and accepted the box. "Thanks then."

"You must look good when you wear it."

Lin Dongxue wondered if he was starting to chase after her. Ever since she kissed him last time, she had thought about it a lot. She was very relaxed and happy with Chen Shi. He had a mature charm and he was very considerate. If he really intended to chase after her, she wouldn’t mind giving him that opportunity.

However, when she looked at Chen Shi, she really thought that this bastard’s arrogant attitude was clear as day!

Xu Xiaodong came back in. "That scared me; he went to the bathroom... Dongxue, why is your face so red?"

"Oh, the air conditioner has been set to a very high temperature here."

"Brother Chen, I’m still playing the game from last time..." Xu Xiaodong sat down and continued to talk endlessly without awareness.

Time passed by minute after minute, and many couples passed by the window. Wang Shilun kept pacing in the cold wind. He noticed that it was already 9 o’clock. Chen Shi said, "It's getting too late; I should go back."

"Surely he didn’t get stood up, right?" Xu Xiaodong asked.

"Go out and see."

When they got outside, Wang Shilun reported, "Officers, I called her at seven o'clock and she said that she was on her way, but she hasn’t appeared yet."

"Did you get stood up?" Xu Xiaodong chimed.

"Impossible; it’s not like we haven’t seen each other before. She seemed to take to me when we had food together last time.”

"Don't make it sound so nice. If she didn’t have any ulterior motives, would she have come out to meet you in the first place?" Lin Dongxue said.

"Did you give her a call after?" Chen Shi asked.

"I did, but it didn't go through... Oh, yes. At seven o'clock, I seemed to hear a knock over the phone. It seemed very urgent. I was thinking at the time that she probably hadn’t left yet even though she said she was on her way.”

"Try calling her again!" Chen Shi's tone suddenly became very serious.

Wang Shilun dialled the number of Kong Tingting, but the phone just kept ringing. He said, "You see? She’s not answering again."

"You think something happened to her?" Xu Xiaodong pondered.

"No, maybe she’s in the car or maybe she can’t hear her phone ringing.” Lin Dongxue countered.

"We don't know her address, so there’s not much we can do. I have to head back” Chen Shi said.

"We should also take our leave!"

Xu Xiaodong asked everyone to retreat while Chen Shi called Lin Dongxue aside. "I’m really embarrassed. I was going to ask to see a movie with you, but it seems that it’s a no go now. Tonight, the GPS is saying that I’ll be arriving home at 11 o’clock even if I were to leave now.”

"It's okay, didn’t you already give me a necklace?"

"There is one more thing I have to trouble you with." Chen Shi took out a gold-plated fountain pen. "This is a gift for Captain Peng. I have been bothering him a lot recently... Just say you’re the one gifting it to him.”

"Why don't you give it to him yourself?"

"Please!"

Lin Dongxue sighed. "Why do you have to give it to him on Christmas Eve? Are you a little girl in a cartoon?"

"Recently, merchants have had sales and promotions!"

"Okay, okay... Oh, but won’t he misunderstand if I randomly give him something?"

"No, he is not the kind of person who would randomly think like that."

"What about you?" Lin Dongxue smiled and took the pen.

After Chen Shi left, the police successively retreated. Peng Sijue also came tonight. He was drinking coffee alone in a coffee shop. Lin Dongxue went to inform the team and completed the small mission given to her by Chen Shi.

After receiving the gold-plated pen, Peng Sijue did not seem surprised. "Do me a favor. I have something for you to give to Chen Shi.”

Lin Dongxue forced a smile. "You two big men are just so affectionate with each other."

"So, does that mean that he told you to give this thing to me?” Peng Sijue calmly sounded out the truth.

Lin Dongxue, who leaked the truth put her hand over her mouth and said helplessly, "Captain Peng, you should accept the thought."

"Guilty conscience!"

"What happened between you two?"

"It's none of your business... Thank you."

Lin Dongxue left the coffee shop with a puzzled face and ran into Xu Xiaodong. Xu Xiaodong said, "I’ll take you back."

"I am taking a taxi."

"You probably can't get a car tonight; I’ll take you."

Lin Dongxue had to agree reluctantly.

Although Christmas Eve was lively, the traffic was really worrying. It took nearly an hour for Xu Xiaodong to send Lin Dongxue to her place. Lin Dongxue was ready to get out of the car when Xu Xiaodong stopped her. "Wait, I have something to say to you."

"What?"

Xu Xiaodong took out a box from the back seat and opened it. It was a bouquet of fresh roses with the bright red petals still stained with dew.

Lin Dongxue was surprised. What day is it today? Why is everyone coming at me with indecipherable intentions? Thinking about it, today is Christmas Eve, a holiday of many functions.

"What are you doing?"

"Dongxue, I want to confess to you."

"Con... confess?" Lin Dongxue widened her eyes in surprise.

"Don't be nervous. We’ve known each other for so long.”

"I just don't want to be a wicked person rejecting you."

"No worries. Actually, I can tell that you like Brother Chen. When you are with him, your expression is not the same as usual."

"Re... Really?" Lin Dongxue touched her cheeks which were getting hot.

"I’ve secretly loved you for a very long time, but I know that you don't like me. Gradually, I lost my motivation, but all our colleagues know that I like you. This tiger was a bit difficult to ride[1], so... So I’m taking this as just a process to tie up loose ends. Just refuse me, and with great pain, I’ll let go of you.”

"No, who said that I don't like you?"

This time it was Xu Xiaodong’s turn to be shocked. He stammered incoherently, "Dong... Dongxue, are you… are you a tsundere?"[2]

"Tsundere your head. The ‘like’ I used means 'like', not 'love'. We are friends, so it is normal for friends to like each other." Lin Dongxue wanted to laugh after saying all this. Her words sounded a lot like Chen Shi’s. Was she playing a word game?

"How likely is this ‘like’ to develop into love?" Xu Xiaodong asked full of hope.

“It’s totally impossible!”

"Okay." Xu Xiaodong smiled bitterly. "Then, I’ll start!”

"Let's start!"

Xu Xiaodong held the flowers in both of his hands. "Lin Dongxue, I like you. Can you date me?”

"Sorry, I can't accept your feelings."

"This way..." Although he knew this was going to be the result, Xu Xiaodong still has a trace of loss in his heart. "Are we still friends?"

"Of course!"

"You should keep the flowers. I have no place to store them and if my mom found them, she’d ask me about it.”

"No, how can I take them?"

"Should I just throw them then?"

"Up to you... In fact, I think Xiao Li is very good to you. She buys food for you, buys water, and often works with you. You should care more about her."

"I... I didn't notice it." Xu Xiaodong smiled shyly. "What about you? When did you start liking Brother Chen?”

Lin Dongxue became flustered. "Who said that I like him?"

1. He couldn’t get out of the spot he was put in. If you’re riding a tiger, if you get off, you might get eaten, so you have to ride it out, but it’s not a comfy ride, as you can imagine.

2. It’s a Japanese term for character development that depicts a person who is initially cold or maybe even hostile, who gradually shows a warmer and friendlier side over time.