Plan F-ish

Feng Jiu held on tightly to the two containers of 'Sweet and Sour Fish' while Dong Hua drove them to work.

"I can't wait to see their reactions when they see the fish later on." Feng Jiu snickered.

"Don't forget to take a video of it." Dong Hua replied sarcastically.

Before they arrived at Tai Chen Group building, Feng Jiu made Dong Hua drop her off at the back entrance instead. She didn't want others to see them coming to work together since it would cause unnecessary gossips.

"Why are you so scared?" Dong Hua asked. Feng Jiu smiled and replied, "We should keep our close friendship out of the workplace, that's between us and not others. People would also think badly of me."

Dong Hua wanted to respect her wishes, so he dropped her off before parking his car. "Fine. I'll see you in the office later."

Feng Jiu left the fish on the passenger car seat before getting off. Then she promptly headed back up into the office.

Si Ming greeted her when she walked into the office. He was standing at her desk as he was discussing the final drafts with Xiao Yan. "Hey, Feng Jiu. I hope you settled everything." Feng Jiu actually made an excuse that she was heading to the bank to settle Qingti's hospital bills.

"Yeah. It's all settled now. How's work going so far?"

Si Ming then shook his head and replied, "Oh. Pretty good. Not sure why but I had a nagging bad feeling about today ever since I woke up. I probably just didn't sleep well since I stayed up late with Yu Xi on our date."

Feng Jiu snickered and thought to herself, "He's right about the 'bad feeling.' But luckily, the sweet and sour fish is edible now." Then she replied, "Oh. I guess you need to sleep early tonight. I'll start working now."

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*Flashback to Sunday night*

After Si Ming picked up Yu Xi from the cafe, they went for a date. They held hands and took a stroll along a beautiful river with a fantastic night view in the city. It was also a popular tourist attraction area.

Then they got a drink and sat down on a nice bench, admiring the night view and enjoying the cool breeze.

"How did Dong Hua ended up at the cafe?" Si Ming asked Yu Xi.

"Oh, he's a regular customer at that cafe, and he happened to come in to get a drink. But something happened, and I'm sure you'll find it hard to believe too!" Yu Xi giggled.

"Huh? What happened?"

"Feng Jiu kissed Dong Hua on his cheek!" Yu Xi smiled brightly.

"What?! They kissed?!" Si Ming's jaw dropped.

Yu Xi nodded her head and replied, "Yeah. But they said it was because of the free cake. So, regular customers who brought their partner along would be entitled to a free slice of cake."

"Oh. Feng Jiu is a glutton, so it's not strange that she would do that. But I still find it hard to believe that she kissed him." Si Ming calmed down instantly.

"Hmm... I have seen Dong Hua a few times in the past, and he's always cold to everyone. But towards Feng Jiu, he seems so warm. I saw a different side of him today." Yu Xi said.

"Yeah. It's weird. Lian Song and I think that he likes Feng Jiu, but they have so many misunderstandings towards each other. I can't talk to Dong Hua about this, and I also tried talking to Feng Jiu. She's adamant about them just being good friends, and we have been trying to matchmake them. But whether they end up together, it really depends on their fate now." Si Ming replied calmly.

Yu Xi smiled and replied, "And this is why I'm so lucky to have you. It's hard finding someone you love, and he loves you back too. So we have to try our best to help them out." Then she held on to Si Ming's hands.

Si Ming then smiled nervously, "Oh. We got ourselves into trouble while trying to help them out. Dong Hua is going to serve us sweet and sour fish soon. You don't know how deadly that is. The last time I ate it, I almost had food poisoning." Then he shivered and shook his head.

"It's okay, Si Ming. I'll take good care of you if it happens. I'll be here for you." Yu Xi held onto his hands tighter.

Si Ming smiled and squeezed her hands gently. "You're too good to me, Yu Xi. I don't know what I would do without you now. I'll marry you instantly if your parents approve of our relationship."

Yu Xi then sat up straight and replied, "Oh yeah! Before I forget! So, we met Su Moye, and he said that he was against the marriage too. His advice is for us to 'cook the raw rice' by getting married without my parents' approval. I told him that I'd do it if you agree with it. I'll give up everything for you, Si Ming."

"Really? I mean, I would love to marry you, but I don't want you to rush into marriage with me just because of that. Maybe we can leave that as a last resort and try to seek your parents' approval first." Si Ming smiled brightly. Yu Xi then nodded her head and replied, "That's what I think too!"

Then they continued on their sweet little date.

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After a while, Lian Song came into the office to look for Si Ming. "Oh, Lian Song. What are you doing here?" Si Ming asked. Lian Song shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Not sure. Dong Hua said he had something important to announce, and he wants us to meet him in the meeting room here. I'm guessing it's about the new project. He also said that he would be here in about half an hour."

"Oh? I better get ready for it then. Heard it's a major event. I'm going to get a cup of tea first before heading into the meeting room." Si Ming said, and he headed towards the pantry.

Lian Song smiled at Feng Jiu, and then he followed after Si Ming into the pantry too.

"Spill the tea!" Lian Song said excitedly. Si Ming sipped his tea and replied calmly, "So... I met Dong Hua on Sunday, and he was with Feng Jiu. You remembered that Yu Xi and Feng Jiu was going to meet Su Moye, right?"

"Yeah. I remembered that, but what's that got to do with Dong Hua?"

"Now, here's the interesting part. Yu Xi said Dong Hua appeared there out of nowhere. And guess what?!" Si Ming raised his eyebrows.

"What?!" Lian Song widened his eyes, waiting for the 'drama' to unfold.

"She saw Feng Jiu kissing Dong Hua on his cheek!" Si Ming exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" Lian Song almost dropped his cup.

Si Ming then briefly told Lian Song about what happened on Sunday.

Lian Song folded his arms and nodded his head. "Oh. That's interesting. So, their progress is far more advanced than what we anticipated. We need to start on Plan F."

"Plan F?! Have you forgotten about what happened after we did Plan E?" Si Ming replied nervously.

"I didn't forget. But true heroes sacrifice their lives to save others." Lian Song replied proudly.

"Oh? Since you're a hero, you can help me eat my share of sweet and sour fish then." Si Ming replied sarcastically.

"Agent S! Did you forget our Bro code? Rule No.1 - To enjoy blessings and endure misfortunes together; for better or for worse. (yǒu fú tóng xiǎng, yǒu nàn tóng dāng 有福同享,有难同当)." Lian Song lightly punched Si Ming's shoulder.

Si Ming also lightly punched Lian Song's shoulder. "I didn't forget our bro code, but I still have Yu Xi, and you and Cheng Yu aren't even dating yet."

"Agent S! What is Bro code Rule No.8?! It's 'bros before hoes'! You broke my heart." Lian Song shook his head.

Si Ming snickered and replied, "Agent L, Cheng Yu already broke your heart into pieces, so mine won't have any effect on you."

"Don't worry; I'll show you some love by giving you more fish meat when it happens then." Lian Song replied sarcastically.

"Yeah yeah. We will both die when that happens anyway. So tell me about your Plan F." Si Ming replied calmly.

"Plan F-ish. We will fish for information from Feng Jiu regarding the kiss they had. Also, we will roughly know if Dong Hua likes her or not based on his decision to serve us fish. If he's no longer serving us fish, it's good news because it means that Feng Jiu is definitely important to him. You should know Ice block won't ever listen to anyone." Lian Song raised his eyebrows at Si Ming.

"True. It would mean a lot if he listened to her. Wait, but what if he still served us fish?! Should we do Plan F-aint then?" Si Ming then raised his eyebrows back.

"I think it's better to Plan F-ace reality... We can't possibly say 'No' unless we want to be Plan F-ired. And even so, Dong Hua won't let us off." Lian Song sighed.

"Yeah. By then, we will be literally Plan F-**cked." Si Ming shook his head.

Both of them sighed and imagined themselves begging on the streets. "Sir, please spare me some coins. I haven't eaten for days. *Gossip duo fights with each other over a single coin*."

Right at this moment, they heard people outside greeting Dong Hua. The gossip duo promptly took their cups and ran towards the meeting room.

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On the way to the meeting room, Dong Hua smiled at Feng Jiu when nobody was looking. Then he tilted his head slightly to the right, hinting her to make coffee to bring it to the meeting room.

Feng Jiu smiled back warmly and ran into the pantry. Dong Hua slowly walked into the meeting room while holding on to the bag of sweet and sour fish.

Dong Hua then sat down on the office chair, waiting for the gossip duo to arrive. Then he placed the bag on his lap and turned to face the wall, which was away from their view. He wanted to wait for Feng Jiu to enter the meeting room before revealing his fish to the gossip duo.

"Sorry for waiting, we are here now." The gossip duo apologized politely.

"Take a seat." Dong Hua said coldly with his back facing them.

The gossip duo then settled down in their seats from across the table. At this moment, Feng Jiu knocked on the door. "Come in." Dong Hua said. She then put the cup of coffee on the table.

Dong Hua then said to Feng Jiu, "Sit here. You need to show me that final draft from your email, right? Take out your phone and show it to me now." He hinted at her to start taking a video.

The smart Feng Jiu immediately got into her professional acting role and replied, "Yes. Let me find it in my email now. I have a lot of different drafts, so give me some time to sort it out." Then she took out her phone and started video recording while pretending to search for something on her phone. "Hmm... Where did I save it?"

"Take your time to find it. I need to discuss with Lian Song and Si Ming about something too." Dong Hua replied calmly.

Dong Hua smirked and slowly spun his chair around to face the gossip duo. Then he placed the bag on the table and took out the two containers of fish from it.

"Here's your tea break snack, Lian Song and Si Ming. I spent the whole morning making it so you guys shouldn't waste my efforts. Enjoy." Dong Hua then opened the container lid to reveal his mouth-watering Signature dish, Sweet and Sour Fish.

At first, the gossip duo had a grin on their faces while staring at Feng Jiu and Dong Hua. That grin instantly faded off, and they broke out in cold sweat.

"Oh..Oh... You shouldn't have made this for us... I mean, you're a busy man." Lian Song stuttered.

"Oh? But I'm a good boss, and I like to reward my hardworking staff from time to time. It's the only thing I could do for them to prove my sincerity." Dong Hua replied sarcastically.

Si Ming took out his handkerchief and started wiping the sweat off his forehead. Then he noticed Lian Song was breaking out in cold sweat too, and he helped him wipe it off.

Lian Song then turned over to Si Ming and replied lovingly, "I guess, this is goodbye. I'm lucky to have you as my bro this lifetime, and I hope we meet next life again."

"That's the last thing I could do for you. Bro code No.4 'We may not be born at the same time, same day, and same year. But we can die at the same time, same day and same year'." Si Ming replied.

The both of them did their weird bro handshake and picked up their chopsticks.

"Wait. Can I say my last words and prayers first?" The gossip duo pleaded.

Feng Jiu was trying her hardest not to laugh, and she thought to herself, "Luckily, I took acting classes, and I can control myself from laughing." She then zoomed in on the video at the gossip duo's faces. At this point, the gossip duo was so focused on the fish, that they didn't even notice her filming them.

"Oh? Sure. But make sure to finish the whole plate of sweet and sour fish after you're done." Dong Hua replied coldly.

Lian Song then closed his eyes, held his palm together, and prayed. "Dear Gods, I would meet you guys shortly, but before that, I hope you'll still grant me my last wish. Make sure Cheng Yu don't forget me." Then he picked up his phone and quickly texted Cheng Yu, "Take care and goodbye. I will always love you. From your one and only true love, Lian Song."

Cheng Yu then replied instantly, "Are you nuts?"

Si Ming also prayed, "Hopefully, Yu Xi will find a better guy to take good care of her after I'm gone." Then he texted Yu Xi's new phone, "I know you said that you would take care of me if I eat the poisonous fish. But if I don't make it this time, just know that I love you so much. I also left some money and my apartment to you. Take care."

Yu Xi also replied immediately, "I'll send you some mental support. I love you so much too!"

Feng Jiu looked at Dong Hua while they were praying with their eyes closed. They smirked at each other and tried to hold back their laughter. Feng Jiu then whispered, "They are acting like as if it's doomsday. Such a waste of their talent if they are not acting in a drama series."

The gossip duo then held hands and braced for the moment where they eat their 'prisoner's last meal.'

Their hands were shaky as they picked up the chopsticks again. Then they both picked up a small piece of fish using the chopsticks and fed each other with their arms intertwined.

"Cheers." The gossip duo said to each other. They closed their eyes and swallowed their saliva before opening their mouth wide to receive 'heaven's kiss.'

The gossip duo thought to themselves, "Hold your breath and just swallow it. Don't let the sauce touch your tongue." Then they quickly finished their cup of tea upon the first bite.

Then they smiled awkwardly to Dong Hua. On their first bite, they didn't manage to taste anything because the tea flushed everything down.

Dong Hua looked over at them with a stern and cold eyes. "Oh? There's still some more fish. You both don't have to rush to finish it. Try the sauce. It's a new recipe. Tell me how it tastes after trying my new sauce."

Feng Jiu snickered, and she zoomed in again on the fish and then back onto their faces, which had 'misery' written all over it.

The gossip duo looked at each other, and their minds telepathed, "This is the moment that we are 'waiting' for. It's the final goodbye." Then they nervously looked down on their fish.

The gossip duo picked up a piece of fish that was covered in sauce and looked at each other. They saluted each other and put the fish into their mouth at the same time, with their eyes closed.

The sauce then touched their tongues. "Wait a second." They opened their eyes and looked at each other in a puzzled manner.

Then they took another bite of the fish, and another after that. They looked at each other and thought to themselves, "Are we in heaven already?"

Lian Song then slapped Si Ming's face. "Ouch. Why did you slap me?" Si Ming said.

"You feel pain? Try to slap me." Lian Song replied. Si Ming then slapped Lian Song.

"Ouch. I felt that. Wait. Are we still alive?"

The gossip duo then looked over to Dong Hua, and he said calmly, "What's wrong? You don't like my fish?"

"Did you make this...?" Lian Song asked cautiously.

"Of course, I did. Do you have a problem with my fish?" Dong Hua replied sternly.

"Uhh... Uh... No." Lian Song replied.

"Good. Quickly finish it and head back to work then. Tea break time is over." Dong Hua said coldly.

The gossip duo then devoured the 'surprisingly good' plate of fish.

"We are done now. May we excuse ourselves to get some tea first before heading back to work?" Si Ming asked politely.

"Go on." Dong Hua replied sternly.

The gossip duo then bowed and left the room. Then they ran to get a cup of 'tea.'

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After they left, Feng Jiu and Dong Hua spun their chair around and faced the wall again.

Feng Jiu then showed Dong Hua the video that she just took, and they both had a good laugh about it.

Love can indeed change a person. Ever since Dong Hua met Feng Jiu, he changed from a cold and indifferent person to a warm and happy person.

"See. Our Plan A-cting worked. I didn't even laugh when I was in my 'serious role.'" Feng Jiu replied proudly. Dong Hua smiled and replied, "Oh? Should I award you with a 'Best Actress Award' now?"

"Hmm... But I can't do anything with that award. I request to change it to free snacks. Did you bring any snacks to work today?" Feng Jiu revealed her glutton side again.

Dong Hua gently knocked on her head and replied sarcastically, "I should take a video of your glutton ways next time. Then I'll create a special photo album and named it 'Xiao Bai's top 100 embarrassing moments.' You said that my photo album was boring, right?"

"Hmph! I'll start taking a video of you now and send it to the media. 'President of Tai Chen Group mistreating an innocent employee.'" Feng Jiu pouted and replied sarcastically.

"I have snacks in my own office, and I'll get Chong Lin to send you some later." Dong Hua smiled. Feng Jiu smiled happily and replied, "Okay, I need to go back to work now. Remember to send me the snacks."

Dong Hua gently grabbed Feng Jiu's arm and replied, "Xiao Bai. I will be busier in the next few days until this project ends."

Feng Jiu smiled brightly and replied, "It's okay. I know that you're a busy man and I'll be busy too. Once we finish the project, let's go to the Hao Chi BBQ skewers! You still owe me a meal there!"

"I promise. Once we are done with this project, I'll bring you there, and you can eat till I'm bankrupt." Dong Hua held out his pinky, and they made a pinky promise.

Feng Jiu then ran out of the meeting, and Dong Hua looked at her leave. "I already miss her."

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The gossip duo went to the cafeteria to get 'tea' in case Dong Hua caught them again.

"Hmm... I'm sure this fish is cooked by someone else." Lian Song said.

"Yeah. There's no way Dong Hua would be able to cook something like that." Si Ming replied.

Lian Song furrowed his brows and replied, "Could it be Feng Jiu? It tasted familiar too."

"Oh, now that you reminded me, Feng Jiu took urgent half-day leave. She said she's going to the bank, but I think it's another kind of 'bank.' I mean, Dong Hua is rich enough to be the bank itself."

The gossip duo then smirked at each other. Lian Song then raised his eyebrows and replied, "Since we have Feng Jiu as our shield now, I think it's time to execute Plan F-alse rumours."

"But it would be too obvious, and we would be served 'Sweet and Sour Fish' again." Si Ming replied worriedly. They knew that Dong Hua would never fire them if they got into trouble because of their friendship, but he would definitely torture them with his deadly fish.

"His fish isn't even deadly now, so why are you still afraid? And this is also why we should make others do our dirty work." Lian Song said nonchalantly. "Oh? Sounds interesting, tell me all about it." Si Ming replied curiously.

"Easy. See this." Lian Song opened up a website on his phone and showed it to Si Ming then he continued explaining it to him. "So this website is a private forum where people talk about all kinds of gossips in Tai Chen Group. You could only get access to it if someone invites you in. Everyone is anonymous on this forum." He raised his eyebrows.

Si Ming widened his eyes with shock, "Wow. Latest gossip news. Invite me in now!" Lian Song then sends a private invitation link to Si Ming through a text message.

"Oh? I need to choose a username. Hmm... What should I use?" Si Ming said, and then he instantly thought of one and quickly created an account. He then asked Lian Song for his username so he could add him to the forum.

"Just search 'CYisMine1314,' and you can find me." Lian Song replied casually. Si Ming rolled his eyes and snickered, "Your username is disgusting."

When read in Mandarin, 1314 (yī sān yī sì) sounds similar to 一生一世 (yī shēng yī shì)

— 'one life, one world.' This means 'for the rest of my life' or 'forever.'

Lian Song then rolled his eyes and replied, "Your username is disgusting too. Who even name themselves 'FishDestroyer007'?

Si Ming shook his head and replied, "Serious business comes first. So, continue with our Plan F-ake rumours. What do I do next?"

"Okay, let me switch on my VPN first. Turn on yours too, in case we get tracked down." Lian Song then went on VPN mode, and Si Ming followed suit. Then they went onto the most discussed topic on the forum, 'Who is Tai Chen Group's future lady boss?'

Ever since the rumours from the Hot Spring Resort were spreading like wildfire, almost everyone in the company was discussing it on the forum.

"Wow. 128 pages?! There's even a poll on it. Wait, why is Ji Heng leading in votes?! She has like 60% votes on her." Si Ming said.

"Yeah. I don't even know why Feng Jiu's name isn't on there. Even the cafeteria's cashier made it to the list, and she had 8% votes. I heard it was due to people spreading rumours about Dong Hua having a crush on her, that's why he told Chong Lin to get lunch sets from her every day." Lian Song shook his head.

"If only they knew the truth. Dong Hua only did that because he promised Feng Jiu free meals for lunch." Si Ming smirked.

"Even Zhi He had 12% votes. They said Dong Hua was interested in her, and she was fired because Ji Heng was jealous of her." Lian Song chuckled. Si Ming shook his head and replied, "These people have nothing better to do; all they do is gossip. Wait, 20% under Mysterious Girl?"

"Yeah, pretty sure that's Feng Jiu. People said they saw them together, but nobody knew her name. But... it's time for people to know about her now." Lian Song raised his eyebrows, and the gossip duo smirked at each other.

Lian Song then executed his 'Plan F-alse rumours' and made a reply post on the topic.

(Lian Song) CYisMine1314: I saw 'Mysterious Girl' hanging out with 'Ice Monk' a few days ago.

Lian Song didn't write Feng Jiu's name because they didn't want to make it too obvious.

*Ice Monk — a nickname given to Dong Hua on the forum because he's cold and rumoured to have no desires like a monk.

Si Ming then left another reply to add fuel to the fire.

(Si Ming) FishDestroyer007: Yeah. I saw them together during lunch-time. If I'm not wrong, she's from the Design Department. No wonder Ice Monk kept visiting their office.

Within 10 minutes, people flooded the topic with replies.

"Design Department? Ji Heng is in there too."

"Mysterious Girl is from the Design Department too? Ice Monk really do like designers."

"I want an Internal transfer to the Design Department!"

Lian Song then left another reply to help create more rumours.

(Lian Song) CYisMine1314: I saw him there even when Ji Heng is out of the office for her meetings. I'm sure he's there for Mysterious Girl.

People started flooding the topic with replies again.

"Yeah. I remembered seeing Ji Heng walking back to her room in the Hot Spring Resort, and Ice Monk was seen by someone carrying a girl in his arms after that."

"It must be Mysterious Girl!"

"Everyone, let's start voting for Mysterious Girl now."

"Anyone from the Design Department could tell us the truth?"

(Si Ming) FishDestroyer007: Yeah. The girl I saw with Ice Monk was beautiful, and I'm sure it wasn't Ji Heng."

After 30 minutes, 'Mysterious Girl' votes went up to 40%, and Ji Heng's votes dropped to 40% too. Everyone was spamming the topic with replies, trying to guess who is the 'Mysterious Girl.'

The gossip duo high-fived each other, "Let the show begin." Lian Song then told Si Ming that they should head back to work.

"Wait, I'm not done with my tea." Si Ming replied casually.

Lian Song then took a look at his half cup full of tea and replied, "I think I have too much tea for today." Si Ming nodded his head, and both of them tossed their unfinished tea into the trash bin.

Then the gossip duo quickly returned to work before they were caught again for 'drinking too much tea.'

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Ji Heng checked the forum every day to make sure that she was still leading in votes. She refreshed the page and realized that the 'Mysterious Girl' votes were higher than her now. Ji Heng was fuming in vinegar (jealousy), and she shamelessly replied to the topic under the username 'TopBeauty69'.

(Ji Heng) TopBeauty69: We should continue to vote for Ji Heng. She is the most matching with Ice Monk.

People were outraged when they saw Ji Heng's post.

Hater74: I heard Ice Monk didn't even like Ji Heng, and she's always throwing herself to him. So shameless.

AntiJH184: Yeah, Ji Heng is so shameless. I don't like her at all! She's always acting nice to others, and it's so obvious that it's fake. I vote for Mysterious Girl.

Ji Heng instantly felt annoyed upon seeing their replies.

(Ji Heng) TopBeauty69: Not true. Ji Heng is very sweet and nice. I vote for her, and she totally deserves the votes.

(Min Su) MiniSu14: I totally agree with Hater74 and AntiJH184! Speaking from my past personal experiences, I hate working with Ji Heng. She's very stingy and loves to claim credit for our work. #SupportMysteriousGirl

*The numbers on the username has a meaning on it when read in Mandarin.

74 sounds like 'Go and die/Died of anger.'

184 sounds like 'Forever/One lifetime.'

14 sounds like 'Want to die.'

1 can be pronounced as "Yi" or "Yao," depending on the context.

Within the next 5 minutes, everyone was trending "#SupportMysteriousGirl" and her votes were climbing to the top.

Ji Heng screamed internally, and she angrily swept all her work documents away from the table, and it fell onto the ground. Then she replied to her haters again.

(Ji Heng) TopBeauty69: We don't even know who is MysteriousGirl. Bet she's not as beautiful as Ji Heng.

AntiJH184: Who is this TopBeauty69? Why does she keep supporting Ji Heng? Could it be her friend or maybe Ji Heng herself?

(Ji Heng) TopBeauty69: Why would Ji Heng do that? She should be busy at work. I'm supporting her because I think she deserves to be the next lady boss.

AntiJH184: How would you know that? I just looked through your profile, and it seems like you're a top fan of Ji Heng. Everyone, 'TopBeauty69' is definitely a spy. #BanTopBeauty69 #SnitchesGetStitches

Everyone started spamming "#BanTopBeauty69" and downvoting Ji Heng until her votes were standing at only 5%. Eventually, Ji Heng was kicked out from the forum and had her IP address banned too.

Upon noticing that she was blocked off from the website, Ji Heng threw her phone onto the floor. Then she took her neck pillow and screamed into it so that nobody would hear her from outside.

Plan F-alse rumours - Mission Accomplished!

Welcome to the new Reality Show, Battle of the Designers.