Taking Responsibilities

Feng Jiu stood at the side of the road, trying to hail a cab. Finally, she managed to get one, and she helped Dong Hua into the cab. Then she also got into the cab, and they headed off to their destination.

At this point, Dong Hua was feeling tipsy, and he was also on the verge of getting really drunk.

"Dong Hua, we are almost home. Do you feel like puking? Let me know if you feel uncomfortable." Feng Jiu said worriedly.

Dong Hua leaned on her shoulders and replied softly, "No, I don't feel like puking. Just feel a little dizzy and sleepy."

Feng Jiu then patted his head gently and replied, "You can lie on my shoulder and rest for a while. I'll wake you up when we are home."

After 15 minutes, they arrived at Dong Hua's apartment. Feng Jiu then slowly dragged Dong Hua up to his place since he was feeling dizzy. Although she was small in size, she had a lot of strength.

Then she reached into Dong Hua's pocket to get his house keys. "Where are you touching?" Dong Hua said teasingly.

"I'm just trying to get your keys!" Feng Jiu pouted, and she opened the gate. Then she keyed in his passcode and opened the door. "Oh? How did you know my main door's passcode? You're really treating yourself at home, huh?" Dong Hua smiled.

Feng Jiu giggled and replied, "Because your passcode is so easy! Who even uses 123456?" Dong Hua then smiled and replied, "All my passwords are the same. Including my phone's passcode."

Feng Jiu smiled and thought to herself, "Dong Hua really trusts me, and he even told me his passwords." Then she replied sarcastically, "I'm going to steal all your company's trade secrets now."

Dong Hua smiled and replied lovingly, "You can steal anything that you want, Xiao Bai."

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After they got into the apartment, Feng Jiu told Dong Hua to wait for her on the sofa, and she would make some tea for him. Then she quickly ran into the kitchen and boiled some hot water. "I always thought that someone like Dong Hua wouldn't get drunk." She thought to herself.

While waiting for the water to boil, Feng Jiu ran back to the living room and asked Dong Hua for a face towel. She wanted to get a damp cloth to wipe Dong Hua's face so that he would feel better.

"Sit down, and I'll take it for you." Dong Hua replied. Feng Jiu then made him lie on the sofa and replied sternly, "No! Just tell me where it is, and I'll find it by myself. You're drunk, so just rest here."

"I'm not drunk, Xiao Bai. Fine, fine. Head into my walk-in wardrobe. Turn to the right cabinet, and you'll find it in the bottom drawer." Dong Hua then closed his eyes for a while since he was feeling a little giddy from being tipsy.

Feng Jiu walked towards Dong Hua's bedroom. Then she opened the bottom drawer and took out a face towel.

"Wait, what's this?" Feng Jiu noticed an origami paper fox sitting on top of the cabinet. Then she picked it up and observed it. "I didn't know Dong Hua was into origami, and he must really like foxes."

What she didn't know is that Dong Hua loved foxes since he was young because a group of red foxes saved him. At a young age of ten, Dong Hua escaped from the orphanage in the middle of winter as he was bullied and beaten up by his peers. He eventually got lost in the nearby forest and almost froze to death. Just when he was about to succumb to the cold, a group of red foxes appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him. They kept him warm and led him out of the forest, thus saving his life.

Also, the origami fox was actually made by Dong Hua when he was suffering from amnesia. He wrote a love letter to Feng Jiu and folded it into a paper fox. He wanted to give it to Feng Jiu on the night that he met with that accident and he kept it in his pocket the whole time. After he woke up at the hospital, the paper fox was found along with his other belongings. Dong Hua then kept it until now without knowing that it was a love letter for Feng Jiu.

Feng Jiu put the paper fox back to where it was and headed into the bathroom. She damped the face towel and went back out to the living room.

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"Wait here for me again, and I'll get you a cup of tea." Feng Jiu laid the cloth on Dong Hua's forehead and ran into the kitchen.

After she came walking out of the kitchen with a cup of tea, she helped Dong Hua to sit up. "Drink some tea, Dong Hua. Are you feeling terrible? Let me know if you are." Then she wiped his face gently with the damp towel.

Dong Hua nodded his head and replied, "Xiao Bai, I feel terrible."

Feng Jiu frowned and replied worriedly, "Where do you feel uncomfortable? Is your head hurting again? I'll massage it." Then she began massaging his temples.

Dong Hua gently grabbed her wrist and stared deep into her eyes. "It's not my head; it's my heart." Then he held her hand towards his chest.

"What? Why is your heart hurting?! Could it be a heart attack?! We need to go to the hospital now!" Feng Jiu replied anxiously, and she started rubbing his chest too.

"It's a different kind of pain, Xiao Bai. I'm feeling terrible... Tell me the truth..." Dong Hua said with sadness in his voice.

"Truth? Did Dong Hua find out that I feigned illness to meet Su Moye?" Feng Jiu nervously thought to herself. Then she frowned and bowed her head, "I'm sorry, Dong Hua. I did lie to you, but I didn't mean to do so. You'll probably not trust me anymore after this."

"What? Lie about what? Tell me the truth now." Dong Hua replied anxiously, and he didn't know what to expect. He also assumed that Feng Jiu was going to confess about her feelings for Su Moye.

"So... I feigned illness and I actually met Su Moye yesterday... I'm really sorry, Dong Hua." Feng Jiu frowned, and she felt immense guilt. She was also on the verge of crying because she felt like she betrayed Dong Hua.

"What? You met Su Moye? I actually saw you while I was out getting lunch, but I thought I saw the wrong person since you were home when I came over." Dong Hua replied coldly. He wasn't ready to hear her confession for Su Moye at all, and his mind was in a mess. "Xiao Bai lied to me so that she could meet Su Moye? Why? Does she love him? My heart... It's really painful now."

"Yes... I saw your text message after I got home, so I quickly got changed. I'm sorry, Dong Hua. I wanted to tell you the truth after everything because I didn't want to ruin the plan."

"Plan...? Tell me the truth now." Dong Hua replied coldly.

"Yes. I'll tell you the truth now, I promise. Si Ming's girlfriend is actually the daughter of Chairman Fan. She was supposed to be married to Su Moye, but they both refused to do so. So she escaped from her family and was kidnapped back by her dad. Su Moye helped us save her, and this is also why Si Ming took two weeks of urgent leave from work. I should have told you the truth, but I was afraid to do so." Feng Jiu frowned, and she didn't dare to look at Dong Hua at all.

"Why...?" Dong Hua stared at her intensively.

Feng Jiu briefly looked up at his face and quickly avoided eye-contact. Then she sighed and replied softly, "Because... I thought it would be better if lesser people know about it. I figured I could tell you after the plan succeeded. Su Moye really did us a big favour this time, so I didn't want to ruin his plan too."

"So, you didn't think that I was able to help you? Do you not trust me, Xiao Bai? You could have been honest with me." Dong Hua furrowed his brows.

"No, it's not about that! I just think that Su Moye would be the best person to help us out. I mean, what would you be able to do? You can't possibly find Chairman Fan since they would definitely deny it. Su Moye was able to help us since he is Yu Xi's fiancé. He asked her out on a date, and I replaced Yu Xi as his date after that."

Feng Jiu tried explaining to Dong Hua, but it eventually got worse."Date...? She clearly doesn't trust me that I would be able to help out." Dong Hua thought to himself. He also felt disappointed in himself because he wasn't the first person she thought of when she needs help.

"I thought we were family." He replied coldly.

Dong Hua then stood up and went into the kitchen to clear his thoughts.

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Feng Jiu sat on the sofa and thought to herself, "Dong Hua seems really hurt... I should have been honest with him. He's right, we are family, and it's my fault for lying about it. I even feigned illness to hide it from him. If it happened to me, I'd be so hurt as well." Then she decided to give him some time to cool down in the kitchen, but she kept glancing over towards the kitchen.

Dong Hua then opened a wine bottle and started drinking more to drown out his thoughts and emotions. He couldn't handle it, and he was also feeling hurt about Feng Jiu hiding the truth from him until now.

After drinking some wine, Dong Hua became drunk. While he was trying to walk out of the kitchen, he toppled over and fell.

Feng Jiu immediately ran towards the kitchen upon hearing the sound of glass shattering on the floor. "Dong Hua, are you okay?!" She yelled while running into the kitchen.

Then she saw Dong Hua sitting on the floor with wine and glass shards surrounding him. "Don't move! You'll get injured if you do." Feng Jiu exclaimed, and she ran to get a broom. Then she carefully picked up the big pieces of glass.

Dong Hua leaned back against the fridge and looked at her clean up the place. "Xiao Bai... Why did you have to lie to me...?" He mumbled to himself.

"Give me a few minutes to clear this mess up, Dong Hua." Feng Jiu said worriedly.

Dong Hua was too drunk at this point, and he just continued to stare at Feng Jiu. "Xiao Bai... Although you lied to me, I still care a lot about you. It's like I could never be mad at you, and you mean so much to me." Feng Jiu froze when she heard that, "I'm really that important to Dong Hua? He must be really upset at me now."

Then she quickly tried to clean up the remaining glass shards before anyone accidentally stepped on it. After she was done, she immediately checked on Dong Hua, and he was slumping against the wall with his eyes closed.

"Dong Hua. Are you feeling okay? I'll help you up and bring you to your room now." Feng Jiu said concernedly. Then she tried to drag Dong Hua up to his feet, but he pulled her back down.

Dong Hua then stared intensively into Feng Jiu's eyes and said drunkenly, "Xiao Bai, I have something really important to tell you after the competition."

"You can tell me now if you want to." Feng Jiu replied.

"No... I can't do it now... I'm not ready to lose you." Dong Hua bowed his head and frowned.

"Lose me...?" Feng Jiu thought to herself, and she replied worriedly, "What do you mean by that?"

Dong Hua shook his head and replied, "I can't, Xiao Bai... I promise to tell you after the competition... Not now..."

"Okay, I won't force you. But you need to get up now and go to bed. You're drunk, Dong Hua." Feng Jiu then managed to help Dong Hua up to his feet, and he slings his arms around her shoulders.

"Xiao Bai, stay here with me..." Dong Hua said drunkenly. He was actually asking Feng Jiu to move in with him, but Feng Jiu assumed that he was asking her to stay for the night.

"I will. Don't worry; I'll stay here tonight to take good care of you." Feng Jiu smiled and dragged Dong Hua into his room.

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After Feng Jiu helped Dong Hua to sit on his bed, he immediately lay down and closed his eyes. Feng Jiu headed into his walk-in wardrobe, and then she took a pair of sleeping pants along with a black shirt and placed it on the bed.

"You need to get changed before sleeping, and your shirt is drenched too. Take your shirt out now, Dong Hua." Feng Jiu said worriedly.

"....." Dong Hua didn't respond, and he lay there motionlessly. Feng Jiu then leaned closer and said softly, "Are you asleep, Dong Hua?"

"....." There was still no response from Dong Hua.

Feng Jiu then decided to make a bold move and started unbuttoning his shirt. "I'm only doing this so he won't fall sick." Feng Jiu thought to herself.

The moment she started unbuttoning the shirt, Dong Hua grabbed her wrist and exclaimed, "What are you trying to do?!"

Feng Jiu blushed and immediately tried to explain herself. "Nothing! I thought you were asleep, and I wanted to help you get changed out of your wet shirt."

Then she quickly stood up and tried to drag Dong Hua up. "Get changed first before sleeping, Dong Hua. You'll feel more comfortable after changing too." Dong Hua then drunkenly stood up, and then he started unbuttoning his shirt and took out his belt.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" Feng Jiu immediately covered her eyes and looked away. "I can't take advantage of Dong Hua while he's drunk. Don't look. Wait. Why am I even thinking about this? Ahhh! So embarrassing!" Feng Jiu nervously thought to herself.

While she had her back turned, Dong Hua grabbed the sleeping pants and got changed into it. Then he struggled to unbutton his shirt since he was having blurry and double vision. "Help me, Xiao Bai. I can't take my shirt off." Dong Hua said drunkenly.

Feng Jiu slowly turned around with one eye closed since she was afraid that Dong Hua wasn't wearing any pants. Then she noticed that he got changed into his sleeping pants and he was struggling to unbutton his shirt. "Oh. I'll help you out." Feng Jiu replied.

Although she had seen Dong Hua topless before, she felt extra nervous this time since she's the one helping him take his shirt off.

After Feng Jiu took Dong Hua's shirt off, she walked towards the bed to pick up his black shirt so that she could help him wear it. The moment she turned around after picking it up, Dong Hua immediately fell forward onto her. Both of them then fell back on to the bed, and Dong Hua directly landed on top of Feng Jiu.

Feng Jiu froze and widened her eyes with shock when she realized that Dong Hua's lips landed on hers. Feng Jiu couldn't come to her senses immediately, so she just lay there with her eyes open wide while she tried to process her thoughts. "Dong Hua is kissing me?! Am I dreaming?! What should I do now?"

At this point, Dong Hua was too drunk to realize what he was doing, and he assumed that he was just fantasizing. Then he started kissing Feng Jiu even more passionately.

Feng Jiu closed her eyes and hooked her arms around his neck, and then she started kissing Dong Hua back. Dong Hua then caressed her hair and slid his hand under her waist, pulling her closer. Her shirt also started rising up and revealing skin while they were kissing passionately.

"Wait, what am I doing?! I'm taking advantage of Dong Hua when he's drunk!" Feng Jiu came to her senses, and she pushed Dong Hua away.

Dong Hua then laid beside her and started mumbling, "Xiao Bai... You don't even know how I feel about you... I hate it whenever Su Moye is so close to you. I'm jealous of him."

Feng Jiu stared at Dong Hua's flushed face with his topless body. "This is not a dream, right?! I mean, I dreamt a few times about kissing Dong Hua, but this feels so real. Dong Hua said he's jealous of Su Moye? Maybe he really does have feelings for me...? How do I ask him about it?" Then she pinched her arm gently to check if she was dreaming.

"I'm not dreaming... Dong Hua really kissed me. This is our second kiss... But he's drunk, so does this kiss even count?" Feng Jiu frowned.

Then she tried to help Dong Hua wear his shirt, and she struggled with it. "I need to help him wear his shirt. If not, Dong Hua would accuse me of taking advantage of him and demand for repayment." Feng Jiu mumbled to herself.

After much struggle, she gave up on helping him wear his shirt. "Dong Hua can just go to sleep topless then." Feng Jiu nodded her head. Then she carried his legs up to the bed and tucked him in. "That's better. I should go to bed too." Feng Jiu yawned.

Feng Jiu then swept Dong Hua's fringe to the side and pulled up the blanket to his neck. As she was about to stand up to leave, Dong Hua grabbed onto her arm gently and refused to let it go.

Feng Jiu then gently pry open his hand from her arm, one finger at a time. At the same time, she didn't want to wake Dong Hua up as well. But he had a firm grip on her, and she couldn't break free from it.

"I guess I won't be able to leave now." Feng Jiu then sat back down on the bed, and she patted Dong Hua's back gently using another hand.

"Dong Hua looks so calm and handsome when he's sleeping." Feng Jiu smiled. Then she touched his brows and nose.

"Dong Hua's lips... We kissed the second time. I still remember our first kiss." Feng Jiu thought to herself while staring at Dong Hua's face.

After some time, she began yawning, and she eventually fell asleep beside Dong Hua.

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The next morning, Feng Jiu woke up first and realized that Dong Hua had his arms over her. He was hugging her tightly from the back in a spooning position. Then she tried to wiggle herself out of his embrace, but Dong Hua hugged her even tighter in his sleep. She tried to turn her head slowly to check if he was awake, but it seems like Dong Hua was still fast asleep.

"I can't get out! When Dong Hua wakes up, he would definitely accuse me of taking advantage of him!" Feng Jiu thought to herself. Then she tried to wiggle again to get out.

At this moment, Dong Hua seems to be waking up, and Feng Jiu immediately closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

When Dong Hua woke up, he blinked his eyes a few times when he realized that he was hugging Feng Jiu and he was also topless. "What?!" Then he looked down at his pants and realized he changed it too. "Xiao Bai took advantage of me last night?! Why can't I remember anything? But I'm topless, and I'm wearing different pants... We even slept in the same bed. Wait, I can't think. I need to cool down. I mean, I'm glad that my first time with her but it's not fair that I can't remember anything." Dong Hua took a deep breath.

Dong Hua then let go of Feng Jiu, and he slowly peeped over to see if she was awake. At the same time, he was also careful not to wake her up. "Oh, Xiao Bai is still asleep." He thought to himself. Then he slowly tried to get off the bed and headed towards the bathroom.

Feng Jiu opened her eyes immediately after hearing the bathroom door close. Then she sprinted into her own room and locked the door. Both of them then took their own showers to calm themselves down.

Feng Jiu thought to herself in the shower, "Oh my gosh, this is so awkward. How do I face Dong Hua later on? Should I pretend nothing happened? Wait, maybe I'll convince him that he was dreaming and I was in my room the whole night."

Dong Hua pondered while taking a shower too, "How should I ask Xiao Bai about it? I'm very traditional, so she has to take responsibility if she took advantage of me. Wait, it's not really taking advantage if I liked it, right? But I don't even remember anything. I need to ask her about it later on."

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When Dong Hua came out from his shower, he noticed that Feng Jiu was already awake and gone. Then he waited for her in the living room. "Xiao Bai needs to give me an explanation for last night."

Feng Jiu stood at the door, and she was afraid to step out. "What should I say to Dong Hua? There's no way I could escape this. Fine, I'll just act like nothing is happening and see what he says." Then she took a deep breath and slowly opened the door.

She walked along the corridor and peeped out towards the living room. Dong Hua immediately spotted her peeping, and he stared at her intensively. "Xiao Bai, come here." He said sternly.

Feng Jiu immediately hid and ran back to her room. "I can't! I'm scared!" Dong Hua then stood up and walked towards her room. He knocked on her door and said, "Are you avoiding me, Xiao Bai?"

Feng Jiu immediately opened the door and pretended to act casual, "No. Why should I? I did nothing wrong."

"Oh? So you know you did something." Dong Hua replied, and he stared at her intensively.

"No... No. What did I do?" Feng Jiu stuttered, and she thought to herself, "I'm so dumb! Why did I ask that? I should have changed the topic!"

"Do you want to talk in your room or in the living room?" Dong Hua asked sternly.

Feng Jiu pondered, "My room? No! We might end up like last night." Then she replied firmly, "Living room." After that, she gestured for Dong Hua to follow her.

Before they started talking, Feng Jiu told Dong Hua that she needed to get a glass of water. Then she took two glasses of water and placed it on the coffee table.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Feng Jiu asked nervously, and she took a sip of water so that she could avoid looking at Dong Hua.

"Xiao Bai. We slept together last night, right?" Dong Hua asked sternly. Feng Jiu immediately spat out her water, and she almost choked. She started coughing, and Dong Hua patted her back to help her out.

After she stopped coughing, Dong Hua stared at her intensively and said again, "I'm a traditional man, so you have to take responsibility for me now."

Feng Jiu immediately stood up and rebutted, "No! We didn't do anything last night. You got drunk, and I was helping you to get changed. Then you refused to let go of my arm, so I fell asleep on your bed. Nothing happened!"

"But we slept in the same bed. If you took advantage of me, you need to repay me since I don't remember anything." Dong Hua shook his head.

Feng Jiu placed her hands at her waist and replied without thinking, "How about you?! You kissed me last night so you should be the one repaying me!" Then she quickly turned her whole body away after she realized that she said too much.

"I kissed Xiao Bai?! How? What did I do last night? Wait. Cool down. Since I kissed her, I need to take responsibility, right? But she also kissed me the other night, and she didn't remember it too." Dong Hua had a mini panic attack and he battled with his thoughts.

Then he finally calmed down and replied sternly, "Fine. Since I did that, I'll take responsibility and repay you for that. Should we register our marriage now? Wait, but it's a public holiday today so we would have to wait for next week.

"Marriage?! What, no! That's too fast and excessive." Feng Jiu exclaimed. Although she dreamed of the day to marry Dong Hua, she also didn't want it to be this way. She wanted them to have true feelings for each other before marriage too.

"Oh... So what do you want?" Dong Hua said. Deep inside, he felt a little disappointed that Feng Jiu didn't agree to his marriage proposal. But at the same time, he wanted them to get married for the right reasons too.

"Hmm... So you kiss me, and we shared the bed... I think we are fair now." Feng Jiu replied shyly.

"Fine, we don't have to repay each other. But since I kissed you, it's only right that I take responsibility for you. If you change your mind about marriage, it would still be valid. I'm a very traditional and responsible man." Dong Hua replied sternly.

Feng Jiu blushed and replied shyly, "Okay... By the way, you said some things last night."

"What? What did I say?" Dong Hua replied casually but deep inside he was panicking because he didn't recall any of that.

Feng Jiu smiled and replied, "Well... You said that you're jealous of Su Moye. Is that true?"

"Huh, no. Why would I say that?" Dong Hua looked away and quickly drank his cup of water.

"But! You said it last night. I heard it loud and clear. You said that we could be honest with each other." Feng Jiu pouted. She also felt terrible again since she remembered that she hurt Dong Hua by lying to him. "Never mind, you don't have to tell me since I also lied to you." Then she bowed her head.

Dong Hua then made Feng Jiu turn her head to look at his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and said softly, "Xiao Bai, I felt hurt that you lied to me, so I'm going to tell you the truth. Yes, I'm jealous of Su Moye. I feel like he's better than me in a lot of ways, and this is the first time that I felt inferior to someone. I hate how you both seem so close and comfortable with each other. I also felt left out that you didn't include me in your plans. I hope you won't keep such things from me in the future." Then he looked away and frowned.

"I'm sorry, Dong Hua. It's my fault for hiding it from you, and I should have told you the truth. I won't do it again. You shouldn't feel inferior to Su Moye because in my heart you're already the best. Yes, he's a nice guy, and I feel comfortable around him. But it's the same as how I'm comfortable around Si Ming and Lian Song." Feng Jiu replied.

"Am I really the best in your heart?" Dong Hua asked softly.

"Of course! I like how you're always so serious when it comes to working. I like how you respect me and always giving me free food. Although sometimes I don't understand what you're thinking, I know that you care a lot for me. We are family, remember? You're so smart and good at everything. We are humans, and we can't be perfect. Su Moye might be good at talking, but I much prefer someone like you since I don't like a sweet-talker. I feel comfortable and secure around you. I love the way you are now." Feng Jiu smiled sweetly.

"Really? She prefers someone like me? I don't want to scare her off by asking her to be my girlfriend now. I'll stick to my plan to ask her out after the competition since I'm afraid to affect her mood. If she said no, it would be hard for her to be around me during this time too. She needs my help in the competition, so I can't be so selfish." Dong Hua thought to himself.

Then he smiled sweetly and replied lovingly, "I'm glad that you think this way about me. I also like that you're a glutton and always extorting food from me. I like how serious you are when you're doing something that you love. Xiao Bai, I love everything about you as well. So you won't keep things from me anymore, right?"

"I won't. I'll promise you now." Then Feng Jiu made a pinky promise with Dong Hua.

She thought to herself, "Does this count as a confession? I mean, I don't want to ask Dong Hua what is our relationship now. It would be awkward... Dong Hua said he had something important to tell me after the competition. Maybe I'll tell him about my feelings after the competition too? At least if he said no, I wouldn't have to see him every day and I could try to move on."

Both of them had a rough idea of what they feel for each other, but they also didn't dare to clarify their relationship. Then Feng Jiu and Dong Hua decided that time would tell, and they would confess to each other after the competition.

"Getting drunk was worth it after all." - Dong Hua

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Hello everyone! I won't be able to update daily anymore due to real-life commitments, so I'll be updating randomly from now on. Thank you for always supporting my story. Take care, and stay safe!

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