Long Jinjing left her desk to sit beside her best friend. Chen Fei must be tired from her own work and wanted to take a small break in Long Jinijng's office. Fortunately, her best friend didn't continue pestering her about the year-end bonus. Although they were best friends, Long Jinjing still adhered to the company's confidentiality policy especially since she was the one in charge of the finances.
"Is Xiulan really going to establish a parent company for Orchidia Beauty?" Chen Fei asked while making herself comfortable on the sofa, not paying attention to her COO image at all. Good thing that nobody could see her right now. Not that she cared that much about what others thought of her image.
"Yes." Long Jinjing nodded. "She should still be in a meeting right now to start setting it up."
Chen Fei chuckled. "Damn. That girl really moves fast! She doesn't play around."
"True. When Little Sister Xiulan wants to do something, she immediately starts it as soon as possible."
"We're going to become bigger than we initially expected, Jing."
Long Jinjing looked around her office. Perhaps they wouldn't stay in this building for long. As Orchidia Beauty continued to flourish at an exponential rate, they would need a bigger space to accommodate not only all the staff but also the growing prestige of the brand.
The best friends could feel it. This was just the start. Iris would share tidbits of her business plans with them, but they weren't privy to the depth of her entire vision. She was definitely a risk taker that frightened but also excited both Long Jinjing and Chen Fei at the same time.
Despite their misgivings regarding Iris' aggressive business leadership, they still decided to keep on following and assisting her to make her vision come true. They had only been working together for a few months but Iris had already proven herself capable in leading them to success. Nevertheless, they still tried to caution her and balance her aggressiveness with a bit of conservative alternative approach. So far, their trio of administration was working extremely well.
"Next year will be a big year for us," Chen Fei said next. "We have so many plans scheduled to launch in the next few months. Before this, I was hoping that we can grow the company slowly but surely but Xiulan obviously has other ideas. Now that we're at this point, I have to agree with her. We have to strike while the iron is hot."
Long Jinjing sighed. "It's going to cost a lot to finance everything."
Chen Fei waved her concerns away. "Aren't we going to have a parent company soon? Xiulan will certainly inject new funds into it. Orchidia Beauty will surely receive a big piece of the pie."
"I know. I just can't stop worrying whenever money is involved."
"Don't I know it!" Chen Fei cackled before facing Long Jinjing and studying her.
Her best friend's inquisitive gaze made Long Jinjing squirm.
"So…what's going on with you?" Chen Fei asked with a raised eyebrow. "You haven't been acting like your normal self these past few days. I asked you many times what's wrong, but you keep on dodging me and redirecting the topic. I've been holding myself back from pestering you, but I'm already reaching my limit. I'm not going to leave your office today until you tell me what the hell happened to you."
"Uhm…." Long Jinjing bit her lower lip and couldn't stop herself from fidgeting.
Chen Fei held her hand. "Jing, I'm your best friend. You can tell me everything."
"I'm engaged," Long Jinjing blurted out.
"You're what?" Chen Fei's eyes immediately flew to Long Jinjing's fingers. "Where's your ring?" She frowned. "Don't tell me that Lu Zihao didn't even bother to buy you an engagement ring? How uncaring could that asshole be?"
"Xiaofei," Long Jinjing sighed.
This was one of the reasons why she was so hesitant in telling her best friend about all the life-changing events that happened to her recently. Chen Fei was just too antagonistic towards Lu Zihao ever since Long Jinjing broke up with him and cried so much from heartbreak. Her best friend certainly didn't approve of them getting back together. However, Long Jinjing was too stubborn and insisted on following her heart. Chen Fei could only let her do whatever she wanted regardless of her own disapproval.
"No, I was the one who proposed to Zihao," Long Jinjing confessed in a soft voice.
"You did WHAT?!!!" Chen Fei's eyes almost popped out of her head. "Y-you…what the hell, Long Jinjing?!!! WHY?!!!"
"Because I'm pregnant."
Utter shock and disbelief robbed her best friend of speech. Chen Fei paled and looked like she was going to faint from the bombshell.
"I'm so sorry that I only told you now, Xiaofei. I just…didn't know how to tell you. Also, I had to process my…p-pregnancy on my own first. It's all so sudden. Don't be angry, okay?"
Chen Fei remained speechless for a few moments before releasing a series of colourful curses. Long Jinjing couldn't help but wince.
"You're really pregnant?"
She nodded.
"What did Lu Zihao say?"
Long Jinjing confessed everything that happened to her best friend. When she mentioned the incident about Lu Zihao attempting to bring her to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register their marriage without informing her beforehand, Chen Fei was furious. If Long Jinjing wasn't holding her back, her best friend would have already grabbed a butcher knife and chased after Lu Zihao to chop him up.
"After talking to Mom, all the chaos in my mind started slowly clearing up. I realized that if my man isn't going to propose properly, then I'll just do it. The end result will still be the same anyway—we'll be married—no matter who proposes between the two of us. I was right. He accepted my marriage proposal this morning. I just regret that I didn't buy him an engagement ring beforehand."
The changes in Chen Fei's expression was quite a sight to see. In the end, she sighed and grabbed Long Jinjing in a tight hug.
"You've had it hard, Jing."
A lump formed in Long Jinjing's throat and her eyes watered, yet there was a smile on her face. She hugged Chen Fei back. No additional words were needed.. She knew that no matter what happened, her best friend had her back.
