It has been fully four months since Zhan returned from his long business trip. And even though Yibo told Cheng that he wanted to talk to Zhan, it hasn't happened yet. Zhan and Yibo didn't even happen to run into each other during that time, which is kind of unbelievable, considering that the two are neighbors.

But every now and then, when Zhan left his apartment or came home from work, he would find red roses outside his apartment door. It had started with one red rose, the next time it was two roses, then three and on and on. This morning when Zhan was about to leave for work, there were 32 red roses in front of his door.

And for the first time, there was also a message. "See you tonight." It said on a small card. Zhan passed the roses along with the card to Cheng. "I think your admirer will reveal himself to you today." He said to Cheng with a grin.

"I must have been asking you this a thousand times, and I'll ask you again now. How do you know these are for me?" Cheng wanted to know, confused.

"Who would give me red roses?" Asked Zhan. Cheng pointed to the neighboring door and Zhan laughed. "Him? No sure he wouldn't. If he's been home so often, shouldn't we have run into him at least once by chance? Or at least heard his apartment door?"

"Or it was his brother."

"Haha, no. I'm very sure of that."

"What are you doing tonight Zhan?"

"Why?"

"Well in case the roses are for you after all."

"Mhhh, they sure aren't. And tonight I have a date. It might be late, so don't wait for me."

"Who's your date?"

"I'll tell you later, I have to go now. I have an appointment with an artist. So, see you later and have fun with your admirer."

"Hey, wait a minute. Isn't tonight the gala you've been invited to?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going to that. I have other plans. See you later, and don't forget to lock up again." Shouted Zhan to his little brother from the elevator.

Cheng ran back to the apartment, put the roses in several vases and then had to hurry as well, because he had to go to university. Before he left the apartment, he looked back at the roses. "I'm sure they're not for me!" He muttered and pulled the door shut.

After his conversation with the artist, Zhan went to the office and did his work at the office until lunch. When Gene asked him what she should order him for lunch, Zhan said, "You don't have to order anything for me. I'm eating out today and not coming back to the office afterwards. I have another date today and I have to hurry home and change beforehand."

"Who are you going out on a date with? With an artist? Or a client?"

"Neither."

"Are you secretly seeing Yibo?"

"Haha, no certainly not. I don't even know where he is right now or what he's doing."

"Don't you look at his online schedule anymore?"

"Not since then." Zhan looked at his wristwatch and cursed. "Ah damn it, I have to go. Why does everyone have to stop me today?" He said and hurriedly left the gallery. Gene looked after him in confusion.

An hour later, Zhan sat nervously in a Korean restaurant. When his appointed time came, he stood up and smiled. "Mr. Park, nice to finally meet you in person too."

Mr. Park, smiled as well. "Mr. Xiao, I'm glad you could arrange to meet me today."

"Mhm, I'd love to." Replied Zhan. The two sat down at the table and ordered something to eat.

While they were waiting for the meal, Mr. Park asked, "We have decided everything so far. However, I have to ask you again. Are you sure you want to sell all your shares of your gallery?"

"Mhm, I'm sure."

"May I ask why? Your gallery is doing very well and is very hip."

"True indeed. The gallery has quickly become very popular. I would want to continue running it as well. However, I received an offer from my former mentor, which I would like to accept."

"What kind of offer?"

"Well, although I run my gallery well and we also have good income, I realized during my long business trip with my former mentor that I still have many deficits. I still have a lot more to learn about this business. And my former mentor offered to teach me everything. I'll be working alongside him, learning a lot of things I don't know about yet."

"I see. And because you won't have time to run your own gallery, you want to sell your shares?"

"Yes exactly. I want my gallery to be in good hands. And as I said before, I also want the staff to remain as it is."

"Mhm, that's what I had written in the contract. Have you been able to talk to your business partner yet?"

"Unfortunately, no. I tried to call him, but apparently he has a new cell phone number. And since he's also my neighbor, I hoped I'd run into him that time, but that wasn't the case. Unfortunately. I even let his deputy know that he should inform his boss that I wanted to talk to him. But even he did not reach him. Therefore, I am not waiting now. However, I don't need his consent to sell my shares either."

"I see. And where will you be working soon, then?"

"Probably in Shanghai. But I don't know for sure yet. I'll meet with my mentor later and find out then."

"So you can stop everything here and leave?"

"Well, kind of yes. There's no one here who really needs me."

"Then why don't you come and work for us in our gallery in Seoul for a few weeks before you go to your mentor?"

"In Seoul?"

"Yes. As you know, I have one of the largest galleries there and have weekly exhibitions. You could then see how we run our gallery and maybe learn something too."

"That sounds interesting. I think I would actually do that."

"You definitely should. Ask your mentor about it, I'm sure he'll confirm that it would be good to see how other galleries are run." Replied Mr. Park.

And that's exactly what Zhan did that evening when he met with Mr. Lou, his old mentor. And as Mr. Park said, even he thought it was a really good idea. Zhan then immediately called Mr. Park, and the latter joined them for dinner, where they talked for a long time. And ultimately, Zhan and Mr. Park signed on the purchase agreement for Zhan's shares of the gallery.

By the time Zhan got home, it had been almost 1 am. Cheng was waiting for him impatiently and looked at Zhan in confusion when he came into the apartment. "Well, where are the 33 roses?" He asked Zhan.

"What, what are you talking about? I told you they weren't for me. Besides, I had a meeting today."

"I know, but, I thought the person you were dating was the same person you received the roses from."

"Cheng, now listen to me okay? I'll tell you what happened today. First, I met for dinner with Mr. Park, a very famous art dealer from Seoul. He owns the biggest gallery in Seoul. I sold my shares of the gallery to him."

"Wait a minute...you what?"

"I sold my shares of the gallery."

"Why?" Cheng asked, aghast.

"Because I still have a lot to learn. And my former mentor agreed to teach me everything while I work with him."

"What does that mean? Will the gallery have to close?"

"No, the gallery will stay open. Mr. Park will just hire a new manager to take over. The staff will stay, that's contractual. You don't have to worry about that anyway."

"But, the gallery belongs to you and Wang Yibo."

"Mhm, but I don't need Yibo's agreement to sell my shares."

"Are you going to stay here in Beijing?"

"I'll go to Seoul for a few months and work at Mr. Park's gallery there before coming back and then moving to Shanghai, where I'll work alongside Mr. Lou."

"And what will become of me then?"

"You don't have to worry about that. You can continue to live here. I'll sign the apartment over to you."

"And what about Wang Yibo?"

"What about him?"

"Well, he told you he'd come back to you. Have you given up waiting?"

"I haven't given up. I just have other priorities right now. While Yibo is working on his career, so will I. I'm just thinking about me and my future right now you know?"

"Yeah, but what if Yibo comes looking for you then?"

"Mhhh, I've been thinking about it a lot too. But, look, he's even more famous right now than before. Even I notice that, even though I try to avoid anything that has to do with him. And well, he even has a new cell phone number and hasn't even contacted me again. I think he has already forgotten his promise or his feelings have changed. Otherwise he would have contacted me again. You also told me when I came back from my business trip that he wanted to talk to me. But until today he didn't do that. So now I assume that he is over me and continues to pursue his career. And I'm also going to focus on my career again from now on. I'm moving on to new ways."

"I can understand you. But I still think you should give him another chance."

"Cheng, it has nothing to do with giving chances. As long as there are new pictures, videos and reports about Yibo every day, he and I can't be together anyway. His fans always know where he is and what he's doing. They even know what he had for lunch or what he drank and when. Do you think he can have a relationship with that?"

"But..."

"Cheng, it's okay, he should enjoy his career. He worked hard for it and had to go through a lot of hardships. He should be able to enjoy it and be proud of himself."

"Zhan..."

"It's okay for me. Don't worry about me. I'm doing just fine. And as you can see, I'm evolving as well."

"Don't you love him anymore?"

"Oh yes I do, I love him. Very much so. And that's exactly why I'm letting him go. I don't want to stand in his way. I want him to be able to do what he loves so much without a guilty conscience. So don't ask any more questions and be happy for me that I'm getting ahead too." Replied Zhan.

When they spent one last evening together seven months ago, Zhan was quite sure that they would meet again soon. He was sure he wanted to wait much longer for Yibo when he spoke to Hai Kuan, four months ago.

But now Zhan is no longer sure. For a few weeks now, he's been wondering if he should really wait any longer. After all, the last time he saw Yibo was seven months ago. Since then, the two have neither seen nor spoken to each other. There was no contact between them and Zhan had reached a stage where he was tired of waiting.

He had even looked for reasons several times why he needed to talk to Yibo. Again and again he had gone to Yibo's apartment door and knocked, always with a different excuse why he needed to talk to Yibo. But no one ever opened the door. And now that he has new opportunities, he wants to take the chance and, for the first time ever, think only about himself.