There were plenty of reasons why Ru couldn't deny his words. But at this moment, she couldn't even come up with any of those reasons. Neither she could deny his words nor she could come up with a retort for that.

But her silence said a lot to Zhu Jie. They both shared a connection of the heart. It allowed both of them to discern the other person's thoughts or moods. Right now, he could tell she was in a dilemma.

"Ru'er, I know you have killed a piece of your own heart every single day just to become what you are today. You told me that a heart is like a garden but don't forget your garden in barren and razed. Can't you give him a chance to pick the pieces you have lost? He might be able to decorate your soul with some flowers sprinkled with love."

He waited for her answer while she stayed silent for a long while.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" He had to yell to get her attention.

"Huh? I'm trying to make sure, I called the right person. It seems like I did but why does he sound so different?"

"Haha. Are you done?" He feigned a dry laugh at her worst sense of humor.

"Well, you can't blame me. I'm utterly gobsmacked to hear such words from you. Did my absence made you more intelligent or something?"

Zhu Jie rolled his eyes and answered, "Your absence brought a lot of changes. But I'll let you know about that when I see you next time. As for being gobsmacked, I guess history does repeat itself but in its own way."

"What do you mean?"

"When I met my wife and asked you about love, your words also gobsmacked me back then. You said, 'Love is in that single snowflake that comes to caress the tip of your nose but with a single touch it melts away, leaving behind a chilly shudder that spreads throughout your entire body. Love is in those waves that travel a thousand miles just to touch the shore once. They know they won't be able to stay but they still persist in their love.' You can't even imagine how I felt hearing that from a cold-hearted jerk like yourself." Ru didn't mind the way he addressed her. It was something very common between them.

But the words he just said also came from her.

"Woah! I'm such a profound and astute person. I definitely underestimate myself sometimes." Zhu Jie facepalmed himself as he heard her getting back to being so damn full of herself.

"Can you for a second, stop being so full of yourself?"

"I'm not full of myself. If I was why would I feel like cats are having a party inside my stomach?" Zhu Jie's mouth twitched at not just her words but also the innocence she used to say those words. Gosh! He really was no match for her wicked ways. He was rubbing the space between his brows when he heard her voice again, "Anyway, jokes apart, I'm really sorry for disturbing your sleep. I didn't realize it was so late at night."

Zhu Jie naturally thought that she was in another region of the world and said, "Whatever. Hey, by the way, once upon a time you used to hate apologies. Why is it so easy to get a sorry from you now?"

"Spend a couple of months in London. Trust me, they will teach you the manners of saying sorry. I guess I became a gentleman as well."

"Dear Ru'er, you are neither gentle nor a man. Get that through your thick skull, dumbass!" Ru scrunched up her face, not wanting to accept this defeat yet again! "Also, stop eating! You'll explode one day at this rate."

"JieJie, I'm not feeding on your blood. Why are your knickers in a twist? You bloody bugger! Go and shag[1] some bloody rubbish or something."

"Show some bloody respect. I'm older than you."

"I showed respect by calling you. And even you know how difficult would that have been for a chuffed[2] person like me!" After taking a deep breath, her whole self calmed down.

"Are you feeling better after breathing out your pent up fire?" She heard his question and hummed in response as they both chuckled together.

"Thanks, JieJie!"

"Anytime for you, Ru'er."

"I'll give you a bell later. Say hi to your 'baby'."

"Which one?" He asked in amusement.

"Would you stop flaunting your love? I know you have a wife and a child. Don't have to shove that in my face now!" She didn't even wait for an answer and hung up.

[1] 'shag': Screw

[2] 'chuffed': Proud