Chapter 46. Lust, cheapness

During those first few months, Ruan Tang often stayed up all night clutching the diamond necklace, concentrating on mastering her skills. She rubbed the teardrop-shaped diamond pendant in her palms, thinking of the thick calluses she would develop, hoping to one day meet the man before her again and return the slap she had received in public.

I didn't expect the reunion to come so unexpectedly.

Ruan Tang pinched her palms and felt that now was not the right time, so she pretended to be enlightened, blinked at him and said: Oh...you, after so many years, how come you are getting worse and worse and started working for others?

Fu Bei smiled faintly, like an elder who tolerates a child's naughty pranks, and said: It is true that I don't have the fighting spirit I had when I was young. It's better to lean on a big tree for shade.

Xu Wei couldn't help but sneer, thinking that he was really good at saving face, but it was all because of his poor vision in projects two years ago that he ruined the company.

"Oh," Ruan Tang nodded, "He's not as driven in his career, but he's still as charming as ever when it comes to women."

Fu Bei obviously didn't expect her to be so straightforward. He glanced at Xu Wei and was about to say something when Ruan Tang suddenly laughed and said, "Otherwise, how could we find a partner as talented and beautiful as Teacher Xu? Right?"

In the past few years of being friends with Ruan Tang, Xu Wei had experienced many situations where they ran into an ex together, and she was no longer surprised. But today, she keenly noticed the difference in Ruan Tang's state. If she would instantly turn into an elegant lion when she met her ex in the past, now she was like a cat with its fur standing on end.

"Mr. Fu's reputation is well-deserved. No wonder others say that Mr. Fu's WeChat list includes half of the beautiful girls in Beijing." Xu Wei said sarcastically with a smile.

"Hahaha, Teacher Xu is really good at joking. Xiaotang and I have known each other for a long time. It's true that we meet everywhere in life." Fu Bei pushed his glasses and glanced at Ruan Tang intentionally or unintentionally.

She was originally called by Xu Wei to support the party, so she deliberately put on makeup to look tough. Noticing Fu Bei's gaze, she slowly hid the roll of her eyes behind the upturned eyeliner that was about to fly to her temples.

In order to win the job again, Xu Wei even made a PPT to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the personalities of this type of guests in current variety shows of the same type, as well as her own idea of ​​the positioning of her own personality in the entire program. Unexpectedly, Fu Bei didn't even look at it. He waved his hand and said: Teacher Xu is a man who knows the times, I believe in you, and then I will ask the people below to quickly approve the contract and send it to you. When I saw Xiaotang again today, I felt that I made the right choice to find you, it was all fate.

When they came out of the building, Ruan Tang told Xu Wei that she felt like crying and felt very regretful.

Xu Wei held her arm and felt regretful, saying that she should not have brought her into this mess. Then she wanted to persuade her to be more open-minded, saying that encountering a few scumbags when young would make her understand the diversity of species, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Unexpectedly, before she could even open her mouth, Ruan Tang shook her head and said: I regret not learning to ride a motorcycle from Feng Xue earlier, and I also regret not riding a motorcycle to kill him myself today.

Xu Wei stared in amazement: Is the hatred so deep?

Ruan Tang smiled and said: I hope he can live to see the end of the recording.

For Ruan Tang at that time, Fu Bei was eighteen years her senior. In many ways, he was not only her first man but also her mentor. Unlike other couples of similar age who explore the world together and grow together, she was being guided and educated unconsciously. For example, he told her that in bed, she should do everything she could to satisfy a man, and then he would satisfy her in life. For example, before a certain female celebrity publicly said that small diamonds were worthless, he told her that a beauty like her was only worthy of a man like him, who bought her a carat diamond.

Later, Ruan Tang sometimes looked at herself carefully in the mirror, from the outside to the inside. Although she didn't want to admit it, the fact was that even after so many years, she still couldn't completely wash away the traces he left in her life.

On the subway on the way back, Ruan Tang somehow opened the blacklist, scrolled to the bottom, and pulled Fu Bei out.

Unexpectedly, he did not delete himself. The background of his Moments was mountains. The content that was visible for only half a year was mostly industry-related news, program promotions, and business social photos. The earliest Moments post had a photo of a little girl making a wish in front of a birthday cake. In the lower right corner of the photo was a hand wearing a jade bracelet. Ruan Tang recognized it as this hand that had pointed at her nose and called her a shameless mistress.

Ruan Tang originally thought that she had completely forgotten it, but when these past events surfaced in her mind, she still felt her cheeks burning and her fists clenched unconsciously.

It was almost evening when they returned to the tavern. Feng Xue's motorcycle was parked at the door as usual. When she entered, she was surprised to find Jia Yingjun, Wu Jiahao and Jiang Li were all there.

Jia Yingjun was teaching Jiang Li the rules of Texas Hold'em with cards in his hand. He frowned and patted her lightly on the back of her head, scolding her: How can you remember the lines with your brain?

Jiang Li glanced at Wu Jiahao, who was sitting far away from her, with a look of resentment. Seeing that he just turned his head away and pretended to be an outsider, she whispered angrily: You have lost to the point of wearing women's clothes, and you still have the nerve to teach me a lesson here.

"If I had known you were coming to play Texas Hold'em, I should have asked Xu Wei to come back with me." Ruan Tang intentionally diverted attention and walked forward with a cheerful tone to sit down and join the group chat.

Unexpectedly, Jia Yingjun was out of character today. He was already sullen because of Jiang Li's anger, and when he heard Xu Wei's name, he was even more upset. He said in a cold voice: Teacher Xu is busy with all kinds of things, and our world has to keep turning without her.

Ruan Tang suddenly felt that trying to divert attention through them seemed to be a wrong decision.

Feng Xue brought out a platter of braised food, pulled out a chair next to Ruan Tang and sat down. He took her hand that was on her thigh and said: I called you here today, firstly, for us to get together, and secondly, I have something to tell you.

As he spoke, his eyes drifted towards Wu Jiahao intentionally or unintentionally, but the other party was gnawing on the duck feet as if he had never eaten before, without even raising his head.

Ruan Tang pulled her hand back and drank a sip of plum wine with a somewhat unnatural expression. Perhaps because there were no ice cubes in it, the wine made her throat tight.

Jiang Li took over the conversation, holding her chin and smiled: We've already fallen asleep, why is there suddenly such a clichéd plot, a Renaissance?

"Jiang Li!" Jia Yingjun stopped her and hit her on the back of the head again, "What's the point of sleeping for a child?"

Jiang Li covered the back of her head with a look of resentment and said: What era is it now and people are still afraid to talk about sex? And the seniors here probably don’t know that when two people sleep together, they will emit a kind of pheromone.

Pheromones?

Ruan Tang subconsciously tucked her chin in and sniffed, only to hear Jiang Li continue with a suppressed laugh: "But this pheromone can't usually be smelled."

Ruan Tang: ...

"It's rare for our Xue'er old tree to bloom again in spring, what a good thing." Jia Yingjun picked up the wine glass and kicked Wu Jiahao under the table, "In life, we have to look forward. Come on, let's go.

Wu Jiahao's face flushed red from the spiciness. He swallowed the last bite of food, took a sip of beer, nodded, and said calmly, "I understand." As he spoke, his hand shook and a piece of dried tofu fell off. The little pig that had been wandering in the corner jumped out of the cardboard box and rushed over.

"Like master, like pig. How come it's the same big loser as Zhang Haoyu?" Jiang Li nudged it with her foot.

Ruan Tang pretended not to understand what she meant, stood up, picked up the pig and put it back into the box.

When they were lying side by side in bed at night, Ruan Tang suddenly asked: Do you know why Jiang Li spoke so harshly today?

Feng Xue turned sideways and pinched her face, saying that Jiang Li just had this kind of childish temper.

Ruan Tang shook her head and said: She may have originally thought that someone like me would never be with you, but now that I am with you, Wu Jiahao will pursue your ex-wife even more without scruples, that's almost certain.

"Is it that complicated?" Feng Xue frowned, then simply closed his eyes, patted her and said: Don't think too much.

"That's what a little girl is thinking." Ruan Tang sighed, and suddenly she got up, leaned forward, hugged his neck, kissed him, and said: Thank you for taking my words to heart.

Feng Xue pinched her chest, suddenly stood up and pressed the soft spot, saying: Although it is a bit awkward today, I just want to tell you that being with you is a decision I made after careful consideration.

"How serious are you?" Ruan Tang put her fingertips on his chest and asked persistently: Will you buy me a diamond?

Feng Xue was visibly stunned and said, "Of course you can if you want." After a moment, he added, "But I think the premium on diamonds far exceeds their actual value. The female employee who came up with the slogan 'A diamond is forever' remained unmarried."

Ruan Tang didn't say anything.

Feng Xue continued rationally and objectively: And I think that combining love and diamonds is a very standard commercial marketing behavior. Can a diamond make the love between two people last forever?

Ruan Tang blurted out: If one isn't enough, then ten. Love will fade away, but diamonds won't.

Seeing Feng Xue stop talking, Ruan Tang thought about it and felt that she was too radical. Maybe she had really been provoked by Fu Bei today. So her face changed, and she tried to repeat her old trick, saying with a smile: "Have I completely acted out the materialistic image that you saw me in when we first met?"

But Feng Xue didn't seem to be going to be fooled by her this time. He held her wrist and pressed her on the bed, looking down at her plain little face condescendingly, and said seriously: I think your acting skills were better before you acted in the play.

"No nesting dolls." Ruan Tang twisted her body in dissatisfaction, but his legs held her tighter and she couldn't move.

Feng Xue pecked her on the mouth and said: Actually, you don’t have to do this. If you want to be angry in the future, just be angry at me openly. Just tell me directly what you want. The most important thing is to be comfortable and be yourself, okay?

"Then can I ask for diamonds if I want them?"

"Of course," Feng Xue nodded, then smiled innocently, "but whether I have the money to buy it is another matter."

Ruan Tang felt as if she had just been moved but was suddenly poured with half a bucket of cold water. Taking advantage of his relaxed guard, she kicked him off her and turned around and ignored him.

Feng Xue shamelessly hugged her from behind and buried his face in her neck. His somewhat rapid breathing felt like ten thousand feathers stirring on her skin. He whispered: "Why don't you just move in here?"

Ruan Tang hummed vaguely and said she would think about it.

But Fu Bei's appearance once again slowed down Ruan Tang's thinking. When she woke up the next morning, Feng Xue was gone. She touched her phone and saw a new WeChat message. She thought it was Feng Xue reminding her to eat breakfast as usual. She unlocked the phone in a daze and suddenly sat up from the bed.

Fu Bei: Xiaotang, are you free to meet me today?

Her tone was as normal as if they were old friends, and she didn't mention at all that he had been on her blacklist for several years.

Ruan Tang input: What’s the matter?

Delete.

After thinking about it, I typed in: Contact her regarding cooperation matters with Xu Wei.

Deleted again.

Take a deep breath and type again: No time.

Click Send

But more than five years have apparently made her forget some of this man's behaviors, such as the fact that he never thinks a woman's rejection is a real rejection.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, Ruan Tang had just seen off a table of guests and was clearing away the coffee cups when she heard the sound of wind chimes at the door. She subconsciously turned around and said welcome, but saw Fu Bei appear at the door of the store carrying a small blue bag.

He came in and sat down on his own, looked around the store carefully, smiled and nodded, saying: The store is indeed very busy, so I came here uninvited to support your business.

Ruan Tang walked over, pulled out a chair and sat down, crossed her arms, and asked in a distant tone: What's the matter?

He pushed the blue bag in front of her and said: After all, we are in love, so I came to see you and brought you a small gift.

Ruan Tang took a glance and sneered: In the past, they gave De Beers as gifts, but now it’s only Tiffany. It’s really a comprehensive downgrade from work to consumption.

"So you still remember that necklace." The warm smile on Fu Bei's face spread to his eyes.

Ruan Tang realized that she had fallen into his trap, as if indirectly admitting that she had not forgotten him all these years. She felt that she was losing ground from the start, and the momentum of the slap that had not yet been delivered seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. She simply turned her face away and said coldly: So what.

"Mr. Yi bought a six-carat pink diamond ring for Wang Jiazhi. When she received it, she was sure that the man in front of her really loved her. Xiaotang, when I gave you the diamond necklace, I also wanted to tell you that you were in my heart." Fu Bei's face was as usual, and there was even a bit of inseparable sincerity in his eyes.

Ruan Tang suddenly felt that if it weren't for Xu Wei's recent experience, everything before her might even have diluted the humiliation of many years ago and made a comeback.

When the ring was found in his pocket, Fu Bei compared himself to Francesca in "The Bridges of Madison County", saying that he had lost himself in the long and boring real marriage life and didn't know why he was living. It was at this time that he met her. He also said that he never thought he would encounter such a wonderful love that only happens once in a lifetime. He was willing to pay for such love, and she deserved the best of all material things.

For some men, artistic atmosphere is like a fig leaf, used to cover up their wild and perverted nature. Scumbags are not scary, but scumbags playing with art are.

She opened the package in front of him, took out the small box inside and took a look at it. It was a classic Tiffany key. She sneered: Forget it, it's "Lust, Caution" and you are a lustful and cheap person.

Unexpectedly, after so many years, Fu Bei has become able to remain calm in the face of praise or criticism. He was neither angry nor annoyed, but just smiled dotingly, shook his head and said: Xiaotang, you are still the little girl you used to be.

He seemed to know how to anger her with just a look or a word. He calmly watched her fortress crumble and said: I don’t know what Teacher Xu said to you, but there is indeed some misunderstanding between us, but I don’t want this to affect our relationship. I was the one who let you down back then, and I came to you to make it up to you.

"No need." She stood up, opened the door, threw Tiffany on the table out and ordered him to leave.

He sat there steadily and said slowly: I am divorced and now I am raising my daughter with my ex-wife as family.

After saying that, he stood up and walked out, picked up the necklace on the ground, walked up to her and put it in her hand, saying: Keep it. If you don’t like it, you can sell it. A man who wants to buy you a diamond will not give up until he gives it to you.