Chapter 12
To put it simply, Beth now has a Tibetan name, something like Tashi Drolma, but Chengshi can't quite remember. Besides that, Beth also has a Rinpoche who often stays at her home. She has also obtained some kind of American psychological counselor qualification and announced that she is divorced and free.
Meanwhile, Beth's real-world salon also officially began operating. Every few days, Beth would share a picture in her WeChat group. Scanning the QR code on the picture would reveal the details, time, and location of a particular activity. Those interested could then fill in their personal information and pay the participation fee with a single click. These activities mostly included flower arrangement classes, tea ceremony classes, book clubs, wine tastings, golf lessons, and oil painting classes. Occasionally, there were hiking trips, mountain climbing trips, Tibet-themed tours, themed afternoon teas, themed dinners, and even "spiritual" courses. Of course, everything was clearly priced. Beth, true to her business acumen, wasn't the typical French salon hostess who let her guests eat, drink, play games, and flirt for free. Beth had a grander theme; she said the purpose of her salon was to promote beauty and love.
However, it's precisely because Beth sets all her activities at fair and reasonable prices, and the activities themselves are very interesting, coupled with a maximum of 20 people per event to ensure privacy, that both wealthy and leisurely housewives and stressed-out corporate executives can always find something they want at Beth's salon. For example, flower arrangement and tea ceremony classes can effectively enhance the artistic tastes of these ladies, while activities requiring a certain level of physical exertion, such as hiking, trekking, and golf, can allow those high-level employees who are almost drained by work to temporarily forget their worries. In addition, both wives and husbands can expand their networks and meet people from the same social class at Beth's salon through various activities, adding a touch of vitality and interest to their otherwise monotonous lives. Because Beth's salon is so successful, one can't help but admire her high emotional intelligence and financial acumen.
Chengshi did a rough calculation and felt that Beth might earn almost as much money this way as she had worked herself to the bone before, and she might even gain more added value from it.
It was at this moment that Chengshi was pleasantly surprised to discover that he wasn't nobody in Beth's eyes. One day, after Chengshi's family moved to Central Park, Beth made a special call to Chengshi, telling him about the life-changing influence and enlightenment her Rinpoche had brought her. She then mentioned that she had always been watching Chengshi, and although it was a pity they hadn't been able to work together, she believed Chengshi was destined for greatness. She also mentioned that she knew Chengshi lived not too far from her home, so she wanted to invite him and his family to her house for dinner that weekend, and that she would introduce him to some interesting friends.
This truly flattered Cheng Shi, and she quickly shared the news with Huang Ruoyu—Huang Ruoyu had long known that Beth, the famous businesswoman, had once wanted to invite Cheng Shi to work with her, and therefore had been curious about her for a long time, but had never had the chance to meet her. Now that the opportunity had come, Huang Ruoyu certainly didn't want to miss it. Therefore, after confirming that they would be going to Beth's house for a dinner party that weekend, Huang Ruoyu made a special trip to SKP in the city to choose a formal dress and an evening bag for herself, and also got a beauty treatment and hair care.
Beth's statement isn't entirely accurate, as her home is actually over 30 kilometers away from Chengshi's, a drive of about an hour—longer than Chengshi's commute. Unlike mini-sized American-style villas like Central Park Phase III, Beth's home is a true low-density townhouse—located in a prime school district. Even with a price of over 200,000 yuan per square meter and a minimum unit size of 400 square meters, it's not only a scarce resource but also a truly top-tier luxury residence.
Beth's villa has three floors and an area of nearly 800 square meters, not even including the huge courtyard! So when Chengshi saw Beth's house for the first time, she couldn't help but gasp.
Cheng Shi initially thought Huang Ruoyu wouldn't like a beautiful and capable career woman like Beth, because he thought Huang Ruoyu was quite jealous. But to his surprise, Huang Ruoyu and Beth hit it off immediately and became close friends despite their age difference. Therefore, when Cheng Shi was at work or the children were at school, Huang Ruoyu would drive herself to Beth's place to attend her activities—she not only developed a love for flower arranging and oil painting, but also became fascinated by Beth's spiritual courses. Not long after, Huang Ruoyu even brought Su Ningna to Beth's salon.
Aside from dinner parties, Narumi wasn't particularly interested in the other activities at Beth's Salon. Hiking, mountain climbing, and golf weren't really to his liking, and the timing of those events often didn't suit his mid-level job; they were geared towards older, more flexible executives. Therefore, the only thing Narumi truly enjoyed was going to Beth's house for dinner every two or three months to improve his meals.
However, Huang Ruoyu hoped that Cheng Shi could attend a spiritual course with her, believing that it would greatly help their growth and marriage. But Cheng Shi always felt that such a course was essentially the same as the shamanistic rituals performed in his hometown.
However, after nearly a year of Huang Ruoyu's persistent pleading, Cheng Shi finally reluctantly agreed to attend a spiritual retreat with her on the weekend. Sun Pengfei and Su Ningna also joined them. Cheng Shi envisioned the retreat as follows: first, a shaman would perform a magic show, then everyone would sit together and offer some motivational speeches and sing songs like "A Grateful Heart," much like their company's sales training.
Cheng Shi really didn't expect that this course would be so terrible!
The atmosphere was deliberately mysterious from the start: everyone had to hand in their phones before class. Cheng Shi secretly observed that besides himself, Huang Ruoyu, Sun Pengfei, and Su Ningna, there were six other people attending the class. Cheng Shi recognized two of them; they were probably well-known senior executives from a large company. He couldn't identify the other two, but they exuded a powerful aura. The remaining two were clearly full-time housewives like Huang Ruoyu and Su Ningna. Beth was absent; she was in the kitchen instructing the chef on preparing dinner. No one exchanged pleasantries or spoke to each other; everyone seemed very serious, a far cry from the warm and pleasant atmosphere of Beth's salons in the past.
The spiritual retreat finally began, but instead of any shamanistic magic show, it was a strange meditation session. Suddenly, all the lights in the huge study on the second floor of Beth's house went out. In the darkness, Cheng Shi felt that Huang Ruoyu beside him, and Sun Pengfei and Su Ningna next to her, seemed to have entered a meditative state, but he couldn't calm himself down. He couldn't help but look around, but he couldn't see anything in the pitch-black study. Not only were all the lights off, but the thick curtains were also drawn, making Cheng Shi almost claustrophobic. Thankfully, the meditation ended after fifteen minutes, and a dim wall lamp lit up the study.
The entire following segment took place in this hazy, dim light: each person present had to recount a painful secret buried deep in their heart, and then the other participants would help them resolve the issue. During this process, the speaker had to completely and honestly reveal their inner darkness, without concealment or deception.
This was the first time Cheng Shi had heard the story of Sun Pengfei and Su Ningna—even though they had known each other for a long time.
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