16. The Stand-in
After hearing the news brought by Feng Simiao, Vivian was somehow not surprised.
Feng Simiao continued:
"Let me tell you privately, our Lao Lin is a little unhappy about this matter."
"Why?"
"He met that girl at one of Lao Lin's dinner parties. She had just returned from studying in the US. Her parents were very picky and kept saying their daughter was beautiful and capable, and she must marry into a better family than their own. This made Lao Lin's life difficult."
"What does it matter? The man and the woman are not married yet, it's all consensual."
"The main reason is that the girl is a bit dull and not very bright. So her parents have a bit of paranoia and always think that the men who pursue her are only after money."
"Then who makes her family rich?"
"I'm just gossiping with you." Feng Simiao warned, "Don't say anything in front of Yang Ziqi."
"Don't worry, I don't care about her personal affairs. I just hope she doesn't cause trouble for me at work."
While talking on the phone, Vivian unconsciously tore at the barbs that grew on her nails.
This kind of thing was not like a thorn in her heart - it was not a matter of concern to her.
It just feels like a hangnail on your hand, which is quite annoying.
*
After hanging up the phone, Vivian thought for a moment, took out the business card of Alan whom she met at an event a while ago, searched for "Alan Fang Tianyi" by mobile phone number, and sent a friend request.
He got through instantly and sent a message: "I thought you lost my business card."
It doesn't feel strange at all.
"I'm sorry. I was on a business trip for some time and just returned to Beijing." She had no psychological burden in telling him lies.
"Would you like to have dinner together?" he went straight to the point.
But she felt that the two of them probably didn't have much to talk about and couldn't stand sitting across from each other for a meal, so she replied, "I've been trying to lose weight recently and don't want to eat too much. How about we go exercise together?"
Vivian didn't know if he'd misunderstood her; she really just wanted to exercise. She was scrolling through his social media feeds, laughing as she did so. Whatever his day job was, his social media feed was like that of a super-gorilla trainer, with almost all of it consisting of workout check-ins and selfies.
It would be a shame if you don’t use it as a fitness coach.
After a moment, he came back: "Okay, what do you want to do?"
She thought for a moment and said, "How about you take me boxing?" This month he posted the most about fighting, as if he was a full-time boxer.
"Of course no problem." He was very enthusiastic, as that was his home ground and comfort zone.
The two agreed on a time, and he kindly instructed, "I'll prepare the gloves and bandages for you. Just bring your clothes and shoes. I'll pick you up then."
She said politely: "Don't bother you, I can go there by myself."
"It's a one-step-oil thing, no trouble."
*
He came to pick her up on time. When they got in the car, Vivian couldn't help but cheer in her heart. He came directly in tight sportswear, and he really had an amazing figure.
The car also smells nice.
When he arrived at his destination, he parked the car and took out two bottles of sports drinks as he got out: "sugar-free and zero-calorie".
Vivian couldn't help but laugh. She didn't mean it as a sarcasm, but because she really found it funny: this kind of caring and gentleness must have been cultivated through serving so many people, and it was so natural and not at all contrived.
You know, it's very heartbreaking when many men pretend to be considerate against their own conscience.
He pulled two pairs of boxing gloves and a gym bag from the trunk, and Vivian followed him inside silently. He was very familiar with the staff and coaches, and everyone greeted him warmly as he entered. Perhaps it was because Vivian was being suspicious, but the front desk staff had a particularly strange smile, as if to say, "Hey, why did you change another one?"
Fortunately, she had no expectations of him, so she just enjoyed herself.
He asked her to sit down and held out his hand to bandage her. Vivian raised her hand and let him do whatever he wanted, like an incapable child.
With the two of them facing each other, it wasn't very convenient for him to exert force. He only realized he was wrapping the long bandage halfway when he realized he was going the wrong way. He blushed for the first time, perhaps because his carefully constructed handsome aura wasn't perfect.
But Vivian wasn't bothered at all, and she raised her hand with interest. To break the awkwardness, he seemed to say to himself, "This seems to be the smallest hand I've ever wrapped."
She suppressed her laughter and didn't ask any further questions. Otherwise, it would have seemed too much like flirting. If it were Eric, she would have definitely ridiculed him.
His half-smiling eyes appeared in front of Vivian's eyes.
She quickly pulled herself back to her senses: There was such a beautiful scene right in front of her, why was she still thinking about someone she shouldn't be thinking about?
After a while, one hand had just finished, and she automatically offered the other. At that moment, she felt that this feeling of being dominated and controlled was actually quite good. As an independent woman, of course, she shouldn't pursue this, but in this harmless place, she was willing to be an idiot who was taken care of.
After an hour of clumsily swinging with heavy gloves, Vivian's arms were already sore. Fang Tianyi continued to encourage her: "Don't put your hands down, raise them to shoulder height, and protect your head!"
She was already drenched in sweat, and she thought to herself, "Please... today really isn't a training camp."
She knew deep down that she had contacted him and pulled him out because she had learned about Eric from Feng Simiao. This kind of resentment that suddenly came and had nowhere to vent often had to be extinguished by another person of the opposite sex.
Fang Tianyi didn't know this. He thought she was just another person impressed by his handsomeness.
No wonder he was so confident. On the field, his charisma skyrocketed, his biceps so developed they filled the cuffs of his blazer. Vivian couldn't help but want to pinch them.
She couldn't help but think of the scene in "Dream of the Red Chamber" where Jia Baoyu saw Xue Baochai's snow-white arm and couldn't help but think: This arm should grow on Lin Daiyu, or even touch it, but it grows on her.
This thought almost made her laugh. It was good, at least it temporarily dispelled her sorrow.
*
After the show, when she changed her clothes and dried her hair, Fang Tianyi was already waiting outside, looking obedient. Even after getting in the car, he didn't ask her out for a late-night snack or a drink. Unlike some impatient men, every bit of effort requires immediate rewards.
Vivian waited quietly for that moment.
She doesn't really believe that there are pure things between men and women.
It was late at night, and a sprinkler truck had just passed by, leaving the entire street ablaze. As the car drove onto a road she wasn't familiar with, he hurriedly said, "Sorry, we missed the exit."
Vivian smiled indulgently until he turned a corner and returned to the correct route. Soon they arrived at her house. The car stopped quietly, and neither of them spoke.
There was a particularly tense atmosphere in the car.
He suddenly leaned over, and she narrowed her eyes almost reflexively, waiting for his lips to fall. This seemed to be the only reasonable scenario.
He just reached out to help her unbuckle the seat belt.
The main focus is on contrast.
Vivian couldn't help but burst out laughing. Both because she was overthinking it and felt embarrassed, and because his every move was so calculated, it felt like a misunderstanding scene from a movie or TV series.
She covered her face with her hands and couldn't stop laughing: "Sorry, I suddenly remembered something else."
He laughed too, with a shyness that came from having his tricks exposed. Looking at his face so close, Vivian stretched out her arms, gently hugged his waist, and buried her head in his neck. He froze for a moment, then opened his arms to hold her.
She held on, as if testing her own reaction. There was no quickening of breath, no rapid heartbeat. All she felt was the endorphins of the embrace and skin-to-skin contact, the same pleasure she'd get from hugging a friend, or even a large dog.
It's a bit despicable, but she uses this criterion to judge her feelings towards men. After all, reason will weigh the pros and cons, but physiological reactions will not lie.
He was indeed a playboy, but his every move was a stunner, as if trained in a certain textbook. Fortunately, he looked good, not greasy at all. But Vivian was completely unmoved by him.
So she just patted him on the back affectionately and said, "Thank you for tonight." She looked like she was cheering on a teammate on the sports field.
He spent the whole night so attentively that he deserves a word of thanks.
Fang Tianyi was both amused and confused. He was actually quite clever. If he hadn't broken through even after being on the verge of success, then there was no chance of success.
He asked, "Will we meet again next time?"
"Of course," she said, relaxing. "Where can I find such a good sparring partner?"
"Is this all I'm worth?" He pretended to be aggrieved, but he didn't really care. There were so many people who liked him, so he didn't need to force anyone.
So he wished her good night with sufficient grace.
///
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