17. The supporting character
Time flew by, and before she knew it, Vivian had gotten used to her new apartment, which at least saved her a lot of commuting time. She even often pretended to go downstairs to buy coffee during her work break and sneaked back home for a while.
During this period, I only met Qiu Fang two or three times.
Lately, Qiu Fang had been treating her with a more casual air, no longer meticulously selecting restaurants or giving gifts. This was how Qiu Fang treated women: a set routine, but the characters in his play were different. No matter how beautiful or intelligent they were, it didn't make much difference to him.
Only when he occasionally mistakenly thought a woman was innocent and deeply adored him would he think he had found true love. Later he realized that innocence was just an act.
Just like Liu Luanxiong thinks that his ex-girlfriend Lu Lijun and current girlfriend Gan Bi are both "very simple women". This tells us that to win over rich men, it is not enough to be good-looking, you must also be a "very simple woman".
No matter how smart a man is, he firmly believes that women love his talent.
This is especially true for the arrogant Qiu Fang.
*
It was the busiest season of the year, with several industry forums and summits being held at this time of year, and Vivian was often too busy to handle everything. Her boss, Zhang Ruolin, was frequently on business trips, often requesting her to accompany him.
This time, her immediate superior Jia Lan asked her to go on a business trip with Yang Ziqi, under the pretext of "giving newcomers a chance to train well."
Unfortunately, Yang Ziqi couldn't share the workload, and Zhang Ruolin was a renowned workaholic, making working with him a real struggle. He possessed immense energy, never knowing what fatigue meant. His subordinates always had to sleep later and wake up earlier than he did. He would issue an order and then drift off to sleep, while his subordinates often had to pull all-nighters to meet deadlines.
At this time, no matter how high-end the hotel is, you can only sleep three or four hours a night at most.
It's so painful.
When I was in school, I thought being an office girl in a skyscraper was incredibly impressive. Now I understand that the nature of my work is no different from that of textile workers during the Industrial Revolution. The only difference is that instead of a spindle, I'm meticulously weaving Excel or PowerPoint files.
She'd gotten a good night's sleep that day, but when she opened her eyes, she saw a message from Zhang Ruolin saying he'd be downstairs for breakfast at 8:30 and asking her to go over her work schedule during that time. She didn't even have time to put on her makeup. She hurriedly threw on a dress and high heels, her bag in one hand and the documents she'd printed out at the business center the night before in the other, and rushed out of the elevator.
The hotel lobby had just been cleaned, and there were still some wet spots. Coincidentally, she stepped on it, and before she could react, she was sent flying. She only had time to curse inwardly before she fell to her knees.
At that moment, her only thought was that she was lucky she didn't throw the bag out, otherwise if the laptop was broken, she would be in trouble.
Fortunately, a kindhearted person nearby took her arm and helped her up. In a cheesy TV show, the one offering a helping hand would have been a handsome man. But Vivian paid no attention to any of this, aware only that her boss was waiting in the restaurant. For a worker, the boss's time is everything. She hurried to the restaurant, but every step she took was met with a sharp cry of pain.
"Miss, are you going to the restaurant? I'll help you carry your things."
Vivian finally came to her senses. The man was a man in his forties, looking mature and dignified. She nodded and said, "Thank you."
Half a blue ribbon was exposed from his suit pocket. She asked, "Are you here to attend today's forum as well?"
The other party nodded: "So we are in the same industry."
In just two or three minutes, they reached the cafeteria entrance. Vivian saw the boss sitting at a corner table, a cup of coffee in front of him. These bigwigs could barely manage without their assistants. Vivian thanked him again and stumbled over.
"What happened to your foot?"
"Oh, I just twisted it accidentally. It's okay."
The "it's okay" was completely unnecessary, as the boss had already extended his hand for her to hand over the documents and pen.
Vivian rolled her eyes inwardly. These cold-blooded capitalists.
Zhang Ruolin didn't eat, so she only ordered a cup of coffee to go with it. She couldn't just feast while her boss was deep in thought. Half an hour later, she was almost fainting from hunger.
*
At nine o'clock sharp, the forum began. Vivian escorted Zhang Ruolin to his seat five minutes early and stood by, smiling, listening to him exchange pleasantries with the big boss next to him for five minutes while she exchanged business cards with him. After all this, he finally took his seat.
The lights dimmed, the music started, and the host took the stage to read the opening remarks. She quietly walked out the door and saw the man from that morning rushing in. She almost bumped into him. She hurriedly made way, but he stopped and asked, "I didn't ask your name just now?"
Vivian hurriedly handed over her business card.
"Ms. Fang, nice to meet you. Let's talk later." He gestured to the young man in a suit and tie with an anxious face behind him to push open the door of the banquet hall, as if he had no hands.
Vivian finally had time to eat a few biscuits in the tea break area, otherwise she would have fainted from hypoglycemia.
This kind of event is actually quite meaningless. These days, industry media and data organizations rely entirely on organizing events and compiling rankings for revenue. Consequently, there's a year-round bustle of events, but it's always the same crowd: sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds, listed companies, trusts, insurance companies... Simply put, they're the most ostentatious and vain of the crowd.
They talk big on the stage, but they actually know very well that they do not create value themselves, they are just the carriers of value.
Halfway through the show, Yang Ziqi came over gracefully, "Sister V, I'm sorry I'm late. Did the boss ask anything?"
"It's okay, everything is settled."
"Anyway, my dad is going to have lunch with him at noon today, and I'll apologize to him then."
"Director Yang is here too?"
"Yeah. My dad's company also needs to be younger and more fashionable. Otherwise, if it continues to be old-fashioned, no one will buy it. He's planning to set up a fashion technology-themed industry fund and is looking for a GP. I've already made an appointment with the boss to talk."
So that's why. No wonder Jia Lan is so flattering to Yang Ziqi.
Yang Ziqi turned and walked into the venue.
Vivian's thoughts suddenly wandered: Since she is here, I wonder if Eric has come?
*
During lunch time, Zhang Ruolin asked Vivian to go with him to have dinner with Yang Ziqi's father, and of course his beloved daughter was by his side.
Yang's father was a typical Southern Fujian businessman: unassuming, cheerful, and dressed in his own brand's bestsellers, a down-to-earth, yet reassuring look. Seeing Zhang Ruolin's uncommon humility and smile in his presence, Vivian couldn't help but sigh at how times have changed. Back in the heyday of dollar funds, investment institutions wouldn't have taken these local bosses seriously.
Today, they have become scarce financial backers.
This meal was Yang Ziqi's comfort zone. She chattered non-stop, acting like the star of the show, forcing even Zhang Ruolin to shut up. Vivian, on the other hand, simply forced a smile onto her face, pretending to listen intently, but her mind was wandering elsewhere.
This is often the case in social situations where the protagonist needs a foil.
Today, she is the foil.
Father Yang was very polite to her: "Miss Fang, Ziqi has just entered the industry, you should teach her more."
Weiweian quickly replied, "Mr. Yang, Ziqi is very smart. At such a young age, he will definitely become an investment expert in the future. Mr. Zhang will personally teach us every day, so don't worry."
Zhang Ruolin beside him smiled and nodded, obviously very satisfied with his subordinate's answer.
Vivian was not full at all after this meal.
On the way back to the venue, passing the lobby, Vivian caught a glimpse of Eric sitting in the lobby bar from afar, while Yang Ziqi simply left them and ran over there skipping and jumping.
///
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