20. He Disappeared
Qiu Fang hadn't contacted Vivian for a week. Although the two weren't usually close, this was quite unusual.
Normally, they would text each other every two or three days at most. Even if they didn't have much to say, a casual photo of them in the office or getting coffee would be necessary just to report back. Otherwise, if it was just a date, even a seasoned veteran like Qiu Fang would find the relationship too explicit.
These days, he hasn't even posted a single message to his friends. This is even more unusual.
Qiu Fang was extremely confident and always enjoyed sharing his thoughts on the world in his social media posts, often analyzing the world situation and the shifting landscape of various industries with the air of an economist. This week, the market was experiencing significant volatility, and given Qiu Fang's personality, there was no way he could remain silent.
Normally, Vivian would quickly skim through his long essays. But this was too strange. She sent several messages, but none of them went unanswered.
At this moment, she suddenly realized that the relationship between her and Qiu Fang—if it could be called a relationship—was so fragile that she didn't even know anyone she could ask for information.
Of course, she could contact Qiu Fang's secretary, Xiao Jia. She and Xiao Jia had added each other on WeChat when they had previously handed over the house and sent flowers.
But she was very reluctant to take the initiative to ask Xiao Jia about Qiu Fang's situation, as it seemed that she was too anxious. So she refrained from contacting Xiao Jia.
Until the end of the month when the landlord came knocking on the door.
Vivian was startled when the doorbell rang. After all, aside from food delivery drivers and couriers, no one would come to her house without an appointment. In today's society, even the best of friends rarely visit without an appointment.
Outside the door was a typical Beijing uncle who completely fit all the stereotypes.
The kind of old man who looks unremarkable but has multiple houses for rent in the downtown area.
The kind of old man who would lift his white vest up to his belly in the summer and show amazing fighting power when he opens his mouth.
The old man came to collect the rent.
"Let me tell you, the rent is due at the end of this month. I contacted that person, but she didn't reply. So, when can you pay it?"
"Sorry, Xiao Jia might be on a business trip." This was completely unexpected, and Vivian couldn't react in time. "How much is it? I'll transfer it to you."
"Fifteen thousand a month, and we agreed to pay it in half-year installments."
Vivian hesitated. It wasn't a huge sum she couldn't afford, but it was a completely unplanned expense, and she felt bad. But she was someone who cared deeply about her reputation, so under the old man's suspicious yet eager gaze, she had no choice but to pull out her phone.
But he suddenly became alert and asked the old man to see the property certificate, ID card and rental contract to confirm that the old man was indeed the owner of the house.
The old man was quite reasonable. He agreed to come back at the same time tomorrow and asked her to make sure someone was there at home.
She closed the door, feeling a bit resentful of herself. If only she had refused to open the door, or if she had been a little thick-skinned and just forced the old man to go back to the person who signed the agreement to pay.
It’s tens of thousands of dollars, why not do something else with it?
But the old man's expression at the time did give her a sense of oppression, as if to say, "If you don't want to live here, move out now. There are plenty of people waiting." She seemed to have no choice.
Forget it. With how much Qiu Fang cared about her reputation, she couldn't really ask her to pay for it. She consoled herself. To him, it wasn't even a drop in the bucket.
Vivian went to work dejectedly.
As luck would have it, Zhang Ruolin seemed to be experiencing menopause today, inexplicably irritable. Even in her gloomy mood, Vivian had to carefully serve him. Finally, lunch arrived, and Feng Simiao happened to be at the company today, meeting an old colleague and inviting her to lunch, but she couldn't tell her about the strange things she had recently encountered.
Feng Simiao would not understand her meticulous thoughts about Eric, nor would he understand the matter with Qiu Fang, or why such a small amount of money made her upset. Although they usually ate and drank together and could talk about personal matters, Vivian knew that Feng Simiao would not understand or sympathize with such embarrassment.
Vivian certainly wasn't poor, but that depended on who she was compared to. Compared to Feng Simiao and Lin Yang, she was completely destitute. She earned a seemingly respectable living solely through her own hard work, but the slightest bit of hardship would shatter her, leaving her a mere shell, a fragile, empty shell.
Thinking of this, she suddenly took a breath of cold air even though it was midsummer.
"What's the matter?" Feng Simiao was biting the milk tea straw, feeling bored.
"Old Zhang was crazy today, scolding everyone he saw, which made me nervous all morning." Vivian made up an excuse.
"He was always like this when I was still here. Men also go through menopause." Feng Simiao didn't doubt him. "By the way, let me tell you a little gossip."
Vivian forced herself to speak up: "Tell me quickly."
"Eric and Yang Ziqi. Guess what? This girl is really out of her mind."
"What's wrong?"
"Yang Ziqi announced her engagement on WeChat Moments without her parents' knowledge. Of course, her parents didn't acknowledge it. She's their only daughter, and she's not bad looking. They've been waiting for her to marry into a wealthy family for a long time. If not wealthy, then at least someone of equal status. Fujianese people really value that."
"Isn't he... not bad?" Vivian tried her best to avoid mentioning Eric's name.
"That's far from the truth." Feng Simiao gave a meaningful smile. "One is the only daughter of a clothing tycoon, and the other is at best a small white-collar worker. How can they compare?"
"My parents didn't agree, so what happened?"
"I have to say, this guy is really capable. I didn't realize it before and thought he was quite reliable. He actually tricked Yang Ziqi into getting secretly engaged."
"Why do you say 'secretly'? This engagement has no legal effect."
"She only invited a few close friends to go with her, essentially just to hang out, and even posted it on WeChat Moments to announce it to the world. Her parents didn't know about it beforehand and thought she was just going on a trip. When they saw it, they were furious."
"Who is that? Doesn't his family care?" Vivian asked anxiously.
Feng Simiao glanced at her and said, "His parents haven't cared about him since he was a child. As for his aunt and uncle... they have their own children, so they can't take care of him too much. Besides, marrying into the Yang family will only benefit his aunt's family."
"That's right. Why not?" Vivian read.
"Why are you acting a little weird today? You're so down."
Weiweian forced a smile: "Old Zhang assigned a lot of things today, it's so annoying."
It had been a long day. Finally, she was back home. No, not home, but her tiny apartment in a prime area that cost her fifteen thousand yuan a month. This was her most tiring day in a long time.
Is it just because of the money? It seems not entirely true.
This figure is not something she cannot afford, but it reveals an embarrassing reality: her life is not what she really owns, but a disguise she has put on with great effort.
Just like the classic Chanel earrings she carefully preserved, they were just out-of-season models that Feng Simiao and Yang Ziqi looked down upon.
Thinking of Yang Ziqi, she clicked on Eric's circle of friends and saw a horizontal line under his name.
She almost laughed out loud, laughing at herself for being so naive that she actually believed in his sincerity for a few minutes.
"If you believe this man's lies again, I'll be a dog." She angrily sent a message to her friend Chen Chen, "I'm keeping this in mind. Please supervise me."
But even so, she sent another message to Qiu Fang before going to bed. No matter what happened, it couldn't just be left like this inexplicably. Being ghosted was what Vivian hated most.
She chose her words carefully, not wanting to seem too cold like a gold digger, nor too desperate like a fool. She typed and deleted a few short sentences in the dialog box, but in the end, they were still bland.
"Hello, are you back in Beijing? I have something I want to tell you. Contact me when you get back. Good night."
///
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