5. The Name of the Rose
Vivian knew she had changed, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what had changed.
"Generous, straightforward, and magnanimous, Qiu Fang has his own lovable qualities. Appearance is too shallow and unimportant for a man." She tried to convince herself, but she also knew that this argument was powerless.
All of this was her little secret, her inner drama, unknown to outsiders. To others, she was still the same beautiful woman you'd see in the CBD's luxury high-rises, wearing six-centimeter heels and a tight skirt, her outfit changing every day, her hair and nails meticulously groomed and shiny.
Only she felt as if something inside her had changed.
*
Vivian's desk was next to the window. Here, unless you were promoted to partner, you wouldn't have a private office, let alone a corner office with two windows. Even a privileged woman like Feng Simiao only had a regular desk in the open work area.
One day, Feng Simiao found a huge orange Hermès paper bag lying at his feet. Vivian was curious: "What did you buy again?"
Feng Simiao didn't care: "It's just a bag. I told Lin Yang not to buy it, but he insisted on buying it."
"Come and take a look."
Feng Simiao took out a box from the paper bag, and inside was a pink crocodile leather platinum bag.
Vivian had never owned a Birkin bag, having only purchased an entry-level model known as a "vegetable basket." She had originally wanted the classic Elephant Gray color, which is more versatile, but the salesperson said that classic colors were reserved for established customers, who had to spend at least 100,000 yuan to join the waiting list. New customers couldn't even get on the waiting list.
She finally took advantage of a business trip to Hong Kong, and after much hesitation, she bought a milkshake bag. She was lucky that day; the bag cost over 20,000 yuan, but the accessories were only 15,000 yuan, not a lot. She carefully selected and chose the accessories, finally buying a silk scarf and a pair of slippers. She still felt a pang of pain when she swiped her credit card.
In reality, she didn't need the scarf and slippers at all. Spending tens of thousands of dollars on a bag, and then having to buy useless items as a prerequisite to qualify, was absurd. But once she entered that store, she felt like she was possessed, even forcing herself to smile at the salesperson just to get them to be kind and give her a color that wasn't the ugliest.
This one time was enough for her. She never thought of going one step further and buying a more expensive bag.
If she insisted on buying it, it wasn't that she couldn't afford it, but it simply wasn't worth it. But if she felt it wasn't worth it, she simply couldn't afford it. She understood.
Just like Feng Simiao had repeatedly invited her to Japan, she had always found excuses to decline. It wasn't that she couldn't afford Japan, but her habit was to pick discounted tickets and find a hotel in Tokyo or Kyoto that had the best location and price. She couldn't afford to accompany someone like Feng Simiao, who insisted on first-class flights and luxury hotels.
It’s not that she really can’t afford the money, but flying for three hours half-reclining, or just sleeping in a hotel, would cost thousands of yuan more, so she would rather work harder.
If they were traveling together on business, they could ignore the class difference. But when it came time to pay the bill, the elephant in the room became so obvious that she couldn't escape it.
Just like this crocodile skin platinum bag that was out of her reach, Feng Simiao just threw it aside.
At that moment, Vivian really wanted to sell the vegetable basket that she had finally decided to buy in a second-hand luxury store.
Useless thing.
But even such an entry-level model was carefully stored in her closet, with several layers of fabric underneath to prevent it from getting worn out. And Feng Simiao's limited edition bag was treated like a worthless shoe, left on the floor for many days without being taken back.
This job was no different. Vivian was recommended by a headhunter and went through seven rounds of interviews over two months. Feng Simiao's father, on the other hand, was already acquainted with the chairman, so sending his daughter to work was just a matter of a phone call.
From a job title to a designer bag, the paths and levels of difficulty involved in obtaining them were so different. She was truly lucky to be Feng Simiao's friend.
She could only think this way to calm her unspeakable mood.
*
Qiu Fang had been quiet for several days since their last meeting. She thought about it and sent him a message to invite him to dinner. Before, she rarely took the initiative and always waited for Qiu Fang to invite her.
Qiu Fang was in Shenzhen at the time, enjoying some family time. He said casually, "How about you come to the south for a few days? I'm busy with work here and can't leave. I'll have my assistant book you a ticket."
Vivian was silent for a while, not knowing how to answer.
She always maintained a studied reserve around Qiu Fang, a reserve she still couldn't let go of. Initially, she was probably willing to approach him because of his superior status. However, the longer a man and a woman spend time together, the less important a man's appearance becomes, and even his ugliness becomes less noticeable.
But she really didn't want to fly to Shenzhen just for Qiu Fang. If they were in the same city, occasionally meeting up for dinner could create a romantic date vibe. But flying to another city just for him seemed too cheap.
She's not some internet celebrity who can fly around the country for a fixed fee.
Vivian made a decision and replied to him: "It's okay, see you next time. I'm busy with work these days." Her tone was relaxed, as if she hadn't carefully considered her words.
Bored for a moment, she scrolled through her Moments and saw a group of handsome cycling photos of a tall, muscular man, with the sunset like golden sand coating his skin. His WeChat name was Eric Yang. She didn't remember who he was, but it was rare to see such a handsome and good-looking man in her Moments.
She clicked on the large pictures one by one and appreciated them one by one. It turned out to be the person she had met once at the party at Feng Simiao’s boyfriend’s house. He was Lin Yang’s good friend, and Feng Simiao had specially introduced him to her.
Of course, Vivian did not forget that he had outstanding looks. Although he was not the popular handsome young man, he happened to be the type she preferred, a little muscular and a little wild.
Unfortunately, she was in a hurry to meet Qiu Fang that night and didn't have time to chat with him for a few more words.
She pondered for a while and wrote a comment: Xiaobu is very beautiful.
She recognized his car. It was not good-looking but it cost over ten thousand yuan.
Then throw the phone aside.
Half an hour later, Eric replied:
"Would you like to have a sparring match?"
She spoke in a familiar tone, without any greetings.
"Haha, I don't know how to ride a bike, can you believe it?"
"What's so difficult? I'll teach you next time."
Haha, "next time".
Between men and women, any "next time" without a specific date can be regarded as a big NO.
Vivian put down her phone angrily.
*
The next day, when she arrived at the office, a bouquet of 18 roses had been delivered to Vivian's desk. The roses were so large, she had never seen them before. Anyone passing by was captivated by the fiery red bouquet.
Flowers sent by Qiu Fang.
He understood a bit about women's minds. It was a rare occasion for Vivian to ask him out, and since he couldn't keep the date, he could at least provide some emotional value and lay the foundation for their future meeting.
Vivian changed many angles before she took a photo that gave a glimpse of the entire bouquet while appearing casual, and she casually posted it on her Moments.
Feng Simiao commented in surprise: "Oh my God, who is so romantic!"
He immediately followed up on the message to find out: "Who is it? Tell me quickly."
She only replied with an emoji. She wasn't going to tell Feng Simiao about Qiu Fang's situation.
What she didn't know was that this bouquet of roses was also part of Qiu Fang's standard package.
Eighteen flowers, valued at 2,288 yuan, were imported Ecuadorian Guns N' Roses. Qiu Fang's secretary, Xiao Jia, was accustomed to using that florist, ordering dozens of bouquets annually. Qiu Fang not only prided himself on being a playboy but also quite generous. Tiffany and Mikimoto were merely appetizers, as the small pearls and diamonds were worthless.
Weiweian didn't know any of this. She just felt very happy at this moment, and even Feng Simiao envied her.
Feng Simiao has seen everything and lacks nothing. But women will probably never be able to resist such a beautiful rose.
Vivian did not forget to reciprocate, and took a close-up photo and sent it to Qiu Fang, accompanied by three red heart emojis.
If he was her real boyfriend, she would have said more. But at this moment, she really didn't know what else to say to Qiu Fang.
Vivian didn't even feel like they were familiar with each other at all.
Their interactions were all based on a clear, staged goal. He and she were both fully aware of this goal. But once it was achieved, the two of them became strangers.
So three red hearts are enough, and emojis can be interpreted freely.
She really had nothing more to say to him.
At this time, Eric's message came again:
"I'm going to Beijing on a business trip tomorrow. Do you have time to have dinner with me?"
She felt somewhat pleased with herself, but she put her phone aside and didn't reply until an hour later:
"Looking forward to your presence."
“Do I need to take a bath and burn incense?”
"We'll see then."
A slightly spicy pleasure welled up in her. It turned out that handling situations like this, like a man, was so satisfying.
She felt a vague sense of immoral pleasure.
///
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