Chapter 14: Roses
After losing ten yuan, the three of them quickly pulled themselves together. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they each took out their phones and downloaded the national anti-fraud app.
Gu Lingling dragged herself out of her grief, flicked her hair back, drew a breath from her dantian, and spoke in a rich, powerful voice, “Alright, comrades, now is not the time to be sad. It’s only ten yuan. We’ll definitely earn it back during today’s selection!”
“Come on, let’s head to the brand company’s building now.”
Holding the document bag, An Yi made a different suggestion. “We can’t walk there.”
Gu Lingling looked at him, puzzled. “If we don’t walk, then how do we go? The ten-yuan cab fare has already gone into the pockets of a fraud ring.”
Just moments ago.
An Yi explained, “What I mean is, if we walk there, we might run out of time and be late.”
As he spoke, he lifted his phone and lit up the screen. There were only fifteen minutes left before the selection session began.
Gu Lingling: …
Lin Jiu: …
If they started walking from where they were now, they probably would not even make it to the front desk of the brand building in time to register the studio.
So they really could not walk.
They had to run instead. 🙂
And so the three of them sprinted down the street like madmen, bringing out the same energy they once used for their college entrance fitness tests. Several years of sub-health suddenly disappeared on the spot.
Damn it.
Damn it!
Why was it almost time already!!!
At tonight’s radio music hour, no matter what, they had better play Where Has the Time Gone.
Panting and gasping, the three of them finally arrived at the brand company’s building. But time was too tight to give them even a second to rest. Right now, time was life itself. Either you made it and lived, or you missed it and died. This was the first truly important opportunity they had ever received, and no one wanted to brush past their dreams and miss them.
To keep the dreams of these three young lives from dying young, Gu Lingling hurriedly smoothed out her hair, which had gone messy from running, and straightened the bright red dress on her body.
“I’ll go register at the front desk. An Yi, take the elevator to the seventh floor and wait there. In a bit, the creative director’s assistant will start checking in the studios that have arrived, and then we’ll hand in the drafts.” Then she turned to Lin Jiu. “Lin Jiu, take the sample garment to the prep room on the third floor. They provide tools there for all the design studios to tidy up their sample pieces. Iron it properly, and when you’re done, come up to the seventh floor with me to find An Yi.”
An Yi and Lin Jiu both said okay.
The three of them split up and went in three directions. An Yi rushed to the seventh floor as fast as he could, and there he saw a lot of people waiting in front of a pair of frosted glass double doors. They were all carrying draft bags similar to his, so they were probably waiting to have their studios checked in and hand over their submissions. Before he had even caught his breath, An Yi hurried over and got in line.
Because he had arrived late, An Yi ended up at the very end of the line, dead last.
But at least he had made it in time.
Most of the other studios had five or six people waiting together. Pink Crystal Girlish Heart only had one.
After all, their studio only had three people total. 🙂
But that was alright.
A sparrow might be small, but all five organs were there.
Very soon, the glass office doors—backed by a hundred full-pane windows—were pushed open from inside. Out walked a man with a swaying, delicate gait, his orchid fingers curled dramatically. He pushed up his glasses, coughed in an affected manner, and said in a very thin voice, “Welcome, everyone, to today’s selection event for our brand. I am the assistant to the creative director in charge of this brand concept. I will now begin calling the studios. When your studio is called, just hand your draft bag to the person beside me.”
A junior employee standing next to him smiled at the crowd.
The studio list being checked had been handed in only three minutes earlier. Gu Lingling had made it to the front desk and managed to register only because she had charged there at what felt like two hundred miles per hour.
Her high heels had practically run like sneakers.
The assistant began calling them one by one. “Sky Studio.”
“Here.”
“Aerfi Studio…”
Then he got to An Yi. The assistant’s brow twitched, and his tone carried a trace of surprise.
“Pink Crystal Girlish Heart?”
The moment that name came out, everyone in the line turned to look at An Yi.
An Yi had only just had time to calm down a little after the run. His fair face was still flushed from exertion, and under the strange, probing stares from the others, his scalp instantly tingled.
Sure, the name of their studio was admittedly the kind of thing that made your toes curl in embarrassment, but did they really all have to stare at him like that?
Looking at the assistant’s cryptic gaze, An Yi swallowed.
It felt like if he did not give some kind of explanation, the man was not going to let it go.
An Yi touched his ear and said, “I’m a sweet girl.”
Everyone: …
The assistant nodded, raised his orchid-fingered hand, and pointed delicately at An Yi. “I appreciate you.”
After collecting the draft bag, he twisted his waist and went back into the office with the little staffer.
By the time Gu Lingling and Lin Jiu rushed up from downstairs, two groups had already gone into the office to introduce the design concepts of their studios.
Seeing that An Yi had already handed in the draft, the huge stone in Gu Lingling’s heart finally dropped. “Thank god we made it.”
Then she seemed to remember something and added, “Oh right, I also found out some good news just now.”
An Yi asked curiously, “What good news?”
Gu Lingling said, “When I was registering, the girl at the front desk told me that even if a studio doesn’t get selected this time, the brand will still give some little gifts to the unselected studios as a consolation prize, just to thank everyone for participating enthusiastically and working hard on their designs.”
Though she said that, none of the studios present actually wanted to lose and receive a consolation gift. Everyone wanted to be selected. The brand’s visibility was not small, and if you got chosen, you could basically establish a foothold in the design circle.
Soon enough, the staff member at the door called out, “Pink Crystal Girlish Heart, it’s your turn!”
All three of them took deep breaths and stepped into the office.
The office used for the selection was quite spacious, with exaggerated and luxurious décor. The creative director and the assistant from earlier were seated at the table, looking over the submission An Yi had handed in.
“Did you bring the sample garment?”
Lin Jiu answered, “We did.”
“Good. Then choose a representative now and explain your creative concept to me.”
Still holding the sample garment, Lin Jiu volunteered and strode forward, not the slightest bit afraid.
Move aside.
His stage had arrived.
Seeing this, Gu Lingling’s brow jumped. Lin Jiu’s hands-on skills and ideas were not bad, but he was unreliable far too often in daily life. If they let him go up and he messed things up now, they would be finished. She was just about to stop him when An Yi held her back.
Lowering her voice, Gu Lingling whispered in his ear, “What if Lin Jiu goes up and something goes wrong? What if he embarrasses us?”
With his arms crossed, An Yi looked at Lin Jiu’s back, utterly calm. “It’s fine. His skin is thick.”
Gu Lingling: …
An Yi added, “Besides, Lin Jiu has social anxiety.”
Gu Lingling: !
Then that was even more reason not to let him go up there!!!
And then, five minutes later, Gu Lingling fully came to understand Lin Jiu’s “social anxiety.”
Lin Jiu had already been holding the sample garment and delivering a passionately fiery speech for a full five minutes. In the end, he still felt it wasn’t quite enough, so he began randomly selecting lucky audience members.
Walking right up to the creative director, he asked, “Big bro, what do you think of our sample piece?!”
Other studios had all behaved properly, using flattering tones and being terrified of saying even one wrong sentence and leaving a bad impression on the brand. After all, the design industry was highly connected, and the reputation of a design studio was extremely important. If some brand openly blacklisted you, you were done for.
But Pink Crystal Girlish Heart was brand new. They were all just young kids starting out, and since they were green and inexperienced, they neither knew nor cared about any of that. The moment Lin Jiu got up there, he started addressing the creative director like an old brother.
Caught off guard by that sudden burst of enthusiasm, the creative director froze and answered somewhat awkwardly, “P-pretty… pretty good.”
“Right? I think it’s pretty good too.” As he said this, Lin Jiu patted the creative director on the shoulder. “Come on, get up.”
Creative director: ???
Lin Jiu patted the sample garment. “Stand up, come try it on.”
The creative director tried to refuse. “N-no, there’s no need.”
Lin Jiu replied, “Come on, we’re all brothers here, no need to be polite. Try it, try it.”
The assistant stood up, furious. How dare he treat their creative director like this! With orchid fingers raised, he was just about to spring into action. “How can you—”
Lin Jiu pointed at him and interrupted the spell. “Don’t rush. After he tries it, it’ll be your turn. Everyone gets a share.”
An Yi: …
Gu Lingling: …
The modern socially anxious person was the kind who made society anxious. In their way of doing things, everyone got equally showered.
By the time the three of them came out of the office and waited in the waiting area for the results, they all had the strange feeling of just waking from a dream.
An Yi bought a bottle of water for Lin Jiu, whose throat was practically smoking.
With a voice like the Sahara Desert, Lin Jiu croaked, “Thank you.”
Very soon, another studio was called inside. When they came back out, they were holding the brand’s gift: a box of face masks.
Consolation prize.
The three of them immediately sat in the waiting area and shut their eyes.
If someone came out holding a contract of approval, they’d be finished.
As long as they didn’t see it, then it didn’t exist.
The three of them sat there with their eyes closed, resting in false peace. Soon enough, Pink Crystal Girlish Heart was called in.
They went inside.
The creative director and his assistant had already left. There was only one junior employee remaining in the office, smiling brightly at them.
“Congratulations.”
All three of them instantly lit up with a brilliance they had never shown before.
Was this really something they could have?
The junior employee continued, “You were not selected.”
The three of them: …
Why are you congratulating us for losing?!
And what do you mean you were not selected in that cheerful tone?!
The junior employee placed something into An Yi’s hands. “This is your consolation prize.”
An Yi lowered his head and looked at the pink little gift box in his hand.
?
Why was theirs different from everyone else’s?
He reached out and opened it.
Inside were three pink plastic rings.
An Yi looked confused. “What is this?”
The employee answered, “Your consolation prize.”
Lin Jiu stared at the plastic rings clearly intended for children between five and ten years old. “Didn’t everyone else get face masks?”
The junior employee smiled. “This is a special consolation gift.”
The three of them: …
Stop feeding us bullshit.
Don’t think we can’t tell these are children’s toys from the little convenience store downstairs—the kind that cost four yuan each, or three for ten.
But since they had already lost, it was good enough that they got anything at all.
Besides, these little rings did actually match their studio name pretty well.
Yet just as they were leaving, the staff member suddenly slipped them a card.
“Our director said that although your design still has room for improvement, your design thinking is very bold. In the future, when our company holds another selection, we will also notify your studio. We hope you keep working hard.”
That little card gave the three of them a bit of emotional comfort. Afterward, they split the rings among themselves by the roadside. Looking at the cartoon ring, An Yi suddenly thought of Huo Beixing and chose the one with the rose on it.
A macho man should wear flowers.
After they said goodbye and parted ways, An Yi went to a flower shop, planning to buy some roses to take home. By the time he walked out of the shop, it was already six in the evening. Although autumn was approaching, daylight still took up most of the day. At six o’clock, the sky was still bright, and the sun had only just begun to dip.
An Yi took a taxi home. The moment the car stopped in front of the Huo family gates, he saw the Huo family driver just about to head out.
Seeing An Yi return, the driver skillfully leaned his head out of the car window. “Young Master An Yi, I’m about to pick up young master from his combat training class. Do you want to come along?”
There wasn’t really anything necessary for him to do at home anyway. After looking at the roses in his hand, the little frog immediately decided to transfer rides.
The driver also knew An Yi had been out working today, so after he got in the car, he asked, “Young Master An Yi, how did work go today?”
With the face of a man weathered by life, An Yi replied, “The dark past is not to be revisited.”
Driver: …
Understood.
So it had not gone well.
The combat training class was something the Huo family had arranged for Huo Beixing after he became foolish. The reason was simple: before he became stupid, Huo Beixing had made far too many enemies. If someone chose to make a move while he was in that state, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Although Huo Beixing had grown up learning judo, the Huo family clearly felt one discipline wasn’t enough. Of course, if he hadn’t been such a menace before, he probably wouldn’t need to study two fighting styles now.
The driver parked the car outside the combat gym, which was part of a large sports center. After asking where Huo Beixing was, An Yi got out and walked inside.
The moment he entered, a wave of “hnn-ahh-huhh” noises rushed straight at his face.
Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought he had wandered into some indecent place.
Looking at the huge open fitness area on the first floor, everyone seemed very diligent. Some were lifting weights, some were running, some were training their legs.
The little frog’s conclusion:
Everyone here was a macho man.
Following the directions the driver had given him, he then went down to the basement level, where the free-fighting area was located.
Before he had even reached the door, he could already hear cheers and shouting from inside. It was extremely noisy.
Clutching his roses in his hand, the little frog quietly pushed the door open and slipped inside. Raising his eyes, he immediately saw a crowd gathered around the edge of a ring not far away.
An Yi: ?
Wasn’t this supposed to be a combat class?
Why was it nothing like he had imagined?
As he got closer and listened to what people were saying, he learned that someone had come to challenge the gym today, so the class had been canceled on short notice and replaced with a ring match.
An Yi stretched his neck up through the crowd to look. The current match was already nearing the end, and soon the round ended, with that fighter stepping down in preparation for the next.
The challenger’s side sent their next man up first. He was wearing knee-length athletic shorts, and his entire body was covered in exaggerated slabs of muscle.
Because of the ring fighting, lots of people from outside the combat section had also come over just to watch the excitement.
When they saw the giant man’s build, they swallowed nervously.
“Damn, the ratio of fat to muscle on his body is severely unbalanced.”
“I feel like he could twist my head right off.”
“Do you think our gym might lose?”
At that moment the score was tied two to two. This final round clearly featured the challenger’s strongest heavyweight fighter.
Someone from the gym laughed and said, “No way. The next one going up is our gym’s ace. His style is brutal. Deadly.”
As soon as those words fell, An Yi saw Huo Beixing wrapping bandages around his hands, lifting the ropes, and bending down as he climbed into the ring.
The clarity in his eyes had been replaced by ruthlessness. His hair was slicked back, his brows sharp and severe. The flirtatious charm he usually carried had been swallowed up by an overpowering aura. His tall frame and inverted-triangle build made for a tremendous visual impact. His arms were solid and powerful. After getting onto the stage, he said nothing at all. Even when the opponent tossed out threats, Huo Beixing ignored him completely, simply rolling his shoulders and warming up his body. As he moved, the lines of muscle across him stretched and tightened.
An Yi stared at the Huo Beixing in the ring in utter shock.
It was the first time he had ever seen him like this.
Very quickly, the match began.
The other fighter launched the first fierce attack, but Huo Beixing turned aside to dodge, then immediately threw out a straight punch.
The force behind it was terrifying. An Yi’s heart jumped hard along with it. Looking at the pained expression on the opponent’s face, he even felt his own stomach cramp in sympathy.
Soon enough, the opponent was flipped to the ground. Huo Beixing lifted his arm and brought it down with speed, and one punch was enough to draw blood.
After only a few seconds, people started realizing something was wrong.
“Fuck! Stop… stop him! If this goes on, he’s going to beat the guy to death!”
“Beixing, stop hitting him!!!”
“Huo Beixing!!!”
Three people rushed forward to restrain him, and only then did they manage to save the half-dead challenger.
Huo Beixing clearly looked unhappy, frowning as he complained, “So boring.”
The others: …
You really are fucking criminally intense.
Just as Huo Beixing bent down to get out of the ring, his gaze flicked sideways and landed on An Yi, who was standing there in the crowd like a stunned wooden chicken.
The shocked little frog—stunned for a hundred years.
A huge smile instantly spread across Huo Beixing’s face. He had not expected An Yi to come looking for him. The moment he got out of the ring, he strode straight toward him, smiling like a big sunny dog. “Wife, did you miss me?”
The giant opponent, still dazed and barely conscious, was being half-carried away by people supporting him. As he passed by An Yi, he suddenly threw up a mouthful of blood.
An Yi: …
He looked at the challenger, then at Huo Beixing.
“I m-missed you to death.”
