Willowy little fox x delicate rose
At 33, Qiao Anran was at the peak of her career as product design director at a Silicon Valley unicorn company when she left the industry to return to China and start her own business.
As soon as she got back, she ran into Wen Liang, an artist holding a solo exhibition.
Everyone there knew these former classmates had never gotten along. Qiao Anran thought Wen Liang was pretentious and aloof, while Wen Liang said Qiao Anran had her head in the money jar. When they met, they couldn't even be bothered to say hello.
But later, their friends discovered Qiao Anran using Wen Liang's pearl-white Birkin. They discovered Qiao Anran living in Wen Liang's home, wearing Wen Liang's pajamas and slippers, with Wen Liang's mark on her neck.
A friend asked Wen Liang, "Does that woman have something on you? Is she threatening you?"
Qiao Anran laughed and fell against Wen Liang.
Wen Liang turned her gaze away and said shyly, "It's nothing... What's mine is hers."
Qiao Anran knew Wen Liang always said that. In the endless nights, this gentle temptress held her down and kissed the sweat from her brow again and again, telling her in the purest, most sincere voice in the world, "Qiao Anran, what's mine is yours."
"And I'm yours, too."
*
At 18, Wen Liang enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design.
The upperclasswoman who gave the new-student orientation was Chinese, and her distinctive curly hair was dyed gray-green.
Wen Liang remembered that color, and remembered it for twelve years.
Later, Qiao Anran asked Wen Liang how she'd come to like her.
Wen Liang said, "Do you remember what color your hair was in your first year?"
"Gray-green. It was beautiful."
Qiao Anran looked utterly baffled. "...Huh?"
*
Wen Liang's dream had always been to be a rose blooming in a greenhouse.
But Qiao Anran's dream was to be an oak tree.
So she grew patiently, waiting until the tree was tall and strong enough to spread its canopy and shield her rose from wind and frost.
*
1v1, mutual pining, from school to the workplace
Synopsis archived July 11, 2021. Add it to your collection if you like it.
Theme: I haven't figured this out yet
