15 Carolyn

While the two were discussing how the event would unfold tonight, the doorbell rang.

Zhi Ruo raised her brows. "The package is—"

Before she could finish her words, a strong gust of wind hit her face and her best friend already opening the door.

"here."

"What is she, the flash?" Zhi Ruo muttered under her breathe.

After signing the paper and thanking the delivery guy, Xiao Tong rushed towards the coffee table and carefully placed down the box.

She then continued to pull out a pen from who knows where and twisted the bottom half to reveal a sharp knife.

Zhi Ruo's eyes lit up at the sight of them, causing her to lean forward.

This caused her best friend to mistakingly think that her interest was targeted towards the box, making her smirk.

As she thought, women really couldn't resist the allure of exclusivity.

Just when she was about to speak, Zhi Ruo interjected and said, "Where did you get that pen?"

Xiao Tong was dumbfounded.

"What?"

Zhi Ruo pointed at the pen in her hand. "Your pen. Where did you get it?"

She had the urge to slap her forehead. Of course Zhi Ruo was different.

For as long as she could remember, every item or gift that she had received would only ever end up either donated to charity, or pawned off for money.

This caused her whole family a headache as she couldn't realize the value of jewelry and the likes. So from there on Zhi Ruo never received a gift of luxury ever again.

The only jewelry she would keep were the ones she was forced to keep, or the ones she bought herself which weren't real.

"I had it custom made. It's a tactical pen made for self defense. I saw it on a website once and thought it looked really cool. And it's a good way of keeping a secret weapon with you."

Zhi Ruo's eyes were fixated on the pen as she smiled. "Can I get one too?"

"Sure. It's pretty easy. I'll send you her contact number."

She nodded and gestured towards the box. "You should probably open it."

Xiao Tong nodded and carefully opened the box. Her eyes showed a hint of excitement as she struggled to keep calm.

Meanwhile, Zhi Ruo was fully expecting her order to arrive and not the dress her grandparents forced on her.

Before she could take a good look inside, Xiao Tong screamed in delight, much to her dismay.

After all, nobody liked to be screamed at such a close distance, especially near the ear.

Zhi Ruo rubbed her ears. "Was there really a need to scream?" She often disliked this bad habit of hers. Overreacting at the littlest of things made her annoying and hard to deal with. Which is why most of the times she didn't like opening presents with her.

"Of course there is!"

"Well it's annoying. . ." she muttered.

Xiao Tong couldn't help but roll her eyes. "If you saw the box you'd scream too!" she grabbed the box and pushed it in her arms.

Zhi Ruo widened her eyes and almost let go of the box. "What the hell...? Why is the box heavy? Is the content made of rocks or what?"

"Just set it down on the coffee table," Xiao Tong said as she put away the cardboard box.

"You could've done that in the first place," she grumbled then carefully placed the box on the table. She didn't want go accidentally break the glass despite the heavy weight.

"How else was I going to get your attention?"

Zhi Ruo looked at her pointedly.

"Good point."

They stared at each other with a knowing look and smiled. There was laughter in their eyes as they burst out laughing.

"Okay okay, let's stop laughing." Xiao Tong wiped her tears away. "You haven't properly checked out the box."

Zhi Ruo now sported a small smile on her face as she stared at the box. It was white with gold markings and a small flap on the side tied with a white ribbon. There was a gold plaque on the top engraved with a C shaped like the moon.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?"

The confused look on her face made Xiao Tong roll her eyes. "Of course you don't know, because you don't know anything about fashion."

Zhi Ruo frowned. "Now that's just mean. I know the basics, that's for sure."

"You don't even know what the box is and you claim to know the basics?"

"Chill. Don't get your panties in a bunch. So okay I don't know anything about fashion. So can you elaborate on the box, please?"

Xiao Tong wore a smug grin.

Finally, there was something she was superior at more than Zhi Ruo. Her aptitude at knowledge wasn't as good as Zhi Ruo's, so she always felt a little behind. Even though she has been assured by her many times that they all had their own skills which they're good at, it still couldn't stop the insecurity within her to grow. After all, her talents weren't as great as Zhi Ruo's. However she wouldn't tell her that, as she knew more than anyone else what the girl had to go through to get to this point.

"This here, is an exclusive box designed for one the best designers in the world, Carolyn. She's one of the leading leaders in fashion and her designs would always go trending. One of the few designers who prioritized both beauty and comfort," Xiao Tong excitedly spoke as her eyes seemed to sparkle.

Zhi Ruo's eyes softened as she looked at the passion in her eyes. This was good. She liked this side of hers. Rather than focusing on the achievements of others, Zhi Ruo liked it more when Xiao Tong focused on her own goals rather than others. Her self-confidence was rather low and she hated to see her like that.

Perhaps she should learn from her once in a while. It wouldn't be so bad to be taught by her best friend the basics. And it would really boost her self-awareness about how she herself is great at fashion.

"Sadly, I heard the designer had already retired and bought a house in the Netherlands in seclusion. There were rumors swirling around that now, she only designs for certain people."

Zhi Ruo traced the box with her fingertips. The smooth surface and the way light bounces off of it was mesmerizing.

"So i'm assuming my grandparents are one of them?"

Xiao Tong nodded. "Yeah and it's mostly because of your grandfather. He's too social for his own good."

Zhi Ruo smiled. "He is, isn't he?"

"Yeah I mean, imagine traveling halfway around the world and still hear his name on the streets. But anyways, open the box. I know for sure you'll like it, even though I don't know what it looks like."

She nodded and carefully unraveled the ribbon and opened up the box. Comfortably sitting on a bed of white silk was the dress.

Xiao Tong gasped and she... well her jaw hung slack from the shock.

"Okay... Now that... Is gorgeous," she whispered. "And that's saying a lot with my taste."

"I know right? It's beautiful..."