Chapter 154: Comfort
Vivian Lowell desperately wanted to comfort Julian Faulkner.
"People can’t choose where they come from or what kind of parents they have. But the road ahead belongs to us, and we can decide how to walk it," she thought. "Felix Faulkner is just a scumbag. Don’t take his matters to heart. We’re normal people, and there’s bound to be a disconnect between us and a piece of trash like him."
Vivian drafted many such speeches in her head. But after much thought, she felt that saying those words out loud would sound too dismissive of his pain.
She remembered another saying: "The smallest speck of dust from an era becomes a crushing mountain when it falls on an individual’s shoulders."
Indeed. Right now, there was a massive mountain bearing down on Julian’s shoulders. He had already gone through so much over the years, and now he had to face this wretched mess.
This time, Vivian figured it out. She walked over to Julian and stopped in front of him. Flashing him a sweet smile, she called out softly, "Julian."
Julian stopped as well. The two of them stood on the lawn outside the hospital. Looking at her with a confused expression, he asked, "Vivian, what’s wrong?"
"Well..." Vivian’s smile remained as soft and warm as the day’s sunlight. "Are you free tonight? Don’t we have two large punching bags at home? Speaking of which, do you know how to box? I’ve always wanted to hit a punching bag to blow off steam whenever I’m stressed. Teach me tonight, okay?"
Next to Julian’s room was an open-air gym. It had all sorts of equipment, including punching bags. Vivian had actually secretly tried hitting them before. The bags were incredibly heavy. Since she hadn’t worn any protective gear, her hand had stung from just one punch. Gear was definitely a necessity.
She could also tell that Julian had likely bought those two punching bags specifically to vent his frustrations.
Julian fell silent for a moment. He really hadn’t expected Vivian to suddenly run up to him just to say this. She was... truly full of surprises.
"Alright." Knowing her true intentions, Julian said, "If you want to learn, I can teach you tonight. You don’t have proper gear, do you? I’ll have Vance Wyatt buy a set for you later."
"Sounds good," Vivian agreed. The two of them walked side-by-side to the parking lot.
Julian drove off. Vivian stood there, waving at him. From inside the car, Julian watched her expression through the rearview mirror. When she smiled, she looked just like a blooming flower. Standing in the sunlight, she radiated such bright, cheerful energy.
Julian thought it was a beautiful sight. He was also deeply grateful. At a time like this, the fact that she had come up with such a method to help him relieve his inner turmoil and pressure made him feel as though he was no longer facing these aggravating messes alone.
For the rest of the day, Vivian stayed by Grandma Faulkner’s side. Most of the time, Vivian was busy sorting through the emails and documents in her inbox, occasionally making a phone call or two. Grandma Faulkner sat beside her, keeping her company and looking at the resumes submitted to Vivian’s email.
"Gariston University? What kind of school is this?" Grandma Faulkner asked curiously after glancing at one of the resumes. "I have to admit, this person’s drawings are quite beautiful! Vivian, do you think he’s a good fit?"
Vivian also took a look at the resume. His work experience was actually pretty decent, and he had done a lot of charity painting during his college years. But this ’Gariston University’...
Vivian looked at Grandma Faulkner and said hesitantly, "Grandma, Gariston University... uh, it isn’t an actual university. Gariston isn’t a real place, either. It’s a play on words. It sounds like the slang for ’squatting at home’! As in, staying at home unemployed. Do you get it, Grandma?"
Grandma Faulkner blanked for a second before bursting into laughter. Ms. Shaw, who was peeling fruit nearby, also joined in on the laughter and said, "This person is quite interesting. Oh my, let’s stop laughing, or the apple in my hand is going to fall on the floor."
Grandma Faulkner was still chuckling as she said, "So that’s what it means! Then that means he doesn’t have a college degree, which is a bit of a pity. But Vivian, I think his artwork is still pretty good!
"Besides, didn’t he mention that he’s worked a lot of jobs in the past? Delivering takeout, waiting tables, working on assembly lines... He’s seen all walks of life.
"He understands simple, ordinary folks very well, and he believes that his joining can bring a new direction to the company. Not bad, not bad at all."
This was someone from the bottom rung of society. Most of the design work Vivian had done in the past involved jewelry for major brands, as well as wedding dresses and high fashion. However, grassroots-level design was actually much more common. Everything from the shape of a mineral water bottle to the wrapping of a candy counted as design.
It was just that, relatively speaking, these designs were very ordinary and simple. It was difficult to create anything groundbreaking or particularly eye-catching. Naturally, the market for this was also much smaller. Since the financial returns on such designs weren’t high, companies wouldn’t invest much into designing them. These types of design products were generally outside the scope of Vivian’s consideration.
Of course, she had designed logos for small companies before. But logos were often quite important to a company; a highly fresh and creative logo could easily make a brand memorable to others.
"You’re right, Grandma," Vivian said thoughtfully. The design industry had remained stagnant for far too long. Sometimes, fresh blood and interesting souls could spark unexpected creative collisions.
Even though she knew the candidate might have just been lured by the high salary she offered, it wouldn’t hurt to bring him in for an interview. Vivian immediately replied to the email to schedule a time and place with him.
The rest of the day passed by with Vivian balancing her work and keeping Grandma Faulkner company. Felix Faulkner didn’t call again. She wondered if Julian had contacted Felix after returning to the company.
Night soon fell. Remembering her arrangement with Julian, Vivian sent him a message asking when he would get off work, and whether he was coming to the hospital for dinner or if they should go home and cook.
Grandma Faulkner had undergone another examination that evening. Her vitals were relatively normal; as long as they remained stable, there would be no issues. This put Vivian slightly more at ease. She figured that leaving early to buy groceries from the supermarket and then going home to cook for Julian wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Just as she sent the message, Vivian heard the distinct sound of a WhatsApp notification coming from the doorway.
DING.
"Huh?"
Feeling a bit puzzled, Vivian looked up just in time to see Julian pushing the door open and walking in, holding two bouquets of flowers in his arms. One was a bouquet of lilies, and the other was a bouquet of red roses.