The Alchemists

After work, Finland found the signature black Maybach waiting in front of her office building. She wondered how Ben could arrive at the exact time she left her office. Finland looked around, and after making sure that none of her colleagues saw her, she hurriedly entered the car.

Even though they did not cast her out anymore, Finland still felt uncomfortable if her office mates saw her entering such a fancy car. She did not want them to think of her as a girl who had a relationship with a rich person just to enjoy the luxurious life that comes with it.

So far Finland had not received anything from Caspar. She was still wearing her modest clothes and the only expensive bag she had was a Prada sling bag gifted by Jean last month.

Ben drove the car to a place unknown to Finland.

"Where are we going, Ben?" Finland asked while looking out the window. She saw the car turn to Orchard Road.

"Master told me to take Miss to a boutique to choose clothes," said Ben.

"What clothes?"

"Clothes for dinner."

"Oh..."

Ben stopped in front of a very famous high-end branded boutique and opened the car door for Finland. The girl looked at the modest clothes she was wearing and realized what they were here for. Caspar wanted her to buy better clothes for their dinner.

A tall and graceful woman came out of the boutique and approached Finland respectfully.

"Miss Finland, we have been waiting for you. Please come in."

Finland was hesitant to enter, but then her cellphone beeped when she received an SMS from Caspar.

[Remember, you must learn to accept the kindness from others and say thank you.]

Uhm... fine, thought Finland. She gave up. She had to learn to accept gifts from Caspar based on his good intentions, and say thank you.

She entered the boutique and saw 10 staff coming to greet her. There was no other customer there.

"We closed the shop today just to serve you." replied the graceful woman who welcomed Finland at the car, "My name is Lauren and I will help you choose the clothes that you like."

Finland was stunned. At first she thought that the experience would be similar to a scene in Pretty Woman, when Julia Roberts' character had to buy clothes at the store. However, this was far more awesome than that. In her case, the whole shop was closed just to serve her...

No wonder Caspar didn't know what it felt to live as an ordinary person. None of the aspects of his life could be called ordinary.

"Mr. Schneider likes privacy." Lauren said with a smile, as if she read Finland's mind. "So, we assumed that his future wife would also like the same treatment."

Future wife? When did she say that she wanted to marry him, Finland told herself. She was still considering it.

The boutique contained various luxurious and elegant clothes. The staff poured her a glass of champagne and handed it to her as she walked to see the items on display. She accepted the champagne awkwardly and said thank you.

"Master said Miss has to choose one dress for your dinner tonight, and the rest will be sent to the mansion."

Finland did not know which one to choose, because all the dresses in the boutique were amazingly beautiful. Lauren who saw her confusion, pointed at the dress on the far right.

"In my opinion, this tiny dress is perfect for your dinner tonight. Would you like to try it on?"

Finland nodded and tried the dress on in the fitting room. It was a gray dress with an open accent on the back. The dress wrapped her slender body beautifully. She couldn't believe her own eyes when she saw her own reflection in the mirror. She barely recognized herself in that expensive dress.

"Very beautiful," said Lauren. Finland agreed and smiled.

"Thank you. The dress is very beautiful."

Finland really liked her new clothes. She felt like a princess in a Disney fairy tale and her heart felt excited.

Lauren chose matching shoes and half an hour later, Finland looked like a new person. Her beautiful face, which was only covered in thin make-up, looked graceful and natural. It was in perfect harmony with her new clothes. She felt very happy and confident.

Every woman would be happy to look beautiful and Finland was no exception.

Ben praised her too and it made Finland even happier.

"Now we go for dinner. Master is waiting," Ben said.

"Where are we going to eat?" Finland asked.

"We go to Singapore Flyer." said Ben.

He drove towards Marina Bay and entered the Esplanade area. Finland knew that people could enjoy dinner at the Singapore Flyer. It was a giant ferris wheel that overlooked the city of Singapore.

In all her life, Finland never thought that she would experience eating at the Singapore Flyer. Not only that, during her 4-year stay in Singapore, she had never even set foot on the ferris wheel. In her opinion, paying 30 dollars for a quick ride on ferris wheel was not worth it...

Caspar was already inside the building when she arrived. The man looked at Finland in admiration.

"You look very beautiful." He praised her warmly as he embraced her, "You can wear a gunny sack and still look beautiful, but in these clothes, you look radiant."

Finland blushed, but she remembered that she had learn to accept kindness from others and say thank you..

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Let's go upstairs, I'm hungry."

Caspar took Finland's hand and led her to the ferris wheel. She looked to the right and left, and realized that there was nobody else there.

"Is this place also closed to the public?" she asked in surprise.

Caspar nodded. "You know how much I like my privacy."

"Oh..."

Finland thought about the time Caspar told her that he didn't know what it was like to live like an ordinary person…

Well, that absolutely made sense now.

Ordinary people had to line up with hundreds of other people if they wished to ride the Singapore Flyer. Oh, and they also had to pay 30 dollars for entry tickets.

People like Caspar would just close the whole venue to use as their own private property for as long as they wanted.

Finland could only shake her head in disbelief.