# Longing for Her Body

Referring to Office 365.

Oh, excuse me, it’s Microsoft 365.

After using Microsoft 365’s Office on Windows once with “genuine software, pirated use,” the Office 2019 suite provided by the school suddenly lost its appeal. The reasons are simple:

  1. The interface is outdated. Especially on macOS, Office 2019 still uses skeuomorphic style icons, while the flat toolbar icons of 365 are much more pleasing. In addition, the 365 version’s animated toolbar tab switching is more dynamic. How should I put it, this is a weak reason, but an elegant environment can always stimulate creativity, right?
  2. Outdated features. This is a weak reason, but the powerful upgrade of XLOOKUP from VLOOKUP is exclusive to 365, which only makes me sigh at 2019’s inadequacies.
  3. I’m itching for it. The level of this reason being weak is no less than the previous two reasons. But I feel uncomfortable if I don’t use the latest version. It’s 1202 but still using the old Office from 2019; that’s just falling behind the trends, don’t you think?

# Bright Side in the Darkness

Naturally, the first thought was to use the school email to get the educational version, but our poor school did not purchase Microsoft 365 at all (unworthy).

Looking at the price for the genuine version, 398 yuan a year, is still too expensive, enough for me to have breakfast for a semester.

Searching on the almighty social video platform, I found out that I could use an E5 developer account for free access to 365. However, the currently available automated scripts seem inappropriate for macOS, not long-term or stable enough.

Finally, I decided to buy the genuine version. Being accustomed to Switch Family Edition’s discounts, I immediately thought of buying the Family Edition. So, which store is the best for carpooling? After a quick search on Baidu, a recommendation from Zhihu - Ruangou Mall. With a trial mentality, I opened the WeChat mini-program.

# Strike While the Iron is Hot

The mini-program interface is straightforward, and on the Featured page, I easily found the Microsoft 365 carpooling entry. Clicking in, I saw an elder brother had already started a group, with a countdown of 70 hours, and a refund if it exceeded the time. I thought, just three days; if it doesn’t work out, I can find another way out, like an empty glove.

Although the price of 58 yuan is a bit higher than many forum carpooling offers of 40 yuan, with the platform’s guarantee, I felt more secure. Without hesitation, I joined the group and paid in one go.

After waiting for about two to three hours, I checked the order and found that only the team leader and I were in the group, making me a bit anxious. Checking my beloved CoolAPK, I saw another veteran launching a group, so without delay, I added them on WeChat to express my intent to join.

Now, a problem arose: what if both the CoolAPK driver and the mall launch their groups successfully at the same time? If the Ruangou Mall can’t refund, I’d be spending double the money, which isn’t ideal.

Not sure if it was good or bad, I contacted Ruangou Mall customer service.

| 15.08.2021 11:12:40 | Me: How can I exit if I didn't form the group
| 15.08.2021 11:13:17 | Ruangou: Hello! I'm Ruangou. How can I assist you today?
| 15.08.2021 11:13:36 | Ruangou: Hello, have you joined the group?
| 15.08.2021 11:13:39 | Ruangou: Let me check the order
| 15.08.2021 11:14:10 | Me: I joined, but I also joined somewhere else. Just wanted to check, can I exit if I join elsewhere successfully
| 15.08.2021 11:14:39 | Ruangou: Can’t exit if others join the group
| 15.08.2021 11:15:08 | Me: Can I exit even if I join another group?
| 15.08.2021 11:15:28 | Ruangou: Yes, can't exit if there are 2 or more people
| 15.08.2021 11:16:18 | Me: Okay
| 15.08.2021 11:16:29 | Ruangou: Alright

The result was cruel. Without receiving the product, I had already lost control over my 58 yuan - in case the CoolAPK driver succeeded, I could only hope that Ruangou Mall failed to launch the group, or I could exit the driver’s group.

To some extent, by joining Ruangou’s group, I had lost my right to choose and exit for the next 72 hours, precisely the two powerful rights that customers have.

In the end, the outcome was quite good. After dinner, Ruangou Mall successfully formed the group, and the activation code was already in my email. Ruangou Mall saved me 300 yuan in just 7 hours, allowing me to continue eating pork buns for breakfast next semester.

# Where there is no hay

Ruangou’s group efficiency was delightful. Perhaps in the future, I will continue to purchase software that I long for from Ruangou Mall, as their products have already dominated in speed, price, and stability (which needs long-term usage to assess).

However, I still believe that undisclosed commercial terms are not good or ethical business practices. The refund if the group times out is good, but not being able to exit before forming a group and not publicizing it seems a bit domineering. It deprives customers of the most crucial right as proposed by Albert Hirschman in his famous work “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty” - the right to exit.

An unsuspecting customer, under the premise of not knowing that the goods purchased are presale or futures, defaults to the possibility of canceling the purchase and reclaiming the money if they haven’t received the goods. This rule does not apply in Ruangou Mall’s code of conduct.

Perhaps this is done to prevent more users from exiting after joining a group to increase the success rate, but clearly, doing so may disappoint some customers who desire more power and freedom.