Although Zhou Jiaheng did not answer the question, he had unspeakable bitterness in his heart. After all, who could bear more unseen resentment than him, the personal assistant?
As soon as he left the conference room, Zhou Jiaheng found a secluded corner and made a phone call to his subordinates.
"Has the news spread? Does Miss Jiang know about Junyi withdrawing his investment and the boss assaulting someone?"
...
"They've dispersed? Then why hasn't there been any movement at all?"
...
"Did you go out today, ma'am? You didn't return the ring, did you?"
...
After finishing the call, Zhou Jiaheng felt even more uneasy, completely baffled as to why his young mistress was being so difficult to appease this time. His steps toward the CEO's office grew increasingly heavy, his mood as heavy as if he were going to a funeral.
In the week that followed, Cen Sen sent four or five gifts to Ji Mingshu.
Ji Mingshu accepted the package without hesitation, but did not reply at all.
Zhou Jiaheng couldn't help but subtly remind Cen Sen that this might not be sincere enough. He was sending gifts quite frequently, but he could at least show his face... or at the very least make a phone call.
But Cen Sen only glanced at him coldly and did not take any action.
Zhou Jiaheng was unaware that these past few nights, Cen Sen would drive to Xinggang International, park across the street, and quietly watch the window that was sometimes dark and sometimes lit with a warm yellow light.
Each time he stopped there, he seemed to be able to figure things out. But on a deeper level, subconsciously, he didn't want to admit it or expose it.
Initially, he didn't have these feelings for Ji Mingshu.
This week, Ji Mingshu meticulously organized her past works and compiled her academic qualifications and honors during her school years into a beautiful resume, which she then posted online to take on interior design work as an independent designer.
But as Gu Kaiyang said, the design direction she does actually overlaps a lot with her social circle.
People in this social circle, without an introduction from an acquaintance, usually only seek out more famous designers to complete their work.
She hung it up for a week, but not a single person came to ask about it.
Late at night, Ji Mingshu squatted in front of the computer, feeling somewhat dejected.
Throughout the week, the urge to spend money was lurking deep inside her, but she resisted it all. Yet, her balance was visibly dwindling day by day.
"Making money is so hard," "Being an ordinary person is really tough," "I don't want to work hard anymore, I'm just a beautiful little canary," "Waaah, the new Chanel bag is so pretty," "I'll reluctantly forgive Cen Sen when he calls" and other such thoughts kept attacking her mind, making her feel extremely tired.
Gu Kaiyang was exhausted from work and went straight to sleep when he got home. Ji Mingshu sat in front of the computer for a while, then suddenly got up, put his door card and phone in his pocket, and quietly slipped out the door.
Ji Mingshu had rarely been to a convenience store before, but recently she has become quite adept at it, exchanging smiles with familiar cashiers.
She bought a small cup of vegetarian oden and a salted egg yolk ice cream at the convenience store, then sat on a stone bench by the roadside, enjoying the night breeze while munching on her food alone.
The streetlights cast intermittent warm yellow glows on the ground from the treetops. After finishing the last spinach, she peeled open an ice cream and took bites here and there, suddenly missing Cen Sen a little.
It had only been ten days or so, but it felt like it had been longer than the two years he had spent in Australia.
She didn't know why she was thinking about him. He was always so cold, only making her pork ribs when he wanted to sleep with her, and he even complained about her designs, making her kowtow to the Potala Palace.
But I just couldn't stop thinking about it.
Halfway through her ice cream, Ji Mingshu felt a bit cold, but it would be a waste not to finish the remaining half. She got up, intending to continue eating it at home, where she wouldn't have to be exposed to the wind.
But the moment she stood up, she seemed to sense something, and subconsciously looked across the street, her heart unexpectedly skipping a beat.
Before she could find anything, a message suddenly came in on WeChat from Chrischou, a Chinese designer she hadn't contacted in a long time.
chrischou: [Shu, are you available recently?]
chrischou: [I'm having a show in Beijing soon. The Milan runway you designed for me is the most inspired stage I've seen in recent years, and it perfectly matches my work. I hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with you again.]
chrischou: [This is information related to this show. Looking forward to your reply soon.]
Ji Mingshu perked up and opened the attachment message sent by chrischou.
Before she could even look at anything else closely, her gaze was fixed precisely on the show venue, and suddenly everything went black.
Seriously?
Junyi Huazhang?
Chapter 45
Ji Mingshu slurped down the remaining half of the ice cream, his mouth puffed out like a little pufferfish. Shivering from the cold, he looked at his phone and hurriedly ran back to his apartment.
Cen Sen sat in the car, his gaze following her as she slowly moved. Only when she entered the building did he slightly withdraw his gaze and get out of the car.
He leaned against the car, looking up at a small window upstairs where a faint glow was once again. He suddenly remembered how Ji Mingshu had been sitting on the stone bench, eating oden with such seriousness, and his eyes unconsciously darkened.
His canary seemed to have quietly opened its cage and was peeking out from the doorway.
Ji Mingshu had long since put that strange feeling out of her mind. Back in her apartment, she rubbed her hands and touched her arms, then shivered uncontrollably.
However, she was in high spirits at the moment. She put on a coat, sat back in front of the computer, and secretly put on Gu Kaiyang's black-rimmed glasses. She quickly got into work mode.
Christchou was born in a small southern city. His father was a painter, and his mother was a very famous socialite in Shanghai at the end of the last century. Their marriage was considered a marriage of convenience for the woman. However, the man became famous in middle age, his net worth skyrocketed, and his paintings sold well at home and abroad. In the 1990s, his painting "Paper and Gold" was sold for nearly 10 million yuan at Sotheby's autumn auction.
So when Chrischou was in his early teens, his father took the whole family to immigrate to La La in search of long-term development.
To this day, their family has indeed become a well-known figure in the Chinese community in North America.
Christchou herself is also outstanding, and can be considered one of the most shining new stars in the fashion industry in recent years.
He is a typical academic designer, a graduate of Parsons. During his time at Parsons, he interned at luxury brands under the LVMH Group and the most authoritative fashion magazine in the United States. After graduation, he worked for the LVMH Group, but later resigned to create his own eponymous brand, Chirschou. The following year, he held his first show at New York Fashion Week, and subsequently held shows at all four major fashion weeks, receiving a good response and seeing sales soar.
His color-blocked t-shirts went viral on Facebook and Instagram a couple of years ago, with almost every trendsetter and fashion blogger both domestically and internationally owning one. Annual fashion magazine awards also consistently ranked his color-blocked t-shirts as the most popular street style items, and Ji Mingshu even won an entire collection at one point.
He returned to China for this fashion show because of the strong invitation from organizations such as the Fashion Design Association, which also provided him with substantial sponsorship and support. Furthermore, he believes that this season's designs need to be presented in the land where he grew up to achieve the most fitting effect.
Before carefully reviewing the relevant information, Ji Mingshu was very surprised and puzzled by the fact that Junyi Huazhang was the venue for the grand show. When she went upstairs, she even had the thought that "Cen Sen arranged it."
After all, there are more than one or two suitable venues for shows in the capital, so why insist on arranging it in a hotel like Junyi Huazhang, where the venue rental is extremely expensive?
After reviewing the information, her doubts were largely dispelled. The sponsoring organizations were wealthy and powerful, and their executives all had close ties with Beijing Construction. Following the principle of keeping the profits within the family, choosing Junyi Huazhang was quite reasonable.
Moreover, the Huazhang Hotel on Huating Road has four buildings, with a glass pavilion and lawn in the middle for exhibitions. In terms of venue size and showroom arrangement, it is very suitable.
It can be found at Junyi...
Doesn't that mean she's asking for trouble? I hope Cen Sen won't misunderstand and think she's trying to make peace.
Ji Mingshu rested her chin on her hand in front of the computer and thought for a while before finally replying to chrischou.
There was no other way; the opportunity was too rare, and she simply couldn't give it up.
Chrischou had worked with Ji Mingshu before and had a lot of confidence in her. When she replied "okay," he didn't ask for a trial draft and finalized the deal directly. The two chatted online for a while and then arranged to meet in person to discuss the details.
Before the show was released, the designer's work was kept highly confidential, and only the designer herself could negotiate with her.
Moreover, after showing her the relevant design drafts and design concepts, she also had to take the items back with her.
The meeting was arranged directly at Junyi Huazhang, and Ji Mingshu had no way to object, because Chrischou stayed at Huazhang directly when he returned to China. After they finished talking, they still had to go see the actual venue. So, it was a very appropriate place to meet.
Before leaving the hotel, Ji Mingshu nervously changed several outfits. Once inside the executive lounge, she was still quite uneasy, afraid that Cen Sen might suddenly appear from some corner, and the two of them would stare at each other in awkward silence.
But as it turns out, she was overthinking it.
The meeting lasted from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Chrischou even kindly invited her to have dinner at the hotel, but Cen Sen never showed up.
That makes sense. Junyi owns so many hotels and usually works in the headquarters building, so how could he possibly be here by such a coincidence?
On the way back, Ji Mingshu couldn't tell whether she felt lost or relieved. Her lipstick had mostly worn off, and she wasn't in the mood to touch it up.
For the next week, Ji Mingshu spent her time in her apartment working on her show plans, and she was particularly strict and impartial in her work.
Gu Kaiyang and his magazine were very interested in Chrischou's big show, but Ji Mingshu didn't reveal a single piece of information to her, the deputy editor-in-chief. She was always glued to her computer like she was guarding against a thief, and she even called it upholding her professional ethics.
Enraged, Gu Kaiyang grabbed her by the neck and shook her violently, saying he would pack up and kick this heartless woman out of the house.
Ji Mingshu wasn't intimidated at all, because after taking on this design project, she would have money!
The level of fashion design in China is still in a long and arduous stage that needs to be explored, especially in the high-end fashion design sector. It is not easy for Chinese designers to gain international recognition. For someone of Christchou's caliber to be able to hold a show in China, relevant organizations and institutions naturally provide strong support.
Chirschou's show budget is a whopping eight figures, not just a small number like one or two.
Compared to the usual post-show sales, spending so much money on a fashion show can be described as disregarding costs.
To create a fashion show worth eight figures, the compensation for collaborating designer Ji Mingshu was naturally very generous.
However, this generous reward is not easy to earn.
Ji Mingshu and Chrischou spent a whole week working tirelessly on the design plan alone.
After the plan was finalized and the actual setup phase began, Ji Mingshu would personally supervise the process on-site.
"No, a little to the left, a little more to the left... That's enough!"
The capital city has entered early winter, and the wind outside is chilly, feeling like a cold knife cutting into flesh.
Although Ji Mingshu is not a female celebrity, she has long since developed the same style of prioritizing style over warmth as female celebrities. In the near-zero temperature, she wore only a thin black off-shoulder sweater, with a thin camel-colored trench coat on top. Her slender, fair fingers were exposed, and her knuckles were red from the cold.
This is her fourth consecutive day directing the set design for the catwalk at the Huazhang Hotel on Huating Road.
Although chirschou is Chinese, his style has always been very Western. This time, he unusually incorporated cheongsam and Suzhou embroidery elements into his work. One reason was to cater to the huge Chinese market commercially, in addition to design, and the other was to give his mother a birthday surprise.
His mother lived in Shanghai for many years and loved all kinds of cheongsams when she was young. His early spring collection this season can also be seen as a gift to his mother.
Ji Mingshu learned that his parents had been loving for many years, and before deciding on the theme of the show, he even looked up his father's painting collection to study.
The final theme, "Debauchery and Extravagance," was chosen to echo his father's most famous oil painting of the same name.
The main show venue was designed by Ji Mingshu as a stranded ship from old Shanghai. The hotel's original waterside pavilion and staircase were preserved and slightly modified to create a staggered, interconnected design that extends all the way to the top of the ship, becoming the main catwalk for the models to walk on during the show.
In addition, in order to create an immersive sensory experience for the audience, Ji Mingshu also collaborated with chirschou to design an immersive video art installation of the same name as the show's theme, creating a completely enclosed visual space in the outdoor area of Junyi.
Ji Mingshu also put a lot of effort into the lighting. In order to achieve the gorgeous effect in the design draft and highlight the theme of the show, a series of lighting fixtures were specially ordered from a lighting designer abroad and flown back to China. The lighting set alone cost several million yuan.
At this moment, Ji Mingshu was also in charge of the lighting setup. These things were extremely precious and could not be allowed to go wrong in the slightest. She also could not allow the things that had cost a lot of money to be not placed in their proper positions.
"Change A1 to A4. C1 is not positioned correctly. It's not accurate at all. Please reinstall it." She stood in the cold wind and directed the workers. Seeing that the workers had not installed it correctly for a long time, she had to step forward herself. "Here, yes, yes, a little bit to the left."
Seeing that the position was right, she took two steps back to take a closer look.
Before she could nod in satisfaction, the worker's expression suddenly turned frightened. "Watch out—!"
Before he finished speaking, a crystal chandelier shattered on the spot where Ji Mingshu was standing, followed by a series of small cracking sounds.