As soon as she got home, she received a call from Lili, who said that Su Mo had thrown a huge tantrum and vividly described the scene.
Jiang Jianhuan was inexplicably amused and chatted with her for a while. After ending the call, he looked at the quiet house and became depressed again. The smile on his face gradually disappeared, and he returned to his original state.
In the years since the breakup, I've always felt wronged, but how can only one person get hurt in a relationship between two people?
The next day at work, Jiang Jianhuan was somewhat absent-minded. At lunchtime, she went to eat with Fang Xiaoli. Fang Xiaoli called her name several times before Jiang Jianhuan suddenly came back to her senses.
"Oh, what's wrong?"
She opened her eyes, looking somewhat bewildered. Fang Xiaoli rolled her eyes helplessly and repeated herself.
"I'm asking you how your entry is going. The deadline is fast approaching."
"It's alright, I have a few ideas, but I'm not particularly satisfied with any of them," Jiang Jianhuan said softly, fiddling with the food on her plate.
"Me too, I don't have any particularly satisfactory ideas..." Fang Xiaoli said, resting her chin on her hand, her voice muffled.
"Does 'emergence' refer to the revival of all things in spring, or the moment when new things are born, or more broadly, to all things full of vitality?" She looked at Jiang Jianhuan with confusion and distress, her face full of struggle.
"Hmm... I think so too." Jiang Jianhuan paused what she was doing, thought for a moment, and then spoke.
"But I personally prefer the imagery. Imagine, for example, the first ray of light slowly emerging from the quiet, vast black sea before dawn, soft and clean, the sun's half-face peeking out from the horizon like a newborn baby."
Jiang Jianhuan was lost in thought, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face.
As soon as she finished speaking, a sudden inspiration struck her. She quickly cleared away the plates in front of her, stood up, and greeted Fang Xiaoli.
"Xiao Li, I've finished eating. I'm going back to the company now."
Chapter 31
Jiang Jianhuan had an inspiration halfway through his speech.
In her vision, if the colors of the sunrise over the sea and the sky were combined, the whole series would be beautiful and would have a high chance of standing out.
As soon as she got back to her office, she turned on her computer and immersed herself in her creative work.
The competition requires five outfits, a complete collection, and in addition to individual garment pattern diagrams, a large color illustration, along with a description of the design theme and concept.
Normally, if everything goes smoothly, it takes about three to five days to complete the entire set of drawings. However, Jiang Jianhuan got stuck on the style of a coat and struggled with it for several days before finally settling on a result.
As a result, by the time the final design was completed, there was only one day left before the competition deadline.
When designers in the company participate in competitions or have any major designs, they will privately show the drawings to Jiang Yuan for review, asking her to check for any flaws, shortcomings, and areas that need to be corrected.
Jiang Jianhuan printed out her design drafts and went to the printer to pick them up when she found Xu Xue there, organizing the newly printed materials.
"Is this the entry for this competition?" She looked curious as Jiang Jianhuan approached, her gaze involuntarily following her movements to the newly printed drawings.
Xu Xue didn't register this time because she was the kind of person Jiang Yuan described—someone who participates every year but always ends up losing. Disheartened, she decided to focus her efforts on designing new products for the next competition and simply not register.
"Yes, I got stuck a little halfway through, so I only finished it today." Jiang Jianhuan's expression relaxed a bit after resolving a major issue. Xu Xue's gaze was fixed on the design draft in her hand, but her eyes widened slightly.
"Jianhuan, your design... looks just like Fang Xiaoli's." She exclaimed softly. Jiang Jianhuan froze instantly, looking up at her in disbelief.
"What did you say?"
Xu Xue was also startled by her expression, swallowed hard, and quickly said.
“A few days ago, I went to deliver some materials to Director Jiang and accidentally saw Fang Xiaoli’s work on her desk. Her style is somewhat similar to yours…” Xu Xue looked at the drawings in her hand, examined them carefully, and said cautiously and hesitantly.
"Both of your outfits feature sunrise and the sea, and the color tones are somewhat similar, but yours is a bit lighter and softer... The key point is that both of your outfits have elements of sunrise and seawater on them, so at first glance, they do look very similar."
Jiang Jianhuan was numb, her mind heavy, not knowing what to think. She unconsciously clenched the design draft in her hand, her gums aching from biting so hard.
Xu Xue called out to her with some concern.
"Jianhuan? Are you alright?"
Jiang Jianhuan seemed to awaken from a dream.
"I'm fine, thank you." Her face was a little pale, and her voice was very soft.
"I'm going to find her."
After saying that, Jiang Jianhuan immediately turned around and walked towards Fang Xiaoli's seat. His thin back seemed to carry a sense of determination. Xu Xue hesitated for a few seconds, but still followed him with worry.
Fang Xiaoli was busy at her computer when she saw Jiang Jianhuan walk over expressionlessly. A hint of obvious panic flashed in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and put on her usual demeanor.
"Jianhuan, what's wrong?"
As soon as she asked the question, Jiang Jianhuan slammed a pile of design drafts onto her table with great force, attracting the attention of many people around her.
Fang Xiaoli tried her best to calm herself down, and heard Jiang Jianhuan's cold question.
"Can you explain to me why our entries are so similar?"
Fang Xiaoli's gaze fell frantically on the drawings she had thrown down. The design drafts were scattered haphazardly on the table. Her eyes swept over them, and after a great deal of panic, her mind raced through a thousand thoughts before finally settling into a resolute determination.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Fang Xiaoli looked up, her face calm, her eyes resolute.
“My design draft was completed last week and reviewed by Director Jiang. Every step of the process is documented. I would like to ask you why you drew a work that is so similar to mine.”
Jiang Jianhuan has always held a kind attitude towards others, and she has always believed that human nature is inherently good. However, at this moment, a famous quote from Mr. Lu Xun really applies.
'I have always been inclined to assume the worst of the Chinese, but I never expected, nor believed, that they could be so vile and cruel.'
Just like human nature, you would never imagine it could be this disgusting until you encounter it.