Jiang Cenglan didn’t get up until noon and, as soon as he turned on his mobile phone, he was stunned by a transfer record. After staring at the exaggerated string of zeros for a long time, he finally decided to click on the voice message that was only ten seconds long.
“Good morning, Xiao Yun. Here’s the deposit. I’ll ask my lawyer to draft the contract and send it to you later.”
It was Li Que’s voice. Slightly hoarse, with a strong lazy taste of just getting up… Jiang Cenglan’s bones turned crisp when he heard it. He could even guess that his goddess had been a smoker for at least a decade, simply judging by the way his voice sounded in the morning.
And yet, he forgot when, and frankly speaking, if they added each other on WeChat… Maybe Li Que remembered his account from when he desperately pushed his mobile phone in front of him, eager to prove his innocence… Jiang Cenglan looked at that greeting message and thought.
Generally speaking, it was customary in the industry for a deposit to be around 20% of the total amount… Using a bit of brain power to calculate it…
“One million!” Jiang Cenglan took a breath of cold air and woke up completely.
Li Que intended to pay him one million to design one outfit for his Christmas charity dinner.
How… Virtuous and capable was he?!
Did he even deserve it?!
Little Jiang got up from bed, washed his face with cold water, and promptly sat on his bathroom floor, expressing that what happened yesterday was nothing short of a dream. Although the ups and downs were like riding a roller coaster, the best part was that Li Que didn’t mess around with him. He really planned to commission him as a fashion designer!
Even when they didn’t exchange half a sentence about a concept or idea.
And yet…
Jiang Cenglan blushed while remembering that specific set of body measurements he had written down yesterday.
Chest, 105 cm…
Waist, 70 cm…
Nope. No. he couldn’t think about it any further!
In the end, he purged those unholy thoughts from his mind, only sending back a super cute emoticon. Then, he typed solemnly.
[Waiting for the wind to blow[mfn]Jiang Cenglan’s WeChat nickname, 等着落山风吹过, Děng zhuó luòshān fēng chuīguò- literal translation: “Waiting for the downslope wind to blow through”. A lyric that apparently appears in a song by Lai Weifeng, a Chinese indie/pop singer-songwriter, but I can’t find it on the Internet[/mfn]]: Good morning! There seems to be a problem with the amount.
And, surprisingly enough, he got a reply in seconds.
[Toy Story][mfn]玩具总动员, literally the Chinese name for the Toy Story franchise[/mfn]: Indeed, I forgot to include the customization fee.
Followed by a second transfer.
Jiang Cenglan was shocked! That’s… That’s not what he meant, eh! He meant to say that it was too much!
He was still a student who had not graduated yet, with no concrete work portfolio, let alone a resume. How could he dare accept that Li Que planned to pay him a fee worthy of a luxury apparel brand?! His hands were still shaking because of the initial money transfer, afraid that soon enough, his vision would also go darker and darker, unable to write anything at all. In the end, he hurriedly sent a voice message:
[Waiting for the wind to blow]: Richard, I meant to say that you gave me too much! I’m glad you trust my ability, but I can’t accept this!
This time, however, Li Que’s reply failed to come in seconds. Bored, Jiang Cenglan waited around for a while, only receiving a message after he finished eating.
[Toy Story]: You deserve that much.
[Toy Story]: If you have any objections, let’s talk in person since we also need to meet and discuss the design.
………………………..
For the next week, Jiang Cenglan’s schedule was super full. There was still a long time until Christmas, but perhaps his professors wanted to take a break early, coming together to drown their classes in assignments. Little Jiang was so busy that he couldn’t even cook for himself, simply because his lunch break was not long enough for him to go back to his apartment. Fortunately, some clubs started the spontaneous distribution of sandwiches at the school gate, allowing Jiang Cenglan to barely survive.
One night when he came home, he was even blocked by his roommate at the door, not allowed entrance into his own apartment. Then, his friend even had the guts to ask him what was wrong, with a sad and angry face.
“What do you mean?” Jiang Cenglan asked, feeling confused.
“There’s something wrong with your attitude…” his roommate muttered. “You’re acting so perfunctory to me!”
“What’s the matter?” Jiang Cenglan continued to ask, filled with endless patience. However, he was tired. Tired enough that he contemplated falling asleep on the little mat in front of his apartment’s door.
“We haven’t eaten together for several days, you know! Are you going to move out and then disappear on me without saying a word?”
Jiang Cenglan could only… Laugh. The location of that apartment was quite good, so the rent was also quite expensive. Even when shared by two people, it was still… A lot. Jiang Cenglan never told his roommate that in order not to “disappear on him without saying a word”, he was busy saving every single penny, unwilling to even eat at his university’s cafeteria. To please his friend, he took out his mobile phone and ordered a pizza, entertaining him until the wee hours of the morning.
After all, alone in a foreign country, friends were really important. Betrayed in both life and love, he cherished the presence of another person in his life, someone who cared and wanted to see him succeed.
To put it plainly, he was simply grateful for the light his friend left on for him, on the night his entire life turned to darkness[mfn]I see this poor soul still doesn’t have a name. If this goes on for the next, let’s say, 5 chapters, I’m going to start referring to him as Lao Shiyou, literally “Old Roommate” in Chinese:))[/mfn].
Early the next morning and just before dawn, Jiang Cenglan hurried out again. The reason he had been so busy lately was not just because of schoolwork, but also because he started working part-time. As a summary of his past days, Zhang Ruien completely fell off the face of the earth, and he also did not dare to accept Li Que’s money transfers, allowing them to be returned automatically.
Therefore, his recent economic situation was tragic. To not starve, he had to find something to do. Luckily, the heavenly-sent senior sister who previously gave him proof of his boyfriend’s marriage had started a production facility in the past half a year, asking Jiang Cenglan to work as her assistant. As early as a couple of years ago, she had already asked him for a collaboration, but he always refused. The reason for that was plain and simple. She was a rich second-generation and her family already operated a clothing factory in the coastal area. For her, gaining a university degree was just plating gold on an already expensive family name, and inviting Jiang Cenglan for a “collaboration” simply meant buying his designs and not crediting him as a designer.
If it were only about getting a job, Jiang Cenglan would rather work for a reputable fashion brand and not a mass-production label. After all, associating with the “renowned” designer Ryan Zhang opened up his eyes and broadened his horizons so, like any young aspiring designer, he too longed for a more gorgeous and broader stage.
However, dreams were dreams, and life was life. In his current situation, Jiang Cenglan could no longer afford to have complaints, calling his senior and asking for a job. However, she was a very spiritual woman. Hearing him beg now, after countless previous refusals, she just raised her eyebrows and stared at him. In the end, she guessed there was something wrong with his financial situation, not asking much.
“I’ll give you a high salary,” his new boss said with a smile. “It really helps a lot that you’re willing to come.”
Of course, Jiang Cenglan understood her meaning. “Working” for her simply meant exchanging designs for survival, unable to put his name on his drafts or come forward as the real designer, doomed to see his life’s work mass-produced and thrown into the rapid waters of the fast-fashion industry.
And yet, he readily agreed. He was very grateful that someone was willing to put their faith in him. Therefore, whenever he was free, he would run to her studio to work.
That morning, it was a relatively free day for him, with classes starting at two o’clock in the afternoon. Being serious as usual, Jiang Cenglan hurried to work, trying his best to repay his senior for her help in difficult times[mfn]I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling this “senior sister” doesn’t have a name either:)) Maybe it’s a respectful thing, since she’s older than the MC he’s not allowed to refer to her using her name, therefore, her having one is not important for the story :))[/mfn]. However, his new boss was easily irritable, so, by the time he arrived at the studio, she was already pointing at several interns while roaring.
Let alone the new kids, even Jiang Cenglan started shivering in fear.
Noticing that he was coming, his senior sister’s mood eased a little, quickly giving him a nice, fragrant cup of hot cocoa. “You’re here! I’m going crazy with them!”, she said angrily. “If the professor hadn’t suggested that I take interns, I would have never wanted to suffer like this!”
Jiang Cenglan nodded but in the end, he didn’t comment much. Her entrepreneurial endeavors were fully supported by the university’s teaching staff, giving her a lot of help and advantages. However, she also had to listen to them in turn, providing opportunities for undergraduate students to practice.
Looking at her messy appearance, with a head full of unruly hair that was gathered into a clumsy ball and deep, purple dark circles, Jiang Cenglan could only guess that she was thoroughly tortured by the inexperienced interns.
It was at that moment that Jiang Cenglan received a notification from his classmates, informing him that his afternoon classes were canceled. As it turned out, his professor caught a cold, rescheduling the class for the next week. “I have nothing left for today,” he said. “Leave it to me and I’ll help you.”
“Great!” His boss looked so happy that she couldn’t wait to jump and kiss him.
…………………..
In the early days of starting a business, their brand chose the somewhat trendy niche of streetwear, preferring to focus on producing T-shirts, jeans, and jackets to open up the market. Since her family already owned a garment factory and had connections to various manufacturers from all over the world, Jiang Cenglan’s senior could easily import merchandise to the United States, at a very low price. Therefore, the base of their little studio was working with basic, white T-shirts shipped from China, the most flawless and successful product they could easily customize with embroidery and original prints.
In fact, the reason she was angry before was one intern’s clumsiness in operating the very expensive printing machine, causing waste. Nevertheless, printing was not Jiang Cenglan’s responsibility. The draft he sold her was to be introduced in the next batch, an embroidered bomber jacket inspired by the Night Flight, one of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novels[mfn]Night Flight, published as Vol de nuit in 1931, is the second novel of French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of the famous The Little Prince. It tells the story of a pilot[/mfn].
The main design was concentrated on the back of the jacket, depicting the effect of a night and day sky that told the story of a happy ending breaking through darkness. And yet, since it was a double-sided embroidery, some of the elements needed the attention of a master, such as the stars, sun, and clouds. (Double-sided embroidery, also known as two-faced embroidery, is a technique in which stitching takes place on both sides of a single transparent silk fabric. The design shows on both sides (front and reverse), with the artist skillfully hiding all the loose threads and knots. Such a piece is normally mounted on a wooden frame as a screen, and one really can’t tell which side is the front or the back). Embroidery was never his senior sister’s strong point, since finding masters to learn from was way more difficult in the United States than in China, but Jiang Cenglan was quite skilled at it after learning it as a neat little hobby while still home.
So the most difficult job fell on him and, for that same reason, Jiang Cenglan also got a considerable bonus.
Fortunately, the area that needed to be embroidered was relatively small, so Jiang Cenglan could easily finish the first batch in a week, while also taking his studies into account. But it was still a tedious job, consuming a lot of his time and effort. By the time he was done with just one, it was already past eight o’clock in the evening.
Jiang Cenglan looked up and found that the other employees had already left, leaving only him and his boss to close the day. Seeing him get up, showing signs of wanting to leave, his senior quickly took out her mobile phone and ordered takeaway.
“Thank you for your hard work! When the fashion show is over tomorrow afternoon, I’ll give you a big red envelope!”, his senior said while distributing pieces of fried chicken, giving Jiang Cenglan the biggest one.
“I also have to go to the fashion show?” Jiang Cenglan asked with his head fully burrowed in his plate, unwilling to leave the comforting embrace of his first, actual meal in a long time.
His senior mumbled something, but being distracted, he did not hear it clearly. And even if he did, whatever she said wasn’t the truth anyway. After all, she was too ashamed to admit loudly that the reason she wanted him to participate in their brand’s fashion show was to save the model’s fee…
He was handsome, okay?! As a business owner, it was her job to take advantage of all the available resources… And it was also a pity to hide such a pretty face.
T.N: As usual, up to five chapters in advance are available here. Happy reading!
……………………..
As usual, up to five chapters in advance are available here. Happy reading!
