7 – Earthly Fairy
Su Qinghe had been at work for three days and had spent all three days reviewing documents. On Thursday morning, Chen Ran called her into the office again.
Sitting upright across from Chen Ran, Su Qinghe gazed at her with calm, gentle eyes, quietly waiting for her instructions.
A slight smile curved at the corners of Chen Ran’s mouth as she asked warmly, “Qinghe, you should have finished reading all the documents I gave you, right?”
“Yes, I’ve finished them all.”
In fact, Su Qinghe had finished them long ago. Since Chen Ran hadn’t assigned anything else, she had gone over them several more times.
Becoming more familiar with the material certainly couldn’t hurt.
“Very good.” Chen Ran nodded lightly. “Next, you can officially take on your work. Currently, our department is designing the styles for next summer, and in early December, we’ll have the new collection showcase.”
Su Qinghe listened to Chen Ran speak, occasionally lowering her head to take notes.
A fashion brand’s new collection showcase is also called an ordering conference.
At that time, VVIP guests of the brand, celebrities of the fashion circle, and franchisees from various regions would be invited to view and order the new styles.
Chen Ran continued, “This season, you’ll be responsible for designing the ‘Blossoming Hills’ series. This series uses floral elements as its main theme—develop your design ideas from there. If you have any questions, feel free to communicate with me at any time.”
“Okay, I understand.” Su Qinghe replied softly.
Walking out of Chen Ran’s office, Su Qinghe returned to her seat and began to get into work mode.
As a fashion designer, besides understanding fashion trends, she also needed to know the preferences of the brand’s majority of customers. Only by being fully prepared could she handle everything with ease.
During lunch, Li Jiajia suddenly mentioned something that surprised Su Qinghe.
“Qinghe, I overheard some not-so-nice things.” Li Jiajia paused, then continued, “About you.”
Su Qinghe frowned slightly, swallowed the food in her mouth, and asked in confusion, “Hmm? What did they say about me?”
In the few days she had been at work, Su Qinghe had kept a very low profile, greeting colleagues when she saw them.
Aside from Li Jiajia, she had barely exchanged words with any other colleagues.
“This morning in the break room, I heard people gossiping about you, saying that the director letting you start designing so quickly means you’re probably someone with connections. They also said things like, ‘Those who studied abroad really do get different treatment…'”
Li Jiajia was straightforward by nature. She thought Su Qinghe was a nice person, so she didn’t hide anything and told her everything in full detail.
Su Qinghe smiled calmly. “Have you ever seen someone with connections who takes the subway to work?”
Li Jiajia quickly said, “Of course I know you’re not someone with connections, but some people just have too many schemes and like to make wild assumptions.”
“Mm, I understand. Let them talk.” Su Qinghe said lightly, as if it were nothing.
Words were on other people’s lips—Su Qinghe couldn’t control what others chose to say. But she preferred to prove herself through her abilities.
Seeing that Su Qinghe didn’t care much, Li Jiajia didn’t say anything more. Saying too much would inevitably make it seem like she was tattling.
Half a month later, at the department meeting, the several design drafts Su Qinghe submitted received public praise from Chen Ran.
Every designer had their own preferences, and Su Qinghe was particularly skilled at incorporating Chinese retro elements into her designs.
The styles she designed featured clean, crisp lines and fresh, elegant colors, appearing gentle yet grand, with an indescribable power of appeal.
This was the first time Su Qinghe had showcased her talent in the department. After seeing her design works, the voices of doubt gradually faded away.
Su Qinghe was adept at her work, but whenever she happened to run into Lu Yanci in the company, she would still avoid him from a distance.
Little did she know, every move she made had long since fallen under Lu Yanci’s watchful eyes.
……
The weather grew colder and colder, and before they knew it, it was already early December.
In the grand banquet hall of the Caston Hotel, the “Moon Slumber” new product showcase was being held. The venue was exquisitely decorated, dreamlike and beautiful, with the runway flanked on both sides by a sea of fresh flowers.
Dazzling lights followed the models’ footsteps as they moved, and the audience below was spellbound, feasting their eyes on the pleasing runway show.
Backstage, however, was in complete chaos. A model had returned from the runway and, while descending the stairs, accidentally slipped and twisted her ankle.
Chen Ran was at her wit’s end—at a moment’s notice like this, who could possibly fill in?
Suddenly, her gaze landed on Su Qinghe.
Su Qinghe’s facial features were smooth and elegant, with a pair of slender, lively phoenix eyes beneath gently arched brows. A slight curve of her lips revealed shallow dimples on her cheeks, giving her a gentle, graceful temperament.
Her figure was tall and well-proportioned—she was absolutely a standard beauty of the Jiangnan region.
Even standing beside professional models, she was someone who could make heads turn.
Chen Ran walked over to Su Qinghe, grabbed her arm, and pleaded, “Qinghe, this is an emergency. Please help fill in for her.”
Su Qinghe was utterly astonished. Her eyes widened as she said in disbelief, “Director, this won’t work, will it? I have no runway experience.”
“There’s no other choice right now. If we’re one person short, the entire rhythm of the show will be thrown off.” Chen Ran patted the back of Su Qinghe’s hand and encouraged her, “Qinghe, I believe you can do it.”
Su Qinghe: “…” No, I really can’t.
No matter what, Su Qinghe was pushed out by Chen Ran anyway.
After receiving a brief training session on runway walking backstage, Su Qinghe changed into a long white dress, its hem embroidered with iris patterns in silver thread.
She stepped onto the runway in high heels.
The lights shone down on Su Qinghe. She struggled to suppress the urge to close her eyes, took a deep breath, fixed her gaze straight ahead, and walked steadily across the white carpet.
Su Qinghe made her way forward slowly, and all around her fell silent. Between her every smile and every glance, time seemed to stand still.
Her stride wasn’t as uniform as the other models’—instead, it was relaxed and natural.
Pure white draped over her figure, her waist-length hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. On her beautiful face was a gentleness that was just right.
She was like a snow lotus on a distant mountain—beautiful in an elegant, untainted way that made one dare not profane her.
Su Qinghe reached the end of the runway and stopped at the designated spot, where she needed to remain for ten seconds.
Meeting Lu Yanci’s deep, unfathomable eyes, Su Qinghe froze for a brief moment.
The next instant, she quickly snapped back to her senses. With a turn, the flowing, ethereal white gauze hem of her skirt lifted with her movement as she gracefully departed.
Ji Yan, who was sitting beside Lu Yanci, couldn’t help but let out a whistle. With great interest, he said, “I didn’t expect there to be a celestial beauty like this in the mortal world. I’ll go backstage in a bit and get to know her.”
“She…” Lu Yanci’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, concealing the ripples within. He pressed his lips together and said in a low, languid tone: “You can’t touch her.”
Ji Yan teased with a grin, “Yan Ci, don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to her?”
Lu Yanci did not deny it.
Ji Yan was slightly taken aback—not denying it was as good as admitting it.