Not long after Jiang Jingnian left Twilight Café, the women who had been crowding around the bar to watch the excitement and hoping to ask him for his contact information began drifting away one by one.
They had all seen Shen Zhihui’s face.
After comparing themselves to her, they knew better than to make fools of themselves.
Since the rich young master already had a beautiful woman waiting for him, there was no need for them to throw themselves at him.
As for Shen Zhihui, she hugged her design portfolio, her pretty little face scrunched up as she rubbed her aching brow. She glanced at the half-finished black coffee Jiang Jingnian had left on the table, and an unprecedented chill and suffocating sensation suddenly crept up her back.
They were both adults. Shen Zhihui knew perfectly well that Jiang Jingnian couldn’t have wasted part of his afternoon just to tease her.
Could Jiang Jingnian really be looking to have a little fun with her?
She’d seen the rich young masters’ games of seduction before. The women always ended up badly hurt, because they and men like him were never on equal footing.
Should she find a way to protect herself?
After thinking it over, Shen Zhihui looked away and headed back to the design company.
As soon as she arrived, Old Witch Sun Yuzhu was already waiting for her in the Qipao Design Department.
She sat on the office sofa with her arms crossed, looking cold and haughty.
The moment Shen Zhihui entered, before Guoguo could signal to her, Sun Yuzhu lifted her chin. Her heavily made-up, scheming face immediately broke into a calculating smile. “Designer Shen, I hear you just landed a major client?”
“Was it someone from Jiang Group?” Sun Yuzhu had just heard that Shen Zhihui had gone to meet a client privately.
Could the client have been Jiang Jingnian, the big shot in the venture-capital world?
If it really was Jiang Jingnian, Sun Yuzhu wasn’t about to let such a big catch get away.
Her design company had been on a downward slide lately, and she badly needed to get Jiang Group’s support and investment.
“Yes.” Shen Zhihui put her design portfolio on her desk. She had no intention of hiding it.
If Sun Yuzhu knew, someone must have seen her or reported back.
At that, Sun Yuzhu dropped her usual sharp, bullying attitude and began flattering her with a smile. “Well done, Designer Shen. Our company’s short on investment right now. If you can get President Jiang to buy a stake, I could promote you to head of the design department. How does that sound?”
It sounded like a tempting offer.
But to Shen Zhihui, it was really a kind of insult.
She wouldn’t be promoted for her abilities; she was being asked to use her looks to bring in investment.
Shen Zhihui could hardly stomach that humiliation.
But she hadn’t found another design company yet, so she had no choice but to endure it.
“Director Sun, President Jiang and I aren’t close. He happened to ask me to design something for him, that’s all. I can’t promise I’ll get him to invest.”
Sun Yuzhu didn’t care whether Shen Zhihui and Jiang Jingnian were close. In her view, a big shot like Jiang Jingnian wouldn’t have deigned to come all the way here in person unless he was interested in the young woman.
Why shouldn’t she make good use of that?
Of course, if Shen Zhihui wanted to put on airs, fine. She could get out.
“Designer Shen, think carefully. How much profit has your Qipao Design Department brought this company? None, as far as I can tell. I still have to support you, so you’d better go and make Jiang Jingnian happy. Otherwise, you’re out.” Sun Yuzhu laid down the threat. “What value do you think you have? I’ll be frank: you have no design talent at all!”
That finally crossed Shen Zhihui’s line.
She had meant to put up with it, but not this time.
She took off her employee ID and tossed it onto the desk. “Director Sun, you’re right. I was never worthy of your design company. I quit, effective today.”
She had genuinely loved the Qipao Design Department.
She’d thought she could put her talents to use there.
But it turned out Sun Yuzhu had hired her so she could send her out every so often to bring in investment and act as a PR girl.
She’d had enough.
Sun Yuzhu hadn’t expected Shen Zhihui to walk out so suddenly. She’d assumed that Shen Zhihui was desperate for money and a place to work, and wouldn’t quit so easily. But she was really doing it?
Even Sun Yuzhu, who was used to seeing all kinds of things, was stunned for a few seconds.
Guoguo was just as shocked. How had her Huihui found the nerve to walk away without warning?
She’d said she had applied to several design companies, but none of them wanted a qipao designer.
She could design anything, but she loved qipaos most.
And Sun Yuzhu’s company had a department devoted to qipao design. Shen Zhihui had said that, even if she felt wronged, she wouldn’t quit lightly.
Had things really come to this?
“Shen Zhihui, think this through. Are you really quitting?” Sun Yuzhu recovered and immediately glared at her.
Shen Zhihui had thought it through. Even if it was hard to find work designing qipaos, she could do other kinds of design first. “Yes. I’ve made up my mind.”
She lowered her head and began packing her things: a little potted plant, pens, design drafts. She had bought them herself and wasn’t about to leave them for the company.
Seeing she was serious, Sun Yuzhu was so furious her nostrils flared. “I’m telling you, if you quit, all I have to do is say the word, and no design company out there will hire you.”
Sun Yuzhu had some seniority and a reputation in the design world.
And people listened when she spoke.
All she had to do was spread a rumor—for example, that Shen Zhihui had plagiarized the company’s designs.
That one stain would make it impossible for Shen Zhihui to find work not just designing qipaos, but designing clothes of any kind.
Shen Zhihui frowned, her hands pausing over the files.
Her little face was taut with anger.
Guoguo hurried to her side and quietly urged her, “Huihui, let’s stay calm… It’s not worth letting yourself get driven out of the design world over this.”
“Don’t get angry. It’s not worth ruining your future.”
Guoguo meant well, and Shen Zhihui knew it. But she couldn’t put up with this any longer. She quickly finished packing and said, “If you maliciously slander me, I’ll sue.”
Then she carried the box out.
When Sun Yuzhu saw her actually leave with her head held high, she was so furious she could hardly contain herself. She refused to believe Shen Zhihui wasn’t afraid of ruining her reputation as a designer.
She flung her arms and stormed out of the Qipao Design Department.
As she passed the high-end custom design department, Shen Qianqian heard the commotion and came out. “Sister Zhu, what’s wrong? Who made you so angry?”
Sun Yuzhu glanced at Shen Qianqian. She didn’t dare offend the young miss, so she immediately turned her anger into a smile. “It’s nothing. Your useless cousin is quitting.”
“She’s gotten too big for her boots, daring to walk out on me. Let’s see what kind of job she can find out there.”
She’d only given Shen Zhihui this job because of the Shen family.
Did Shen Zhihui really think Sun Yuzhu had set up a qipao department for her out of the goodness of her heart?
Dream on!
Shen Qianqian was surprised. “She actually dared to quit?”
“Mm.” Sun Yuzhu nodded in annoyance.
Shen Qianqian frowned, then gave a cold laugh. “Then let her go. If Grandpa hadn’t agreed to let her work here, I wouldn’t have welcomed her in the first place.”
Everyone knew Shen Zhihui had a talent for design.
Especially qipaos, the essence of traditional Chinese culture.
Her talent and skill were exceptional, on a par with the masters.
She was wasted here.
It was precisely because her talent was so strong that Shen Qianqian’s own design work looked mediocre by comparison.
That often left her deeply annoyed. And now Shen Zhihui had dared to make Grandpa lose face by quitting?
When she got home, she’d make Grandpa teach her a proper lesson.
He’d given her a way to earn a living, and she had the nerve to turn it down.
Shen Qianqian’s private sneer faded. “Why does she want to quit?”
“She seems to know Jiang Jingnian. I told her to go talk to him, but she wasn’t willing, so she walked out.” Thinking of it made Sun Yuzhu angry all over again. “Qianqian, I have to go. I’ll put out a notice to the design world in a bit, telling every design company not to hire her.”
Shen Qianqian barely registered the rest. She was stunned that Jiang Jingnian had actually met with Shen Zhihui.
That bitch knew Jiang Jingnian?
Since when?
Had she been secretly trying to get close to a big shot like Jiang Jingnian behind her back all this time?
How could she?
No wonder she’d dumped Shen Zhuli so readily. She must have secretly found an even better man. At the thought, Shen Qianqian’s eyes reddened with jealousy. She absolutely wouldn’t let Shen Zhihui choose a man better than hers.