Chapter 5-05 - A home where the ring is destined not to stay forever...

Lin Xi had a very stressful day. She was worried that she would have insomnia while taking a shower, but she fell asleep soon after lying down.

I slept soundly through the night without any dreams, until the alarm clock rang the next morning.

I didn't check my phone all night, but it's full of work messages.

Lin Xi replied to each one, and before logging out of WeChat, she suddenly noticed a new friend request in her contacts.

The other person's nickname consisted of only the letter F, and their profile picture was a simple ink-wash bamboo painting with a rather immature brushstroke, which even looked strangely familiar.

The notes section reads: "Xiaoxi, this is Fu Qingli."

Fu Qingli is always particular about etiquette, and she wouldn't be so rude as to come to him to settle scores over Su Yi'an's matter.

He probably still feels that even if they can't be lovers, they can still be like siblings or family.

Yes, when Aunt Shen passed away, his father promised him that he and his daughter would be his family from then on.

But once familial affection transforms into romantic love, how can one peacefully retreat to the position of family?

What's more, he and Su Yi'an are getting married soon.

She doesn't blame him for what happened back then, and she believes that people should choose to be with the person they love, and that you can't force it.

Reasonably, she couldn't genuinely wish him happiness in his marriage with another woman.

After all, she had once hoped to grow old with him.

Stepping out of the subway station and watching the hurried strangers coming and going, Lin Xi finally took out her phone and deleted the request.

Having walked alone for six years, I've long since grown accustomed to loneliness and isolation.

If you can't be with family members for life, it's better to remain strangers.

*

Having spent years struggling to make a living, Linxi knows very little about jewelry.

During the break before the meeting, she searched for Yaoshi Jewelry online, wanting to learn about its background information in advance.

Just as I opened the webpage, team leader Yang Zhuojun came over and placed a stack of documents on the table: "Lin Xi, this is the background check information for Yaoshi Jewelry and the jewelry products they have released in the past three years. Take a look at it first."

"good."

Yang Zhuojun glanced at the news about Yaoshi's CEO change on Linxi's webpage and decided to stop and offer his opinion: "As a leading company in the domestic industry, Yaoshi has been unable to enter the international arena for many years. After the new COO Ye Baichuan took office last year, he signed many designers who won international design awards in a high-profile manner to increase its international reputation."

“One of the designers is Vivian, who won the gold medal at the ACC competition. You should pay special attention to her. She is very popular both domestically and internationally. Her designs for the two seasons after joining Yaoshi have become very popular. I heard that several international magazines are already in talks to collaborate on jewelry for their year-end issues. I estimate that this launch event will mainly feature her designs.”

This was important news, and Lin Xi's gratitude was palpable: "Thank you, Team Leader Yang!"

“I should thank you,” Yang Zhuojun couldn’t help but laugh. “This year marks the 60th anniversary of Yaoshi’s founding. The planning was excellent, and we have a great chance of hosting their anniversary celebration. All the group leaders were scrambling to get the chance, but Yaoshi chose you directly.”

"By the way, I heard from the staff that Vivian really liked the art exhibition you curated last year, so she strongly recommended you to the higher-ups."

Is that so?

Last year's art exhibition, titled "The World," became a hit online for a while because the venue design matched the artistic conception of the paintings, so it's not surprising that people saw it.

For some reason, Lin Xi felt a vague sense of unease upon learning that it wasn't Yang Zhuojun who recommended her.

This unease was confirmed when they met with Yao Shifang's representative.

Su Yi'an stood beside Ye Baichuan, radiant and poised, exuding an air of nobility and arrogance.

He simply met Lin Xi's gaze, his hostility evident in his eyes, his ambiguous smile carrying obvious mockery and provocation, as if he were watching a good show.

Lin Xi's unease intensified.

This project doesn't seem to be as lucky as Yang's team thought.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, both parties took their seats.

Design Director Kong Weijun introduced Lin Xi directly: "President Ye, this is Lin Xi, the team leader you mentioned. She's a talent we specially recruited from the Jiangcheng branch. Last year, her art exhibition design was awarded the industry's Outstanding Work of the Year."

"No wonder Yi'an strongly recommended Lin's team; it seems they appreciate each other's design skills."

Ye Baichuan turned to Su Yi'an, his voice filled with pride, "Let me formally introduce you all. This is Ms. Su Yi'an, the designer Vivian. The best-selling items from the previous two seasons were designed by her."

"Of the eleven new products this time, two are Vivian's designs, which are planned to be the main focus of this launch event. Our company hopes that the venue layout will complement and enhance her design philosophy."

Kong Weijun nodded in agreement: "Of course, we will definitely come up with a solution that will satisfy President Ye."

After he finished speaking, he turned to Lin Xi, hoping she would say a few words.

The worst fears have come true; Vivian is Su Yi'an.

She certainly wasn't being kind by offering him projects; it was clearly a trap.

But now that he was already in that predicament, he had no choice but to jump down as Su Yi'an wished.

The only thing to do is to proceed cautiously and be wary of her digging a hole for herself.

Lin Xi forced a smile: "I will try my best."

"Effort?" Su Yi'an suddenly chuckled. "The design for Lin's last art exhibition made a completely unknown newcomer famous. Why don't you have confidence in me?"

Lin Xi was gentle but not weak. Faced with this public provocation, her inherent resilience and unyielding spirit were immediately ignited.

She wasn't annoyed at all, her smile was innocent: "Ms. Su, it's not that I lack confidence, quite the opposite, it just shows that I have a lot of confidence in you, which is why I'm worried that my design won't be able to reflect your design concept."

"Ultimately, the design of the venue is to enhance the exhibits and make everyone appreciate their strengths more quickly. It cannot turn the rotten into the magical. Just like that painter, who was a rough gem, all I did was to help people discover her earlier."

In other words, if it's like your work, no matter how I design it, I could never turn something rotten into something magical.

Su Yi'an could naturally understand her subtext, but because her words were so eloquent, those unaware of their entanglement couldn't hear the sarcasm in them, and were completely unable to understand or respond to the situation.

It's okay, she'll have her moment to cry later.

She gave a very low, cold snort, her eyes full of a mocking "we'll see" attitude.

"Don't worry, Lin. This work has special significance for me. I also have a general idea for the venue layout. You just need to present the effect I want."

"Oh?" Lin Xi didn't believe it would be that simple. "I'd like to hear the details."

Su Yi'an raised her hand in greeting.

Soon the assistant projected a photo onto the conference room screen.

It was a design sketch of wedding rings drawn with a carbon pen.

To everyone's surprise, the main work being promoted was still in its infancy, and Kong Weijun couldn't help but frown.

Ye Baichuan looked somewhat embarrassed: "This is a new design submitted by Vivian yesterday. The idea fits the Valentine's Day atmosphere, so our company decided to rush to release it."

“Understood,” Kong Weijun said. Although he did not approve of such a risky move, he respected Yaoshi’s decision. “As long as it doesn’t affect the exhibition, it will be fine. Otherwise, changing the venue at the last minute will be a lot of trouble.”

Ye Baichuan quickly promised, "No."

Su Yi'an didn't care about their hesitation and worries, and focused only on the introduction of the work: "This pair of rings is called 'Childhood Sweethearts'. The main diamond is a Kashmir sapphire, and the ring setting is made of gold with a seven-color wire drawing process. When the men's and women's rings are combined, the openwork surface can project a scene of 'bamboo horses entwined with green plums' under the light."

Lin Xi had expected a more detailed explanation, but then she heard her tone change abruptly, her voice gentle yet her enunciation exceptionally clear: “The design inspiration for this ring comes from my own love story. My boyfriend and I were childhood sweethearts, we grew up together, and as we were young, we developed feelings for each other and... naturally, we came together.”

A note from the author:

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