Chapter 48: Heated Discussion – “Does this mean you're inviting her to dinner?”...

The primary election voting lasted for one week.

Bai Yeke doesn't actually have many representative works. This is mainly because she hasn't been a gold medal designer for long, while other stores have been working for 3-5 years, and some are even famous designers poached from other brands. They have more clients, reputation, and representative works than her.

If the duo hadn't lost their cards, they would have had more regular customers than Baiye.

Bai Yeke's current advantage lies in the fact that although she is a rising star designer, she has been very popular with clients in the past few months. She is currently in her prime and on the rise. Almost all the clients who have worked with her still have a fresh feeling and will vote for her. In addition, she has designed for Yi Sheng, and many of Yi Sheng's fans have also come to vote for her.

Until the end of the preliminary round, when the top 50 were selected, Bai Yeke's final ranking was 22, which was considered upper-middle. Of the 5 people from the store who participated, besides her, only the man with sword-like eyebrows was left, who was ranked 46th and entered the semi-finals.

He Xin didn't make it to the semi-finals but she had a good attitude. "It doesn't matter. I was just joining in for fun anyway. Now it's good, I don't have to drag my clients into this anymore."

“However,” He Xin whispered, gesturing for Bai Ye to look at the man with sword-like eyebrows, “he managed to get in at the very bottom of the list, he must have cheated on the votes.”

Bai Ye didn't comment, but it's true that the man with the sword-like eyebrows didn't have an outstanding reputation or experience. Other stores didn't hire any new or experienced people who were more famous than him.

“I can understand it,” He Xin shrugged. “He’s already found a minor celebrity, but the advantage will only start to show once he gets to the semi-finals, so he definitely has to find a way to get into the semi-finals.”

After a weekend, the list of finalists on the official website remained unchanged; the only change was that a collaborator was added next to the designer's name.

Small changes can create big ripples.

Some people collaborate with renowned stage actors, some with rising stars in the art world, some with members of orchestras, and some with business tycoons...

Bai Yeke's name was hidden among a group of people, with the name Yi Sheng added next to it without being noticed.

Within an hour of the list being changed, someone posted a screenshot on Douyin (TikTok) asking about it, and the comment section gradually became lively.

—Could this Yi Sheng be the Miss Yi we all know?

—Just a guess, it's just a case of someone having the same name.

—I just saw it too, it gave me a fright!

—Is there anyone anonymously from the inside who can answer this?!

—Excluding insiders, a homeowner who just finished her project with Designer Bai last month is here to testify. I chose Designer Bai because she had designed for Ms. Yi before, and I've seen the actual photos! So it's highly likely that the people on this list are real!

—Holy crap! I think I vaguely remember that a few months ago Liurun collaborated with Santen, and Ms. Yi did indeed do home renovations at one of their stores!

"No way! Is that designer really Bai Yeke? I need to search for her! It can't be a mistake!"

—This is a bit outrageous! With Ms. Yi's status and wealth, how could she possibly compete with a minor designer? Even if it were out of consideration for the collaborating brand, she would at most show up at the beginning or end of the event, which would be a great favor!

—In other words, I don't believe that Miss Yi would condescend to cooperate with Santen in organizing such an obscure little competition, without any publicity, and then suddenly and discreetly appear directly in the name of the collaboration.

—Li Tao, the comment above makes more sense. I also believe that the person with the same name is not him!

So, this designer is deliberately creating a gimmick? Relying on the fact that he once designed for Ms. Yi, he's using a name that's the same as hers to attract attention!

—I'm speechless. I admire Miss Yi so much. I even voted for Bai Yeke in the preliminary round. It was just a casual vote because they had collaborated once before. And now that she's in the semi-finals, she dares to try and mess with Miss Yi?!

—That can't be right. I've worked with Designer Bai before, and he's a very reliable person. He definitely wouldn't be trying to create a coincidence or sensationalism on purpose!

—Wow, I just searched her up, and she's just a nobody who just became a gold medal designer, and now she has fans helping her clear out her social media posts? I bet she paid for it, and there's some questionable stuff going on about her getting into the semi-finals?

—Hey everyone, are you just making wild guesses to define this incident? They're both young women in their twenties. Maybe they became friends after the last project. There's nothing wrong with friends competing together, right?

—Yes, people online are so malicious these days. She's just a young woman in her early twenties. I've never had her design my clothes, but I met her in person when I went to her store for a consultation. She seemed like a very polite and gentle person, and even a bit introverted and shy. How could she be assumed to be such a scheming person?

—Friends? No, Miss Yi would be friends with such an unknown little designer? Don't be ridiculous! People of different levels associate with people of different levels. Even a three-year-old understands this. Are you pretending to be stupid?

—Waaah, I'm suddenly so envious! If those two really became friends!

Ah, I dream of that too. I hope I can run into Miss Yi someday and become her friend!

...

Online comments were buzzing, but the people at the store were still completely unaware. Bai Yeke had stayed up late editing videos last night and was feeling sleepy. She took her mug to the break room and casually picked out a packet of instant coffee to drink.

It was a customer who came to inquire who brought the message over.

Sales staff and other designers were asked, "I heard that Ms. Yi Sheng will be participating in your competition, is that true?"

Everyone looked bewildered, then slowly realized, "The home of my dreams?"

"Yes, yes."

"Well... we're not sure. These collaborations are all one-on-one, and we don't know the specifics of the contestants." They didn't dare to announce anything rashly and could only give a vague answer.

"Aren't you two from the same store? Is this some kind of publicity stunt, as some online sources are saying?"

...

Bai Yeke was lounging in the tea room, leisurely sipping her coffee, when her phone was suddenly bombarded with @ messages and calls. She answered, completely bewildered, "Oh, I'll go over there for a bit."

Bai Ye put down her cup, took a quick dip in the waves, tidied herself up, and headed to the front hall.

As soon as she appeared, several salespeople surrounded her, while potential customers sitting at various small tables frequently looked at her, pointing and whispering among themselves and their relatives and friends.

These potential customers who come to your door and are also just casual observers are different from those who just watch online.

Baiye cannot be vague; it would give customers a bad impression and damage both his own reputation and that of Santen.

“Yes, Yi Sheng is Miss Yi,” Bai Yeke admitted in front of everyone.

Someone asked loudly, "Is it Ms. Yi, the head of Lurun, which collaborates with the Santen brand?"

“Yes.” Bai Yeke gave an affirmative answer.

"Wow!" For some reason, the atmosphere became lively. Someone in the front hall whistled a fancy trill, which was followed by a burst of spontaneous applause.

Humans are social creatures.

Bai Ye made a brief appearance before retreating to the back of the design department. Now, she took some time to carefully browse the speculations and discussions online.

Although she just clarified it in public, the news won't spread online so quickly. When it first goes up, it will seem less credible because it's just a rumor spread by gossip enthusiasts, and people will continue to have all sorts of doubts. Unless Bai Yeke, as the designer, personally confirms it in a video post on her own account, then it will be definitively settled.

Bai Ye opened her video accounts on various platforms and, sure enough, almost every video had a lot of comments, all asking about the competition's partners.

Should we respond?

Bai Ye felt it was better not to respond for now. A definitive statement would be considered an official announcement, but the more discussion and speculation there was, the higher the buzz would likely be. It was more worthwhile to let the buzz rise for a while. Why rush to stop when netizens were promoting their content for free?

Xiao Yang actually had some free time at this time and sent her a message.

Little Sheep Rush: I just saw your video channel is going crazy!

Little Sheep, Rush! Did you see that? Are you at work?

Coconut Cola: Hmm, at work, slacking off.

Coconut Cola: Master Sheep, are you slacking off too? The sun must have risen in the west!

Little Lamb Rush: No, I'm multitasking!

Little Lamb, Charge! You should learn from this!

Bai Yeke casually pulled one out of the cushion behind her waist and hugged it to her chest.

Coconut Cola: Oh.

Little Sheep Rush: By the way, are you planning to announce the news?

Coconut Cola: I want to wait a little longer.

Little Sheep Rush: Tsk, not bad, that's what I meant too, so I came to ask you.

"Who are you chatting with?"

Yi Sheng and Xiao Yang were about to go out when she answered a phone call in the corridor. Just as she finished, she turned around and saw Xiao Yang staring at his phone, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

Xiao Yang honestly replied, "Designer Bai."

"Hmm?" Yi Sheng was surprised. "You and her seem to have a pretty good relationship?"

"Not bad," Xiao Yang smiled. "Wasn't he the apprentice you assigned to me?"

Yi Sheng remembered that there was such a thing; she had asked Xiao Yang to teach Bai Yeke how to edit videos.

"What are you talking about?" Yi Sheng asked casually as she walked towards the elevator.

Xiao Yang followed up, "Oh, about your collaboration with her? Santen has released the list of participants along with the list of collaborators, and people online are speculating about it."

"Oh." Yi Sheng replied listlessly. She then asked, "It seems like there aren't many activities planned for today?"

"Hmm." Xiao Yang tapped on the tablet to confirm. "Yes, the last event is a meeting at 2:30 pm, which ends around 4 pm, and then I'm free."

"There's a pretty good snack place in a shopping mall on Yongfu Road," Yi Sheng said.

"Huh?" Xiao Yang was confused. Why was she suddenly being asked to do this? Did she want her to go buy it right now?

“I’d like to have dinner there tonight.” Yi Sheng entered the elevator, and Xiao Yang pressed the button. Yi Sheng closed her eyes to rest. “Tell Miss Bai to ask if she’s free tonight.” After a pause, Yi Sheng added, “She should be free.”

...?!

If you know so much, what else do you want me to ask?

Xiao Yang asked hesitantly, "Do you mean you're inviting her to dinner?"

"Mmm," Yi Sheng responded with her eyes closed.

Xiao Yang was utterly baffled and confused.

But why do I have to ask you to make plans with someone? Haven't you two already been having an affair behind my back?

Pah! You can't talk bad about your boss!

They must have connected, so you must have each other's contact information.

That said, why do you need me to be a mouthpiece?!