Chapter 18 Chapter 18 They are masters, but I am a lady...

The second floor of the villa.

Xin Tong has actually woken up.

But I didn't get up.

She is thinking.

Xin Tong’s previous thoughts were actually very simple.

She wants to fight for the family fortune. She wants Kelly to be profitable. She wants to make beautiful women's suits.

And Jiang Yuanbin can do it.

So she wanted to ask Jiang Yuanbin to teach her how to do it.

——A very simple and clear logical chain, the thinking of an elementary school student.

Even when she actually put it into practice, she didn't find it difficult.

The Jiang family has no shortage of business opportunities. Jiang Yuanbin has a high status and has retired. He and Xin Tong have never met before and are like strangers... It seems like an impregnable fortress, but Xin Tong accidentally solved the problem by visiting a park and eating some shengjian.

But she didn't expect that Jiang Yuanbin's condition was that she had to persuade Jiang Chongyan to go home for dinner every week.

...Xin Tong buried himself in the quilt and sighed heavily.

She felt that Jiang Chongyan was rebellious, unruly, bad-tempered, arrogant, mysophobic, and a bit pretentious.

Most importantly, he should hate himself.

Xin Tong began to doubt deeply, is it possible to complete this task?

In order to verify this, Xin Tong began to recall over and over again everything that had happened since she met Jiang Chongyan, trying to explore the target's psychological state.

She looked at the table.

There was a small bottle of Coke there.

Red bottle cap, half drunk.

It was the bottle of Coke that Jiang Chongyan had given him at the police station, but which he had then inexplicably taken back in anger.

Last night, Jiang Chongyan sent her home, felt in his trouser pocket, and threw the bottle of Coke directly into her arms.

"You drank half of it."

"Take it yourself."

Xin Tong feels so angry when she thinks about that disdainful tone now.

She thought about it over and over again, but couldn't make up her mind. She simply got up and called Song Qingyun.

"There's someone I want to ask for a favor."

"But he looked like he hated me."

"Help me make a judgment."

Song Qingyun had been timid and clumsy since childhood, speaking softly and gently. She only became cheerful in front of Xin Tong. She murmured a low "hmm" and waited for Xin Tong to speak.

"I said I was thirsty, and he happened to have a bottle of Coke. After I asked, he agreed to give it to me. Do you think he hates me?"

"It's hard to say. It's just a bottle of Coke. It's no big deal to give it to you."

"After I drank it, he asked me to take it away with disgust..."

"He hates you."

"My phone died in the middle of the night, and I was stranded somewhere with no way to get home. He took me home. Do you think he hates me?"

"Not sure. No one would sit idly by and watch a girl out in the middle of the night."

"Then he picked me up and threatened me, saying if I provoke him again, he would throw me into the river..."

"He hates you."

"I didn't see the stairs behind me and almost fell down, but he pulled me up."

“It’s human nature.”

"Then he let go of me right after he pulled me, and he was disgusted that his hands had touched my dirty clothes, and he even wiped his hands with a tissue..."

"He hates you."

"..." Xin Tong was so angry that she almost fainted.

The other party also asked, "Who is this person?"

Xin Tong complained as if she had found a savior, "Yeah! Do you think he's sick? What did I do to make him hate me so much?"

"That's not the case."

Song Qingyun's voice was soft, but his words were as sharp as knives.

"There are many people in the circle who hate you, but they dare not show it openly. After all, your father is He Chuan."

"I mean, he's pretty brave."

"."

Xin Tong felt like there was something stuck in her throat and was so angry that she was about to mutate into a zombie. She cursed Song Qingyun a few times and then hung up the phone.

Well, now the sky has finally fallen.

Asking him to come home for dinner every week - how could such a rebellious and tough rich young man who hated her listen to her?

What does it have to do with her whether others go home for dinner or not?

As an outsider, what right does she have to comment on the conflicts and relationships between grandfather and grandson in other people's families?

Only then did Xin Tong finally understand why Jiang Yuanbin had relented so quickly. It had been a casual remark made in anger, without any thought or serious consideration of the possibility of Xin Tong actually completing the task.

She stared blankly at the bottle of Coke on the table.

The little man on the packaging looks ferocious.

As if he was also laughing at her ignorance.

I thought my fantastic long-term plan finally had a short-term goal, but I didn't expect that this short-term goal was as difficult to achieve as the long-term plan itself.

Even Jiang Yuanbin was defeated. Xin Tong didn't expect that he would die at the hands of Jiang Chongyan.

She lay back on the bed dejectedly, like a withered flower.

Outside the window, the sky was already bright. Warm yellow sunlight shone through the glass, casting a golden hue on the girl's clean, young face.

She stood there motionless, in a daze, her pupils dull and stupid.

The fine hairs on the sides of his face were transparent white in the light.

She looked out the window with unfocused eyes.

Outside the window is a spacious garden full of precious flowers.

Xin Wenqing likes plants, and every window in the villa must have a view of the garden. Each window is a scene, and changing a window is like changing a painting.

Xin Tong stared blankly at the light pink flowers on the windowsill.

Longza Gem, a stunning climbing rose. Layer upon layer, petal after petal, it blooms magnificently and gorgeously. Regardless of the surroundings, or whether others stop to stare at it, it blooms without flaunting or comparison; it simply blooms.

…

Xin Tong's eyelashes trembled twice.

She caught a glimpse of the dark circles under her eyes in the mirror. She hadn't slept well since returning home, leaving early and returning late. She no longer went to the beauty salon once a week, and she looked haggard and uneasy.

How did she become like this?

She is Xin Tong, the young lady who would throw a party even if the sky falls.

She is so arrogant and so free. She feels at ease when lying down, and enjoys fighting.

What's wrong with this world?

What's so great about this world?

She was born to enjoy life, to have fun. Failure is her experience; worldly success is her disdain. She is just an ivy, a sycamore, a rose on the windowsill. She lives only for sunshine and hope.

All roads lead to Rome. Does that mean she can only rely on the Jiang family?

There are so many designers and tailors in China, so who can you learn from?

After all, she is the eldest daughter of the Morikawa Group and has connections everywhere in the clothing industry.

As long as you set your mind to it, you can do it.

Nothing is difficult in the world.

After figuring this out, Xin Tong immediately jumped out of bed.

I called Secretary Quan Li and told her I was going to the company today. After washing up, I grabbed a bag from the huge cloakroom, stuffed a bunch of stuff into it, and hurried out without even zipping it up.

I went downstairs with a "thump thump thump" sound and caught a glimpse of someone sitting at the dining table out of the corner of my eye.

She deliberately didn't look and ran straight to the gate.

The next second, he was suddenly pulled by a force.

He Tianqi stood behind her.

He took her arm and stared down at the floor.

A notebook fell to the ground. It had just fallen out of her overstuffed bag.

It was a notebook she had kept when she was studying abroad. It contained some scattered design sketches, but she had skipped more classes than she had attended during her four years at university, so over the course of four years, she only had this thin notebook with a dozen or so random drawings.

The boy's tall and thin figure slowly bent down, picked up the notebook that fell on the ground, and patted the non-existent dust with his fingers.

He straightened up and looked down at her.

"Sister. I dropped something."

snort.

It's annoying to see him acting so submissive and artificial.

Xin Tong sneered, thinking this guy was really good at pretending. On the surface, he was pretending to be a good person and helping her pick up things, but in his heart he wanted to cut her into pieces. That way, no one would compete with him for the family property, right?

She took a corner of the book and said viciously,

“Give it back to me!”

I pulled it, but it didn't move.

He Tianqi didn't let go.

"Are you studying fashion design recently?"

He had a decent smile on his face and his voice was calm and gentle.

Xin Tong held her breath instantly.

The two of them were too close at this moment, and she inexplicably got goose bumps all over her body. She felt that every time she came into contact with this person, she couldn't help but feel nauseous all over.

She frowned, pursed her lips unconsciously, and said nothing.

He added another hand and pulled hard, but not only did it fail to move, the force almost made him fall forward into his arms.

"Sister, be careful."

The boy's warm body pressed tightly against her face, and he spoke in a clear voice close to her ear.

Xin Tong immediately pushed He Tianqi away, glaring at him angrily, wishing she could kill him.

She began to scold him, but he acted as if he didn't hear her and just looked at her calmly and indifferently.

Xin Tong stuffed the notebook into her bag, glared at him fiercely, and walked away with her bag, cursing.

*

When we arrived at the company, Quan Li handed us a cup of coffee.

Xin Tong took one look and refused, "No, I hate drinking this the most."

Quan Li, who was already used to buying coffee for her boss, was stunned for a moment. She was afraid that Xin Tong was a spoiled brat who only drank high-end things, so she explained, "Boss Xin, this is Off's Panama Gesha."

Xin Tong shook her head again, "What do you mean by kneeling or standing? I just don't like it."

Quan Li was stunned for a moment. She hadn't heard the word "dislike" in a long time. It was rarely used in the workplace, only mainstream, universal, and efficient. Coffee had long been a part of Wucheng's lifestyle. Its bitter, burnt aroma awakened the entire city's mornings. People of all stripes, dressed in business attire, crowded the subway. People were machines, and coffee was stale, sticky motor oil.

Xin Tong:

“Why force yourself to adapt to something you don’t like?”

"I just don't like it."

"In my own life, isn't it my own feelings that are most important?"

She giggled and took out the takeaway milk tea she had just picked up downstairs in the company.

"If I were the boss, I would stipulate that everyone should drink milk tea at all drinking parties."

Quan Li hesitated and reminded: "Chairman He Chuan might be unhappy. In the past, we had to drink."

Xin Tong: "The past is the past. If I were in power, I would take you to the new world."

…

Quan Li began to report He Xiangrong's recent condition in the hospital.

Quan Li has been a secretary for almost ten years. She wears a meticulous shirt, ponytail, and work ID, wears glasses, speaks rigorously, works seriously, and always considers the needs of her superiors. She is the kind of serious assistant secretary that is most favored by her superiors.

She reported in a very official manner, calling Mr. He all the time, and occasionally inserting uncommon words from medical diagnosis results.

Xin Tong listened casually, but actually didn't understand anything and was too lazy to listen.

Until the end, he spoke suddenly, his tone lacking interest.

"So what happened to Old Deng?"

"..." Quan Li paused for a moment after hearing these two words, then realized that her boss's education level was limited. After a moment of hesitation, she followed her boss's style:

"Lao Deng's egg is broken."

Xin Tong sprayed out the milk tea in her mouth.

She patted Quan Li's shoulder in a very good mood.

"Good! Very spirited! Concise and to the point!"

Xin Tong lay back down and said calmly, "How much compensation does he want? Just pay it directly from my personal account."

“That’s where it gets weird.”

"He didn't ask for a penny. He also said he didn't need any other form of compensation."

"Hmm? Why?"

"He said he just didn't need it."

Quan Li seemed a little worried.

"Mr. Xin, I think there might be something wrong here. Based on my understanding of Mr. He, he is not the type to be so tolerant."

Xin Tong chewed the pearls carelessly.

"Don't worry about it. He must be putting up with it because of my dad."

"Otherwise, why would he agree to mediation? He should sue me to death."

"Don't worry, as long as I am He Chuan's daughter, he will endure it."

Xin Tong took something out of her bag anxiously.

"Let's end He Xiangrong's matter here. I have more important things to do later. I need you to help me arrange it."

*

Xin Tong went to meet the company's design director.

In a clothing company, the design director is the absolute soul of the brand. All matters, big and small, such as store renovations, clothing styles, sample selection, and model photography, fall under the control of the design director. The design director virtually determines the brand's fundamental tone and style.

Kelly has never changed this role since its inception until the first five years.

However, since the economic situation has worsened, the three CEOs have all chosen to replace the design director at the very beginning after taking office.

They constantly hoped to find a better, more capable hire to save the brand, but the company's overall problems were complex and far more complex than simply replacing the design director. Coupled with poor style choices, inflexible internal management, and a short-sighted marketing strategy desperate to mitigate losses, the losses only worsened.

The more you change, the more chaotic it becomes, and the more chaotic it becomes, the more you change. This complicated cycle eventually piles up into a huge mess.

The current design director is Ai Ling.

After meeting her and chatting with her for a while, Xin Tong felt that she had a rich resume, active thinking, serious work style, outstanding abilities, and no shortcomings in any aspect.

The CEO appointment was strictly selected, which seemed to be a good idea. Those who plant trees will enjoy the shade, and Xin Tong is content.

She saw Ai Ling was a little cautious when facing her, so she explained,

"Don't be afraid, I will never replace you."

Xin Tong patted his chest with a smile.

"I'm different from those three male CEOs."

"They may be masters, but I'm a lady!"

"Do men really understand women's clothing? No wonder we lose so much money when we leave it in their hands."