Xu Yan stubbornly believed that her strength was not as good as before, and a big part of the reason was that her muse had left her after severely betraying her.
Zhao Mei's firm approval wavered Xu Yan's long-lonely heart and rekindled her desire to create after she had lost hope in design.
In the suddenly quiet little clothing store, the only sounds were the sparrows outside the door and the sounds of people coming and going. Xu Yan opened and closed her mouth, hesitating whether to talk or not until her throat became dry.
She had been lonely and silent for too long, but until she saw Zhao Mei outside the window today, the seeds in her heart suddenly sprouted, forcing her to admit that she had taken the initiative to open the door and talk to her because she had longed for it for too long, and she also longed for design and the muse of inspiration.
Xu Yan looked at Zhao Mei's gentle yet determined eyes, put down the sketchbook in her hand, and sighed: "This is not a beautiful story, but you moved me, and I am willing to tell you."
"I once had a muse. She was kind, lovely, brave, and determined. We spent four happy and fulfilling years at a university in China. We played together, teased each other, and got scolded for being late together. We eventually went to Italy together to study fashion design."
As if she was recalling the best time again, a smile appeared on Xu Yan's face.
"But everything started to change after arriving in Italy. Whether at home or abroad, all the teachers seemed to agree that my talent was, in some way, higher than hers. But after arriving in Italy, every time she had a design assignment, the teacher would call her out to compare with me."
"Actually, thinking about it now, the root of everything might have been planted back then. Once, twice...many times, until she couldn't accept it anymore."
"She got angry with me, cried, and complained about how unfair it was. Why did she work for more than ten hours a day, but in the end, she couldn't compare to talent?"
"But I could only turn pale and remain speechless. Since then, whenever I do design assignments, I always deliberately do worse. Even if my instructor shakes her head and says I've regressed, it doesn't really matter. After all, she'll be happy."
"But no matter what, work is always cruel. After graduation, she and I took our portfolios and looked for jobs everywhere. We both wanted to stay in Italy or go to Paris, the dream place for artists all over the world."
"As you can guess, I got an offer from Paris, but she didn't. She only received an offer from the company in China that we used as a backup."
"She cried all night, her eyes were swollen, and she looked at me with red eyes as she said goodbye. I really couldn't bear it. I felt that since I had outstanding abilities, I would definitely be able to make a name for myself in China."
"So I returned home with her, and we were in the same company again."
"But her company, while relatively well-known both domestically and internationally, is plagued by internal intrigue. They don't give newcomers opportunities and even bully and steal credit for their work."
"I couldn't stand it anymore, so I decided to resign. We had a huge argument over it, and I ended up quitting in anger, and she stopped talking to me."
"I had planned to wait until both of us calmed down and then reconnect to resolve the conflict, but at the time I was busy setting up my personal brand and my time was completely packed. It wasn't until my brand was on track and I started preparing for Fashion Week that I remembered our misunderstanding. But by then, she had already blocked all my contact information."
"Actually, I don't know exactly when she did it, and it doesn't matter. I can only continue to devote myself to my brand show. The first big show is a combination of all the sketches I have drawn in the past, including the designs of the sketches that I didn't dare to submit because I was worried about her."
"The turning point happened the day before the big show. She called me and I answered. She wanted to come to my house to talk things over. I agreed, and she came."
"She brought some wine and walked in with that familiar smile. My mind was clear and I told myself that tomorrow was too important and I absolutely couldn't drink. But I drank anyway, and of course the result was that I ended up drunk and hugged her and cried."
"When I woke up the next day, the consequences were severe. I had a headache and was confused when I went to the fashion show. It wasn't until I walked out holding the model's hand and no one applauded that I realized something serious had happened."
"If you'd looked me up later, you'd have known that I was accused by Alice Company of plagiarizing a clothing design they'd released the night before. Actually, Alice Company didn't file a lawsuit, they just sent a lawyer's letter. But the incident became a huge uproar, and I had no way to defend myself in the public eye because she took the manuscript while I was drunk and unconscious."
"Is there a way for me to stand up? Probably. If I wanted to, I could have sued her. Many foreign companies also extended olive branches to me. But my heart was dead at that time. The muse who supported my design for the first half of my life was gone. How could I stand up again? I just didn't want to lie to myself."
Xu Yan's expression remained calm. "Perhaps this story shows that our relationship is not ordinary, perhaps even beyond friendship. Even she herself questioned me that night, asking if I liked her, and there was disgust in her eyes."
"So even if I'm not in love with someone, I don't want to answer. In my opinion, my feelings for her can't be summed up by superficial love."
"That's my muse. Of course I'm willing to give everything for her. But she can only stay on the surface, at the level of emotions she understands."
Xu Yan's hands were tightly clenched together, turning slightly pale. Zhao Mei heard the truth but was not happy about it. Qiu Jiahe, who was standing beside her, was wiping away tears silently.
[Ding—Congratulations to the host for completing the special mission to investigate Xu Yan's plagiarism. Mission Reward: 20 million Chinese Yuan + 30% of Hongyan Clothing Manufacturing Company shares]
The system voice interrupted Zhao Mei's thoughts, and Zhao Mei also spoke to break the silence in the clothing store: "Sister Xu Yan, excellence is never a person's fault, and no one should ever blame themselves for being excellent."
"As for your muse, even if the world is never fair, that is definitely not a reason or excuse for her to hurt or betray others." Zhao Mei held Xu Yan's hand.
Xu Yan felt the warmth in her hands and smiled again: "Oh, I'm so old and I still need you to comfort me. It's really outrageous!"
Zhao Mei smiled and said, "How could that be? Sister Xu Yan shouldn't be that old this year, right? According to what I've found, she's only about thirty. Thirty is the best age for a woman."
Xu Yan shook Zhao Mei's hand back and said, "You're really good at talking. So, why do you ask me why I don't build my own design studio? I don't believe you're just curious."
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