Proposal
That evening, Li Fuqiang called Zhiwei. Zhiwei told him about her mother's plans. Li Fuqiang said, "Speaking of which, your birthday is in two weeks. Double happiness, we should celebrate properly."
"Mr. Li, then I'll do as you say."
On the morning of her daughter's birthday, Xu Anyi got up early to cook longevity noodles. Zhiwei obligingly ate them all. The photographer she had booked that morning arrived at their home to take a photo of the mother and daughter.
Xu Anyi wore light makeup. When the mother and daughter embraced, the photographer couldn't help but secretly praise the couple's natural good fortune, and kept pressing the shutter button.
In the afternoon, Lao Wu picked them up and took them to the Kaiseki Hanaden Japanese restaurant, which Li Fuqiang had booked. Since Zhiwei didn't have many friends in Beijing, Li Fuqiang invited most of the company's senior executives and long-time employees of Rongdi, including Jingnan.
Everyone was dressed to the nines, even Xiaoyu, who had initially declined, saying she didn't have anything suitable to wear, but Zhiwei managed to prepare a silk dress for her. The meal was a buffet, to avoid pleasing everyone. Li Fuqiang accompanied Zhiwei as they exchanged pleasantries with the company's senior management.
This was the first time Jingnan had been in a private setting with so many executives, but she was very tactful and didn't talk to Zhiwei too much in front of the boss. Only after all the social engagements were over did Zhiwei finally find a moment to talk to her.
"You look beautiful today," Zhiwei complimented sincerely.
Jing Nan chuckled quietly, "I always need to have a little black dress to make an appearance. It cost me almost two months' salary."
“I was the same when I was in school. We didn’t wear these kinds of clothes often, so buying too many would be a waste. I even made one myself back then. If you don’t mind, I can make you one next time.”
"I couldn't be happier, I'm just waiting for it."
After several rounds of drinks, the lights in the hall suddenly dimmed. Li Fuqiang led Zhiwei by the hand into the spotlight, where guests gathered around. Sister Chen handed them a velvet box from behind.
Li Fuqiang opened the box and took out a diamond ring of about ten carats. He held up the ring, took Zhiwei's hand, and said in a steady voice, "Xiaowei, since we met, I have fallen in love with you at first sight. Today, with all our relatives and friends as witnesses, I hope you will agree to marry me."
The guests then chimed in, "Marry him! Marry him!"
Zhiwei hadn't expected Li Fuqiang to be so considerate—even though the contract had already been signed, he was still willing to give her such face and go through this formality. She nodded with a smile.
Li Fuqiang put the ring on her finger, gently embraced her, and kissed her cheek. Hotel staff scattered flower petals at the opportune moment. People came forward to congratulate her, and Zhiwei thanked them all.
After the crowd dispersed, Xu Anyi walked up to her daughter. Seeing her daughter smiling and peaceful, she felt a little relieved. Zhiwei hugged her mother, remaining silent. Xu Anyi gently stroked her daughter's hair: "Xiaowei, all I want is for you to be happy."
"Don't worry, Mom, I will."
Li Fuqiang walked over. Xu Anyi took Zhiwei's hand and solemnly placed it in his: "Mr. Li, my daughter Zhiwei is of ordinary talent, but she is my most precious treasure. I hope you will remember my sincerity today and respect and cherish her in the future."
"Miss Xu, rest assured, I will definitely treat Xiaowei well." Li Fuqiang squeezed Zhiwei's hand. "About the wedding..."
"I have no objection to that. You can discuss and decide what to do."
After her birthday, Xu Anyi took Xiao Yang back to Shanghai. Zhiwei only took the property certificate from the safe there and left the house empty. She stayed in Beijing, regularly having Xiaoyu go over to clean and look after the house, in case her mother occasionally came to stay.
With Xu Anyi gone, Zhiwei had more free time. At the end of August, a shop became available in 798 Art Zone; the original owner was moving to a larger location due to booming business. Zhiwei took it on. This time, Jingnan didn't let her fool him; he carefully reviewed the contract before allowing her to sign.
"Young Miss, what are you planning to do with this shop?"
"I want to open a home decor boutique, collecting and selling interesting and fun items, regardless of brand. I can also do custom orders, that's all I know how to do."
The original store also sold home furnishings, so Zhiwei didn't make any major changes, only replacing the overly pink colors. Huang Zijun introduced her to a familiar renovation team, which she entrusted entirely to, only checking on the progress the next day.
Li Fuqiang knew she wanted to mess with his shop, so he let her do it. When he heard she was going to renovate, he even asked if she needed Sister Shen's help.
"It's a small project, I wouldn't dare trouble Sister Chen. I'm just practicing, please don't laugh at me if I lose money."
Li Fuqiang then realized that his girlfriend was ambitious and even wanted to make a profit, so he naturally didn't want to discourage her: "Okay, you have to treat me to a meal when you make money."
Zhiwei readily agreed, "No problem, just don't make me pay for your bill again."
He knew she was referring to the incident at Boss Liang's club last time, and her eyes sparkled with charm. Seeing her alluring gaze, Li Fuqiang couldn't help but gently stroke her cheek: "Then I'll be waiting."
Zhiwei remembered that she had promised to make a dress for Jingnan, so she asked her to come to her house on Saturday morning to take her measurements.
As soon as Jingnan entered, he saw Zhiwei sitting behind the large desk, which was covered with design drawings. The room felt more homely than when he last visited, with the noodle cabinet and desk being the most striking features. The lines were simple, and both were close to the natural wood color. It was rare to find a desk that was so large yet didn't look bulky.
The chairs were quite unique; Zhiwei had chosen a bright red office chair, a rare bright spot in the room. For an office chair, its design was unusually refined, unlike the usual bulky ones. Zhiwei said it was called a riding chair, comfortable for sitting upright or straddling, and especially suitable for gliding—for example, when she needed to go around the table to find something, it was particularly convenient.
"Would you like one too?"
Jing Nan was both amused and exasperated: "Miss, my desk is only the size of a palm. You can reach it with one stretch of your hand. There's no need to slide around like that."
Zhiwei went to get the measuring tools, while Jingnan picked up several design drawings to look at. Most of them were decorative designs, along with some cute patterns. What attracted her most was a chubby rabbit, so adorable.
"This rabbit is so cute, should we make a sculpture or a design?"
"Anything is fine. What do you like?"
"Yeah, it makes me happy just looking at it. What girl doesn't like something soft and chubby like this?"
"I plan to make some cushions, pillows, and plush toys. I might add cups and glass ornaments later. I'll make a batch to try it out first. If no one buys them, I'll keep them for myself."
"How could no one buy them? I'm definitely going to grab a batch."
Zhiwei glanced at her with a smile: "Okay, I'll give you a 50% off VIP card later."
"It doesn't matter if the items are discounted or not, just remember to pay my lawyer's fees," Jing Nan joked.
"I'm afraid my little shop can't afford to use your services, you're such a great lawyer."
"Don't worry, I'll give you a discount. But Aunt Xu only gives you a 50% discount when she does your accounting, how can I skip that? So I'll give you a 30% discount then."
Zhiwei feigned a sob: "With two professionals like you, it's really hard to make a profit."
Jingnan laughed: "If we include you, the great designer and manager, and your driver, it will be even more difficult."
When taking measurements, Jingnan noticed that Zhiwei measured much more areas than a typical tailor.
"You want this much?"
“Everyone’s body shape is different. If you only measure the shoulder width, waist circumference and garment length, the garment won’t fit properly. Experienced tailors can tell the different sizes at a glance without measuring. I don’t have that skill, so I can only rely on measurement.”
After taking the measurements, Zhiwei quickly sketched a design in her notebook: "I'll make you a midi dress, shorter in the front and longer in the back. Sleeveless, with a small V-neck, a Grecian goddess style, and a naturally flared hem. It should be made of a fabric with a good structure; I happen to have a piece of light pink satin, which should suit you very well."
Jingnan watched her draw as she spoke, sketching out a draft in just a few minutes, and couldn't help but exclaim, "You can come up with a design in just a few minutes, you must have dozens a day!"
"The difficulty of design lies not in the artwork, but in the creativity. It's too difficult to produce dozens of designs at once, all of which are attractive and popular. If they were all the same, printing would be enough, and there would be no need for designers."
After finishing the drawing, Zhiwei took out a piece of fabric and held it up to Jingnan's body. The fabric had a special texture—delicate, smooth, and crisp. When draped casually, it shimmered with different sheens from different angles, like flowing spring water. How magnificent it would be if this were made into clothing!
"What kind of material is this? The luster is so beautiful."
"Heavyweight satin is rare on the market and is usually supplied to high-end brands for handmade customization. I just bought a few bolts myself. Back in college, some of my classmates used this kind of material for practice, but I couldn't bear to buy it then. The fabric alone was more expensive than my most expensive coat."
"I'm too embarrassed to accept such an expensive gift."
"Then you can give me a 50% discount on my lawyer's fees next time," Zhiwei said with a smile. "The main thing is that with such good material, even a simple design can stand out. My craftsmanship isn't good enough to make overly complicated designs exquisite."
"Your shop sells all your own designs? That must be a lot of work."
"Not entirely. It's mainly high-quality branded products that I've selected, and some that I designed and then had custom-made. In the future, I might design some myself and find places to mass-produce them. Anyway, I have plenty of time."
Jing Nan silently added in his mind, "Miss, you have plenty of money."
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