Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Do you like it?
When Xin Tong woke up, she found herself sleeping in the guest room.
Aunt Zhao came in and said it was already afternoon. Xin Tong stared at the ceiling with her eyes open, blinking dazedly. She didn't remember anything about last night.
Her room is always locked when she is not at home, so I guess I was drunk last night and couldn't get the key to open it, so I went straight to the guest room to sleep.
Xin Tong rubbed her eyes and sat up.
She felt that this sleep was very comfortable, as if she had never slept so comfortably before.
*
When I got to the office, I checked my phone again. Still no news from that person.
Ai Ling glanced at Xin Tong's absent-minded expression and asked, "Boss, are you waiting for news on Aiden? I asked him to take you home last night."
"I wasn't waiting for him! He's so fierce, who would wait for him?"
"A cold war is a cold war."
Ai Ling found it amusing. These two were one too aggressive, the other too cold. Their disagreement was simply due to differing design concepts, and neither wanted to remain in a stalemate. Last night, just ten minutes after a phone call, Aiden drove over to pick me up. He did so much, yet said so little.
In May, the all-important autumn and winter order fair finally arrives.
Merchandise department distributors from all over the country come to Kelly to select suitable styles, place orders, and send them to the factory for mass production.
According to Xin Tong's plan, the autumn and winter season was expected to have 20 designs. To be on the safe side, Xin Tong instructed that 35 designs be made.
Unexpectedly, the autumn and winter designs that we had carefully prepared and were full of confidence in, which we thought would be a success at the order fair, were met with a cold reception.
——Out of the thirty-five models, thirty of them were not selected.
The unselected models would need to be temporarily changed, and all 30 models would have to be remade. This would be a huge waste of production time for the next quarter.
Xin Tong locked herself in the office.
She couldn't understand how this could happen.
Her first reaction was that the dealer had a problem with his vision, because her design was completely in line with the extension of the spring and summer style, which was a successful case that had been tested by the market.
Could it be that what Jiang Chongyan said is right?
Do dealers’ decisions truly represent market choices?
She was the only one in the president's office. She had set the direction for the design and made all the major decisions. Now that such serious consequences had occurred, as the boss, she had no choice but to take full responsibility.
In such a huge company, no one could say a word at this critical moment. Xin Tong was shocked. She felt like she was on the edge of a cliff, with no one behind her.
She is already at the edge of the world and the edge of the universe. This is her own path. If she succeeds, she will make tens of millions in net profit. If she fails, everything will fall apart. She is left alone in everything, and no matter how scared she is, she can only go on alone.
She drove her car and wandered aimlessly on the street alone.
She was very familiar with the roads in Wucheng, and by the time she reacted, she found that she was already at the gate of Jiang's manor.
She got out of the car.
The moonlight was cool, and the irises, a riot of blue and purple, swayed gently in the night breeze. Their petals, like kite tails, nestled among the green stems and leaves, formed a sea of irises.
Xin Tong just stood at the door.
He neither walked up to knock on the door nor left.
She stood there quietly, her figure stretched out by the moonlight.
When her limbs became stiff, she came to her senses and realized she had been standing at the door for half an hour.
When I turned around and prepared to leave quietly, I suddenly heard the sound of a wooden door opening behind me.
She froze. Her stiff body slowly turned around, meeting Jiang Yuanbin's gaze at the door.
I haven't seen you for almost two months.
The old man was thinner, wore reading glasses, and had deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
Xin Tong didn't dare to move.
She knew Jiang Yuanbin didn't want to see her.
She nodded hurriedly and prepared to get into the car and leave almost as if escaping.
The next second, he heard an old voice coming from behind him.
"Aren't you coming in yet?"
...A bitter feeling suddenly rose in my throat.
Xin Tong sat in a daze on the familiar sofa, with a cup of Biluochun tea that Aunt Wang had brewed for her by her side. Jiang Yuanbin said he had cut off contact with Xin Tong, but in fact, he had been silently paying attention to what had happened to her, what she had experienced, and what Kelly was facing now.
Jiang Yuanbin is a leader in the industry, holding a high position. He has seen a lot.
Finally, the old man said two sentences in a serious tone.
"Distributors have been selling clothes for so many years, you can't just say they have a problem with their taste."
"It's a good thing that something happened before the order meeting. God is reminding you not to make the same mistake all the time."
Xin Tong stood there in a daze.
——She was finally awakened by these two short sentences.
Jiang Yuanbin had been in this business for so long that he knew everything. His two words of advice at this crucial moment almost instantly pulled Xin Tong out of her predicament.
She woke up in a cold sweat and realized what a serious mistake she had made.
Yes, the failure of the order fair was not a setback, but a warning.
The correct approach is to use the ordering meeting to reflect on yourself. Otherwise, if you really persist in your mistakes until the new product is launched, you will lose all your money and there will be no way to save it.
Xin Tong stood up suddenly. "Master, thank you. I'm leaving now."
*
The next morning, Xin Tong convened an emergency company meeting.
In front of all the employees of the design department, merchandise department and managers of other departments, Xin Tong frankly admitted that his wrong decision led to the failure of this autumn and winter ordering conference.
This was her mistake alone, and she would do her best to make up for it.
All designs and samples that weren't selected at the order meeting needed to be redesigned and resampled within a short period of time. Xin Tong deeply regrets the inconvenience and hardship this mistake has caused to all Kelly employees. She has decided to give all Kelly employees a salary increase as compensation.
After the company meeting, Xin Tong held an internal meeting of the design department.
The design department had to pay the most for this redesign, and she felt the most sorry for all of them. In addition to the salary increase given to all employees, she also promised them a doubled year-end bonus.
Several designers looked at each other.
Ai Ling spoke first. "Boss, it's not uncommon for orders to fail. Sending them back for rework is the design department's job. You made the decision on the fall/winter planning, but we all had a hand in the key plans. This isn't just your fault."
Xin Tong took almost all the blame on herself. Ai Ling wanted to remind her at the company meeting just now. Ai Ling had never seen a boss admit his mistakes so frankly. All bosses are afraid of being in danger, so even if they make a mistake, they will find someone to take the blame.
Xin Tong shook her head and said bluntly, "If I deny it, I will be in real danger."
"I'm the boss. No matter who makes the decisions, the final outcome is mine. Being the boss means taking responsibility."
Meetings continued one after another, and Quan Li followed Xin Tong around the building the whole time.
After the design department's meeting, the next was the merchandise department's. They would discuss what needed to be prepared in case an order failed, what procedures were required for factory docking... Quan Li would quickly take minutes for each meeting.
The last meeting was over, everything was arranged, and it was already dark outside the window.
Xin Tong hadn't eaten much all day. Quan Li wanted to order dinner for her, but Xin Tong acted as if she had something urgent to do. She quickly said no, picked up her bag and went downstairs.
She drove to a luxury jewelry store and picked up the items she had ordered.
Then we got back in the car and headed straight to the BEGIN dance studio, two blocks away.
The lights were green all the way, Xin Tong put his hands on the steering wheel, and couldn't help feeling tricky about what to do next.
She and Jiang Chongyan had very different personalities, always at odds with each other, one too cold, the other too hot. Recently, the two had been arguing over a disagreement about the design direction, with Xin Tong unilaterally and furiously attacking while Jiang Chongyan remained stoic and silent. This was the scene that always played out between the two whenever they argued.
Only when Xin Tong said she was tired and exhausted from arguing did the man walk away without saying a word, his face cold and icy.
He was obviously scolded so many times. If it were someone else, based on the eldest young master's usual personality, he would have stopped associating with them long ago.
But Ai Ling called and said that the boss was drunk, and the man drove over in ten minutes with a sullen face. Without saying a word, he directly carried the drunk Xin Tong into the car and sent her home.
——As a result, not only did the good man not get rewarded, but he was also caught off guard and left a deep tooth mark at the door of Xin Tong's house.
Xin Tong felt a little scared and couldn't help but regret it. Looking back now, that bite was really too strong, almost bleeding. He was drunk and didn't care about the severity of the bite. Jiang Chongyan must have been bitten very painfully at that time.
The cold war between the two during this period may have more to do with Xin Tong.
Xin Tong looked at the small box that had just been taken out of the jewelry store on the passenger seat.
She came to apologize and make amends.
Arriving downstairs at BEGIN, Xin Tong was waiting in the car.
It wasn't even the time the man usually finished his dance practice. Xin Tong waited for a full forty minutes, and just as she was dozing off, she finally saw a man walk out of the building.
His blond hair seemed to have grown longer, past his shoulders at its longest point. He wore a baggy black T-shirt and jeans that were baggy on him, with his belt tied halfway and hanging from his waist.
He put his hands in his pockets, his expression cold and expressionless. Occasionally, he turned his head, his hair blowing in the wind, revealing a few small black moles on his thin face.
Summer clothes were thin, and the round-necked T-shirt was stretched into a horizontal line by the man's broad shoulders. Even from such a distance, Xin Tong could still see the red circle of teeth marks on his neck.
It's been almost a week and it's still this deep.
...Just think about how hard the bite was.
Xin Tong got out of the car and walked in front of him. Jiang Chongyan paused slightly when he saw her, but returned to normal two seconds later and walked around her without even looking at her.
Xin Tong walked in front of him, and he went around to the left. She blocked his way, and he went around to the right, and she blocked his way again.
He has a cold face and keeps people at a distance.
This was the street, so it was not convenient to talk. Xin Tong grabbed his hand and pulled him into the quiet alley next to it.
He didn't move. He stood there like a mountain.
She pulled again, but it didn't move.
Xin Tong simply inserted her five fingers between his fingers and suddenly interlocked theirs.
——Jiang Chongyan’s face, which had been cold and unruly just now, suddenly had pupils that trembled and his expression changed drastically.
The word "Hey" got stuck in his throat. Before he could even utter it, Xin Tong pulled him forward, stumbling and stumbling. His steps were unsteady, his head lowered, his eyes wide open, staring intently at their interlocked hands, panicked and shocked.
Xin Tong pulled him into the alley, stopped, and turned around.
"you……"
Before his astonished expression faded, Xin Tong interrupted him.
"I'm here to apologize."
"I'm sorry, you're right. The Autumn/Winter trade show is over, and thirty out of thirty-five designs failed. This proves that the planning and design direction was flawed from the beginning."
"It's normal for us to have different opinions, but as a business owner, you should listen to everyone's opinions and make a decision after comprehensive consideration."
"I went to see your grandfather. His two words also enlightened me. I can't blame the dealers for their lack of vision just because the order fair failed. The failure of the order fair should be an important basis and standard for my decision-making. There is still time to correct it in time."
"I have already apologized to all employees at the company meeting and have given everyone a pay raise as compensation. The design department will quickly redesign samples and participate in another ordering meeting during this period to save time for subsequent production and minimize losses."
"Thank you for your suggestions on the design plan. They are very useful. I will think about them again and make adjustments when I return. The higher the position, the more important it is to listen to opinions that differ from your own. These are invaluable voices."
After saying all the words frankly, Xin Tong raised her head.
But she found that the man in front of her was full of disbelief in his black eyes, his Adam's apple rolled violently, his brows pressed against his eyes, and a large area of red appeared from his face to his neck. He kept lowering his head and staring at the two people's clasped hands, as if he didn't hear a word.
Xin Tong: "Are you listening?"
Jiang Chongyan raised his hands, which had been clasped together for so long, in front of her.
He pulled the corners of his mouth and uttered a few words, almost squeezing them out from between his teeth.
“…Let go first.”
Xin Tong: "I haven't finished talking yet. If I let you go, you'll leave. If I don't let you go, you'll leave."
His hands were big, his fingers were much thicker than hers, his knuckles were stiff, and from years of breaking dancing, his palms were covered with a thin layer of calluses, which felt slightly rough to the touch.
The young lady had never touched a woman's fingers since she was a child. Her thin, slender fingers slipped into his fingers one by one, fitting almost perfectly. When she applied force, she felt a slight sense of fullness. Her soft fingers gradually closed in, merged, and tightly grasped his palm.
...Jiang Chongyan's throat felt dry for no reason.
His back was stiff and his heart was beating wildly.
The man closed his eyes, trying hard to ignore the touch on his hand, "I won't leave."
Xin Tong stared at his face for a while, making sure that he would not ignore her and walk away out of anger like he did just now, and then she breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Chongyan felt his right hand slowly being released.
However, just before his palm was empty, a small box was stuffed into his palm.
The black, matte packaging is very heavy and exquisitely designed, with dark gold patterns on the sides.
"Apology gift."
The girl stood in front of him, looking up at him with clear eyes.
Jiang Chongyan's Adam's apple rolled up and down uncontrollably.
He opened it gently.
It is a men's clavicle chain.
It's not long, just reaching the collarbone. The Cuban chain is thicker, with a dark silver body and interlocking chains. It's calm and simple, with a smooth, silvery sheen.
And in the center of the hanging place, there is a red diamond inlaid.
The bottom is round and the top is pointed, and the carving process is extremely delicate and exquisite.
——The shape is a small flame.
Jiang Chongyan paused, his pupils shrinking almost imperceptibly.
"The first time I saw this one, I thought it would suit you."
"But this is a limited edition and out of stock everywhere. I went to three stores before I could order it."
"I figured, we've known each other for a long time, and from what I know about you, you seem to wear this style of jewelry quite often. I guess I could just give you something I like."
Xin Tong had been in meetings at the company all day. Lines formed under her eyes, and she looked tired. Her hair was slightly damp with sweat. She looked at him, her voice a little hoarse from talking so much, but with a hint of fragile, tender sweetness.
"How do you like it?"
Jiang Chongyan's heart skipped a beat, and he was caught off guard by her eyes that were as bright as stars.
They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before suddenly reacting. He turned his head away abruptly, his ears slightly red. He cleared his throat and said in a hoarse voice, "...Let's do it that way."
Xin Tong frowned suddenly, "Just like that?"
The man lowered his head and glanced at the necklace in the box. After two seconds, he said:
“The design is average. Nothing new.”
“It’s barely worthy of the eye.”
"Then will you accept it?"
Knowing that this was his personality, Xin Tong wasn't angry at all. She narrowed her eyes, hugged her chest, tilted her head to look at him, and said in a sticky voice, "If you accept it, it means you accept my apology."
He stared at her face for a while, then suddenly raised his finger, tilted his head, and showed her the deep red tooth marks on his neck.
"Then how do you compensate for this?"
Xin Tong thought for two seconds, "Shall I lick you?"
"..." At this time, you still want to make such a boundless joke. Jiang Chongyan's mouth twitched twice, and he laughed in anger.
But the woman actually walked up to him in a few steps, stood on tiptoe, and playfully grabbed his neck to kiss it. Jiang Chongyan was so shocked that his eyes widened. He pinched her waist, turned his face away from her kiss, and gritted his teeth, "...I don't want you to compensate me, okay!"
Xin Tong got off him, laughing so hard that she fell backwards. Seeing that the young master was still frowning, she laughed enough and said, "Okay, I won't joke anymore."
"I'm serious. Will you accept my apology gift?"
His Adam's apple rolled up and down, his thick black eyelashes trembled twice, he lowered his head, looked away, and looked at the stone wall beside the alley, looking nonchalant and leisurely.
"Let's talk later."
Xin Tong's face suddenly fell.
She pouted in dissatisfaction and tried to snatch it back, "Then give it back to me!"
However, she didn't expect that the man reacted faster than her. He grabbed the box tightly with his right hand, closed it in one go, stuffed it firmly into his trouser pocket, turned around and left, not giving her any chance to snatch it away.
"Hello!"
Xin Tong opened her eyes wide, not expecting him to leave so soon. She stared at the tall, blond man's graceful departure, stunned for two seconds before quickly catching up, "Jiang Chongyan!"
"Do you accept my apology or not?"
"Jiang Chongyan!"
She followed closely behind him, but he was too tall, had long legs, and walked very fast, so she was soon left behind and could only watch the hateful man get on the bicycle.
With one long leg on the ground, he turned his head, holding the black box in his right hand, and waved at her arrogantly and wantonly.
Xin Tong stood there, seeing his bright and clear black pupils, and the ostentatious smile in his eyes that could no longer be concealed from the moment he turned around.
"What's given to me is mine."
The young man looked back at her, his lips curled slightly. He was dressed in the dusky night hue, his hands gripping the bicycle handlebars. With a light push, he sped forward, his clothes fluttering like a butterfly in the wind.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
