Gu Baoyan Seizes the Opportunity: Wow. Part 2

The doorbell rang. He opened the door to let in Pei Zhi, greeting him energetically, "Morning."

Pei Zhi was dragging a suitcase. He was heading out of town but came by before leaving. He asked, "What's the plan for the next couple of days?"

Zhuang Fanxin answered, "Going to silhouette, of course."

"Today?" Pei Zhi asked in surprise.

Zhuang Fanxin said, "Bro, I came here to work, not to travel."

silhouette was originally a youthful dream of Zhuang Fanxin and Pei Zhi. They loved design and promised to create a fashion brand together in the future. Zhuang Fanxin would be in charge of jewelry, and Pei Zhi would handle clothing; its name would be silhouette. However, the future was indeed unpredictable. For certain reasons, Zhuang Fanxin switched to studying fashion design, while Pei Zhi stepped into the entertainment industry, already a reasonably well-known stylist.

This morning, he was dragging his suitcase because he was joining a film crew as the art director. His flight was at ten.

Zhuang Fanxin glanced at him with a teasing glint in his eyes. "Is your 'legal' brother playing the main role? Is he famous?"

That senior from Pei Zhi's youth, Cheng Jiashu, had been discovered as a model while studying in the USA. He gained some fame for his looks, and after returning to the country, he was signed by an entertainment company and became a big hit as an actor. Now, in his late twenties, he was at the peak of his career in the industry, with a good reputation and popularity. In trendy terms, he had a "promising future."

Zhuang Fanxin lowered his eyes and chuckled. In any case, he didn't dare to have expectations for the future; he would rather burn incense and pray to Buddha that the future wouldn't cause him any more trouble. Too much had happened over the years. After finishing his fashion design studies, he had worked while also taking classes in American art history. After that, he settled in New York for over a year, where work took up almost all of his life.

He had always been outstanding, and his resume had become more and more impressive over the years. The reason he returned to the country this time was honestly because Pei Zhi's complaining had worn him down. Pei Zhi had begged him to come back. He considered it for three months and finally agreed during a plaintive phone call with him.

silhouette was a fashion brand registered by Pei Zhi in his senior year of university. Cheng Jiashu invested some money, so it was considered their partnership. In the beginning, Pei Zhi focused on design. His personality wasn't suited for the glitzy entertainment industry, and he only got involved gradually as a sacrifice for his relationship. Later, his and Cheng Jiashu's fame helped silhouette develop rapidly, and the company grew, but he found it increasingly difficult to manage both.

The last thing Pei Zhi wanted was for silhouette's design quality to decline. He needed help, so the first person he thought of was Zhuang Fanxin. Furthermore, he was truly busy, and at some point, the company's management had started to overstep their bounds, controlling the direction and nearly turning him, the boss, into a figurehead.

Zhuang Fanxin had heard that the hard-to-deal-with general manager was named Cheng Jiama, Cheng Jiashu's younger sister.

Unconsciously, the silhouette of a little girl flashed through Zhuang Fanxin's mind, like an old film slide. He quickly came to his senses and said, half-joking and half-sarcastically, "The little sister-in-law is usurping power. Does her own brother know?"

Pei Zhi spread his hands. "Cheng Jiashu's mother has hated me for years. She's always making a fuss, so we each took a step back on the condition that Cheng Jiama could work at silhouette. I didn't think it was a big deal. It's not easy for a girl to find a job after graduation, and she's quite capable, so I agreed."

Who would have thought that Cheng Jiama had initially joined the company as a spy, reporting every little sign of trouble to the Empress Dowager. Over time, her ambition grew. She persuaded Cheng Jiashu to transfer his shares to her, and now she treated silhouette as a lucrative prize she was entitled to by family connection.

Cheng Jiashu was busy enough with his acting career and never paid attention to the company's complicated affairs. Besides, it involved his own sister and mother, and Pei Zhi didn't want to put him in the middle and bother him.

Zhuang Fanxin turned slightly to the side, not wanting Pei Zhi to see his cold expression. This coldness wasn't directed at Pei Zhi; it was purely a spontaneous feeling. When they were young, they had defied all opposition to be together. But so what if they were together? Now, how much sacrifice, compromise, and grievance had been swallowed? Perhaps one day, the final, fatal straw would fall.

He also thought of himself. He once had someone who compromised for him, resisted for him, defied everything for him. And in the end, that person was cast aside, abandoned, and deceived by him. He was too vile. He was completely unworthy.

Turning his face back, Zhuang Fanxin composed his expression. The coldness was gone, and he even asked with a smile, as if it were an irrelevant question, "Do you want her to get lost?"

Pei Zhi hadn't thought about it. "She's Cheng Jiashu's sister. I just want to focus on the design." He sighed. "Fanxin, back then, I thought that once we grew up, we could be our own masters and handle everything. It turns out that's still not the case."

Zhuang Fanxin pressed his lips together. He hadn't uttered a complaint in many years because he knew it was useless. silhouette was a piece of youthful sentiment for him and Pei Zhi, but he had no intention of waxing nostalgic. Picking up his phone and bag, he said bluntly, "You should go to the airport. Send me the company's location. I'm going over right now."

Pei Zhi said hurriedly, "You don't know anyone there. How can you go by yourself?"

"I have hands and feet, why can't I?" Zhuang Fanxin raised his eyebrows, his tone allowing no argument.

Pei Zhi looked at Zhuang Fanxin, momentarily dazed. His best friend's appearance hadn't changed; time hadn't left a single wrinkle at the corners of his mouth or eyes. He was even more exquisite, handsome, and dignified.

But in those eyes, it was hard to find the brilliant innocence of the past. In its place was a sharp, no-turning-back maturity, an arrogance born of talent and fame, a strength forged into a callus after being baptized by pain.

And deeper still, there seemed to be a regret that could never be filled.

People change. Everyone changes.

The two parted ways at the hotel entrance. Zhuang Fanxin got into the car and reviewed silhouette's general information again on the way. He arrived at the silhouette building at exactly ten o'clock. On the external screen was the advertising campaign for this season's haute couture. He had just seen the model at the competition in London, giving him the illusion that he hadn't yet overcome his jet lag.

Just as the taxi was about to pull over, a Pagani supercar sped past.

Zhuang Fanxin entered the building, using Pei Zhi's card all the way. Three minutes later, he appeared in the silhouette Design Department. He ignored the receptionist and walked straight in, pushing open the door to the office Pei Zhi had prepared for him.

Zhuang Fanxin deliberately left the door open. The staff, the designers, the supervisors on this floor—he sat leisurely in his chair and let them look their fill.

A supervisor asked, "Are you Teacher Zhuang?"

Last night, a flight attendant had called him 'student,' and today he had become 'teacher'. Zhuang Fanxin nodded in acknowledgment. As coffee was brought to him, a graceful, charming figure also glided over.

Cheng Jiama, with her long, curly hair, arrived with a group of supervisors clustered around her like stars around the moon. As she drew near, she extended a hand and said cheerfully, "I heard Brother Pei mention you long ago, but I didn't know which day you'd be returning. Please forgive my poor hospitality."

Zhuang Fanxin extended his hand to shake hers, but offered no polite platitudes, only a smile. After she finished introducing the several members of management one by one, he seamlessly issued an order for them to leave. "It's crowded and the air isn't circulating. I'd like to look around by myself."

Cheng Jiama's smile was amiable. She immediately arranged for an assistant for him, which could not be said to be anything but thoughtful.

Once they were gone, only the newly assigned assistant remained, standing stiffly before the desk. Zhuang Fanxin waved his hand to disperse the scent of perfume, opened a file on the desk to look through, and asked casually, "I saw the signs on my way in. Are the cutting room and the sample room in the west corridor?"

The assistant stood stiffly before the desk. "They should be..."

"What do you mean, 'should be'?" Zhuang Fanxin didn't even look up. "Get me a list of the Design Department personnel before noon."

"Ah?" the assistant responded. "Everyone?"

"Do you not understand Chinese?" Zhuang Fanxin said. "Also, organize all the design materials from the last three years for me."

"I'm sorry, I don't know how to organize them..."

Zhuang Fanxin hadn't looked at him properly this whole time, but now he couldn't help but raise his head. He saw a young boy, handsome with delicate skin, but looking somewhat timid and awkward.

He frowned. "Are you new?"

The other boy nodded. "It's my third day as an intern."

Zhuang Fanxin suddenly laughed. This Cheng Jiama, not bad. He asked, "What's your name?"

The intern replied, "My name is Wen Lin."