Chapter 179: Motivational Women
When they left the tower of S.V., Yun Xiangxiang turned around to look at the towering building. “Brother Wei, I will never collaborate with this brand.”
No matter how noble S.V. seemed to be, no matter how many international stars clamored after it, it still made it into her blacklist. It was all thanks to Lucifer.
Song Mian had told of the ambush of Lucifer on him back at the charity banquet. Naturally, she would be on Song Mian’s side.
She knew S.V. wouldn’t even know about her if Lucifer was taken out of the picture. She wouldn’t even have the right to reject it.
Even so, she believed that one day, these far-off brands would come for her. Even if nobody was pulling the strings behind them.
“Okay then,” He Wei replied in appreciation.
Businessmen were all for profits, but there are a multitude of top luxury brands in the world. S.V. might be one of the best in the fashion industry, but brands that could go toe to toe with it still existed.
“Brother Wei, let’s go back to China. The sooner the better,” she was not planning to play around with Lucifer here.
He Wei made a call to book their tickets. He asked Yun Xiangxiang, “What about the third?”
“No problem,” Yun Xiangxiang nodded.
Fashion weeks generally lasted for a week. Yu Xiangxiang had to hurry back for the competition in her campus. She could not afford to wait until the end.
They did not come here with a mission in the first place. They could leave anytime they wished. Three days was enough for them to leave an impression.
Yun Xiangxiang started packing when she returned to the hotel. She noticed the Lotus of the Connected Hearts Song Mian gave her, “Sister Qian, how am I supposed to take this with me?”
International flights prohibit anyone from taking any plants with them. She could not ask Song Mian to get out of his way just for a plant.
“Which airline company did you make your booking with?” Song Qian took her phone out.
“Alitalia,” Yun Xiangxiang overheard He Wei’s call when he booked the tickets.
Song Qian made a call to inform Alitalia, “Send it to the receptionist of the company before you board your flight. They will deliver it through a designated path.”
“They can do that?” Yun Xiangxiang recalled a memory of a Thailand visit in her past life. She was blocked just because she wanted to bring a couple of pomelos back with her.
“You can. Just apply for a special pass, and you can bring it wherever you want,” Song Qian said that as if it was as easy as talking about the weather.
Yun Xiangxiang thought about how the Song Family was in the business of traditional Chinese medicine, and the variety of plants Master Song had. They must have shipped a lot of plants and medicinal ingredients.
Yun Xiangxiang went back to finishing her question sets after settling the matter of her plant. Song Mian had sent her the video of the errors in yesterday’s sets when she turned on her laptop.
She was running out of time. With each question set she did every day, Yun Xiangxiang’s mistakes were getting fewer and fewer.
The questions might be different, but the knowledge that was tested was the same. The only difference was how it was set up.
Yun Xiangxiang’s daily life was spent on question sets, watching fashion shows, and solidifying her knowledge on opera.
After watching the fashion show on the first, He Wei talked to Yun Xiangxiang over lunch, “Two brands are looking to collaborate with you.”
Lu Jin was sitting beside them. He Wei was not planning to hide from him. Yun Xiangxiang listened seriously.
“One of them is a women’s clothing brand in Italy. It’s famous here, but not much so in China,” He Wei clasped his hands together. “The other one is an unestablished brand.”
“Unestablished brand?” Yun Xiangxiang was taken aback. “What’s with it?”
“Have you ever heard of Deng Yang?” He Wei asked.
“I heard of her before,” Yun Xiangxiang nodded.
She was a celebrated fashion designer. Yun Xiangxiang saw the interview about her in her past life. Deng Yang, who was in her forties now, was China’s motivational woman. In private, many in the entertainment industry would ask her to design their clothes.
“She has her own brand,” Deng Yang’s brand was not any ordinary brand. It could stand among the top in the world.
“She had a divorce. Lost the lawsuit for keeping her brand. She has nothing except for her talent now,” said He Wei.
Yun Xiangxiang was surprised about Deng Yang’s divorce, as well as how bad she was doing. “She still has her connections, right?”
Deng Yang studied in New York for a few years. She had great connections in the US, even to the point where she could be known in the fashion industry.
“How long has it been since you last heard about her news?” He Wei replied with a question.
When enquired by He Wei, Yun Xiangxiang remembered about how she stopped keeping tabs on the outside world since she started staying in the hospital in her previous life. Five or six years have passed since her rebirth.
She was only about thirteen five or six years ago…
When met with Lu Jin and He Wei’s quizzical look, Yun Xiangxiang remained calm. With slight awkwardness, she answered, “I wanted to be a fashion designer in the past. Saw the interview about her around six years ago.”
Six years ago, Deng Yang was at the zenith of her career. Yun Xiangxiang loved to paint. She had a dream of being a designer. It would be reasonable for her to be interested in this field. Thus, coming across the interview by chance was normal.
“After the divorce five years ago, she lost the lawsuit. She got half of the assets after the allocation. But then she found out she had cervical cancer. She’s receiving treatment these four years. Only having made a full recovery last year,” He Wei was unsuspecting of Yun Xiangxiang.
“Relationships are fickle…,” Yun Xiangxiang finally understood what situation Deng Yang was in now.
Within five years, Deng Yang was already a hasbeen in the ever-changing world of the fashion industry.
If Deng Yang was the founder of the major brand she used to be, most actors would be glad to collaborate with her. However, that was not the case now. Naturally, famous actors had to factor in many sides if they wanted to collaborate with her. On the other hand, Deng Yang probably wouldn’t be interested in minor actors.
Deng Yang was stuck in the middle. She could not swim higher, but she could not settle for less. It was a coincidence that a newbie who wasn’t too major, and wasn’t too minor like Yun Xiangxiang appeared.
“Is she in Milan?” Yun Xiangxiang admired women like her.
Deng Yang started from a normal family, and fought her way up the societal ladder. She only stood out in the fashion industry when she was thirty, meeting her love when she was thirty-five. Fame descended upon her when she was thirty-eight. She was betrayed by love when she was forty. After losing everything, she even contracted cancer.
She must have spent a lot of money on her treatment, leaving her financially crippled. Even though she was already forty-five, she was still energetic.
In her previous life, Yun Xiangxiang was already tired of life when she was thirty. Not being able to move forward anymore, she chose to end her own life. Compared to her, she was disgraceful.
“She is here. I’ll call her now,” He Wei actually wanted Yun Xiangxiang to collaborate with Deng Yang.
Even so, he did not wish to make the decision for Yun Xiangxiang. It is not easy to establish a brand. Besides, Deng Yang was already rather old.
Thanks to that, Deng Yang failed to find any suitable actors. The actors who collaborated with Deng Yang six years ago either already stood at the top, or fell off the map by now.
The former already had brands that steadily collaborated with them. With such a stable partner, they had no reason to take the risk with Deng Yang.
As for the latter, Deng Yang naturally had no need for them. She needed someone to be by her side as she rose to prominence again, not hasbeens like herself.
As a fashion designer, she could start over from scratch; but if someone was eliminated from the entertainment industry, it meant everything was over for them.
Deng Yang had changed phenomenally since the last six years. Her figure was gaunt. She had short, tidy hair, and donned a simple suit.
Even so, Yun Xiangxiang saw no hint of depression or darkness in her eyes, only light.
And well as the energy that was just waiting to be released.
“I am Deng Yang,” she stretched her hand promptly.