C18 Chapter 18

It was obvious there was emotion behind her words, and Zhong Xinyi caught it right away. She quickly tugged on Du Yawei’s sleeve. “Yawei, don’t be like this. Shijuan was just making an offhand comment. He didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Heh. Looks to me like Mr. Saang is just pretending to know what he’s talking about.”

“Yawei!” Zhong Xinyi was starting to panic. Who was Saang Shijuan? He was the owner behind the event’s exclusive title sponsor. No matter how upset you were, you couldn’t embarrass him to his face like this. If you made him angry, he could have her kicked out of the competition on the spot. Then what would she even have left to compete for?

She had originally wanted to introduce Saang Shijuan to her, maybe see if she could put in a quiet word and help pull some strings. But now it seemed she had only made things worse.

And Du Yawei really was impossible. Couldn’t she rein in that temper of hers just a little? How could she pick a fight with absolutely anyone?

Forcing an awkward smile, Zhong Xinyi lightly tugged on Saang Shijuan’s sleeve and said in a low voice, “Shijuan, that’s just how my friend is. Design means everything to her, and she can’t stand hearing anyone criticize her work. Please be the bigger person and don’t take it personally. Why don’t we go look around somewhere else?”

Du Yawei came back to her senses and immediately felt a flicker of regret. How had she let herself get so worked up and gone head-to-head with Saang Shijuan like that?

He was a powerful businessman at the top of his field. Making money was what he did best. Not understanding design was perfectly normal, wasn’t it? So why had she cared so much about the opinion of someone who didn’t know design in the first place?

Besides, only now did she remember that all the sponsorship for this competition came from Lingchuang Clothing, a company under Saang Shijuan’s group.

She had always wanted to work at Lingchuang Clothing, but she had never made it in because she wasn’t good enough.

She had heard that the winner of this competition would be able to join Lingchuang Clothing directly as a contracted designer, with pay on par with the company’s chief designer.

Whether as a chance to prove herself or as a stepping stone, becoming a designer at Lingchuang Clothing was the kind of opportunity countless designers dreamed of.

Du Yawei took a deep breath, then offered an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Mr. Saang. I was too impulsive just now. Please don’t take what I said to heart.”

From beginning to end, Saang Shijuan showed almost no emotion. His hands stayed in his pockets, his tall frame straight and still, his eyes unreadable.

He normally couldn’t be bothered to argue with someone like her. Years in the business world had taught him one simple rule:

Never argue with an idiot.

The kind of person you argue with says something about the kind of person you are.

So if he kept nitpicking this woman’s words or attitude right now, he’d only be lowering himself—and that was never something he did.

And yet, for some reason, today he felt like indulging himself for once.

The corner of his lips lifted slightly as his cool voice cut through the room. “Didn’t you want to know which designer here has work good enough to catch my eye?”

Du Yawei froze. She clearly hadn’t expected Saang Shijuan to actually call her out like this.

A cold sweat broke out down her back, and fear began to creep in. If she really offended him, would there be serious consequences?

She swallowed hard. Before she could figure out how to respond, Saang Shijuan turned slightly and pointed to a woman not far away, one brow raised.

Following his gaze, Du Yawei looked over and saw an obscure designer standing in the corner.

The fashion design world wasn’t exactly huge, but it wasn’t that big either. There were only a handful of truly well-known names, and most of them knew each other behind the scenes.