C24 Chapter 24

Right in front of nationally renowned designers, this woman had already humiliated her plenty, and now she was actually laughing. She wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug smile off her face.

Xia Bing laughed so hard her eyes watered. “You really think these outfits are in line with international trends?”

Du Yawei didn’t understand what she meant, but she still lifted her chin and answered confidently, “Of course!”

Xia Bing pointed at the embroidery along the hem. “Embroidery had a huge moment last year when East Asian-inspired design was trending, but that trend came and went fast. What was popular last year is already outdated now. This year, sequins and appliqués are what’s hot in the West—don’t you know that? If you took these overseas, they’d be seen as dated designs. No real fashion insider would buy them! Maybe you could sell them at a discount, though. After all, bargain shoppers at the grocery store don’t care about design—they care about price.”

“Pfft—” Someone in the crowd couldn’t hold back and laughed out loud.

Du Yawei immediately shot a glare at the person who had laughed.

Clenching her fists, Du Yawei turned back to meet Xia Bing’s gaze and said through gritted teeth, “A good qipao can’t do without two key elements: frog closures and embroidery. Of course the pattern design on my clothes has to be done with embroidery.”

“That’s exactly why I’m saying these outfits are a mess! The traditional parts aren’t traditional enough, and the fashionable parts aren’t fashionable enough!”

“You!” Veins bulged on Du Yawei’s forehead, and her pretty face flushed red, but for a moment she couldn’t find a single word to fire back.

Clap, clap, clap! Applause rang out. Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Saang Shijuan clapping. “Very impressive! Designer Du Yawei, what do you have to say for yourself now?”

Du Yawei pressed her lips tightly together. After a long pause, she could only say bitterly, “That’s just her personal opinion. If she’s really that amazing, why isn’t she sitting on the judging panel instead of competing here with the rest of us? I have confidence in my work. As for this designer who keeps running her mouth, you should go revise your own entry. It’s so plain it couldn’t be any more ordinary. It’s completely beneath my notice.”

Xia Bing didn’t get upset. She gave a slight smile, calm and self-assured, graceful and composed. “We’ll see how good my work really is once we’re out on the competition floor.”

“Exactly. We’ll find out on the competition floor.” Du Yawei lifted her chin and squared her shoulders as she replied.

Xia Bing smiled, returned to her seat, and stopped paying Du Yawei any attention.

Once the argument ended, the onlookers gradually drifted away, but the murmurs around them didn’t die down:

“That designer’s comment really hit the mark!”

“Did you see the look on Du Yawei’s face just now? She looked like she was about to explode! Hahaha...”

“So if that designer’s really that good, how come nobody’s heard of her in the fashion world?”

“...”

The hushed conversation in the room drifted into Du Yawei’s ears in bits and pieces.

She was furious, but with so many designers around, she couldn’t exactly argue with all of them, so she had no choice but to pretend she hadn’t heard anything.

Seeing that Du Yawei looked pretty upset, Zhong Xinyi didn’t dare keep leading Saang Shijuan into the line of fire. Smiling sweetly, she slipped her arm through his and pouted playfully. “Shijuan, it’s so crowded backstage. This is no fun at all. Let’s go somewhere else.”

Saang Shijuan gave a faint nod. The slight smile he’d worn earlier had completely disappeared, and his usual cool, distant expression had returned.

After Xia Bing turned back around, she continued styling the model’s hair.

Her hands paused for a moment. In the end, she still couldn’t resist turning to search for Mr. Saang in the crowd...