Jiaochen

The international college wasn’t a simple design school either. In addition to design, you’d also be able to meet many people already in the fashion industry. The students there would also be carefully trained by fashion experts from several major luxury companies.

The students who eventually graduated from there would have virtually already firmly established themselves in the industry.

Their starting points were just too different.

Not to mention the fact that there would be additional rewards just by getting in, which were oftentimes extraordinary and generous, so much so that the competition to get in was extremely fierce.

The Ji Qingying who loved cheongsams and loved learning…

Nothing could stop her from moving forward. She immediately signed up for the program, even without a teacher’s recommendation.

Lin Xiaoshuang also signed up.

Their designs were vastly different.

Ji Qingying had spent nearly half a month working on her submission. She lost sleep as she endeavored to finish everything by hand, from the very first drawing, to the final product.

Even the fabrics used to create her design were processed by her personally.

She was full of confidence, but little did she know that the design she had worked so hard on creating would be stolen and copied.

When their designs were displayed, Lin Xiaoshuang and her exhibitions sported the same styled cheongsams.

The judges were in an uproar as they started an investigation immediately.

It was found that during the email submission for their prospective designs, Lin Xiaoshuang had submitted hers earlier than Ji Qingying.

At that time, the plagiarist was found.

Her teachers grew disappointed with her, and the eyes of her classmates gradually changed.

Even if Ji Qingying wanted to prove herself, she had no way to.

Lin Xiaoshuang had already moved out of the dormitory they shared, so having already separated, it was impossible for her to prove that Lin Xiaoshuang had copied her design.

Chi Lu tried to suggest a solution, saying that they should check the CCTV footage of the dorm the days leading up to design submission, to see if Lin Xiaoshuang had ever returned to the dormitory.

Coincidentally, the CCTV footage for those days were somehow corrupted.

Later, Ji Qingying thought of a key point.

When she had first formed her design concept, she had gone to He Yuan for advice.

She had also discussed her design with him because she needed his help sourcing the fabrics to be used in the final product.

Her discussion with him happened before she had sent the email.

Ji Qingying rushed to speak to He Yuan immediately, to find proof.

That day, Ji Qingying felt the world collapse for the very first time.

He Yuan had denied she had ever spoken to him.

He stated that she just asked him for his help in finding the materials, but as for discussing the specifics of the design, she never revealed anything to him. Much less, he didn’t even see the design drawings.

But Ji Qingying was clear that not only did she show him her rough draft, she had even roughly described what she envisioned the final product would be.

But instead, he is claiming it was Lin Xiaoshuang who showed him her design?

And that he had even helped her prove the authenticity of her work by explaining where she got her inspiration? But, every word he spoke, and every one of those inspirations he mentioned came straight from her mouth.

She had always loved the story of cheongsams.

From the time she was young, she grew up listening to her grandma’s stories about cheongsams, that every one of them had a unique soul and life.

Though there were many of them, each and every one had a deeply hidden story to tell.

……….

Fu Yanzhi’s phone call interrupted Ji Qingying’s memories.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she forcefully suppressed the memories of her dark past.

“Hello.”

She lowered her gaze at Chen Xinyu, giving her a tissue to wipe her tears.

Fu Yanzhi had just finished his work, so immediately called her.

“Have you finished eating?”

“…Not yet.”

Ji Qingying forced herself to calm down, though her voice still sounded a bit hoarse. “We’re still grilling it, so have you finished your work?”

“Yes.”

Fu Yanzhi hesitated before asking softly, “Is the barbecue delicious?”

Ji Qingying glanced at the already cold grilled meat, before stuffing it into her mouth. “Nope! Not delicious. I won’t be coming back here again.”#pleasereadthischapteratfoxaholic.com

Fu Yanzhi smiled before consoling her, “Okay then, let’s go to another restaurant next time.”

He lowered his gaze to check the time, “You finish eating first. I’ll pick you up later.”

Ji Qingying agreed, “Okay.”

After hanging up, Ji Qingying briefly put her emotions in order before looking at her two companions. “I’m fine now.”

She carefully thought about it before saying, “From the day I made up my mind to participate in this competition again, I knew that the day I would have to meet her again would come.”

This time, not only would clear her name of the accusation levied against her all those years ago, but it was also her chance to drag that person down

She likes being on top, right?

Then I’d like to see how she likes falling from the top.

When they finally exited the barbecue restaurant, Ji Qingying saw a person waiting for her at the door.

He was wearing a black shirt and had a stern expression on his face that made him look very unapproachable.

His whole body exuded a cold aura, from top to bottom, and from the inside and out.

However, he was holding something that didn’t match his current appearance or temperament.

In his hands was a cup of milk tea and a tanghulu* stick. He even had a balloon tied to his wrist.

*Note: Tanghulu are usually candied fruit on a stick.

Ji Qingying was slightly surprised.

Chen Xinyu and Rongxue were walking behind her, but they just had to stop when they saw this scene.

“Rong Xue, I’ll take you home.”

Rong Xue nodded, “We shouldn’t be third wheeling.”

“That’s right.”

With that, Chen Xinyu and Rongxue ran past them before saying a single sentence, “Dr Fu, we’ll be going first.”

“…………”

She paused for a moment before walking towards the man.

“Why are you…”

Fu Yanzhi lowered his eyes to gaze upon her face for quite a bit of time before softly asking, “Do you want to drink the milk tea first or eat the tanghulu first?”

“Tanghulu.”

“Okay.”

He handed the stick to her then held her other hand before walking out.

After walking a bit to a more open area, Fu Yanzhi then tied the balloon to her wrist.

Ji Qingying simply stared at him while he was doing it. While eating the tanghulu, she curiously asked, “Why did you buy this balloon?”

Fu Yanzhi acknowledged her question and replied, “When I first arrived, I saw a small child crying.”

Ji Qingying, who was just about to take another bite out of the tanghulu, paused for a second, “Huh?”

Fu Yanzhi tied a beautiful bow for her before calmly continuing, “The mother was hopeless in trying to coax the child.”

“And then?”

Ji Qingying was curious.

Fu Yanzhi smiled silently as he went on, “Then a balloon vendor came and the mother went to buy one. The child stopped crying right after and even started to smile.”

Ji Qingying stared at him blankly, without saying a word.

Fu Yanzhi stretched out his hand to pull her closer. He lowered his head to kiss her lips. They tasted sweet from the Tanghulu. “I’ve thought about it and if I buy a certain little girl Tanghulu and milk tea, even a balloon, would she stop crying and show me her smile instead?”#pleasereadthischapteratfoxaholic.com

Looking at Ji Qingying’s watery eyes, Fu Yanzhi couldn’t help but give her a kiss and ask, “Why haven’t you cheered up yet? Is it not enough?”

“Yes.”

“I want something else.”

Fu Yanzhi hesitated a bit before kissing her lips and replying, “What else do you want?”

“I want a hug.”

Fu Yanzhi smiled and pulled her into his arms.