Of course, it was Lu Xinyi who staged and planned everything. How could she let Sun Qiyan destroy Flair Apparel without a fight?
After all, her cousin still had debts she needed to pay; and it was the right time to destroy her. Dragging Xi Yunchuan with her was just a bonus on Lu Xinyi’s part. Even if the two begged on their knees for forgiveness, she’d never leave them in peace!
Didn’t Sun Qiyan want to be popular? Then, Lu Xinyi wouldn’t mind throwing her under the spotlight she dearly wished to have.
“Miss, you have a phone call.” Jiao Jiao pulled her mistress from her deep thought. Lu Xinyi almost missed the phone call but was just in time to pick it up.
“Xin’er, the recording was played by all major media outlets. Are you satisfied?” Tang Shui asked at the other end of the line.
“Very much so, Uncle Shui. Thank you so much for helping me,” she replied in a low voice, watching the chaotic scene in front of her. Yes, she was satisfied that she’d ruined Sun Qiyan’s false facade to the public.
Since Tang Shui heard of what happened to Sun Qiushan from Shen Yi, he was saddened by the fact that his niece was grieving once again. Getting revenge from those who made her cry wasn’t enough for the Tang family. They’d take all the extreme measures to make sure Lu Xinyi would be satisfied and never be harmed.
Zhang Sheng was the one able to retrieve the CCTV recording from the cafe where Sun Qiushan was last seen. By then, it was easy for her sister Zhang Qing to follow Sun Qiyan’s plans and inform Lu Xinyi about Starlight getting a primetime slot for their commercial.
After thanking her uncle once more, Lu Xinyi hung up the phone, her lips curling to a devilish smile. Jiao Jiao thought that Sun Qiyan was being brain-dead for antagonizing their mistress. If Sun Qiyan didn’t come knocking on a devil’s door, she wouldn’t find herself at this predicament.
Truly, Madam Shen can be ruthless if she was provoked! With the Shen and Tang families supporting her, she was almost invincible.
When she said before that she’d give Sun Qiyan a great gift, none of the other guests had antic.i.p.ated that this was the gift she prepared for her cousin. As for who called and informed the police ahead, it must be their President Shen’s way to support his beloved wife.
“Let’s go.” Their young madam finally decided to leave. Lu Xinyi looked at the abandoned podium and the trail of media following behind Sun Qiyan. This wasn’t finished yet! She hadn’t given Sun Qiyan the final blow!
She left the main hall with her bodyguards and didn’t even look back at the chaotic mess she started.
The media noticed her departure, but it was too late for them to get her opinion. They could only watch her retreating figure as she left the event site.
—
Sun Qiyan was arrested while Xi Yunchuan was invited by the police to give statements about Sun Qiushan’s whereabouts, but the man’s lips were tightly sealed and didn’t reveal anything.
The news about Sun Qiushan’s sudden disappearance and death quickly spread throughout the industry, and the Sun Corp—as well as Redux Entertainment’s—stocks came cras.h.i.+ng down. The newly appointed CEO of Sun Corporation suddenly found herself at loss from the overwhelming problems Sun Qiyan left for her to deal with.
Sun Mingai threw everything she had on her desk and broke several wine gla.s.ses in rage. This niece of hers!
“Sun Qiyan! You’re really a stupid girl!”
Of course, she was aware what Sun Qiyan was up to since she was the one who taught her how to bargain with Xi Yunchuan to get his favors. Yet, she also taught this stupid niece of hers not to leave traces and evidence! How could this niece of her be stupid and scheming at the same time!
Just who did Sun Qiyan offend to be ruined this way?!
Now, Starlight Collections was also facing a plagiarism issue over their past and newest designs. Two people surrendered themselves at the police station and admitted the offense of stealing Xia Yuhan’s designs by breaking into her main boutique. The said design was then sold to Sun Qiyan at a high price.
Because of this, the reporters camped outside Flair Apparel to get Xia Yuhan or Lu Xinyi’s exclusive interview; but none of them showed up. Only a manager faced them on behalf of Young Madam Shen.
“Madam Shen is deeply saddened by the news of the stolen designs. She’s a close companion and a good friend of Flair Apparel’s head designer, Xia Yuhan. As for the upcoming launch of Flair Apparel’s Fire and Ice campaign, we will let everyone see and check if the designs of Starlight’s Finest St.i.tch were really copied from us.”
Two days later, it was Flair Apparel’s turn to present its newest campaign. It wasn’t as star-studded like Starlight, but the event site was fully packed. Unlike their compet.i.tor, the event didn’t start right away until the commercial made by Yuan Jin featuring Zheng Yue and w.a.n.g Zhuyi was played on the big screen.
The guests were in awe after the one-minute commercial ended. Zheng Yue’s ice queen demeanor was the perfect contrast to w.a.n.g Zhuyi’s sunny and lively vibe. Not only the endorsers managed to shock the audience but also the runway show that started at once when the commercial ended.
Each piece was special on its own. The colors and the fabric texture were well-thought. Today’s market was flooded with a lot of designs, and consumers were confused about what to choose. Designers like Xia Yuhan must consider attracting loyal repeat customers, and she succeeded in it by showing the strengths of their products that set them apart from their compet.i.tion.
Nowadays, there was a lack of diversity. Fas.h.i.+on had become more commercialized than ever before, and it was saturated with pre-existing designers and brands. The budget to manage a fas.h.i.+on business had increased as fas.h.i.+on markets had grown exponentially, and it was becoming more difficult for new brands and emerging designers to survive in the current fas.h.i.+on market.
As Xia Yuhan watched the event at the sidelines, her heart was filled with happiness and deep grat.i.tude to her boss—Lu Xinyi—and Yuan Jin for helping her save Flair Apparel from bankruptcy.
She admitted that she lacked business ac.u.men, and Lu Xinyi easily solved her problems by making good judgments and quick decisions while Yuan Jin helped her brand be where their customers would be—whether it was on social media, magazines, billboards, etc. He figured out the best way to reach their customers.
As Flair Apparel’s rise, it marked the downfall of its compet.i.tor, Starlight. To follow the trend, Flair Apparel not only offered their Fire and Ice designs on their physical stores which could be found at any malls owned by the Shen family but also opened their online store for consumers who wanted to buy clothes from the comfort of their homes.
In the first hour since their online store was opened, the products were easily sold out! The demand was quite high, and they were forced to do a pre-selling for another set of clothes to fulfill the orders.
The netizens then started comparing the designs of Starlight with the on-hand brochures they were able to get from Flair Apparel’s event. Some were able to pinpoint the similarities as well as the type of fabrics used for each design. As they continued to compare the designs, the more people leaned to believe that Starlight’s Finest St.i.tch was indeed a copycat of FA’s Fire and Ice line.