Chapter 1289: The Milan Jewelry Design Compet.i.tion
Wen Xinya was feeling refreshed and smug after outarguing Du Ruoxin. In high spirits, she headed to Ji s.h.i.+han’s office.
Thrilled to see Wen Xinya, Ji s.h.i.+han said, “I saw the Autumn jewelry series that you designed for the Wen Corporation. Honestly… they’re very impressive. Autumn is a beautiful and graceful season of harvest. You’ve managed to combine the two qualities and incorporated them into your designs. Amazing.”
She did not expect that Wen Xinya would make such tremendous progress and grow so rapidly within just three short years. Most importantly, she was hardworking, studious, humble and grounded. She did not become complacent just because of her outstanding achievements.
Wen Xinya smiled and said, “The concept of my design is harvest and hence, I’ve made wheat, grains, corns and other agricultural crops the theme of my design. I tried to incorporate fas.h.i.+on, luxury, and grace into the designs while revolving them around harvest. I initially thought that the Autumn series wouldn’t be popular. After all… most of my designs are luxurious pieces and an agriculture theme isn’t posh enough.”
She did not expect that Old Mr. Wen would be in such great support of her designs, so much that he even launched them grandly in all of the jewelry stores under the Wen Corporation. The sales were also surprisingly impressive.
Ji s.h.i.+han smiled and said, “You were overthinking. Wheat, grains, corn and agricultural crops are all symbols of harvest and everyone in this era is looking forward to the harvest. Students are waiting to harvest the results of the hard work that they had put into their academics while the working cla.s.s is looking forward to harvesting their salaries and build their incomes. The members of the upper-cla.s.s society are hoping to harvest a great revenue from their businesses and acc.u.mulate wealth. Your designs are auspicious in significance and they’re also grounded yet lavish. That’s why everyone likes them.”
Wen Xinya had good ideas, talent, and creativity. Hence, she would definitely have a stable future in jewelry design.
Old Mr. Wen thought the same too.
Ji s.h.i.+han changed the subject by saying, “Xinya, do you know why I kept encouraging you to take part in jewelry design compet.i.tions in the past two years?”
After giving it some thought, Wen Xinya answered, “It’s because I have a head start and I’m naturally gifted in jewelry design. The limited content taught by the university is not enough for me to unleash my fullest potential. Hence, the compet.i.tions are the only way I can showcase the knowledge that I have acc.u.mulated. The compet.i.tions are platforms that will help me broaden my prospectives.”
Ji s.h.i.+han nodded and said, “You’re right, but this is only one of the reasons.”
Prodigies were often the center of attention, but they were also the ones who were the most likely to suffer defeat.
Wen Xinya asked in astonishment, “What’s the other reason?”
Ji s.h.i.+han explained calmly, “This is a test that I’d like to put you through. From the moment you chose to major in jewelry design, you should have already understood that you’d have to be as captivating as jewelry in order to be an outstanding jewelry designer. However… you’d have to go through various experiences and training in order to develop an eye-catching and alluring personality, just like how diamonds have to be cut in order to s.h.i.+ne, pearls have to be polished in order to glow, and jade has to be carved and polished.”
Wen Xinya’s heart raced rapidly. It was her first time hearing those words from Teacher Ji.
Ji s.h.i.+han said calmly, “Everyone envies and supports you because you’re a young and talented individual. Although the talented often enjoy immense attention and glory, they tend to suffer defeat very easily too. Your mother and I are the best examples.”
They were both extremely talented in jewelry design. However, Ji s.h.i.+han almost led herself astray back then. Fortunately, Mo Yunyao gave her a hand, after which she began teaching jewelry design while Mo Yunyao pa.s.sed away.
Having understood what Teacher Ji meant, Wen Xinya said calmly, “I have a head start and I’m very talented in jewelry design too. I have a bright future ahead of me, but most young talents are often proud, conceited and superficial. They often lose themselves in the pursuit of fame and also end up losing their pa.s.sion for jewelry design.
“Given my current talent, it’s only a matter of time before I’m branded as a prodigy. Teacher Ji, you’re trying to test my personality, so you continuously encourage me to join jewelry design compet.i.tions and push me towards fame and success. If I encounter any setbacks during these compet.i.tions, they would serve as a learning opportunity for me. If I manage to stay true to myself even after gaining rapid success, that would prove that I am worthy of being a jewelry designer. However, if I were to lose myself and become too obsessed with superficial glory, you would still have a way to put me back on track. No matter what happens, these would be learning opportunities for me.”
Ever since Teacher Ji took her as her apprentice, she had been putting in plenty of effort into teaching her. She did not expect that Teacher Ji would be so conscientious with her.
Ji s.h.i.+han smiled and remarked, “You didn’t disappoint me.”
Throughout the years, she watched as Wen Xinya broke through Capital University and made her debut in the international jewelry design scene. Wen Xinya was extremely elated, excited and proud, but she had never allowed the clout to blind her. Instead, she stood firm to her aspirations.
Wen Xinya said with much grat.i.tude, “Thank you for the guidance and effort that you’ve put into teaching me, Teacher Ji.”
Although she was a young and talented individual, she actually had a mature soul. Her experiences in her previous lifetime made her realize the importance of staying true to her goals and principles. Besides… she also had Old Mr. Mo and Si Yiyan to teach her and give her constant reminders.
She wanted a personality that was as captivating and vibrant as jewelry, not the superficial fame and glory that came with being a successful jewelry designer.
Ji s.h.i.+han handed her a gold invitation card and said, “This is the invite to the international jewelry design compet.i.tion held by the Milan World Expo.”
Greatly taken aback, Wen Xinya grabbed the golden invitation card that looked extremely posh and prestigious. She could not take her eyes off the s.h.i.+ny diamonds at all.
Ji s.h.i.+han said, “The jewelry design compet.i.tion is held by the Milan World Expo and the committee of the Italian Jewelry a.s.sociation, the Harbor City Jeweler’s Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese International Luxury Goods a.s.sociation, the International Jewelry Network as well as many other world-famous jewelry design companies. This time, this compet.i.tion will be your first step in taking on the international jewelry design scene. You have a month to prepare for this compet.i.tion.”
Although Wen Xinya had taken part in plenty of renowned international jewelry design compet.i.tions and had build herself a good reputation, she still had a long way to go before she could really secure a footing in the international jewelry design scene and become a member of the French Vogue jewelry design committee.
Wen Xinya was over the moon because she knew that Teacher Ji had given her that precious invitation card because she trusted her and recognized her abilities. “Teacher Ji, rest a.s.sured. I won’t let you down.”
She knew how important the jewelry design compet.i.tion meant to her.