Chapter 1536: I Believe You’re the Most Outstanding
Capital City of Country Z, Lishan mansion!
Si Yiyan was just watching the live telecast of the Milan World Expo International Jewelry Design Compet.i.tion. Right there on the wide-screen television was Wen Xinya wearing a pale blue flowered high-waisted oriental wrap dress. The pleated skirt flowed elegantly past her perky bottom, giving her a refined and poised air. A light blue ribbon adorned the front of her chest and was neatly tied into a b.u.t.terfly knot, with the ends dangling prettily. Whenever she moved, the ribbon would sway gently, making her appear lithe and graceful.
There was no doubt that Wen Xinya was now full of confidence in herself. She was like a luminous pearl standing tall and proud. The bright spotlight shone on her like a sacred beam of light, enshrouding her with a dazzling s.h.i.+ne.
Looking at her Athena’s Protection jewelry designs, he couldn’t help recalling the numerous times she had snuggled in his arms as he read to her from that Greek language book, “The Chronicles of Athena”.
For the Seven Treasures Necklace, she had merged religious culture and modern-day trends to infuse a rich meaning and soul into her designs. Now, she had once again amazed everyone by using Greek mythology as her concept and mes.h.i.+ng it with an unconventional sense of contemporary. She had shown a deeper understanding of how to imbue her designs with more intense meaning. Even more astonis.h.i.+ng was her successful portrayal of the soul of her creations. The core concept of protection in her designs.
He had expected her to get first place in this round.
As for the next segment’s judging of the actual physical product—Si Yiyan gave a meaningful smile. He very much looked forward to her performance then.
At that moment, Si Yiyan’s mobile phone rang.
He grinned when he saw the caller ID on the screen. “Xinya!”
Si Yiyan’s calm voice gave Wen Xinya’s heart a slight jolt. “It’s me. The preliminary rankings for the designs segment just ended. All the restrictions placed on the compet.i.tors have been removed, so I can now communicate with the outside world.”
Mr. Ronda had already returned Wen Xinya her personal mobile phone, laptop, and other electronic devices. She had immediately called Si Yiyan. Only now did she realize just how much she missed him.
Now that she finally heard his voice, she was so overwhelmed with emotions that she felt somewhat at a loss.
Si Yiyan heard the excitement in her voice and immediately guessed just how happy she currently was. “How was the compet.i.tion?”
Although he had watched the live telecast, he wanted to hear her personally narrate her experience of the compet.i.tion, to share her exhilaration with her.
Wen Xinya perked up at the mention of the compet.i.tion. She gleefully shared with him everything, including the source of her inspiration for the Athena’s Protection design, as well as some other details concerning the compet.i.tion. She even told him her opinions of the other 10 compet.i.tors.
In the end, she couldn’t help lamenting. “I never knew that marketability would be so important in such an elite international jewelry design compet.i.tion.”
She had partic.i.p.ated in too few jewelry design compet.i.tions and still had a shallow understanding of what they regarded as crucial. She recalled how that French jewelry designer managed to integrate both meaning and marketability in her dolphin jewelry set, to attain such a high score.
If not for the fact that the compet.i.tor was slightly less skilled than her, Wen Xinya wouldn’t have been able to garner first place in the rankings.
Si Yiyan said mildly, “Jewelry is meant to be worn. No matter how pure and high-minded a compet.i.tion is, marketability will always be a consideration during the judging.”
And Xinya was fully confident of her ability to merge soul and meaning with marketability. This had been proven by the fact that every one of her creations was well-received after going on the market. This was one of her strong points.
Wen Xinya smiled. “You are right. No matter how great a design is, if it is completely not marketable, it will never gain acceptance. The opinion of the ma.s.ses is the most important. A design is only good when everyone else says it is. A design can be bold and novel but doesn’t always have to be wildly radical.”
Wen Xinya was just spouting off a casual lament. She didn’t really feel that there was anything wrong with marketability being one of the criteria during major compet.i.tions. Nevertheless, she was completely against designers like Shen Siwen, who only pursued after the commercial aspect of their jewelry designs.
She had designed Athena’s Protection in pursuit of breaking through her own limitations with the theme of “red rubies”. That was why her creations had been audacious and unconventional. It was to give one an immediate rush on first sight, thereby sacrificing its marketability. Nevertheless, it didn’t mean her designs had no commercial value at all.
Si Yiyan’s heart softened when he heard the joy in her voice. “I look forward to your next performance!”
Wen Xinya tossed and turned in the bed with her mobile phone in hand. A soft, dreamy smile played across her lips. “You have that much confidence in me?”
Even she herself couldn’t help admiring the French compet.i.tor’s dolphin design. It was highly marketable and meaningful at the same time, which would give it an obvious advantage during the presentation of the physical product. By then, her one-point lead over the French compet.i.tor would become blurred.
All that French compet.i.tor had to do was to put in more effort during her presentation of her physical creation and it would be all-too-easy for her to surpa.s.s Wen Xinya.
Many others had the same thought.
Si Yiyan usually spoke in a placid manner, but his tone was now br.i.m.m.i.n.g with resolute confidence. “I believe that you are the most outstanding.”
It was possible for a jewelry designer to instill deep meaning into a design through learning, practice, and experience.
On the other hand, only a handful of truly renowned master jewelry designers were able to infuse their designs with a rich soul. Xinya was just 21 years old and for her to achieve such a level—she was already way above the rest of her compet.i.tion.
Moreover, Xinya still had a trump card.
Wen Xinya giggled before suddenly whispering, “Si Yiyan, I miss you so much!”
Si Yiyan was usually by her side all the time, doting on her and taking care of her. Apart from his overbearing manner in bed, Si Yiyan treated her like a princess every day.
Now that Si Yiyan was not beside her, she had to manage all sorts of matters by herself. She realized just how good Si Yiyan was to her.
Si Yiyan tightened his grip on his phone. His lips had suddenly gone dry and an itch arose in his throat. “I miss you very much too.”