Chapter 204 - Yours Or Mine?

Da Xia thought she would never understand how Feng Xuan and Wang Yimin managed to open up their business in a span of days. But the sense of urgency she felt when she was thinking about Rosa Chiaro was not something she could forget.

Sometimes she would try force herself to sleep. She would dive deep in her blankets and shut her eyes, silence enveloping her to the point that she could hear the sound of the clock ticking. She would give up and go back to her sewing room. She would finally find sleep once she was too tired to hold herself up. Then after a few short hours, she would be awake again and back at her seat.

That time all she could think about was "so this is how they did it". Her body was quitting on her at times, but her will and determination to trample those girls still won.

She missed meals to the point that her mother had the maids bring the food to her. At first it worked. But after a while, she would leave her food untouched—only noticing it when they would come to get the tray to replace with another meal.

Then her mother personally stepped in, taking her meals and making sure to watch her eat. "You look really tired. We should get other seamstresses."

"I don't want to."

She wanted to her launch to be perfect. She would not be satisfied knowing another person's hands touched her clothes. She wanted to ensure perfection and the only way to do that was to do it herself.

"What are you planning for your launch? The renovations in the shop is almost done."

"I've already completed a whole line up of models. I'll be sending out some of these dresses for them to wear and post in their socials with hashtags."

"But what's the big thing that's going to happen on the day of the launch? Are you also going to make a fashion show out of it?"

Da Xia smiled tiredly. "A fashion show with a bigger stage. You will see."

Her mother stood up and examined the garments that were on the dressform. "These are really beautiful, but the weather is cold still," observed her mother. Everybody knew Da Xia was obsessed with shiny fabric and anything that adds glint. Everybody loves things that shine—figuratively and literally.

"Can you really be beautiful without a little pain?" she asked her mother and stood up from her seat. "Thank you for the meal. Now I have to go back to what I am doing."

After a couple of hours, she suddenly felt sleepy so she left her sewing machine and went to be. She didn't dream.

It was a few days after that she realized her mother had been putting sleeping pills in her juice during dinner. She did not even get mad because when the morning came, she felt energetic.

"Thank you," she said to her mother without being specific. She knew her mom would get it.

"You have a shoot tomorrow. Have a good night's rest."

Instead of a catalogue, Da Xia shot a short commercial of her getting ready. The huge wardrobe offered sneak peeks of the clothes she was going to sell. She finally revealed the name of her brand to the public two days after it was edited.

When she watched the final cut, for a moment there, she forgot she was doing this to annoy the wife of her ex-boyfriend.

**

The weather was gloomy when Qing Chen had dropped off Feng Xuan at Wang Yimin's. The cousins immediately settled into the couch with a bunch of junk food in front of them.

"It's almost time," Wang Yimin said, accessing her social media on her phone while the screen was mirrored on the television.

Da Xia had been posting about the brand reveal in her socials. To be honest, Feng Xuan was really digging the aesthetic of rose gold, black, and white. When the clock hit 1 P.M. the video clip was loaded in Da Xia's profile.

The video started with everything pink in a wardrobe. Da Xia was choosing something to wear. It was obvious that some of the dresses there would be included in her initial release. She wore a shiny nude top with the front tucked under a wide belt with pearls. Her skirt was made of shimmering pink sequins. She looked confident and s.e.xy. She winked before she went out the door. Then her logo was slowly spelled out with all its curves and small heart at the I.

"Valentines but in Fashion. Feb 07."

"She's launching a line for women to wear on Valentine's day," Wang Yimin stated the obvious. "That's pretty smart, don't you think?"

"Yeah. I think that's a great way to start. I just hope that the outfits are really for Valentine's day."

Wang Yimin eyebrows twitched in amus.e.m.e.nt. "Oh yeah? What should one wear on Valentine's day?"

"Anyone can wear what the hell they want. I just meant the weather. With the outfit she was wearing in the commercial, it did not really promise warmth."

"Not all of us are bored housewives, Xuan," laughed Wang Yimin. "Maybe that's how some people want to look on Valentine's."

"Would you wear something like that?"

"In another world perhaps," she laughed. "Not really my kind of clothes." 

Feng Xuan clapped her hands and stood up, pulling the huge whiteboard from the side and wheeled it to the center of the room. "We now have to conceptualize how we are going to overshadow her that day. She probably has an ace above her sleeve so we need something that would drive the media people to us so she would get less coverage."

They mulled over it for a few minutes, just tossing ideas and trying to connect them.

The answer was a little obvious in this business. "We need a scandal," said Feng Xuan.

"Yours or mine?"

Feng Xuan almost choked.