Once afternoon came to Imperial, the grey clouds lingering in the sky gradually disappeared, allowing sunlight to peek through. Everyone continued their day as Yue Ling returned to De L'amour to finish work.
"Good afternoon, CEO Han. How was your lunch?"
Just as she entered through the doors, Sophia stood up from her seat and greeted her with a bright smile.
Yue Ling returns the smile and walks over to the receptionist.
"It was good. I got to enjoy it with my grandfather and brother."
She feels a little guilty for not including Lu Tian, but she was glad to have spent quality time with her family.
The boss and employee chatted briefly before Sophia remembered something and turned away.
"Oh, I almost forgot. This came for you while you were away."
She retrieves a medium box and places it on the counter.
"I was going to give it to Assistant Liu, but he hasn't returned from lunch yet."
Yue Ling was mildly astonished at the news, not because of the package but because of her assistant. Usually, it was Liu Shan who was back in his office before her.
However, understanding that he has his reasons, she doesn't put too much thought into it.
She took the box and held it under her right arm.
"Thank you. Let everyone know that if there is not much left to do, they can head home early."
Without waiting for a response, she turns away and walks toward the elevator.
Sophia was surprised to hear she and the others could go home early. She bows right before Yue Ling disappears around the corner and plops down in her chair.
She reaches for her keyboard and quickly sends an e-mail to all the employees.
While the e-mail reaches all the employees, Yue Ling quickly arrives on the 29th floor. She decided to make a quick stop in the design room to see how her design team was doing.
Just as she was a few feet away from the room, she heard a loud commotion inside.
She sighed deeply and contemplated whether to stick to or abort her decision.
However, choosing not to do the latter, she continues to the room.
She doesn't enter immediately but stares from the door with furrowed eyebrows.
Unlike the last time she came to check on them, the room was in a chaotic mess. Fabrics and design drafts are scattered all over the floor. It was to the point that there was hardly any room to walk, let alone stand.
"Ju Suo, that doesn't look nice. Why would you choose sequin? You know that boss has delicate skin. She will not be able to wear it for long."
Tang Zhonghui pursed his lips while bickering with the petite woman. He crosses his arms over his chest and stares at the dress Ju Suo had put together.
"The dress is nice, but the material isn't all that flattering."
Hearing his disapproving words, Ju Suo rolled her eyes. She puts her hands on her hips and tilts her head to look at the man.
"Do you think I am an idiot? I'm only referencing the sequin fabric since we don't have what I need."
She sighs hard and picks up her design sketch from the table on her right. She hands it to the technical designer.
"See for yourself. If we had the material, the dress I envisioned would be the best."
Tang Zhonghui was skeptical about her words. He stares at her and then down at the paper in her hand before taking it.
Once his eyes landed on the sketch she had done, his jaw dropped, and he looked at her.
"You came up with this?"
He shows her design to her and points at it.
"This. This right here is your design?"
It was a blush pink mermaid dress with a long horsetail trailing behind. However, it wasn't decorated with sequin but diamonds.
Ju Suo couldn't help but roll her eyes again. She snatched her design from him but made sure not to be so rough as not to rip it.
"Yes. THIS is my design that I came up with. Why? Are you just now realizing that it is better than yours?"
Tang Zhonghui scoffs a sarcastic chuckle in disbelief. He doesn't answer her and walks away.
He couldn't admit that her design was quite lovely. Once her design comes to life, it'll look good on theIr boss. Now he'll need to make some adjustments to his if he wants to beat her.
Ju Suo's eyes followed the man before they quickly spotted her boss standing by the door. Her expression lit up, and she dashes over.
"Boss! When did you get back? How long have you been standing there? Why didn't you come inside or let us know that you were stopping by?"
Yue Ling was thrown question after question as the petite woman stopped before her. She smiles a laugh and enters the room.
"I just got back. How is everyone doing?"
She asked, but she knew her design team was putting their whole heart into making the perfect dress for her. Luckily, this is only for her engagement. God knows how they would be if it had been her wedding dress.
Hearing of her arrival, everyone stopped what they were doing and joined her and Ju Suo.
"Boss, come over here. Take a look a the designs we came up with."
Lian Ni Shang spoke with a broad smile as she locked arms with her boss. As she did so, she didn't forget to lead Yue Ling to the back of the room.
"We each created a fashion mood board for you to look at."
Yue Ling didn't answer but laughed as she stood in front of the back wall. However, unlike its' previous job of housing fabric samples, it was now replaced with multiple design boards.
She stares at the visual summary of inspiring images, objects, material swatches, and sketches her design team had assembled.
It was as if they had used the whole day to brain-dump ideas.
Seeing this made her feel guilty. She had told them she would also think of some designs but hadn't even picked up her sketchbook.
She studies each collage with slow steps and carefully observes each item pinned on the board. Every so often, she would pause to ponder and then move on.
The other seven people in the room suddenly felt nervous watching her do this. They knew this was just a rough draft, but it felt like they were presenting a design before a judge.
Once Yue Ling was done looking at the last board, she turned around to face her design team. She doesn't look at them right away but at the nicely dressed mannequins in the room.
She was pretty surprised by their work. All the pieces they put together were far better than the dress she had picked at Blush Tree.
"Um... boss, what do you think?"
Gui Tian Lan nervously asks with his fingers entwined and thumbs fidgeting against one another.
Others might think he and the others didn't have to be nervous, but they do not know what it is like to work with Yue Ling.
She may be easy to get along with, but when it comes to finding the right design, she can be ruthless.
One minor flaw or something not to her liking can change everything.
Yue Ling looks away from the mannequin to each of her subordinates. She was taken aback when she saw the timorous expression on their faces, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Everything looks good and properly put together."
Compared to their messy designs before she left for An Qing, it was easier to envision how each dress would turn out this time.
"I'm truly grateful for all of your great work."
Each individual from her design team breathed a sigh of relief, not realizing they had been holding their breath the entire time.
However, the question now was, which design would she choose?
Yue Ling knew what they were thinking, and she had already come up with an idea. She looks at her design team, one person at a time.
"I know you all put your entire heart into this, but it's hard to make a decision."
She pauses for a second, only to see the relief in each person gradually disperse into thin air.
"Don't look so down. I still need to do my part."
She slightly straightens her spine, and her words continue.
"But once I'm done, I hope we can sit down and deliberate how to put our designs into one piece."
Hearing this, an elated gleam of light flashed in everyone's eyes, bringing back hope into them.
Fortunately, they don't have to fight about who will be the winner because all of them will be taking the trophy.
Yue Ling chuckles a faint sigh with a slight shake of her head at the surprised expression on her design team. She was glad to come up with this idea while returning from lunch.
"Boss, what is that in your hand?"
Shan Sinan couldn't help but notice the box in his boss's hand. He had wanted to ask her when he saw her but was more interested in hearing her opinion on the designs.
As his question fell, the others followed his gaze and stared at the box. Now they were also curious.
Yue Ling looks down at the box and laughs. Despite holding it, she had forgotten about it.
"I'm not sure. Sophia said it was delivered while I was out."
She raises her head and smiles at her design team.
"Anyways, I'll let you all get back to work."
She makes her way towards the door, but remembering something, she stops in her tracks and turns back to her subordinates.
"Ah, I almost forgot. If you're all finished here, you can go home."
She turns around and walks out of the room before anyone can respond to her.
Listening to her footsteps slowly fade into the distance, Gui Tian Lan leans towards the person who has not spoken a word.
"Have you found anything?"
Qi Li's expression remained as cold as a frozen lake. However, hearing the question, his eyes dimmed dangerously.
He stares at the door while feeling the gaze of everyone in the room.
"She has a reservation at Imperial Hotel tonight."
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