Young girls were different from vulgar tycoons who didn’t pay the slightest attention to fashion. Young girls were at the time of their prime and they should wear the very best clothing! After all, their youth only lasted so long; if they didn’t dress nicely now, what other time would they get to dress up?

That was a viewpoint Zhong Jiangnan had always strongly believed in.

After he saw that Liu Man’s clothing were all cheap and bought from low-quality Taobao stores, Zhong Jiangnan felt pained because the cheap clothing discounted Liu Man’s beauty!

But this could also prove that Liu Man was indeed struggling finically, which would explain why she wanted to make money as a cyber star. Being a cyber star was not exactly the most high-tiered profession, but it did make quick money.

The truth showed, the older one gets, one’s perceptiveness and experience grew as well. Zhong Jiangnan was right; after Liu Man moved out of her original house, she did not bring the clothes of the former owner with her. So all her latest clothes were bought on Taobao.

Besides, she basically had no money left in her pocket at this time. Her most recent income had been spent on the makeover of the new warehouse. The weather was hot and she had to pay the workers’ cooling fee. Last week, she transferred the remaining 50,000 RMB to Lawyer Sun’s account and finally paid off her debt. Too much spendings and expenses required in every aspect of her life, and she couldn’t save any money. She didn’t have any time to go shopping and buy her clothes like other girls, and online shopping was the money-saving and time-saving alternative.

However, Zhong Jiangnan did not show his disgust for the cheap clothing. He patiently led Liu Man on a tour in his workshop.

The large space on the first floor of the villa had no internal walls. There was a fairly large table in the center. The tabletop was very clean, and the design drafts were placed in their respective folders based on their different types, clear at first glance.

Behind the table was a row of wooden shelves standing upright against the wall. The wooden shelves were covered with a dazzling array of fabrics. There were several plastic dummy by the left side of the table, which were covered with half-finished clothes. On the other side, there was a row of hangers with all kinds of clothes on them.

Zhong Jiangnan pointed at the black and red hanfu on a plastic dummy and said to Liu Man, “This is the fourth edition of ‘Autumn Moon over the Han Palace’, and it is very close to the sample clothes I am making. I only had to adjust the color and neckline. The actual color requires the red part of the clothing to be slightly darker, which will make it the deep jujube color.”

Among all the hanfus in the studio, this hanfu was, indeed, the most gorgeous and luxurious one; in Liu Man’s perception, these two colors were the colors worn by the queen.

Liu Man walked closer and saw that dragons and royal birds were embroidered with gold threads on the placket and cuffs. She whispered to herself, “It really is the queen’s Hui Yi, and it really is the true color of the ‘Han Palace’.”

TL’s Note: Hui Yi = an ancient kind of traditional Chinese coat.

Zhong Jiangnan heard her and was surprised that Liu Man actually knew about Hui Yi. This kind of technical term was unknown to people who had not studied the culture of the the Han Dynasty in depth.

He felt even more fond of Liu Man. This was the case with artists. Whether it was music or clothing, they had worked hard to create the resulting pieces. So they always hoped to meet people who understand their inspiration and intentions. Even just a few words could make them feel joyful and surprised.

Zhong Jiangnan asked his assistant to bring the contract to Liu Man.

So far, Liu Man had already signed a lot of contracts. She had signed three housing rental contracts, not to mention her contracts with the Westland Company, Galaxy Film and Television, and Xinchen Albums.

She was very experienced and quickly read though the content of the contract. Zhong Jiangnan signed the contract with her in his own name, and he would paid her the money directly. There were no problems, so Liu Man signed her name in the column of the second party.

Zhong Jiangnan also wrote down his own name, then, as if he had suddenly thought of something, he said to her,

“In addition to the cash of 25,000 RMB, I will gift you two sets of hanfus.”

Liu Man hurriedly waved her hand, “No, no, it’s alright,” she really liked Zhong Jiangnan’s hanfus, but she couldn’t take advantage of him by taking them for free. Zhong Jiangnan’s hanfus were too valuable, and any set of them exceeded 25,000 RMB, “We are already set on the prize of 25,000, so just paying me the money would be fine.”

The assistant to the side looked at Liu Man as if she was an alien. His boss rarely took the initiative to gift clothes. In the other few occasions, the receiver had always been extraordinarily happy to accept the present.

Liu Man was the first to refuse, and her solemn expression did not seem to be hypocritical and courteous; she only wanted to recognize the agreement between the two.

Zhong Jiangnan laughed. This girl had strong principles, and he liked that!

“I kept a lot of samples of my previous designs, and they are all piled on the second floor. The clothes have been left there for a long time and without anyone wearing them, the fabric easily decays and becomes garbage. I plan to do a big cleaning tomorrow to clean up these samples.”

The assistant was surprised. Right in the morning, Mister Zhong had told him that he shouldn’t be caring about anything else now and should focus on completing “Autumn Moon over the Han Palace”. Why was it that, in only a blink, Mister Zhong changed his mind and decided to do a big cleaning? Besides, the samples his teacher made in person were all delicate products and would never get out of fashion. They could even get put into museums as collections. How were they garbages?

Zhong Jiangnan glanced at his assistant, dignified. The assistant shrank his neck and immediately added on, “Mhm, these samples take up too much space. Coincidentally, your stature fits them. Rather than leaving them shelved and forgotten on a long-termed basis, it’s better to give them to you.”

The duo’s words were very cooperative and completely had Liu Man fooled. She thought of how such good clothes would possibly get thrown away and felt very unfortunate, so she accepted Zhong Jiangnan’s good intention.

Zhong Jiangnan told his assistant, “Go to the second floor and bring us ‘Xiama’ and ‘Sulian’.”

Every one of the haute couture he had designed had a completely unique theme.

Liu Man felt a bit diffident when she heard that these clothes had their own names. When she saw the assistant coming downstairs with the two sets of hanfus in his hands, she felt even more perplexed. Did Zhong Jiangnan really want to throw away these clothes?

Zhong Jiangnan didn’t give her the time to consider more. Picking up one set of hanfu in each of his hands, he showed the clothes to her and said, “‘Xiama’ and ‘Sulian’ are all tenuous designs for summer, and I designed them a long time ago, when I was younger. Now, you won’t be able to buy them in the market. They are called hanfus, but in fact, they are more leaning towards the daily modern era style but with some hanfu elements. They are made with boehmeria nivea, which is a breathable and cool material. Gudu, at the end of summer, still has a sweltering weather. The dress’s length is moderate, and if you wear it, it will probably reach your ankles and will not touch the ground. Next week, when you participate in the exhibition, wearing these two sets of hanfus will be the best choice.”

Zhong Jiangnan attached much importance to clothings. People relied on their clothes, just like how horses depended on saddles. He thought a piece of clothing was like the second face of a girl. Wearing cheap clothings during casual times was nothing; after all, Liu Man was naturally pretty, and nothing she wore could influence her beauty. However, Zhong Jiangnan didn’t wish for her to attend formal occasions with cheap clothes. Liu Man was his model; every action and word of hers also represented his taste.

This was why he insisted on giving Liu Man two sets of hanfu. He considered for Liu Man on all aspects. The atmosphere of the calligraphy exhibition would be serious and elegant, so wearing exaggerated and trivial clothings or gaudy and blooming clothes would not be fitting. Only a simple and austere dress would not violate the solemn atmosphere, keep a low-profile picture, and even give the judges a novel feeling.

When Liu Man saw the dress, she couldn’t say anything to refuse it at all; the dress was too pretty, and no woman could ever decline pretty clothes.

She continuously thanked Zhong Jiangnan.

Zhong Jiangnan laughed, “I hope my clothes can bring you good luck so your calligraphy works can get admired by the experts. I’ll meet you again in Gudu.”

Translated by: Sydney & Isabella