Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
January the 15th, 4:50 pm.
At the most luxurious hotel in the city, in the Conference Room, under the bright lights, Charles, Chen Zheng, and some of the important staff of DG China were looking forward to what was about to happen next.
Below the stage, the seats were fully occupied by ournalists, holding their cameras, constantly looking back at the entrance of the conference room, hoping to catch the face of the founder of the recently established, and rapidly growing brand, Glamorous.
Rumors said the secret rich female had contributed to the brand’s creation and design all by herself. She used to leave the company to the professional intendants, but now because of the signing of the Share Transfer Agreement, she decided to fly to Lin City in person.
Inside DG, quite a lot of people were against the acquisition this time.
They believed that at the crucial point of the rising patriotism, the fact that DG stood out to claim another acquisition, was doing nothing but adding fuel to the fire and would lead to the stimulation of a bigger boycott.
Yet, Charles held his ground.
The way he saw it, Chinese were different to Americans; when pursuing concepts and justice, the Chinese enthusiasm was always fleeting. When there was too much enthusiasm, or too large a challenge, their enthusiasm would somehow withdraw, like magic, with absolutely no persistence.
So Charles thought that right now, becoming allies with Glamorous, instead of adding fuel to the fire, would be like throwing a wet blanket on the protesters. Their enthusiasm was likely to withdraw because of the blow, rather than continue growing.
Plus, there could also be some other benefits to becoming allies with Glamorous. Not only would it sugarcoat the peaceful appearance of the cooperation between domestic and foreign-capital enterprise and win over more support from the public; it could also bash Li Zhicheng’s union, leaving the staff psychologically unsettled. In addition, Glamorous was a very profitable brand. There would be nothing like injecting the new and fresh blood into DG.
With the fresh blood, DG would be likely to make it back to the top.
The clock was ticking. The atmosphere in the conference room was gradually getting restless.
Five o’clock … already past the said time.
The leading female still hadn’t show up.
The journalists had already began to whisper and look up constantly. Charles, sitting in the front row, was still wearing a relaxed smile, and turned to Chen Zheng.
“Why is she still not here?” he asked, in a quiet whisper.
Chen Zheng was feeling slightly agitated too.
Standing up, he said, “I’m gonna take a look.”
Backstage, a subordinate walked up to him, looking panicked and astounded, “President Chen. They just called us, the deal is off. They’re apologizing to us…”
Chen Zhen suddenly froze.
He almost yelled, quietly, “Give me the phone.”
“Their liaison already hung up.”
Under the bright lights, the discussion outside was getting louder and louder, like a mosquito whining in his ears.
Quietly, he slowly became out of breath.
For the first time in his business career, he met a partner that changed their mind so suddenly, and with such a lack of credibility. A strong idea popped into his head, no way!
Thinking back to the great communication they had with the partner recently … Glamorous had clearly shown a strong interest. They had gone through intense negotiations. If they didn’t mean to sell their company, they wouldn’t have acted like that.
The worst thing that could happen when signing the contract was having already reached an oral agreement but flipping in the end. It would only make the victim enraged, but with nowhere to vent.
As long as they hadn’t signed on the paper, there would be no obligations to either party, nor the legal responsibility.
But this time, after the partner’s suggestion and Charles’ delighted permission, Chen Zheng had invited dozens of media outlets to build up momentum. If they were slapped in the face in front of so much media, the beleaguered DG China would become a complete joke to the public. The boycott would get even tougher.
Having thought of this, Chen Zheng suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
What if… this was a trap?
Looking ruthless, he slowly turned to look at the bright conference room outside.
He remembered, that Charles had said as long as DG China could keep its last breath and hang in till the end, without any mistakes, they could survive.
That last breath, is it still here now?
“5:30pm, the Economy Channel of Lin City.”
While receiving the message from Lin Qian, Li Zhicheng was in Aida’s conference room, in the middle of a meeting with the senior executives.
Looking calm, he put the phone back on the table, looking up at the others, “Let’s take a break.” Then he turned to Jiang Yuan, “Turn the television on.”
Every important staff member was at present, except for Gu Yanzhi, who was on a business trip. Liu Tong, Xue Mingtao… having heard what the president just said, they all excitedly turned to the LED screen on the wall.
The news was on.
A reporter was standing in front of a luxury hotel, looking serious, “… This afternoon, in the conference room of the Beihai Shengting Hotel, there was supposed to be an equity signing ceremony between DG Group and Glamorous. But, it has already passed 5 o’clock, the brand director has not yet appeared. We can also see that protesters are standing in front of the hotel, holding all sorts of slogans, against the acquisition…”
Founding the brand all by herself, was only known to a few people at present. Meanwhile, Xue Mingtao, who was the closest to Lin Qian first grinned, “I knew it! This is the Stratagem of the Empty City, leaving them bamboozled!”
Liu Tong also shook his head, laughing.
Li Zhicheng was staring at the television, emotionlessly and quiet.
Very bold move.
A newly established small brand, would even dare to turn nasty to DG. Although DG was declining, getting rid of her was still easy peasy. But Li Zhicheng was starting to feel a little delighted.
The woman got to do whatever she wanted because he had her back.
Meanwhile, the voice of the reporter suddenly rose, “… I’ve just received the news from my colleague, the founder of the brand Glamorous has returned to Lin City, right in the airport now. Let’s switch the camera to the airport…”
In the conference room, everyone was watching more closely.
When Li Zhicheng heard “returned to Lin City”, he could clearly feel his heart had skipped a beat, and his eyes were getting darker too.
She finally wants to come back.
The woman set free by him.
At the same time, at a lot of places in the city, under the LED screens on the streets, among the protesters in front of the Beihai Shengting Hotel, in a lot of households, in Aida’s building… and in the DG news conference where the media workers were just about to leave, the news quickly spread. Many of them were watching television, taking out their phones, or even sitting in front of computers, watching the sensational news.
Even Charles and Chen Zheng were trying to stay off the media’s camera, looking serious in the office, watching the tv on the wall.
The airport terminal appeared on the screen.
It was already a little dark outside, the entrance and exit were brightly lit up. From afar, a woman in a navy coat and heels, with glasses on, was carrying the luggage, walking out, surrounded by a group of people.
The media workers who had been waiting by the gate quickly walked up to her.
“Miss Lin, Miss Lin!”
“May I ask, are you back to Lin City in order to sign the Stock Agreement with DG Group?”
“Why did you just arrive? It’s already past the signing time, is it because the flight was delayed?”
It was not a matter of how the media found out about her last name, since they knew that she was returning to Lin City, it must’ve been because someone leaked the news.
Meanwhile, Charles and Chen Zheng, standaing in front of the television, were so furious that the muscles on the faces started to shiver.
“Sorry, President Lin is not going to answer anything!” The assistant beside her was doing her job well, trying to get rid of the reporters.
At such a critical point, of course the reporters would stay, leaving the camera flashes to grow more and more intense, blocking the exit.
“That’s ok, ask away.” Her feminine voice was soft and polite, although with the glasses on, they still couldn’t cover up the pale gorgeous shape of her face. Dressed in a low-key manner, she still managed to look glamorous under the public’s attention. Wearing a smile, she was very likeable.
Then the reporters suddenly became quiet.
Followed by a round of more intense questions.
“Are you going to sell the brand of Glamorous to DG?” someone asked loudly and clearly.
It was the most sensitive and important question.
All the cameras were focused on her.
Off the cameras, everyone who had been watching the live news, were also waiting for her response.
At night, her sunglasses lightly reflected the lights, her jaw was in great shape, looking very young.
She became silent for a little while. And that moment of silence made people even more nervous.
Li Zhicheng was staring at the woman on television who he hadn’t seen for a long time. Her long straight hair fell down her shoulders naturally, and her body was in a nice and lovely shape. What she said didn’t matter to him that much anymore. Looking at her just walking out of the airport, he almost could see her walking back to his arms.
When she got back to him, they would definitely become a happy couple.
He slightly looked down, picked up the tea on the table, and took a light sip. The tea was Mengding dew, slight green and yellow, leaving the fragrance between his teeth.
“No,” she said in a clear feminine voice, confidently.
There was even a smile that appeared on her face, and after a little pause, she emphasized, “Never.”
Suddenly, a lot of people started to calm down. Human emotions were interesting. After hearing the word “never”, some sort of emotion was stimulated intensely in their hearts, growing.
The protesters gathered in front of the hotel had an even stronger reaction. They were cheering and laughing, throwing away their boards, clapping loudly. Someone even started to shout, “Glamorous, well done!”
Those who acted even more calm but excited, were the thousands of Aida employees. Back in the days when the rumours of Lin Qian betraying Aida were spreading among the company, some believed, and had doubted, and those who didn’t even know about Lin Qian, the more they thought about it, the more they hated her.
But now, they had all seen it clearly.
Just like Lin Qian wanted.
At the airport, the reporters surrounding in a circle were also getting a little uptight because of her response.
Some asked, “Then why did you agree to sign the contract with DG?”
Of course, in terms of these questions, Lin Qian naturally started to play fast and loose, she smiled, “There’re a lot of uncertainties in business, and also many communication issues. Any other questions?”
“A lot of people now have become loyal fans of Glamorous, their enthusiasm for Glamorous’ mini films is even bigger than tv shows.” A young female reporter asked, “President Lin, when will the fans find out the ending of the Glamorous ad?”
Clearly this was a question fawning over her.
Lin Qian responded to her with a massive smile, “Thanks for letting me know the enthusiasm of the fans, I’m very flattered. Episode three, is also the ending…” She paused, “It’s today, you’ll soon see it.”
Meanwhile, her assistant and secretary were dispersing the reporters, “Alright, thanks everyone, that’s it for today. Manager Lin needs to go home now.”
Lin Qian also put on a polite smile, turning to the black business vehicle parked on the side.
“Glamorous isn’t sold to DG, but it also didn’t join the Chinese Luggage and Bagging Corporation Union!” In another loud and clear voice, covering all the other ones, “Are you planning to keep it as an individual brand?”
Within a second, all the people quieted down.
Lin Qian, who was just about to step into the car, also stopped.
Off camera, a lot of people were also holding their breath.
The question was clever and blunt.
It might’ve looked like the question was about whether to keep the brand individual or not, but what it actually meant was if this high-profile brand was planning to remain alone in the war between Chinese and foreign companies.
It was also quite aggressive.
Lin Qian looked up.
The question came from a chubby young man, he didn’t look like a reporter, and his face looked outraged.
Maybe he was a hardcore supporter advocating national brands.
Meanwhile, the reporter standing the closest to Lin Qian, gave her a look, suggesting that they were live, and maybe she’d like to cut it.
Lin Qian was staring that the guy, remaining calm.
She then put on her sweet smile again.
“As to whether the brand will remain individual…” she said slowly, “If some competitive Chinese corporations are offering…”
Suddenly everyone was getting uptight again by her suspense.
“… for instance, Aida Group.” Her smile was getting bigger and bigger, “I can only say welcome.”
I want everyone to see it clearly that I, Lin Qian, can’t be bothered to be the traitor for DG.
I’ll stand in front of them and make them remember. I will for sure… let them see it.
When striking back, I’ll be back.
Just coming back like this, isn’t eye-catching yet.
Aida, you’re welcome to join the shareholdings.
Staring at her smile almost without restraint on tv, Li Zhicheng had already started to feel emotional. So did all the other men in the conference room.
As a matter of fact, Lin Qian’s speech was no doubt very uplifting, but the part where she mentioned that she’d never sell to DG and would welcome Aida, immediately worked as a foreshadowing, in a unique feminine arrogant way. The uplifting results were even as excellent as their alliance advertising before.
She was the Boss’ woman after all, now she only said smiling and politely, “Welcome Aida.” The way these men saw it, having known the truth, they found it had a sense of courtship. Let alone Lin Qian’s personality had always been straight and responsible.
Of course, not just Li Zhicheng who was just courted felt very proud, but all of Aida Group.
To be honest, Lin Qian’s answer to that question was completely made up the last second, and completely spontaneous. She didn’t even think of the romantic relationship or courting.
But men and women had always seen things differently.
Everyone’s stare in the conference room froze a little on the tv, holding their smile, whether intentionally or not, they all turned to look at the young boss sitting in the middle.
Li Zhicheng remained emotionless. Only on his expressionless face, somehow blushed.
He admitted that he was touched by the way his woman returned. In front of everyone, she expressed her loyalty and love. In a way that was subtle but also passionate. Li Zhicheng’s heart was pumping with excitement.
It was the feeling that was brought by his woman every time. Every time his heart was pounding for her, every time when he wanted her so badly.
A clear thought in his head took over everything, he wanted to see her right away.
And to bring her into his arms.
Meanwhile, Xue Mingtao sounded let down.
It turned out after the interview with Lin Qian, the news was over.
But without any pause, the screen suddenly turned black.
In the center, four characters popped out:
The ending of Glamorous.
“The ending of Glamorous. I don’t mind waiting, as long as in the end, it’s you.”
When these words appeared on the screen, lots of pedestrians on the streets held their breath at the same time.
The vision and sound effect they received was even more intense than Li Zhicheng and others in the conference room. In the broadcast from streets and online, the screen froze after Lin Qian said “Welcome to Aida.”
Without any transition, the screen suddenly turned black.
The drums started beating again, and the glamour reappeared.
Of course, it was arranged by Lin Qian, and she wanted to make sure to shock everyone’s heart with the maximum effect.
At the same time, many people’s emotions were changed according to “Glamourous”. They became excited and cheered for what Lin Qian just said. Once the screen turned black, they seemed to be back to the same romantic and tangling story of Glamorous, feeling sad and getting quiet.
Under everyone’s attention, the glamour was in this moment.
Compared to the last two episodes, the picture and music both seemed to have a sense of sadness.
At the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Square, under the skyscrapers… The girl was dressing up professionally, holding her phone and standing in front of the wall of glass, looking tired, “I’ve been busy lately, so I’m not coming back for New Year. Hmm…”
Later, the screen was split into two.
On the top, it was the girl wearing her backpack, busy working in Shanghai, running around; in a small shared house, she wanted to change the lightbulb but ending up falling off the chair; she was holding the bag, among the well dressed luxurious party, she put on a slight smile in front of her colleagues, but when she turned to look at the night outside the window, there was a flash of loneliness between her brows. She took out her phone, started to dial the number, but someone came and invited her for a dance and a drink, she had to put her phone back into her bag.
At the same time, the picture below was also moving.
The handsome young veteran, was still looking cold and rough. Riding a bike through an alley in the town by himself; he left the office at night alone, headed to the restaurant by the street for some Plain Noodle Soup, he saw the wallet when he took out the money; alone, going to the Counterstrike training base in his cool camouflage clothing, holding the gun while staring at the sunset, then he turned to leave quietly.
The picture changed, into the two on a phone call to each other.
“It’s my birthday next month, can you come and visit me?” she asked.
“I will.” He answered without hesitation.
The girl couldn’t help but smile.
On the other end of the phone call, he also put on a smile. In the dark and quiet night, the two were missing each other terribly.
The picture changed again, the girl was sitting in her rented home by herself, with a little cake in front of her. She continually called the man, but his phone was switched off. Her head was resting on the desk, crying. She pushed the bag next to her hand on the floor, everything fell out, the room was messy.
On the other side of the picture, the rain was pouring down in the small town, the walls of a school were about to collapse. The man was fixing them with others in the rain, as well as protecting the kids to help them leave the dangerous area.
“Why didn’t you come visit me?” She asked.
“The school…”
She hung up the phone.
This relationship, compared to others, was nothing different. She fell in love with him after a glimpse. But when falling hard, the relationship was also getting more and more fragile.
She was most scared of losing him. Compared to loving for the sake of love, a relationship like this was easier to fall off the high cliff.
The subtitle popped up, “In 6 months.”
The way she dressed up and put on her makeup, she looked a lot more sophisticated. Getting out from a BMW, the door was opened by a nicely dressed man.
He walked her downstairs.
“Would you like to be with me? I’ll provide you with a lifelong steadiness and happiness.”
The woman took a look at him, in a way that was made people sad.
Clear, sad, thinking of something else, the tears were held in her eyes.
She thought of someone.
All the people watching the ad right started to feel the suspense.
Above their heads, the ad for Glamorous was playing on the LED screen on the building. It was a backpack in pure red, looking delicate and light, with a lot of zippers in different layers, composing strange and enchanting lines. The voice over off the picture started, “Glamorous, just for her.”
The woman’s response was not revealed in the picture.
Soon she was already upstairs.
At the front door of her home, she froze.
There was a parcel placed in front of the door. Having opened it, she found a pure red backpack, looking delicate and light, with a lot of zippers in different layers, composing strange and enchanting lines.
In the pocket outside, was shoved a letter. She quickly opened it, then her facial expressions changed.
Meanwhile, the voice over off the picture began, in the same voice, “Bags are your favorite thing. I promised to give you one, and today, I finally made one.”
The phantoms started appearing on the screen at the same time, the man was sitting at home, taking a look at her photo, then picked up a soft red fabric, looked down at it, carefully.
“This is the military fabric, very light. Even if you fill it in, it won’t be heavy.”
The picture-in-picture quickly flashed, it was the man comparing between different military bags then drawing and comparing on that red piece of fabric.
“This pocket, you could use for your wallet; inside this zipper… you could put in your female hygiene products; and here, for your makeup; here, for your transport cards everyday on and off work in Shanghai…”
“You don’t need to worry about the color, it’s your favorite, and it won’t fade either… Your room is always messy, when not in use, you can fold it into the size of an egg, and it won’t take up much space…”
The woman reached her hand to cover her face.
“Perhaps I can’t offer you much, but I’ll definitely give you everything I have,” in his low voice.
The woman was already covered in tears, grabbing the bag and heading downstairs. Meanwhile, sad music started, the girl was looking for him like crazy in the crowd, but she still couldn’t find him.
The screen flashed again.
It was back to that dreamy town, under the big leafy tree.
The picture was hard to tell if real or imaginary, everything was blurry.
The man was still in his simple white shirt and black trousers, looking fresh. Only between his eyes, he appeared to be much older. With the same red backpack in his hand, he was standing under the tree in silence.
The woman was a few steps away from him, staring at him.
The two shared eye contact from afar, just like the day they first met.
The screen suddenly turned black.
The subtitles reappeared, “Just for her.”
At that moment, tens of thousands of fans of Glamorous finally fully understood the emotions and meaning behind the brand.
In their heart, more complicated emotions were building up.
On one hand, it was surprise.
All along, “Glamorous” used its appearance and brand image, in other words, it used the romantic story from the brand, in order to touch the female consumers. Of course, its practicality could also be felt by the consumers, light, convenient and suitable for women.
But it officially had never stated so clearly its functions.
Until the ad today.
It was like making a purchase purely because of its beautiful appearance. Yet after the purchase, you found out the functions turned out very well, leaving you amazed.
On the other hand, it was excitement.
As the founder of the brand, what Lin Qian just said made people feel excited. Followed by the sad but beautiful love story and ending with the man offering the perfect female bag, it had become the best ending for the city’s scenery.
Even though just an ordinary love story, it was glamorous.
Feeling moved by love, mixed with patriotism, it somehow made people feel oddly completed and comforted.
Perhaps every ordinary individual had a dream like this, home, country, and her (him), they were everything.
“Come on! Glamorous!”
“Come on! Aida!”
“Come on! Chinese bags!”
Somewhere in the square, people started to shout one after another. The shouting in the end almost joined together, loud and shaking. The night had already become fully dark.
The Range Rover was driving out of the Aida Group, heading into the soft and cold night of the spring. The short drive felt like a long one to the end of the world.
Finally arriving in front of the house.
The wheels rubbed against the ground, steadily stopped. Li Zhicheng looked up, through the green leafy grape vine, he could see the lights in the house, warm and bright. Someone had already come back.
Still in his white shirt from work, he didn’t even have the time to bring his jacket. Stepping out, walking through the grapevine, he stepped onto the stairs of the foyer.
He pushed the door open.
He was greeted by the light aroma of tea, the usual cold and bleak house, now was filled with warmth and lights. She still had her jacket on, standing under the lights, looking fatigued from the trip. She put her hands at the back, shaking the glasses in her hand, and turned to look at him, smiling. Her sharp eyes, slightly raised red lips, with her face clean as jade, all looked exactly the same as when they first met; all beautiful.
Li Zhicheng was still on the porch, with his hand on the handle. The cold and tall figure still seemed to have the wet coldness of the night with him. His deep and dark eyes were like the most beautiful stars on the night sky, from a few steps away, he was gazing at her. Gradually, he smiled too.
