Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ling Tianya met Madam Liang at an upscale fashion show overseas. At the time, Madam Liang was the only Chinese fashion designer who was invited to this spectacular show. Madam Liang and two of her students successfully overshadowed all the other big-name foreign designers and showcased the art of the Chinese qipao to the world.
That day, one of Madam Liang’s models had a bad reaction to the food and was sent to the hospital for an acute GI problem. Madam Liang had very high standards for her hand-made qipaos. She only believed in personal connections and was a very picky old lady. So, she would rather not do the show than have some model that she didn’t have a connection with wear her clothes.
Under such circumstances, Madam Liang saw Ling Tianya who was attending the show to collect materials for her book. She had an instant connection with Ling Tianya and being a blunt old lady she dragged her backstage without asking for consent and forced her to put on the qipao.
Just like that, Ling Tianya became a model for Madam Liang and walked a big fashion show without a good grasp of what was going on.
Because of that, Madam Liang developed a real liking of Ling Tianya and agreed to be interviewed without hesitation when she heard that Ling Tianya was writing a book about fashion designers.
Ling Tianya had written a book called “Heart of a Designer”, and the main character was inspired by Madam Liang. The book was highly reviewed overseas, and widely read in China as well.
One could say that Madam Liang and Ling Tianya contributed to each other’s success, and they were friends regardless of the age difference.
Enthusiastically, Madam Liang took Ling Tianya to a teahouse reserved for VIP customers. “Young lady, I had to watch the news to know that you came back to China!”
Ling Tianya smiled. “I have been busy ever since I came back. Plus, I didn’t want to disrupt your work and peace.”
“Excuses!” Madam Liang looked at Ling Tianya gleefully. “I think you are busy dating and soaking in love and have forgotten about everything else!”
The condescending manager watched everything unfold in front of her eyes, completely in shock. Her mouth had fallen open when Madam Liang came in, and her jaw was about to drop on the floor.
This woman knew Madam Liang? The manager stared at the store attendant who was standing on the side and asked accusingly, “You knew from the beginning, didn’t you?”
The attendant was caught off guard. “I knew what?”
“That she knew Madam Liang. That’s why you were so nice to her, helping her all along.”
The attendant shook her head. “You are mistaken, Manager. I didn’t know until just now.”
The manager sneered at the attendant. “Don’t you play games with me! So, what if she knows Madam Liang? She can’t blame me because I didn’t know that. Mrs. Ruan is one of our most important customers. I couldn’t possibly piss her off!”
The manager felt a little better after she tried to rationalize her actions. In her mind, everything she did was so that she wouldn’t piss off an important customer.
The attendant looked at the manager with a complicated look. “Dear manager, I hope you will still feel this justified in a little bit.” She thought to herself. Inside, the attendant had already started to feel sorry for her.
“Young lady, what are you doing in my store without notice?” Madam Liang finally asked the key question.
Ling Tianya smiled. “I was here to pick out a qipao to wear to my fiancé’s grandmother’s birthday banquet, but…”
“But what?” Madam Liang’s eyebrows dropped. “You didn’t find what you like in the store?”
Ling Tianya shook her head. “Not that. I did find one that I liked, but someone else snatched it from me.”
After hearing that, Madam Liang became annoyed. “Who dared to snatch the qipao my bestie picked out?”
A silver-haired old lady like Madam Liang called Ling Tianya “bestie” so naturally. Zhang Ke almost face planted when she heard that.
