~~~
The sofa could comfortably seat three people without feeling crowded, but Tan Yushu, who was leaning against the other armrest, felt utterly superfluous. With the press conference countdown underway, she fidgeted like she was sitting on pins and needles, stealing furtive glances to the side one after another. Unable to bear the pressure any longer, she made up an excuse and retreated to the back row.
Once she was gone, only Su Jinglan and Ning Jiuwei remained on the sofa. The dimmed lights couldn’t fully obscure their view, and Ning Jiuwei’s senses were sharpened to the utmost, her vigilance fixed on the woman beside her.
Yet even as she stayed on high alert, she couldn’t let Su Jinglan notice.
“President Su, could you scoot over that way a bit?” Ning Jiuwei tilted her head and spoke in a hushed voice.
At the center of the high-tech exhibition stage, a transparent glass pillar rose slowly. The host, clad in a bewitching black evening gown, opened the evening’s new product launch with poised elegance.
Ning Jiuwei’s words were drowned out by the host’s crisp, resonant opening remarks from the stage. Seeing that Ning Jiuwei was trying to say something to her, Su Jinglan leaned in close, like lovers murmuring intimately with temples touching, and asked, “What did you say?”
The woman’s fair skin hovered distractingly close, impossible to ignore. Ning Jiuwei caught an inadvertent glimpse, and her breath hitched, growing heavier. She averted her eyes and straightened up, falling silent.
“Designer Ning?” Su Jinglan had no interest whatsoever in the new products on display tonight; she had come to the banquet solely for Ning Jiuwei. She turned her gaze, her smile soft and warm, heedless of the crowd at the press conference as she stared directly at Ning Jiuwei.
That gentle gaze melted into scorching flames across Ning Jiuwei’s face, the heat making her feel as if she were baking under a relentless sun. Every second stretched on like an eternity.
Thunderous applause erupted around them. Ning Jiuwei had no clue what the host had said to spark such enthusiasm. Su Jinglan gave a perfunctory clap before reclining against the sofa backrest.
Ning Jiuwei sat bolt upright in prim rigidity, a stark contrast to Su Jinglan’s languid sprawl—like polar opposites. She struggled to redirect her focus to the host and catch what she was saying when she felt a tug at the hem of her clothes.
It wasn’t her imagination. Ning Jiuwei glanced down and spotted that slender, graceful hand, its index finger and thumb pinching the fabric of her skirt and giving it two more deliberate tugs as she looked.
Su Jinglan, doing something so childish?
Ning Jiuwei’s eyes traveled up the arm to meet Su Jinglan’s gaze. Their eyes locked, and Su Jinglan curved her lips into a smile, murmuring softly, “Look around.”
She didn’t need to scan the surroundings; a quick glance at the front row told Ning Jiuwei everything. She was the only one sitting so rigidly straight, sticking out like a sore thumb amid the relaxed press conference crowd.
Ning Jiuwei leaned back against the sofa and crossed her arms.
After the host’s opening remarks, the DM President took the stage for her speech—a rambling address that Ning Jiuwei didn’t hear a word of. Her heart was a tangled mess, thrown into disarray by the fiery red gown beside her. Every breath brought the rich, heady scent of Su Jinglan’s perfume, infiltrating her thoughts inch by inch.
The sofa had more than enough room for two now that Assistant Tan was gone. So why wouldn’t Su Jinglan just shift farther away on her own?
Ning Jiuwei’s heartbeat grew more chaotic, her expression turning increasingly somber as a chill emanated from her, wrapping her in a protective cocoon.
At last, wrenching her attention back to the stage gave Ning Jiuwei a brief moment to catch her breath, momentarily forgetting who sat next to her. Then she heard Wen Wanyuan’s name.
“We thank Designer Wen for joining DM and leading us into entirely new realms of design. Today marks the DM Mid-Year New Product Launch, as well as a grand celebration of Designer Wen’s signing.” The president heaped effusive praise on Wen Wanyuan’s talents, waxing lyrical for a full ten minutes until an assistant’s earpiece reminder about the overrun time finally prompted her to move on to the next segment.
The press conference’s main event was the unveiling of the new products. The transparent glass pillar ascended once more beneath soft lighting, and beneath the opened glass dome, the first item materialized as if from nowhere.
Su Jinglan watched DM’s product reveal with a blank expression. The pillar was encircled by smart screens—a mere visual illusion.
“Our first piece is a necklace designed over two months by Designer Li Chenzhou of our company.” The host yielded the stage to Designer Li. “Designer Li, please give us a detailed introduction.”
Ning Jiuwei eyed the necklace. Her vision was sharp, and her seat was close enough that she took it all in before Designer Li even began.
Utterly uninspiring.
Ning Jiuwei felt no spark of interest in the first new product and sighed to herself.
Had she known the offerings would be this lackluster, she never would have come to the press conference tonight—and thus never crossed paths with…
It hit Ning Jiuwei all at once: Su Jinglan was sitting right there beside her.
She had finally managed to tune out Su Jinglan’s presence, only for this pedestrian new product to yank her focus back.
With a sidelong glance from the corner of her eye, Ning Jiuwei stole a peek at Su Jinglan. She held her posture rigid, not so much as turning her head, merely flicking her eyes in that direction.
Leaning back against the sofa made it easier to whisper in her ear. Ning Jiuwei had merely glanced over once when Su Jinglan leaned toward her and murmured with a laugh, “What does Designer Ning want to tell me?”
“I didn’t.”
Su Jinglan didn’t believe her, her expression brimming with keen interest. “Then why was Designer Ning looking at me?”
Ning Jiuwei denied it. “I’ve been watching the stage this whole time.”
Su Jinglan let out a soft chuckle upon hearing that—like a clear spring bubbling up from a mountain valley after a long, silent winter, gurgling down the path and drawing the crisp song of birds that heralded the coming of spring.
With her keen hearing and sharp eyes, Ning Jiuwei found herself unable to resist. That light laugh tugged at her heart, shattering its restraint and sending it into a sudden, wild thump.
In the blink of an eye, the second new product appeared before them: an exquisitely shaped rose gold brooch shaped like a half-diamond-inlaid folding fan, dangling three tassels of varying lengths. It blended dazzling modern brilliance with the opulent classical beauty of a thousand years of history.
The first piece now seemed like mere preparation for this one. Ning Jiuwei directed an analytical, appreciative gaze at the brooch, shoving Su Jinglan from her mind.
The designer had deliberately worn a suit that evening. She took the brooch from its case, pinned it to her lapel, and shared with everyone the inspiration behind the design and the emotions it embodied.
Ning Jiuwei had crossed paths with this onstage designer a few times before. She listened with such rapt attention, her gaze so intently fixed, that it made one want to swivel her head back around. Su Jinglan lightly furrowed her brows and asked Ning Jiuwei, “Does Designer Ning know her?”
“Mm.” Ning Jiuwei didn’t turn her head. “She’s very talented—unconventional in her thinking, with exceptional design skills.”
With that kind of talent, she shouldn’t be just an ordinary jewelry designer catering to the mass market.
As Ning Jiuwei inwardly lamented this, the woman beside her leaned in close and asked in a gentle voice, “Do you like her?”
Ning Jiuwei: “…”
The warmth of the approaching body and the brush of skin against her arm left Ning Jiuwei speechless. She bit the inside of her lip before answering Su Jinglan, “It’s admiration.”
“Then I must have misunderstood Designer Ning’s gaze.”
Ning Jiuwei turned at Su Jinglan’s words, looking back at her. “What gaze?”
Su Jinglan pulled back, her eyes gleaming with unmistakable amusement as she stared at the designer onstage.
Her behavior was baffling at first, but Ning Jiuwei was sharp—she understood after just a few seconds. “I wasn’t looking at her like that.”
There were five new products in total. The press conference was being live-streamed online, with sales channels opening after all the pieces had been showcased, syncing both online and offline.
Once the new product launch concluded, the sofa seating arrangement in the Banquet Hall was rearranged for the next major event: the banquet.
Ning Jiuwei had wanted to leave for ages. The moment the press conference ended, she immediately bid farewell to Su Jinglan.
“President Su, I have something to take care of and need to head out first.” More than one person was leaving after the event, so Ning Jiuwei saw no need to slip out a side door. She walked openly toward the main entrance.
Su Jinglan smiled as she watched Ning Jiuwei depart. Once her figure had receded a few meters, she strode forward on her long legs, treading every inch of carpet in her wake, following behind her and leaving together.
“Don’t go.” A figure abruptly blocked Ning Jiuwei’s path, barking the two words in a fierce tone before her mouth curved upward in a brilliant smile.
Su Jinglan had learned Wen Wanyuan’s name during the new product launch. Seeing her intercept Ning Jiuwei, she halted and observed from the shadows.
“I’m going home.” Ning Jiuwei seemed charmed by Wen Wanyuan’s routine of starting fierce only to go adorably soft. She smiled gently at her. “Tonight is your night in the spotlight. Congratulations on becoming DM’s Chief Designer.”
“Don’t gooo.” Wen Wanyuan tugged at Ning Jiuwei’s hand, acting cutely coquettish toward her. “Stay and have a drink with me, chat for a bit.”
“Jiuwei isn’t feeling well. Next time for drinks.” Su Jinglan strode over with imposing momentum, coming to Ning Jiuwei’s rescue.
She meant to seize the moment and offer to drive Ning Jiuwei home, but Wen Wanyuan beat her to it, anxiously scanning Ning Jiuwei’s face. “You’re not feeling well? Then let me take you home.”
~~~
