This director is vindictive.

Chapter 552 A Second Blossom, A Chrysanthemum Explodes Across the Field

Even mistakes can lead to mistakes.

Despite the bizarre and often criticized opening show, the number of viewers watching online actually increased rather than decreased.

There are now a staggering 80 million people watching the show live online at the same time.

Of course, the comments section was also very lively.

The model who appeared last, with the words "Chrysanthemums withered, wounds scattered all over the ground," was particularly popular.

According to netizens, at least they can understand the designer's design concept with this design.

Compared to the previous one, which had chrysanthemums on its head and clothes, and walked unsteadily, seemingly unsure how to use the toilet, this one is clearly more understandable.

Perhaps it was to help people understand the designers' design concepts and make the show more "popular".

This grand show even included a segment where the designer's concept was explained.

The runway lights came on again, and the host announced in an exaggerated tone: "Now, please welcome the four international design masters who are the soul of the 'Plum Blossom, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum, the Four Gentlemen' series!"

The runway lights suddenly focused, and Pierre, the designer of the "Plum Blossom" series from France, strode confidently onto the stage. He wore a modified Zhongshan suit, with sparse and elegant ink plum blossom patterns embroidered on the dark fabric. The branches were vigorous, and the petals were delicate, exuding an oriental freehand beauty.

As he walked to the front of the stage, he suddenly stopped, clasped his hands together, and gave a standard Chinese greeting to the audience—right hand in a fist, left hand covering the palm, bowing slightly, the movements were smooth and natural, as if he had practiced it a thousand times.

This move instantly ignited the entire audience—

The barrage refreshes the screen:

Holy crap! This foreigner knows how to bow?!

[Is this for real? French people actually know about Chinese state gifts?]

[This posture is even more perfect than my grandpa's New Year's greeting!]

Did the designer secretly take a crash course in traditional Chinese culture?

[That's quite rare! The plum blossom series is indeed the most fitting in symbolism for the plum blossom, one of the Four Gentlemen.]

The audience erupted in commotion, with some unable to resist raising their phones to snap photos, the flashes going off everywhere.

Pierre straightened up, a smug smile on his lips, as if he had anticipated everyone's reaction. He casually straightened his clothes, the subtle plum blossom pattern on the cuffs appearing faintly under the light, adding to his elegance.

The host couldn't help but joke:

"It seems that Mr. Pierre not only knows how to design 'Plum Blossom,' but he has also thoroughly mastered Chinese etiquette!"

Pierre blinked and replied in heavily accented French Mandarin:

"The spirit of plum blossoms embodies the essence of Eastern character—if you're going to learn it, you have to learn the whole thing!"

The moment the words were spoken, the live chat exploded again—

This foreigner's got some skills!

[Speaks Mandarin so well? I'm impressed!]

I give this wave of cultural export a perfect score!

"Mr. Pierre, could you tell us about your design concept for this project?" the host asked.

Under the spotlight, French designer Pierre casually tossed his blond hair aside and pulled an ultra-thin tablet from his suit pocket. He swiped the screen with his long, slender fingers, bringing up a high-resolution photo of a painting of plum blossoms in ink wash, the ink-wash plum blossoms appearing exceptionally clear on the electronic screen.

"Look, everyone!" He suddenly raised his voice, pointing to the large blank spaces on the screen: "This is the essence of Eastern aesthetics—leaving blank space!"

He abruptly turned the tablet towards the audience: "It's like our French minimalism, but with more of that word, how do I say it? Atmosphere!"

"Chinese culture is profound and extensive. During this period, I have been trying to understand it deeply, especially the 'artistic conception', especially those poems. My goodness, they are so beautiful. But please forgive me, the time is too short, so it is difficult for me to truly understand them thoroughly."

But the Chinese aesthetic of leaving blank space really fascinates me. As soon as he finished speaking, the blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner did something that left everyone speechless—he grabbed the collar of his modified Zhongshan suit with both hands and ripped it open! With a "rip," the buttons flew off, revealing a huge plum blossom painting sprayed on the lining.

"Tradition is here!"

He pointed to the tattered outer garment and then tore open the lining to reveal more patterns: "Modernity is here!" The lining was covered with abstract plum blossoms sprayed with fluorescent paint, which glowed with an eerie blue light under the stage lights.

"Like snow and plum blossoms—forever in conflict, forever in love!"

The audience erupted instantly:
Holy crap, this foreigner is amazing!

[That shirt-tearing move is cooler than me tearing up a package! The key is, it was so elegant before, and then suddenly tearing the shirt was so stylish!]

[A plum blossom hidden in the lining? Did the French steal inspiration from martial arts films?]

I'm blown away by this wave of cultural export!

Pierre suddenly blinked his blue eyes and added, "In Paris, we call it déconstruction."

He suddenly paused, then turned to his assistant and asked, "What's the Chinese saying again? Oh right, it's called 'a fusion of East and West, a double win'!"

The audience burst into laughter instantly; this misuse of the idiom only made the live chat even more excited.
"What the hell is this, a second goal?!"

"Wow, why am I suddenly starting to like this foreigner?"

"He really did make me cry. No wonder the Mei series is the most down-to-earth in the whole series. He really put his heart into it!"

Sometimes, audiences don't really have high expectations. Pierre's designs are just okay; they're relatively easy for people to understand and appreciate, without anything particularly outlandish.

But for everyone, that's enough.

Moreover, this designer, with his playful side and ability to adapt to local customs, charmed Chinese netizens, making it easy for them to like him. After Pierre, the designer of the "Plum" series, left the stage, the second to take the stage was Antonio, the designer of the "Orchid" series, from Italy.

Italian designer Antonio strutted confidently onto the runway, sporting a slicked-back hairstyle and oversized round-framed sunglasses.

"Everyone!"

He suddenly shouted in broken Chinese, dramatically spreading his arms: "A secluded orchid in a secluded valley? No, no, no!"

He suddenly ripped off his wig, revealing a shiny bald head: "The fragrance of orchids is invisible!"

The audience erupted in commotion. Antonio, unfazed, continued his performance: "So—" He snapped his fingers, and his assistant immediately handed him a bottle of perfume.

"I used PVC material to express this illusion!"

As he spoke, he splashed the entire bottle of perfume onto the model beside him with a "whoosh." The transparent plastic "armor" immediately rippled with an eerie blue light, and the LED strips began to flash wildly.

"Look!" He spun around triumphantly. "Now the aroma is visible!"

A member of the audience whispered, "So this nightclub vibe is supposed to mimic orchids being tossed about in the wind?"

Antonio became even more excited upon hearing this: "Exactly!"

He waved his arms exaggeratedly: "Every designer has their own understanding! My orchids aren't the greenhouse flowers you stereotype us to be, but rather—"

He suddenly lowered his voice—"An elf in the night!"

As he spoke, he directed the model to turn around—on the plastic shell on its back, there was a ferocious elf pattern painted with fluorescent paint.

"Tradition?" He curled his lip dismissively. "Those are just shackles that bind creativity!"

Then she blew a kiss to the camera and strode off the runway with her head held high.

"Holy crap, this guy's so arrogant, I really want to punch him!"

"Heh, isn't that how they always are? What the hell, the 'secluded orchid in a secluded valley' has become a 'dark elf'? If you don't understand Chinese culture, don't try to piggyback on it!"

"Why not just change it to a Night Elf theme? They call themselves the Four Gentlemen of China, but they haven't shown any real talent, though their arrogance is undeniable!"

Compared to Pierre, Antonio is clearly harder to like, partly because his works are a mess, and partly because of his attitude.

Chen Mo, however, did not take it seriously.

"They've already toned it down; they've always considered China a so-called fashion wasteland," Chen Mo said calmly.

Fan Binbin nodded and said, "I remember once when I went to Paris Fashion Week, a designer told me directly, 'You Chinese people only know how to buy luxury goods, you don't understand design aesthetics at all.' I was so angry that I wanted to leave on the spot."

Jing Tian couldn't help but interject, "Isn't that a bit too arrogant? The Chinese market is their sugar daddy now!"

Chen Mo sneered: "That's why they put on a show with the 'Four Gentlemen' theme this time. But after the 'Plum Blossom' series had just finished pretending to be cultured, the 'Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum' series revealed their true colors."

Yang Mi was scrolling through the live stream comments when she suddenly burst out laughing: "Netizens say this show should be renamed 'A Second Bloom, A Chrysanthemum Explodes the Whole Stage'!"

"Hahaha!"

Meanwhile, the remaining two also made their appearance.

One of them is a designer named Poker from the United States.

This person's interpretation was even more outrageous. He held up the gold-plated golf club and said, "Before doing the design, I specifically researched the 'bamboo' culture in China. Ancient Chinese people used bamboo to make arrows, while modern people use golf clubs to pursue height—"

Suddenly, he swung his cue stick and smashed it against the glass decorative pillar at the edge of the runway. "Smash!"

The glass was cracked in a spiderweb pattern. Pointing to the cracks, he said, "Look! This is the contemporary interpretation of 'unyielding despite a thousand blows'!"

The live chat was immediately flooded with comments like, "Wow, did they specifically research this? So they came up with a physics-based 'rising step by step'?"

Bamboo: I didn't offend any of you!

"What the hell do you mean by deliberately learning about Chinese 'bamboo' culture, and you even have the nerve to say it out loud!"

"Now I understand. All this so-called understanding is just about knowing how to make arrows from bamboo?"

When it came to the design of the Chrysanthemum series, Vivian, a designer from the UK, personally took the stage to explain it.

She was wearing a black, asymmetrically tailored suit, with two tiny metal chrysanthemums dangling from her earlobes, and spoke in heavily accented London English:

"To be honest, my initial understanding of Chinese chrysanthemum culture was very superficial—it was just the kind of dried flowers that float in afternoon tea." She made a stirring motion, which drew good-natured laughter from the audience.

"Until my Chinese assistant played Jay Chou's 'Chrysanthemum Terrace' for me. Although I couldn't understand the lyrics, the melody's... well, how to say... broken beauty moved me."

Vivian gestured with her hands to indicate the withering of flowers: "Especially that repeated phrase 'chrysanthemums wither,' it reminds me of rotting roses in the London rainy season."

She turned and pointed to the models leaving the stage, “Look at these flowing marks, don’t they look like the tears that time leaves on the fabric? I used biodegradable materials to simulate the process of plant decay, and the real flowers at the waist will continue to fall as the show goes on—isn’t that romantic? Death is the ultimate luxury.”

The audience looked at each other in bewilderment, while the live stream chat exploded with comments.

[Death is the ultimate luxury! That's fucking ridiculous!]

Interpreting withered beauty as a touch of understated luxury is absolutely brilliant.

[Next time, I suggest designing a shroud directly; it would perfectly match her aesthetic of death.]

Jay Chou: I'm not taking the blame for this.

(End of this chapter)