Rebirth of the Fashion King

Time quickly came to seven o'clock.

Li Xun glanced at his watch, then said to the girl who was talking in front of him, "I might have to go."

Liu Yifei pouted slightly and slowly nodded.

"Um... okay."

Li Xun glanced at her for two seconds, then waved to the waiter.

"Is there anything I can use to draw? A pen and a large sheet of white paper."

The waiter nodded and left, quickly returning with a pen and some blank paper.

Li Xun placed the paper on the table and picked up his pen.

Liu Yifei placed her hands on her knees and straightened her back a little.

The pen nib touched the paper, making a very soft scratching sound.

He first drew a vertical line to determine the central axis of the human body, and then a horizontal line to mark the shoulder line.

They acted quickly and without hesitation.

Shoulder line. Neckline. Waistline. Hem.

His hand moved across the paper, pausing occasionally before continuing, his long, steady fingers gripping the pen.

The man wearing the beret also left sometime ago.

Only the two of them remained on the second floor.

Liu Yifei sat quietly, watching Li Xun paint.

She watched him do his thing.

Quietly.

Attentively.

It was as if he and his pen and paper were the only things in the world, and she was just a shadow sitting opposite him.

This feeling is strange.

She was used to being noticed, being watched, and having her response expected.

But when Li Xun looked at her, there was no expectation in his eyes.

Only observation.

  

He was looking at her shoulders, measuring the proportions.

He was looking at her waistline to determine the cutting point.

He was looking at her neck, calculating the curve of her neckline.

It feels really good to be looked at like this.

"Your shoulders are beautiful." Li Xun said without looking up.

"well enough."

"The collarbone too."

"Thanks."

"But the waistline is the best."

Why?

"Proportion, your waistline is slightly higher than the average for Asian women, which is the golden ratio."

"You measured it?" Liu Yifei looked at herself, puzzled.

"I can see it, so I can make a rough estimate."

The rustling sound didn't stop.

Li Xun spent even longer drawing the hem of the skirt.

He drew a double-layered structure on the skirt, with the outer layer being short, shorter in the front and longer in the back, with irregular wavy edges, and the inner layer being long, extending from the waist to the bottom as a train.

It's not an ordinary dress; it's a haute couture piece.

He used the side strokes of a fountain pen to depict the texture of the fabric. The outer layer used short, dense cross-hatching to present a crisp, sculpted feel, while the inner layer used long, sparse hatching to depict the draping luster of silk satin.

Liu Yifei watched his fingers move across the paper.

"What are you drawing?"

"clothing."

"Ready-to-wear or haute couture."

Li Xun didn't reply and continued drawing.

He added a three-dimensional waistband with an asymmetrical design. The multi-layered, bias-cut ruffles burst outwards, with varying lengths and a strong contrast between the density and sparseness of the pleats. He then used hatching to create shadows that added volume to the fabric, making the ruffles on the paper look like the fluffy texture of real fabric.

Then comes the upper body.

A lapel blazer silhouette.

The neckline features a double-layered, three-dimensional bow with full, fluffy pleats.

A fitted corset with vertical pleats.

The long sleeves fit snugly against the arms, and the shoulders are adorned with a layer of wavy, folded shoulder trim.

Li Xun used dense stitching on the bodice to create a crisp, sculpted effect. The bow used crisscrossing stitching to create the interplay of light and shadow in the folds. The shoulder ornaments used light stitching to create a delicate, layered look.

Then he drew the head accessories.

A small cylindrical top hat that fits the shape of the head.

The brim of the hat is slender.

A thin, pointed feather was inserted diagonally into the top of the hat.

Only the side profile of the face is outlined.

Thin eyebrows.

Slender neck.

Facial features are weakened.

Finally, the shoes.

Pointed-toe stiletto heels with a low-cut design and slender lines.

He finished drawing.

Li Xun put down his pen, picked up the now-cold empty coffee cup, brought it to his lips, found it was empty, and put it down again.

Liu Yifei reached out to take it.

"etc."

Li Xun picked up a pen and marked the dimensions on the edge of the paper.

The horizontal dimensions are: shoulder width, bust, waist, and hem width.

Vertically label the garment length, skirt length, hat height, and waist height.

Then, next to each number, write the process notes in French.

Wrinkle treatment method.

Fabric suggestion: outer layer taffeta, inner layer silk crepe satin.

Specifications of auxiliary materials.

Version modification notes.

The handwriting is very fine and neat, contrasting with the smooth hand-drawn lines next to it.

……

"Alright."

Liu Yifei brought over the sketch.

She didn't say anything when she first saw the painting.

The woman on the sticky note is standing sideways.

The source of inspiration

sketch

Wearing a small cylindrical hat with a feather ornament inserted diagonally on the top, he casually placed one hand on his hip, his posture upright.

The lapel of the blazer features two layers of bows, wavy frilly shoulder embellishments, and an asymmetrical ruffled belt that flares outwards at the waist.

The skirt has two layers: the outer layer is short with irregular wavy cuts, while the inner layer is long and drapes to the ground.

The body is covered with densely packed dimensions, markings, and handwritten French annotations.

A blank sheet of paper

A piece of paper from the Café de Flore.

It depicts an expensive haute couture gown.

What caught her attention most was not the clothes themselves.

It's that woman.

The face was only outlined, with the features softened, but the profile was elegant and aloof, with a sense of distance yet not intimidation.

It must be her.

It wasn't her face.

It's somewhat like her posture and her melancholy temperament.

She didn't know how she did it, but the woman in the painting looked a lot like herself when she was feeling depressed a while ago.

Liu Yifei tightened her grip on the paper slightly.

"What's the name of this dress?"

Li Xun shook his head and said, "It doesn't have a name. I just drew it on a whim. It's a little gift for you."

"Thank you... thank you so much for today."

"No need to be so polite, I'm very happy today too." After saying that, Li Xun wrote another sentence on the paper: "The greatest luxury is not having to adjust yourself for others."

Liu Yifei looked at the boy in front of her after reading those words, and she was touched. She knew what she wanted to hear and what she wanted.

……

Li Xun and Liu Yifei took a taxi to send her home first.

It was late at night, and in Paris, that I felt a little unsafe being alone.

Last month, in April, a young man in Paris's Latin Quarter was beaten to death in a street brawl.

This "barbaric" act of violence occurred in what is generally considered a safe central area, directly sparking large-scale citizen demonstrations demanding that the Paris city government guarantee security.

The worst part is that robberies occurred almost every week in Chinese-populated areas like Belleville, which led to the 2010 Chinese "anti-violence, demand safety" march.

Tourists are a "key target" – pickpocketing, gambling fraud, and forced handcuffing by gangs around the subway, Sacré-Cœur Basilica, and the Louvre have become public nuisances. In 2009, the Louvre even had a brief strike due to staff protesting the rampant theft.

In short, when traveling abroad, try to travel in groups, and if you have the money, it's best to bring bodyguards. Don't wander around alone.

Guo Qiongcun's wife, Fang Yuan, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, had her bag snatched in broad daylight at the airport in Milan or somewhere similar. The security situation in most parts of Europe is quite poor.