Rebirth of the Fashion King

"Does he... get off work at this time every day?" she asked.

The shop assistant thought for a moment and said, "Not necessarily. Designers often work overtime, but if Mr. Karl is here, we usually leave work together around six o'clock."

"oh."

"Would you like to see anything else?"

"No need, thank you. Please wrap up that scarf for me," Liu Yifei said, shaking her head.

"OK."

……

Liu Yifei returned to An Shaokang's apartment.

The apartment was in the Latin Quarter, not far from the Sorbonne University, and very quiet. Her father hadn't returned yet; she sat alone in the living room, taking out her phone.

She typed the name into Google.

The first search result is Wikipedia: Rhine Li, born in 1986 in Shanghai, China, is a fashion designer...

She clicked on it.

In 2002, at the age of 15, she was admitted to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

In 2005, at the age of 19, she completed all her studies and successfully joined Chanel.

In 2006, at the age of 20, she designed the Himalaya series on her own, and the Rh bag caused a sensation in the fashion world.

Below are some of the awards and media reviews.

There's only one photo, and it shows Li Xun wearing sunglasses, with the large lenses covering half of his face...

"Graduating from university at nineteen?" Liu Yifei found it increasingly amusing.

  

"Six years of primary school? He couldn't have only studied for two years, could he?"

"Wow, that's amazing! Skipping grades, no wonder he's a child prodigy."

If Li Xun heard this, he would blush. What a load of rubbish! He's already started over, and with his decent IQ, skipping grades would be a piece of cake for him.

beep...

Liu Yifei's phone rang.

She picked it up and looked at the name, a smile involuntarily creeping onto her lips.

"Hi~ My dearest Changchang, have you missed me?"

Shuchang, on the other end of the phone, was stunned to hear her best friend's voice; the tone was clearly different from yesterday.

"I miss you so much, Sisi! When are you coming back?"

"I don't know. Mommy will be coming to Paris soon, and I want to spend some time with her first."

……

Beijing, the capital of China.

"Zhou, are you busy?"

On the other end of the phone was Chen Ting, the secretary to the marketing director of Chanel China. Her tone was very restrained, but Zhou Xun could tell that beneath that restraint lay some bad news.

She was on set, having just finished filming a scene, still in her costume. The makeup artist was waiting to touch up her makeup. It was getting hot in Beijing in May, and the air conditioning in the studio was insufficient, so there was a little sweat on her forehead.

"Go ahead." Zhou Xun took the water her assistant handed her, but didn't drink it; she just held it in her hand.

"During today's conference call in Paris, regarding the July Haute Couture Week and brand ambassadors, there were differing opinions from headquarters."

Zhou Xun remained silent.

"It's not a rejection," Chen Ting added, "it's a temporary postponement."

What does "put on hold" mean?

"It's just that... not all of them have signed."

Zhou Xun placed the water bottle on the folding chair next to her. The makeup artist sensed that something was wrong, took two steps back, and left.

Her connection with Chanel wasn't recent; she first attended a show in Paris in 2007, wore a Chanel haute couture gown to the Met Ball in 2008, and this March at Paris Fashion Week, Karl Lagerfeld told her backstage, "You have a soul."

She remembered that sentence for a long time, not because it was a compliment, but because Karl Lagerfeld didn't praise people casually. Many people know that when the old master said "not bad," it was already a blessing, and when he said "spiritual," it was like a stamp of approval.

She thought everything was going smoothly.

"What's the reason?" she asked.

"Paris didn't give a specific reason, only that they wanted to reassess the brand ambassador strategy for the entire East Asia region." Chen Ting paused for a moment. "What I've heard is that the creative studio has different opinions on the fit between the candidates' image and the brand's tone."

"Different opinions." Zhou Xun repeated these four words, his tone full of doubt. Was there someone whose words carried more weight than Mr. Karl Lagerfeld's?

"Zhou, in my personal opinion, this is not a final decision. Shelving does not mean canceling. Paris says they need time to discuss it again, and Mr. Karl will make the decision personally."

Who raised this different opinion?

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Paris did not reveal who it was, and their internal discussions are never made public."

Zhou Xun held her phone, watching the busy staff in the studio. The lighting technicians were adjusting the lights, the stagehands were moving props, everyone was doing their own thing, and she suddenly felt a little amused—not really amused, but a feeling she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Sister Chen."

"Um."

"Your team has been following this matter for two years."

"Yes."

Do you think I still have a chance?

Chen Ting did not answer immediately; the pause itself was the answer.

"Yes, but not in the kind of straightforward way that came before."

Zhou Xun understands this statement.

From filming "Suzhou River" in the 1990s to winning the Hong Kong Film Awards, the Golden Horse Awards, and the Golden Rooster Awards, she has known all too well the difference between "what is natural" and "what needs to be fought for."

"Who's competing with me?" she asked.

"There are no specific candidates at present. The idea from Paris is that all candidates in the Asian region, including those from Japan and South Korea, need to be re-evaluated."

"How long have my documents been on their desk?"

"Two years and three months."

Zhou Xun remained silent.

Two years and three months. From the first contact Chanel's Asian team with her, to inviting her to a show, to arranging for her to wear haute couture to events, every step was steady, and every step made her feel that this was a sure thing.

She wore Chanel to events in Hong Kong, at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and at Chanel events in Sanya. People in the industry know that she is very close to Chanel, and the media has also published several press releases stating that "Zhou Xun may become Chanel's first Chinese brand ambassador."

Tell her to put it on hold now.

"I understand, thank you for telling me," she said.

Chen Ting hung up the phone, and the makeup artist cautiously approached: "Brother Xun, touch up your makeup."

Zhou Xun sat down and closed her eyes.

The makeup brush swept across her face very lightly, as if nothing had happened.

But her fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of the chair, her nails making a very faint sound as they touched the wooden armrest.

She was thinking about a question.

It's not "why", it's "who".

She had visited the creative studio in Paris once; it was a three-story building at 31 Rue Cambon, the iconic building with the mirrored staircase.

As she walked in, she looked up and saw that the staircase spiraled up from the ground floor, and the walls were all mirrors, reflecting countless images of herself.

That was a place that would never be forgotten. Besides Virginie, who else could control Karl Lagerfeld?

There are women in the Chinese entertainment industry with higher status than her, such as Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, or Maggie Cheung.

However, these celebrities have virtually no connection with Chanel. It's unlikely to be Fan Bingbing and Li Bingbing, and such a thing is impossible for Hua Yi. Besides, she hasn't had any scandals recently. Xun Ge's head started to ache from thinking about it, so he decided to stop and focus on his work.

……