Rebirth of the Fashion King

Chapter 63 Restaurant

The following Saturday, Li Xun did not work overtime; he had important matters to attend to.

At 2 p.m., it started to drizzle in Paris.

Li Xun arrived at the LeBristol Hotel twenty minutes early.

He didn't ask the doorman to hold an umbrella for him; he got out of the taxi himself and walked through the revolving door in a few steps.

There weren't many people in the lobby. He gave his name at the front desk, and the receptionist in the black uniform checked the reservation record. When she looked up, her eyes clearly changed.

It wasn't because I recognized him.

It was because the reservation was made a week in advance, with the note "private room, facing the garden, quiet required".

Hotels usually pay more attention to guests who book private rooms a week in advance.

"Mr. Rhine, please come with me."

The receptionist personally led the way through the lobby and past the row of floor-to-ceiling glass corridors facing the garden.

The entrance to Epicure is at the end of the corridor on the left.

The moment the double doors were pushed open, Li Xun smelled the aroma of white truffles.

  

A very light layer, mixed in with the air in the restaurant itself. The lunch rush had just passed, and there were only a few tables of customers left in the hall, speaking in hushed tones.

The restaurant manager was waiting for him at the entrance.

He was a Frenchman in his fifties, with gray hair, wearing a sharp suit and a small pearl brooch on his tie.

"Little Rhine, we meet again. They've arrived. Please come with me."

"Thank you, Mr. Steve."

Li Xun followed him inside.

He glanced at it as he passed through the lobby.

Pierre-Yves Rochon's design is truly remarkable.

The wall facing the garden was made entirely of floor-to-ceiling windows. The light on rainy days is rather cool, but when it shines through, it looks softer than direct sunlight, adding a natural filter to the entire space.

The private room is at the very back.

Steve stopped in front of a dark wooden door and knocked twice.

"Please come in."

A woman's voice came from behind the door, neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough to be heard.

The manager pushed open the door and stepped aside.

Li Xun went inside.

The private room wasn't large; the round table, which could seat a maximum of six people, only had three chairs.

Liu Xiaoli sat by the south-facing floor-to-ceiling window, wearing a silk shirt with a narrow silk scarf of the same color tied around her neck. Her hair was styled up, revealing her beautiful neckline.

Wearing a watch on his wrist, his outfit perfectly matched the style Li Xun remembered: clean and appropriate.

Liu Xiaoli has a standard oval face with smooth and rounded lines. Her facial bones are not high, and her jaw angle is delicate and not wide. Overall, her face is full and firm, without any signs of sagging.

Her eyes are classic almond-shaped, with slightly upturned corners, combined with shallow, flat double eyelids, giving her both a classic, charming look and a touch of heroic spirit. Her eyebrows are thick and naturally curved.

Coupled with the excellent physique brought about by years of dancing—no wonder she is hailed as the "ageless goddess" by the media. When Liu Yifei and Li Xun entered the room, she was picking up a napkin from the table. She was halfway through the action when she saw him, and her hand stopped in mid-air.

Then her eyes curved slightly.

"Mommy, Li Xun is here."

"Hello, Aunt Liu."

Li Xun walked over and bowed slightly.

"Hello, please have a seat." Liu Xiaoli shook his hand while standing, then nodded at him with a faint smile on her lips.

Liu Yifei waited until he sat down before laying the napkins out again, and then secretly touched his shoes with her toes under the table.

It was very light, like a test.

Li Xun didn't lower his head, but moved his foot forward half an inch, just touching the edge of her shoe.

Liu Yifei's ears turned slightly red, but she didn't show it on her face. She picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip.

Liu Xiaoli looked at the menu without looking up.

She's annoyed by young people these days!

Have you been here before?

"I've been here twice," Li Xun quickly nodded in reply.

"They were all work-related dinners."

"With Karl Lagerfeld?"

"There was one time, and another time it was with a client."

Liu Xiaoli hummed in agreement and turned to a page of the menu.

"Sissi said you've been drawing design drafts a lot, you must be very busy lately?"

"It's alright." Li Xun picked up the napkin from the table and spread it out naturally.

"I was rushing to finish a proposal last week, and it had to be completed by Friday. Everything else was put on hold."

"I'm sorry to have asked you to take time out of your busy schedule to rush this project."

As she spoke, she finally raised her eyes to look at Li Xun, her tone subtly probing his attitude towards the meeting.

"I've finished dealing with what happened last week. And that's to be expected," he said with a smile.

Liu Xiaoli nodded in satisfaction and didn't ask any further questions.

Just then, the sommelier knocked and came in. He was a Frenchman in his early thirties, carrying a thick wine list. He asked in French if they would like an aperitif first. Li Xun turned to look at Liu Xiaoli.

"Auntie, what would you like to drink?"

"You order," Liu Xiaoli said, pushing the wine list towards him.

"I don't really understand these things."

Li Xun did not refuse and took the wine list and opened it.

The wine list was indeed incredibly thick, with the champagne section alone having over a dozen pages. He flipped through two pages and then stopped, looking up to ask the sommelier.

"Salon1996, does it exist?"

The sommelier's eyes lit up.

"Yes, sir, we just received a batch of 1996 vintage bottles this year, and they were put into storage last week."

"Then let's have a Salon, start with an appetizer, we'll talk about the side dish later."

2

After the sommelier left, Liu Xiaoli looked at him.

"You know a lot about wine?"

"I don't really know much about it." Li Xun put the wine list back on the table.

"I only know a few brands that I like. Salon is Blanc de Blancs Champagne, made from Chardonnay from a single vineyard. It has a clean taste and goes well with everything."

Li Xun did not elaborate further.

Liu Xiaoli nodded again, this time with a slightly larger nod than before.

Liu Yifei finally found an opportunity to interject.

"Mommy, the Himalayas I told you about before was designed by him."

There was something in her tone that she couldn't hide.

Liu Xiaoli glanced at her daughter.

That single glance contained a wealth of information.

There was "I know," "Say less," and a deep-seated sense of helplessness.

"I've seen that bag before. A friend of mine had one last year in Shanghai. She said it was crocodile skin, and the color was indeed beautiful."

.

"It's a gradient dyeing process, transitioning from rock gray to pearl white. Each layer needs to be fixed separately during the dyeing process. After dyeing one layer, leave it for a day before dyeing the second layer. The whole process takes several weeks."

"Is it that complicated?"

"The main problem is the high cost of the leather. The finest leather comes from the belly of the Nile crocodile in the Himalayas. Less than a third of a crocodile's body can be used, and with the added losses from dyeing, the yield rate is very low."

Liu Xiaoli picked up her water glass and took a sip; she drank very slowly.

"Sissi said you went to work for Chanel right after graduating from Central Saint Martins?"

"right."

"How exactly did you get in? Is it convenient for you to explain?"

"My advisor recommended me, and then my graduation project was seen by Virginie Wijard, who asked me to have a chat with her, and after that, she gave me an offer."

""

"So, Li Xun, what is your current position?"

"Women's wear line, senior designer."

"Who else is up there?"

"Virginie is the director of the creative studio, and I report directly to her. Above her is Karl Lagerfeld."

Liu Xiaoli's fingers circled the rim of the cup.

"Which floor should you be considered on?"

"The third floor, I suppose. The design team has many people; I'm one of the senior designers, but because I'm the youngest and a student of Mr. Carl and Ms. Virginia, therefore—"

Liu Xiaoli nodded slightly.

"Oh, by the way, this is a gift for you and Sisi."

Li Xun took out two packaged boxes from the briefcase on the chair next to him.

A light gold bag with Chanel's double C logo printed on it, but without any specific product line markings; it's VIP-only packaging.

The other was a white cardboard box tied with a black ribbon.

"Auntie, this is for you."

He handed over the light gold bag with both hands.

Liu Xiaoli took it, opened the bag, and inside was a white box. The lid was opened, and a bottle of perfume lay in a dark gray velvet lining.

The bottle is a rectangular crystal bottle with a camellia flower engraved on the cap. The liquid is a very light amber color.

"Chanel?" Liu Xiaoli picked up the bottle and looked at the label on the bottom.

"I've never seen this before."

"It's not available on the market yet," Li Xun explained.

"Coco Chanel previously released a perfume called Jasmin, which was the last pure floral perfume she launched during her lifetime. It was later discontinued due to its low production volume, and the formula has been locked in the laboratory ever since."

"How did you get it if it's discontinued?"

"At the beginning of this year, the Chanel perfumery launched a project to recreate some historical perfumes from its archives. I participated in the selection process, and Jasmin was on the list."

Liu Xiaoli looked down at the crystal bottle in her hand.

"So this is—"

"These are the first samples made in the lab. They use late-harvest jasmine from Grasse, and the formula is the same as in the last century. The alcohol concentration has been slightly adjusted to reduce the bitterness in the top notes, making it more suitable for Asian olfactory habits."

Liu Xiaoli uncapped the bottle and lightly sprayed some on the inside of her wrist.

She lowered her head and smelled it.

The scent of jasmine isn't an overpowering, intense floral fragrance. Instead, it rises subtly from the skin like a thin veil, with a hint of tuberose sweetness in the middle and a warm sandalwood base.

Many perfumes in Europe have a rather pungent smell, probably because Europeans and Americans tend to have stronger body odor, and the strong scent of perfume can mask it to some extent.

Asians generally don't need overly strong perfumes.

"It smells wonderful." Liu Xiaoli put the cap back on, her expression genuinely satisfied.

"It's much more sophisticated than those jasmine-scented perfumes on the market; it's not cloyingly sweet and has a very elegant feel."

"It's not even on the market yet, you're the first person to use it."

Liu Xiaoli glanced at him.

"Isn't it against regulations to take samples from the lab and give them away?"

"Of course, I have the right to retain a certain percentage of the samples for non-commercial use. Sending them to you does not count as commercial use."

Liu Xiaoli put the perfume back in the box.

"Thank you, Li Xun, this gift is very thoughtful."

"You're welcome, Aunt Liu."

Then Li Xun placed the white cardboard box in front of Liu Yifei.

The cardboard box was small, about twelve centimeters square, with a neat bow tied with black satin ribbon.

"For you."

Liu Yifei looked at the box in front of her, then looked up at him.

"Me too?"

"certainly."

She didn't open it immediately, but first reached out and touched the ribbon, pressing her fingertips on the knot of the bow, before opening the box.

Inside is a wristwatch.

The dial is a clean white, without numerals, except for four small diamond hour markers at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions. The case is made of stainless steel and has an octagonal shape with gently polished edges.

The watch strap is made of black quilted lambskin, exactly the same quilted pattern as on classic Chanel bags. A small double-C logo is engraved on the clasp.

The watch has a very simple design and lies quietly on black velvet, like a miniature architectural work.

"Première, a commemorative edition, this one is perfect for displaying at home."

"No, I want to wear it!"

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