A whirlwind marriage with a high-ranking official: Lights out, don't force me to take the initi

The preparatory meeting for the trade fair lasted all morning, and Shen Qiumei came over as soon as it ended.

"A large shipment has arrived, but we don't know what it is."

Upon hearing this, Ye Wenxi immediately remembered that the first batch of custom-packaged goods must have arrived.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master. Let me check this batch of packaging first." Ye Wenxi reached for a cardboard box, turned it over and looked at it twice. The creases on the box were very neat, with no rough edges.

She folded it casually; the seams fit snugly and didn't loosen. The bag's joints were firmly glued, the printing details were clear, and the color saturation met expectations. She put a brick into the bag, picked it up, and gently shook it a couple of times; the bag didn't deform, and the joints didn't crack.

"Yes, the quality is fine." She nodded to the deliveryman.

"Okay, then we'll proceed with the second batch of production on time. Could you please sign here?" the deliveryman said.

Ye Wenxi took the order, signed it, and added, "I'll transfer the payment for this batch to you in a bit."

Ding Jiahe held the package, admiring it. She thought the printed design on the bag made it look even better than a regular handbag: "It's really nice. The color and quality are both good. The colors are vibrant, and it looks almost exactly like the color pages in a magazine."

"You're right, it's so beautiful, I almost don't want to use it." Wang Yingxue praised as she helped Shen Qiumei check the goods.

Zhang Yunxia beamed, "That's exactly the effect we wanted! From now on, people who buy our products will be willing to carry the packaging bags as tote bags, which is like advertising for us everywhere! From now on, I'll use this tote bag designed by Wenxi."

"Now that the packaging has arrived, let's start preparing the goods. The products, packaging, and materials needed for the trade fair can all be inventoried and arranged now," Ye Wenxi instructed decisively.

Zhang Yunxia immediately organized several staff members to begin compiling all the materials needed for the trade fair.

After everyone dispersed, Ye Wenxi returned to her desk and dialed Ding Jiahe's dormitory at the Provincial Academy of Fine Arts. It was lunch break, and Ding Jiahe happened to be in her room. As soon as Ye Wenxi explained her needs, Ding Jiahe immediately agreed excitedly, but then became deflated: "Teacher Ye, I'm not sure if the school will approve the leave."

Ye Wenxi thought about it and agreed that a two-week suspension of classes was a bit long, so she asked Ding Jiahe to wait there while she called Vice Dean Wang Mingyuan to ask for leave.

The call was made to Wang Mingyuan's office, and he answered it quickly.

Ye Wenxi exchanged a few polite words before getting straight to the point: she wanted to grant Ding Jiahe two weeks' leave so she could go to the trade fair.

The reason is simple: to make designs that resonate with consumers, you must get close to them and listen to their needs. Only then can the designs be grounded in reality and targeted.

Unexpectedly, when Wang Mingyuan heard the words "exhibition," he didn't pay attention to asking for leave at all. Instead, he was curious about how Ye Wenxi would arrange the exhibition.

Ye Wenxi gave Wang Mingyuan a general overview of her exhibition ideas and some activity plans.

Wang Mingyuan listened very attentively, occasionally interjecting with a question:

"And the packaging design for the clothing?"

"You don't use department store counters? How did you display and arrange your items?"

"To match the promotional posters?"

...

Wang Mingyuan asked a bunch of detailed questions.

Ye Wenxi instantly grasped his thoughts. This vice dean had no interest in selling clothes; his eyes were entirely on practical solutions that combined 'art design' and 'business'.

After all, commercial designs these days only draw these few things:

Painting portraits of great figures, slogan posters, and works depicting the themes of workers, peasants, and soldiers... applied arts were almost nonexistent.

Packaging design, window display design, graphic design, product appearance, product display...

They were all treated as "bourgeois commercial playthings," and no one dared to teach or engage with them.

But starting this year, the winds shifted, and the government began to call for action:

"Art should serve production! Serve light industry! Serve the lives of the people!"

The textile bureau, the light industry bureau, and department stores were all approaching the art academy, asking, "Can you design some attractive packaging? Beautiful promotional posters? Beautiful display plans?"

However, the Academy of Fine Arts was extremely lacking in this kind of experience from top to bottom, so Ye Wenxi's appearance was a treasure to them.

She quickly came up with an idea. Since she couldn't find the time to go back to school to share her experiences this month, she decided to use the exhibition as a real-world teaching case. This would save her the trouble of making the trip and also help Wang Mingyuan solve his teaching and research problems.

"Vice Dean Wang, I have an idea," Ye Wenxi said with a smile.

"I've been busy preparing for the trade fair lately and haven't been able to find the time to go back to school to give a presentation. Why don't you bring a few teachers and some student representatives with you then, and I'll tell you all about the trade fair from beginning to end, which will make up for this missed presentation."

She paused, then added in detail: "This time, we're not simply selling clothes. The core focus is on showcasing design. We don't have a lot of merchandise. The emphasis is on poster displays, counter layout, overall visual appeal, packaging design logic, and on-site promotional strategies."

Upon hearing this, Wang Mingyuan was immediately delighted and exclaimed, "Great! That's fantastic! This is far better than you going back to school to give a presentation. Seeing and speaking in person will definitely allow teachers and students to learn a lot. It's settled then!"

The two hit it off immediately, each getting what they wanted, and finalized the deal on the spot.

Ye Wenxi called Ding Jiahe from the Academy of Fine Arts back to inform her of the news.

"It should be in the next day or two. Wait for my news regarding the specific exhibition."

During lunch with Lu Weidong, Ye Wenxi told him that she would be leaving in the next couple of days. As soon as the promotional posters were released, they would set off, and the on-site setup would take at least another day.

"I won't be going home this time. Xiao Ding and I will stay at the department store guesthouse. It'll be more convenient for us to travel back and forth every day," Ye Wenxi said while eating.

"Do you live in a room by yourself?" Lu Weidong asked this question out of the blue.

"What?" Ye Wenxi looked up at him. "You're not planning to come and stay here, are you?"

After saying that, she rolled her eyes at Lu Weidong and lowered her voice: "It's only two weeks, you can handle it yourself."

Lu Weidong: "........"

He put down his chopsticks, deliberately put on a sullen face, and snorted in feigned dissatisfaction: "No? Ye Wenxi, what do you take me for? Can't I just simply miss you?"

"What are you?" Ye Wenxi also put down her chopsticks.

"You really want me to say it?" She crossed her arms and looked at him with a half-smile.

Lu Weidong picked up his chopsticks again, his face still looking a bit sullen, and said in a muffled voice, "Let's eat."

Ye Wenxi pursed her lips, suppressing a laugh, and picked up her chopsticks, but her feet were not still. She quietly lifted his trouser leg and gently rubbed her toes against his calf.

Lu Weidong stiffened, forcing himself to be serious as he ate his rice, keeping a straight face, and quietly moved his leg to the side to avoid her feet.

Ye Wenxi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You little brat, you're putting on airs with me."

Lu Weidong silently ate his rice without saying another word until the two of them finished eating and walked out of the cafeteria one after the other.

"Are you angry?" As soon as they stepped out of the cafeteria, Ye Wenxi quickly walked up to him and gently took his arm.

"No." Lu Weidong said in a flat tone, but his brows were still furrowed.

"Really?" Ye Wenxi leaned close to his face, blinked hard, and teased him on purpose, then reached out to take his hand.

"I'm not like you..." Lu Weidong sighed, his tone tinged with grievance. "You're always focused on trade shows and designs, your mind is entirely on those clothes and posters. You never think about me, and you never seem to care about me."

"Go ahead, Mr. Ye, get busy." Lu Weidong shook his hand and turned to leave, his tone still a little awkward.

But Ye Wenxi's hand remained clenched tightly, not letting go for a moment.

"Oh? What's going on?" She gripped Lu Weidong's hand tightly, but was pulled forward by the force of his turning around, and deliberately pretended to be confused.

"What are you doing?" Lu Weidong tried to pull his hand away, but couldn't.

"It's stuck! Look! I can't shake it off." Ye Wenxi frowned seriously and shook her hand, which was being held tightly.

"It must be that your hand sensed my reluctance to part with you, that we can't be separated. What should I do?"

"Heh..." Lu Weidong finally couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth, and a slight upward smirk appeared as he turned his face away.

"Hand, oh hand, if it doesn't work out, I'll book a room for you, so your master can come and sneak into my bed in the middle of the night, okay?" Ye Wenxi held Lu Weidong's hand, putting on a pitiful pleading look.

Lu Weidong couldn't hold back any longer. He pulled her into his arms, ruffled her hair with a mixture of helplessness and affection, and said with a smile, "You're always so full of tricks."

"Oh, it agreed! We've broken up." She grinned at Lu Weidong. "Then let's do it this way."

Ye Wenxi then turned and walked towards the clothing store, waving as she went, "I'm leaving~~"

Lu Weidong watched her skipping and hopping figure, feeling that he couldn't get enough of looking at her.