Volume One, Chapter 61: Her

The call was from Andrew.

He informed Jiang Wan that he intended to entrust the store design project to Jiang’s firm. After discussing with the brand’s founder, however, the other party decided to come to Rong City in person. He would meet with her directly to determine whether to finalize the contract. The tentative date was next Wednesday. Andrew hoped she could compile the company’s information, as well as relevant finished designs.

“It would be best to add some ideas about store design, a few more options,” Andrew advised Jiang Wan. “Our boss is eccentric and imaginative; I can’t really guess what he wants, so we need to be prepared.”

Having understood, Jiang Wan gladly accepted.

“All right,” she replied, wiping the traces of tears from her face and pinching her nose with a tissue.

When the call ended, Jiang Wan had already regained her composure, as if nothing untoward had happened.

“President Jiang?” Xia Nuan hesitantly tried to express her concern.

Jiang Wan tossed the tissue into the bin, her peach-blossom eyes now only showing rationality. She walked up to Xia Nuan and laid out the compiled materials one by one. Like a machine without emotion, she selected several images, sorted them to one side, expressionless.

“The rest are all Victorian style,” Jiang Wan said, then stood and headed toward her office. “If there’s anything else, come find me in my office.”

“Okay…” Xia Nuan remained where she was, watching Jiang Wan’s departing figure, wanting to speak but holding back.

*

Wednesday arrived in the blink of an eye.

Over the past three days, Jiang Wan devoted herself entirely to the store design. She shuttled back and forth, inspecting locations, observing how the light changed at different times of day at each site. This gave her some ideas; meanwhile, her secretary prepared relevant materials as Andrew suggested.

On Wednesday, both parties agreed to meet at nine o’clock at Jiang’s design firm. Jiang Wan prepared fruit and refreshments early, sorted the documents, and, once everything was in order, waited in the negotiation room for Andrew and his boss.

“President Jiang, Mr. Andrew and his party have arrived,” the secretary informed her, prompting Jiang Wan to hurry out to welcome them, carefully adjusting her appearance to avoid any sign of negligence.

However…

The two men who appeared in Jiang Wan’s sight—aside from Andrew in formal attire—were strikingly different from her expectations. The young man accompanying him radiated the casual air of an artist. He seemed about her age, wore a light sweatshirt under an oversized knitted jacket. Not the foreign image she’d imagined, but—

His dark, mid-length hair was slightly wavy, tied in a small ponytail at the back, streaked with a few locks of blue-violet. Both ears bore studs. His features were deep and handsome, but not Western. His round almond-shaped eyes, bright and clear, brimmed with vitality.

Jiang Wan hadn’t expected that Andrew, in his forties, would have such a young boss.

It was quite different from what she had imagined.

She was momentarily stunned, and the young man turned to look at her as well.

“You’re the owner of Jiang Design?” His voice was clear.

His luminous gaze swept over her, finally curling his lips into a smile that revealed sharp little canine teeth on either side, making him look almost boyish.

“Yes,” Jiang Wan replied with a smile, snapping back to herself. She realized he wasn’t speaking French, but Mandarin.

She looked at him in surprise, about to confirm, when Andrew guessed her thoughts and smiled, “I forgot to tell you, my boss is also Chinese. His hometown is—”

“Earth,” the young man suddenly interrupted, laughing lightly. “Just call me Earth’s street kid.”

Jiang Wan was again taken aback.

The secretary beside him looked awkward, too.

The employees of Jiang Design, who had been watching curiously, were all captivated by the young man’s style.

Jiang Wan managed an embarrassed yet polite smile, about to ask his name, when the man reached out ahead of her, saying, “Just kidding, my name is Shen Xinghe.”

He reached out to shake her hand.

“Mr. Shen, hello,” Jiang Wan hurried to return the gesture.

Shen Xinghe smirked, “Your company is so formal. I don’t like it.”

“Uh…” Jiang Wan couldn’t help but laugh, her tone shifting, “We don’t have to be so formal, then?”

Her remark made Shen Xinghe smile with satisfaction.

He let go of her hand, “Nice hands. Not bad.”

His blunt appraisal made the others’ expressions change.

“Star, what are you saying!” Andrew exclaimed, while Shen Xinghe remained nonchalant. “As the boss, her fingers show calluses from holding a pen—that means she’s hands-on and involved in design.”

“I’m complimenting her, why are you nervous?”

Shen Xinghe looked at Andrew with annoyance; Andrew, after a sigh, turned helplessly to Jiang Wan.

“Miss Jiang, please forgive him. Star is just like that,” Andrew paused, “He can’t rest until he shocks you.”

He struggled to string together the Chinese sentence.

Jiang Wan laughed.

Only then did she realize Andrew could understand Mandarin, though he couldn’t speak it.

“Please, come in. I’ve prepared everything,” Jiang Wan invited them to the negotiation room, with her secretary assisting.

Yet before she could present the prepared materials, after just a few sentences about her design concepts, Shen Xinghe suddenly announced,

“Sign. She’s the one.”

“Huh?” Andrew looked incredulous.

Shen Xinghe lounged lazily in the chair, holding a cherry, twirling the stem between his fingers.

“I like dealing with beautiful things,” he said, looking at Jiang Wan. “I trust my first instinct.”

After finishing, Shen Xinghe tossed the cherry back in the fruit plate, stood up, and asked Jiang Wan, “You keep talking, I’m sleepy—where can I nap?”

He didn’t follow conventions, but his seriousness made it clear he wasn’t joking.

Jiang Wan looked at Andrew in hesitation; he rubbed his forehead in exasperation, smiling at her helplessly.

Apparently, this was normal.

Jiang Wan caught the cue, signaled the secretary, “Take Mr. Shen to the lounge.”

The secretary immediately complied.

Once they left, only Jiang Wan and Andrew remained in the negotiation room.

“Sorry for the spectacle,” Andrew said, unable to hide his doting helplessness. “You’ll get used to it. It’s precisely because Star is so different, he was able to win the Alexander Lucci Painting Prize in his teens.”

Hearing the name of the award, Jiang Wan was dumbfounded.

The Alexander Lucci Painting Prize, considered the Nobel of the art world, is the ultimate dream for countless painters.

And Shen Xinghe, he won it as a teenager?