Qi Yan came to the studio in the afternoon with another girl by her side.
Shen Yin had specifically instructed Chen Nuan and Li Huanhuan to let her know when Qi Yan arrived.
So Chen Nuan notified Shen Yin right away. Shen Yin replied: [Just see what she says first, don't reveal my information yet.]
[Got it.]
"I booked an appointment yesterday to come get a dress for a ceremony." Qi Yan said as she stood in front of the counter to the right of the studio entrance.
"Of course, ma'am." Li Huanhuan replied professionally.
"I want your studio's most expensive, finest dress."
"Ma'am, our dresses are custom-made. What we have in the store right now are just samples. The most expensive one we have is that traditional Chinese wedding gown over there." Chen Nuan pointed to the Chinese wedding gown on the other side of the room.
Qi Yan looked in the direction Chen Nuan was pointing. It was a solemn, deep red Chinese wedding gown, quite elegant and exquisite indeed, but she wasn't getting married, so what would she need a wedding dress for?
"Then I want a custom-made dress. Where is your manager?" Qi Yan's tone was displeased.
Chen Nuan didn't know what to do. She replied to wait a moment and immediately sent a message lowering her head.
[Qi Yan is asking for the person in charge.]
When Shen Yin saw the message, she handed Zhengzheng over to Shu Yi and said, "I'll go downstairs to take care of it."
Shen Yin strode down the stairs, pretending not to know Qi Yan was here. "I heard you're looking for the person in charge?"
Qi Yan immediately turned around, incredulously saying: "You're the manager?"
"Qi Yan! I'm so sorry, I was dealing with something upstairs just now."
Hearing Shen Yin say this, Qi Yan's expression soured even more. Forcing down her anger, she said: "Well, since that's the case, can I place a custom order now?"
"Of course. Does this lady also want to order a dress?" Shen Yin asked, looking at the woman beside Qi Yan.
This woman was the budding starlet Chen Nuan had mentioned, but Shen Yin didn't recognize her. So when Shen Yin asked if she wanted a dress too, Gu Mengmeng's first reaction wasn't anything else - it was that Shen Yin didn't even recognize her.
She was a celebrity, after all. To not even recognize her... Gu Mengmeng's family owned a small company, and she was the only daughter, spoiled since childhood. She wanted to break into show business, so her family bought her resources. She was decently good-looking and hadn't been in the industry long, standing as a third or fourth-tier celebrity. So she had always been quite arrogant. Before even getting a good look at who the boss was, she was already angry.
"What? You don't recognize me? For a newly opened shop, I can endorse for you guys for free." Gu Mengmeng said haughtily.
Before Shen Yin could respond, Shu Yi came down the stairs. Shen Yin's expression seemed to ask "Why did you come down?"
"One endorser should be enough, right? And coincidentally, I got here before you." Shu Yi said, determined to provoke.
She hadn't even done any endorsements yet. And as for popularity, she seemed higher than Gu Mengmeng. Come on, how could Gu Mengmeng so shamelessly ask for free dresses?
"Why are you here?" Gu Mengmeng said in shock.
"Me? I'm here to endorse for the studio." Shu Yi gave Shen Yin a look, signaling her to not worry and that Zhengzheng was napping upstairs.
Gu Mengmeng was rendered speechless. "Nevermind, this studio is clearly lacking. You don't even have ready-made dresses. Let's go."
Qi Yan didn't know what to do either. She felt like a clown and took the opportunity Gu Mengmeng had given her to bow out gracefully. "Alright, since you don't even have finished dresses, we'll come back another time."
Qi Yan said this, then turned and left the building with Gu Mengmeng.
"Shu Yi, why did you come down?" Shen Yin asked after they had left.
"I suddenly remembered seeing Gu Mengmeng's name in the orders on your computer this morning. She has a notorious reputation for being unreasonable in the industry, so I was worried you wouldn't be able to handle her. Zhengzheng happened to be napping, so I came down." Shu Yi explained.
"Thank you! Don't worry, I can handle it."
Shen Yin gave some more instructions and went back upstairs with Shu Yi.
Leaving Chen Nuan and Li Huanhuan staring at each other speechlessly.
Chen Nuan spoke first: "My girl is so tough! I heard she comes from an ordinary family background. To actually stand up to Gu Mengmeng like that!"
"I know, right? I didn't expect Gu Mengmeng to be so arrogant in real life. It really is all fake on TV."
"You're right about that. But it seems my girl also carefully crafts her image. Yet I prefer her true personality even more." Chen Nuan said.
"Do you think this will negatively impact the studio at all?" Shu Yi asked Shen Yin after going back upstairs.
"No worries. I'll take care of it. I didn't do anything wrong. And we got quite a few orders this morning and afternoon, so that charity gala last night was great for me. The effect has been achieved."
"What I need to do now is make sure your dress steals the spotlight at the press conference, shining brilliantly. If I can pull this off successfully, I should be able to start working on furniture."
At dinnertime, Shen Yin told Xu Xiuhe about Qi Yan's visit to the studio.
"She didn't do anything bad, did she?" Xu Xiuhe asked.
"No, the studio just didn't have any ready-to-wear dresses, so she left." Shen Yin said.
Shen Yin actually wanted to say she seemed to have some bad feelings towards Qi Yan, though she was oblivious when it came to relationships and didn't know why.
Was it because Qi Yan had provoked her, or because Qi Yan was Xu Xiuhe's ex-girlfriend? Shen Yin still hadn't figured it out.
"Mama, mama, want to sleep sleep."
Shen Yin looked at the time - it was Zhengzheng's bedtime. He always got sleepy earlier than her. Like right now, he was already drowsy right after dinner.
"I'll give Zhengzheng a bath tonight." Shen Yin said.
"Then I'll clean up the dishes."
Their division of labor was so clear, they really seemed like an old married couple.
After Shen Yin finished bathing Zhengzheng, she went to bed early herself. To reward herself for the past few days of hard work, she drank a cup of warm milk to help her sleep, planning to get a good night's rest.
But she had another nightmare, except the protagonist wasn't her this time. She was startled awake, got out of bed to drink some water. Her previous nightmare had come true, so this one was probably real too.
