Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 227 - 224: Unforgettable

Yan Yan always felt that building a brand didn’t solely rely on attending Fashion Weeks.

Design was Yan Yan’s talent, but it wasn’t exactly her dream; she would rather spend more energy on brand operations.

According to Yan Yan’s original plan, if she could find a suitable designer to partner with, it wouldn’t be a bad choice.

However, since the goal was to elevate "Made in China" to the world of luxury brands, the designer had to be born and bred Chinese, qualified to participate in the Four Fashion Weeks, and not have launched their own personal brand.

Yan Yan had been on the lookout for someone like that for a long time, but up until now she hadn’t even heard of such a person.

None of the design directors at major luxury brands fit this bill.

This was precisely why Yan Yan had to find a way to create her own brand.

This turn of events was fine for Yan Yan, who could just focus on the design.

But Yan Ling had to take care of everything else besides the design.

Add to that managing their family’s factory and handling financial matters for Yan Yan’s family, and one could imagine the intensity of Yan Ling’s workload.

This time when Yan Yan saw her cousin again, she noticed that he had lost quite a bit of weight.

Her cousin always joked about switching roles with Yan Yan and letting her manage the company.

But Yan Ling never told Yan Yan how busy or tired he was.

And Jiao Zhifei was the same; seemingly without logic, he nevertheless used his unique way of thinking to help Yan Yan find the best path to her dream.

As a real estate developer, sponsoring student events had nothing to do with his regular job scope.

Some things didn’t need to be said by those who silently gave, but Yan Yan couldn’t take it all for granted.

Now, Yan Yan was more motivated than ever before.

Dreams might be personal, but on the road to realizing them, one couldn’t be without comrades-in-arms.

"Once you have a specific plan in place, I’ll help you build a model and calculate, to estimate how much funding you’ll need after three years.

That way, for the next three years, I can set a clear goal for my work," said Qi Yi, focusing on the issue of how much funding Yan Yan just mentioned she needed to prepare.

"Why three years?" Jiao Zhifei questioned the timeframe Qi Yi suggested, since it didn’t seem like his Old Sister would wait another three years to start her own brand.

"Weren’t you planning to attend Paris Fashion Week early next year?" Yan Ling shared Jiao Zhifei’s confusion.

"Oh, right, cousin, I haven’t told you yet—Qi Yi is going to work for the private equity fund we invested in with Allegro," Yan Yan herself had only just learned the news not long ago, so she hadn’t had the chance to tell her cousin.

"Little sister, you really can’t forget your boyfriend for anything, can you?" Yan Ling shook his head at Yan Yan; he didn’t know when his little cousin had become so hopelessly attached.

"What are you talking about? His going there has nothing to do with me.

When Qi Yi was poached by Ian, I didn’t even know what private equity was.

If it hadn’t been for me stepping in midway, he would have already been working for Ian," Yan Yan was always "extra protective" of Qi Yi, unwilling to let others malign him.

Of course, others didn’t include herself.

Yan Yan had just finished defending Qi Yi and started to tease, "Hey Xiao Qizi, isn’t your aim a bit low? If by the end of three years, the money in my private equity fund matches the amount I need, that’d mean putting my entire fortune into brand marketing. How would I afford to eat, drink, and have fun then?"

"Forgive me, Master, Xiao Qizi will make sure to include eating, drinking, and entertainment as necessary items in the budget," Qi Yi responded with a smile to the light-hearted jab from Yan Yan.

"Listening to you two talk is really spoiling my appetite.

Why would you need to spend your entire fortune? You’re not building the brand alone.

Don’t worry, your brother here won’t let you end up homeless.

If your boyfriend is handling the calculations, then I’ll handle the funding preparations.

It’s not right to use your little sister’s private savings for the brand," Yan Ling gave a commanding response after understanding the situation.

"Ha ha ha, who said I was going to use my private savings? Didn’t you hear they said three years later?

All my money’s tied up in private equity; I’m so poor I can’t even make ends meet.

For the next three years, I’ll have to depend on everyone here to take care of me.

Come on, let’s raise our glasses. Everyone here today counts. No one gets to skip out.

As human beings, we must at least have a basic humanitarian spirit.

We can’t just stand by and watch our country’s blossoming beauty wither away in a foreign land," Yan Yan looked pitifully at today’s "invited guests."

"Yan Xiaoyan, if you want to be taken care of, just flash a smile, and you can easily find someone. Do you really need to make eyes at a whole table of people?" Bao Bao couldn’t stand Yan Yan’s looks.

Yan Yan’s gaze was special, not because her eyes were bigger than anyone else’s, but because of the sparkle in them.

It was very different from the look of eyes enlarged by wearing cosmetic contact lenses.

Before Yan Yan graduated, she whimsically dragged Bao Bao to have a bestie photoshoot.

During the shoot, the photographer asked if they could waive the fee, take the photos for free, and keep one to display in the studio.

After a fruitless half-hour conversation, the photographer even offered to pay them, but Yan Yan flatly refused.

In the end, Yan Yan left him with a "sister isn’t short on cash" and walked away.

The photographer was helpless; he had never met anyone who was so photogenic before.

He thought Yan Yan was a professional model, only to find out that it was her first-ever photoshoot.

Having her photo left in a studio for strangers to see and critique was not something Yan Yan would ever accept.

Yan Yan didn’t usually stare at people unless they were important to her,

and even then, only when she wanted to figure out what the important person was really thinking at the time,

just like how Yan Yan had stared at Bao Bao when he refused to go to the meeting the next day.

Yan Yan had only ever stared meaninglessly at someone who was not that familiar once.

It happened to Qi Yi in high school.

Some people you glance at once in a crowd and can’t forget.

Qi Yi, after one look in the classroom, couldn’t get her out of his mind.