Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 252 - 247: Respect and Keep Distance

Qi Yi became extremely busy as soon as he arrived at Ian’s fund, often working around the clock.

Yan Yan thought the renovation of the New York studio would cease after Qi Yi returned to New York because she had shared with him her plans to kick off from the Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris.

After Qi Yi returned to New York, he didn’t mention it for a month or two.

It was only after Yan Yan saw photos of the completed studio that she realized Qi Yi had not stopped working hard.

After the renovation was completed, Qi Yi asked Yan Yan what type of furniture she needed and what equipment should be added.

Even though Qi Yi was very busy, he meticulously took care of all matters related to the New York studio for Yan Yan.

Everything was ready, except for Yan Yan.

Qi Yi said that it was fine if Yan Yan was too caught up to come.

But the photos of the latest progress of the New York studio that he occasionally sent to Yan Yan directly betrayed his "little wife" mentality.

At that time, Yan Yan had not yet earned the Haute Couture title.

Therefore, the New York studio could not use the "Haute Couture" signage for promotion.

The New York studio was simply called Y.Y and did not have a direct relationship with Maison Yan II.

When the New York studio was established, Maison Yan II was still in the "confidential" phase.

After spending two months in the United States, Yan Yan had to return to France to prepare for her debut haute couture show.

After returning to Paris, Yan Yan’s personal freedom was largely confined to the Maison Yan II studio, and even a visit to New York would last only a day or two.

The main reason for maintaining the New York studio was to create a streetwear brand and discover some promising designers.

All designer brands start with a main line and a secondary line.

Yan Yan had no such considerations.

If she continued working solely in haute couture, the customer base she would need to please was far too "diminutive," and given her personality, she might soon feel exhausted.

Yan Yan always used designing streetwear as her rest and adjustment.

There were no strict rules, and with several young designers in the studio, everyone was brimming with creativity.

Streetwear brands were usually more relaxed, and most of the clothes did not require Yan Yan to personally strive for perfection in the fit.

Yan Yan was mostly concerned with the internal structure and wearability of the shoes after designing them for the streetwear brand.

While Yan Yan was in Paris working hard for a Chinese brand to reach the dream of a global luxury empire, Yan Ling was already testing the waters with Y.Y as a brand.

Having been trained at Wharton Business School and McKinsey, Yan Ling’s theoretical level in brand promotion or company management was unmatched.

However, Yan Ling always felt that many experiences needed to be gained through practical application.

A consultant proficient in analyzing others’ brands and companies might find managing a company themselves to be a different matter entirely.

As Yan Yan had no energy left for anything beyond design in recent years, Yan Ling needed to explore the path of brand promotion by herself.

Testing the waters with Maison Yan II would be too costly.

Y.Y was just the right level.

There was an odd rule at Y.Y studio; the designer’s name must contain the letter ’Y’, and if their real name didn’t include it, they could choose an artistic name with a ’Y’.

This studio was not registered under Yan Yan’s personal name, so nobody associated Y.Y with Maison Yan II.

Success or failure, it didn’t really matter.

Logically, such an odd requirement would not attract talented designers.

But the reality was otherwise; many talented young designers in New York, even those who chose an "artistic name", wanted to join Y.Y studio.

Because the studio was incredibly free.

Freedom to come and go, freedom in working hours.

Unmanaged, no one would criticize your design for not working.

In a year, if ten designs got officially incorporated into the factory production process, they could become officially contracted designers of the studio the following year.

Everyone’s name contained the letter ’Y’; everyone seemed like the owner of this studio.

Inside the studio, there really was no such creature as "your supervisor".

.........

Qi Yi went to Italy to see Yan Yan because a call from Qi Yi’s mother to Yan Yan’s Wenzhou’s phone had somewhat distressed her.

The awaking of sealed memories felt very raw and unpleasant.

Qi Yi, concerned his mother might call Yan Yan again for a private chat, didn’t return her phone to her while in Italy.

When Qi Yi was about to head back to New York at the airport, he hesitated before taking out Yan Yan’s phone.

Qi Yi knew he should return the phone to Yan Yan, but he could not immediately think of a way to prevent his mother from continuing to call Yan Yan after he left.

Qi Yi wanted to tell Yan Yan to keep her phone off for the time being, until he had a chance to talk with his mother.

Instead, Yan Yan threw out this response, "This phone is useless now; just keep it as a souvenir."

Yan Yan was never someone who passively accepted things.

The day after receiving that call, Yan Yan gave her ID card to Yan Ling.

She asked Yan Ling to handle the suspension and number reservation of her Wenzhou number when she returned to Wenzhou a few days later.

After all, the Wenzhou phone number Yan Yan had kept was solely because of Qi Yi disappearing right after the college entrance exam ended.

Her classmates could find her through QQ, MSN, or other means.

Her family was certainly aware of her overseas phone number.

After reuniting with Qi Yi, keeping the Wenzhou phone was just maintaining a long-standing habit.

But there are many habits one could have, not all of which need to be maintained to the end.

After receiving that upsetting call, Yan Yan wanted to cancel the number outright.

Firstly, she heard that cancellation had to be done in person, and secondly, it felt strange to think of her number, used for so many years, suddenly belonging to someone else.

So, Yan Ling helped handle the number suspension instead.

This had another advantage.

Cancellation would definitely be deliberate, while suspension might not be.

Qi Yi’s mother might be angry, but she might also think that the type of person who clings to her son caused the already small amount of phone credit to run out with just one call.

In any case, whether Qi Yi’s mother continued calling or not, the now suspended Yan Yan would not know. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

There is no need to forcibly accept things one dislikes if they can be respectfully avoided.