IDEI Ch6

“This is the one, then!” Slapping his thigh, the director made the final call. “Which shop? I’ll have the wardrobe team contact the seller right away!”

“Alright, I’ll send it to you,” Qi Yanning said.

He had already added the director on Feixin yesterday. At this moment, he copied the shop link and sent it over to him.

Ever since transmigrating here, what pleased him most was the sheer convenience of modern life. Although he had held the position of Chief Grand Eunuch of the Bureau of Imperial Attire in his past life—enjoying a standard of living considered top-tier throughout the entire Great Yong Dynasty—it still paled in comparison to that of ordinary commoners here.

For instance, a smartphone was incomparably convenient for communication. And the tablet computer he had used earlier to watch fashion runway shows could record events across different times and locations, uploading them to the internet for anyone interested to peruse—a marvel that thoroughly delighted Qi Yanning.

Upon receiving the link, the director forwarded it to an assistant director to execute, then pocketed his phone and led Qi Yanning toward the styling department.

Your Star truly lived up to its status as a big-budget production: it boasted a staggering five dressing and styling rooms alone, each spanning at least fifty square meters and lined with neat rows of vanity stations. Garments and accessories were organized meticulously in the corners. Behind the styling rooms were six dedicated storage rooms used to house additional wardrobe pieces and accessories.

The styling team’s lounge sat nestled between the storage units and the dressing rooms, furnished with office desks, chairs, sofas, and even several cots for resting.

Yet Qi Yanning frowned slightly. The lounge lacked proper ventilation, and squeezing over a dozen people into a single confined space made him distinctly uncomfortable.

As they pushed the door open, the director loudly introduced Qi Yanning to the stylists already gathered inside: “Everyone, this is Qi Yanning, your newest colleague. Xiao Qi will be taking the lead on the hair, makeup, and styling for our reshoot of the theme song MV. Lend him a hand and cooperate fully with his work.”

The other stylists agreed with smiles.

Seeing that the atmosphere seemed pleasant enough, the director turned and left. Tasked with overseeing the entire production, the fact that he had personally received Qi Yanning was already a significant display of high regard.

The director’s departure instantly turned the atmosphere in the lounge delicate and subtle.

Qi Yanning arched an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping discreetly across the room. He could easily tell that, setting aside the eight young assistants huddled like baby chicks, among the remaining six senior stylists, two harbored blatant hostility toward him, one held covert resentment, and another regarded him with cautious scrutiny.

This styling team… seemed rather intriguing.

Not that he cared.

As long as these people didn’t interfere with his work, he couldn’t care less what they did. But if they dared disrupt his work…

Qi Yanning let out a soft chuckle.

In his past life, he hadn’t climbed to the rank of Chief Grand Eunuch by being soft-hearted.

“Hello, Xuezhang!” a styling assistant called out softly, breaking the delicate silence in the room. Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at Qi Yanning.

It was a young girl from yesterday’s interviews: Li Jinshi.

Majoring in fashion design, she was effectively Qi Yanning’s junior from school. Her foundational skills were remarkably solid, and she had an exceptional sensitivity to color.

During the interview, she had coordinated an outfit for a trainee: tomato red and forest green, both intense, vintage hues, yet yielding an unexpectedly harmonious visual effect.

However, perhaps because she didn’t fully grasp the role of a personal stylist yet, her instinct had been to maximize the showcase of the garments, causing the trainee to be completely overwhelmed by the clothes, akin to a plastic mannequin.

Consequently, although the director liked the outfit itself, he had shaken his head, preparing to eliminate this green novice.

But Qi Yanning had stepped in.

Striding forward, he had deftly fitted an oversized pair of dramatic sunglasses onto the trainee, pulled open the collar to drape a thick statement chain across his neck, and slicked his hair back into an immaculate pompadour—

Just like that, the trainee’s presence underwent a radical transformation!

From a lifeless model swallowed by fabric, he became a vintage, modern disco club singer, instantly evoking that glittering, neon-lit bygone era.

The director’s eyes had lit up, gazing at Qi Yanning with pure awe.

And the young girl, who had just thought she was about to be rejected and was on the verge of tears, had looked at Qi Yanning with sheer adoration.

She knew who Qi Yanning was; after all, this senior’s choice upon graduation to turn down invitations from fashion design studios to compete in an idol survival show had sent shockwaves through the entire school. In alumni gossip, descriptions of this senior mostly centered on being handsome and gentle, but why had no one ever mentioned…

…that this senior’s professional mastery was this monstrously good?!

Pity was that she hadn’t mustered the courage to ask for Qi Yanning’s Feixin back then, leaving in deep disappointment.

Assuming her interview had ended in failure, she figured she would likely never see this legendary senior again.

What she never expected was receiving a call from the production crew that very evening, telling her to report for work today!

Even just as a styling assistant, it was an unexpected windfall for a fresh graduate like her.

Supposedly, Senior Qi had told the director that she possessed natural creative flair and was well worth nurturing as a stylist. Thus, she was brought on board to serve as his assistant.

“Li Jinshi, right?” Ignoring the varied expressions of the surrounding stylists, Qi Yanning looked at the excited girl with a faint smile. “Just call me by my name.”

“Qi… Qi-ge,” Li Jinshi still didn’t dare call him casually by name, stammering shyly. “What should we do next?”

“Next?” Qi Yanning’s gaze landed on the large television mounted in the lounge.

“Watch the show, of course,” he replied with a subtle smile.

From the side, someone among the stylists let out a faint sneer.

“Most of us only started today,” Qi Yanning stated in an unhurried, almost gentle tone, yet it sent an inexplicable chill through their hearts. “None of you know much about the contestants on this show yet. Right now, the most crucial task is understanding our clients.”

Qi Yanning’s gaze swept over them one by one. Though his expression held a pleasant smile, his eyes were razor-sharp, bearing down on them with immense weight.

“What’s more, we hardly know one another either. All the more reason to sit down together and get properly acquainted, wouldn’t you say?”

None of the stylists spoke, their thoughts inscrutable.

Qi Yanning didn’t care. Turning on the television, he pulled up the trainees’ self-introduction clips.

“Alright, let’s watch.” He was the first to take a seat on the sofa.

“Okay!” Li Jinshi happily dragged a small stool over, perching behind Qi Yanning.

The others had no choice but to saunter over sluggishly and sit. One of them was clearly disgruntled, slamming his chair down with a loud clatter.

“Tsk.” Qi Yanning had already started watching the first trainee’s clip when the noise disturbed him. Raising his eyebrow with an edge of impatience, he glanced over.

No one saw how he moved. By the time they realized what had happened, he had shifted halfway around, his hand clamping firmly onto that stylist’s chin.

“Quiet down, or get out.” His expression was cold, brows slightly knitted. Turning his head halfway, his sidelong glare sliced like a blade across the face of the stylist trapped bent over beneath his grip.

The stylist seemed momentarily stunned, before his face flushed a bizarre shade of red—

Qi Yanning studied him for a moment until the man’s blush deepened, before tossing his chin aside. Letting out an inscrutable chuckle, he produced a handkerchief and daintily wiped his slender fingers.

Then, he returned his undivided attention to the television.

Leaving the stylist whose chin had been grabbed standing there with an unreadable, intensely conflicted expression.

Time flew swiftly toward the lunch hour. Had the stage crew not delivered their boxed lunches, they would still have been lost in this abrupt, impromptu study session.

Over the course of the morning, the neutral and scrutinizing stylists had already developed a growing respect for Qi Yanning. Meanwhile, the styling assistants looked at Qi Yanning as though gazing at a divine master.

Throughout the morning, Qi Yanning had showcased a staggering depth of knowledge and peerless aesthetic judgment. Every point he raised, once run through their minds, left them stunned to realize that following his directions would elevate the styling texture by leaps and bounds.

He was astonishingly brilliant!

Several styling assistants buzzed around Qi Yanning in high spirits, firing questions from every direction until Qi Yanning grew weary and wore a dangerous half-smile, prompting them to scatter like startled birds.

Meanwhile, the stylist whose chin had been grabbed by Qi Yanning spent the entire morning in a complete daze.

“Hey, Xiao Le, what’s wrong with you?” his companion—another stylist with deep hostility toward Qi Yanning—whispered.

It took Xiao Le a long while to answer, keeping his head down and mumbling bashfully, “Don’t you think… he’s ridiculously handsome?”

The stylist choked, staring speechlessly at his visual-stan colleague’s bright red ears, unable to catch his breath for half a minute.

“Besides…” Xiao Le whispered, “his skill level is genuinely insane. He’s not the incompetent nepotism hire Wang-ge claimed he was. Ah Qing, could there be a misunderstanding here?”

They had maintained close ties with the former stylist, Wang-ge, though they weren’t official members of his studio. When Wang-ge was fired, unable to stomach the insult, he had left the two behind, secretly instructing them to keep tabs on the production’s moves.

Who could have guessed that Xiao Le—a stylist who had previously been all deference and obedience to Wang-ge—would defect in the blink of an eye!

The other stylist, Ah Qing, glared at Xiao Le, fuming with incandescent rage.

The afternoon brought another grueling session. By the end, everyone was lightheaded and exhausted; only Qi Yanning remained razor-sharp, his posture still upright and elegant.

Only when the dossiers of all one hundred trainees were thoroughly analyzed did Qi Yanning show mercy and dismiss everyone.

Everyone was completely drained. They hadn’t merely watched; they were continuously quizzed and prompted to answer according to Qi Yanning’s train of thought, keeping their brains running on overdrive until they completely crashed.

Even Ah Qing, who harbored the deepest grudge against Qi Yanning, had no energy left to stir up trouble, trudging out behind the crowd.

Qi Yanning was in no hurry to leave. He was waiting for the MV shoot wardrobe to arrive.

Li Jinshi hadn’t left either, sitting there organizing her notes.

To Qi Yanning’s surprise, two other styling assistants hadn’t left either: one boy and one girl, both specializing in makeup.

“Why haven’t you gone back yet?” Qi Yanning lifted his eyelids, looking at these three baby chicks—rather, styling assistants.

The other girl had a cheerful disposition, laughing brightly. “Qi-ge, we’re waiting for you. I happened to have a few questions to ask on the way back.”

The boy and Li Jinshi nodded in agreement.

“Fine, then wait,” Qi Yanning shrugged nonchalantly.

They didn’t have to wait long; soon enough, the director sent someone to summon Qi Yanning.

Standing up, Qi Yanning motioned to the three assistants, “Follow along.”

With that, he strode out.

Scrambling to pack their belongings, the three assistants scurried after him.

They arrived at an adjacent vacant storage room. Right now, clothes were piled all over the floor.

“Xiao Qi!” The director’s chubby figure materialized. “Check these clothes and see if there are any issues.”

Before Qi Yanning could move, Wu Jianming—the male assistant—had already smartly picked up a bag of garments, unsealed the packaging, and held it up before Qi Yanning.

“Whoa!” Li Jinshi, ever sensitive to color, gasped in admiration.

This suit was simply gorgeous!

With clean lines and impeccably balanced shoulders and waist, the breast pocket bore the show’s embroidered logo, lending a subtle anchor to the garment. Most striking of all was its color: a muted, greenish-gray blue reminiscent of where summer lake waters meet the horizon—crisp, refreshing, and deeply pleasing to the eye.

Confirming the color was identical to his judgment, Qi Yanning moved on to inspect the inner layers.

Two inner options were provided for each person: a white silk dress shirt paired with a tie matching the suit, and a lightweight white half-zip hooded sweatshirt. The shirt offered a more formal, mature finish, while the hoodie leaned into youthful vigor.

Both, however, were exceptionally stylish.

With a swift glance, Qi Yanning verified the fabric weight, silhouettes, and textile quality were flawless before turning to the director.

“The wardrobe is ready,” Qi Yanning stated.

The director beamed from ear to ear. “Great! Xiao Li, notify the contestants to come collect their new uniforms!”

Trainee coordinator Xiao Li acknowledged the order and hurried to the practice rooms.

It was not even nine o’clock yet, and the trainees were all still drilling in their studios.

Thus, drenched in sweat from intense rehearsal, they received an announcement—

They were getting Uniforms 2.0!

The trainees exchanged bewildered glances, completely unsure how to react.

God, please don’t let it be another insurance salesman suit!

Countless boys wailed in silent agony.