IDEI Ch16

“Feel free to head back for now. When the clothes arrive, I’ll need to trouble you to come again,” Chu Sixiu said with a smile, receiving a signal from Qi Yanning.

The trainees, filled with anxiety, could only return to the practice room.

Meanwhile, Li Jinshi had already contacted Liang Qingxue and Qin Zhifan.

[XUE]: A-Shi, what did you just say?

Seeing the message from Li Jinshi, Liang Qingxue jumped out of bed.

She hadn’t found a job yet, so she was still staying in the dorm. Upon seeing Li Jinshi’s message, she even triple-checked it.

[XUE]: Are you saying that the stylist you mentioned likes my graduation project? Really?

[XUE]: Jie, don’t joke with me! I’m really going to believe it!

[Lucky Xiao Shi]: It’s true. Just tell me if I can borrow it?

[XUE]: Yes, yes, yes! Absolutely! Where are you now? I’ll bring my project right over!

[XUE]: Aaaah, I’ve made it!

[XUE]: Mom, I’ve made it! Someone’s going to wear my graduation project on the red carpet, hehehehe!

After securing Liang Qingxue, Li Jinshi contacted Qin Zhifan next.

Qin Zhifan was staying on at the school for postgraduate studies. As always, she remained aloof.

[Q.F]: Sure. Which one? Address.

Seeing that both agreed, Li Jinshi looked up at Qi Yanning, “Qi-ge, they both agreed! They’ll bring the clothes over right away.”

Qi Yanning glanced at his assistant with a half-smile.

The assistant wiped his face, “The company will send a car to pick them up.”

Qi Yanning nodded lightly.

Thanks to the fast coordination of Chenxing Entertainment, two hours later, Liang Qingxue and Qin Zhifan arrived at Chenxing Entertainment with their graduation projects.

[XUE]: Chenxing Entertainment! Aaah, babe, why didn’t you tell me sooner?

[XUE]: An artist from Chenxing Entertainment wearing my clothes—am I even worthy? Of course I am, haha!

[XUE]: I’m so excited! Jie, you’ve really made it big!

Liang Qingxue kept sending messages to Li Jinshi along the way, trying hard to suppress her excitement. Even Qin Zhifan’s usually calm expression showed some subtle changes.

Even Qin Zhifan, with her consistently excellent grades, had only ever showcased her work at school fashion shows, which was just a form of self-entertainment among students.

She never expected that during her student days, she’d get the chance to have her work on a red carpet!

The two were led up to the 22nd floor and into a makeup and styling room.

When they entered, Qi Yanning stood up, nodded slightly, and greeted them, “Hello, I’m Qi Yanning.”

Liang Qingxue pinched her arm hard.

Oh my God, Qi Yanning?

She was actually seeing the idol who was rumored to have retired from the industry? This was worth it!

She stared unblinkingly at Qi Yanning.

In person, he was even more attractive than on screen. Moreover, standing in front of her, Qi Yanning exuded a certain aura.

Powerful, fearless, convincing. Even though his posture was lazy, and his tone was flat, he made people want to listen.

Liang Qingxue realized that Qi Yanning had changed from before.

Damn it, her idol must have gone through so much suffering during this time!

Qi Yanning noticed the concern on Liang Qingxue’s face, and a small wave of emotion stirred within him.

The old Qi Yanning had a group of wonderful people who truly cared about him.

For once, he softened his expression and gave Liang Qingxue a small smile.

“It’s getting late, let’s make this quick,” Qi Yanning said. “I need five dresses from Qin Zhifan’s graduation project, as well as Liang Qingxue’s ‘Urban Rose’ dress. Can they be adjusted to fit the trainees’ sizes?”

The two nodded.

At this point, the trainees returned to the styling room.

“Go change into the clothes first,” Qi Yanning said, not waiting for them to react. “There will be plenty of alterations needed for the dresses.”

The seven trainees, dazed, went into the fitting room to change, with Li Jinshi and Chu Sixiu going in to help adjust their outfits.

The changing process was quick.

The idol trainees were the first to step out of the fitting room.

Just at that moment, Ling Cangzhou arrived at the styling room. As soon as he walked in, his eyes lit up—

The trainees were wearing dresses with black as the base color. The designs were simple, but the cuts were sharp and sleek, each unique in its own way.

The highlight of the dresses was the decorations. Silver metal twisted and folded, forming various three-dimensional metal flowers.

The metal flowers adorned the dresses, making them look like a deconstructed metallic garden.

Interestingly, the name of Qin Zhifan’s graduation project was “Garden.”

“Very beautiful.” Ling Cangzhou lightly applauded.

“You really have a keen sense of style. These dresses suit them perfectly and align with the concept for their debut group.” Ling Cangzhou complimented Qi Yanning with a smile, receiving a smirking glance in return.

“Jianming, Jinshi, Sixiu, help them with makeup and styling,” Qi Yanning ordered.

During the two-hour wait, they had already completed the concept designs for the makeup, so now was the perfect time to bring the look together.

The three of them worked simultaneously, and since it was just a test look, they didn’t need to be too meticulous, allowing them to finish quickly.

An hour later, the seven trainees stood before them.

Five idol trainees were dressed in black metallic floral dresses, their hairstyles clean and sleek, with a light smoky makeup accentuating their cool and aloof aura, perfectly complementing the outfits.

Meanwhile, the two trainees from the acting department were dressed in white.

The cute trainee wore a white dress, with multicolored floral patterns faintly visible through the sheer fabric of the hem, like a garden shrouded in morning mist. Her hair was braided into a side braid, making her look like a little woodland elf.

The elegant trainee wore what appeared to be a simple white strap dress, but from the front, a diagonal cut revealed a complex array of three-dimensional flowers, resembling a half-open garden gate.

The flowers, abundant and intricate at the hem, gradually thinned as they reached the chest, leaving only a few blooms winding around the straps, delicately decorating the trainee’s fair collarbones. Her hair was pinned up, making her look graceful and demure.

Ling Cangzhou looked at the group in front of him, almost in awe.

He glanced at Qi Yanning, his eyes glowing with admiration, “A-Ning…”

“No matter how many times I see a scene like this, it always amazes me…”

Qi Yanning didn’t avoid his gaze and met his starry eyes directly.

After a long pause, both of them smiled.

The trainees also exchanged glances, their eyes filled with awe.

Qin Zhifan and Liang Qingxue were in a bit of a daze. They knew their works were quite good before coming here, having received unanimous praise from their professors at the academy.

But they couldn’t guarantee how well these concept-heavy graduation designs would look on the red carpet.

However, Qi Yanning had perfectly merged the artistic nature of the outfits without letting them overshadow the artists, instead, enhancing their presence.

Qi Yanning carefully observed the fit of each dress.

Indeed, the graduation works didn’t have the meticulous craftsmanship of big-name brands. But with slight modifications, they would be good enough for the red carpet.

“Miss Qin, Miss Liang, are you okay with making some reversible adjustments to your designs?” Qi Yanning asked.

Both nodded. They were familiar with this industry practice.

“Sixiu, sorry to ask you to work overtime and adjust the sizing of these dresses,” Qi Yanning turned to the assistants.

“We can help too,” Liang Qingxue and Qin Zhifan exchanged a glance, hesitating slightly as they offered.

“That would be wonderful. Thank you,” Qi Yanning smiled. Having the original designers help would certainly make the process faster.

The team worked quickly, marking the necessary adjustments, and once the trainees took off the dresses, they immediately set to work.

By the time the alterations were complete, it was already quite late.

“Thank you for your hard work, everyone,” Ling Cangzhou stood up after waiting nearby, “You all must be hungry. There’s a 24-hour buffet at Chenxing Entertainment. Let me treat you all to a late-night snack.”

The makeup and styling assistants couldn’t hide their excitement. Even Qin Zhifan and Liang Qingxue were no exception.

After all, it was the cafeteria of Chenxing Entertainment!

The cafeteria at Chenxing Entertainment was famous. Several of the company’s artists had mentioned how delicious the food was during interviews, and this had even trended on social media.

After all, for an entertainment company to become famous for its cafeteria was in itself quite entertaining.

Everyone exchanged glances and then looked eagerly at Qi Yanning.

Qi Yanning glanced at them and said, “Let’s go. Zhifan and Qingxue, you too!”

The two’s hesitation disappeared, and they immediately cheered along with the three assistants.

“Yes!”

The group followed closely behind Qi Yanning, while Ling Cangzhou walked beside him. The group naturally surrounded Qi Yanning as they headed toward the company’s cafeteria, attracting curious glances along the way.

Who was this beautiful person? How come the president himself was hosting them?

Qi Yanning seemed completely unaffected by the attention, walking at a leisurely pace toward the cafeteria.

Chenxing Entertainment’s cafeteria was indeed grand! It occupied an entire floor of the office building, offering all sorts of delicious food, whether from China’s eight great cuisines or international dishes.

“Go ahead,” Qi Yanning said with a teasing smile to the assistants, who were practically glowing with excitement.

“Qi-ge, then we’ll go ahead!” The five of them eagerly headed toward their favorite food stations.

“I’ll show you around,” Ling Cangzhou finally spoke, laughing, “What do you want to eat?”

Qi Yanning wasn’t sure what to eat. It was already past his usual dinner time, and by his old habits, he wouldn’t have eaten anything this late. But he didn’t want to spoil the young ones’ fun, so he had come along to the cafeteria.

“It’s quite late. How about something light?” Ling Cangzhou suggested thoughtfully, gauging Qi Yanning’s expression, “The Cantonese soups over there are made by a master chef hired from the region, very authentic. Would you like to try some?”

Qi Yanning nodded nonchalantly.

The soup was soon brought to their table by the cafeteria staff, served in delicate bowls, emitting a comforting aroma. On the side was a small bowl of noodles cooked in the same broth.

Qi Yanning took a sip, and his eyes brightened slightly. The taste was almost on par with the royal chef’s level!

Ling Cangzhou stirred his soup gently but didn’t drink it. Instead, he smiled at Qi Yanning, “The pigeon soup has a few medicinal herbs that help calm the mind and aid sleep. The noodles were also cooked in pigeon broth. I know you don’t usually eat late at night, so I only got a small portion, just enough to tide you over.”

“It’s really good,” Qi Yanning said, putting down the spoon and dabbing his lips with a napkin. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear before lifting his gaze and smiling at Ling Cangzhou.

“To receive a compliment from you, A-Ning, makes hiring the chef worth it,” Ling Cangzhou joked, leaning slightly forward from his seat across from Qi Yanning.

“My compliment carries that much weight?” Qi Yanning’s tone was calm, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“Of course. A-Ning is the best makeup artist I’ve ever seen. I’m still waiting to build a good relationship with you, so I can invite you to work on something in the future.”

Ling Cangzhou leaned forward a bit more, tilting his head slightly, his hands clasped in front of him as he flashed a bright yet innocent smile.

“Besides, A-Ning is already the best.”

Qi Yanning met his gaze for a moment, raising an eyebrow with a faint smile. He didn’t reply, but after giving Ling Cangzhou a deep look, he lowered his head and continued sipping the pigeon soup he hadn’t finished.

Ling Cangzhou shifted his posture, quietly unclasping his hands that had been tightly clasped earlier.

He had been too nervous and held them too tightly—his hands had gone numb!