Chapter 1534 - 1536

Gong Ruini stared in shock at Gong Jiaxin walking out of the room.

What the hell—someone who’s supposed to be in Europe is actually showing up at home.

"You, you’re...?" Is it that she came back to the United States temporarily to deal with something, or that she’s not going to France anymore?

Gong Ruini felt it should be the former; if it were the latter, shouldn’t she have given advance notice so they could get everything here ready?

"I’ve wrapped up things in France. I’m back in the United States to start my career." Gong Jiaxin threw her arms around Gong Ruini, whom she hadn’t seen in ages.

Holding Gong Ruini, Gong Jiaxin suddenly had this urge to cry. She really thought she was a strong person.

She’d thought all the tears she needed to cry in France were already shed, that all the grievances she suffered had long been let go.

Turns out she isn’t as strong as she thought she was.

Looks like she really did suffer over there in France. Even though Gong Jiaxin said she’d learned a lot and was coming back to the United States to start her career, the way her body trembled told Gong Ruini this girl was just putting on a brave face.

"It’s good you’re back. Our production line’s been ready for ages; we’re just waiting to rake in the cash in the domestic market." Gong Ruini was already metaphorically sharpening her knives.

According to her original plan, this could’ve kicked off last year or at the beginning of this year. Unfortunately, because she got pregnant, plus the fact that Gong Jiaxin said she wanted to stay on in France and keep studying hard, the whole plan got postponed like this.

Luckily, at this stage, those big foreign brands still look down on this rising Eastern ancient kingdom’s market. As for those brands created under the banner of foreign capital, while she hadn’t seen the actual products, the photos Chu Ling sent made Gong Ruini feel somewhat reassured.

But getting into the market early is good too. While these joint-venture brands can still scrape by, they have to charge in fast and grab market share.

"Ni Zi, I’m thinking I don’t want to give up the market here in the United States." Gong Jiaxin said awkwardly.

"I kind of want to stay put in the United States. The things you’re exposed to here just aren’t comparable to what’s back home." Even if you can read fashion magazines, there’s a big time lag between publication and when they’re mailed to the domestic market.

This, Gong Ruini acknowledged. But they were doing ready-to-wear; they didn’t need that extreme level of sensitivity to trends.

From the look of it, Gong Jiaxin must have taken quite a beating, otherwise why would she be this insistent.

"Ni Zi, I’ve thought it through. I can’t just slink back home. I want them to know that Asian designers can be good too." She thought of what those people said behind her back, especially when even the master she admired most was saying things like that.

"I know people all wear masks, saying one thing to one person and another to someone else, but I really didn’t expect them to be that shameless."

"They say my designs are bad, yet they more or less borrow elements from my work."

"I..." Gong Jiaxin didn’t want to say it out loud; it made her sound weak. But standing in front of Gong Ruini, she really couldn’t hold it in.

Too many grievances bottled up instead of spoken out—it’s more than just uncomfortable; it’s torture.

Ah, she knew the girl had been wronged, but she hadn’t expected it to be this bad. "Nobody stood up for you?"

Gong Ruini remembered that Gong Jiaxin had mentioned friends who were there with her, and even said they could start a business together in the future.

If they could start a business together, that relationship had to be pretty solid.

"No one."

"Not a single person. I’ve decided I’ll start my own business alone." If she hadn’t gone back because she forgot something, she wouldn’t even have found out about those comments.

Ah, starting a business alone? That means this situation is no small matter.

"Better to find some things out now than later."

"It’s tough doing it alone, but it beats getting stabbed in the back down the line." Gong Ruini comforted her.

She didn’t know exactly what those people had said, but for mild-mannered Gong Jiaxin to talk like this, they must’ve crossed some serious lines.

Friendship is fragile like that. Gong Ruini sighed.

"Yeah, that’s what I think too. I’ve thought it through—first I can collaborate with my mentor." Gong Jiaxin really hadn’t come back completely unprepared this time.

Collaborate with her mentor? As far as Gong Ruini remembered, her mentor had some name recognition. Not one of the big A-list figures, but overall, in the United States, he counted as mildly well-known.

"My teacher just took on some orders, basically designing gowns for small-time starlets without much fame."

"The money isn’t great, but if the designs are good, it’s easy to stand out."

Wow. Gong Ruini was delighted. "Really?"

Gong Jiaxin nodded shyly. "Mm, most of them are like D-list, E-list celebrities, but if by any chance they attend an event and get snapped by the press, there’s still a shot at getting noticed."

"Otherwise, nobody would be willing to come to me for designs." Even though she’d been designing under a big-name French designer, the reviews she got weren’t great.

Trying to drum up business off that name alone would be difficult, and besides, she’d never planned on cashing in on that label.

For most people, leaning on such a big name to operate would make everything much easier. But does Gong Jiaxin care?

"I’m rich now—why should I care?"

"I can take my time; I can design what I like." The thought made Gong Jiaxin grin from ear to ear.

Most people don’t have the time or money to act on impulse, but that’s not a problem for her.

"I own shares in an IT company, I own shares in a finance company, and I’ve got property. Hahahahahahaha." Gong Jiaxin laughed wildly.

"Ni Zi, I’ve made up my mind. Why should I be in such a rush? Why should I drag them along with me? If I drag them along, my rhythm will definitely get messed up."

They need money, they need fame. It’s not that Gong Jiaxin doesn’t want recognition, but right now she just wants to do what she loves and design clothes she likes.

"Then don’t bring them along." So what if she’s acting spoiled—she’s got money to back it up. Plus, Gong Ruini didn’t think the path Jiaxin had chosen was wrong at all.

Who knows whether these small-time stars might become famous down the road. And what if one of them really falls in love with Gong Jiaxin’s designs—then what?

Besides, with Gong Jiaxin back, it should help bring grumpy Gong Jiaming back to normal over the next few days.

She knew his mood hadn’t been good, but she hadn’t expected it to be this bad. And seeing her and Zhao Xuran, his attitude was still awful, which really pissed her off.

What era are we living in that someone still believes in "guilt by association" like this?

It’s not that Gong Ruini hadn’t thought about cheering Gong Jiaming up, but the guy just wouldn’t respond to anything, soft or hard.

That really made her angry. It wasn’t her who did something stupid, so why should she have to put up with his attitude? She knew he felt wronged too, and she’d tried to coax him, but this lord’s mood stayed rotten, and there was no way she was going to keep pandering to him.

Fresh back, Gong Jiaxin had no idea about all this. When she heard that Gong Jiaming had actually been throwing tantrums, she honestly couldn’t believe it.

"He’d take it out on you guys?" No way. Ever since he came to the United States, her little brother had become a lot more mature and reserved. He still lost his temper sometimes, but he’d never been this willful.

See? Even Gong Jiaxin found it unbelievable. That showed the usually honest guy had really blown his top this time. Sigh, looks like he really hit a wall.

What to do... Gong Ruini was genuinely anxious, like she needed answers online, ASAP.