Chapter 100

**Chapter 100**

Inside the Weiyang Fashion Design Studio, Huang Yunxiang and two other tailors stood before Jiang Yiwei.

Jiang Yiwei and Zhou Hongmin were huddled over several design drafts, whispering about them.

“This one is for the older woman. It’d be better if Sister Yunxiang handles it—she’d appreciate her craftsmanship more.”

“Alright, we’ll go with that.”

“Sister Shiliu [*Pomegranate*], this one’s for you.”

“Jumei [*Chrysanthemum Sister*], you take this one.”

“Yunxiang, here’s yours—it’s for that older woman, so make sure to work carefully on it.”

“Got it, boss,” Huang Yunxiang promised. “I’ll make it perfect.”

The three took their assignments and returned to their stations, getting to work on the outfits at their sewing machines.

After handing out the tasks, Jiang Yiwei and Zhou Hongmin went back to their own machines, ready to finish up pending orders.

Just then, two people walked into the shop. Jiang Yiwei noticed them and looked up, meeting their gaze.

She cheered excitedly, “Hong Su! Xiao Feng!”

“Yi Wei!”

When Hong Su and He Xiaofeng saw her, they lit up with smiles.

Jiang Yiwei pulled them closer. “To what do I owe this visit?”

It had been a while since they last met, and she was thrilled they’d dropped in.

“Can’t we drop by? We’re bringing you business!” He Xiaofeng said, dangling two pieces of fabric in front of her. “You’ll give us a discount, right? After all, we’re friends.”

Jiang Yiwei took the fabrics and put on a stern act. “Friends don’t get special treatment.”

“Oh, come on! When did you become such a profit-obsessed person? Not even giving your besties a break?” He Xiaofeng shot her a mock-scowl.

Jiang Yiwei rolled her eyes. “Of course I love money. Only a fool wouldn’t! Who in this world doesn’t? Well, maybe someone like Gu Xiaolei, who’s already rolling in it.”

“Alright, alright—friends get the VIP treatment,” Jiang Yiwei relented with a smile. “And I’ll make it myself.”

She let them off the hook easily. For close friends like Gu Xiaolei and He Xiaofeng, she always gave discounts.

“That’s the Yi Wei we know and love!”

He Xiaofeng threw an arm around her shoulder.

“But don’t worry—we’ll still pay full price.”

“Exactly,” Hong Su added. “We know how much effort goes into these.”

He Xiaofeng and Hong Su were only teasing Jiang Yiwei, not seriously expecting a discount.

After all, Yiwei was in business, and sewing clothes was labor-intensive.

Xiaofeng, especially, knew exactly how it felt.

Everyone assumed they made a lot of money, but the truth was, the money didn’t come easy—it took effort, both mental and physical, all of which spoke to their struggles.

“Alright then, I’ll take you up on that.”

Since He Xiaofeng and Hong Su insisted, Yiwei accepted. Truthfully, even if she gave them a discount, they’d insist on paying full price regardless.

Come to the tea room.”

Yiwei led the two into the tea room.

“Yiwei, these clothes I’m commissioning today are for my sister-in-law. Please use these measurements here.”

Hong Su handed Yiwei a note with her sister-in-law’s dimensions.

Yiwei glanced at it. “I’ll make them according to these measurements.”

She hesitated for a moment. “Didn’t I just make one for your sister-in-law two months ago? Why another now?”

Two months ago, Hong Su had asked Yiwei to make one as a birthday gift for her sister-in-law.

Now, just two months later, she was asking again.

“My sister-in-law is becoming a military spouse, so I wanted to give her something.”

“She’s going with him? That’s great. This way, your brother and sister-in-law won’t have to be separated anymore.”

If Hong Su’s sister-in-law could join the army, she wouldn’t have to be apart from her husband.

As a military wife, she’d endured separation. Being able to accompany her husband would be good for both the couple and their children.

“Mom said the same thing.”

Hong Su’s mother had also told her that it was good for her sister-in-law to go with her brother.

“She should’ve gone with your brother a long time ago.”

Xiaofeng had always thought Hong Su’s sister-in-law should have joined him earlier. Otherwise, a woman raising two children alone, barely seeing her husband once a year, was like she was practically widowed.

Xiaofeng remembered that she’d actually come to see Yiwei about something specific.

“Yiwei, there’s something I want to talk to you about. Step outside with me.”

Xiaofeng was acting secretive, and Yiwei asked in confusion, “What’s this about?”

“What? Is there something I can’t know?” Hong Su looked at Xiaofeng, her face practically demanding inclusion.

Xiaofeng said awkwardly, “I didn’t want to upset you, which is why I didn’t want to say anything in front of you.”

She’d held back for Hong Su’s benefit.

“Out with it! If it upsets me, I’ll cope when you two become shop owners.”

Seeing how successful He Xiaofeng and Yiwei had become, Hong Su could only feel happy for them—how could she possibly be upset?

"Just say it! Hong Su can take it."

Hong Su isn't the kind of person who begrudges others' good fortune.

Otherwise, she would've cut ties with them by now.

"Alright, I'll spill it."

Since Hong Su didn’t mind, He Xiaofeng went ahead and spoke.

"Yi Wei, you still looking to buy a place?"

Jiang Yiwei paused mid-motion and blinked. "What did you say? Who’s got a house for sale now?"

"I met this family," He Xiaofeng nodded. "They're moving to Hong Kong and want to sell their house."

"They’ve got five units up for sale. I don’t have the cash for all of them, so I wanted to ask—if you’re game."

The family He Xiaofeng met was relocating to Hong Kong and wanted to sell their properties in the capital. There were five houses total. Xiao Feng was short on funds, but she thought Jiang Yiwei would definitely want one.

She made a point to tell Yi Wei. If she was interested, He Xiaofeng would take her to see the houses in the next few days. If not, she’d just turn them down.

"Hell yes, I’m in!" Jiang Yiwei answered without hesitation.

She wanted to buy a house.

"I knew you’d be in," Xiao Feng’s eyes lit up, smug.

She was sure Jiang Yiwei would jump at the chance.

"Check your schedule. I’ll take you to have a look. We’ll close the deal fast before someone else grabs it."

Worried someone might snatch the house first, He Xiaofeng wanted to take Jiang Yiwei to see it as soon as possible and get it locked down.

"Let’s do tomorrow! Tomorrow I’ll go with you. If it’s good, I’ll buy it."

Jiang Yiwei was also worried about missing out, so she jumped at the chance to see it the next day.

"So *this* was the big secret?"

Hong Su listened to their conversation and realized they were talking about buying a house.

The way they talked, it didn’t sound like their first time buying property.

"Why'd you leave me out?" Hong Su felt left behind.

Seeing her frown, Jiang Yiwei and He Xiaofeng quickly reassured her. "No way! We weren’t keeping secrets!"

"Xiao Feng’s right—we really weren’t hiding anything from you."

"If you wanna tag along, come with us tomorrow. But what about your classes?"

Swear to god, Jiang Yiwei and He Xiaofeng hadn’t meant to exclude Hong Su. If she wanted to go with them, they could take her. But wasn’t she supposed to be in class?

Hong Su was in her final year of university—she still had school.

"When are you going? I’ve got P.E. last period. I can bail and come with you."

Hong Su was dying to go with them.

Luckily, Hong Su's last class tomorrow is P.E., so she can skip it.

"Then let's pick up Hong Su tomorrow! We'll go check out the place together."

"Sounds good!"

Jiang Yiwei and Hong Su both thought it was a great idea.

Knock knock.

The teahouse door opened as Zhou Hongmin walked in.

"What's up, Hong Min?" Jiang Yiwei immediately noticed Zhou Hongmin's displeased expression.

"Yi Wei, there's someone outside who wants clothes made—and insists you do it. But her attitude is incredibly rude."

"She's acting like she owns the place, and it’s infuriating."

A customer had come to the shop demanding Jiang Yiwei personally make her clothes, but her entire demeanor made Zhou Hongmin want to show her the door.

But since this was Jiang Yiwei's shop, not hers, she couldn't make that decision.

"She specifically wants me? If she's paying, I'll take the work."

Some regulars always requested Jiang Yiwei, and as long as they paid, she had no reason to refuse.

But Jiang Yiwei rarely saw Zhou Hongmin this upset—this customer must have been really awful to provoke her like this.

She patted Zhou Hongmin’s shoulder. "Let me go see."

Jiang Yiwei took the lead while Zhou Hongmin, He Xiaofeng, and the others tagged along, worried she might get pushed around.

When Jiang Yiwei saw the person Zhou Hongmin had described, her eyebrows knitted together.

"Chen Songzhi."

Hearing Jiang Yiwei’s voice, Chen Songzhi turned around and gave a calculating smile.

"Well, well, look who it is."

Jiang Yiwei forced a smile. "It has been a while."

She walked toward Chen Songzhi. "So you're here for custom tailoring?"

"My staff just mentioned a customer specifically requested my work."

"You're the owner, aren't you? What's wrong with asking the boss directly?"

Chen Songzhi was dead set on getting Jiang Yiwei to make her outfit today.

"You asking me to make your clothes is fine—but the price is fifteen bucks per item."

Business was business—a paying customer was a paying customer, and Jiang Yiwei had no reason to refuse.

But when Chen Songzhi heard the price was fifteen yuan, her face fell.

She snapped, "Jiang Yiwei, whatever history we have, you can't rip me off like this!"

"Fifteen dollars just like that?"

"I've checked your shop's prices beforehand—it's twelve bucks a piece."

Did they think she was stupid? It's twelve bucks a piece, yet they're trying to charge her fifteen.

"The price you mentioned is our shop's standard rate, but my custom work costs extra."

Indeed, their shop charges twelve bucks a piece, but her handmade clothes are priced differently from those made by Zhou Hongmin and the others.

She then pointed to a sign hanging in the shop. "You can take a look at this sign—it's all clearly stated."

The sign was put up by Zhou Hongmin earlier because some customers had requested Jiang Yiwei's work, but if they specifically asked for her, the charge was fifteen dollars per piece.

Because of this three-dollar difference, some customers complained they were jacking up prices on the spot.

To avoid such misunderstandings, they hung a sign in the shop with a line that read:

"Handmade clothes by Jiang Yiwei: fifteen dollars each."

This was to stop customers from thinking they were hiking prices opportunistically.

"Why does Jiang Yiwei charge more?"

Why should her custom work be priced differently?

"First, many people request my work; second, I've got a bit of a name."

With so many clients asking for her, why bother hiring other people?

By raising her price, clients would be more willing to accept clothes made by others. And their shop's styles were sharp no matter who crafted them.

Besides, Jiang Yiwei was, after all, a somewhat well-known fashion designer—charging a bit more was justified.

That's the deal—their shop wasn't hurting for business.

"Chen Songzhi, if you're here to haggle, forget it. I'm always fair—even with friends, nothing goes for under fifteen."

Chen Songzhi never expected Jiang Yiwei to offer a discount anyway.

Who knows what Chen Songzhi was thinking?

"Fifteen dollars it is, then. I can afford it."

It's not like Chen Songzhi couldn't afford it—after all, the money wasn’t coming out of her pocket.

She dumped the fabric in front of Jiang Yiwei and pulled over a chair. "You'd better make this dress look good. If it doesn’t, I won’t accept it."

"Talking like that, what if I finish it and you say it’s not good enough? I’m not doing this."

Jiang Yiwei knew Chen Songzhi meant trouble.

Though she wanted the money, she didn’t want the headache.

"No way! I came specially for you to make this dress."

Turning her down wasn't an option—she'd made a special trip.

Jiang Yiwei smirked. "Chen Songzhi, you know damn well whether you’re really here for a dress or not."

Though unsure what nonsense Chen Songzhi was up to.

It had been years, and she'd almost forgotten about her when Chen Songzhi suddenly showed up again.

Jiang Yiwei couldn’t be bothered to deal with her scheming face.

"That’s right, our shop’s clothes have always been a hit—no customer’s ever complained."

"Especially the ones I make. Sometimes they just say, ‘I trust you,’ and walk out. When they come back for their clothes, they always love them. No customer’s ever straight-up called the clothes ugly and rejected them."

Zhou Hongmin stood arms crossed, glaring daggers.

"But you’ve gotta show me how the clothes will turn out. Otherwise, how would I know if I like them or find them pretty?"

Chen Songzhi hesitated. "You keep samples here, don’t you? Show them to me. I’ll pick one I like, and you can make it just like the sample."

Today, Chen Songzhi was hell-bent on forcing Jiang Yiwei to take her order.

"You really want me to make this dress for you?"

Jiang Yiwei was starting to understand Chen Songzhi’s intent—she was dead set on making her sew this one.

Jiang Yiwei’s eyes turned icy, and Chen Songzhi started sweating.

But with the payoff and a shot at wrecking Jiang Yiwei’s reputation, Chen Songzhi was all in.

"Yeah, I’m here to get you to make this dress—no one else."

"Hong Min, grab the samples we’ve got." Jiang Yiwei told Zhou Hongmin to bring out the display pieces.

"Alright."

Zhou Hongmin turned and went into the small room next to the tearoom.

He Xiaofeng and Hong Su both knew Chen Songzhi was here to start drama.

Hong Su sidled up to Jiang Yiwei and muttered, just loud enough for two to hear, "Yi Wei, don’t bite on this one. She’s clearly here to mess with you."

"I know."

"You know, and you’re still humoring her?"

They both wondered why Jiang Yiwei would still agree.

"Because if I don’t, she’ll just pull this stunt another day."

Even if Jiang Yiwei refused to make the dress for Chen Songzhi, she had a feeling the same situation would arise eventually. Might as well get it over with now.

Hong Su eyed Chen Songzhi suspiciously, then pulled He Xiaofeng aside. Meanwhile, Zhou Hongmin came back with several sample dresses.

Jiang Yiwei pointed at them. "Here are our samples. Pick one you like, and I’ll make yours the same way."

Chen Songzhi skimmed the rack and jabbed a finger at a sky-blue gown. "This one."

Not like she’d ever actually wear it anyway.

"Fine."

Jiang Yiwei accepted the fabric and deposit, then scribbled out a receipt for her.

"Come back twelve days from now with this receipt to pick up the clothes and pay the remaining half."

"Why such a long wait? Can't I get them tomorrow or the day after?"

Chen Songzhi wanted the clothes quickly to finish her task.

"Don’t you get how first come, first served works? Others got here before you—they’re first in line. Yi Wei’s got to finish theirs before she can even start on yours."

Zhou Hongmin held back her anger, her face sour.

Demanding her clothes right away—who does she think she is? Didn’t she get how waiting in line works? Plenty of people are waiting for Yi Wei to make their clothes.

If others had to wait, Chen Songzhi would have to wait too.

Chen Songzhi’s eyes lit up. "Yi Wei, I need this dress urgently. For old times’ sake, please make mine first."

"Who’s your sister?"

Jiang Yiwei couldn’t believe Chen Songzhi’s nerve, bringing up sisterhood.

How could she have the gall?

No shame at all.

"Either come back in twelve days or take your stuff and go now. Take it or leave it—she wasn’t about to bend the rules for her."

Chen Songzhi shot Jiang Yiwei a resentful glare, realizing there was no way to get the dress sooner.

She snapped, "I’ll come back in twelve days for the dress," then took the receipt and left.

After she left, Zhou Hongmin voiced her suspicions to Jiang Yiwei.

"Yi Wei, I can tell Chen Songzhi’s got bad intentions. Why did you take her order?"

Zhou Hongmin deeply regretted not kicking Chen Songzhi out earlier.

"If even you can tell she’s shady, at least it’s obvious on the surface. If it were someone else, we wouldn’t be on guard—we might not even notice."

At least it’s obvious Chen Songzhi’s got it out for us and the shop.

"You think someone put her up to this?"

Zhou Hongmin caught the implication in Jiang Yiwei’s words.

She’d figured it was just a personal grudge, but now it sounded like someone was behind her.

"Our clothes don’t come cheap. And as far as I know, Chen Songzhi doesn’t have a job, and her husband is just an ordinary clerk in the factory’s propaganda department, pulling in maybe seventy or eighty yuan a month—half of that goes straight to the family."

"Where’d she get the cash to drop ten yuan on a dress?"

Chen Songzhi might be fine with it, but her mother-in-law sure wouldn’t be.

Word was, her mother-in-law didn’t even trust her.

"So you guessed someone hired Chen Songzhi."

Zhou Hongmin's eyes widened in disbelief—never had she imagined someone would send Chen Songzhi to cause trouble for their shop.

Damn it, who was it?

"Yiwei, do you know who it is? Our shop hasn’t crossed anyone."

Zhou Hongmin thought it over—they’d been open for months and hadn’t offended a soul.

"Doing too well is enough to piss people off."

Their shop hadn’t wronged anyone, but doing well just made people salty.

"These people are so gross—can’t stand seeing others do well. They should put that energy into their own damn shops."

After graduating, He Xiaofeng didn’t take the job she was assigned.

Just like Jiang Yiwei, she started her own business.

Her store sold cosmetics and women’s clothing, focusing mainly on female products, with only a small section dedicated to men’s wear and accessories.

Business wasn’t crazy busy, but she made enough to stay happy.

Even He Xiaofeng’s dad and big brother, who were against her opening a shop at first, stopped opposing her once they saw her first month’s income.

She knew all too well that some people simply couldn’t stand seeing them succeed.

People who hated their success were just like those who couldn’t stand others doing well—total snakes.

"If you don’t know who’s coming for you, they’ve got the upper hand—you’re out in the open," Hong Su worried Jiang Yiwei might be framed.

"No fear. We’ll handle whatever comes."

Jiang Yiwei remained the calmest of them all.

It might get messy, but she wasn’t scared of their games.

They were all pros—sooner or later, people would see who was real.

"Yiwei, if you need backup, just holler," He Xiaofeng wouldn’t let Jiang Yiwei face this alone.

"Chill, I’ve got this. Seriously, stop stressing over me."

Jiang Yiwei wasn’t just unafraid—she was hyped, waiting for things to go down.

She knew Chen Songzhi and her backer would get what was coming to them.