You hidden in my heart - Chapter 60.1

Chapter 60.1

It was Sunday, and Li Xining arrived at Teacher Zhou’s studio at 8:30 a.m.

Although she had fun during the summer break, she didn’t miss practising painting and sketching. Moreover, she took sketching classes for more than a month after the college entrance examination. Therefore, she had some basic knowledge of designing and finally could start entry-level learning.

After she arrived that morning, Zhou Xiaolei called her to her office and gave her several professional design drafts, asking her to copy them to train her familiarity and perception of clothing structure. She also wanted Li Xining to feel the inspiration and ideas injected into them by the designer through the process of copying these professional design drafts, which would be of great help to her in fully integrating inspiration into her own design drafts in the future.

Although the contents of these chapters were relatively simple, they were very suitable for beginners to find the state and feeling. Moreover, everything should be done step by step, and so should learning: from simple to difficult, step by step.

Li Xining understood Teacher Zhou’s intention, and as soon as she returned to her desk, she began to copy the design draft attentively. After copying it once, she would copy it a second time, a third time… until she could thoroughly grasp the essence of the design draft. Then she would take out a new piece of drawing paper and start drawing on her own.

When she started to draw her own design, she felt an incredible feeling. Not like copying someone else’s design, when you drew by yourself, you could thoroughly understand the designer’s inspiration, feel the emotions that the designer had injected into it, and at the same time express your own thoughts.

For two full hours, Li Xining worked nonstop. It was almost eleven o’clock. She straightened her upper body and stretched her muscles to start the second draft. At that moment, Teacher Zhou’s assistant came and whispered, “Xining, there is a customer who needs to take measurements.”

Taking body measurements was a basic skill that every fashion designer must master. Without the ability to take correct measurements of the body, the designer wouldn’t be able to make a perfect clothing item.

To train Li Xining in this skill, Zhou Xiaolei allowed Li Xining to learn to take body measurements from the first day she became an apprentice. She first measured a human model, and after Li Xining mastered all the measurement points and techniques, Zhou Xiaolei began to let the young girl help the professional designer—Li Xining measured first, and then the professional designer measured it personally.

Zhou Xiaolei was not the only designer in the studio. There were many elite employees under her. 

After listening to the assistant’s words, Li Xining immediately nodded and stood up. “Okay.”

At this time, the assistant lowered her voice again and whispered to her, “It’s Teacher Zhou who is here in person today.”

As soon as Li Xining heard it, she knew that an important person had come. She immediately became curious lowered her voice and asked in a low voice, “Who? Who’s coming?”

Assistant: “Chen Mengjin.”

‘Chen Mengjin! The heroine of ‘This Life Will Not Be Wasted!’

She was Li Xining’s favourite female lead!

Li Xining had stayed some time in Teacher Zhou’s studio, and she had seen many celebrities and often measured the bodies of female celebrities herself. But this was the first time she was so excited. It was like a dream. “Who? Who is that? Tell me again?”

The assistant was aware that Li Xining liked Chen Mengjin. “Chen Mengjin, the star of ‘This Life Will Not Be Defeated.'”

Li Xining was thrilled. “I’m heading out now!” But then she suddenly thought of something and asked with curiosity, “By the way, why did Teacher Zhou decide to step in today?”

‘This Life Is Not Wasted‘ became a massive success, turning the lead actress Chen Mengjin into a well-known young star, but her standing in the industry wasn’t quite high enough to take Zhou Xiaolei’s assistance.

Typically, the people who could get Teacher Zhou’s assistance in person were all superstars with both charm and talent. It was not that Zhou Xiaolei flattered the powerful and looked down on the weak; she just wanted to protect her reputation.

The assistant sighed and explained, “It’s all about connections. Chen Mengjin’s dad and Teacher Zhou’s husband are business partners. Although Teacher Zhou doesn’t show respect to Chen Mengjin, she has to give some face to her husband.” After saying this, she lowered her voice and leaned in closer to Li Xining, quietly advising, “This star definitely is not as easy-going as she appears on camera. She seems tough to deal with. Be cautious when you approach her later. Try not to talk too much, and just leave when you’re finished.” 

Upon hearing that, Li Xining was taken aback for a moment.

Since the ratings for “This Life Is Not Inflicted” had been climbing, a lot of marketing accounts had started to say that Chen Mengjin came from a rich family. She managed to snag the lead female role in the show thanks to her family’s strong connections.

Some marketing accounts also claimed that Chen Mengjin has a bad attitude and a serious case of princess syndrome. She tended to lose her cool on set and treated her assistants and crew like they were her personal maids.

However, many fans defended her, accusing the bloggers of taking bribes to spread lies about Chen Mengjin or saying that now that she was famous, people wanted to tarnish her image.

Like many people, Li Xining also believed Chen Mengjin was innocent. She understood that when a person became famous, rumours would eventually appear.

But after hearing what the assistant said, she felt a bit anxious—once bitten, twice shy. 

‘What if Chen Mengjin turns out to be another Shen Siqi? If so, I might never want to be part of the fan community again!’

Just then, the assistant added, “By the way, guess who’s been hanging out with her?”

Li Xining felt a wave of dread.

Then the assistant whispered, “Shen Siqi.”

In an instant, Li Xining’s mood plummeted.

Her fifth brother had once said that Shen Siqi was a classic scumbag. He would fall for every woman he met, sleep with them, and then move on to the next one right after.

Now that Chen Mengjin was with Shen Siqi, it was likely that nothing good would come of it.

Li Xining was utterly heartbroken and felt like crying, but no tears came. Why did the character of the person she supported fall apart?

Then, she got lost in thought again—’Why do we even ship CPs? Why, why, why? I can’t take this anymore, never again!’

Li Xining sighed and was about to head to the measurement room. 

At that moment, the assistant reminded her again, “Oh, and remember, no taking pictures with your phone in front of them.” There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. “Just now, when Chen Mengjin and Shen Siqi arrived, their assistants started warning our staff not to take secret photos, or they’d face legal consequences. It is just like when the emperor and empress go undercover. The last time Tang Hong came, it wasn’t such a big deal.”

Tang Hong was a top actress in the entertainment industry who was awarded both locally and internationally.

“Teacher Zhou is a bit upset. She agreed to make a dress for her as a favour. But that star was so impolite. She didn’t even bother to greet Teacher Zhou when she arrived and had her assistant call Teacher Zhou over. Does she really think she’s the queen?”

‘Teacher Zhou must be fuming. No wonder she didn’t personally take Chen Mengjin’s measurements.’

Li Xining sighed. She really didn’t expect Chen Mengjin to be just like what the marketing account claimed. It made her feel uneasy and was hard to express.

Glancing at the watch on her wrist, she suddenly felt bad about the money spent. She felt foolish. Being a fan of celebrities was so irrational. She would buy anything the celebrity endorsed. It was completely illogical.

It was because Lu Yuling treated her like a queen and got her everything she wanted, which was why she ended up like this. If it had been her mom, she would have started hitting her ages ago.

After thinking, Li Xining suddenly realised just how cute the little princess was, and she felt a wave of relief.

Have a nice day!