Wen Ying finally vented all her anger by pummelling Wang Shuang with the cushion.
When she was done, she tossed the cushion aside and pointed at her dress.
“This beating was absolutely worth it for you.
Open your dog eyes and look clearly: I am not wearing an out-of-season skirt. This one was personally picked for me yesterday by Sister Kiki at the mall. It is 100% this season’s new arrival!”
Wang Shuang was covered in question marks.
If it was this season’s new arrival, why did it use elements from the 2005 runway shows?
“That’s called fashion lag,” Wen Ying explained as she sat back down.
Wang Shuang immediately turned into the perfect lackey and refilled her water. “Teacher Wen, have some water to moisten your throat before the lecture.”
Wen Ying rolled her eyes at him but continued. “Normal people can’t understand runway shows because they judge them by their own aesthetic standards. In reality, top-tier brands have never catered to the masses; they guide the masses. A movie about the fashion industry was released in China this February. You should watch it when you have time. There’s a great line in it: the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine tears into the protagonist, telling her that the blue sweater she’s wearing wasn’t chosen by her at all. A tiny elite group in the fashion world first selected that exact shade of blue from hundreds of options. It appeared in top magazines, then was used by luxury designers on the runway, then filtered down to mid-tier brands, then to fast fashion, and finally became popular worldwide. The protagonist looked down on fashion and insisted her style was independent, yet the ‘random’ blue sweater she bought was itself the product of those very fashion gatekeepers!”
Wen Ying’s explanation was clear and easy to follow. Wang Shuang fell into thought.
“So the skirt you’re wearing isn’t outdated; it’s an element that was pushed on the 2005 runways and only became mainstream two years later?”
“Exactly!”
Wen Ying huffed proudly. “If you’d been this perceptive earlier, you wouldn’t have gotten beaten. This skirt may not be luxury, but it’s from a proper mall brand—one of our own domestic original labels. The designer probably only saw the 2005 shows in 2006 and used the elements this year. I showed you all those runway shows not to turn you into a designer, but to teach you how the fashion industry works. If you only stock whatever is already trending, you’re just drinking everyone else’s leftover soup. But if you can decide what becomes the next trend, then you eat the meat while others drink the soup.”
Do I really have that kind of power?!
Wang Shuang reflected deeply and finally realised: Wen Ying actually had such high expectations of him!
In an instant, he mobilised every ounce of wisdom he’d accumulated in nearly twenty years of life. “Then I need a platform that can influence consumer choices! If I say a style is going to blow up but no one listens, it’s all pointless!”
A platform.
A light bulb went off in Wang Shuang’s head—he suddenly remembered the two detailed analysis threads he’d just read.
He looked up and saw Wen Ying smiling encouragingly, waiting for him to speak.
“Platforms already exist everywhere—forums, blogs, the entire internet is my platform!”
Wen Ying gave a small nod. Wang Shuang grew even more excited. “If I can build a styling account and grow a solid following, I won’t even need to pay for traffic—I’ll be the traffic myself!”
Aaaaaargh!!!!!!
His 400,000 really had been completely wasted!!!!!!
He was a Tianjiao shareholder, for crying out loud! He had interned there for ages!
The “Tianjiao Four” were still killing it on their blogs—that was the most successful case study right in front of him!
Competing with the Tianjiao Four for popularity might be overreaching, but even Song Foxiang, whom Tianjiao had just signed, had started running his own personal blog. Thanks to the buzz from *Eloping at Dawn*, he’d turned himself into an “emotional guru” and quickly gathered a huge crowd of lovelorn fans. High blog traffic then drove even more sales of his book.
What was that called?
Bringing your own traffic!
At that moment, Wang Shuang genuinely wanted to cry.
A golden watermelon had been sitting right in front of him, yet he’d ignored it to chase rotten sesame seeds. He deserved every bit of his loss.
Just now Wen Ying had wanted to beat him to death with the cushion; now she only felt he looked pitiful.
“Alright, it’s not too late to realise it now. You’re still so young…”
Wang Shuang wasn’t just young—he was perfectly positioned to ride the era’s wave.
If he waited another ten-plus years, a straight guy like him trying to become a fashion influencer would get absolutely destroyed by the competition.
But right now, before smartphones even existed, early internet celebrities had zero concept of “monetising popularity.” Most people had no idea what e-commerce really was; even many bosses who made money from it were doing it half-blindly. If Wang Shuang started building an account now and charged into e-commerce with a big sword, he’d be leading an entire generation!
Wen Ying decided to watch and see whether Wang Shuang could actually grow a styling account.
If he succeeded, she was even prepared to invest in him herself—no need for him to ask.
This was a sunrise industry!
Wen Ying smiled sweetly. “Go for it! I’m rooting for you!”
Wang Shuang was pumped full of adrenaline. He borrowed Wen Ying’s laptop and kept researching right through dinner, muttering ideas nonstop.
At eight o’clock, Wen Ying had to go to the airport to pick up Li Mengjiao, so Wang Shuang reluctantly put the computer down.
With Li Mengjiao’s current popularity, the chances of her slipping out unrecognised were tiny—die-hard fans even knew her flight schedule. Yuan Fenghui believed in guiding rather than blocking, so instead of letting fans mob randomly, the team openly announced the arrival and organised an official pick-up through the core fan group. It was a little treat for the loyal fans.
Wen Ying and Wang Shuang waited in the nanny van for over half an hour before Li Mengjiao finally broke through the crowd.
“No chasing the car, everyone! Stay safe!”
Li Mengjiao squeezed into the van, waved sweetly at the fans, gave her gentle reminder, then yanked the window up and instantly dropped the act. “Drive, drive—they’re way too enthusiastic!”
Wen Ying was amused by this clown. Li Mengjiao pounced over, wrapping her in a koala hug.
“We’ve only been apart a few days, but it feels like years! Yingzi, did you miss me?”
“…Yes.”
Wen Ying’s neck was being strangled; her face turned red. She didn’t dare say no.
Wang Shuang watched enviously and grumbled, “It’s been way more than a few days for us.”
Li Mengjiao swung a tiny fist and punched his shoulder. “We’re all bros—don’t be so girly!”
The spot she hit felt strangely warm.
He’d been beaten by Wen Ying that afternoon—far harder than this—but the feeling was completely different.
It wasn’t pain; it was something else he couldn’t quite name.
Suddenly, Wang Shuang felt immensely glad he had blocked Hang Xiaowen.
He didn’t want Li Mengjiao to know about his failed start-up.
No matter the reason, he absolutely could not let her find out another girl had been clinging to him!
