It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

“Great choice, Mr. Designer.”

Phillips clenched his right fist and said insincerely, "Then from now on, please work hard and save money for me."

Don't use such ambiguous language! It's simply a creditor-debtor relationship! If a bank dared to send a similar email to struggling mortgage borrowers, it would be liquidated within three days!

"So, you're just paying back some money, right?" Li Cheng said. "Give me a figure first, so I can be mentally prepared."

"Don't worry, it's not as much as you might think."

After saying that, Phillips opened and closed his lips and announced a number that would easily raise the blood pressure of a normal person: "Since the designer is so interesting, let's make it cheaper, thirty thousand euros."

You call this not much?

Li Cheng was stunned for a moment, then began to think about how to repay this large sum of money.

Although he's considered wealthy now, if he suddenly and inexplicably produced such a large sum of cash... his title would likely change from "Mr. Designer" to "Mr. Designer in Deep Secrecy," which would undoubtedly be detrimental to his career.

In short, let's stall for time and lower this cross-dresser's guard... It's so contradictory! I want to build a closer friendship, but I'm also worried about being targeted by this cross-dresser whose sexual orientation is unclear... Hmm, is this what women experience in some social situations? This is getting weird...

Seeing Li Cheng's worried expression about his debts, Phillips smiled triumphantly and then said leisurely, "However... if you really can't pay it back, it's not like we can't discuss it."

"any solution?"

Li Cheng raised his head and said warily, "Please allow me to refuse a male servant's request."

These days, not only female servants, but even male servants are unsafe—and it's one thing that the woman who's eyeing the male servant is a beautiful rich woman, but what's with this cross-dressing guy?

When asked what the method was, Phillips didn't give a direct answer. Instead, he brought up a seemingly unrelated topic: "Sir, you are truly an expert in clothing design."

"After all, it's work."

"The design of the skirt is particularly novel and very much to my liking."

"You flatter me."

"Then, Mr. Designer."

After going around in circles, Phillips finally revealed her true intentions. Her eyes lit up, and she asked with great interest, "Have you ever considered designing a long dress that fits you well?"

"...?"

Li Cheng's expression twisted for a moment, but then returned to normal, turning into a blank expression: "Hey, you emphasized how precious the dagger was before, you didn't mean you wanted me to wear women's clothes, did you?"

"Yes."

As Philipsstein answered, he looked at Li Cheng with extremely expectant eyes: "So, is it okay? Is it okay? Is it okay?"

Her sparkling, expectant eyes, her coquettish tone as she asked three questions in a row, and her face that gradually drew closer with each question were all extremely attractive, seemingly making everyone unable to resist agreeing.

However, after learning that this person was a cross-dressing master, Li Cheng's face twitched involuntarily: "He's actually quite frank... but that's not allowed!"

"Waaah..."

Phillips let out a wail: "Mr. Designer, you're wicked."

Li Cheng remained completely unmoved: "I will find a way to match it, but I will never wear women's clothing - although I have mentioned that I do not discriminate against women's clothing and have also drawn for cross-dressers, I myself do not have a penchant for wearing women's clothing."

Phillips, seemingly oblivious, continued to promote the idea, fiddling with the hem of her skirt: "Although it might feel a little chilly and uncomfortable at first, and even feel like you're not wearing anything, it will gradually become very comfortable..."

“I told you I wouldn’t wear it.” Veins bulged on Li Cheng’s forehead.

"I didn't mean anything by it, I was just sharing my experience of wearing a skirt, please don't overthink it, Mr. Designer." Phillips waved his hands exaggeratedly.

"hehe."

Li Cheng finally realized that this cross-dresser was just making excuses to tease him. He probably didn't care at all about losing the dagger, but he was really capable of using it as an excuse to make him dress up as a woman.

After thinking it through, he gestured for her to leave: "Please go back, Miss Creditor. I have other plans for today, so I can't chat with you any longer."

Chapter 279 Damocles'...Green Hat

"Oh, so you're trying to find an excuse to kick me out?"

Phillips' eyes widened.

“I’m not making excuses,” Li Cheng explained. “I had originally planned to ask a friend to go out and check on his friend’s health today.”

“Then I’ll come along too. I sometimes feel like dressing up like this and wandering around,” Phillips suggested.

As she spoke, she began to rotate her waist left and right in place, emphasizing her amazing flexibility while also showing off her simple outfit, which was more in line with the daily lives of ordinary citizens—although ordinary citizens would never wear perfume when they go out.

"Well, at least taking me along won't embarrass the designer, right?"

After the presentation, Phillips proudly displayed her non-existent body parts, her face radiating confidence—she was quite confident that having a beautiful female companion would successfully attract other men and satisfy their egos, and in this respect, she was no one else.

"No."

Li Cheng refused without even looking at it.

Why?

Phillips' face fell instantly.

"Because you don't have breasts."

Li Cheng made up a random excuse to brush it off.

Are you kidding me? Bringing other girls... well, at least those who look like girls, to meet your future father-in-law? What kind of scumbag would do something like that?! Even if he didn't intend to reveal his identity right away, this is still unacceptable!

However, this interruption also made Li Cheng temporarily give up his plan to meet his father-in-law. It wouldn't make a difference if he met Lavoisier and his daughter again in the future. On the contrary, if he brought the girl to meet his father-in-law, he would probably be infamous for a hundred days... or maybe a hundred days. His body couldn't take it for ten thousand days.

Therefore, the schedule was changed.

[Going out to meet the father-in-law → Working from home]

Since the support from London arrived and successfully inspired Hook's enthusiasm for work, Li Cheng's work has changed. He went from designing clothes for casual clients as practice and fishing for luck (he caught a cross-dresser) to now considering the dressing style of the upper class in social occasions and creating a persona.

Simply put, the initial stage mainly consists of two steps.

The first step was to design an outfit that would attract enough attention from men in social situations, then have it made by a tailor, and then, through his connections, have a nobleman/official/merchant wear it to a banquet, thus successfully establishing the name of designer Orenki.

The second step is to meet the design needs of clients who come from afar, thereby further expanding the company's reputation.

After planning the steps, Li Cheng returned to his room, prepared the paints and paper, and began his work.

Since it's men's clothing, a grand and imposing style should be chosen; something too delicate and soft would be unattractive, at least not in line with the prevailing French aesthetic.

In this regard, the Baroque style, which emphasizes luxury and grandeur, is undoubtedly the most suitable. It is not appropriate to make a name for oneself by unilaterally pursuing so-called novelty and transcending the times and being unconventional from the beginning.

Baroque is an art style that flourished in Europe between 1600 and 1750. It originated in Italy during the Counter-Reformation, developed in most Catholic parts of Europe, and later, with the spread of Catholicism, its influence extended to Latin America and Asian countries.

After establishing his style, Li Cheng began sketching on paper, creating grand and luxurious clothing that conformed to the Baroque style.

What? You're asking what kind of clothes they are?

It has a great feel, it's cool, it can capture the hearts of guests at a glance, just like the Apple smartphone that suddenly appeared in the Nokia era, or a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure that popped up among a bunch of cute new anime... These are similar clothes (I'm not good enough to make them up, you can use your imagination).

Anyway, for Li Cheng, who has a cheat code and can copy relevant costumes from history, picking out a few suitable clothes is no problem at all.

As for designing your own... well, you should have some self-awareness. Just honestly use cheat codes and copy what you've got.

Besides, so many predecessors who traveled through Chinese history copied books, poems, and famous sayings. What's wrong with him copying a few beautiful clothes when he traveled through European history? That's called adapting to local conditions. In fashionable Paris, he copied beautiful clothes and became a fashion designer.

Moreover, if he doesn't become famous soon, his wife might really get married... Li Cheng felt a pang of sadness at the thought.

Even though he still didn't quite grasp the reality of the situation, the feeling of being cuckolded was undeniable, like the cuckold's hood of Damocles, ready to fall and land on his head at any moment.

Back then, he could have just put on makeup and played the Joker, and since he had red hair, he wouldn't have needed a wig.

The thought of possibly becoming a clown in the future instantly energized Li Cheng, and he began to scribble furiously on the drawing paper. In no time, a design was completed, and then in less than ten minutes, another one... two... three.

"call."

Two hours later, Li Cheng let out a long breath, then rubbed his sore and numb arms, feeling a strong sense of satisfaction.

In that short period of time, he designed (or copied) more than a dozen different styles of men's clothing, so there's bound to be one that suits you.

"Whoa?!"

Standing to the side, watching Li Cheng work the whole time, Phillips was completely stunned, unconsciously letting out a gasp of amazement, and even began to doubt his past understanding—was designing clothes such a simple thing? A set could be completed in just over ten minutes?

Yes, the cross-dresser is still staying at Li Cheng's house.

Li Cheng didn't know if it was her speech yesterday that boosted her friendliness rating (I want to emphasize again, it's friendliness rating, not favorability rating), or if she simply felt more comfortable hanging around him since her secret of cross-dressing had been exposed. But in any case, she lingered and didn't leave.

For Li Cheng, although having a cross-dresser wandering around was a bit uncomfortable.

But just thinking about the cuckold's horn he was being cuckolded by, he gritted his teeth and sacrificed his charm to chat and joke with this cross-dresser of unknown origin, hoping to gain some goodwill and get some extra help.

Yes, to reiterate, it's friendliness, not affection.

Chapter 280 Dried paint is difficult to clean

"nailed it."

Rubbing his slightly sore shoulders, Li Cheng, his endorphins surging, stood up from his easel, picked up a stack of newly completed design sketches, and spread them out on the windowsill to dry naturally in the breeze. Then he tidied up, cleaned the easel, and changed out of his painting jacket...

After he finished doing all this, he noticed that Phillips was still sitting quietly on the stool beside the easel, looking lost in thought.

"You haven't left yet?"

Li Cheng opened his eyes, somewhat surprised.

I was so focused that I forgot there was a cross-dressing creditor sitting next to me watching me work... But then again, to be able to quietly watch him design (copy) clothes for two hours without saying a word, this cross-dresser is quite a tough guy.

What's that saying again? The most boring thing is watching someone do something pointless.

"Oh, yes, that's right."

After responding unconsciously a few times, Phillips' consciousness returned from the chaos, his eyes gradually cleared from confusion, and his expression became lively again.

She glanced at the wall clock in the corner and, noticing that only a little over two hours had passed, looked again at the pile of drawing paper drying on the windowsill and couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of her heart:

"Wow, the designer is really fast!"

Hey! How dare you talk like that?

Li Cheng rolled his eyes and chose not to respond.

Phillips waited a while, and seeing that no one paid attention to her, she changed her approach and said, "These clothes seem to be very expensive. Does the designer have so many wealthy clients?"

"Not at the moment."

Li Cheng felt he could reveal a little bit, so he said, "But it will happen soon. People will wear them to formal occasions so that everyone can see them."

Phillips said, "With the designer's abilities, I believe he can do it very soon."

Li Cheng said, "I think so too... and as a fashion designer, I definitely want my clothes to be recognized."