A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

Hoshino Ai couldn't help but ask.

Following Chihaya Tetsuya's instructions, she and Sankaku Hatsuka didn't need to stand in front of the booth and present their clothes in a specific style. They could just sit there and act like they were taking a break. In order to restore the relaxed state as much as possible, Chihaya Tetsuya even prepared drinks and books...

"If Chu Hua and I take the initiative to come forward at this time, it should attract some media to come to our booth in advance and provide some initial attention—"

"Believe me, love, what I want to show is your most real and relaxed side."

Unlike Hoshino Ai who was a little uneasy, when Chihaya Tetsuya actually saw the booth that had been completed, his originally nervous mood calmed down.

In that extremely simple booth with only a huge logo, there are world-class fashions that are distilled from culture and history from all over the world.

Although there is no decoration or background, one can feel its complexity and sophistication at a glance.

Even more outrageous was that, despite the relatively plain setting, the top model Melissa, who was supposed to only appear at [TGC], had appeared beside Jean and was chatting and laughing with him...

"..."

As Chihaya Tetsuya looked at Rang from afar, Rang seemed to sense his gaze and looked back at him. When their eyes met, Rang gave him a very malicious smile -

"Because I invited Ai and Chuhua, he also brought out models that can compete with them."

Chihaya Tetsu almost instantly understood Rang's intention from that smirk.

"It seems like he really doesn't intend to let me off the hook..."

Although it was indeed gratifying to receive Jean's attention and recognition, the pressure brought by this recognition also made Chihaya Tetsuya feel helpless. However, as Chihaya Tetsuya had said before, since he had done everything he could, he would gladly accept whatever the result was.

Even if he was facing a powerful combination of a world-class designer and a world-class model, it made no difference to him. Next... he just had to enjoy this exhibition that would be the focus of everyone's attention.

“Aaaaaa——!”

Just as Chihaya Tetsuya was about to continue waiting for the arrival of the jury, a cry of surprise suddenly came from not far away. When he looked in the direction of the sound, the scene in front of him made him stunned.

At the [NozAK!] booth, a female model was covering her arm with her hand in pain. Between her fingers was a streak of blood that had just flowed down and had not yet been wiped away.

"……Eh?"

Upon seeing this, Chihaya Tetsuya and the girls around him all let out sounds of extreme surprise in unison.

"What happened over there?"

……

"What the hell does this happen?!"

Di Yeqing looked at the panicked model in front of him with anger and anxiety.

"Why did your arm suddenly hurt?!"

"I just felt uncomfortable with the cuffs, so I tried to move around a bit, but the movement was a little too aggressive and I ended up getting my skin cut!"

The model replied hastily.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Di Ye, I can't continue the exhibition! I have to treat this wound quickly! If it leaves a scar, my modeling career will be over!"

After saying this, ignoring Di Yeqing's exasperated expression, the model quickly covered her arm and walked backstage. Meanwhile, the other invited models began to look at their clothes anxiously, fearing they would suffer the same injuries as the model, potentially impacting their modeling careers.

Not only had the models' attention been distracted, but to make matters worse, the jury, who were approaching the [NozAK!] booth, had already witnessed the commotion in front of the booth. The judge, who was leading the jury and was a former model and fashion magazine editor, frowned deeply.

"What happened just now?"

The editor-in-chief quickly walked to the [NozAK!] booth and asked Di Yeqing directly.

"Why is the model's arm injured?"

"This, this..."

Di Yeqing, who hadn't figured out the situation yet, suddenly became hesitant.

"Yes, she was just too careless..."

"……careless?"

The editor's already frown deepened after hearing this.

As an insider, she knows very well that for fashion models, this kind of segment that does not require catwalk walking and only requires static presentation does not allow for any possibility of mistakes or carelessness.

"Let me see the clothes that the model is wearing."

“This one right here is it.”

After hearing this, Di Yeqing quickly regained his spirits and showed the mannequin wearing the same clothes to the editor-in-chief.

"This garment is inspired by the coats used by a West African tribe to protect women during childbirth. The material is also the local characteristic mud-dyed cloth, which symbolizes protection and safety for the locals..."

Di Yeqing explained to the editor in front of him based on the instructions and information he had received in advance.

But the editor-in-chief's expression did not relax at all after hearing this——

"It clearly has such symbolic meaning, but it ended up hurting the model?"

The editor-in-chief couldn't help but shook his head.

"This is really a source of inspiration that is hard to accept..."

After saying that, seeing Di Yeqing's increasingly ugly expression, the editor-in-chief reached out and touched the cuffs of his sleeves.

As expected, as soon as she touched the texture and feel of the mud-dyed cloth, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Di Yeqing——

"...Are you the chief designer of [NozAK!]?"

"Yes, I am the chief designer of [NozAK!], Di Yeqing."

"Then let me ask you, why aren't the cuffs of this garment hemmed?"

The editor-in-chief showed Di Yeqing the location of the cuffs.

"Not only is the material of this mud-dyed cloth as rough as coarse linen, it's also extremely dry and stiff. If it's not hemmed or bound, it'll easily damage the wearer's skin, right?"

“…Wh, what?”

After hearing this, Di Yeqing was stunned at first, then he quickly reached out and touched the cuff of the coat. The next second, the touch of the extremely rough and hard edge immediately made his face change drastically.

"How could this happen? I saw them processing it before and they clearly didn't do any processing..."

He murmured with his eyes blank.

At the same time, the editor's assistant was very keen to notice a watch with the same pattern and similar appearance on display at the [JP] booth next door.

"Editor-in-Chief, look over there..."

"..."

Following her assistant's guidance, the editor-in-chief immediately noticed a piece of clothing in front of the [JP] booth that looked incredibly similar to the one in front of her. When she shifted her gaze to the cuffs of that piece of clothing, she immediately had a look of sudden enlightenment, as if she had found the answer to her question.

"I see……"

She first muttered something in a low voice, then stretched out her hand, and under Di Yeqing's confused gaze, she folded the cuffs slightly inward, and at the same time gently measured the position of the hem of the clothes on both sides of her body.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Di Ye, my words just now were too imprecise."

The editor-in-chief raised his head and said to Di Yeqing:

"It seems...there's nothing wrong with your clothes."

"call……"

After hearing this, Di Yeqing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

However, the next second, the next sentence the editor said made him sweat profusely again -

"Because you have made the most foolish and inexplicable mistake... which is the correct way to wear this costume."

The processing method derived from arid regions allows this fabric to be folded and shaped. And this seemingly rough and hard fabric, after being folded, has a thick and solid texture that is indeed more in line with what Di Yeqing described - "protection and safety".

"That's strange. If you designed the garment, how could you, as a designer, make such a mistake? And if you chose the fabric yourself, how could you not understand the texture of the material?"

Following the editor-in-chief's explanations and corrections, all the judges gathered in front of the West African coat and touched it one by one to confirm its touch and material.

Although they had never learned about the clothing culture of this so-called West African tribe, they at least understood that such clothing that would cut the skin should not exist under any circumstances.

Just like that, with Di Yeqing's increasingly desperate expression, the editor-in-chief said coldly:

"Please give us a reasonable explanation, Mr. Di Ye!"

138

Chapter 138 The beginning of the story.

As the editor-in-chief and other industry insiders continued to question him, Di Yeqing's explanation began to become more and more full of loopholes.

From the initial wearing method to the specific sources of these fabrics and craftsmanship, Di Yeqing's answers were full of incoherent contradictions. And his questionable actions made the judging panel even more skeptical of the NozAK! brand.

I'm afraid that after this joint exhibition, the media present today will immediately begin investigating Di Yeqing and [NozAK!]'s past designs. As for their performance at this joint exhibition... even if the attendees weren't industry insiders, but laymen with no knowledge of fashion, they probably wouldn't buy clothes that would cut themselves.

"...It's getting quite lively."

Looking at the crowd in front of the [NozAK!] booth not far away, Nagasaki Suyo couldn't help but say with a hint of gloating:

"After such a huge blunder in front of so many industry insiders and the media, neither [NozAK!] nor Di Yeqing can easily get away with it, right?"

After saying that, Nagasaki Suyo immediately turned around and looked at Chihaya Tetsuya with a smile:

"He finally got what he deserved. That's great, Tetsuya."

"Not only did it fail to provide the wearer with a comfortable experience, it even caused her to be injured because of her own design..."

Faced with this behavior that completely violated his design concept, Chihaya Tetsuya rarely showed an undisguised expression of disgust.

If it was just plagiarism, then at most he would only regard Di Yeqing as a greedy and short-sighted villain. But if his negligence and irresponsibility caused his clothes to harm others...

"This kind of person is no longer worthy of being called a designer."

Chihaya Tetsuya shook his head and said:

"Judging from the attention this joint exhibition has received, he's probably done with the clothing industry forever."

"Yeah...but besides ruining himself, these stupid things he did also brought [JP] considerable recognition and attention."

Nagasaki Suyo turned her gaze to the booth next to her.

Because it was being compared with [NozAK!], when Di Yeqing was being interrogated, each of his clothes was carefully observed and appreciated by the judges.

As for the result...

"Ah, another one placing an order at [JP]!"

Nagasaki Suyo watched as judges continued to arrive at Rang's booth to submit orders and inquire about the garments. Rang, naturally, accepted all who came, patiently and meticulously explaining all the details and ideas behind his designs. In the face of Di Yeqing's self-contradiction, his composure and profound knowledge perfectly embodied the relationship between the plagiarist and the plagiarized.

“…Hey, wait a minute.”

Suddenly, Nagasaki Sushi, who was originally feeling relieved that Di Yeqing had reaped the consequences of his own actions, widened her eyes and brows.

"In this way, [NozAK!]

Isn't Di Yeqing indirectly promoting Mr. Rang?"

"Indeed it is."

Chihaya Tetsuya nodded helplessly in acknowledgment.

"Because Di Yeqing's copy was so crude, the comparison makes your design appear more advanced and impeccable."

"Eh... there's actually such a thing..."

Nagasaki Suyo's expression became more and more surprised.

"Not only did they predict NozAK!'s failure, they even used their failed copycat efforts to promote their own clothing..."

"I'm afraid this is the gap in experience."

Chihaya Tetsuya now finally understood why Rang had been so calm and composed that day.

As soon as he learned about Di Yeqing's style and actions, he predicted that he would not be able to perfectly replicate his designs, and he took advantage of the situation and devised a plan for Toyokawa Shoko's father to use Di Yeqing in return. He even planned to use Di Yeqing as a stepping stone on the day of the exhibition...

"There's still a big gap... between me and Mr. Jean."

Compared to Di Yeqing's seemingly insignificant defeat, Chihaya Tetsuya was more impressed by the foresight displayed by Ran. And this calmness, born from his experience as a designer, also forced Chihaya Tetsuya to admit the gap between himself and Ran...

"Long time no see, Chihaya-san."

Just as Chihaya Tetsuya was still lamenting the subtle sense of defeat in his heart, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from beside his ears.

"Eh?! Good afternoon, Principal!"

The middle-aged woman who appeared before him was the president of [Yihua University]. It was she who had cleared Chihaya Tetsuya of plagiarism charges during the expulsion incident, and after the controversy had subsided, she had quietly recommended him to [KaZoKu]...