Main Story Ch. 1-01 - The Turning Point of Fate (命运的拐点) | Light and Night 光与夜之恋
The Turning Point of Fate (命运的拐点)
"Fate is like a gust of wind… As the red leaves flutter away before the winds, and right at the moment after the wind picks up -- we've already met each other."
??: Y/N! Congratulations on getting into the finals!
As soon as I walked to the corridors, a sudden weight hangs around my shoulders. As soon as I tilted my head over, I could see An An smiling so much, that her eyes are turning into crescents.
You: An An! Already back from your business trip?
An An: Yep, though it is very regretful that I didn't made it to see your moment of promotion on the stage. But rest assured that I've gotten the best seats for the finals! I'll cheer for you until the last second!
An An is a good friend of mine since high school, currently an editor in the first-line Fashion Magazine "BEAUTY". Although we have not been meeting for five years since I pursued my university studies overseas, we have been keeping in touch very closely.
An An: I've even thought of the title of the article for your victory, let's call it "The Cocoon-Breaking Battle of the Genius Designer"! How does it sound?
You: The competition hasn't even started!
Her exaggerated expressions made me to let out a laughter, but I felt a lot of warmth in my heart.
- Choice Part 1: Select either one, and your decision will to changes in the story.* -
*There is no right or wrong in your choice unless you wish to target a specific ending.
Light: Continue chatting with An An
Night: Bid farewell to An An, focus on the competition
[Light Choice: Continue chatting with An An ]
You: It feels like as long as you're with me for every important phases of my life, my anxiousness seem to be lessened.
An An: Of course! Although that someone has abandoned me for five years without even coming back, but her things are the most important to me.
During high school, we met each other when we wanted to snatch the last copy of a limited magazine, who would have thought that we are now inseparable friends?
She loves linguistics, and as she have wished, she managed to pursue her studies in Chinese Linguistics. As for me, I did not fulfil our promise to study in the same university, and went overseas during the second year of our high school, only returned here a few months ago.
I will never forget the moment I told her I am going overseas, where she cried and said she wanted to stop being friends. However, on the day of my departure, she came to the airport with swollen eyes, and handed me the very magazine that started our friendship. The An An like this, is a treasure that I will never let go.
An An: Believe in yourself, you are the biggest dark horse out here! As soon as you graduated, you managed to get into top 10 among thousand designers! Even my demon editor praised that your design is full of aura. Speaking of my demon editor, I have another mission! I need to write an article to report on the finalists.
You: Do you have any specific interviewees?
An An: I have confirmed with about five, and I've settled with yours. Please refer a few more? How about the designer that released two best-selling outfits? Heard that she has been laying low for so many years, her return has brought many attention.
You: Do you mean Wu Yue? I saw her going out, but I am unsure if she's willing to be interviewed.
An An: yeah, I have heard that she focuses on the competition and doesn't get distracted. Oh well, let's give my luck a try!
??: Y/N, I heard you have been coughing and sneezing yesterday, here are some cold granules, have them.
A cowardly voice rang beside me, Gao Cheng scratches the back of his head and smiled shyly towards me.
You: Thank you Gao Cheng.
An An: You are Gao Cheng?! The Gao Cheng that is born in a family of sample designers with very stable foundation? May I know if you have some time for an interview from me? I am the editor of the fashion magazine "Beauty", name is An An.
Gao Cheng is someone easily flustered. Facing An An's great enthusiasm, his cheeks flushed all the way till the root of his ears. I still remember that there was an occurrence where the TV program accidentally forgot about him while distributing the uniforms for candidates. He held back so much that his entire face turned red, and only raised his hands when the staff almost wanted to leave.
Looking at An An, he stuttered for a long while until he uttered a few words.
Gao Cheng: Ni- Ni- Nice to meet you, it's alright to interview...
An An: That's great! Thank you very much! Then we'll go there first, you get ready properly for the competition! Let's have a feast after it ends!
You: Yeah!
[Night Choice: Bid farewell to An An, focus on the competition]
You: But to be eligible to enter the finals, everyone have their strengths. I could only work my hardest and strive to not leave any regrets. Also, according to the rehearsal earlier, looks like there are a lot of amendments required.
An An: Aiya, don't stress yourself too much, you're already great! I'll not interrupt you further, actually I'm here today with a mission! I wanted to interview the designer that released two best-selling outfits, Wu Yue. She's been on hiatus for many years, so her return has brought many attention. Do you know where she is? Oh and also the boy that is from the family of sample design.
You: You mean Gao Cheng, right? They are probably still preparing for rehearsal near the stage.
An An: Then I'll go over to look for them, make sure you don't stay nervous, and look for me if there are anything troubling your mind, let's have a great meal after the competition ends!
You: Yeah!
Very different from the noisy stage, the preparation room for the competition is extraordinarily quiet, forever veiled within the atmosphere of heavy tension. It is the competition's rules where all costumes for the competition must be made within this room. Hence since the competition started, the lights of the preparation room has never been switched off.
You: I need to hurry up and make amendments too......
My submission for the finals is a black velvet evening dress. Red tourmalines are polished into small beads, looming in the dress like the night stars. I also spend a long time to make a matching red tourmaline brooch, giving it a finishing touch. But until the rehearsal earlier, when I examined the dress on the stage, only then I felt a tiny hint of strangeness.
You: Where is it that wasn't right... was it the red tourmaline's color that was unsuitable, or is the velvet looking too heavy? What if I have a look of it from afar?
I walked backwards for a few steps, but accidentally bumped into something hard. Turning around, it is a notice board, full of wish memos from every competitors on the first round of competition that the staff made us wrote.
"I hope to give everyone hope", "I wanted to win the first place", "To release females from the harsh beauty standards", "I wanted to be a designer that is as good as Sariel"...
Suddenly, I looked out of the window uncontrollably. The large on-screen poster on the high rise building on the opposite looks like it has been covered with a hazy layer of gold, making the person in the poster looking a little out of reach.
Top International Designer, Sariel. He squints at the camera, looking cold and proud yet with a lazy demeanor. It's said that on the creative roads of every designer, there is always a Polaris that they will see and receive directions from. To many, Sariel is the brightest star hanging high in the skies.
He is good at receiving inspirations from culture and history, deconstructs structures and materials in fashion styling, simplifying the complex and allowing the wearer to show their own unique beauty. Ten years ago, he singlehandedly changed the entire fashion industry's direction with only a single show. Until today, I could still remember his words vividly.
Sariel: Fashion does not exist to unify beauty standards or to differentiate you and I, but to let everyone seeing themselves properly and accepting themselves. Everyone, has their freedom to become themselves.
Although he has never showed himself publicly ever since, but everything from the show has been saved, and affected tens of thousands designers.
You: Becoming myself, what do I want to express this time?
I closed my eyes, trying to remember my creative ideas. The initial motive was to design an evening dress that could break the shackles and pursue for freedom. The heavy velvet resembles the helplessness and pains, and the tiny red tourmalines, are the tiny yet unextinguished dreams of people's hearts.
To chase this original dream too, is the reason why I have escaped back to this country.
You: I understood now... The attention of this dress should have been the stars of the dress.
The red tourmalines are dark, and they look as if they did not exist without a good look in the velvet, and the brooch of the same material too, did not add a good finishing touch.
You: To brighten up the entire dress, I must change it and use a gemstone with greater color dispersion. Right, garnet!
Half an hour later, I found them from the ingredients room, and held them gently in my palms as I return. There were winds from outside the windows, blowing the leaves. In the empty corridor, suddenly there were soft sounds of metals clashing.
I looked towards the sound, around 7 or 8 meters outside there's a tall and well-built man. He wears a black jacket, and half of his face is covered by a black mask. The sunlight shun on the skeleton necklace, and the silver chain on his waist sways along with his movements. The sound probably came from it. Unsure why, my eyes are fixed onto it.
You: Is he a model? I don't think I've seen him before...
Until his silhouette disappears, I walked back to the preparation room.
At the operation desk, I pulled my sleeves up, preparing to change my dress and brooch. Suddenly, the other end of the room let out a scream.
Designer A: Why is my hair clip gone?!
The room suddenly turns into a huge mess, I worriedly look around, and I have yet to even know who lost their hair clip, and another person started shouting.
Designer B: Oh God! My ring is also missing!
Designer A: What's going on? Everyone look and see if you've lost something!
My dress lays on my desk untouched, so I quickly grabbed my accessory box, but found the place where my brooch belonged having only a bunch of torn fabric and a very odd purple-bluish feather. I have a bad premonition about this, and forced myself to calm down, then checked every part of my operations desk with an increasing heartbeat.
At last, after finding thoroughly for three rounds, I can now confirm this scary truth.
You: My brooch... is missing.
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