Ling Tianya met Madam Liang at an upscale fashion show overseas. At the time, Madam Liang was the only Chinese fashion designer who was invited to this spectacular show. Madam Liang and two of her students successfully overshadowed all the other big-name foreign designers and showcased the art of the Chinese qipao to the world.
That day, one of Madam Liang's models had a bad reaction to the food and was sent to the hospital for an acute GI problem. Madam Liang had very high standards for her hand-made qipaos. She only believed in personal connections and was a very picky old lady. So, she would rather not do the show than have some model that she didn't have a connection with wear her clothes.
Under such circumstances, Madam Liang saw Ling Tianya who was attending the show to collect materials for her book. She had an instant connection with Ling Tianya and being a blunt old lady she dragged her backstage without asking for consent and forced her to put on the qipao.
