"Good morning, boss!"
The employees greeted in unison. The boss seemed to be in a very good mood these past few days. How could she not be in a good mood? Her beloved Tyler would be back in a few days. He would in fact very coincidentally arrive on the night of the Golden Rookie Awards. If the rookie from her studio won the award, she would receive two surprises in one night! What else would anyone ever need to be happy?
"Is the boss in love?"
"That's possible…it's high time she forgot about her scumbag boyfriend after all."
"I don't believe they really broke up. Such a shame."
"Are you an idiot? That idiot cheated on our boss. His loss! He won't ever get an outstanding woman like boss."
"He cheated on her? I heard that boss's father didn't like him."
"And I heard that his mother didn't like boss. What a blind woman."
"Whatever it is, our boss is in love. Did you see how much she was blushing while looking at her phone?"
"She's so happy. Just look at her. Yesterday I just got a monthly bonus simply for being there."
"And you never told us? How mean!"
"Not like I can share it with all of you, hey!'
The female employees were lost in endless chatter as they were all happy for their boss. The male employees on the other hand looked sad. Their boss was taken. Many of them had carried a torch for Yun Xuan for ages. It was just a shame that they weren't brave enough to face her and tell her how they felt. Sight, they had thought that they at least had 2% of a chance when she broke up. Now it seemed even that tiny chance was gone.
"Who knows if they'll really get married?" a bitter male spoke up.
"Yeah, who knows if she's even happy about being in love? Maybe it's just something else." Another male echoed. He had the deepest crush on Yun Xuan and literally worshipped the ground she walked on.
"Get lost! All you males just admit you like our boss, but sorry. Can you match up to her status?"
….
Yun Xuan walked into the design department with a 500 megawatt smile on her face.
"Ran Ran, how are the dresses going?"
The girl named Ran Ran looked up at her boss with a smile. "Just two more and I'll be done." She showed Yun Xuan the completed designs ready for production.
"How beautiful!" You're so talented Ran Ran.
"Thanks Boss," the girl smiled shyly.
"This year's Rookie Award will definitely be ours! I'll double your salary if you win."
"Then I'll work hard, boss."
Double salary? The girl was super excited. She really needed it. Her grandfather was quite sickly lately and her normal salary was barely enough to cater for his needs. She had many debts already and their house would be at risk if she didn't start repaying them soon. Their boss was really kind!
….
Mondial Studios.
Office of the Vice President.
"Did you really nominate that Wan Jia?"
"Mmph! You think too lowly of me. Did you really think I'd nominate her?" Mo Zilian said as she caressed her extremely long nails.
"You're saying..?"
"While I did nominate her, she's only going to act as an assistant for the real winner."
"Surely you don't mean you're going to steal her designs?" the man laughed.
"Steal is a strong word. The right word, still," she swung around in her rotating chair and stopped to place her hands on the table. "It's a shame she's too talented. Whatever, her designs won't really go to waste. They'll be presented on behalf of the company by my most capable designer. This award will definitely be all ours this time."
"As for her, I'll totally humiliate her in front of hundreds of people. Huh, thought she could defeat me? I'll bring out all the foolishness buried deep inside her."
"Go easy on her. Aren't you being too harsh?"
"Serves her right for stealing my Aotian."
"Am I not your man now? Are you trying to make me jealous?"
"Not like you have the right. You're just a plaything. Aotian is the real deal. "
"Honey, you're just too wicked." The man was slightly hurt by her remark.
"Don't you want to have a taste of my wickedness?" she pulled him closer by the tie.
The Golden Rookie award was nearing. Every studio's design department was buzzing with activity. Hundreds of breathtaking dresses were being produced everywhere. If those were released into the market, there would be no lack of original ideas.
Wan Jia looked at the ten drafts in her file. Her theme was Rebirth, but she had not told anyone about her inspirations, choice of colors and any other detail yet. She hadn't even shown them to the higher ups and simply urged them to trust her. She smiled like a mother looking dotingly at her child. This was her hard work.
In situations like these, it wouldn't hurt to be more careful than usual. Who knew if anyone had plans against her? Her intuition had always been right and these past three weeks she always had a feeling that someone was studying her closely. Even after looking around for a while, she didn't notice anyone suspicious. Hence she decided to have her guard up at all times.
Her intuition was right. Mo Zilian and her lackeys… they were definitely planning something outrageous.
Wan Jia was the last person to leave the office today. She put the file into her locker and left the office, closing the door behind her.