Hongyuan Group, Private Office of the Head of Clothing Design Department.
“Bro, this office chair is insanely comfortable. It even has a built-in massage.” Ji Yuenián plopped down in the chair with easy familiarity, crossing one leg over the other as he sipped his tea and sighed in contentment.
“Last time, how did you say it was? You made off with the juicer my client gave me after the meeting.” Sitting on the sofa, Ji Haotong looked at his younger brother’s self-assured expression and couldn’t help but scold him with a laugh.
“Hehe~”
Suddenly, Ji Yuenián’s eyes caught a design sketch lying on the desk. His curiosity instantly piqued, and he picked it up for a closer look.
It looked like a type of clothing. The patch of red fabric was embroidered with golden peony floral patterns, exquisitely detailed. Even the long sleeves’ cuffs were flawlessly crafted. The brushwork carefully outlined a high collar, and a long skirt with a slit running up one side.
Ji Yuenián vaguely felt like he had seen this style before, but couldn’t quite place it.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a qipao I designed in my spare time.” Ji Haotong glanced over casually and answered offhandedly.
“A qipao? Bro, you actually have skills in both fields!”
“Nonsense. You really think your bro got this position through connections? You gotta be strong yourself to make it! I’m the Head of Clothing Design because I worked my ass off, ninety-nine percent hard work!!”
Ji Yuenián smirked but secretly thought, impressive!
He knew his brother had been interested in fashion design since childhood, but he never imagined that hobby would turn into a legitimate career—and one that produced such exquisite work.
Judging by the brushwork, this level of craftsmanship surely took at least ten years to master.
Soon, the two brothers shifted their conversation to recent market trends in the fashion industry. As soon as Ji Haotong stepped into his professional territory, his words flowed non-stop, articulate and passionate.
Ji Yuenián just listened for fun, thinking it would give him something to brag about later when he hung out with his buddies.
When they got to the topic of profits, Ji Haotong slapped his thigh, eyes gleaming with excitement: “When people think profits, they first imagine real estate or finance—those big money industries. But actually, our fashion industry isn’t far behind.”
“Let me give you an example.” He pulled out another design sketch. It looked like a ladies’ underwear pattern, just palm-sized. Yet the lace decoration was incredibly intricate—at a glance, almost dizzying.
“This type of women’s underwear costs only about a dozen yuan for the fabric, but it can sell for two or three hundred yuan on the market. If you get a celebrity to endorse it and give it an exclusive meaning, it can easily sell for eight or nine hundred.”
“Would women actually buy that?” Ji Yuenián asked, puzzled. Were women naturally suckers, spending nearly a thousand yuan on a piece of cloth? If he were a girl, he’d rather happily spend that money on a 998 yuan outfit set.
“You know Valentino, right? You’ve seen their high heels.” Ji Haotong didn’t explain but threw the question back.
“Yeah, seen them. Very sexy.” Ji Yuenián remembered the videos recommended to him on short-video platforms—those spike-studded heels jokingly called ‘attack-speed shoes’ by netizens.
“According to market research, Valentino’s high heels aren’t actually comfortable for women to wear, but the number of buyers keeps increasing!!”
“So you mean…” Ji Yuenián suddenly realized!
Who said women’s lingerie consumers have to be women? Men can buy them too!
Whether women find it comfortable or not, men only care about how good it looks, right?
If the big spender doesn’t want to buy it, the small spender wants to see it!!
Seeing Ji Yuenián’s suddenly enlightened expression, Ji Haotong patted his shoulder with satisfaction and continued: “In our design department, two-thirds of the staff are men. That’s catering to market demand. Little bro, think hard about this—you might have a future in it…”
Ji Haotong’s words were meant to wake Ji Yuenián up and encourage him to focus some energy on studying.
He wasn’t unaware of the trouble his younger brother caused at school—telling him to study hard while he spent his days swinging steel pipes and beating people up.
Hongyuan Group wasn’t huge, nothing like those international conglomerates, but it was big enough to accommodate both brothers.
As for sibling rivalry, he didn’t know about other families, but theirs had none. With his little brother’s straightforward nature, intrigue and scheming were impossible.
Time passed without notice until noon, when both brothers’ stomachs growled simultaneously.
Ji Haotong noticed and pressed a button on a desk intercom, clearing his throat: “Secretary Chen, have the cafeteria prepare two servings of spicy chicken rice bowls and send them up here. Also, get the models we signed last time to come by and change into qipaos—I want to see what needs improving.”
After speaking, he shooed Ji Yuenián off his chair, took the seat himself, crossed his legs, lazily lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled with a meaningful smile.
“Next, let your bro show you what a little power and whimsy look like.”
Ji Yuenián didn’t understand what “a little power and whimsy” meant, but it didn’t take long before two spicy chicken lunch boxes were delivered, followed by several models dressed in qipaos walking in.
Gradually, everything became clear to him…
The first was a tall, elegant woman with a mature beauty vibe.
She wore a light blue, short-sleeved qipao. The sleeves barely covered her shoulders, almost sleeveless. The satin fabric was dotted with blue floral patterns, tightly hugging her sexy figure.
Her eyes were enchanting, her nose delicate, lips painted crimson red—radiant and alluring.
The second was a Mixed-Race Woman, about 177 cm tall with a slender figure. Her brown hair was styled into an elegant updo, with two loose curled bangs framing her already perfect face.
She wore a sleeveless black silk qipao embroidered with golden flowers. The dress was very tight, her ample, perky breasts pushing the fabric up into a noticeable bulge. The hem was very short; when she bent over, the skirt lifted, exposing her long, full legs clad in sheer black stockings.
The third…
Like a runway show, one model after another walked onstage and then disappeared backstage. Some were Asian, some Caucasian, some Mixed-Race. Some sexy, some cute, some sweet.
In short, each one could easily catch a man’s eye.
“Little bro, little bro.” After the models finished their round, Ji Haotong waved his hand in front of Ji Yuenián’s face. Seeing him still staring blankly at the group of qipao models by the door, he thought to himself that his little brother’s self-control needed work.
He waved again, signaling the qipao models to leave.
At that moment, Ji Yuenián snapped back to reality, grabbed Ji Haotong’s shoulders, and shook him vigorously, brimming with excitement!
“Bro! Get me one of those!!”
“Ah?!”
He means the qipao 😉