Chapter One: Unfulfilled Ambition

  "Hello." The camera suddenly panned past, and the reporter didn't appear on camera, but instead gave the entire screen to that fashionable lady.

  The woman glanced at them faintly, didn't say a word, but stopped in her tracks. Lin Xiao couldn't help but secretly praise, this aura and makeup were simply perfectly matched!

  "Hello miss, we are reporters from Beijing Entertainment Channel." A microphone appeared in the camera "May I ask what is the relationship between this makeup and Fashion, Rayli, ILOOK?"

  "Yes." Unbeknownst to me whether it was to match her makeup or her natural temperament, the woman spoke very briefly. "Imitation, innovation."

  "Oh? I see your makeup and the magazine cover are different, were you inspired?"

  "Yes." The woman glanced at her watch "I have something else to attend to."

  Reporter Hei Xian: In this era, who doesn't take being on TV as an honor? I didn't expect the other party to be so uncooperative.

  He could only barely say "Alright, thank you for your valuable opinion."

  Just then, someone else was about to enter. It was a woman who looked like she had just turned 20, wearing a beige long windbreaker and wrapped in a bright red plaid scarf. As soon as she came out, she was stopped by reporters.

  "Rayli's cover? Yes! I went in just to ask the stylist to do a styling, take a set of photos." This woman is obviously more talkative than the previous one. "Their covers are very stunning, I saw it that day and wanted to try it out, but something came up and dragged on for so many days, that kind of cool and mysterious feeling is very attractive."

  "So you completely agree with the new style? Then can I ask what attracted you to this style and why do you want to try it?"

  "Of course, it's a cover style that is completely different from what we have domestically. Among the many magazines I've seen, including foreign ones, most use bright colors to grab attention, and for men's magazines, they often give an impression of masculinity and individuality. But these three magazines did the opposite, leaving a deep impression. As for trying it out..."

  The woman smiled and said, "Tonight is just right for a cocktail party. If I don't wear the most popular makeup in this circle now, I'm afraid people will say that I don't understand fashion trends."

  The interview ended quickly, and the reporter turned around, walking in front of the camera with a smile. "As everyone saw, just now we saw five people go in, two of whom were doing this styling, and one explicitly stated that they would try it out soon. In other words, in this short survey, 60% of people accepted this new trend. And Crown, always known as the first store for trendy elements, I have every reason to believe that the covers launched by the three magazines have led the direction of fashion."

  "Alright." The host turned off the TV, smiled and turned around to say "Ms. Yang Qing, as a well-known designer in the fashion world, what do you think about this new trend?"

  "Flattering the crowd." Yang Qing, already over 40 years old, showed no signs of calming down with age. She snorted coldly, "This new trend, I think it's just an upgraded version of the Korean Wave from a few years ago. Back then, many people were infatuated with it, but it couldn't withstand the test of time. In less than a year, its popularity began to wane. This fad, I don't think it will last more than half a year."

  The host was taken aback, she didn't expect the other party to be so straightforward. However, before the broadcast, she had already received instructions to support this trend. After thinking for a moment, she said, "But this is a trend led by the three most influential domestic magazines, isn't Ms. Yang being too affirmative?"

  "I don't deny that this trend is attractive, but we also need to consider the domestic situation. This makeup doesn't have much technical value, what if students learn it? Would the whole school become weird and strange?" Yang Qing snorted and said "Everyone has the right to pursue fashion, fashion should be extraordinary in the ordinary, look at this trend, would ordinary people dare to paint like that?"

  "What nonsense!" Hong Huang almost threw the remote control out when he saw this segment in the company.

  "Yang Qing?! Doesn't even know her surname! Completely doesn't understand fashion trends! Really don't know where this professor came from! Is being mysterious considered eerie? Is this woman blind?! She glanced at the TV with extreme dissatisfaction "Except for her hair, there's not a single bright spot on her body, and this kind of woman dares to talk about fashion? Who does she think she is?! Haven't even heard of her!"

  Just then, her phone rang and she picked it up irritably "Hello?"

  "Hong Jie." Cai Weijie's voice came from over there "Watched TV?"

  "Of course I saw her! That woman, I've never seen her at a major fashion show or top party! I really don't know where this monster came from! She actually dares to deny our sense of fashion!" Hong Huan said with hatred "I see her, she only knows how to pick the most expensive things, but has no idea how to match them!"

  "Haha, Hong Jie, don't be angry, what's the point of arguing with an outsider?" Cai Weijie burst out laughing.

  "We don't care, but that doesn't mean the common people don't care! I think this time, it's because our magazine has been published too smoothly, and someone who is jealous is trying to stir up trouble. Otherwise, who would dare to put such a thing on TV? Originally, we could have just followed public opinion and pushed it a bit further, publishing two more issues and holding an exhibition, which would have completely set off this trend. But now, because of this old woman's meddling, the newspaper is delighted!"

  "This is also what I'm worried about. Just now, I received news that several newspapers have named and criticized the new trend." Cai Weijie sighed and said, "Following established rules, being worldly and making a big fuss, if we really enter the world next year, how can we keep up with the international fashion circle?"

  "Hong hummed and said, "I have numbers, they will write comments, can their influence compare to the fashion circle? This time's response got an 80% satisfaction rate! Let's write against each other! See whose pen is better, see who has more supporters!"

  "In the end, Lin Xiao is still the one who benefits." Cai Weijie smiled "This round of bombardment has pushed him to the forefront."

  "Is it a good thing to expose the name ahead of time?" Hong Huang hung up the phone and immediately started contacting the newspaper, preparing for a face-to-face confrontation with what she considered an "unscrupulous newspaper".

  The next day, Lin Xiao saw a signed article by "Yuan Jue" in the Entertainment Weekly criticizing him by name.

  Recently, the entertainment and fashion circles have been swept up in a new trend. A newcomer named Lin Xiao has gained favor with China's three most influential fashion magazines through a set of bizarre photos. I couldn't help but wonder: what's wrong with China's fashion world? Is it sick? Can such attention-seeking photos really gain recognition?

  "It's well-known that fashion is an eternal topic, but what exactly is fashion? Some say it's Marilyn's flying skirt photo, some say it's Lin Ching-hsia's elegant and refreshing style. The common point is: they've all stood the test of time. At first, I was thinking, who's Lin Xiao? Which heavenly king superstar? But after asking around, I found out he's actually a newcomer with no connection to the fashion world! He just participated in a film shoot and is only a minor actor. Do you believe someone like him has the ability to identify fashion or is just messing around? Is his 'creation' not just a momentary whim?"

  CAMI was furious after reading the thousands of words, but Lin Xiao just smiled and thought that these domestic snakes were far inferior to those he would encounter in the future and couldn't harm him.

  "Aren't you angry?" CAMI asked him with a glance.

  "Angry? What a great opportunity for publicity, why be angry?" Lin Xiao laughed and said "Besides, who should be angry is not us, but Hong Huang, Cai Weijie and them? The acknowledged fashionable mothers and fathers in their own field are being questioned, if they don't do something, I wouldn't believe it."

  As expected, this afternoon's "Chinese Fashion", "Lido", "Beauty" and "Red Beauty" newspapers all responded to today's attempt to suppress the new trend, whether it was on TV, in newspapers or magazines.

  The Chinese-style writer named "Baiyun" seemed to have a personal vendetta against Yuanjue, and the words that came out of his mouth were quite venomous for this era, even making Lin Xiao laugh as he drank his beverage with great interest, watching the two engage in a heated debate.

  "Everyone knows that I and Yuanjue are old acquaintances. Every time, I want to say, Master Yuanjue, just by looking at your name, you're a monk, wearing robes is enough, why bother pursuing worldly things? This big fat guy of mine is greedy for the world, so I won't compete with you."

  "But he wouldn't, he had to attack some things that everyone likes and recognizes in order to show off his uniqueness. This time the three magazines jointly launched a new trend, and he immediately jumped out as the first defender. I really want to say, Master Yuanjue, go back to your ancient temple, fashion is not something you can play with!"

  "Do you think your vision is higher than Hong Huang, Cai Wei Jie who has seen various trends around the world? Then why don't you create a fashion trend yourself? This time's trend, it's not surprising that you can't smell it. Because you fundamentally don't understand fashion, Rayli, ILOOK's core user satisfaction rate reached 80%. The hotline is being blown up every day, even if Lin Xiao is a newcomer, but this time's style isn't it obvious that it's a completely mature style? A leader who flashes with inspiration is being said by you as worthless, are you really ignorant of fashion or just talking nonsense? Who is actually seeking to please the crowd?"

  Lin Xiao couldn't help but laugh at this, it seems that Bai Yun's writing skills are a notch above Yuan Jue's.

  "The more noise you make, the more curious everyone will be." He picked up another magazine.

  "Liren" magazine has a new look, this time with an interview conducted by three main beauties, not only with a special edition but also with photos, all of which are aimed at the upcoming trend. As a magazine under Ruirui, its style is even more biased.

  "Yang Qing?" A man in his 40s with a ponytail looked surprised in the photo. "Sorry, I've been in this circle for over 20 years, and have designed styles for Zhang Man Yu, Lin Qing Xia, and Gong Li, but I really don't know where this Ms. Yang, who is probably around my age, is from."

  "Although we are in the same circle, I still want to say that people with different horizons see things differently. You look at photos with an old-fashioned gaze and naturally think they're evil. If you look at it this way, then Peking Opera shouldn't be performed either." A female lead also bluntly attacked Yang Qing: "But we've all seen a new trend rising that has never been promoted before."

  "It wasn't promoted before, doesn't mean it didn't exist, but was waiting for its maturity. Now that it's matured, why can't we break the convention to look at it?"