Her senior, Justin Schofield, was ecstatic about her joining.
He exclaimed that with her on board, the studio's dismal sales could finally be saved.
Justin Schofield was very confident in Holly Sinclair's talent for design.
But what he hadn't expected was for Holly Sinclair to nearly give him a heart attack on her second day of work.
Here's what happened—
Recently, there was big news in the qipao world.
A certain lady wanted to have an antique qipao restored.
That wasn't the main point. The point was, the fee was two million.
Holly Sinclair, seeing a golden opportunity, immediately signed the studio up for the job.
This kind of high-level restoration required qualifications and an assessment. It wasn't a job just anyone could take on.
Julian's Studio had just managed to qualify.
「Soon, the day of the assessment arrived.」
Holly Sinclair and Justin Schofield arrived at the entrance of the venue.
But Justin Schofield stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong, Justin?" Holly Sinclair asked, turning back.
"Holly… maybe we should…" Justin Schofield hesitated, already wanting to back out. "Let's just forget it."
'I must have been possessed to listen to Holly's coaxing.'
'How could I possibly deserve such a huge stroke of luck?'
"Why? Justin, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Holly Sinclair frowned in confusion.
The huge fee was secondary. More importantly, this could make their studio famous overnight and lead to a new era of success.
"Our studio can't possibly win. Why are we even here, just filling up space?" Justin Schofield felt he'd be better off going home to bed.
"You haven't even tried. How do you know we can't win?"
"Holly, I know you're very talented at design, but restoration—"
"I can do it," Holly Sinclair cut in softly.
Her tone was light, but her eyes were exceptionally firm.
"That's an antique! It's the final work of Master Melody Mayfield!" Seeing her so confident, Justin Schofield couldn't help but try to dash her hopes.
Melody Mayfield was a top master in the world of qipao. Every single one she made was worth a fortune.
Her final piece, in particular, was hailed as a priceless treasure.
'A master's work, how could it be so easy to repair?'
"I know," Holly Sinclair nodded.
Seeing her still calm and collected, Justin Schofield laughed in exasperation. "What do you know? There are so many studios competing, we can't possibly beat them. And even if we get ridiculously lucky and this job lands in our lap, it's not necessarily a good thing."
"How is it not a good thing?"
"If we can't fix it, we have to pay a penalty for breach of contract!"
"So?"
"For God's sake, we can't afford it!" Justin Schofield cried, his face twisted in despair.
The commission was two million, so the penalty for failing would be just as steep.
"You just don't trust me," Holly Sinclair said, staring at Justin Schofield coolly.
Justin Schofield felt inexplicably guilty under her gaze and gave a sheepish laugh. "It's not—"
"Trust you with what?"
But at that moment, a familiar male voice cut through the air.
Holly Sinclair turned around.
A few meters away, Tristan Sterling and Vivian Linton approached, arm in arm.
Tristan Sterling's handsome face was grim.
His harsh gaze fell directly on her and Justin Schofield.
Justin Schofield twitched the corners of his mouth, wanting to nod a greeting to Tristan Sterling.
But he was frozen by that bone-chilling glare, a shiver running down his spine.
'He felt like the "other man" being caught in the act by Mr. Sterling himself.'
Instinctively, he took a step to the side.
Putting a little distance between himself and Holly Sinclair.
"Holly, what a coincidence. What are you doing here?"
Vivian Linton, clinging intimately to Tristan Sterling's arm with a flower-like smile, walked up. She spoke to Holly in a friendly tone while sizing up Justin Schofield with a meaningful look.
"What's it to you?"
Holly Sinclair retorted bluntly.
At the same time, she shot a cold glance at their linked arms.
Vivian Linton's smile froze on her lips. "Holly, what did I do wrong? Why are you so hostile towards me…"
"Stay away from me. I'm allergic to the whole sweet-and-innocent act," Holly said, each word dripping with sarcasm.
"Don't tell me you're also here to compete in the assessment?" Vivian Linton realized, a flicker of panic hidden beneath her surprise.
But she quickly composed herself and said, "Tristan works so hard managing the company every day. Instead of taking good care of him at home, you're out here making a public spectacle of yourself… I mean, you don't have to work so hard."
"Aren't you the one who's so eager to take care of him? Here's your chance. Cherish it." Holly Sinclair gave a slight smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Vivian Linton's expression changed several times.
She looked embarrassed, as if her intentions had been exposed.
"Tristan…" She looked at Tristan Sterling, her eyes brimming with tears.
"What are you doing here?" Tristan Sterling's sharp gaze shot to Holly Sinclair's face.
"It has nothing to do with you, either," Holly Sinclair uttered coolly.
"You know design?"
"Not really."
"Then what are you doing h—"
"But I'm better than your dear Vivian."
"Vivian won first place in a competition back in school. You're saying you're better than her?" Tristan Sterling snorted, unconvinced.
In their two years of marriage, he had never seen Holly Sinclair draw a single design sketch.
'Does she not even know how to draft her lies?'
"Why don't you ask her how she got that first place?" Holly Sinclair sneered, looking at Vivian Linton.
Back then, half an hour before the competition, Vivian Linton, who was still her best friend, gave her a bottle of water. After drinking it, she came down with unstoppable diarrhea.
She had diarrhea until she collapsed from exhaustion and was hospitalized for a week.
Naturally, she couldn't participate in the design competition.
And then Vivian Linton won first place.
"Holly, of course I won first place with my own skills. What are you trying to imply? I know you've always been jealous of my talent. Is it really that hard to admit I'm better than you?"
Vivian Linton forced herself to stay calm, her eyes turning red with grievance.
"You know perfectly well whether it was skill or not."
Holly Sinclair couldn't be bothered to watch Vivian Linton's performance any longer. Finding it disgusting, she linked arms with Justin Schofield. "Justin, let's go."
The two of them walked towards the venue entrance.
"You and Mr. Sterling…?" Justin Schofield began hesitantly, giving Holly Sinclair a suspicious look.
His gossipy heart was stirring.
"We're not close."
But Holly Sinclair didn't give him a chance to finish, nipping his gossip in the bud.
Standing behind them, Tristan Sterling's face turned black as coal when he heard this.
'Not close?'
'How dare she tell another man that she's not close to him?'
Heh.
…
The assessment was divided into two parts.
After the first half, there would be a thirty-minute break.
Holly Sinclair was a little hungry.
She went to the pastry area, planning to grab a few small snacks to tide her over.
Just as she was digging in, Vivian Linton suddenly appeared beside her—
"Holly, the studio you're working at now is too small. It has no future. Come to my studio. I can give you a team to lead."
Her tone was one of giving charity.
"You want to be my boss?"
Holly Sinclair didn't humor her for a second. She looked her up and down and sneered, "You're not worthy!"
But Vivian Linton wasn't annoyed in the slightest. She even broke into a smug smile.
"So you want to be your own boss, just like me. Tristan said it only cost him fifty or sixty million to help me open this studio. How about I talk to Tristan and have him open one for you too?"