บท 4: The NU Campaign

Li Nuxie woke up with a start. As she stretched her arm for her mobile phone at the bedside table, she accidentally knocked down her sling bag. Not minding, she opened up her phone only to be bombarded with Li Chanying's text messages.

'You're back?'

'You didn't even inform me!'

'Are you at the Pavilion?'

'Li Nuxie, where are you hibernating this time?'

Li Nuxie just stared at her phone. Sending text messages was never her thing. She preferred to call or talk face-to-face. She could not understand why Li Chanying liked to send her a lot of messages when she clearly knew that Li Nuxie hardly check her phone.

Changing into a tight white shirt and black shorts, Li Nuxie went to the kitchen and prepared the frying fan. After putting the ingredients for a stir-fry string beans, she wore an apron over. As she was stirring the beans over medium heat, the doorbell rang. So fast, she mused. Turning off the induction cooker, she walked towards the main door.

"Xiexie!" Li Chanying was smiling as she leaned close to kiss Li Nuxie's cheek. Her nose wrinkled when she breathed in. "Are you cooking?" Disbelief was written in her eyes.

"How do you even call yourself my cousin?" Li Nuxie pulled the door wide. Li Chanying took a step inside, sniffing like a wolf hungry for its prey.

"I know you can boil eggs. But that's not cooking," Li Chanying's obvious mockery of her cooking skills made Li Nuxie chuckled.

"That was sixteen years ago. And besides, no one really knows how to cook at fourteen," Li Nuxie said, trying to reason out. Li Chanying pulled a chair and sat while Li Nuxie transferred the stir-fry beans from the frying pan to the plate.

"You're just boiling eggs, Xiexie. How can you even make the water evaporate to the point that half of the kitchen got on fire?" Li Chanying crossed her arms, clearly indignant.

Li Nuxie's laughter bounced at the four walls of the kitchen. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears. Her grandma had almost disowned her father and mother when the so-called Li Ancestral House fire broke out. The Old Madam has blamed the wanderlust of her parents especially of her mother for Li Nuxie's ignorance in the kitchen.

"The heat made the water evaporate. I'm not a deity, you know," Li Nuxie replied before bringing the spoon of rice to her mouth.

"As expected of The Young Miss Li, you always have a counter for every argument. Why didn't you just go to law school?" Li Chanying asked in between bites.

"As expected of the person behind the Ying Design Limited, you are such a foodie. So why don't you help yourself out because I don't like feeding people for free?" Li Nuxie looked at her nails, pretending to inspect it.

Li Chanying shook her head, eyes wide as she tried to swallow a mouthful of beans. "I'm just kidding. Come on, this tastes good. Where did you learn this recipe?" She asked her cousin, clearly diverting the topic from free riding.

"Country P," Li Nuxie answered before standing to turn on the coffee maker. Her cousin gulped a glass of water before wiping her mouth with a table napkin.

"When are you coming back to Country P?"

Li Nuxie leaned towards the table counter. "Probably in a month or two. I still need to sort out the Li Textile."

Li Chanying's eyes bore into her cousin. The bob cut hair that framed Li Nuxie's small face and her black-rimmed eyeglasses made her appearance strict. Being the Young Miss of Li Family, their grandmother had trained Li Nuxie to be an ideal young miss of a prestigious family.

However, for matters that Li Chanying cannot explained, Li Nuxie was able to live up to their grandmother's expectations while also pursuing her own dreams on the side. While she, she struggled so hard to get their grandmother's approval. Somehow, a tinge of jealousy has been gnawing in her heart.

A line appeared between Li Nuxie's brows when she stared back at her cousin. She knew that stare. She would always get that look whenever people would know that she belonged to the famous Li Family. Li Chanying was adopted by her uncle when she was eight. During that time, Li Nuxie was five. They hardly met at family affairs because Li Nuxie's parents were always traveling. The Old Madam has brought her and her brother Li Chao to the Li Ancestral House when she was eight while Li Chao was twelve.

Practically, the three of them grew up together. Their childhood was nice and never did Li Chanying displayed any negative emotion towards her. But despite being on the Li Family register, the stigma of being adopted has always followed Li Chanying.

"What kind of dirty thoughts are you harboring against me?" Li Nuxie turned to the side and pour herself a cup of coffee.

Li Chanying lifted her shoulders, giving a half shrug. "How can you have grandma's approval and still be able to do whatever you want?"

Li Nuxie curled her lips, her eyes were dancing in admiration to the woman in front of her. At least, Li Chanying was honest. "Simply because her blood is flowing in my veins," she blew the coffee before bringing it to her lips, her eyes appeared nonchalant.

Li Chanying's hands which were hidden under the table tightened into fists. Li Nuxie continued to watch her cousin's expression. She shook her head as she occupied the opposite seat.

"Did Yang Lina bully you again?"

Gasping, the color drained out of Li Chanying's face. Li Nuxie can pretty much assume what happened.

"You're a Li. No matter what, don't let other people step on you. Even if that happens to be that woman."

"I'm just worried that Chao-ge will get angry. You know that he's very protective of Yang Lina," Li Chanying lowered her head.

Li Nuxie's dark eyes narrowed into slits when she heard her cousin. "Just tell him you're a follower of Confucius. It's never wrong to follow the golden rule, right?"

Her cousin threw her head backwards when she heard Li Nuxie's suggestion. "What can I do? Remember, she burned all the clothes she bought from the Ying Design Limited when she learned I am the person behind it."

Li Nuxie clenched her fists, remembering the scenario. Yang Lina has burned in public the clothes Li Chanying had painstakingly designed when she accidentally learned from Li Chao that Li Chanying was the owner and chief designer of Ying Design Limited.

Yang Lina's minions has also followed suit. Luckily, they did not reach the required number to form a squad. Also, despite the fact that the Old Madam did not like Li Chanying that much, she was legally a Li so she manipulated the press to boost the popularity of her adopted granddaughter's fashion house.

"But I heard she's raving about the NU Campaign," Li Chanying said.

"Oh, really? Should I ban her from buying from my designs then?" Li Nuxie asked, slightly puckering her lips. The NU Campaign or NU C was Li Nuxie's own fashion line which focused on bikini designs. She launched her bikini line six years ago. The name was a playful sort of anagram of her name as in Nuxie or NU C. Of course, only a few people knew about it with the exception of her brother.

It was not that Li Nuxie doesn't trust her brother. He was very capable of keeping a secret except when it comes to Yang Lina. She might not be surprised if the Yangs have gathered corporate secrets from the Lis. She frowned at the thought.

"And she's also frequenting the Country P and Island H," Li Chanying continued, pretending not to hear Li Nuxie.

Crossing her arms as she leaned her back on the chair, Li Nuxie rolled her eyes. "She must have heard that I'm planning to launch the third collection of NU C in Country P," she huffed.

"Who was at fault on that?" Li Chanying pointed her forefinger towards Li Nuxie. "If not for your peculiar way of selling your designs, Yang Lina might not have been behaving like a rabid dog."

"Indeed, you're right," Li Nuxie conceded. "She doesn't have an ounce of fashion sense. All she wanted was to brag among her minions that she has the latest this and that."

Li Chanying smiled as she remembered something. "The High Fashion Mag has published an article about NU C recently. Have you read it?"

Li Nuxie shook her head. "Not yet. What was it all about?"

"It was titled 'The Peculiar Way of Acquiring NU C.' Damn, it was kind of hilarious" Li Chanying answered, her eyes were twinkling in delight.

Li Nuxie raised her eyebrow before standing up. "How so?" She brought the used plates and utensils on the sink and started washing them. Her cousin also stood up and occupied the bar stool not far from the kitchen sink.

"Basically, the editor discussed how NU C was brought into the fashion world. They are speculating about your identity. You are affiliated with HongLi and the Ying Design Limited so that makes you pretty much influential."

Li Nuxie tilted her head to the side. "And? Did they hit the bull's eye?"

"Of course not. As if grandma will allow it," Li Chanying giggled. "But I'm really excited on the next launching. What are you planning?"

Giving a sideway glance, Li Nuxie winked. "Secret," followed by a laugh.

"Hmmmp," Li Chanying pouted. "I hope you live up to the expectations of your fans."

"I don't have fans. They are my buyers," Li Nuxie put the plates back on the dish rack before wiping her hands with a handcloth.

"Whatever. By the way, where will you have your dinner with grandma?"

"At home."

Her cousin nodded before continuing, "Can I use your bathroom?"

"At the end of the hallway," she informed Li Chanying. Just like Dao Ze, Li Chanying has only been in her house for the second time.

"I want the bathroom in the master's bedroom," Li Chanying demanded.

"Go then. You're just going to gush about it."

Li Chanying let out a squeal as she jumped up and down. "Thanks, Xiexie," she blew a kiss before marching towards the master's bedroom. Li Nuxie was left shaking her head.

She went to the study room and opened her computer. Sitting in front of it, she browsed the digital edition of High Fashion Mag and saw the article Li Chanying was referring to. Normally, she doesn't pay attention on these kinds of things but the Li Textile is currently experiencing a crisis. She needed the NU C to be stable.

She clicked the link as her eyes darted back and forth, suddenly engrossed in the article.

NU C has been launching its collection during the summer break every two years. It made its debut during the HongLi Fashion Show. Li Nuxie was good friends with Hong Chi, the CEO of Hong Department Stores. The HongLi Fashion Show was considered to be the Paris Fashion Week of Country C. Designers and models that were included in the line up were all veterans in their fields. Suffice to say, the HongLi Fashion Show was not friendly towards the amateurs.

Although she was friends with Hong Chi, Li Nuxie did not ask to be included in said fashion show. It was Hong Chi who saw her designs and constantly nagged her to participate. She created fifteen designs and all of them were sold minutes after the fashion show came to an end. The peculiar way people have been talking about was determining to whom they will sell the bikinis.

Li Nuxie, out of fatigue and hunger, decided that her bikinis would only be sold to the people who wear conservative dresses that time. Simply because she thought that her designs will bring out the playfulness of these women. After all, it was normal during fashion shows that women dressed to seduce and not to impress.

A lot of fashion enthusiasts have demanded that NU C mass produce but Li Nuxie turned a deaf ear. If it was all about mass production, the Ying Design Limited was there. She has no plans of competing with her cousin's business even if they were from different lines.