"You've reached a cooperation agreement with Xinghe?!"
Sitting on the sofa in Yin Yiyan's house, Ning Anmiao couldn't believe the news and couldn't help letting out an exclamation.
Yin Yiyan scratched her head awkwardly. "Yes, we finalized it some time ago..."
Ning Anmiao covered her face in regret.
She shouldn't have left everything to Yin Yiyan to handle.
Now, after all these twists and turns, she still had to rely on Lu Yan's project to keep herself afloat. How embarrassing would it be if this got out?
"Miaomiao, don't be angry. It's just that our studio has just been established and we're in desperate need of projects..."
Yin Yiyan continued to explain. "Moreover, I only talked to the staff in charge of fashion design at Xinghe. Your ex - husband has no idea."
Come to think of it, it made sense.
It was a deal struck a long time ago, when the studio hadn't even been founded. Lu Yan wouldn't know that it was a studio founded by her and Yin Yiyan.
Thinking of this, her nervous heart calmed down a bit.
"In that case, let's finish this project as soon as possible and end the cooperation earlier." This was the best solution Ning Anmiao could come up with.
The contract was already signed. There was nothing she could do now.
Seeing that Ning Anmiao wasn't angry, Yin Yiyan relaxed a little. She comforted her. "Once we complete this big project and have some working capital, we can contact factories and start our own custom - made business."
Ning Anmiao nodded.
Since things were already done, there was no point in going against money.
"Yanyan, remember to send me the client's design requirements and the quantity later. I want to finish it earlier."
The earlier she finished, the earlier she could end the cooperation with Xinghe.
And hopefully, before Lu Yan found out.
...
The next day, Yin Yiyan couldn't wait to take Ning Anmiao to the studio location she had carefully chosen.
As she had said, the studio wasn't far from their residence. It was only a ten - minute walk away.
Yin Yiyan's house was in the city center of Shanghai, where real estate prices were sky - high and the rent was exorbitant.
It was really not easy to rent a studio in such a prime location.
"How about it? Am I good at picking places?" Yin Yiyan pushed Ning Anmiao inside.
The space was quite large, but it was still empty and hadn't been furnished yet. You could even hear echoes when you spoke.
"It's really nice. But it should be... quite expensive, right?"
Ning Anmiao didn't have much money, and Yin Yiyan had just started on her own. She couldn't rely too much on the Yin family.
Thinking about the rent behind such a large area, she hesitated a bit.
"It's not that expensive."
Yin Yiyan waved her hand and winked at her. "I was lucky. I just got a great deal. The previous owner went bankrupt, and they were eager to rent out the place. I offered the lowest price and signed the contract."
That was really good luck.
After hearing this, Ning Anmiao felt much more relieved.
If the rent was cheap, their subsequent pressure would be a bit less.
She walked around the office area, listening to Yin Yiyan's blueprint for the place. "I plan to put a few long wooden tables here and repaint the walls."
"Then we'll hire a few line - drawing artists. This will be their office area..."
As Ning Anmiao listened, she walked to the window.
The location was indeed great. It faced the sun, so the lighting was excellent. In the morning, the sunlight would shine in and brighten up the whole area.
She looked up slightly and saw the building opposite.
Wait...
Ning Anmiao frowned and pointed out of the window at the towering commercial building not far away. "Yanyan, is that..."
"That's Xinghe Capital, your ex - husband's company. Don't you recognize it?"
Ning Anmiao: ...
Of course she recognized it!
She was just shocked that their studio was so close to Xinghe Capital!
It was almost like she was living right under Lu Yan's nose!
She felt like crying.
Yin Yiyan didn't know what Ning Anmiao was thinking. She walked over and patted her. "Don't worry. You said before that your husband is always busy with business. You'll never run into each other."
"Ex - husband," Ning Anmiao corrected.
"Okay, okay, ex - husband." Yin Yiyan said with a smile. "So, are you satisfied with our future studio?"
"Yes, I'm satisfied."
It would be even better if it wasn't so close to Lu Yan.
Of course, she didn't say this out loud.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. Since they found such a cheap place to rent, they couldn't be too picky about other things.
Besides, they were just facing each other, not in the same building. They probably wouldn't run into each other. She comforted herself like this.
...
At Xinghe Capital opposite.
Assistant Song stood respectfully in the president's office. "Mr. Lu, as you arranged, Miss Yin has rented that empty room."
"Okay, I see."
Lu Yan was looking at his phone. Hearing this, he nodded slightly. "Keep an eye on them later. If they need anything, try your best to help."
After a pause, he added, "Don't let them find out."
Assistant Song felt quite confused, but he immediately replied, "Yes, Mr. Lu. I'll do it right away."
He really couldn't understand.
When he found out that Miss Yin was starting a studio with the wife, he understood why his boss was so charitable when negotiating that previous cooperation.
Obviously, his boss still cared about the wife.
But if he cared so much, why didn't he just take the initiative to win back their relationship? Instead, he chose to divorce so freely and then silently care about her afterwards.
Doing good deeds without leaving a name. He was really a modern Lei Feng.
Giving them big projects and renting out the house at a low price. There weren't many such good - hearted people these days.
He didn't dare to say this out loud. He could only think about it in his mind.
—
Even though the rent of the studio was cheap, the two of them still couldn't be careless. They didn't dare to spend money recklessly and had been eating at the restaurant downstairs of the studio for the past few days.
The food here was delicious and cheap. They didn't mind and ordered different dishes every day.
At noon that day.
Ning Anmiao was chatting with Yin Yiyan about their recent design ideas while eating. When she glanced to the side, she suddenly saw an acquaintance not far away.
Not only did she see him, but their eyes also met.
Assistant Song had come here to secretly observe Ning Anmiao, but he was even more flustered than Ning Anmiao when he was suddenly discovered.
As a top - level assistant, he quickly came up with a plan. He stood up gracefully and walked towards their table.
"Hello, Miss Ning. Hello, Miss Yin." He greeted them first, showing no sign of embarrassment. "What a coincidence to meet you two here."
Seeing Assistant Song whom she hadn't seen for a long time, Ning Anmiao felt a bit uncomfortable and lowered her eyes slightly.